Endless Nights
Chapter 5
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"JUSTIN, JUSTIN, DAMNIT JUSTIN ANSWER ME." I just wouldn't accept the fact
that he was gone. Not only was he gone, but he could be dead. I didn't know
what to do. I didn't know who to call, or even if I should call anyone. I
was still holding the phone listening to the silence when Daphne let herself
into the loft.
"Brian? What's wrong?"
"Justin."
"What about Justin? Oh my God, they didn't?"
"No. But." I couldn't tell her. I just couldn't
stand there in the home I'd shared with him and tell his best friend that
he took a huge risk calling me and that now he could be gone forever.
"BUT what? Damnit Brian,
what happened?"
"He called me. I spoke to him."
"Is he okay? Where is he? Why the fuck are we still standing here? Let's
go get him."
"Not so fast, Daph. He was telling me where he
was when the line went dead."
"Did he give us anything to go on?"
"Yes, he's in
"Well grab your laptop, and get in the fucking car. We'll find him or die
trying."
"We have to call Horvath. We have to tell him about this."
"We don't have time, Brian."
I don't know what I was thinking, hell I wasn't thinking. Hearing his voice
just about destroyed me. He sounded so small, so scared and there wasn't
a fucking thing I could do to help him. I'd let him down.
Several hours later we were almost to
It was dark when we pulled into the snow covered driveway of the small gray
house. There were no lights on and no tire tracks in the snow. I told Daphne
to stay in the car while I tried the door and checked out the house.
The door was unlocked and I let myself in, listening for any sign that Justin
was still there. A few moments later I came back out for Daphne. I flipped
on a light as we went in search of any clue that he'd been there.
I'd just about given up when what I saw next stopped me cold in my tracks.
I knew they were his when I saw them lying there on the floor. I picked up
his shirt and pressed it to my lips and nose, breathing in the scent of
him.
I let my tears flow, I'd been so close, they were
still warm.
"Brian, come here."
I walked into the small bathroom to find Daphne holding a box of
haircolor.
"He's changing him so that we won't know what to look for."
"He'll never stop me from knowing Justin." I handed her my cell and told
her to call Horvath to inform him of what we'd found and I went back through
the house looking for clues on who had my partner. I stopped in what appeared
to be a bedroom off the main hall. Walking in I
pictured Justin and I in the big bed. Then my mind flashed to Justin, scared
and helpless counting on me to save him.
I looked around for anything that stood out and eventually made my way to
the bathroom. I searched through the trash until I found exactly what I'd
been looking for. Opening the cabinet under the sink I found a small trash
bag and pulled the tissues out of the trash. I put them into the other bag,
hoping that what I suspected was true. I hoped against all hope that Justin's
kidnapper had cleaned himself up with those tissues.
Luckily Daphne was still on the phone with Horvath and covering the mouthpiece
she told me he was sending over a local detective
to dust for prints and collect evidence.
I left her to give Carl the address and sat on the front porch letting my
mind go back to those few days before he disappeared.
We'd been so happy then. It was like I had my Sunshine back and everything
was okay with the world. I could hear his laughter as it filled the loft.
I missed him desperately. I just had to hold onto the fact that I would find
him. I had to find him. I had to.