Don't look back part #14

Dear Detective Jones,

I am writing to you in hopes that you can help me find my missing son, Cartell Scott Jr. His disappearance has left a hole in my heart and a deep fear in my mind. I have been waiting for answers for far too long and I can no longer sit back and do nothing.

It all started on a warm summer day in California. Cartell was out with his best friend, Mark, enjoying their time off school. They were walking along the beach, laughing and joking, when suddenly they noticed a blacked out van following them. At first, they brushed it off as nothing and continued their walk, but the van seemed to follow their every move.

As they made their way back home, Cartell's friend, Mark, became increasingly paranoid. He kept looking back, checking to see if the van was still there. Cartell, being the curious and fearless boy that he is, asked Mark what was wrong. Mark told him not to look back, that they were being followed and needed to get home as soon as possible.

They picked up their pace, but the van seemed to match their speed. Eventually, they broke into a run, with the van hot on their heels. The boys made it to their neighborhood and split up, hoping that the van would only follow one of them. Mark made it home, but Cartell was nowhere to be found.

As soon as I heard the news, I contacted the police and reported my son missing. The search for Cartell began immediately, but as days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, there were still no leads. The only thing we knew for sure was that Cartell was last seen being chased by a blacked out van.

The police searched the area, talked to witnesses, and even brought in tracking dogs, but all of their efforts led to dead ends. It was like Cartell had vanished into thin air. As a worried mother, my mind raced with all sorts of scenarios, but none of them seemed to make sense. Cartell was a good boy, he had no reason to run away, and he had no enemies that we knew of.

One day, I received a letter in the mail. It was in a plain white envelope with no return address. As I opened it, my heart dropped at what I saw inside. It was a picture of Cartell, blindfolded and tied up, with a message written in red ink that read, 'Don't look back, or you'll never see your son again.' I screamed in terror and immediately called the police.

The next few days were a blur. The police were able to track the letter back to a small warehouse on the outskirts of town. When they arrived at the location, they found it abandoned, with no signs of anyone ever being there. But hidden in a corner, they found a small notebook with a few pages torn out.

The pages that remained were filled with seemingly random numbers and addresses. The police couldn't make sense of it at first, but after some investigation, they realized that it was a list of potential drop-off locations for ransom payments. It dawned on me that my son had been kidnapped, and we were dealing with a cold and calculating criminal.

The police followed up on every lead, but each one turned out to be a dead end just like before. Months went by, and my hope of finding my son alive began to fade. Then, almost a year after Cartell's disappearance, I received another letter. This time, it had a different message, 'Follow the clues, and you may just find your son.'

The letter also contained a map with a route marked out in red. The police and I followed the map, and it led us to an abandoned building in the outskirts of town. We searched every inch of the building, and just when we thought we had come up empty-handed, we found a hidden door behind a bookshelf.

We cautiously opened the door, and to our surprise, we found Cartell tied up and blindfolded, just like in the picture from before. We quickly untied him and removed the blindfold. He was weak and scared, but he was alive. We asked him what had happened and where he had been all this time, but all he kept repeating was 'don't look back.'

It took some time, but eventually, Cartell opened up and told us everything. After he and Mark split up, Cartell was grabbed by a man in a black van. He was taken to an unknown location, where he was held captive and forced to write the ransom notes. He was told that if he tried to run or tell anyone, his family would be in danger. That's why all he could say was 'don't look back,' he was trying to protect us.

The police were able to track down the man responsible for Cartell's kidnapping and he was arrested. It was a long and difficult road, but we finally had our son back. He was traumatized by the whole experience, but with the love and support of his family, he slowly began to heal.

As for the blacked out van, it was never found, and we may never know who was behind it. But one thing is for sure, we will never forget the mantra that saved Cartell's life, 'don't look back.' And we will always be grateful to the detective who helped us find our way back to each other.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Scott