The Unseemly

Chapter 10 - Nicholas Harrison

Chapter Ten - Nicholas Harrison

Wake-Up Call

Nicholas Harrison came from a decent, hard-working family from Shady Creek, approximately thirty-three miles away from Granite Bay. Being in his mid-thirties, he had accomplished a lot in his career. Solving most of the eerie cases of Shady Creek along with a town called Far Haven. As a kid growing up, he lived on Stangelo Drive, a small street with identical tiny houses. He spent a lot of time alone, being an only child and a father who traveled for work; it was just him and his mother. She was a great mother; he always admired her for taking care of him while his father was away. He would be gone for weeks taking cases in Granite Bay, coming home with scars all over his body. He always said his job was dangerous, but Nicholas never knew being a private investigator could be challenging. His father left for his usual Granite Bay trip and never returned; police from Granite Bay swore he had not been to Granite Bay. He never helped the police with their cases as he claimed he had been doing during his absence.

Years later, when Nicholas was old enough to leave his home, he set out to find his father. He became a private investigator who led him to an entirely different realm of investigating. Nicholas began to think outside the normal realm and started to discover secrets hidden to the untrained eye. He found a box of newspaper clippings and weird photos and drawings of creatures known in old folklore. Also in this box were old diaries he kept mostly talking about his experiences and cases he took while in Granite Bay. None of it made sense to Nicholas or his mother. So, the box remained in his mother's basement for several years. He received a call from Peter Jenkins of the Granite Bay police department; this case was right up his alley, and he was correct from what he was told. He remembered seeing a similar case his father worked on in that dusty box in his mother's basement. It was time he got that box and got to work. He would first finish his whiskey bottle and enjoy his female companion he picked up at the bar.

He was a good-looking man, according to his clients. He stood tall and with tan skin that women in Granite Bay found exotic. His hair was dark and cut short, combed back and strains that would point towards the sky. He had a thick stocky build with muscles most men would dream of impressing women; most people would think he worked in the mills all his life. That may have been true many years ago; he did what he could to make extra cash. Living on his own and traveling wasn't cheap. Whisky would be his best friend for years; when he drank, he could focus on his cases better, he believed. He became a different person sometimes.

The next morning, he would wake up with an empty wallet and a note from the mystery woman saying. Thank you, sweetie; sorry for stealing your cash but thanks for a great time. His drinking had been getting out of control, and he knew it, but he didn't care. He was no closer to finding what happened to his father. At this point, he almost forgot that's what he's been doing with his life. All his past relationships tanked. Due to his over obsessive drinking and cheating, he would bury himself into a case for weeks. That was one thing he was devoted to and never cheated on-his job, his keen eye for detail in every case he worked, his real love, that and whisky--fucking whisky.

He was awoken by the telephone ringing for the fifth time this morning. Whoever was calling must really need his help. That line hadn't rung in months. When he finally managed to lift his body out of his old mattress, he was surprised to hear it was a call from the Granite Bay police department. They asked if he would be willing to work a case; the voice sounded familiar; he didn't remember speaking with them the day before. That fucking whisky-again.

"So, the car is outside your house waiting for you, Mr. Harrison." A woman says before quickly hanging up.

Packing a few stray clothes he found lying around and backed his notebook and tools he used during his exceptional cases, and he believed this would be one. He always thought Granite Bay was where his father was last seen, but no reports of him have ever surfaced. He thought it was all lies in his mind, and now Granite Bay has called upon him at the lowest point of his life. If this wasn't a sign, then he really must be a drunken fool. He pushed those thoughts from his mind, got into the cab, and headed towards Granite Bay to find out what happened to this Jason Stonebrooke boy.