Shadows & Tall Trees, Volume 8
Page 13
Before any sort of serious criminal probe could even be launched, though, agents from the Bureau of Investigation—the FBI’s precursor—arrived in Baltimore and asserted jurisdiction over the murders. Agents from the BOI collected all evidence in the possession of the Baltimore police and set it under a high-level security clearance which only BOI investigators could obtain. They squelched the flow of information from the police to the news media, as well, so that the murders received little public recognition. Rumors concerning “the golden dead of the harbor” circulated in bars and shadowed docks, but nowhere else. The massacre slouched into the realm of folklore and urban legend. People, preoccupied by their daily routines and their struggles to make a decent living, soon forgot about the “golden dead” and their mystery.
Questions remain, though. Who committed the murders? Who were the victims? Why did the BOI step in and seal off the case from both local PD and the general public?
The only detail of the incident that may provide a clue is the stamp on every golden casket, the stamp bearing the letters QO.
*
MEMO
CORIVDAN INCORPORATED
To: All Hourly Employees
From: Tyler Vine, Head, Information Technology
Subject: 1926 email
Date: Nov. 30, 2018
Do not open an email with the subject line 1926 Baltimore Massacre, as it contains malware that will infect your computer and the Corivdan network. If you have already opened it, please contact your supervisor so we can address the issue further and review your computer’s software.
I would also like to remind everyone that company email addresses should not be used for non-Corivdan business. Giving Corivdan email addresses to third parties can result in unwanted spam emails such as the “1926” mailing, which often contain threats to the security of our network and information databases.
Continued use of company email for non-company purposes can result in reduced compensation or dismissal.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.
*
Series of professionally printed and laminated signs placed at intervals along roadway leading to Corivdan Incorporated. First seen December 2, 2018. All signs removed by December 4, 2018.
At any given moment, police and the FBI have over 150,000 active missing persons cases.
Inactive missing persons cases in the U.S. number well over 600,000.
Almost all missing persons come from middle and lower-class backgrounds.
Fewer resources are spent searching for missing persons with lower incomes.
This is the reason serial killers frequently use impoverished and “transitional” neighborhoods as hunting grounds.
Even middle-class missing persons are low priority cases, though.
When’s the last time you heard about the brutal murder of a millionaire?
A person without any significant wealth or fame is a no one in this country, and their disappearance merely verifies their status.
The acolytes of QO count on you to be no one. It makes your disappearance so much easier.
Don’t satisfy them. Don’t let them come for you. Quit Corivdan now.
*
MEMO
CORIVDAN INCORPORATED
To: All Hourly Employees
From: Marshall Everington, CEO, Corivdan Inc.
Subject: Bonuses
Date: Dec. 3, 2018
Everyone,
I’m pleased to announce that we will be presenting bonus checks at the holiday party.
As many of you know, we broke all our previous earnings highs for the 2018 fiscal year. Revenue streams are up across every division of the company and expenditures are at a record low. Corivdan is flourishing.
Bonuses are a small way to say “thank you” for the part you play in the company’s success. Every hourly and salaried non-executive employee will receive their bonus at the party. You are all the real currency of Corivdan, and I want you to know how much you’re valued.
I look forward to seeing you at the party.
*
Text of audio clip left as voicemail for various Corivdan Inc. employees. Voicemails created overnight Dec. 5, 2018. All Corivdan company voicemail reset Dec. 6, 2018.
[Incomprehensible screams]
[Chorus of voices]: Great QO, Exalted Infinite Hunger, Father of Mammon, Mother of Moloch, we call upon you to expand our worth, our reach, and our power. We now give you your due, knowing that these souls are but motes of dust in your limitless vault and that your share of all things is gloriously ever expanding.
[More screams. Sharper, louder.]
[Chorus of voices]: We pay your fair tribute, great QO, so that you might help us prosper and grow deep with your hunger. We thank you for the expanses you carve within ourselves and the hoards you provide us without. Allow us to possess this world as you possess us. In your name, QO, we ask for more. In your image, always more, always more, always more.
[A sound like many coins clinking as they spill from a container.]
[Wet, tearing noises, followed by gasps, sobs, and more screams.]
*
MEMO
CORIVDAN INCORPORATED
To: All Employees
From: Allison Mendel, Acting Head, Information
Technology
Subject: Renovation of voicemail system
Date: Dec. 6, 2018
This message is to let you know that all voicemail was deleted last night as part of a scheduled system upgrade. You can still access your voicemail as usual and should notice no changes other than a quicker retrieval time of messages.
If you need to recover any important voicemails that were purged, please see me in the IT department for approval, as Tyler has been relieved of his duties. One of our technicians will be able to restore any necessary messages.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this matter.
