Figured You Out

Chapter Sixteen

He was sleeping when the phone rang at one am....he thought about simply ignoring the call but decided to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Is this Brian Littrell?" a voice on the other end of the receiver asked.

"Yes it is, but do you realize how late you're calling me?" Brian replied in an annoyed tone. He had gone to sleep about midnight and had to catch a flight in the morning, so whoever this was had better have a damn good reason for calling at one am.

"This is Officer Jacobs with the Florida State Police." the man stated. Brian sat upright in bed, feeling a bit worried. He looked at the caller ID and it was Nick's phone number on the screen. His heart sank, expecting the worst.

"Did something happen?" Brian asked after a few moments of listening to the officer's questions.

"I'm not allowed to release much information, but we had found Mr. Carter's car and his BlackBerry. When was the last time you spoke with him?" Officer Jacobs asked.

"A few days ago at the airport when he went home. That was the last time we talked." Brian explained. He thought about what Nick had told him in their conversation and wondered if maybe the strange letters were the cause of this.

"Do you know if anybody else has spoken to him before tonight?" the officer repeated.

"AJ....I asked AJ to check on him. His number should be on the phone." Brian said shakily.

"We went through the numbers on his phone and there was no AJ on his contacts. That's how I found you." Officer Jacobs explained. Brian thought it was strange that Nick wouldn't have AJ in his phone book, but then laughed.

"Try Jizzle." he said softly, laughing.

"Jizzle?" the officer asked in a confused tone.

"Trust me on this. If anybody would know where Nick is, it would be AJ." Brian offered.

"Thank you, Mr. Littrell. For now, I suggest taking safety precautions in case you are a target as well." Officer Jacobs instructed. After he hung up, Brian went to check on Baylee then Leighanne and locked all the doors. He knew for a fact that he was not a target, but he hoped Nick was safe wherever he was.

AJ was sleeping, startled when his phone rang.

"Is this Alexander McLean?"

"Who?" he asked groggily, his face buried in the pillow and the phone pressed into his ear. He was not used to being called Alexander. Alex or AJ would have been fine.

"AJ?" the voice asked. AJ had just gotten home, it was about 1:45 in the morning.

"Depends on who is asking," AJ snapped. He was tired and wanted nothing more than to go to bed.

"This is Officer Jacobs with the Florida State Police."

"I didn't do it!" AJ said hurriedly. The man claiming to be an officer laughed.

"No, its not anything like that. We were wondering if you could tell us when you last spoke with Nick Carter."

"Oh, Nick? I talked to him yesterday." AJ replied. He wondered why the State Police was looking for Nick and what trouble he had gotten into this time.
"If you don't mind, what did you discuss with him?" Officer Jacobs asked. AJ rubbed his head, thinking.

"I asked him how he was doing." he answered. He tried to think about if Nick had sounded upset or acted funny, but he hadn't.

"Is there anything that was said in the conversation that would make you think something was wrong with Mr. Carter?"

"No, he sounded happy. Happier than I have heard him in a while. Nick said something about getting back together with his girlfriend." AJ explained.

"This girlfriend, is her name Lauren Kitt?" Officer Jacobs asked suddenly.

"Yeah....maybe you should ask-"

"I'm afraid that's impossible." the officer said.

"What do you mean? I'm sure Lauren saw Nick." AJ protested.

"Lauren Kitt was murdered tonight. Mr. Carter was at the scene of the crime and now he has gone missing.....we suspect foul play. Its very important that we find out every place he was and every person he talked to so we can find out what happened."

"Lauren was murdered?" AJ asked in shock. He had just talked to Nick...they were getting back together. Nick was so happy....and now he was missing. It all seemed so unreal that something could change so drastically.

"I wish I knew more, officer....but I don't. He just told me that he and Lauren were getting back together, and then he said he had a date tonight. That is the last time I heard from him." AJ replied, sighing. Officer Jacobs was silent for a few moments as he wrote something down.

"I will be in touch Mr. McLean. For now, I suggest you and your friends keep a low profile in case any of you are targets as well." he said finally before hanging up. AJ sat in bed, looking at the phone as the dial tone played and finally hung up. He locked all the doors and windows to his house and sat in the dark, holding a crowbar in his hand as he laid down in bed.

"I would just love to see those fuckers try and kidnap me." AJ muttered before he fell asleep.