I WILL FIND YOU

Ian left the cemetery and went back home. He lay on his bed miserably, listening to his conversations with Kim, which he had recorded before she died. After a while, he got up and shook his head.

"No, I can't just leave it at this. I must do something. I must meet this David Suarez, whoever he is. I should be able to find out why he called me and why his voice sounded like Kim. Kim if you are out there, I will find you."

In the morning, when Ian woke up, his father said, "Hmm, you came back quite early. I didn't even hear you come in."

"Yeah, the party turned out to be boring," he lied. "So I just left it."

"I see. I guess it feels different since she's no longer here. It's been a while, though, since you went to basketball practice. Why don't you try it? I think it will do you a lot of good. Also, you'll be filling out your college forms a few months from now, so I think we should talk about it. Like.. what you intend to do or where you'd like to live."

"Come on, Dad, I still have time," Ian replied. "I have a few things I intend to do this morning, let's talk about it when I'm back."

He quickly left and went to the bank. When he got there, he withdrew all the money from his savings account and put it in a different account. The total amount was thirty million dollars, and he knew he needed this much if his mission was going to be successful.

When he came back, he saw his dad sitting in the living room and said, "I would like to go on a vacation."

His father asked, "Why? I just spoke to you this morning about your college forms.

"Come on, I also told you that I still have a lot of time for that," he replied.

"Listen, Dad, I need some time away. I need to leave here; otherwise, I will go crazy."

"Alright," his father replied. "If you're leaving, you have my consent. But I need to know where you're going to and what you'll be doing."

"I'll tell you everything, Dad. Let me just prepare my bags first." His father sighed while he went into the room, quickly prepared what he was going to take along, and came out.

"So, how long will you be gone for?" his father asked.

"I don't know, I guess a few weeks or a few months," he replied.

"So where are you going to?"

"I'm going to California, San Jose to be precise," he replied.

"Why San Jose?" his father asked.

"I have a few friends there, and we'll also be playing basketball together."

Ian didn't want to tell his father that he would be going to Los Angeles. He did not understand what was going on, and at this point, he did not want to trust anyone, especially anyone who was involved with Kim.

"I'll be leaving tonight," he said to his dad. "I already booked my flight online. Once I settle in, I'll call you and tell you everything."

"Don't you think it's so sudden?" his father asked. "I mean, I understand that you need to go, and I've given my consent, but you can't just wake up in the morning and just travel out like that."

Ian kept quiet.

His father continued, "I just wish your mom was alive. I don't want you to think that I don't understand how you feel. When I lost your mom, I suffered as well, but I was able to move on. I'm sure you will too. Time heals all wounds. No matter what you do now, the pain will still be there, but in time, you'll get over this loss."

Ian nodded, "I know that, Dad. Thank you very much."

His father got up and hugged him. Ian began to feel guilty that he was lying to his father and wondered if he should tell him the truth. But when he recalled that his dad had been among those who looked at Kim's coffin before she was buried, he decided not to.

While he was hugging his dad, they heard the doorbell ring, and his father said, "I think Wendy is here."

He turned and went out of the house to meet her.

"Hi," she said. "Well, it's been a while. The last time I was here, you said you wanted to be alone, so I decided to give you some time. But I was wondering if you would like to"

"I need to tell you something, Wendy," he interrupted her.

"Go on. You know you can always say whatever you want."

"I'm going away for a while," Ian confessed.

She looked at him in surprise, "Where and why?"

"I just need to leave. I can't stay here. I'm going crazy. I keep thinking about Kim and everything that happened. I think I need the time away. It will do me some good."

"No, please don't leave. I've been keeping you company, and also, I've also grown closer to you. Listen, Ian, thanks to you, I am moving on slowly. I'm able to forget my pain. Just stay back for a little while. I need you. I know you're going through a lot. We both lost Kim and when we talk about her together like this, it makes me feel happy." Wendy explained.

"Sorry, Wendy," Ian said. "I need to leave. Otherwise, I'll go crazy."

Recalling what his father had said about people who saw Kim's dead body, Ian decided to ask her. "On the day Kim was buried, I am aware that you, your mom, and my dad were the only ones who saw when her coffin was opened, right?"

"Yes, why are you asking about that?" Wendy asked.

He sighed, "Well, I didn't get the chance to say my last goodbye, and I keep regretting it."

