Famous Most Wanted

'I don't understand how this could happen,' said Miranda in an empty voice. Kool-Kevin had called her last, knowing it was the only call that really mattered. They were sat in Kevin's flat. Miranda wasn't drinking the cup of tea Kevin had made her. She shook her head.

'I know my son. I know he's okay.' She looked up at Kevin. 'And he's got his guitar, you say?'

'I think so, yeah,' he confirmed. Miranda nodded.

'Then he's happy at least.'

'I don't know what to do,' admitted Kevin, feeling old and tired for the first time. 'I wanna do something but there's nothing I can do to help the kid. Nothing I can do to get him back. Fuck, I don't even know where he is.' Miranda was taking the whole thing in her stride. She was worried, but she was also used to Johnny disappearing. She was a strong woman.

'If the police know where he is,' she said thoughtfully, 'then surely they have to tell us.'

'Tried,' Kevin shrugged. 'They wont tell me where he is.'

'They'll bloody well tell me,' Miranda said in a firm voice.

'You're not going to make a scene are you?' worried Kevin.

'My son is missing and they wont try to look for him? Damn straight I'm going to make a scene.'

***

The drive to the local police station had Kool-Kevin on edge. He could see Miranda was gearing herself up for an argument. He certainly knew where Johnny got his balls from.
Miranda pushed through the door and stormed to the front desk, Kevin hot on her heels.
She thumped both hands down on the front desk, making the stout woman behind it jump.

'Can I help you?' she asked, eyeing Miranda with a disproving frown.

'Yeah. You can tell me where my son is.'

'And your son is?

'Johnny Carolina. Now where is he?' The woman looked taken aback and began to babble.

'I can assure you, madam, that we don't know where he is, but we're looking into it.'

'See, I think you're lying. I think you know exactly where he is.' Miranda looked over the woman's head. 'Is he back there? Johnny!' she shouted. 'Johnny, come out here!'

'Madam, please. We don't have him here,' said the woman, looking desperate.

'Then where is he? Rock stars don't just vanish into thin air, y'know?'

'I'm sure they don't but-'

'What's going on out here?' asked a stiff voice.

'Chief inspector Norris,' gushed the woman, looking utterly relived. 'This lady here is Johnny Carolina's mother.'

'I see,' he said, taking her in. He exited through a door by the desk and entered the lobby to greet Miranda.

'It's nice to meet you Mrs . . Carolina,' Norris said awkwardly. No one ever knew what to call her, but Carolina suited her just fine. 'We've met before,' Norris said to Kevin. Kool-Kevin nodded.

'That's right. Several days ago actually. And have you found him yet?'

'We're still looking I'm afraid.'

'Bullshit. You're not even trying,' spat Kevin. 'This is Johnny Carolina we're talking about. Johnny Carolina. You can't pretend that this isn't a big deal.'

'And we have no intention of doing so, sir. We are currently trying to locate him, but did you ever consider that maybe Johnny doesn't want to be found?'

'Don't try your mind games on us,' dismissed Miranda. 'Just tell me where my son is.'

'We don't know. We have been looking and trying to keep it quiet. We didn't think you'd want the general public to know of his disappearance so we're being discreet.'

'Well the time's come to stop being discreet and start actually trying.'

'Does the public now know then?' asked Norris with what seemed like concern.
Kevin nodded. 'I'm going to release a statement. It's time we brought the whole world up to speed.'

***

Kevin went to Zach's semi detached home in Kensington and collapsed into his sofa. Zach handed him a beer and sat in the armchair.

'Anything?' he asked. Kevin shook his head and tipped the bottle to his lips.

'Fuck. What'a mess. How do I tell the world that Johnny's gone?'

'Well,' Zach said. 'You either break the news gently. Or you be blunt. I suggest bluntness. It'll hit 'em harder and seem like an even bigger shock. Hey, maybe people will actually go out and look for him.'

'Well, it'll be more than the police are doing,' muttered Kevin.

