Chapter 45: taken (jakes pov)

The house felt eerily quiet after Detective Singer left. The weight of his words still lingered in the air, pressing down on all of them like a heavy blanket. Jake sat on the couch, his leg bouncing anxiously as he stared at the door, willing Alex to just walk through it like this was all some horrible mistake.

Miss Harper sat on the armchair, her face pale, hands still trembling slightly. Mrs. Faulkner stood by the window, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her gaze fixed on the empty driveway. The silence was suffocating.

Jake couldn’t take it anymore. He shot up from his seat. “We have to do something!”

Mrs. Faulkner turned to him, her face lined with exhaustion, but her voice remained steady. “The police are handling it, Jake.”

“But what if it’s not enough?” His voice cracked, frustration bubbling to the surface. “That guy just took him! Right in the middle of the day! Who even is he? What does he want?”

Mrs. Faulkner sighed and rubbed her temples. “We don’t know yet. That’s why we have to trust the police.”

Jake clenched his fists. Trusting the police wasn’t good enough. Not when Alex was out there, scared and alone. Not when some creep had taken him for God knows what reason. Every second that passed felt like a lifetime. How was he supposed to just sit here and wait?

Jordan, still nursing the ice pack to his face, shifted uncomfortably. “I should’ve done more,” he muttered. “I should’ve fought harder.”

Jake’s anger fizzled slightly at the guilt in his friend’s voice. He shook his head. “You did what you could. That guy was huge. It’s not your fault.”

Miss Harper finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. “It’s my fault.”

Jake turned to her, eyes wide. “No, it’s not.”

She gave him a weak smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I was supposed to be watching you boys. I should’ve—” She stopped, taking a shaky breath. “It doesn’t matter. We just have to get him back.”

Jake’s stomach twisted. He didn’t like seeing her like this. Miss Harper was always the strong one, the one who kept things together. But now, she looked as lost as the rest of them.

A sudden thought hit him, making his pulse spike. “What if we try to figure out who he is? The guy?”

Mrs. Faulkner frowned. “Jake—”

“No, seriously. Jordan gave a perfect description. That ring he had, the tattoo—it has to mean something, right? We could look it up!”

Jordan straightened slightly. “He’s got a point. That wasn’t just some random guy. That ring had some kind of design on it. And the throwing star tattoo—maybe it’s gang-related?”

Mrs. Faulkner hesitated, considering it. “Detective Singer said they’d be looking into it.”

“But we can help,” Jake insisted. “We’re just sitting here doing nothing! At least let me try.”

Miss Harper wiped at her eyes and nodded. “Okay.”

Jake didn’t wait for more permission. He grabbed his phone and started searching. Gangs with throwing star tattoos. Symbols on rings. Anything that might give them a clue.

As he combed through articles and images, something caught his eye. The tattoo—though common among Asian gangs—didn’t quite fit. The man was white, not Asian. That meant gang affiliation was unlikely. He refocused on the ring.

Looking closer at the indent on Jordan's cheek, he searched for class rings with similar designs. And then—

He found it.

A 1986 class ring. University of Kansas. Lawrence, Kansas. About an hour’s drive away.

Jake’s heart pounded. “I think I found something.”

Everyone turned to him in anticipation, eyes wide with hope and fear. Mrs. Faulkner stepped forward. "What is it?"

Jake swallowed hard, pointing at the screen. "The ring the guy wore—it’s a class ring from the University of Kansas. 1986. If we can get a list of alumni from that year, maybe we can find him."

Miss Harper leaned over his shoulder, eyes scanning the screen. "That’s a start. But how do we get a list like that?"

Mrs. Faulkner rubbed her chin. "Maybe Detective Singer can pull records. If this guy graduated from KU, there has to be a record of him somewhere."

Jordan sat up straighter. "Or maybe we can find old yearbooks online. See if we can match the guy’s description to a photo."

Jake nodded, determination setting in. "Then let’s do it. We’re not just sitting here anymore."

Jake turned to Jordan, considering his idea. "A yearbook search is smart, but it’s 2025. The odds of him looking exactly the same as he did in 1986 are low. He might have changed a lot. We should call Singer with the info on the class ring. Maybe he can track down alumni records faster than we can."

Miss Harper nodded and reached for her phone. "I’ll call him now. Let’s hope this leads somewhere."