The Detective

A beam of sunlight woke Luke, causing him to wish he’d closed the blinds the night before. He sat up and quickly reached for the phone on the nightstand. No new messages and no missed calls. It was the beginning of the third day with no contact from Robby. A wadded-up t-shirt sat on the floor next to the bed, Luke slipped it on before heading out into the hall. Robby’s door was open, nothing had been disturbed since the afternoon he took off and never came home. Everything was as it should be. Nothing seemed out of place. No clothes were missing, no personal items, no note … nothing. It was as if Robby simply vanished.

“Mom!” Luke called out as he entered the kitchen. “We need to talk.”

“Good morning.” Nancy was in the kitchen wearing her purple and plaid pajamas; drinking coffee at the table.

“Are you working today?”

“Just some paperwork here. I’m not going in.”

“Look mom, we really need to talk about Robby.”