The Kid Nobody Missed

"No. I mean, it's a bummer that you don't want to, but I can dig it. I need something different."

"Okay. What's up?"

"It's about my little brother, Mike. You remember him?"

"Yeah. He was always a kind of trouble maker, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, and he never changed much."

"So, what about him?"

"Well, he's missing."

"Missing? Since when?"

"Since last September."

"Damn, Sheila, that's eight months ago! Do the cops know?" Saying Moonbeam was like chewin' on a dirty rag, so I was glad she didn't correct me.

"Yeah. They thought he just took off, but I don't think so. He lived with us at the commune after our parents kicked us both out of the house. He just needed a place to crash, you know?"

"Yeah. I get it. Why do you believe he didn't just take off?"

"Well, he was out with his gang of friends. The four of them were drinking and stuff, and they said Mikey was fine and just went outside to pee and smoke a joint. He never came back."

"So, what do you need me to do?"

"I hope you can find him, or find out what happened."

"Sheila, you know that could take a lot of time and it happened so long ago that I may not find anything. An investigation like that isn't cheap."

Tears started to roll down her cheeks. Damn, I was always a sucker for crying girls.

"Oh, I hadn't..."

"You don't have any money, do you?"

"No. I barely have enough so I can eat."

"Bummer." I guess free love didn't do much to pay the bills. I wondered how they managed to eat at Gracie's every night.

"Zack, is there anything you can do?"

"I don't know. Let me think about it and check out a few things. You're here every night, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'll find you here and we can talk then, okay?"

"Okay. You're really sweet, Zack. I really would like to get with you sometime."

She walked back to her friends just as Craig came in. I wasn't very good company that evening while I mulled over Sheila's problem. The problem was, I already knew I was gonna help her. The practice would do me good for when my license was approved, and if it worked out I could use a successful job as a reference.

*****

I didn't get much sleep that night while thinking about Sheila's brother. By 6:00 AM, I staggered out of bed, did my morning rituals, made some coffee, and started to list tasks to keep me on track. I lined up the first group I needed to see starting with Uncle Liam, who invited me to police headquarters that morning. As I walked in, the smell of burnt coffee and sweaty uniforms hit me like a two-by-four. In a not-so-pleasant way, it reminded me of my office in 'Nam.

"Zack! Come on in."

"Morning, Liam."

"Let me introduce you to some of my buddies."

After shaking a lot of hands and faking as many smiles as I could, I finally got to sit with the man who was my second father.

"Zack, I hear the license will be ready pretty quickly. Could be as early as next Monday."

"That would be great, since I already have a case to start working on."

"Really! You don't waste any time. Anything I can help you with?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm here. Do you know anything about a kid named Mike Peters?"

He scratched his head and frowned. "He's that kid that skipped town last summer. We looked into it and found some ties to drugs and organized crime. Looks to us like he either took off or did something that got him killed by the mob. Either way, we'll never find him. It's pretty much a dead end. Who's got you looking into it?"

"His sister, Sheila. Sorry, she now goes by Moonbeam."

Liam let go with a belly laugh. "Oh, yeah. I remember her--a real airhead hippie. I guess she doesn't buy our take on his disappearance?"

"Well, she doesn't think he just took off. Did you share the possibility of drug dealers taking him out?"

"No. Didn't think that would do her any good."

"That explains the question still being open in her mind. Can you share any of the file with me?"

"Not supposed to. I'll see what I can do. I gotta say, Zack, that I think you'd be wasting time. We thoroughly investigated and there wasn't much to go on. After all this time it's almost impossible to solve a case like that."

"I hear ya, but until my license comes through I figured I'd get something started and help a friend."

"I guess that's not a terrible idea, but in private investigation you gotta make sure you're spending your time on hours you can bill. Taking a case like this has little chance of success, and it's not a responsible use of your time."

"You're probably right. I may poke around a bit so I don't just blow Sheila off."

"Hey, it's nice of you to try, but if you want to get your business up and running I may have some leads on paying gigs."

*****

It was great of Liam to pass on information for some cases that would pay. I know he was against wasting time looking for Mike, but I didn't want to let Sheila down. Until I had my license I couldn't actively solicit investigative services. Not having much else to do, I didn't see what it could hurt to help Sheila.

