The Kiss That Saved The World

House of the Missing

The police do not like civilians intruding on crime scenes, especially when the crime scene is gathering world attention. And yet, Barnett Lay and Harris Harrison were standing in the middle of the townhouse in Ann Arbor. The police had carefully sealed the house, framed it with yellow tape, and posted with two officers to stand guard 24 hours a day.

The two men had slipped through the surveillance, defeated a lock, and were now inside examining each room.

"Do you see it?" whispered Harris. "Whoever did this did a very professional job."

Barnett nodded in agreement. Thirty days had passed since Claire-Marie Wilcox and Jon Armstrong had vanished from their home. They worked for the most significant genetic engineering company in the world, FutureVisions. It was concerned security officials from the company who forced their way into the house to discover a very unsettling scene.

Dishes were out on the table, food half chop on the counter, TV still on, yoga mat rolled out on the floor awaiting a downward dog. All personal possessions accounted for; keys, smartphones, fit bits, wallets, purse, and jewelry. The cars were in the driveway. It was as if aliens had beamed them up from their happy little home. Over $300,000 of cash assets in the bank were untouched after the disappearance: no sightings, no ransom calls, no notes, no bodies, just nothing.

“This is not a situation of the obvious. This is something much, much worse," said Barnett. "Whoever did this has a lot of money and time to erase all traces of the couple."

These two men had never intended to become involved in an active crime investigation. That violated all the rules they had set. They had agreed never to travel together to protect the secret they held. They had promised never to put the technology they had developed into situations to be stolen. And, here in Ann Arbor, they were breaking all of these rules.

They were supposed to be consulting engineers, not two guys performing "favors" for the rich and powerful. Their specialty was solving very complex problems. Their backgrounds in mathematics, engineering, and revolutionary thinking, combined with a new generation of technology, should have made them very successful. Instead, the company struggled to exist. And now, they had this distraction with no one mentioning anything about who would pay them for their time.

"Scan, then let's get out of here," said Barnett.

Harris Harrison punched the scan button on what looked like an old pocket calculator. He announced the results. Both men cursed. They knew that murder, k********g, and running away leaves a trail of information. There was none here where there should have been something. Only the CIA, the Russians, or the Disappearance unit from China might have achieved this level of professionalism. Harrison cursed because he sensed it was somebody even better than these players. Somebody he didn't know.

#

Many people believe the road to true love is long, complicated, and laced with traps. While this is true for most people, it was not true for either Jon or Claire-Marie. Jon was a practical man. He didn't believe in love at first sight. Jon used the word "love" only with the two women he dated for more than a few months. He did it to keep them happy. He figured he had time to worry about long-term relationships and love after college. Unfortunately for Jon, love didn't wait for him. Instead, the first kiss from Claire-Marie was electric. It shocked him to his soul. He left him confused for several days. He didn't know what to do about this feeling.

In contrast, Claire-Marie barely noticed that she had kissed Jon. It just seemed appropriate at that moment. The kiss was just a way of thanking a man for guiding her to a better place. She didn't daydream about Jon or start to wonder how to build a romantic relationship. Her first concern was to tap this man's vision by forming a partnership. But, two days after kissing Jon, as she reworked her paper, she slowly realized a nagging feeling in her heart. Somehow, she was attracted to Jon. But, Jon was the wrong kind of man for her. He would bring nothing to her family. However, could he deliver more than just insight into her life?

They met for an hour on the third day. Jon read her paper and made several suggestions that were reasonable and critical. Claire-Marie studied the younger man carefully. The way he spoke and how he used his hands while he talked. He was nervous. She wondered why he was so nervous.

“Jon?” she asked. “You seem to be a little bit nervous. I’m not intimidating you, am I.”

Jon looked down, avoiding eye contact. "Well…." He was fighting for the right words to say. Claire-Marie was expecting the usual answer about how she is overwhelmingly beautiful, and many men must be competing for her attention, and so on. What she got instead was surprising, honesty.

“I didn’t like you,” he blurted out. He blushed. Then he stammered a bit, “No, not dislike, more jealous.”

Claire-Marie leaned back in mild shock. "Jealous of what," she asked, expecting the subject of money, family, fame, or fancy clothing. Yet, another surprise followed.

“You are just so darn...well, smart,” confessed Jon as his eyes now looked into her eyes. “You have so many accomplishments and friends. I’m just getting started and only have a couple of friends.”

“Now, Jon…” she said, but he cut her off.

“I’m sorry. I talk too much. It’s just that I can’t believe you would want to consult with me, let alone talk to me. And then you kissed me. Now I am all confused.” Jon looked down at the floor again.

Claire-Marie was taken aback. Was this man open and honest?

“Confused about what?” she asked.

"Love at first sight, destiny, and all that other stuff. I don't believe in it." He paused again, obviously struggling to get out the words. "Your kiss made me feel like I have never felt before.”

He was trying to say the rest, be he could not. Claire-Marie now knew she needed to probe a little deeper into this situation.

“Do you think you are in love with me?” she asked.

“Forget it,” he said. “I talk too much.”

“I need your advice, Jon. Let’s get this all out into the open. Here, let’s try it again.” She kissed him gently and briefly. Then she backed up her face a few inches. “How about now? Same feeling?”

Jon shook his head slowly and then said something unexpected, “I am a dead man.”

“What?” she asked as she tilted her head in confusion.

“And, you are still alive,” observed Jon.

“What do you mean?”

“That kiss is perfect. You are perfect. I shouldn’t be here…” He got up to leave. Claire-Marie also got up and waited until he reached the door.

“Jon,” she said softly.

"Yes?" he replied, facing away from her with one hand on the door.

“Come back. We need to talk about how I feel.”

Jon turned around slowly and looked at Claire-Marie. She was smiling and slowly waving a hand to coax him back across the room. He walked closer to her. She kept waving. He moved closer. She kept waving. He now stood just a few inches from her.

“I have a confession,” she said. “I am very impressed by your intelligence. You have insights from your field of study which match my research perfectly. If you and I collaborated, we could achieve significant scientific results, and I would like that to happen.”

Jon shifted nervously. Claire-Marie was studying his eyes intently. She continued.

"I am not sure if you are sincere or just out to score with someone out of your league…” She was going to say more, but Jon interrupted.

“Listen. I am sorry. Yes, I have feelings for you. Yes, I would love to collaborate, but I am scared to death of your rejection. I am afraid it will be too uncomfortable for me to just work with you…” he trailed off in his speaking, but his mouth kept moving.

Claire-Marie knew about magic moments in life. The time when you have to make a fast decision to save or ruin an opportunity and this was just such a moment. Jon was not the right man for her. Claire-Marie was more curious about him than interested in him as a partner. Jon was not critical to her future success. That was already assured. Her family would never accept him, and any romantic entanglement would cause a lot of problems for her. Therefore, the choice was clear.

"I'm not sure if I have feelings for you, Jon. So, why don't you kiss me, and then we will both know."

Jon looked even more nervous. He hesitated to work up his nerve. He reached for her hand and held it gently. He placed his other hand on her face and drew her closer. His lips met her lips. It lasted only a few seconds, and then he backed away, still touching her face and holding her hand. He noticed her eyes were closed. They remained closed as she stood there for a moment. Finally, she spoke.

“How about that,” she said softly, “I’m a dead woman.”