Page 20 of Archer

Followed up with a, “Are you alright?” from Bram.

Cort’s head lifted, and he stared at Archer with disbelief. “I’m going to need you to tell me exactly when you took these pictures and where.”

Archer exchanged a worried glance with me, then nodded. “Of course. But what’s wrong?”

Slumping back in his seat, Cort rubbed a hand down his face, sighing deeply. “You captured the image of my brother. He’s been missing for four years.”

Well, shit.

Chapter 9

Archer

“Your brother’s missing?” Crispin asked. I could hear the distress in his voice because, of course, he cared. He was such a sweet boy.

“He is.” Cort nodded.

“And that’s him in this photo right outside our building?” I turned the computer back my way and blew up the image to get a better look.

“I think so. It looks like him, anyway. I haven’t seen him for five years, but I have an age progression program that shows you how someone would look as they get older, and that looks justlike him.” He let out a wry chuckle. “And he looks just like a younger version of our Uncle Stew.”

“Hold on.” Hitch came around to stand behind me so he could get a better look. “That looks like the picture of the guy you showed me the first time you came in. That was your brother?”

“Yeah. That’s him.” Cort nodded. “I showed that photo to everyone I met when I first arrived, but no one had seen him.”

“You said you haven’t seen him for five years. Has he been missing that long?” I asked.

“No, four. But I hadn’t been home in over a year when he disappeared. He’d taken a bag with him. My mom said he took his laptop and some of his clothes and just left.”

“He left on his own?” Crispin asked.

“Yeah. My dad took off when I was a kid. My mom remarried, and they had Jordy when I was fifteen. I left home the day I turned eighteen and didn’t look back.” He took a deep breath. “I regret that now. My stepfather never liked me, and my coming out at seventeen didn’t help. But he’d always treated Jordy like he was a prince. That’s what he called him even, his little prince.” He shook his head.

“Hey, Quincy, grab Cort another beer,” Hitch called over.

Quincy gave him a quick nod, reached under the counter, and came up with a fresh bottle before popping the top and placing it in front of Cort.

“Thanks, Quincy.” Cort took a long drink before going back to his story. “Anyway, apparently, as Jordy got older, he wasn’t as perfect, and then he made the same mistake I made and told them he was gay. According to my mom, Kent blamed her since we were both her sons, so it must have come from her. She says he’d never been violent before, but I don’t know if I believe her.”

“Your stepfather is an asshole,” Bram grumbled.

“Don’t I know it. My mom isn’t with him anymore, thank goodness, but Jordy was just a kid. Hell, he still is. He’s only seventeen now. He should’ve been safe in his own home. And I should’ve come back more often, or at the very least, I should’ve checked on him.”

“But you didn’t know,” Crispin insisted.

“But I suspected. I’d gone home for Christmas for the first time in years, and after that visit, I had a feeling he might be queer, but he was only twelve. I figured he was probably still figuring things out.” He let out a sigh. “Truth was, I was twenty-six, and I’d gotten a job as a sheriff’s deputy. I was feeling pretty full of myself.”

“Weren’t we all at that age?” Bram asked.

I glanced over at Crispin, who was probably about that old, but he didn’t say a word. Probably because he couldn’t relate. He wasn’t cocky or full of himself at all.

“I know I was,” Cort continued. “I wasn’t overly worried about a twelve-year-old kid. Nope, I had another agenda. I wanted to show Kent that I’d changed. That I was strong and that as a law enforcement officer, he couldn’t intimidate me anymore. I should’ve paid more attention to Jordy, but I didn’t.”

“And then he was gone,” Hitch said.

“And then he was gone.” He shook his head sadly. “I used every resource I had at my disposal at the sheriff’s office. When that didn’t work, I got my PI license and started my own business so I could keep looking for him, but he’d just vanished.”

“Except he didn’t because you just saw him.” Crispin smiled at him. “He has to be around here somewhere.”