I'd get names of Mike's friends when I saw her next. Until then, I decided to visit the only other person that I knew would be on Sheila's list. I hadn't seen her for about six years, and I hoped she'd remember me. I knocked, and the woman who answered looked thirty years older than I expected.

"Can I help you, young man?"

"Mrs. Peters, it's me, Zack Masters. Do you remember me?"

"Zack! Of course. My word, you've really grown. How are you?"

"I'm doing well. I just got back from serving in Vietnam and I'm getting acclimated to being home.

She invited me in and poured me a coffee. She ruined it by adding cinnamon, but I drank it with a smile. After some small talk, she gave me the opening I needed.

"So, what brings you by, Zack? You know, Sheila doesn't live here anymore."

I saw a tear roll down her cheek. I started to get the sense that the subject was very painful. I gazed around the room while we chatted and couldn't help but notice dust and grime everywhere. This wasn't like the Peters household I remembered. The dead giveaway was the liquor on the kitchen counter and a glass of what looked like bourbon sitting on the table that she tried to move out of sight. Without a doubt, Mrs. Peters was a damn unhappy woman.

"Mrs. Peters, you look like you didn't want her to leave. Can I ask, why did she go?"

"I'm not sure, I..."

"This looks like a tough subject for you, ma'am. But I'm a good listener and it may help to share."

She got up and started to pace until she stumbled a bit. It wasn't hard to see that the bottle had become her best friend. She returned unsteadily to her chair and tears filled her eyes as she started to talk.

"That bastard husband of mine kicked her out. My little girl--tossed to the street like a tramp. He caught her in the shed having...well, with a boy. He wouldn't listen to reason. But Sheila had already started to hang out with those damn hippies. She wouldn't answer if I called her Sheila. I had to call her Moonbeam. She turned into somebody else."

"When did Mike leave?"

"You heard about that?"

"Yeah."

"It was only a few weeks after Sheila left. Mike got caught shoplifting and my husband kicked him out, too. Oh damn, Zack. My home is empty. All my dreams and hopes..."

My voice soft, I continued. "Have you seen Mike since then?"

"No. He disappeared last summer. Cops think he just left town."

"That's what Sheila said. She's asked me to try and find him."

"Where did I mess up with my children, Zack?"

She was out of control and crying loudly. It broke my heart and I wasn't sure what to do, so I hugged her. After she calmed down, I got up to leave.

"Mrs. Peters, I feel bad bringing up all the pain you've gone through. I really hope things get better."

"Thanks, Zack. You were always a good boy. When you two were in school, I secretly hoped Sheila and you would get together because I knew she'd be in good hands. If you see her, please tell her I love her and would love to visit. Oh, and give her this."

She reached into the drawer behind her, took out a wad of money, and handed me what looked like a couple of hundred dollars.

"I used to slip money to Mikey for them both, but I bet she never saw any of it."

I hadn't seen this woman in years and we weren't close back in the day, yet here she was, trusting me with all this cash for a child she desperately missed. With my parents gone, I hoped Sheila understood that she still had a mother who loved her.

Before I left, I promised her I'd take care of it and that I'd let her know if I found out anything about Mike. I didn't think I'd get any helpful information from him, so I didn't bother talking to the old man.

One thing I knew I had to do. Moonbeam, the love-everybody flower child, needed to show some of that love to her mother. I was going to make damned sure she did.

*****

I found a table at Gracie's and nursed a beer while I waited for Sheila. My mind was dwelling on my visit with her mom when I saw her come in alone. With the sun behind her as she came in the door, she may as well have been naked. Smiling at memories of my youth, I recalled the nights I'd spent flat on my bed thinking of Sheila. I would never have imagined turning down her offer of her body. We were different people then. We've both changed dramatically.

She saw me, but then her expression changed to something spaced out when she recognized that "Groovin" by the Young Rascals was playing on the jukebox. She raised her arms and danced like she was floating in the air as she moved towards me. She grabbed my hands and pulled me outta my seat. Damn, she still stirred that horny fifteen-year-old in me.

"Zack, I love this song. Dance with me."

"I'm not a dancer, Sheila, no."

She pretended to pout and continued to pull my hands. "Please, Zack. I won't be mad if you don't call me Moonbeam if you'll just dance with me."

