FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

We arrived at our office. It was just past 10 and I already feel tired. "Do you want some coffee?"

"No I'm good," Niko responded while digging though his pocket for the office keys. Our office wasn't anything special, few chairs, a couch, small table, and a desk were Niko does most of his work. I have been trying to get Niko's permission to have a TV added, but he has been clear we are not going to do that.

I went to the back room and poured the last remains of yesterday's coffee in my cup. Never waste a drop of coffee I say. I placed it in the microwave to reheat it then cleaned the pot. When I came back Niko was typing furiously at his computer. I sat down on the couch and sipped my coffee, "you ready to review?"

"Been waiting on you," he didn't look away from the computer.

"Alright, let's start with Xander. What do we know about him?"

"He is missing for about two months."

"Yes he is missing and he is over 18. That is why his mother came to us to find him."

"Hey Isaac, I never understood that part. Why would the police not look for him since he is over 18?"

"Since Xander is an adult, they assume he disappeared of his own free will. If he had a medical condition or was handicapped in some way, they might use resources to look for him; but since he is not, they moved him on the low priority list." I took another sip of my coffee, "from what people said about him, it seemed odd for him to just disappear for two months and basically cut off all contact with everyone."

"Not entirely, I said yesterday that Xander has been updating his accounts."

"Could it be someone pretending to be Xander?"It was an odd scenario, but entirely possible.

"I thought about too, but ruled it out because of the posts made." Sensing my confusion Niko turned to me, "while looking over his online activity, I went back farther and compared the posts he made before and after he disappeared. There was a certain consistency with what he posts online and that pattern continued during his disappearance, so I believe it is same to presume Xander himself is updating them himself."

"Okay, but that still make much sense," I changed my posture, "why would Xander update his accounts while he disappears?"

"Probably as a way to inform everyone that he is well, just the other day he accepted my friend request."

"That is good, right?"

"Yes it is," Niko used so much energy to say that, "Isaac after this case, I am going to teach you so many things."

"Anyway, we should try to figure out the reason he disappeared."

"Ms. Young said he disappeared after the school was vandalized."

"Yeah, after being pulled out by his Mother, Xander disappeared. But why would he disappear after that?" that was the main issue here. If Xander was upset with his mother for forcing him out of school, then he could stay with a friend. If he had some connection with the vandalism that might be a reason to disappear, but Vul said he wasn't that type of person. "Niko, did they ever make any arrests for the vandalizing the school?"

"I did read something about an arrest while getting the photos yesterday, I'll see if I can pull it up again later." Niko kept typing, "So what do you plan to do?"

I go though my notes, "I should follow up on some of the things I made notes about. One of them is Xander being a snitch. Another thing I should do is talk to Leon."

"You haven't talked to him?"

"I was barely able to talk to Vul the other day because I was attack by a gorilla. I had to leave if I wanted to continue living."

"Stop being so dramatic Isaac."

"Thank you for your apathy Niko. Also," I pulled the photo out of my pocket and handed it to Niko, "see if you can find the person in this photo."

Niko glanced at the photo, "who is that?"

"Xander's Father, or who I believe it to be."

"I thought Ms. Young was a widow."

"I thought so too but," I try to put it into words, "I am starting there might be more to this then what I originally thought. Vul said he never saw a photo of Xander's Father before; doesn't this seem odd. If he just died, Vul would have seen at least one photo of the Father, but he confirmed this was the first time he saw it."

"What are you trying to say Isaac? Xander's Father might have something to do with his disappearance."

"Yes," that was my answer. If the Father was alive, there is a chance that he was a part of the reason for Xander's disappearance.

Niko took the photo and examined it, "it is going to be hard to find any info on a guy we don't even have a name on."

"Like that is going to stop you."

"Nope," Niko put the photo down, "so for today, you are going to follow up on some leads about Xander, and see if he might be involved in the vandalism of the school."

"Correct, while I do that you are going to look into some info about Xander's Father."

"Sounds about right," Niko stopped typing, "mind reading this before you leave."

I got up and examined the computer screen. On it was the info I told Niko about Ms. Young and the condition of her house from this morning. I feel bad about what we are about to do, but if it helps find Xander then there is no other options, "this is good enough."

"Alright, I'll make sure it gets onto Xander's accounts, along with any news articles I can find."

"Sounds like a plan," I finished the last of my coffee and exit the office. If I wanted to follow up on any leads there is only one place to go, I just hope I don't get attack by a gorilla again.