Little Boy Lost (March 2012)

1

"You have to find him!" Kathy Losey screamed for the fifth time. The distraught woman's face was streaked with tears as she paced around the 3rd floor interrogation room in the newly renovated Derry Police Department. Deputies Ryan Hollis and John Henry Wexler sat across the table from where her chair was pulled back, watching her moves reproachfully.

"Ma'am, we're trying, over two thirds of the police force are out sweeping Derry now, we have volunteers from other counties working too. We really need you to be cooperative with us now-" Deputy Hollis tried again, but flinched back into silence when the woman exploded again.

"Cooperative? Cooperative? I've told you the story ten God damn times now! How much more fucking cooperative can I possibly be?" Kathy Losey partially screamed, partially sobbed, and partially wheezed. "I'm done talking, I want to get out there and find my son!" She sat back down in the chair and put her head in her hands. "I just want to find my baby."

Deputy Wexler reached across the table and took one of her hands, squeezed it gently. "We understand, Mrs. Losey. That's all we're trying to do here, is get all the facts, and get them straight, so we can figure out what happened to your little boy and bring him home safely. Now please, just one more time Mrs. Losey, tell us what happened."

Kathy sighed shakily once, and was silent for nearly a full minute, just staring at the table. Than quietly, almost monotone now, she began to tell the story again.

2

Six year old Douglas Shane Losey was being tortured. Plain and simple, he was suffering through cruel and unusual torment. He didn't know how much more he could take of it. And they were only on the first floor of the Derry Mall.

It was a beautiful Sunday in early March, nice enough to play outside in only a light jacket, a rarity this time of year in Maine, and here he was stuck shopping. The word itself left a bad feeling in Doug's mind, and when he mouthed it there was even a bad taste in his mouth it seemed, like rotten eggs and curdled milk mixed with lemon. The little boy made a sour face as he drug his feet along behind his Mother.

It wasn't even like it was good shopping, like going to the video game store, or the toy store, or the candy store, or even to get ice cream. They were in a Department Store, where his Mother could look at things like curtains and pillows, than pots and pans, than clothes for herself, and Doug, and his Father. And then only God knew what because Department Stores had everything.

"Come on Mo-om!" he whined, shuffling his feet, as his Mother picked out several work shirts for his Father. "You've been looking at those for CENTURIES!"

Kathy Losey smiled good-naturedly to herself over her son's complaint. "Oh, come on Dougie, it's only been about ten minutes. Your Daddy needs new shirts for work, I'll be done soon. And I told you, when I'm all done we'll go to the park."

Doug glowered at her. "My name is NOT 'Dougie' it's DOUG! 'Dougie' is for babies!" His mother ignored this sullen outburst and Doug took to kicking at the ground. "And if you keep going this slow it'll be too late to go to the park when we leave." He grumbled petulantly.

Kathy turned from the clothing rack and bent down to her son, her face serious. "Now you listen to me, Mister." Doug immediately looked a bit nervous. "I can call you Dougie because you will always be my baby." Then she kissed his cheek before he could react to pull away, chuckling at her little trickery.

Doug rubbed at his face furiously where she had kissed him. "Moooommmm! Don't do that in PUBLIC!"

Kathy chuckled at her son's indignation, though a part of her was terribly sad he was pulling away already. He'd only turned 6 a few months before, he was only in kindergarten. But she pushed the sadness away. He was growing up was all, into a fine young man, and she should be happy with and proud of that. "Come on Doug; let's go look at a few pairs of pants for you and we'll get out of here."

Doug followed along closely, only a foot or two behind her.

3

William Douglas Losey sat across the table from Derry Sheriff Tom Moravian and Deputy Kristen Flannery. A tall lanky man with a stern face, he was dry-eyed and quiet, but deep fury burned behind his gray eyes. Greasy brown hair fell limply into his eyes. His clothes were dirty and greasy, and he was tired. He'd worked most of a shift, he was a mechanic, and had been being questioned ever since in the fifth floor interrogation room.

"Come on Bill, be honest with me. Working your ass off, slaving away day in and day out, and having to support some kid that's not even yours. That'd be enough to piss any sane person off. Isn't that right Kris?"

The Deputy nodded her head at the prompt, but it made her stomach flip to do it. "I'd say so. I sure as Hell wouldn't want to be in that boat, having to provide for some other man's boy."

Bill Losey gave them both a very ugly look. "He isn't some other man's boy; he's my boy. I was the one at the hospital with Kathy when she had him. He got my middle name. I've been the one raising him since day one." Bill punctuated the word 'one' by slamming his hand on the table. "I legally adopted him when he was two years old. I don't give a God Damn who's DNA he has, Doug is my boy."

