Over the next few days, Toby was trapped in his house. If he went out, the cops were there. Watching him. Waiting for him to do something. They claimed that they were keeping the press away from the family, but Toby was sure they had another agenda. He desperately needed to go to the last place Sarah was seen, but that would be suspicious. Just as cabin fever began to set in, Toby got a brilliant idea. He stared at the mirror, his golden locks were a dead give away to his identity miles away. They rolled and stuck defiantly out of his hats, no matter which one he chose. Going incognito was going to be a tricky feat.
It was evening when his friend Marcus arrived to see how he was coping. Both were misfits in school, but Marcus liked to assert his ability to not fit in. Over the summer he had dyed his hair black, acquired three facial peircings, and began to wear shirts promoting metal bands. During the winter, when everyone wore bright neon jackets, he opted for his dad's old leather jacket, from his days in a small town less-than-rowdy motorcycle gang.
Marcus snuck in and tiptoed up the stairs to Toby's room, attempting to not disturb Toby's parents. They had enough to worry about without trying to play host to Toby's company.
"Hey Tobe." Marcus plopped down on the bed behind Toby's desk chair. "What's up with the car load of pigs outside your house?"
"That's what your parent's tax dollars are paying for these days," Toby dryly said looking over his shoulder.
"What'd you do rob a bank?"
Silence filled the air after Marcus' failed attempt at a joke.
"Yes, you should stop spending time with your family. They're rubbing off on you." Toby rolled his eyes and swung the chair around.
"Look, I need your help," Toby started.
"Sure, what can I do you for?" Marcus jumped up, ready to help his friend, who was clearly in need.
"They think I have something to do with my sister's disappearance, or that I at least know more than I'm telling. " Toby explained.
"What? No way, you'd never do anything like that." The idea of Toby hurting a fly was something Marcus couldn't conceive. He refused to kill spiders for God sakes! He couldn't hurt his own flesh and blood! He wasn't the kind to just sit and watch someone else get hurt either.
"That's why I need your help, I need to figure out what happened to her, so I can completely clear my name." Toby let out a deep breath.
"So, we're going to play Hardy Boys?" Marcus looked excited about something, for once in his "dark" freshmen existence.
"Yes. But I need your help getting out of this house."
"It's pretty easy to spot you Goldie Locks, how do you suggest we do that?" It was clear Marcus tended to deal with bad situations by making bad jokes.
"Well, you've been wanting to change my hair color..." Toby trailed off.
"Whoa, whoa whoa! Do you really think it's the best time for that? If I do that your 'rents will flip, they'll never let me back in your house!"
"Marcus," Toby gave him a pleading look. "I need you to make me look like you, so I can leave the house, and you can take my place."
Marcus stood up. His forehead creased as he thought about the plan.
"Do you have any hunches yet on what happened to your sister?" Marcus asked, toying around with the base ball on Toby's dresser.
"Yes..." Toby looked distressed.
"I mean...no." Still confused, Toby took out a note book and looked at the frustrating list of clues he composed earlier that day.
"All I have is that my skateboard that had been stolen a week ago was found near her disappearance. Her car was found in Ridge Road Park, in the opposite direction of her college from here. Her purse and possessions were found in the car, no money stolen. I also have a name." Toby looked shakily at the bare list of facts he had.
"A name?" Marcus was interested. "Who?"
"Jareth." Toby didn't like thinking about that name. Much less saying it.
"Is that her boyfriend?"
"No."
"Friend?"
"No."
"Who is he?" Marcus was as confused as Toby now.
"I don't know. Just a name right now."
Marcus rolled the base ball along the top of the dresser and thought quietly to himself. Would he be tied in as a suspect if he helped? How would Toby's parents handle the sudden, but drastic, change in Toby's hair? Just as he was about to refuse his services, he looked at Toby. It was clear Toby wasn't holding up well, that this thing, this situation, was getting to him.
"Okay," Marcus took a deep breath. "I'll do it. But we'd better not get caught."
"That's the LAST thing I want to do," Toby agreed with a sigh of relief.
"I'll be back noon tomorrow with all the stuff," Marcus walked to the door.
"Oh, and Toby?"
"Yeah?"
"You look like hell, get some sleep." Marcus added as he closed Toby's door.
"Thanks man, thanks," Toby murmured to himself.