Part 8

         James and I had managed to make our way to his home without any interference from Dusty or anyone else. James was so excited about having Norton’s transcripts he could hardly be still long enough for us to sit and begin looking through the all the papers he had yanked.
         "Wow, look here Si, when he was five his last name wasn't Gibbs." James said practically shoving the paper in my face.
He was right; Norton's last name had been Jones. In this day and age that didn't really mean anything.    

“James, maybe his mom had been married to some other guy. It happens all the time these days. This just doesn't mean anything." I handed the paper back and walked over to the cabinet to get us a glass. Turning to look at James I asked, “Why does that seem to mean something?"      

For a long minute James read over the first sheet of paper. His expression was so intense I could feel the strain. Looking up at me he spoke in a very calm tone, “Once a long time ago Norton made the comment that people really don't know each other as much as they think they do. It was that look on his face. Si, I've never forgotten that look." For once James seemed so serious I was puzzled at the whole situation.

"Okay, maybe we don't know each other as much as we should, but what does that have to do with Norton's disappearance? James, help me connect the dots here." My own tone was serious now. For the first time since Norton's missing in action occurred I knew that James had to find Norton. Maybe he felt it was his duty or something, but we were going to find Norton or die trying.       

James took a seat at his kitchen table shifting through the papers. I pored both of us a glass of coke and sat down beside him. I looked at him for a long moment realizing just how handsome he really was and for the first time I understood how much James meant to me. If he was to go missing I'd probably never stop looking for him. The situation wasn't the same between Norton and me as it was with me and James. This was important to James, and because it was, it was to me as well.
         "Ok James, tell me what's on your mind. You said we were going sleuthing, so sleuth me." I said to him as I reached out and lightly swiped my right hand over his, laughing at my own joke.               

He looked up laughing too. He had got my sideways joke which was good. We needed something to laugh at before we got too far into investigating the missing Norton. "Have you ever had the feeling that maybe someone you know wasn’t telling you everything about themselves?" he asked.     

I leaned back in my chair and took a swallow of my coke, thinking about where this was going. "People tell you crap about them all the time. Unless you've known someone all your life, us for instance, then no James. We can't know everything about everyone we meet. Why?" Now I was more puzzled than ever.

"Cause, Si I know that there's something about Norton that ain't all that we're lead to believe. A while back I saw him after school with some guy, a suit ya know. They were arguing really loud in the parking lot about Norton telling everyone the truth. What truth was Norton talking about?" James had that look on his face again. The one that meant he had to know the answers to his own questions.     

I sat there for a minute just staring at him. Hell, I didn't have any answers about Norton. I honestly didn't even know him. We had gone through high school all these years and I couldn't really tell anyone one thing personal about Norton Gibbs. It dawned on me; Norton Gibbs was nothing more than a name on the role call in homeroom and even a few other classes along the way. The truth was I didn't know anything important about Norton. I couldn't even really call him my friend.        

Whatever it was that was inspiring James to find him, I knew one thing for sure, I too would be looking for Norton and perhaps together James and I would solve the greatest mystery that had come to our sleepy little town.
         Maybe we could answer the question that was on every one's mind. What had happened to Norton Gibbs?