by Kim Koby
She pressed her lips together, not sure how to respond. Should she mention who the victim was? She opted not to, at least not yet.
Ben opened the file cabinets and sifted through manila folders, looking for the month and year she gave him. He pulled one out and opened it. There was a stack of handwritten paper reports in it. Slowly, he flipped through the dates until he came to the specific file they were looking for. He pulled it out and placed the folder on top of the cabinets while skimming over it. “Lightning strike? That’s odd. I don’t remember it being a lightning strike.”
“No. That can’t be it. The one I’m looking for is an arson case.”
“What was the address again?” Better to double-check in case he’d pulled the wrong file.
Abby gave him the information.
He turned and scanned the file. Yep, it was the right date. “Look there. Wait a minute…”
She cocked her head to the side, noting his change in tune.
He pulled the paper closer, eyeballing it carefully.
“What is it?” she asked.
“That’s odd. It looks like somebody whited out the original slot and typed over it. This has been changed.”
Her brows furrowed. “What do you mean changed? As in tampered with?”
“I can’t be sure.” He read through the report. “Yeah, this is definitely the barn fire. The address is correct. Let’s go check the computer and see how it reads. Could it be a mistake? Somebody thought they were correcting a different fire?”
“Sounds fishy to me,” she said. “You don’t find it odd? Too bad we can’t see what’s underneath.”
He held the paper up to the light and looked at it from behind. “There’s writing behind there that’s different from the front, but I can’t make it out. It looks like it was scribbled over, then covered. My guess is that somebody got dates or times mixed up and thought they were fixing it. I can’t imagine it being done to tamper with a report. It was probably an honest mistake on the wrong file.”
Her shoulders dropped. “Was it a simple mistake? Or was somebody trying to cover something up?”
“Let’s check the computer,” he suggested again, then led her to a chair beside him at the desk. “What is it about this particular fire that has your interest?”
She wasn’t sure whether to tell him, but with the small turn of events, she thought it best. This way maybe he’d dig a little deeper. Her stomach twisted in response. “The victim was my father. I’m writing a book about the incident, now that enough time has passed. I was too emotional to dig into this when it happened. There haven’t been any answers to solve the case, so I’m trying to see what I can find.”
“Oh, wow! I’m so sorry to hear that. I had no idea. That’s tragic,” he added.
“Thanks. Yeah, it was a difficult time. My family was stunned to say the least. Nothing made sense, not that you’re interested in those details. It’s just… My father didn’t drive. He shouldn’t have been there, and we’re not sure why he was. And now, to see that the file was changed has me on edge. There are some things that just don’t add up. I wish it were easier to find what we need, but it’s like pulling teeth to find another shred of something to give us hope.”
“I can see how that would leave you scratching your head. Again, I’m so sorry to hear it was your father.” He started typing on the computer’s keyboard to find the file in question. “I’ll make you a copy of this paper one and print out the computerized version we have. There’s usually a small fee, but don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”
“That’s sweet, but I can pay the fee.”
“No need. Let’s find you answers. You’ve been through enough” He sorted through a stack of dates, then entered the case number into a field where the blinking cursor waited. The computer flickered, went through a long list of files, then brought up a blank report.
Ben scratched his head. “That’s odd.”
“What?” She didn’t want to crowd him but was anxious to see what he’d found.
“Nothing,” he said, then typed the case number in once again. The same thing happened. He turned to Abby. He pointed at the screen. “See this part here? That tells me there’s no file on record, but this here, says the file has been removed from the records.”
“Why would something be removed?” she asked.
“Good question. I’m not sure, and there’s no reason I’m aware of. Let me check who changed the file last. That might help us find out why it was altered.” Instead of the regular initials or name, it simply said “unknown.”
Ben frowned.
She noted Ben’s disappointment in the results. “What’s going on?”
“Let me get the chief. I’ll see if he knows anything about this. Usually we’ll put our initials or name in when we change records if new information comes in. Accurate files are an important part of our job, in case of insurance, criminal complaints, and more. It’s unusual to see this. I’m not sure how that was bypassed.”
Abby didn’t like this one bit. First the paper file was altered, now the computerized file was gone. What didn’t they want anyone to know? “How do we find out? Is there another way to find it?”
“I don’t think so. Let me go talk to the chief. I’ll be right back.”
She nodded and waited as patiently as she was able.
Ben walked back out to the bay and spoke with the gentleman Abby had seen earlier. “Hey, Chief, I’ve got a strange situation. I was hoping you’d come look at it with me.”
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Some files have been tampered with or changed but without a given reason. First, the paper file looks to have been marked over and altered. That could have been innocent enough, but then when I went in to look at the computer version of the file to see if there was anything else on the report, it turns out it’s been dumped. The file is blank. No initials or user name shows up in the last known changes. It simply says “unknown.”
“Are you sure about that? Did you double check the case number?” the chief asked.
Ben nodded. “Yeah, let me show you.”
He went back to the desk where Abby and Shadow waited.
Abby held up the paper report. Ben took it from her, then handed it to his chief, showing him how the cause of the fire had been written over.
