The Year We Disappeared

About two months before his shooting, John is on the scene of a traffic fatality. Procedure dictates that traffic must be rerouted while the accident is under investigation. A tractor-trailer pulls up but is forced to wait until the scene is cleared. The driver is James Meyer, Raymond’s brother, who grows increasingly impatient, revving his engine and blowing his horn. John informs him of the detour route, but James drives forward, knocking John on to the street, and proceeds right through the accident scene. After the wreckage is cleared, John arrests James Meyer for assault and battery on a police officer. The trial is postponed after John’s shooting.

In January, following his second surgery, a Superior Court judge dismisses Meyer’s case for lack of evidence. John is never informed of Meyer’s arraignment prior to the trial, and so he never testifies. He suspects a conspiracy between Raymond Meyer and Robert Peres, the Falmouth court officer (responsible for notifying police officers of court appearances). Had James been convicted, it would have dealt a serious blow to the Meyer trucking business, further potential evidence that Raymond Meyer pulled strings to circumvent his brother’s trial.

One evening, Polly recalls the disappearance of another 17-year-old boy who had planned to testify against Meyer (his body was never found).