What Happened to Jay Banning

5

She had just placed her fingers to the homerow keys when a chill ran through her arm. Jay had made a grab for her wrist.

His voice was low and urgent. "Careful---he's coming over here."

Kat quickly closed the notepad. Evan's reflection was visible in the window. He stood behind her, the rag held loosely between long fingers. When she glanced up at him, his eyebrows were furrowed seriously.

"Bessat was about a month out from Jay's disappearance. I've looked through these pictures for clues, like, ten times over. They're mostly pictures of the band, so I dunno if it's even helpful. I just thought you would be able to find something I couldn't."

Kat pursed her lips. "Maybe. Honestly, I don't even know what I'm looking for." To that end, it seemed like Jay was just as lost as she was. Bessat 8/14 was a sea of hopeless dark squares. That is, except for this Yeona person.

He studied her for a minute. "Why did you make this blog in the first place? Did you know him or something?"

Because Jay himself had asked.

Out loud, Kat said, "Not more than as a fan. Why were you looking through your photos after Jay died? Just for the memories?"

He collapsed heavily into the plastic chair next to her. "Yes. Well, no, not just that. I felt there was something more, I guess," he admitted. "More than one article in the Sumter Daily."

She returned to the task of scanning through the pictures for an Asian girl with cropped hair. "It's the same for me. It's just suspicious. I don't know. Something about the timeline doesn't line up to me. He was gone for a full week before he turned up in Lake Taka. No one knows where he was." Including Jay, she added to herself. "Something's fishy. He was walking by the lake, then fell in and drowned? I mean, anything's possible. But still." She met Jay's gaze. He stared resolutely back. "I think he deserves better."

"Have you tried the police?"

"They just told me it's private information. The other members of The Kumquats won't reply to my emails." She was not entirely successful at keeping bitterness from seeping into her words.

Evan, however, looked thoughtful. "Which email? The one on their website?"

She nodded. "Their main email for business inquiries and fans. The only one we know."

He looked out the window, his chin balanced on the palm of his hand. "It's possible they're just not checking it. They're just... not The Kumquats without Jay. The band is effectively disbanded at this point. They made a statement after he died and haven't communicated anything to their fans since. They might not be checking the band email. They're grieving after all."

Kat shifted her gaze from the laptop to Evan, staring at his face in profile. Inches away, she could tell Jay was doing the same.

"That almost makes sense," he said in a quiet voice.

Jay had not directly voiced it, but he had taken it personally when no reply came from The Kumquats. Though they did not know it, Jay himself was trying to contact them, and he was clearly hurt that they were ignoring her emails. It had been hard to observe this as a bystander. Not to mention a fan of the band. But Evan's words seemed the obvious answer. The Occam's razor of answers.

The dark-haired boy seemed uncomfortable with her silence. His shoulders hunched and he picked at the edge of the table. "Um, that's just what I think. Might not be true. There could be more to it."

She hastily shook her head. "Actually, I think you might be onto something. I'm sure emails are the last thing on their mind." She made a mental note to ask Jay about other ways to get in touch with the band members.