The Search for Kurt Johnson

When Zack exited the clinic, he found Heather standing by her car in the parking lot, waiting. He wondered what Heather had been able to find out from her father, since his mother had made it clear to him she’d never mentioned the possibility of him being Robert’s son to Heather’s father. In a way, Zack felt bad for Robert, possibly having another child out in the world and not knowing. If Zack were Robert, he’d want to know. But he could also understand why his mother kept it a secret; she didn’t even know the truth herself. The not knowing must have made it easier to lie, to carry around this secret for nearly two decades without anyone to talk to, because it wasn’t really lying if she didn’t even know the truth for herself.

“I hope you had a productive conversation,” Heather greeted him, smiling at him, her eyes hidden behind sunglasses.

“In some ways. I didn’t find out everything I wanted to know, but I know a lot more than I did,” He admitted. “How did your conversation go with your dad?”

“Oh, I think I made quite a bit of head way,” Heather replied, knowingly and then clearing her throat, added, “My time was cut short by the police though. They arrived to talk to him about what happened with Lisa this morning.”

“Shit. We need to figure out what’s-” Zack began before being rudely interrupted by the buzzing of a phone.

“Hold that thought,” Heather replied, reaching in through the window of the car and lifting her phone from the seat. She glanced at the screen briefly, noting that Ashley was calling before answering and bringing the speaker to her ear. “Hey Ash. What Up?”

Zack couldn’t make out any words, just the muffled tone of Ashley’s voice, casual but petitioning.

“Kurt’s number?” Heather remarked, mildly surprised. “Sure, I’ll send it to you now.”

Heather hung up and began typing on her phone as she explained the situation to Zack, “Apparently they sent Kurt out to run an errand and they don’t know where he went. She wants his number, so she can call him and find out where he’s at.”

“Kurt…and Ashley?” Zack retorted, baffled. “What are they even doing in town?”

“Ashley didn’t say,” Heather shrugged as she sent the message. “Maybe they just had to get out of the cabin. Things have been rather intense up there lately.”

“True, and I know some of that has been my fault,” Zack admitted with a frown, stepping up beside Heather and resting against the car as she was doing. “I bet this wasn’t how you imagined this trip working out.”

Heather thought about how less than an hour ago she was kneeling on the floor of her father’s office with his big, thick dick in her throat, gulping down his cum and thought to herself that this was absolutely not how she pictured her trip going…but she also didn’t regret a second of it. They’d come up to the cabin to have fun and deepthroating that beast was the most fun she’d had in a long time. Of course, she wasn’t about to tell Zack that, yet before she could reply, her phone buzzed again. Prolonged, indicating an incoming call, so Heather checked the ID again, finding that Ashley was again ringing her.

“What’ do you need this time?” Heather answered the phone, and then after some more muffled speech, she suggested. “What’s the rush? Just stay in one place and I’m sure he’ll find his way back to you. Honestly, I usually have a harder time getting rid of him.”

Standing closer to the dark-haired cheer captain this time, Zack thought he could hear Ashley’s words a bit clearer now. Not quite enough to understand what was being said, but he would catch the odd syllable or stress here and there. The only full word he made out was ‘Lisa’, the mention of his ex-girlfriend, currently with the police for questioning, pricking his ears.

“Ok, I understand why it’s so urgent now. Listen, he can’t have gone far. Where are you?” Heather asked, and following Ashley’s reply, she stated, calmly, “Alright, that’s not far from here. Zack and I will drive around and help you look.”

Hanging up, Heather motioned for Zack to get in the car whilst opening her own door, translating Ashley’s muffled speech for him as she walked around the car. “Apparently, Ashley and Kurt were with Victoria at her parent’s newspaper. Ashley thinks she’s found something about Lisa, but she says she has to talk to me about it. She was looking for Kurt so that they could come talk to me in person, but now she can’t find him and he’s not picking up when called.”

“Geez, another person goes missing on our watch?” Zack slipped into the passenger seat, Heather sliding into the driver’s seat next to him. “But I’m surprised Ashley of all people would go out of her way to look for a way to free Lisa.”

“Ashley has a heart of gold,” Heather growled unequivocally, her engine roaring into power along with her voice. “You really think she’d revel in Lisa’s misery and suffering?”

“Not at all,” Zack clarified hastily, not wanting Heather Ravers of all people to be angry with him. “It’s more, after what I said to her this morning, I’m surprised she’d do me any favours.”

