Lizzie paused for a breath. “How’s Montana?”
“First of all, good job! I can’t wait to here all about your big case! Secondly, it’s beautiful here. The scenery never gets old. I went fishing with my dad and we had a great time. You would love it here. Sam would be in kid heaven.”
“Have you had a chance to catch up with any old friends?”
I thought about Sarahbeth and felt my face flush. Lizzie wouldn’t care but I felt a little weird telling her about my one date. “A few. Mostly I’m just hanging out with Mom and Dad and enjoying the peace. If you can believe it, you’re the only person I’ve talked to back home. It feels good to unplug.”
“That’s great! I’m glad you’re getting a little away time.”
I finally asked Lizzie what I really wanted to know. “How are things going back there? What’s everyone saying about the investigation?”
Lizzie didn’t answer for a full two seconds. Two. Very. Long. Seconds. “Don’t Jason. Don’t do this. You went to Montana to get away from this. It doesn’t matter what’s going on here.”
“Lizzie. I guess I’m just a little concerned about my job. You can understand that.”
“Yes, I suppose I can. You know how things are going here. You’ve been through it before. Everything gets scrutinized, pushed out of proportion and then eventually it all falls into place. Please don’t think about it.”
“Part of me doesn’t want to come back.”
“I don’t blame you but you better come home eventually. If you leave me stuck with this jerk of a beat partner I’ll fly up there and bring you home myself!”
I laughed. “I miss you too, kid.”
Lizzie laughed too. “I hate to cut you short but I have to go pick up Sam. I’m glad you called. You really are ok right?
I thought about telling Lizzie about the car and the footprints but stopped myself. Three tiny little incidents that were probably nothing do not make a case worth discussing with your partner who was 3000 miles away. “Yes, I’m better than ok. I’m great. Give Sam a fist pound for me will ya?”
“I will! See you when you get back.”
I disconnected and tried to shake off the feeling in the pit of my stomach. I shouldn’t have called. It just brought to forefront the shooting and the investigation and why I was here in the first place. I needed a distraction; some way to spend all this pent up anxiety. I got up and continued towards the police department. I knew just what to do.
Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Seven
Minutes later, I entered the City of Harmony Police Department. The lobby was about one hundred square feet and sported one bay window with no safety glass. Pictures of every Harmony Chief of Police, since its inception, lined the dark wood paneling.
In true Montana fashion, a stuffed and mounted deer head hung on the wall. The buck looked as if it had also been there since the department’s inception.
I went to the reception window and dinged the bell for assistance as the sign instructed. No one came. It was Sunday so I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much. I called out, “Hello? Is anyone there?”
From the back I heard a male voice. “I’ll be right with you.”
Kirk came around the corner and smiled. “Well hey partner! Sorry to keep you waiting. Here, I’ll buzz you back.”
I heard a buzzer sound and the door next to me unlocked. I went in and Kirk motioned for me to follow him. I followed Kirk to what appeared to be a break room. A water cooler, a round table with a box of donuts, a coffee pot that smelled like it was burning and a TV turned to a rerun of Bonanza. Maybe this was Kirk’s office?
Kirk grabbed a chocolate donut and took a bite. Around the mouthful of dough he asked, “What brings you by?”
“I wanted to get a copy of the report from last night?”
“Oh that’s right, your car. I haven’t finished it yet.” Kirk ate another large bite of donut, crumbs falling on his chest and dirtying his uniform.
“How long will that take? I can come back tomorrow.”
“No, no. Sit. I can write it up now. Won’t take me more than a minute.”
“I was wondering, could I look at that file while you write that report?”
“What file would that be?”
“Marc’s missing person file. You said I could take a look at it?”
Kirk stood there munching his donut and staring at me. He licked his fingers and finally said, “Oh sure. I’ll grab it for you.” He really was a strange sort.
Once Kirk left the room I took the opportunity to look around a little more. Being nosy is in every cop’s nature. I looked at the wanted bulletins on the board above the coffee pot. Amongst the missing cats and dogs was a flyer identifying the FBI’s ten most wanted. I lifted the flyers listing wants and warrants from surrounding cities and read the wires concerning missing kids throughout the nation. I thumbed through the stack that seemed to go back years. I didn’t find Marc’s. I don’t know why I thought it might even be there.
Kirk returned a few minutes later with a manila folder. “Sorry, we are a little short handed. Nothing really goes on here on Sunday anyway.”
Kirk started thumbing through the file. “Not much here. Didn’t look like we had too many leads. You sure you want to waste your time?”
I held out my hand for the file. “That’s ok. I’m just curious. I’m not trying to solve anything.”
Kirk looked at me for a long minute before slowly handing me the file. “Ok partner. Just promise me one thing; if you think you find something you check with me first. I don’t want you going off half-cocked.” Kirk walked toward the door but turned back at the last minute He pointed a chocolate covered finger at me. “That file doesn’t leave this room. You got that?”
