by Dave Sypher
"I promise to try to keep an open mind,” Shinju reassured him, wondering all the while if he had been driven crazy by the disappearance of his son and was about to reveal that he had snapped. Her fears were confirmed with his next statement.
"They were all taken by bigfoot,” Landry told her.
Chapter eight
Shinju was taken aback. What Landry was suggesting was pure lunacy. However, having researched the paranormal after seeing some things she couldn’t explain in Colorado while working on one of her cases, she knew she had to ask Landry more questions before simply dismissing his claim.
"Why do you say that, Mr. Landry?”
"You don’t think I’m crazy?”
"You said I should keep an open mind. I’m trying, but I need to you to explain your theory to me in detail before I come to a conclusion.”
Looking relieved, Landry went on. "After Mitch vanished, I began looking into other disappearances in the park. Then I heard disappearances are happening in all our national parks.”
"Go on,” Shinju was intrigued.
"Literally hundreds of people go missing every year in our national parks, and no one is doing a thing to find them.”
"I doubt that,” Shinju said. "I see news reports about search parties going out all the time and simply not finding the missing.”
"They’re not doing anything useful,” Landry clarified. "It happens really frequently, but no one seems to want to talk about it. The press will do an initial 'someone is missing in the park again’ story, but if they’re not found after a week, the searches are called off, and then zilch, nada, zip is ever mentioned about the missing people ever again.”
"You still haven’t told me why you think bigfoot is responsible for these disappearances,” Shinju tried to steer Landry back on track.
"There are multiple reports, and I’ve seen it myself with my Mitch’s disappearance, of dogs refusing to follow the scent of the missing. They also often can’t even find the scent.”
"I don’t think that is out of the question depending on the circumstances,” Shinju told Landry in a quiet voice. "Outdoor weather conditions vary greatly, and rain or heavy dew could be responsible for the dogs not picking up a scent. A large crowd of people passing through the same area can also be responsible for the dogs not picking up the scent of a single person. Passing animals could be responsible for the dogs not picking up a single human’s scent as well.”
"I’ll give you those,” Landry unexpectedly agreed. "But that doesn’t explain the cases where the scent vanishes and the dogs can’t pick it up again, or the times when the dogs refused to follow a scent.”
"How can you be certain that the dogs are refusing to follow a scent? Couldn’t it just be that the dogs aren’t able to distinguish the scent from other smells in the first place?”
"Dog handlers have told me that their dogs will be on a scent, and then balk.”
"That’s nothing but hearsay, Mr. Landry. Do you have any tangible evidence that supports your theory?”
"Mitch told me he saw a 'really hairy man running naked through the woods’ two days before he disappeared.”
"Were there any other witnesses backing up your son’s claim?”
"One of the other kids said they heard Mitch yell, then looked where he was pointing and saw something big and dark run behind a bush, but they didn’t get a good enough look to say for certain that they saw the same thing.”
"I see. So there’s just your son’s claim, and I can’t confirm that because your son is still...missing.”
"He’s dead, Ms. Fujiwara,” Landry corrected her, expression bleak. "If he wasn’t dead, he’d be here at home with us, going to high school, hanging out with his friends, getting a job, and possibly even getting into trouble with his friends on the weekends.
"But it’s not just my son’s claim. The first bigfoot video was taken at Bluff Creek, California, and there are numerous sightings all over northern California every year.”
"Have there been other sightings reported in Yosemite recently? I don’t recall hearing about them in the news.”
"No, but that doesn’t mean they’re not here.”
"Until bigfoot is proven to be more than a myth, you haven’t given me anything to go on for the Thorntons’ case.”
"What about my son’s sighting that he reported just before he disappeared?”
"He could have mistaken another animal for a bigfoot. He could’ve seen someone in a monkey or gorilla suit. He could’ve seen someone in what the military calls a ghillie suit either practicing hiding or going around trying to scare people. He could’ve been taking mind-altering substances and hallucinated the bigfoot. There are any number of explanations...”
"Hold it right there. My Mitch would never pollute his body with drugs.”
"Fine, say he was completely sober. There’s also the possibility Mitch could’ve had undiagnosed emotional or mental problems and hallucinated the bigfoot without taking any mind-altering substances.”
"I would know if Mitch had those kinds of problems.”
"The evidence speaks to the contrary. You hear all the time about people who 'just snapped’ and did something completely out of character. Your son could’ve been under peer pressure from a job or from his group of friends and kept it bottled up inside, completely hidden from you until he couldn’t take it anymore. It may be the reason he disappeared.”
Landry pressed his lips together. "Well, I can’t say that you’re not exploring all the possibilities. That’s more than I can say about the other guys. But I’m telling you if my son said he saw bigfoot in Yosemite, then that’s exactly what he saw. If you go out there, you’ll be in danger of being taken, too.”
Shinju took a step back. Landry’s last statement sounded like a veiled threat. However, she’d learned to stand up for herself, so she confronted him about it immediately. "What exactly are you implying, Mr. Landry?”