“You know Ashley. You tell her she can’t do something, and you can bet she’ll find a way to do it. I bet after you accused her, she made it her mission to prove that she’s innocent,” Heather laughed both at how predictable her best friend could be, and also at Zack’s speedy redaction. “And you should thank your lucky stars Ashley’s so stubborn and determined, because she may have just saved Lisa’s neck.”

“Yeah, it sounds like Ashley might have really came through this time,” Zack agreed, watching the people and buildings pass as Heather drove around to the headquarters of the Azure Rocks’ Nugget. “Unfortunately, it seems like we’re gonna have to find Kurt first.”

It took Heather several minutes to drive around to the car park of Victoria’s family business where they saw Ashley on the phone, frustratedly hanging up as the call clearly failed to go through once again. Heather parked and they got out of the car, Ashley already walking towards them.

“He still won’t pick up,” Ashley frowned. “Where the fuck could he be?”

“Calm down,” Heather said, though saying it didn’t actually help Ashley calm down at all. “Maybe his phone died or something. He won’t have gone far.”

“I know, but this is time sensitive and the longer we’re here looking for him, the longer Lisa sits, falsely arrested in a cell,” Ashley argued, then her face turning to dread. “That’s right, you guys probably didn’t hear. They formally arrested Lisa just a little minute ago.”

“What?” Zack half shouted. “That’s bullshit. How?”

“It really must have been recent,” Heather said thoughtfully, ignoring Zack’s outburst. “The police were talking to my dad when I left him. Whatever he said must have given them enough cause to actually go through with it.”

“Your dad? You were talking to your dad this morning? And he talked to the police?” The colour drained from Ashley’s face. “Shit.”

“Ashley, whatever you found, can’t you just go to the police?” Zack desperately implored her, his face taking on a sad, puppy dog expression. “I’ll stay and look for Kurt, you can just go.”

“It’s…I can’t. What I have isn’t confirmed yet, there’s just some evidence to suggest that…a certain person…could be implicated,” Ashley bit her lip, knowing the answer wouldn’t be what Zack wanted to hear. “There’s nothing I can do until I talk to Heather, and this isn’t the kind of conversation we can hash out in a public parking space.” Ashley glanced at Heather, and added, “You, especially, won’t want this getting out until we have a chance to discuss it.”

“Alright, I trust you. If you say this is sensitive, then we’ll find Kurt and immediately afterwards, you and I are going to have a talk,” Heather said, seeing the seriousness in her friend’s expression and hearing it in her tone of voice.

“Dammit,” Zack swore, stomping to the sidewalk. “Fine, if we need to find Kurt, then let’s find Kurt.”

“We looked up the street because there’s an outdoor store up that way and we sent Kurt out to look for a present for Jennifer,” Ashley explained, walking to the curb with Heather and catching up with Zack. “With her being a ranger, we assumed that’d be the natural choice.”

“Kurt doesn’t think naturally. So, he must have walked down the road, this way?” Heather concluded, turning and walking down the street, Zack and Ashley following. “You keep saying ‘we’, but where is Victoria?”

“Oh, we ran into Dustin, so I encouraged him to take her on a date,” Ashley explained as they walked. “She and Gavin had a big fight this morning, and after everything that happened yesterday, I thought she was due some relaxation and fun.”

“Gavin won’t be happy about that,” Zack mused.

“At least we don’t have to worry about her,” Heather said positively, looking around at the shop stores. “Alright, where could Kurt have gone?”

“I see a woman’s clothes shop and a candy store on over here,” Zack declared, pointing in their direction.

“And there’s a book shop across the street,” Ashley noted, then turning to her friends, she suggested, “Perhaps we should split up and each take one?”

“No need, I can see that this woman’s clothing shop sells lingerie at the back,” Heather said, dismissing the other ideas with a hand wave. “And I can guarantee that if lingerie was an option there’s no way Kurt went looking for chocolates or books.”

Zack and Ashley both thought that lingerie as a thank you gift was a little bold. In fact, it would be rather audacious as a gift for anyone that wasn’t a girlfriend or a wife, but neither said anything. Heather’s confidence inspired them to trust her judgement, and, after all, he was her cousin. If anyone would know how Kurt Johnson’s mind worked, it would be Heather Ravers. So, with a nod, they followed her inside.