Mystery Solved?

"Mrs. Eleanor Tyler, could you describe for me the circumstances surrounding the dissappearance of your husband, ah," the questioner glanced down at his notes, pausing momentarilly from his back and forth pacing. "ah, your husband Mr. Jeremiah Tyler?"

"The circumstances. Yes, the circumstances. That morning, Jeremy told me he was going to go to the store and buy a pack of cigarettes and a copy of the Daily News. He did that every Sunday before church so I thought nothing of it. Of course, he never made it back...", Mrs Tyler, stiffling tears, sat crosslegged on an expensive antique chair, holding a cup of tea. All around her, a small group of investigators rummaged through her house. Reading letters, snapping pictures, doing anything to find a clue that could lead them in the right direction.

"What time did he leave?"

"I don't know... 9:30. I was getting dressed for church, and I remember looking at the alarm clock, it said 930."

"9:30. How long does it normally take for you to get dressed for church Mrs. Tyler?"

"Twenty, thirty minutes...maybe."

"Is your husband normally back by the time you are finished?"

"Yes. It doesn't take Jeremy longer than ten, fifteen minutes to return from the store. It's not that far from our house."

"Which store is that?"

"7-11."

"Which one?"

"The one down the street, it is um, like five blocks up 5th there, and then you turn right on, whats the name of that street... Ferndale. It is two blocks from there." More note jotting.

"Mrs. Tyler-"

"You can call me Ellen.", she interupted.

"Ok, Ellen, when you were getting dressed for church and Jeremy did not return from the store, what did you do?"

"At first, I did not notice that he wa-"

"You didn't notice Mr. Tyler was miising?", the questioner was obviously trying his best to sound incredulous.

"Mr...ah, detective-"

"Detective John Foster." The young man walked into view of the middle aged woman and flashed a slight smile while making eye contact. "But you could call me John." Ellen Tyler, despite being in her middle forties, was still an attractive woman. Her face showed some signs of aging, but her body was still firm, as if she worked out everyday The detective appreciated the woman's good looks but kept thinking about how much better she could look if she wasn't a snob.

Blushing from the intimate exchange, Ellen continued, "John, my husband and I have been married for over 25 years. Our marriage would not have lasted that long if I had freaked out every time Jeremy was a little late coming home."

"So, how late can Jeremy be, before you think anything of it, Ellen?"

"When he did not make it back in time for us to get to church."

"What time was that?"

"Well, church starts at 11 o'clock. It takes twenty minutes to drive there. I'd say, Jeremy was gone for well over an hour, by the time I thought something was wrong."

"Did Jeremy carry a cell phone with him?"

"No, I don't think so. He has one, a Nokia, he normally carries it everywhere, but on the weekends he turns it off and leaves it, over there, on the kitchen counter, connected to the charger."

"I see. Has Jeremy done this before? Has he disappeared and then returned a few days later?"

"I don't understand what you are getting to..."

"It is a yes and no question Ellen. Did he, or didn't he? Some men like to have affairs with other women, some men rent hotel rooms and do drugs. I am not saying that Mr. Tyler is one of those kinds of people, but whatever you could tell me, might help bring him back."

"No. Jeremy is a respectable member of this community. He is hardworking and responsible-"

"When did you report this to the police?"

"On Tuesday. Why?"

"If Jeremy has never gone missing before, Mrs. Ellen, then why did it take you two days to report him missing?"

"Like I said, me and Jeremy have been married for-"

"Bullshit! I call bullshit!"

With that declaration, the victorian era room became deafenly quiet. The busy investigators in the room froze in place and then, after a few seconds, returned to their work.

Perplexed, Eleanor Tyler sat, wide-eyed and mouth agape, looking at the detective. Then after a small moment said, "Detective, I think you are out of line. This interview is ov-"

"I'm sorry, Ellen. Forgive me for my outburst, for I have tourettes."

"Tour....what?"

"Tourette's syndrome. I have the inability to hold back impulses. Its not what I wanted to say, it just came out."

Ellen glanced around the room to see if anyone else heard what the detective was saying, Not sure if he was telling the truth or not. "I forgive you. Are you ok? Does that interfere with what you do?"

"No, not at all. Believe me, Ellen, up here," pointing to his temple, "everything is just fine. Tourettes does not prevent from doing my job and doing it well. So continue, where were we? Missing, yeah, has Jeremy ever goine missing before?"

"I already told you! No!"

"Bullshit! I call Buuulll!"

After another long awkward pause, Ellen asked, "Is it the Tourettes again?"

"No, that was me."

"We found this." Detective ....

SNOOOZE.