The Golf Course – Chapter 5

Jack sat behind the wheel of his car, staring at the faded yellow house in front of him. He had been sitting there for almost ten minutes now, engine off, trying to gather the courage to knock on the door. Julia’s place looked unchanged from the last time he had been here, years ago. The paint was still chipped in places, the front yard overgrown, and the porch light hung crooked, like it had given up on standing straight.

The idea of talking to Julia after all these years made Jack uneasy. Their breakup with Ryan had been bad—bad enough that Jack had tried to avoid thinking about her altogether. But now, with everything Detective Daniels had told him, it was clear that Julia knew more about Ryan’s life than Jack had ever imagined. If Ryan had been planning to disappear, like Daniels suggested, Julia might be the only one who could fill in the missing pieces.

With a heavy sigh, Jack stepped out of the car and walked up to the porch. His hand hesitated before knocking. What if she didn’t want to talk? What if she blamed him for Ryan’s disappearance?

The door opened before he even knocked. Julia stood there, her dark hair pulled into a messy bun, eyes hollow with exhaustion. She looked like she had aged years in the time since Jack had last seen her, but then again, maybe they all had.

“Jack,” she said, her voice flat, as if she’d expected him.

“Julia,” Jack replied, trying to keep his voice steady. “I’m sorry to just show up like this, but I—”

“I know why you’re here,” she cut him off. “Come in.”

He followed her into the small, cluttered living room. The air smelled faintly of stale coffee and old books. Julia gestured for him to sit on the worn-out couch, but she remained standing, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed.

“You’re here about Ryan,” she said, her tone blunt.

Jack nodded. “The police told me you mentioned he was acting paranoid before he disappeared. That he thought someone was watching him.”

Julia’s eyes flickered, a flash of something dark crossing her face. She glanced down at the floor before looking back up at Jack.

“Yeah. He was convinced someone was following him,” she said quietly. “I didn’t believe him at first. I thought he was just… spiraling.”

“What made him think that?” Jack asked, leaning forward. “Did he ever tell you who he thought was watching him?”

Julia shook her head. “No. He wasn’t clear about that. Just said that he felt like he was being watched. Like someone was keeping tabs on him. He’d get these random texts or emails, and when he’d try to track down where they came from, they’d be dead ends. Burners, fake accounts. I thought he was losing it.”

Jack frowned. Ryan had never mentioned any of this to him, or to any of their friends. How long had Ryan been living like this, in a constant state of fear? And why hadn’t he told anyone?

“Did he ever say anything about disappearing? About wanting to leave everything behind?” Jack asked.

Julia’s expression hardened. “Yeah. He came to me, asking if I knew anyone who could help him buy property under a fake name. Said he wanted to get away, that he needed to start over somewhere no one could find him. I told him it was crazy, but he wouldn’t let it go.”

Jack’s heart sank. Detective Daniels had been right—Ryan had been planning something. But why? What had driven him to the point of wanting to disappear?

“Did he ever say why he wanted to disappear?” Jack pressed. “Was it because of whoever was watching him?”

Julia hesitated, biting her lip. For a moment, Jack thought she wasn’t going to answer, but then she sighed and sat down across from him.

“There’s something you don’t know, Jack,” she said, her voice low. “Something about my family. Ryan got involved in something… dangerous.”

Jack felt a chill run down his spine. “What do you mean?”

Julia looked away, her hands trembling slightly as she spoke. “My family… we’re not exactly clean. My father was into some shady business when I was younger—real estate, but with a darker side. Money laundering, fraud, that kind of thing. I tried to stay out of it, but Ryan… he got curious. He started asking questions, poking around in places he shouldn’t have.”

Jack’s mind raced, trying to piece together what Julia was saying. “So, you think your family was involved in whatever was happening to Ryan? That they were the ones watching him?”

“I don’t know,” Julia admitted, her voice shaking. “But I wouldn’t be surprised. My dad’s old business partners—some of them are still around. If Ryan uncovered something he wasn’t supposed to, if he got too close… they could have seen him as a threat.”

Jack felt a sick feeling in his gut. Ryan had been dragged into something far bigger than he had realized, something that had put him in real danger.