Against my better judgement, I stood and let her pull herself to me while I avoided moving as much as I could. She embraced me and ground her hips into me. Before I knew what was happening, she kissed me on the lips. She tried to force her tongue into my mouth, but I picked her up and placed her next to her chair, broke free, and managed to sit before I embarrassed myself. I was getting sweaty and Mr. Happy was coming to attention. It had been a while since I'd been with a woman and stepping away was hard as hell.

"Zack, loosen up and have some fun. I really would like to get with you."

"Moonbeam, you know what you look like and I'm sure you know the effect you had on every guy in high school, but I'm not built that way, If that free love stuff works for you, great, but random sex doesn't do it for me."

"Not random sex and not just anybody. I make love and only with people I connect with. You and I always connected, Zack."

Taking a deep breath, I pushed my more carnal thoughts aside. "Sheila, we need to talk about Mike."

She giggled and rapidly clapped her hands in front of her face. "You're going to find him? Oh, Zack, you're the best."

"Yeah, I'm gonna try."

Her joy quickly changed to a frown. "Oh, how much will it cost?"

"Don't worry. It won't cost anything. I'll do it for the experience."

"You are really sweet. You know how I want to thank you, but you won't let me. What can I do?"

I asked her for names of Mike's friends and girlfriends, and if she knew how to find them. For someone living with her head in the clouds, she had plenty of solid details to offer. I bought her dinner, but before I left, we had other business to take care of.

"Sheila, you really seem to care about Mike."

"Well, he is my brother, so I do sorta love him. But he was hard to like."

"What do you mean?"

"He was always stealing and taking advantage of people. And he was a real bully. But he's my brother, ya know?"

"Did he steal and take advantage of you?"

"Yeah, but what could I do?"

"I talked to your mom today."

She looked like I just pissed in her stash of pot. For the first time since I met "Moonbeam," I saw anger in her eyes.

"What? Why did you do that?" The fake, airy voice was gone.

"It's an investigation. I need to talk to everyone in Mike's life."

"My parents weren't in his or my life. Those bastards kicked us out."

"Moonbeam, you're a smart woman, and you need to look at things from every perspective for a minute. Your dad caught you doing the very thing every father dreads. He saw his little angel become someone entirely different in the span of a few moments. Look at it from his point of view."

"He slapped me and called me awful names. No loving father does that."

"Look, he handled things badly. There's no instruction book for a dad to handle some things with his little girl."

"Mom took his side."

"Your mother loves you, and was afraid to go against your dad. Let me ask you something. Did Mike share the money with you that your mother was slipping him?"

"She was? No, I didn't know she was doing that."

"So Mike was stealing it from you, and letting you believe she didn't care. She gave him money every week when he came to the house on Mondays."

"That little...! He told me he never saw them!"

"Sheila, she's a broken woman. She feels she's lost both her children and has failed miserably as a mother. You and Mike were her reason to live. She's been drinking heavily and she looks really bad. You talk about love and peace. Well, go make peace with her and let her know you still love her before it's too late."

"Too late?"

"Damn, girl. She's destroying herself. Go see her. Oh, and she gave me this to give you."

Eyes wide, voice soft, Sheila stared at the table as she spoke. "I thought she hated me."

"Geez, Sheila, she loves you, and you only need to be who you are. If you want, I'll go with you at first, then I'll leave you two alone."

"Are you sure she wants to see me?"

"Positive."

"Then, yeah, I'd like you to go along."

The next morning, I picked Sheila up in front of the house she shared with a bunch of weirdos. At one time I'm sure it was a cute little 1950's ranch for a nice family, but it was clear that flower children were not good homeowners. What paint remained was peeling off. Wood trim was rotting or hanging loose. They had a patch on the side lawn that looked like a vegetable garden, and the overgrown front lawn was littered with wild flowers. Guess I knew where the flowers in Sheila's hair came from.

During the ride, Sheila was as nervous as an eight-year-old dog that just crapped on the carpet. It was 80 degrees out, but she was shaking as if it were 20. The smiling, fake euphoric mask was replaced with a frown and worry lines.

We pulled up to her mom's house. Sheila opened the door of the pickup, and her mother came running from the front door crying and holding out her arms. I couldn't help but think of Paul Simon's song, "Mother and Child Reunion." Like the song said, it was only a motion away. I admit, it brought a tear to my eye. I told her I'd be back in the afternoon before her dad got home, and left to go talk to some of Mike's friends.