“Okay, that could have been over a mixed-up report. Oh, I remember this fire. Yeah, no, that wasn’t a lightning strike. That was the old Anderson barn. Odd circumstances on that one.”
“Yeah, hard to forget it. We’ve had some doozies over the years, but that was something else.”
The chief nodded in response. “True. Yeah, it’s a shame. There was a body in that one. We lost a—”
Ben cut him off in case he rattled off details that would be difficult for Abby to hear. It was normal in their day to day talk, being around stuff like this, but he wanted to spare Abby of any extraneous details. “Abby’s father was the victim they found at the Anderson barn fire.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, dear.” He spun to look at the girl. Now he understood why she wanted the files. The chief shook his head, grateful he hadn’t said more. “How sad for you.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Now, here’s the computer,” Ben pointed toward the screen.
The fire chief leaned in. “Hit refresh. Maybe it stalled getting the information. Let’s see if we can reload the file.”
Ben did as he was instructed, but still the screen ended up looking the same. “See? Nothing.”
“That’s a headscratcher for sure.” The chief ran his finger to the sign-off, and sure enough there wasn’t a name in for the person who altered the document. “I don’t know of any good reason somebody would delete a file. Did you check other file numbers that were close? Maybe there was a typo.”
Ben got up and let the chief take the seat at the desk. “You try. I couldn’t find anything.”
“Why would someone erase a file?” Abby finally a
sked.
“Good question. That’s a very good question,” the chief muttered. “I run a tight ship. There’s no excuse for a lapse this big. I’d like to know that as well. And, who dumped the information and didn’t sign off on it?”
“Is there another way to find a copy? Are there back-ups somewhere, maybe on an external hard drive or something?”
Ben shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away. “Do you want to take this one, Chief?”
The big man grumbled. “That would be my fault. I thought I had it backing up regularly to the cloud, but turns out I hadn’t set it up properly, and instead of sending those files up, I sent our administration stuff. We only recently noticed it. I could have sworn I had it set up right, but there are days I’m feeling dated with all this newer technology.
“We’ve only updated to a more modern computer as it is. The thing we had before was like a dinosaur. We aren’t high on the list when it comes to this kind of stuff. Money gets poured into equipment and safety gear first, as it should be, but paper records are becoming a scarcity in the world these days. A paper and pen were an easy way to create files. No buttons to push, nothing to save, just a simple scrawl and you had your information saved in a filing cabinet.”
Ben looked at the disappointment on Abby’s face as she realized there was nothing else that they could help her with. How was she supposed to learn anything with so little to go by? He couldn’t even imagine losing his father, let alone to a suspicious fire. He cleared his throat. “If you want, I could help you try to find more information. It’s been a long time, but maybe there’s something left in the rubble we could gather to offer you another clue.”
Abby wasn’t sure what to say. “Thank you for the kind gesture, but I can’t pull you away from life to chase down some detail that may never show itself.”
“I don’t mind,” he said again. “In fact, it might prove to be interesting.”
Abby cocked her head. “What do you think, Shadow?”
Shadow wagged his tail.
“If you really don’t mind, that would be helpful. Thank you.” She was surprised by his offer to help, but grateful, nonetheless.
“Sure thing. Why don’t I get your information, and I’ll give you a call this weekend? Oh, are you available this weekend?” he asked, hoping she was.
She nodded.
“Great. We can go over and check things out. Or you can stay home if you’d prefer. I can go over if it’s too difficult for you.”
“I’d like to go. I’ve avoided the place as long as I could, but I think it’s important for me to finally make my way there. They never did rebuild the barn.”
“No, they built another across the street. They own on both sides of the road, and the rest is now pasture. I think they planned on letting nature take over what was left of the remnants. Not much was there, last that I remember. A wood barn goes up pretty quickly with all the dry straw and hay, not helping matters. Oh, too much. I’m sorry, I should watch what I say.”
“I appreciate you wearing kid gloves, but I’m truly okay. Two years have passed, and I’ve made peace with my father’s death. It’s more the fact of not knowing what happened that bothers me the most.”
Chapter Three
Abby walked back to her car. She popped the back hatch open. Shadow jumped in. After hitting a brick wall and feeling like she was no further along, she thought maybe there’d be a shred of hope at the actual site of the fire. Either way, they wouldn’t know until they searched.
She shuffled to the driver’s seat and decided to head over to the dog park for a while. She’d clear her head and Shadow could enjoy some play time. This particular park sat near the water. Shadow loved when Abby threw a ball to him. He’d chase after it, then splash through the water, all proud of himself. She turned and looked over her shoulder. “Do you want to go play?”
Shadow barked. His tail swished back and forth.
“Fair enough. I made you go do my stuff, today.” Abby started the car and made her way to the park. It was nice when other dogs were there, but when they arrived, it was empty. She scooped a tennis ball from a bucket of them she kept in the back and led Shadow to the play area.