'You can sugar coat it to the world all you like, Kev, but the fact of the matter is, Johnny is missing and we haven't the fucking foggiest where he is . . or if he's even alive.' Zach lowered his head.

'Don't say that, man,' groaned Kevin, shaking his head.

'I don't like the idea much myself, but I haven't ruled it out. Just because he's a rock icon, doesn't mean he's invincible. He's only human and I think we forget that sometimes. We always think that Johnny's not going anywhere, that he's going to be doing crazy stuff forever. I want more than anything right now for Johnny to walk through that door with that smug smirk and act like he's god's gift . . . but he ain't, and all I'm saying is, I'm preparing myself for the possibility that he ain't ever going to walk through that door with that smug smirk again.'

'I'm just trying not to even consider that,' Kevin said, feeling sick from the thought of never seeing Johnny again. 'Let alone prepare myself for the worst.'
Zach sighed. 'Yeah. I guess it's just me thinking in vein that any amount of preparation might be enough to soften the blow. Deep down I know it'll never be enough, but I gotta try, man. If the police come back and say they found a body . . ' Zach's mouth went dry and Kevin's stomach lurched. 'It might not hit me as hard if I was already waiting to hear that.'

'You giving up on him?' Kevin asked.

'Never,' Zach answered in a second. 'It's purely a self-preservation thing.'

***

Today was the day. Judgement day. Armageddon. 2012. End of the world. At least it seemed like it to Johnny. He was on tenterhooks the whole day and Taylor couldn't distract him. She wondered how long it would take for the papers and gossip magazines to print up the story. Probably not long.

She'd dug out a thousand piece puzzle of a woodland scene from the cupboard under the stairs and insisted Johnny sit and build it with her.
His mind wasn't in it. He stared at the puzzle as Taylor started to build the outside frame of flat-edged pieces. His eyes were vacant and unfocused. His leg was bouncing up and down and he was taking frequent puffs from the cigarette in his fingers. Taylor didn't like him smoking, especially in the house, but she figured that was a habit he would never break.

Taylor was now left with a square frame, empty of puzzle pieces. She looked again at the lid of the box at the picture. There should have been a hedgehog at the very bottom. She figured it wouldn't be hard to find. As she searched the surrounding pieces, she rested a hand on Johnny's leg and it stopped bouncing. He looked at her and she removed her hand, lifting it instead to sift through pieces. Johnny put his cigarette to his lips and continued to stare vacantly at the puzzle in front of him.

Taylor couldn't find the hedgehog so she decided to look for the badger instead. It was black and white so she figured it would be the easiest to find.
Johnny's leg started to bob unintentionally again. Taylor collected up the little black pieces that looked suspiciously like fur and put them in the middle of the frame. Then she put her hand on Johnny's leg. It stopped bobbing.

'You need to calm down, Johnny,' Taylor told him as her eyes scanned the table. He laughed without humour.

'That's easier said than done, I'm afraid.' He sighed and exhaled smoke as he did so. 'I should be somewhere over the Atlantic right now.'

'How about we go shopping tomorrow?' Taylor suggested. She looked up at Johnny and then shrugged. 'Maybe we can see what's happening in the world, pick up a newspaper. I don't want you to feel isolated, so how about it?' Johnny's eyes met hers.

'Are we allowed to do that?' he asked.

'What?'

'Buy papers.'
Taylor shrugged again. 'I don't care. Who's going to know? It's just us here.'

'What happens in North Wales, stays in North Wales,' Johnny couldn't help smirk and Taylor felt relived he was getting back to his old self. She smiled with him, despite the implications of his last statement. Johnny's eyes were bright again, the charm and spark fully restored as his eyes dropped to his leg. Taylor followed his gaze and quickly removed her hand. She rubbed the back of her neck and focused on the puzzle again.