*****

Sheila said that Mike's best friend was Artie Green. Artie was with Mike the night he disappeared, so I needed to pry some details outta him. He pumped gas at the same station where Mike worked, so I figured I could catch him between customers. Covered with grease and smelling like gas and body odor, he wasn't hard to find.

"Hi. Are you Artie?"

"Yeah. What's it to you?"

"I'm a friend of Sheila's and she thought I could talk to you about her brother."

"Sheila, huh. Nice piece of ass, but Mike got really pissed when I nailed her. Haven't seen either one of them."

"Sheila talked me into trying to find out what happened to Mike. You willing to talk about it?"

"You a cop or somethin'?"

"Nope."

"Not sure what I can tell ya. I pretty much told that cop everything."

"What cop?"

"I forget his name. Somethin' Scottish or Irish. McDonald or somethin' like that."

"McMurray?"

"Yeah. That's it. Told him everything. Kind of a waste, though."

"What do you mean?"

"It was like he had his mind made up, and was just goin' through the motions, know what I mean?"

He told me the same story I had heard about Mike leaving to smoke and take a leak. I needed more.

"So, he smoked some weed. Did he do anything else?"

"No, not really."

"Did he sell, or just use?"

"Sure you're not a cop?"

"Positive. I just heard that he may have been in with dealers, and wondered if they made him disappear."

"Well, he was the one who bought for us all 'cause he knew a guy. I don't think he dealt to anyone else, but who knows."

"Okay. So other than maybe drug dealers, is there anyone else that may have wanted to get rid of Mike?"

"Look, I was his best friend, but he was an asshole. If I had to guess, I'd say Mike may have screwed the wrong girl."

"What do you mean?"

"Mikey was really into this power over women thing. He'd grab a drunk bitch at the bar and take her outside behind the bar and do her. Most were so wasted that they didn't even remember. Once in a while, he'd get into it with the girl's boyfriend or somethin', and we'd have to back him up. I guess it's possible he nailed the wrong bitch and it cost him. Don't know for sure."

I thanked him and went to visit a few others from the list of friends. They said pretty much the same thing with nothing new to add. It was time to retrieve Sheila, and the next day I planned to talk to some of Mike's girlfriends.

I arrived at Sheila's mom's house around three in the afternoon, walked up to the front door, and Sheila burst into my arms. She was followed closely by her mother. Sheila had a smile that was not the fake one she usually wore, and her mom looked ten years younger than she had the day before.

"Zack, thank you, thank you, thank you! Today was really righteous."

"It looks like you two have sorted stuff out."

Sheila's mom's face beamed like she'd won a million dollars. "Zack, you're wonderful. I told Moonbeam that she should tie you up."

"Mom, I tried, but he's tough to win over. And, please call me Sheila. You calling me Moonbeam doesn't sound right."

I finally got Sheila into Vickie and told her we were going to dinner somewhere different.

"Zack, why do you call your truck Vickie?"

"Guys always name their cars or trucks. You can tell how a guy will treat you by the way he treats his favorite ride. That's why they always have girl names."

"I like Vickie. Where we gonna to eat?"

"A little Italian place near my house."

Sheila continued to tell me about her time with her mom, and I could see that everything was back on track in that department. I figured I'd stay out of the way with her dad unless it became necessary to get involved.

The smell of garlic and Italian cooking always gets my appetite in high gear. The restaurant lighting was dim and there was a large dinner crowd, but we managed to find a private table in the back. I updated her on the visits with Mike's friends. After learning what he was like, I had to ask her a question.

"Did you know about how he treated women?"

"A little. Some of his girlfriends told me he could be rough and demanding."

"Did he ever mistreat you?"

"He hit me a few times, but nothing bad."

I found my hands curling into fists and had to force myself to relax. If it wasn't for Sheila, I would be looking for a woman-hitting piece of shit for an entirely different reason.

"Nothing Bad? Damn, Sheila, don't you ever put up with that kinda shit! You tell me, and I'll take care of it."

"You really are a sweet guy. I wish...well, never mind."

"Wish what?"

"You know. You, and I--."

"Hey, we're friends. If I'm not around, get someone to help. But if I'm around, I'd love to teach a woman-beating asshole a lesson no matter who he is, got it?"