"I’m not implying anything,” Landry said, shaking his head violently from side to side. "I’m just trying to warn you that there’s something in the woods, and you need to be ready to confront it if you get too close to solving the Thorntons’ disappearance.”
"I can assure you I’m taking every precaution.” Shinju remained vague while projecting as much confidence as she could, as Mig had taught her that maintaining the element of surprise even with people you thought you knew was crucial should they end up confronting you. She additionally felt that making a statement that she had taken measures to protect herself would make Landry think twice about coming after her if that was what he had planned.
Landry looked frightened by her assurance, but after all her experiences, Shinju was skeptical about what he was really thinking or feeling. Making a mental note to steer clear of this obviously still grieving man, she softened her voice before saying, "Thank you for your input, Mr. Landry. I’ll certainly keep my eyes open when I visit the area where the Thorntons vanished.”
Relief flooded his face, as he assumed that he had convinced her that he wasn’t joking about bigfoot.
"You should waste that fucker if you get a chance. Endangered species or no, one of them killed my son, and for that, it deserves to die.” After making that final comment, Chase Landry turned on his heel and hurried away.
Seth immediately came out of the dojo to check on her. "You okay?”
"Yeah. Talking with him was, um, different. I have to say you should warn the kids that they need to stop accepting rides from Mr. Landry.”
"He give you his bigfoot spiel?”
Shinju looked up at Seth in surprise.
"He’s given the same warning to a lot of us. Some of the kids believe him and are now too terrified to go on a retreat, and the others all think of him as a harmless kook.”
"After what I’ve seen in my line of work, I don’t believe any human is simply a 'harmless kook’. You should warn the children in the dojo that they should think twice about being alone with Mr. Landry.”
"I
’ll pass the word, but we can’t just drop him right after he spoke to you,” Seth told her, "Because he’s very popular with the kids who would otherwise be unable to come here for their lessons.”
"Well, advise them to at least double up.”
"I think any of our advanced students could lay him out pretty quickly. Raven is one of them. With her ready to graduate from her blue belt to brown, I wouldn’t bet against her in a street fight unless her opponent was another one of our more advanced students.”
"I didn’t think about that,” Shinju admitted, "That most of your kids should be able to defend themselves, that is. However, if they know they need to be cautious around Landry, it won’t be such a surprise if he does turn out to be a problem they need to defend themselves against.”
"Our dojo covers that and re-emphasizes it all the time that anyone can be a danger to you. A couple of years ago, a former student of ours, Nina, had to defend herself against her drunk step-father. She had to knock him down three times before he stopped. Her mother divorced him immediately, but that wouldn’t have done Nina any good at the time he was going after her.”
"What happened after that? Did he leave them alone?”
"Oh, he threatened them, more than once. He even came to the dojo shouting that he was going to get even with Nina. Everyone here thought it was a shame that he got jumped in an alley and severely beaten by masked assailants three days later. He immediately moved away from Sacramento after he got out of the hospital and hasn’t been seen around here since then.” Seth grinned at her in a way that made Shinju certain that it was members from the dojo who had followed Nina’s step-father and taught him that she and her mother weren’t facing his vengeful ire alone. However, she couldn’t think of one reason why what they did was inappropriate, because she’d seen plenty of restraining orders violated, most often when the person filing it was a woman.
Smiling wryly at Seth, she agreed. "Yeah, that sounds like a real tragedy. Thanks for your help.”
Seth nodded, laughing as he walked back into the dojo.
Chapter nine
Turning on her laptop, Shinju wrote some quick notes. "I arrived to find the Thorntons’ house had been looted by homeless who then tried to claim they’d established squatter’s rights to the residence. Fortunately, security video refuted their claim, and the burglars were arrested by the responding officers and taken away so I could walk through the house with Cassandra and Bryce Nash, the sister and brother-in-law of the missing woman Trinity Thornton. I couldn’t tell if anything looked out of sorts due to the looting. Awaiting security video of the residence showing how it looked before the looting took place in case something was out of place that wasn’t noticed by either the police or the family.
"I also visited Sacramento’s Tiger Dojo karate studio and spoke with a number of the students, including several who were present when the Thorntons walked out of sight and subsequently vanished. They said the Thorntons were discussing moving to another state, and that brought a young female student named Grayse forward, who is the daughter of one of the dojo’s managers, who said that she recently overheard Logan Thornton making several phone calls. After hanging up on the first, she said he muttered something about bloodsucking lawyers, and in the other he was saying he needed to get together with a woman named Jenny so that they could talk something over. It turns out that the head manager of the San Francisco dojo is named Jenny Slater. Therefore, I believe a side trip to San Francisco is in order, so I can size up Ms. Slater and see if she needs to be put onto the suspect list. I also need to dig into the Thorntons to see if they have any pending litigation.