The Deputy and the Sheriff exchanged looks. They had gotten quite the different story from Doug's biological father, Jeffrey Horton. He had described the man before them as ornery and temperamental, quick to infuriate, apt to get physical. He had described him as a menace to the boy, hard as rusty nails on him, and liberal with his use of corporal punishment. And quite the drinker. From what the officers could see, that description seemed pretty spot on.

Bill looked between them, back and forth. "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking I'm stupid, a real dumb-fuck. Because I work with my hands, and didn't go to school. Well you can go fuck yourselves. I didn't hurt that boy, I would never hurt that boy, and I didn't take or send him anywhere, either. And if you don't like that story at face value you can try calling my job, I was there until I got the damn call that Doug was, mi-missing." Than Bill Losey's face crumpled a bit. "God, I would never do a thing to hurt that boy. I love him, he's my son." Than Bill Losey began to cry in earnest, hard racking sobs. "Gah-ah-ahd, where is my son!?"

4

Doug Losey's face was screwed up in misery. His Mother had made him try on SEVEN pairs of jeans already. And not just try on, but then she had to check the waist, check the length, make him squat, make him march, make him touch his toes

"Are we done yet?" he whined unhappily as his Mother took off the last pair he had tried on.

"Alright Dougie, alright." She said, smiling and ruffling his hair. "That's enough trying clothes on. I just have to get one more thing upstairs, okay?"

Doug rolled his eyes. He pulled his own old comfortable jeans back on, his sneakers, and the lightweight red jacket he was wearing that day. He followed his Mother towards the escalators, dragging his heels and trailing a few feet behind.

"Come on Doug, keep up." Kathy Losey called over her shoulder. "We'll grab something to eat at the food court after this and then we'll go to the park, okay? And if you're a good boy maybe me, you, and Daddy'll go out for some ice cream after dinner."

"Okay Mom." Doug answered softly. The escalator had presently forced all other thoughts out of his mind. Though he would never admit it, Douglas Losey was terrified, absolutely petrified, of escalators. He knew it was stupid and babyish, but he couldn't help envisioning the green glow underneath the moving steps as the gigantic eye of some horrific beast, gleaming with evil light. It waited there, just waiting and biding its time, until some poor kid forgot to tie his shoelaces, or his jeans were hanging down just a little too far. Than it would catch hold of that shoelace, or bottom bit of jeans, and it would pull him in slowly, bit by bit, and no matter how much he struggled and screamed it would just suck him down into the dark depths, crunching him up slowly along the way, taking him down into the darkness where there was nothing but that horrible green light, flashing, flashing, flashing… Doug stared, almost hypnotized, into the light beneath his feet. The deadlights he thought randomly, with no idea where the thought could have come from, and hardly even registering the thought within himself. I'm looking at the deadlights...

"I just need to get some new paper to line the cabinets with and then we'll be on our way, okay Dougie?" Kathy called over her shoulder, walking briskly. It was getting late, her son was right. Time had somehow gotten away from her, like it often did when she was shopping. "Dougie?" she repeated when she got no answer.

Kathy stopped and turned around, expecting to see her son, head down, a few feet behind her, perhaps still moping. But instead the space behind her was empty; there was no one. Kathy began walking back the way she came, retracing her steps. Panic began to bloom in her chest and grow, each passing second that her son didn't return to her sight.

"Dougie?" she called again, trying to force the fear out of her voice. "Doug?" She was hurrying now, running, almost sprinting. "Doug!?" Her voice, both the pitch and volume, had risen but in her choking fear-driven panic she didn't notice.

Kathy made it all the way back to the escalator, the last place she had actually had eyes on her son and heard him answer her back. Still, there was no sign of him now. Kathy spun in a circle, desperation finally taking her over. She could see almost the entire upper floor of the store from where she was, and still no Douglas. Than her eyes caught on a strange object at the top of the escalator, a strange object that was terribly, horribly, familiar to her. It was one of the red and white sneakers Dougie had worn today. It jittered at the top of the escalator, leaning forwards and settling back on its side than leaning forwards again as the escalator continued to move in it's tireless cycle. One of the laces was caught in the gap, and as Kathy watched it snapped and was carried into the mouth of the escalator. Darkness seemed to wash over her mind and she began to shriek her son's name, over and over again. "DOUGLAS!?"

5

Jeffrey Almoner Horton sat in the investigation room on the second floor of the Derry Police Department. Physically he was a tall, handsome, well-bred man who took good care of himself. He was intelligent and well-spoken, charitable even, when the mood struck him. But, inside, he was a very small and petty man. At the moment his eyes were wet as he sat across from Deputy Ashley Sherman and Deputy Leon Goode, maligning the mother and adoptive father of his biological son.