Meanwhile, Detective Daniels had been working tirelessly to uncover more about Ryan’s life before his disappearance. The investigation had stalled for weeks, but Julia’s information had opened a new door.

Sitting at her desk, Daniels sifted through files on Julia’s family. The name Julia Turner had come up in connection with several old cases—real estate fraud, money laundering, organized crime. Her father, Douglas Turner, had been at the center of it all, a name that had once held power in certain underground circles.

Daniels narrowed her eyes, flipping through old reports. The Turner family had a history, but what really caught her attention was a file from years ago—one that mentioned Ryan.

He had been a small part of a larger investigation into a real estate development that Douglas Turner’s company had spearheaded. A development that had gone south, with millions of dollars disappearing into offshore accounts. The case had fallen apart when witnesses backed out, and Turner had walked away unscathed.

Could Ryan have uncovered something all those years later? Daniels wondered. Was his paranoia rooted in real danger, rather than just his own spiraling fears?

She made a note to dig deeper into Ryan’s involvement in that case. If Ryan had been poking around in the wrong places, it would explain why he had felt like someone was after him. And if that was the case, it wasn’t just a matter of Ryan wanting to disappear. He might have been running for his life.

While Jack was digging into Ryan’s past through Julia, Jimmy’s life was unraveling. The once-fun-loving, easy-going friend had turned into someone Jack barely recognized. He had stopped going to work regularly, and whenever Jack or Fred saw him, he was either drunk or on his way to getting there. The disappearance had gotten under his skin in a way that nothing else had.

Jack had tried to reach out, but Jimmy had grown increasingly isolated, angry, and obsessive. He spent his nights drinking, his days combing through the internet for any mention of Ryan, trying to connect dots that didn’t seem to exist.

One night, Jimmy called Jack, his voice slurred and frantic. “I know what happened, Jack,” he said, his words barely comprehensible. “It wasn’t an accident. Ryan didn’t just disappear.”

“Jimmy, slow down,” Jack said, trying to keep his friend from spiraling. “What are you talking about?”

“They got him,” Jimmy whispered. “I’ve been looking. Following leads. It’s all connected—those texts, the weird stuff before the trip. Ryan was onto something, man. And now he’s gone, and no one’s doing anything about it.”

Jack rubbed his temples, feeling a headache forming. “Jimmy, you’ve got to stop this. You’re driving yourself crazy. Let the police handle it.”

“The police don’t know shit!” Jimmy snapped, his voice rising. “They’re just sitting on their hands, waiting for him to turn up dead! But I’m not waiting. I’m gonna find him, Jack. I’m gonna figure this out.”

Jack didn’t know what to say. He had never seen Jimmy like this—so unhinged, so desperate. And the worst part was that Jack couldn’t shake the feeling that Jimmy might be right. Something about Ryan’s disappearance didn’t add up, and now, with Julia’s revelation about her family, it felt like they were all caught in something much bigger than any of them had realized.

“Just… take it easy, Jimmy,” Jack finally said. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

But Jimmy didn’t answer. The line went dead, leaving Jack alone with the growing sense of dread that had been gnawing at him since the day Ryan disappeared.

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Jack continued to wrestle with what he had learned from Julia, trying to make sense of it all. He had met with Detective Daniels again, sharing what Julia had told him about her family and their shady dealings. Daniels had seemed interested but cautious, warning Jack not to jump to conclusions.

But Jimmy wasn’t waiting for conclusions. He was acting on his own, following leads, diving deeper into Ryan’s past. His drinking had only gotten worse, and Fred had even found him passed out in a bar one night, mumbling incoherently about conspiracies and people watching him.

One night, Jack got another late-night call from Jimmy, but this time, it wasn’t his frantic, drunken rambling. Jimmy’s voice was eerily calm, almost resigned.

“I found something,” he said. “Something big.”

Jack’s heart raced. “What are you talking about? What did you find?”

“Meet me tomorrow,” Jimmy said. “I’ll show you everything. I think… I think I know what happened to Ryan.”

Before Jack could respond, the call ended. He stared at his phone, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

What had Jimmy found? And how far had he gone to find it?