NOWHERE MAN chapter one

NOWHERE MAN

                                                            SOMEWHERE MAN

 
It was nearly a month before Detective Douglas was able to free himself for a trip to Harmony.

Sean's name had faded from the news; it seemed as though the child had vanished. Yoko's relatives in Japan had been questioned, and authorities had been satisfied that they knew nothing of the boy's whereabouts. No ransom demands had been made, and while speculations had run wild for a time, not once had anyone suggested that his father could have had anything to do with his disappearance. After all, as far as the world knew, John was long dead.

On the day Detective Douglas arrived on the island, John and Mavis were hosting a wedding reception at the pub. The celebration was in full swing when Robert walked in, unnoticed. The first thing he saw was Sean, dancing happily with a group of children his own age. The little boy did not appear to have a care in the world.

Robert scanned the room until his eyes came to rest upon John, who was laughing at something a young man with waist-length hair had said. 

John's eyes were sparkling when he turned his head and saw the policeman, but as soon as he recognized Robert, the glass slipped from his hand and the carefree smile died upon his lips. His face drained of all color, and he grabbed the edge of the bar. Excusing himself hurriedly, John went quickly to the men's room. The detective followed him.

"Hullo, John," Robert said as he closed the door behind himself.

John was leaning over the sink, rinsing his face with cold water, looking wan and shaken.

"Hello to ye, Robert, what're ye doin' here?" he replied.

He pushed himself back from the sink, and met the detective's eyes levelly. He leaned against the wall, beside the open window, and waited expectantly for the policeman to speak. For a long moment, Robert said nothing, so John cleared his throat.

"I've sort o' been expectin' ye, truth be told," he said, wiping his hands on his sweater before reaching to shake with the younger man. "I suppose I know why ye've come, but why don't ye tell me just the same, to make sure we're clear."

"I came because I thought I might find your son here, John. I saw him out in the barroom -- he looked happy enough. That was a nice disguise you were wearing when you took him from the hospital, by the way. Very creative, I didn't know you were so talented in the art of makeup. You did forget to age your hands, though--plus, I knew you were alive and living here with access to a private plane. That all made it pretty easy to put together. I take no credit for figuring the situation out," the detective said.

He looked at John and smiled. "Do you happen to have an extra cigarette?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," John replied, producing a pack from his pocket, "Here ye go, Robert."

Both men lit their cigarettes, and smoked for a moment in silence.

Finally, John asked, "So what're ye gonna do, Robert? Are ye gonna take the lad from his home, or will ye just go back to the mainland, and leave things as they are?"

"Well, I guess I have to say that it all depends upon you, John," the detective answered slowly. "I suppose it's my duty to solve the case, but I can't help thinking that it wouldn't really help anyone if I was to do that." 

 He crushed his cigarette out, and tossed it through the open window over John's shoulder.

"Then, of course, there's the rest of your family, and Yoko's, too. They're worried about the lad and want to know what's become of him. That's never going to change, and do you really think it's fair to let them just worry and wonder forever? Plus, there is the little matter of more than two hundred million dollars. If Sean isn't found, I don't know what happens to that. Yoko made him her sole heir."