"I always knew it would come to this." He said again for at least the fifth time. "Bill Losey never wanted that boy, he only went through with the adoption to please Kathy. God knows she can be persuasive and beguiling. God knows I know that firsthand."

"So you believe Douglas' Father had something to do with his disappearance then?" Deputy Goode said, and Jeff shot him a furious look.

"I am Doug's Father." He answered harshly. "That bitch stole him away from me, her and that bastard she married. First she used me to get herself pregnant, and then she ran off on me with Bill Losey, of all people. Gave my son his last name, and then took me to court to pay for the boy, while never letting me see him at all." Malicious wrath burned in Jeff's eyes. "And then they bullied me into giving Doug up when he was two. That prick that she married actually came to my home, jacked me up against the wall, and threatened me if I did not turn over all my rights to Doug and allow him to adopt him. They didn't leave me with any choice. But I know Bill never really wanted the child. He treated him terribly. I'm certain he got tired of providing for Doug and decided to do away with him somehow and keep Kathy for himself without the inconvenience of a child."

"Do you have any proof at all that Bill Losey had a grievance with Douglas? Had he ever done him any harm before, made any comments, anything?" Deputy Sherman asked.

Jeff Horton rolled his eyes. "He treats Doug like garbage, he always has. Back when I actually had visitation with him, he used to come over with marks on him all the time, scratches, bruises, you name it. He was always excessively hard on Doug, never let him be a kid. Always yelling and hollering at him, yanking him around. I've seen Bill get nasty with Doug more times than I could count. And I know Bill Losey, I dealt with him for years when I was seeing Doug. I know what kind of a man he is. He drinks too much. I have no doubt at all that Bill Losey is at the center of this, no doubt in my mind at all."

6

"That is ridiculous!" Kathy Losey's mouth was drawn in an angry circle of shock at the suggestion her husband might have had something to do with the disappearance of her son. The 6 year old boy had been missing without a trace for a week now, and the prime suspect in the investigation was now Doug's adoptive Father and his Mother's husband, Bill Losey.

"Mrs. Losey, we understand this is hard for you-." Deputy Flannery began, but Kathy cut her off quickly.

"No, you understand this; Bill has never and Bill would never put his hands on Doug. He has never even spanked him or given him a tap on the wrist. Neither of us ever hit Doug to discipline him, we use time out, and we take away toys and privileges. I don't understand where this idea of Bill as some abusive Monster came from." Tears of anger, frustration, and pure exhaustion welled up in Kathy Losey's eyes, threatening to spill over. "We are both loving and committed parents. For Christ's Sake, Bill was at work when Doug-" Kathy choked on her words and stifled a sob. The hot tears spilled down her face in streams and her throat clicked as she struggled on the words, trying to the wrench them out, before finally giving up on her wording. "-when we were at the mall." She finished in a soft whisper.

Deputy Kristen Flannery shuffled through her papers. She had dealt with enough cases of child abuse in her seven years on the force to be unmoved by the Mother's insistence. A case came to mind of a three year old girl, reported missing by her distraught Mother. Kristen had been moved then, very moved, and had reached out to the woman. The child's body was found less than a week later, buried in the basement of the family home. She had been dead a month before her disappearance was reported, and it was eventually uncovered that while the girl had suffered severe long-term abuse from her Mother, Father, and a series of her Mother's lovers, her Mother herself had ultimately been the murderer as well as the main executor of the cover-up. She had said the same things as Kathleen Losey was now. Flannery no longer believed much in 'loving and committed parents'.

"According to Douglas' biological Father Jeffrey Hort-" the Deputy began, but again was interrupted by Kathy's enraged howl.

"Jeff?" Kathy snarled in breathless fury. "What in the blue fuck does he have to do with anything?" Her eyes were hurt and furious. "He hasn't even seen Doug in almost 4 years, and he gave up his legal rights longer ago than that! Unless you're investigating him as a suspect he has no business being involved whatsoever."

"I'm not at liberty to discuss who is being investigated and who is not, apart from advising you that Mr. Losey may want to contact an attorney." Deputy Flannery answered. "However, perhaps you can shed some light on claims made by Mr. Horton involving your son and your husband? According to Mr. Horton, Doug often arrived at his home for visitation with bruises and other marks that he alleges were caused by Mr. Losey. He also stated that he witnessed Mr. Losey being what he termed physically and emotionally abusive towards Douglas. He also alleges that Mr. Losey physically and verbally threatened him into giving up his rights to Douglas." Deputy Flannery paused to glance through her paperwork again, Mrs. Losey currently being stunned into silence. "Mr. Horton also alleges that your husband is an alcoholic who is known to become violent."

