5th June, 2002; 7:30 a.m.
It was a fine morning. A taxi dropped off a young man (in his early 20s) in front of a motel. He looked very dull, with a serious face and an unkempt appearance. It was none other than Jack. He had dropped out of college recently. Since then, he had been travelling around, living in motels and doing odd jobs. The main reason was obvious—to find his father, who meant everything to him.
He checked into the motel. This time, he had come to a place that was quite isolated and also had a notorious reputation. As a young man, Jack didn’t know where to begin. He was confused because, unlike other places he had been to, people in this town were cold. They weren’t willing to help at all.
One day, he noticed an ad on the market store noticeboard. It was about a private investigation agency. Jack never sought help from others, but this particular ad was very unique. Jack thought he would give it a try. There was also no mention of any fees on the ad.
The next day, Jack went to the office. It was on the second floor of an old commercial building. The office was barely visible from outside. There was a man sitting inside. Jack entered the room. He saw the man—a young guy in his late 20s, well dressed, wearing glasses. He welcomed Jack and introduced himself as Amar.
Jack was not very convinced with the guy and was also reluctant to share his personal matter with a stranger. But he had no other option. Amar patiently listened to everything Jack told. He told him his father was a very good person and had taken care of him very well. He was just 9 years old when his father went missing. Jack knew his father was a driver who worked under an agency in their town. After he went missing, Jack had gone to enquire there, but the people at the agency were also clueless. However, they helped him in filing a police case. The investigation went on for a year and then the case was eventually closed. The agency helped Jack and supported his studies until he was 18.
Jack said, “Everyone lost their hope. They all said that my father was dead. No one knew where he actually went that day. But I couldn’t lose hope. I strongly believe that he is still alive.”
Amar had been taking notes of what Jack was saying. He asked a few more details, wrote them down in his diary and asked Jack to come the next day.
Jack arrived there early the next morning. Amar told him that he had studied his father’s case in depth. He said, “You told me that nobody knew where your father went that day. So, whom did he pick up?”
Jack said, “Well, my father had been working there for a long time. He had many connections. People used to call our house when they needed a ride, and not the agency every time. In fact, dad’s co-workers and the police too asked all his customers and known people. But no one had a clue where dad was. He would have received a call at our home only that day. He had left a note saying that he would be late when I came back from school that day.” Amar said, “Oh, I see! So nobody—literally nobody—knows where your father is.” Jack’s father had also been very silent like him. He was a workaholic and didn’t spend leisure with anyone other than his son.
Amar was new to this field, and this was in fact his first case. So, he was excited and not money-minded. He agreed to help Jack find his father. But before that, he asked him another question:
“Jack, you told me that you were brought up by your father alone. What happened to your mother?”
Jack replied, “My mom left us when I was just 2 years old. Dad used to say she was a nice woman when he had met her. But later on, she always fought with him, especially after my birth. One day, she walked out of the house for no reason. Dad was fed up with her by that time. So, he never went after her. He was happy that he had me, and I didn’t want to look for a woman who left me as a baby. I hate her.”
Amar took a deep breath for a moment and said that he knew where to start. “Jack,” he said, “can you tell me the name of your mother?”
“It’s Olivia. Olivia Turner,” said Jack.
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