*
Newspaper article found encased in lucite and glued to the concrete facade of the Corivdan Building next to every entrance. First appeared Dec. 10, 2018. Construction crews removed the articles by Dec. 11, 2018.
Over Seventy Workers Missing in Fire
November 11, 1954
Toledo, OH—Overnight, the Owens Manufacturing plant south of downtown burned to the ground. At the time, more than seventy second-shift employees were at work in the building. None have been located or identified yet.
The plant, which produces engine parts for automobile manufacturers including Ford, Chevrolet, Mercury, and Studebaker, exploded in a blazing ball of green flames near midnight. A chemical explosion is suspected as the cause of the blaze, though fire marshals have also suggested the possibility of arson.
According to eyewitnesses, the fire engulfed the plant almost instantly and the flames remained bright green for the duration of the fire. Some bystanders claimed to see gold flecks in the flames, as well. A few also claimed to hear terrified screams and, in a strange turn, raucous laughter as the plant burned. One witness said that, “It almost sounded like a group of people were chanting at one point, but I don’t know where it was coming from or I couldn’t hear it, as loud as the fire was.”
John Lyons, President of Owens Manufacturing said in a statement early this morning that, “Everyone at Owens is devastated by the tragedy. We offer our thoughts and prayers to the families of all our workers in this difficult time. Rest assured that we will do everything in our power to take care of everyone connect with the Owens community.”
Owens Manufacturing employs more than two thousand workers. The second-shift employees at Owens who were at the plant last night are largely comprised of non-union laborers without life insurance or pension plans. Names of the missing have not yet been released.
Losses to Owens Manufacturing and its parent company, the Quentin-Owens Corporation, which owns steel manufacturing plants in Pittsburgh and Baltimore, are estimated to be over ten million dollars. The losses may be recouped through insurance
, though.
“The facility was insured for a very significant sum, so we’re sure that we will rebuild and be back up and running soon,” said Owens Vice-President Paul Boyle. “We won’t abandon our workers and the city of Toledo.”
*
MEMO
CORIVDAN INCORPORATED
To: All Employees
From: Carlos Perilla, Head of Security
Subject: Recent Vandalism
Date: Dec. 11, 2018
Good day.
Given the recent vandalism of Corivdan property, I want to make sure all employees are aware of the procedures for reporting suspicious activity.
If you spot anyone attempting to deface or destroy company property, please do not intervene personally. Instead, take a video or picture of the person in question and call security at extension 7810. If safe to do so, remain near the scene until someone from security arrives.
If you see defaced property, please note the location and manner of defacement and report it to security at the same extension.
We want to insure a safe and positive work environment, so please don’t hesitate to contact us when you spot a potential act of vandalism.
*
Messages found printed on toilet paper rolls and paper towels in all restrooms within the Corivdan Building, Dec. 12, 2018. All paper products removed and replaced by Dec. 13, 2018.
Corivdan Inc. began operations in 1976 as Corivdan Holdings.
Corivdan Holdings did not fare well and, by 1983, was on the brink of bankruptcy.
In 1984, three Corivdan mailroom employees were killed by a workplace shooter carrying a gold-plated shotgun using shells filled with diamond buckshot.
The identity of the shooter, who killed himself after the murders, remains unknown.
In 1985, Corivdan acquired SunTrust Bank and Dekker & Dekker Loans, consolidating under the Corivdan Inc. title. The acquisitions made Corivdan over 250 million dollars at the time and led to more than 5 billion in profits in the following thirty years.
In 1991, six Corivdan interns went missing during a team building exercise in the Catskills. All were presumed drowned in a rafting accident, though their bodies were never found.
In 1992, Corivdan Inc. merges with Quentin-Owens Inc., formerly the Quentin-Owens Corporation. By the end of the decade, the merger nets profits of over 7 billion dollars for both entities.
In 2003, Corivdan posts record highs for yearly profits. It opens a branch office in Orlando, Florida.
The following year, the Orlando building collapses due to substandard construction.
Fifteen employees are killed in the collapse.
No one can explain why the deceased show bruising on their wrists and ankles, nor can anyone explain why all the deceased are found wearing finely tailored suits stuffed with stacks of hundred-dollar bills.
Corivdan donates the found money to the families of the victims. It collects insurance payouts of over 75 million dollars on the building. It sues the construction agency, the city of Orlando, and the state of Florida for damages.
Corivdan wins its suits and collects another 200 million in awards.
The families of the deceased file similar lawsuits and also win. Their payout is less than 10 million, split over all plaintiffs.
In 2004, Corivdan constructs the Corivdan Building outside Cincinnati, Ohio. It is a state-of-the-art business facility. The company again posts record profits for the year.
In 2018, Corivdan breaks a billion dollars in profit for the fiscal year for the first time.
QO must be paid again.