Kathy was silent for a few moments, trying to process the deadly traps that had sprung up around her. Some part of her had expected that she was not through with Jeff Horton, not even after he gave up all of his rights to Douglas and Bill legally adopted him. But she had never, never, expected him to take advantage of something like this. She had never thought even Jeffrey could be as utterly evil as that. She finally raised her eyes up and met Deputy Flannery with a steady cold stare.

"I don't have to shed light on anything for you. Your mind is already made up. You think Bill did something to him, and that's why no one has found Doug, because no one is bothering to look anymore. Well let me tell you something. Jeff is the one you need to be looking at. I left him after I realized I was pregnant because he's the one who is abusive and I probably would have miscarried if I had stayed. He was the one who put marks on Dougie when he was a baby, and that was why Bill finally went and threatened him because he had enough of our son coming home from that bastard's house all marked up. I don't give a flying fuck what you think of me or my husband, but I do care that no one is looking for Doug!"

Deputy Flannery returned the steady cold stare. "We've found several witnesses who corroborated Mr. Horton's statements." She told Kathy evenly. "Do you have anyone who is able to back up your version of events?" And Kathy Losey felt a vice closing on her life.

7

Bill Losey never went on trial for the murder of his son, nor was he put on trial for his disappearance. It was only dumb luck that prevented it. The week before the Derry Police Department was set to indict him, Douglas Shane Losey's red jacket was discovered by the Kenduskeag, in the Barrens.

Sheriff Moravian had Kathy Losey identify it, than explained to her the new version of events they had uncovered. Doug had merely wandered away from her at the mall. He was a little boy, and it was something little boys were apt to do at times. She herself had said Douglas had been begging to go play outside at the park. He had simply gotten tired of waiting and decided to take himself out. From the mall he had wandered down to the Barrens, or even somewhere upstream of them, but somewhere near the Kenduskeag, and must have fallen in. The water would have been thinly frozen at the time Douglas had disappeared, he could have been trying to skate even and fallen through the ice. His body would have been quickly washed down the Kenduskeag, into the Penobscot, and from there out to sea. It all made sense, according to the Sheriff. Why Douglas never cried (previously assumed to be because he knew the person who had taken him, presumed to be Bill Losey), how he got far enough away so quickly that he didn't answer when Kathy called (in this case because he didn't want to be found, not because he didn't hear). It answered all of the police's questions. It was a tragedy, all right, but a normal tragedy, a little boy's mischievousness gone wrong and nothing more.

Bill and Kathy Losey, and Jeffrey Horton, were devastated by the outcome of the investigation. Jeff continued to go on public record stating that he still believed Bill Losey was behind Douglas' disappearance (though he now openly referred to it as murder). Bill and Kathy refused to believe that Douglas had wandered off. They both insisted it was entirely against the child's personality to do something like that, but the police department shrugged this off with an attitude more or less of 'Shit happens. The best kids act out sometimes.' Not to mention there was no real explanation for how Doug could have gotten from the Derry Mall all the way to the Kenduskeag, and with no one seeing the little boy either. There was also no explanation for the single shoe left behind on the escalator if Douglas had merely wandered away.

Bill and Kathy left Derry. Too many people believed that, even if Doug had ended up in the Kenduskeag, it was because Bill had put him there. The looks and whispers became too much, and though Bill and Kathy left together, they didn't stay together for long. They drifted their separate ways, and somehow much of the memory of Doug drifted away as well, along with most of their conscious memories of Derry itself. Things have a way of being like that when it comes to Derry.

8

In Derry itself, the fact that Douglas Shane Losey ever existed faded from memory quickly. There was no memorial set up for him, not in the Barrens and not at Derry Mall, despite the story of his disappearance being heavily covered by the local media, and despite the demonization of his adoptive Father by most everyone. There was no mention of him in the Derry Elementary School Year Book, where he had been a Kindergartner when he disappeared. His picture was not even in the book. The picture and name were quietly removed without question before it went to final print.

Though he had been relatively popular at school, there were no grief counselors brought in. No one talked to the children about anything. His existence, along with his disappearance, was simply swept under the rug. That was how things went in Derry.

And, to be fair, the tragedy of Douglas Losey's death disappeared in the horror of deaths and disappearances that surrounded it. No one ever connected Douglas's disappearance with the others.

Nothing was ever found of Douglas Shane Losey, save for the shoe on the escalator and the red jacket in The Barrens.