Chapter One- Title In Progress

Chapter One

         I remember it distinctly. It was about four thirty in the afternoon and dark, thunder clouds were heading our way. I was bored, had nothing to do and was just killing time until later that night where I would probably end up drinking more than I should like any twenty-one year old.
         I was in my normal every day attire: navy blue basketball shorts with an orange cut-off tee shirt. I looked more like a bum than the aspiring video game designer I wanted to be. My face was scruffy and my hair was entirely way to long for my liking. I was going to take care of it later on. Shave, shower, haircut; look all nice and clean for the ladies. I was all fired up to lay on my couch until then and enjoy the next two days that I had off from work. But then much to my dismay my cell phone started to ring.
         Blindly I rubbed my hand across the floor until I came upon it, and did not recognize the number that was calling me on my external caller ID. I'm used to that though, I answer any number that calls me.
         “Hello?” I said in a voice that sounded more sarcastic than I initially intended.
         “DJ, Azalea's missing.”
         “What?” I shot right up, placing both feet on the floor and was more alert than I had been since the school semester ended. “What do you mean shes missing? Who is this?”
         It's Jamie, and I mean shes missing.”
         Azalea was my ex girlfriend. I haven't talked to her, or seen her, in over a month. I remember the last time we spoke. She looked right at me, and as tears rolled down her face, she simply cried out “just leave me alone. Get out of my life and leave...me....alone.”
         That's a memory that will stick with me forever. I remember standing there staring at nothing as she turned from me and stormed back into her house. I stood there like a deer frozen in headlights, only there was no horn blaring or obscene gestures being thrown my way.
         “DJ, are you there?”
         I totally forgot I was still on the phone with Jamie, Azalea's best friend who really didn't like me. “Yeah, still here. Where are you?”
         “We're at her house.”
         “I'll be there.”
         Click.
         I didn't know who “we” was or what exactly happened, but for some reason I felt like I needed to be there. I raced out of our family room and up the steps into our living room, and quickly swung a U-turn and headed upstairs towards the bedrooms. I got into my room, quickly wiped on some deoderant, socks and shoes and headed back downstairs. I got to the bench in our foyer when I realized my car key had gone awry like my girl. “God damn radiator,” I said to myself as I remembered my car was in the shop.
         I raced back upstairs, throwing my wallet and ciggarettes into my pocket. I grabbed my white bandanna and threw it on and grabbed my motorcycle helmet. Time to ride.
         As I hopped on my Suzuki SV650-S that was parked outside the house and started the fifteen minute ride over to Azalea's, many thoughts began to circulate through my head. Why would Jamie call me? How did she go missing? Why is she missing? Why do I care so much when she ousted me from her life and hasn't returned a single call or message? Azalea was a firm believer that everything happened in life for a reason, so I just shook the ideas out of my head and figured it would all play out.
         As my speedometer reached triple digits on the so called “highway” to her house, I began to wonder who would all be waiting for me when I arrived. Jamie obviously. Her parents, and possibly her sister and her family have already been notified.
         I turned onto the country road that led me straight to her house, turned left into her driveway and turned off my rocket. I didn't even think to lock my helmet up and found my self racing into her parents side of the double block to see what had happened.
         “Dominic!” her mother exclaimed as I walked into the door. Dominic is my real name, DJ is my nickname. For the eight months that I talked to her daughter not once did she call me DJ. And before I could even ask what happened she had her arms locked around me and used my shoulder like a Kleenex tissue.
         “It'll be okay. Calm down.” I said to the sobbing mother. I ignored all the clutter; the clothes, child toys, blankets, old boxes, a treadmill that has certainly seen better days, and turned my attention to everyone else sitting at the dinner table in the kitchen. Roy, Azalea's father, Lisa, Azalea's sister, John, Lisa's husband, and Jamie. Jamie, Lisa and John were all sitting at the table as Roy was grabbing a drink out of the fridge. I scanned my eyes back and forth between Lisa and Jamie, asking them both what happened.
         “Shes missing,” Lisa said.
         “Yeah I managed to figure that one out. What happened?”
         “Last night I went and picked Azalea up from work,” Jamie said. She took a deep breath and waited as Azalea's mother and I walked over to the table. I stood against the wall, arms folded holding my helmet, listening attentively. She continued, “We drove over to the club and decided to have a few drinks to make the night a little more interesting. Blah blah blah, we met these guys in the club and they invited us back to their place. While we were their they made us drinks and they must have done something to them cuz' within an hour we were completely out of it. The last thing I remember is laughing histerically at the stupidest thing, and I woke up this morning in my car in the restaurants parking lot.”
         “The restaurant Azalea works at?” I said.
         “Yeah.”
         “What were these guys names?”
         “Dan and Kyle.”
         “Where'd they live?”
         “I don't remember.”
         “What'd they look like?”
         “Dan was a big guy, black, said he played football. Lineman I think, he was pretty big. Kyle was dorky lookin'. Had a mop for a haircut, was real skinny just like you.”
         “Alright.” I stood there, staring at all of them as they all stared back at me, like we were all teleporting our questions to one another. “Dan and Kyle” I murmured to myself. “Azalea wasn't with you this morning?”
         “No. But her car was still in the parking lot. So I went into check maybe I just got really messed up and she drove us back there and went into work early, but they said she wasn't scheduled until four fifteen.”
         “What time did you wake up in your car?”
         “About eleven.”
         “When did you realize Azalea was missing?”
         “When I came here this morning to talk to her and she wasn't here. She wouldn't answer her cell phone or anything, and when she didn't answer my call I knew something was bad. So I don't know, maybe twelve thirty? Closer to one?”
         “Alright. Did you contact the police?”
         “I did,” her mother responded. “They said a missing persons report can't be filed until seventy-two hours after they disappeared.”
         Great I thought, we were at this alone. Her mother would be no help, only if I needed to cry with someone. Her father had so many heart problems that he'd be of no assistance what so ever. Jamie was uptight and sophisticated, never really understood why Azalea hung out with her. Lisa was married with a four year old who was upstairs sleeping. So that left me with John, but I was more than willing to carry this out myself.
         Did she get kidnapped? Or was she just hanging out with those guys this afternoon? But then if that was the case how did Jamie, and Jamie only, end up back in the restaurant's parking lot? I was no detective and couldn't tell you the first thing to do about analyzing a crime scene, but I wasn't stupid. I knew those guys had something to do with this, but maybe not. So I reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone and called my buddy Brian. He answered on the third ring.
         “Yo what's up?” he said, sounding like he just woke up.
         “What you doin' tonight?”
         “Nothin I was goin to call you in a little while.”
         “You hungry?”
         “Hell yeah lets grab some food I'm starvin. Hit up bars afterwards?”
         “No, I got other plans for that. Meet me at Sal's in thirty minutes. Bring my jumpdrive.” I hung up the phone and started walking towards the door when Jamie chimed in and stopped me.
         “Where are you going?”
         “I'm goin to see if shes at work, maybe it was just a misunderstanding.”
         “Alright, but then what are you going to do if shes not there?” She was snippy, she really didn't like me. Truth be told, I really didn't care for her either. But we were always civil with each other in Azalea's presence.
         “Then I'm goin to find Dan and Kyle.”