Resolve // Van McCann

13. Do It for Larry

A week passed by until we finally had answers. The remains were positively identified as Larry's and I can't imagine what his family and Van are going through right now. Their wounds never really healed and finding his body only opened them once again.

Larry's family was immediately notified and they made arrangements to come back. Larry's parents told Van's parents the news, and then Van told me. They haven't notified the public yet as they're still figuring out the details but they did mention his cause of death was strangulation.

Larry's hyoid bone, found in the neck, showed signs of being bent inward which is a sign of manual strangulation. I can't imagine the last moments leading up to his death. How terrifying it must be to look your killer in the eyes as you struggle to breathe. It's a shame Larry isn't here anymore to know how he died but I knew this was only the beginning. We found his body and now they could comb through it for clues and I hope to God the killer left some clues behind.

The case was reopened and people were already asking questions. They've seen police activity in the woods so they knew something big happened and the only big news the island had to talk about was Larry's disappearance. They definitely knew it was about Larry.

Van stayed up all night thinking about who it was that Larry met up with last. He was certain that that person was the one who killed him.

"If I knew this was going to happen, I would've asked who he was meeting up with," Van said, shaking his head. "Then we wouldn't have to go through this."

"There's no way you could've known. Don't be so hard on yourself. Eventually the truth will come out," I assured him. I suddenly remembered what Noah had told me. "I talked to Noah the other day and he had some interesting things to say." Van turned to face me, obviously waiting for me to go on. "Long story short is that he thinks Will had something to do with his disappearance but he has no proof. That's why he didn't come forward with the information. But he mentioned being there the day Larry got sacked. I'm sure you know the details as Larry had probably told you but he had an interesting perspective as someone who was observing from the outside. Noah said that Larry needed help but Will was in his office for the longest time so he got fed up of waiting and knocked on his door. He unknowingly interrupted he and this girl who were...what did you call it? Shagging?"

Van chuckled and shook his head. "Surprisingly, he didn't tell me that," he replied.

"He didn't?" I asked, surprised. "Well then...I'll tell you the whole story. Will wasn't happy about it but helped the customer anyway and rung up his total but he did it wrong. Larry corrected him and it only irritated him more."

"I remember him telling me that..." Van said to himself, no doubt recalling the conversation in his head.

"The girl he was with left in a hurry and she left her purse behind. Larry went through it and found out she was only 15 and Will was 27 at the time. I mean...they already knew but that upset Larry so he confronted Will about it and he didn't take it well. Later that day, Larry was let go and Larry didn't even fight it. He just got up and left." I took a deep breath and continued. "He mentioned that he noticed Will's behavior was erratic in the days leading up to Larry's disappearance. He seemed aloof as if something else was on his mind so he made a lot of mistakes that they had to cover. And he took some time off when news spread about Larry's disappearance and came back perfectly normal. Noah's convinced he had something to do with it."

"Well why the fuck didn't he tell the police then?!" Van shouted. I flinched at his tone and he immediately apologized. "I'm sorry—I didn't mean—it's just I'm very angry he didn't tell the police. Even if he didn't have evidence to back up his claims, the police would've taken a look and they could've found something...like phone calls or a location or summat. Him telling you this three years later means nowt. That information is long gone, making their job even harder. You have to convince him to tell the police. This could lead to them solving the murder or at least eliminate him as a suspect, y'know?"