He shakes his head, because neither's quite right, is it? Mr. Sawyer can't be home, he can't be anywhere close, because he has no reason to be there. What he wanted was the money, and he has that now, no more reason to stick around once that was in his hands. But this also isn't a letter that James plans to write for no reason at all. He knows that someday, he'll find Mr. Sawyer, and he'll make him feel sorry, make him say sorry. James knows that there isn't anything in the world that'll bring his parents back, but his mama always told him that saying sorry fixed a lot of things. Maybe that can be true for Mr. Sawyer, too.

"I don't know where he is," James mumbles, fighting off the urge to cry as he shakes his head again. "He's gone."