Kirk was stern, suspicious even. Not like the goofy Kirk I knew. His face suddenly broke into his signature grin and he slapped the doorframe. “Look at the two of us. Who would’ve thought it, huh? I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee and then we can get to work, partner.”
This guy might have a screw loose. I couldn’t quite get a handle on his personality or multitude thereof.
I watched him make the coffee as I took a seat at the round table. After the coffee had started brewing, Kirk went into the next room. I waited until I could hear the clack of typewriter keys indicating Kirk was busy working on my report.
I found the TV remote and pressed the sticky keys until the sound on Bonanza was muted. I stared down at the file folder on the table in front of me. Was I really sure I wanted to open this? Why was I even here? This seemed so silly after all these years. The police had done an investigation and found nothing; no body, no clues.
What did I think I was going to find?
Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Eight
I opened the file and thumbed through the stack of papers that equaled a “thorough investigation.” I cringed. It seemed pretty skimpy even for this small police department.
I found a copy of the original missing child poster that had been dispatched to police department’s countrywide. My throat caught. Marc was only fourteen and he looked every bit as young and innocent as decade he went missing in.
I lay the photos aside and continued to read through the preliminary report. The initial statement given by Marc’s dad had been made at 1000 hours on the morning after we had gone swimming.
On the morning in question, Marc’s dad had gone to wake him to get chores done and found that Marc wasn’t there. His bed hadn’t even been slept in. His dad had been so angry that he had gone around to Marc’s friend’s houses looking for him.
I remembered waking up that morning to pounding on our front door and then Mom coming to tell me that Marc was missing. When I told Marc’s dad that I didn’t know where Marc was, he had called me a liar. My mom had tried to calm him but he had been so loud and rude that my dad, bigger and stronger back then, had ushered him out to the front porch.
I had snuck to the window and listened to muffled voices as they talked and Ma
rc’s dad had stalked off angrily. I had been too scared to tell to Marc’s dad about our night swim I had waited until he left. Mom had understood and instead of calling Marc’s dad she had called the police.
My trip down memory lane was brought to an end as the clack of the keys in the next room stopped. Kirk came in. “Hey, one question, do you have the paperwork for the rental car on you? I need to make a copy of it for the file.”
I fished the papers out of my wallet and handed them to him. He left and I heard the whir of the copy machine warming up and then beeping as it duplicated my receipts.
I turned my attention back to the reading matter at hand. I read Marc’s dad’s statement, my one statement and the statements from the neighbor’s.
Marc’s neighbor, Marge Hollenbeck, had been interviewed. Marge had reported hearing voices arguing on the night of Marc’s disappearance. According to the statement, Marge was certain the arguing came from Marc’s front porch at approximately eleven p.m.
I rubbed my temples. Marge said that she heard Marc and his dad but I knew that at eleven p.m. Marc had just left my house. There was no way he could have been home by then. Marge must’ve been wrong. She had been ancient even back then.
When questioned about the argument, Marc’s dad had said Marge was imagining thing’s. Mr. Forrester said he had been in bed asleep by eight and hadn’t woken until morning. The responding officer had reported a plethora of beer cans on the living room table and believed that Marc’s dad had drunk himself into a deep slumber.
Marc’s dad had admitted to having “a few.”
I wondered who Marge might’ve heard? I wondered if she was even still alive? It wouldn’t hurt to talk to her. If I could find her, that was. No other neighbors had reported anything. That seemed weird.
According to the reports in this file, Marc had disappeared without a trace. The police had searched his room and found all his belongings still there. They said the likelihood that Marc had run away without taking any of his stuff with him, was slim. His bike was never located.
The police had scoured the house and Marc’s dad’s car. They had gone door-to-door and house-to-house but nothing clues had been discovered. Police questioned all the kids we hung around with that summer. Because of the fistfight, JT got special attention.
Information spread around town that I had been the last one to see Marc and a few of the mean kids had even started rumors that I had something to do with his disappearance. It had hurt me deeply.
Marc’s picture had been shown all over the news for weeks but then, as typically happens in small towns, the news waned. If it’s not national news its old news and as bigger stories hit the news, Marc’s began to fade. Eventually everyone forgot about him.
Everyone but me.
Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Nine
I didn’t have much time to go through Marc’s file and Kirk had already warned me not to take it out of the building. So I did what self-respecting cop would do, I took out my cell, opened the camera app and took pictures of each page before Kirk caught me.
I’d look back through the photos tonight but right now I wanted to get home and see Mom and Pop Maybe I would have time to swing by Marge’s house and do a little snooping.
I had just finished taking the last photo when Kirk returned with my report. “Here is your copy of the report for the insurance company and the rental car company.
“Thanks Kirk. I appreciate it.”
Kirk motioned to the file in my hand, “You done with that?”
“Yes, I’m done.” I handed Kirk the file.
“Anything stand out to you?”