Her mind drifted back to the fireman at the station. Ben. He was going to call her over the weekend, so they could get together and search the Anderson property. He seemed really nice, and he certainly wasn’t hard on the eyes. His shoulders were as wide as two-by-four planks. It was hard not to notice, since his navy-blue T-shirt clung to him perfectly.
Abby’s cheeks flushed over at the thought. Ben was handsome, and the kind of guy she’d normally be attracted to, but it wasn’t like she was on the prowl. She’d been off the market for way too long and wasn’t sure she was ready to tackle dating again. Besides, it wasn’t a date. He offered to help her sift through fire remains. There was nothing romantic about that.
Shadow dropped the ball at her feet. She scooped it up and tossed it toward the water. Shadow bounced through the water, water spraying all around him. It always cheered her up to see him happy. He’d turned her life around, so she made sure that she smothered him with thanks, love, and affection. Grateful was an understatement—Shadow changed her world.
The hardest part of the assault…
Abby closed her eyes. She couldn’t see his face. Not the perpetrator—his was etched deeply into her memory. She’d never forget the look in his eyes. They still haunted her to this day. It was the witness that she couldn’t picture.
Somebody had been there. They saw what was going on and ran anyway. Okay, so maybe they were threatened in the situation, but it didn’t change things. They could have helped her, saved her from the attack, but chose not to. In that one day, Abby’s entire world collapsed, and any sense of security she had vanished into thin air.
She blanked out, dazed and staring ahead. The past rushed at her too quickly. Shadow whined at her feet and pushed against her leg. She reached down blindly and pushed her fingers through his thick, fur coat, then whispered, “I’m okay.”
Abby dropped down to her knees and pulled him into a hug. When the memories came back, Shadow was there, helping her through. She’d been lost without him. The numbness finally lifted as she came back around. She pressed her forehead to the top of his head. “You’re the best, you know that?”
She picked up the tennis ball and flung it toward the water for him. After another ten minutes at the dog park, she gathered Shadow’s leash, clicked it back on, and scooped up the ball.
Her mind drifted back to the fire. How else could she find new information? It’s not like she was a trained detective. She wasn’t even sure how to start.
Maybe Ian would have some ideas. She was afraid to broach the topic with her mother. She was less than enthused that Abby was going to be picking at the old wound, trying to dig up the past. And yet, her mom would be relieved to know what happened as much as everyone. She’d start with Ian for now and see if he had any thoughts about where to start.
She’d quietly mentioned she’d be writing a book about the topic at hand, but nobody really got behind her. Ian mumbled something under his breath but told her to do what she wanted. Her mom, well…she grew to accept that Abby needed to do what Abby needed to do. She wasn’t sure how they weren’t itching to find more answers. It was the unanswered questions that bothered her more than anything.
How did her father end up at the barn? He wasn’t exactly a farm hand. It was on private property. He didn’t drive. So, who took him there and why? How did the animals all escape? Had smoke overwhelmed him as he tried to save the animals? Too many questions…and now the fire department’s report issues added to the mix.
At least she’d have a helping hand from Ben, which was hardly a bad thing. A smile spread across her lips. Okay, so he was attractive. Stop it already! It’s not like anybody saw her, but still being shy about stuff like that, she was embarrassed to even let her mind drift to what it would be like to hold his hand or to kiss him. Wow.
Where did that come from?
She hadn’t kissed anybody in ages. No, seriously, in ages. Abby reached up and ran a finger over her lips. The idea of being close to somebody again was simply a dream. She’d never be able to take the next step. She knew that. And it’s not like her PTSD was going to get up and leave anytime soon. Abby scowled. She hated what the assault did to her brain, more so than what it did to her body. Her body recovered, but her mind…the panic never left. As far as she was concerned, she was damaged goods.
She’d head home, give her brother a call, and see if between the two of them they could figure out another way to scrounge for any kind of new details. Maybe she’d waited too long to start on the project. It was a cold case, information was sparse, and there were plenty of other projects she could be working on instead. It’s not like she’d even searched out a publisher for the book yet. She wanted to be further along before taking the step of querying. What if she didn’t find the answers she needed? It’s not like she could leave the book open-ended.
Ian was a little bit older than she was, but only by three years. He worked in construction and moved around to different sites building homes. He’d had a rough go a couple of years back, getting into a few moments he probably shouldn’t have, but he was a late bloomer when it came to those things. While he was clean-cut, got solid grades, and was a total sweetheart through high school, sometime through college he started hanging around with a bad group of people, quit going to classes, and dabbled in too much partying with illegal drugs to make his parents comfortable.
After a couple of big blow ups and his moving out, he seemed to pull things together. Well, okay, not right away. Abby was certain her father’s passing was a wake-up call. He seemed to get his life in order just about that time, found a regular job, and started to go to church.
Abby excelled through college and had a promising start. She’d pushed through with heavy course loads and even folded in summer semesters to finish her degree earlier. She added classes online to the mix to help reach her goals. She had dreams. A vision. A future that called to her. She was going to make it big. Her aspirations were just waiting for her to grab onto, and if she latched onto the shooting star, she’d make her mark on the world with her words.