*
MEMO
CORIVDAN INCORPORATED
To: All Employees
From: Human Resources
Subject: Waste management
Date: Dec. 14, 2018
Please note that trash will not be taken out this weekend as the janitorial staff is experiencing heavy employee turnover. If a waste bin in your office or workspace is overflowing, you may dispose of its contents in the dumpsters outside the east wing exits.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
*
Skywriting above Corivdan Building and vicinity. Seen Dec. 17, between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
YOU HAVE FOUR DAYS
QO IS COMING
IT WILL TAKE ITS DUE
QUIT NOW
RUN
*
MEMO
CORIVDAN INCORPORATED
To: All Hourly Employees
From: Human Resources
Subject: Holiday Party
Date: Dec. 18, 2018
A reminder that the mandatory company holiday party will be held from 7 p.m. to midnight this Friday in the conference center (3rd floor, west wing).
The response to the party has been tremendous. Over 90% of you have RSVP’d and many others have confirmed attendance verbally or by email. Needless to say, everyone at Corivdan will be at the party for the food, drink, dancing, and prizes!
And don’t forget, there will be special entertainment and surprises!
We can’t wait to see you there!
*
Spray painted message found on the walls of the Corivdan Building’s parking garage, Dec. 20, 2018. The final line of the message ends in what may be a dark red paint spatter.
Last chance. Their kind has been around since the dawn of time. Their god has been around even longer. You can’t win by sitting at their table and playing their game. Do not believe them. They control all the rules. If you stay, you are doomed to [message cuts off here]
*
MEMO
CORIVDAN INCORPORATED
To: All Employees
From: Carlos Perilla, Head of Security
Subject: Security Incident
Date: Dec. 20, 2018
Early this morning, security reported an incident in the parking garage where an armed individual was caught committing an act of vandalism. Security engaged and subdued the perpetrator with only minor injury to themselves.
Police and medical personnel were called and have dealt with the situation. If you see any additional police presence in Corivdan today, please lend them your full support.
Thank you for your cooperation.
*
MEMO
CORIVDAN INCORPORATED
To: All Employees
From: Marshall Everington, CEO, Corivdan, Inc.
Subject: Holiday party
Date: Dec. 21, 2018
Remember to arrive by 7 p.m. this evening for the holiday party. Enter through the west wing entrance, as all other entrances and exits will be locked at 6.
Tonight is going to be very special. I can’t wait to see all of you there.
Happy holidays!
Camera Obscura
C. M. Muller
• • ∞ • •
Haugland repositioned the tripod a few yards downhill, making sure everything was level on the incline before affixing the camera. He took extra care this time, having nearly dropped the century-old contraption during his last setup. A single dry-plate remained, and if it took additional time for the arrangement, then so be it. Unlike the digital camera that had once been his mainstay, there would be no re-dos. There was one opportunity to get this right, and the challenge of doing so was what had drawn him to such an outmoded format in the first place. He had captured a dozen shots of the abandoned farmhouse thus far, and while at this early stage he could only imagine in his mind’s-eye the resulting images imprinted upon each plate, he sensed he had accomplished what he set out to do. He supposed part of the reason he spent so much time at this particular location was because today marked the end of the nearly yearlong project he had undertaken to document the abandoned farmsteads of Minnesota. He had chosen to conclude the project in the southeastern corner of the state (bluff country, as it was known), largely because of his genealogical ties to this region, but even more so because of the topography. Since childhood, he had been drawn to this unglaciated wonderland, what with its myster
ious back roads, forested hills, and, most importantly, hidden farmsteads.
He had collected as much information about each site as local history societies would allow, a bounty of material, really, the highlights of which he planned to include alongside each photo. For as many house histories as he was able to uncover, there were, unfortunately, a few lost to the vicissitudes of time and decay, remaining as anonymous and derelict as their crumbling structures. Haugland never let this dissuade him from photographing a site that appealed to him, as was the case in this final arrangement. When he initially surveyed the area, using the camera on his phone to document possible sites, the place that left the greatest impression was this one. He had emailed a local historian, attaching images of various farmsteads he hoped to obtain backstories for, and had been pleasantly surprised by the immediate outpouring of information. His familial connection to the area (which he prefaced at length in the email) proved of great benefit, and his rapport with the elderly genealogist had grown stronger with each exchange; indeed, the woman seemed grateful for his having gotten in touch, and had spent countless hours researching his avalanche of queries. By the time their correspondence came to an end, Haugland perceived an even greater connection to this land of his forebears. The only mystery lay in this final farmstead, the history of which the elder either did not know or was purposefully withholding. All she revealed was a last name and a profession: Kolsrud, bachelor farmer. There had to be something she was not telling him, though Haugland was hard pressed to call her on it, because her help up to that point had proven so beneficial.