Johnny ground his cigarette into an Ashtray Taylor had found him days before, and concentrated on the puzzle the same second Taylor lost all focus on it. Why could only one of them have their head screwed on right at any giving time? Why couldn't they both be on the ball at the same time?
She realised that it was when Johnny was thinking clear, that he made it impossible for her to do so.

She tried not to watch him as he picked at the pieces. Susan Gregg was right. He was gorgeous. But, strangely, she found him most attractive when he was doing normal things, things she would never imagine a rock star to do. Like making and drinking a cup of tea, trying to get the TV to work, building a puzzle. He was normal yet the total opposite at the same time. How can someone be a contradiction of themselves? He was harmless yet also lethal. He was arrogant yet sometimes humble. He was quietly intellectual yet played up to the public’s idea of him being nothing more than an alcoholic, junkie who didn't know his left from his right.
Johnny was just a man with good job. That's all it came down to.

'Find something you like, or just browsing?' he asked, looking up at her. Taylor hadn't realised she'd been staring.

'No. Just thinking,' she stuttered.

''Bout what?' Johnny asked, turning to face her. Taylor hesitated and fiddled with the hem of her skirt. Johnny glanced down at her hands and wished he were the one fiddling with the hem of her skirt. 'You just surprise me, is all,' she said, not really knowing what to say. Johnny's eyes lifted to her face again and his eyes traced the soft curve of her jawline.

'How?' he asked.

'You're not how I imagined you, I guess,' she admitted before laughing and contradicting herself. 'Well actually, sometimes you're exactly how I imagined you. But then you surprise me by doing something so . . . normal. I guess it just catches me off guard.' Taylor looked up and met Johnny's eyes. He smiled lightly, without a hint of arrogance and Taylor was amazed at how well it suited him.

'It's hard to be the person am I behind closed doors and the person the public expects of me. In actual fact, I'm somewhat two people.' Although she couldn't understand why, Taylor loved how open Johnny was with her. 'Sometimes the two meet, y'know? Mesh.' He weaved his fingers together. 'Sometimes I don't know which one I am.'

'But . .' Taylor was confused. 'Aren't you both?'

'I'm very much a “what you see is what you get” kinda guy . . .' He shook his head. 'People don't see this side of me, the side you see. Not even girlfriends.' He narrowed his eyes at her, wonderingly. 'I don't know why it's so easy to be that person around you.' Taylor felt her heart beat increase.

This was bad. She knew it was bad. Norris gave her this job because she's professional, because she doesn't get silly crushes on celebrities. Taylor lowered her eyes. She couldn't bare to look into Johnny's blazing green orbs anymore. She turned back to the puzzle and did what she did best when it came to feelings. She withdrew.

'Maybe it's 'cause I'm a good listener?' she suggested, picking up pieces of puzzle and trying them in various slots.

'Yeah maybe,' Johnny agreed half-heartedly. Taylor decided a little bit of rejection could only do him good. With an ego the size of his, who needs female company?
Taylor wondered then. Johnny had mentioned Girlfriends, but none specifically.

'So I take it you don't have a partner you want to hurry home to?' she asked cagily. Johnny smirked as he looked at the puzzle on the table.

'Is that your way of asking if I'm single?'

'It's my way of asking if you have a girlfriend who is currently worried sick or even sobbing her heart out cause her boyfriend's disappeared,' Taylor snapped in defence. Johnny continued to smirk and licked his lips. He shook his head.

'Actually broke up with a girl the evening of the murder.' Johnny shrugged. 'She was alright. But she was getting annoying.' Taylor looked at him incredulously.

'You can't just break up with someone on the basis that they're annoying.'

'I can,' Johnny disagreed. Taylor shook her head at Johnny.

'And there he is,' she said, distaste dripping from her voice. 'The Johnny Carolina that belongs to the world.'

'Well I ain't got no one else to belong to.' Johnny placed the puzzle piece he'd been playing with into the puzzle with a click and stood. He walked away and bounded upstairs. Taylor's shoulders sagged and she looked down at the puzzle and the newly placed hedgehog she'd been searching for.