“Not really. It’s just as I expected. You said someone had opened the case a few years ago? I think I read her name in the file. This detective, Joy Sorenson, where is she now?”
Kirk frowned. “Sorenson. She didn’t last long. She ended up leaving for a bigger department. Seattle, I think? I don’t know.”
“Do you have a contact number for her?”
“Not that I know of. Why do you want to talk to her? She didn’t come up with anything.”
“It was just an idea. I just thought it would be easier to talk to her in person is all.”
“Are you investigating this? You know you’re out of your jurisdiction, right? You don’t have any authority here.”
Kirk had that same weird angry look I had seen a few times before. He seemed to think I was here trying to step on his toes. “Kirk, a little professional courtesy wouldn’t hurt, you know.”
“What do you think I’m giving you now? I let you look at the file, didn’t I? Don’t go wearing out your welcome and causing a ruckus. You already got your windshield beat in. You want something else to happen?”
I stood up so fast my chair flew against the wall. “Did YOU break my windshield? Are you threatening me?”
Kirk looked genuinely surprised at my assumption. “What? No and I resent the fact that you would even suggest that. Look, I get it. Marc was your best friend and ghosts from our past can haunt us but stirring this up again will just cause you drama. Didn’t you come here to get away from drama?”
“What would you know about it, Kirk?”
“Just because we are a little one horse town doesn’t mean we don’t keep up with the happenings of the world. I know all about your shooting. I read the headlines.”
“Keeping up with my career, Kirk?”
“What kind of cop would I be if I didn’t do a little research on the people coming into this town? I read all the news reports. Sounds like you had quite an incident. You’re not just here to visit; you’re escaping. Take my advice, Camden, we don’t need your drama here.”
I fashioned my face into as friendly a mask as I could muster. “Thanks for your help, Kirk. I really appreciate it.” It wouldn’t due to make Kirk my enemy or enter into a pissing contest with him. Kirk stared at me boldly; a smirk on his face. I wanted to wipe it off.
A woman’s voice penetrated the silence in the room. “Kirk? Are you here?” A scuffling ensued followed by the woman’s voice again. “You stop squirming right this minute!”
Kirk sighed, looked up at the ceiling and mouthed a silent prayer. To me he said, “My sister-in-law and nephew. I’ll be right back.”
Chapter One Hundred Ninety
While kirk was dealing with the commotion out front I went into his office to grab the rental car receipts he had so conveniently forgotten to give back to me. Wait, my ass! I wasn’t going to stick around here any longer than I had too.
I saw a large file cabinet behind Kirk’s desk and a thought hit me. I went to cabinet and found that the files were organized by the year. I found the drawer for 1991, the year Marc went missing. I opened it and glanced up and around. No cameras.
I quickly found the night in question and began to look at the report listing all the calls for service. Everything was written down on paper back then. No computers. I was actually glad that was the case. It made it easier for me to snoop.
Back in 1991, the police department had utilized incident cards that described all the calls for service each officer had responded to during each shift. I started with eight p.m. the night Marc and I went to the quarry and searched through to eight pm the next night. In a 24- hour time period there wasn’t too much exciting that had happened
- 2130 - missing cat on Orchard Street.
- 2230 - loud party on Morningview – officers shut it down. Teenagers drinking. Three minors arrested.
- 2300 – dog barking on Serafina Drive. Baxter was taken inside by his owner.
- 2400 – Extra patrol on Sunset Ave. Mr. Gregory heard noises in his yard. Raccoons.
- 0600 - audible alarm. Store owner opening accidentally set it off.
- 1100 – Missing person. Mrs. Camden requested an officer investigate Mr. Forrester’s claim his son was missing.
From then on there was a flurry of calls of supposed sightings of Marc but none of them had case numbers associated. There were several ca
lls missing person updates but I had already taken pictures of that file.
I took a quick snapshot of the calls for service log and shut the case file drawer.
“Whatcha doing?”
I whirled around. Caught! “Well if it isn’t my favorite redhead.”
Sarahbeth laughed and pranced over to me. “Imagine finding you here.”
“And just what are YOU doing here, young lady?”
“I came down with my sister in law. Little Mikey is acting up again.”
“What’s the deal with your nephew anyway?”
“Remember my brother Sean?”
“Sure I do or at least I think I do. Sean was five years older than me so we weren’t exactly friends growing up.”
“Sean and Karen married straight out of high school and she got pregnant with Mikey right away. When Mikey was five, Sean was hired by a private contractor and went over seas. They needed the money. The base they were on got bombed and he didn’t survive. Mikey took it especially hard. Seven years later Mikey gets to that difficult pre-teen stage and with no dad around he’s been acting out. Kirk has really stepped up and tried to help but Karen is at her wits end.”
I didn’t mention that I had seen the shoplifting episode. “I’m sorry he’s going through that. That must have been really hard on your whole family. Have you tried to work your magic on him with your art therapy?”
Sarahbeth smiled. “You remembered.”
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