"I understand. It's not your fault. You were so overcome by grief that you passed out. But I can tell you what she wore if you want to know. It was a white beautiful gown and a pair of diamond necklace that matched her diamond earrings. She looked so beautiful even in death." As Wendy spoke, tears fell from her eyes.

"It's okay," Ian said. "Don't cry anymore. I'm not happy to see you cry."

"I'll miss you," she said.

"I'll miss you too," Ian replied. "But don't worry, we will keep in touch."

She opened her arms and hugged him. Ian hugged her back, but he began to think that the same thing she told him was what his father said.

Was it possible that someone took Kim's body away and replaced it with a mannequin? But if that were the case, who called him?

No, he still couldn't trust anyone. As he pulled away from Wendy and was about to say goodbye to her, she held his face and crashed her lips against his.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked, pushing her away. He wiped his lips, "What is wrong with you?"

"I... I am sorry," she managed. "I just got carried away. Sorry, Ian. I did not mean to kiss you."

"It's okay. I think you should leave," he said.

He looked behind him and noticed that his dad was watching them through the window. He went into the house, closed the door, and briefly looked at his dad. His dad shook his head while Ian left him and went into his bedroom.

While he was there, he called an old friend in Chicago and said, "I need the number of a good private investigator in Los Angeles. I mean, your brother is a cop and you are an attorney, you should be able to have access to these things. Please, this is very important. Just help me, and I promise that I'll owe you one."

"It's not a big deal. What are friends for?" his friend asked.

He waited for a while, and eventually, his friend called back and gave him a phone number.

"This is the number of one of the best private investigators in LA. You can call him and get to know him. After getting his number from my brother, I already spoke to him so that he knows you'll be calling him. He'll be expecting your call."

"Thank you very much," Ian said to his friend.

After hanging up, he called the private investigator.

"Hi," he said when the call was answered. "I was told that your name is Bob."

"Yes, that's my name."

"Okay, my flight leaves tonight, so I'll be in LA very soon. Will it be possible to see you in the morning? I need you to find someone for me."

"Of course I can. I mean, it's my job after all. As long as you have the money, I'll give you what you want," the investigator replied.

"Thank you very much," Ian said and the call ended.

Ian looked around his room and checked his luggage to ensure he had carried everything he needed. Afterward, he sat on his bed, waiting for the time to arrive.

When it was time, he took his bag and said goodbye to his father. He drove himself to the airport with his friend in his car, and when he got there, he gave his car keys to his friend and said, "Take care of my baby for me. When I get back, I will take her back from you."

"Oh, I see, so now that she's gone, the car has become your baby," his friend teased.

Ian frowned, "It's not funny."

"But why do you have to go to San José anyway? We just graduated from high school. Shouldn't this be the time to have fun? Since you're sad, you should focus on things that will make you happy."

Ian contemplated telling his friend where he was going. Since no one knew about his location, he felt that it wasn't safe for him to leave without telling anyone. But on a second thought, he changed his mind. He could not trust anyone until he understood what was going on.

"I'll be back shortly," he said. "It's just a brief trip. Alright then, see you around."

He went to the airport and joined his flight. He arrived in LA in the dead of night and went to the hotel he had already booked.

When he got to the hotel room, he sat down and began to map out his plan, writing everything he wanted to do down so that he would not make any mistakes.

When morning came, he went out to meet with the private investigator. They met in a convenience store, but Ian did not feel comfortable because there were people moving around.

The investigator said, "It's important for us to meet like this. Once I know what you want, I can determine if we can meet in a more private area."

"But this is a public area," Ian said.

"Yeah, no one would know the nature of our meeting," the investigator replied. "They'll think we're merely here to shop."

"Okay, so I need to look for someone. His name is David Suarez, and this is his phone number. I received a call from this number when I was back home, and I heard the voice of someone....someone very special to me.....someone who is supposedly dead. I want to know what this David looks like, and I need to understand why I got a call from his number. Also, I should be able to find out why I haven't been able to reach him since that time."

"Alright then," the investigator replied. "I will give you feedback in two days."

"Two days? Can't you make it sooner?" Ian asked desperately.

The investigator shook his head, "No, I can assure you that you will get the answer in two days, but not before then."

"Alright, in that case, I'll just find something to keep myself busy. I'll be waiting to hear from you," Ian said.

Afterward, he left the store and went back to his hotel room.