Lost

Three

Louis:

I knock on the front door of Harry's home the next day, waiting for someone to come to it. A few seconds later a woman with long dark hair opens the door.

"Mrs.Styles?" I say. The woman nods and I continue."I'm detective Tomlinson, I'm the one looking for your son, Harry."

"Please, come in." She says. I step into the house and look around. It's a small two story house in a nice neighborhood. The hardwood floors creak a little under my feet as I follow Mrs.Styles from the foyer and into another room. I scan the pictures hanging on the wall as we walk. There are pictures of Harry over the years, as well as a girl I assume must be Harry's sister. Gemma..? I think that's her name anyways.

We come into a small kitchen and Mrs.Styles gestures for me to sit at one of the stools at the small island in the middle of the room. She walks over to a small coffee pot on the other side of the island and starts making a pot. When it starts brewing she turns back to me, leaning back against the counter directly in front of me.

She looks me over curiously before saying "Don't take this the wrong way, but you look very young to be a detective, Mr.Tomlinson."

It's not the first time someone's said this to me. I smile a little looking down at my hands resting on the countertop before meeting Mrs.Styles eyes and replying.

"A lot of people say that actually," I laugh. "I am young for the job. I graduated the academy very early, and I got promoted to being a detective a few months ago. You have nothing to worry about though, Mrs.Styles, I've been very successful on every case that I've gotten so far. I'm gonna find Harry, I promise you that."

She stays quiet for a few seconds, and I think I see her eyes get a little glossy, but she looks away before I can be sure. Turning back to the coffee pot, she reaches into one of the cabinets above the counter and pulls out two mugs, pouring coffee into them.

"How do you like your coffee Mr.Tomlinson?" she asks

"Just black is fine, thank you" I say, taking the steaming cup from her, the rich smell of caffeine filling my nose.

I take a sip and put the cup down on the counter in front of me, preparing to get to finding out what I need to.

"Mrs.Styles-"

"Please, call me Anne." she says. I nod.

"Anne..I know how hard this must be for you, and I hate to make it harder, but I'm going to need to ask a few questions." I smile sadly at her.

"If it means finding my son, I'll answer any question you ask to the best of my ability."

I nod a little before saying, "Alright let's get to it then. Did Harry have any enemies? Anyone who might want to hurt him?"

" No. None at all." She says "He was- He is very well liked. Everyone loves him." she smiles sadly.

"I see.. Did he mention anything weird happening to him within the last week or so?"

"Not that I-" she pauses, a troubled look passing over her face. "Actually, a few days ago he was walking home from a friend's house and he called me. He said it felt like someone was following him, but he thought he was just being paranoid."

Harry's got some good instincts.

"I guess he really wasn't being paranoid." I say. "Would you mind if I took a look in his room? There could be evidence of who took him in there maybe?"

"Of course."

She motions for me to follow as she leads me out of the kitchen and back to the foyer. We go up the flight of stairs and stop at the first door on the left of the hallway. She steps aside as I make my way into the room.

It was small, but very neat. There was blue carpet covering the floor. Navy blue curtains covered the windows, making the room dark. The bed was neatly made with a black comforter and blue pillows. I walked over to the desk across from the bed. There was a bulletin board hung on the wall above the desk. I saw that Harry had put a bunch of pictures of him and his friends and family on it.

Scanning through the pictures, I pause when something odd catches my eye In two of them. They're both from last week, as the dates in the corner say. One of them is of Harry and a red haired boy standing in front of the high school, decked out in crazy clothes. Probably for spirit week or something but that's not what I found odd. In the background there was the same black van from the grocery store parking lot.

There was a man inside it with a camera..taking pictures of Harry.The second photo is from the next day. Harry is standing on the football fields at the school. This time with four other boys, one with blue hair, a tall, lanky kid with blond hair, a tan brunette, and a black haired boy. All five of them smiling at the camera with their arms around each other's shoulders.

And there in the background again is that son of a bitch from the parking lot, smirking while snapping another picture of harry. I growl and unpin the two pictures from the board taking them with me. I also grab one of Harry's t-shirts from off the floor in his closet. It would be useful if we had to use search dogs.

I leave the room coming back to Anne. I show her the two pictures and point out the man to her.

"He was being followed, who knows for how long." I say.

She covers her mouth with her hand and leans back against the wall, "Oh my god.." she whispers.

I put my hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "The camera in front of the guy's eyes will make it a little harder to i.d. him, but not impossible. I'm gonna get to work on this right away." I say

She nods and leads me out of the house, thanking me as I walk out the door.

As I drive back to the station, I grip the wheel tightly. I want to find this son of a bitch so badly. I want to lock him up and make sure he never gets out. And most of all, I want to find Harry, before something horrible happens to him.