"Finally, as I was preparing to leave the dojo, I was, well, not really accosted, but perhaps confronted is a better word, by the father of a former student. Interestingly enough, it turns out that the Thorntons are not the first members of Tiger Dojo who have gone missing in Yosemite. Several years prior, Tiger Dojo student Mitch Landry walked away from camp one night and has not been seen since. The students and manager said Mitch’s father, Chase Landry, remains active in the dojo, giving the students rides to and from the dojo when they need them. Mr. Landry insisted on speaking to me alone, so I spoke to him outside the front of the dojo, where the manager on duty, Seth, could observe since I feel uncomfortable around Mr. Landry. Mr. Landry told me that all three disappearances are due to bigfoot. Yes, the huge hairy beast that many people claim is living in forests around the world. He said his son reported seeing one a couple of days before going missing in the park. Another student heard Mitch shout and looked where he was pointing, but they only saw a dark blur moving into the bushes and couldn’t confirm Mitch’s claim regarding the sighting. I discussed the possibility of bigfoot with Mr. Landry, explaining I felt there were numerous other more likely possibilities to account for the missing people, but he insisted that the mythical beast carried off not only his son, but also the Thorntons. He was almost belligerent in his insistence that I protect myself when visiting the site of the disappearance. I told him I’m well prepared to look after myself. I didn’t go into any details in case Mr. Landry is involved in the Thorntons’ disappearance, but I did observe him looking almost frightened by my assurance that I can look after myself. As it is, I’ve added Chase Landry to my list of suspects. It’s not impossible for me to believe that Mr. Landry hung around the Tiger Dojo because he wanted to find an opportunity to make the Thorntons disappear, as it’s certainly a possibility that he blames Logan Thornton for his son’s disappearance since Mitch Landry was attending one of Tiger Dojo’s retreats when he vanished. I’d be surprised if the police didn’t consider him a suspect, but it’s also possible that Mr. Landry avoided the dojo while the police were inquiring about the Thorntons’ disappearance, and he therefore never came to light as a suspect despite being the father of someone from the dojo who vanished under questionable circumstances.”
Uploading her findings so far to Sanchez Investigations’ cloud account, Shinju began diligently researching.
Searching "bigfoot sightings in Yosemite National Park” turned up only a few cases of purported sightings.
Interestingly enough, the same search results turned up articles regarding a serial murder case that had taken place in Yosemite Park wherein the alleged murderer was a firm believer in bigfoot. Reading about the murders, Shinju shuddered. She knew what it was like to be taken captive by a serial killer, and she sympathized with how terrified the victims had to have been when they realized that the murderer was going to kill them.
Taking a break to drink some water and calm her nerves, she sat back down and continued with her research.
Remembering what Landry had said about Bluff Creek, California being the origin of modern bigfoot sightings, Shinju looked it up, but the location was nearly five hundred miles from Yosemite Park. She watched the famous film allegedly showing the beast and several reenactment attempts showing people in obviously pathetic sewn suits, and she came away uncertain whether the famous footage was genuine or a Hollywood-caliber fake. Reading that one of the men claimed it had been faked years after the fact, she wondered why he had recanted his prior story, but thought that it could’ve been him giving in to years of pressure to say that he hadn’t really seen what he had filmed walking through a remote forested area so many years prior.
Looking over several sites that recorded bigfoot sightings, Shinju saw that there weren’t an appreciable number of sightings reported in Yosemite. Thinking it over, she thought that if bigfoot were real, it probably wanted to live as far away from humans as possible, and if it had lived in the area prior to it becoming a national park, it had probably moved away as soon as humans began visiting the park in high numbers.
Googling people missing in national parks turned up a number of results, including a number of experts stating that the number of people who went missing in each of the country’s national parks wasn’t considered excessive or odd. Sure, there were a couple of strange cases where bodies were found in locations
that researchers found puzzling or hard to believe, but for the most part, the people just disappeared, never to be seen or heard from since.
Having a burst of inspiration, Shinju got back on her laptop, typing more notes. "Nothing I’ve read convinces me that the mythical bigfoot could be behind the disappearances. There haven’t been many sightings in or near Yosemite Park over the years, but there was one prominent serial killing of four women in and around the park. The location that Mr. Landry mentioned, Bluff Creek, California, where the bigfoot phenomenon began, is nearly five hundred miles away, so even if the creature turns out to be real, I think it’s unlikely that there would be any living around here. As it is, I now think I need to inquire about what debts the Tiger Dojo company is carrying. It’s possible that sufficient debt built up over the years that the Thorntons decided to just walk away from their lives, leaving Trinity’s sister to deal with the aftermath.”
Chapter ten
Searching for Sacramento, California judicial records online, Shinju found a site with instructions on how to search for and access public litigation records. Seeing that she could search for records for free at the courthouse, she decided to stop there after going out for lunch.
Going into a local diner, she sat with her back to the windows of the restaurant while ordering and eating her lunch.
Making her way to the courthouse, she stopped at the front desk.
"May I help you?” The man behind the desk addressed her in a bored voice, expression brightening as he looked up at her.
"I need to know where I can search your public records for free.”
"Down the hall, third door on your left. There’s a fee if you want anything printed, and we have a usage restriction agreement that you’ll have to agree to before we release any documents to you.”
"I understand,” Shinju assured the clerk before finding the records search room. Surprisingly, four of the six terminals were occupied.