The Killers Amongst Us: Chimera Dawn Chronicles

by Conner, Declan

  Shaw ambled through to the bedroom. For the second time, his skin crawled at the thought that Amy had slept there with him. He put it out of his mind to concentrate on the task in hand and rummaged through the closet, careful to leave things as he found them. With nothing found, he turned his attention the nightstand drawers, but there was nothing of interest. He was beginning to think it was a waste of time. Gyp barking and scratching caught his attention, and he swung around. He hurried to the living area.

  “What is it, Gyp? What have you found?” He was scratching at the rug in front of the wood burning stove. “Stop it now. If you damage anything before we get the warrant, I’m screwed.”

  He took a hold of Gyp by his collar and ushered him into the kitchen. Gyp broke free and ran back into the room, pawing at the rug.

  Shaw knelt and pulled at the rug. It lifted at the edges, but it was stuck to the floor. Folding the rug back further, revealed the outside edge of what could be a trapdoor. He noticed a short wooden floorboard, maybe only six inches long, with no sign of it being nailed. He scratched with his fingernails and removed the short plank. Underneath there was a metal clamp secured by a padlock. He knew there wasn’t a key for a padlock on his key ring.

  “Well done Gyp.”

  Shaw moved around the room checking the drawers for the key and ran his fingers on the top of a diner cabinet. The wall-safe with Ted’s hunting rifle didn’t need a key. It was fastened with a combination lock. He turned his attention to the kitchen, but there was still no sign of a key. Opening a kitchen cabinet door, he found a toolbox and dragged it out onto the floor. He picked up a claw hammer, but thought better of it and dropped it back in the toolbox. Shaw stood and looked out of the kitchen window. He noticed a garden shed at the bottom of the yard. He turned the catch on the cylinder lock, opened the door and strode over to the shed. Stepping inside, he rummaged around, but all he found was rusty garden tools. On his way back to the cabin, he stopped. He caught sight of two aluminum pipes close together and sticking out of the ground. They were maybe four inches in circumference with pointed caps. He immediately thought they were vents. Air vents. He hurried back to the living room, dropping to a crouch at the side of the rug. His body sagged. A sense of resignation flowed over him that he would have to wait for the search warrant. He moved to squat with his legs crossed, Yoga style. Gyp sidled up beside him and nudged his elbow with his nose.

  “I know, Gyp, I want to get trapdoor open too. We’ll just have to wait for the phone call from Jim.”

  Looking around the room, he thought it odd that there was no landline telephone. He’d found no sign of him writing a book. He closed his eyes and let out a gruff roar through clenched teeth. An urge washed over him to smash open the lock with the hammer.

  “Damn it, where would I hide a key? Where would anyone hide a key?”

  Shaw slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. He struggled to his feet at the question he’d kept pondering. “Why keep an empty room locked and hold the key on a chain around your neck?”

  Shaw dashed to the room in the hallway. He snatched at the drawer handle on the desk, pulled out the drawer and turned it over. Stapled to the bottom was a small envelope. He opened it and teased out a key, holding it aloft as if he’d found the Holy Grail.

  “Bingo,” he said, and kissed the key as he hurried to the trapdoor.

  He inserted the key and the padlock sprung open. Shaw pulled back the clasp and opened the trapdoor. Shaw pinched his nose with his fingers at the pungent smell of damp. There was a wooden ladder nailed to the side of the entrance. He lay on his belly and peered around. He noticed a pull cord and gave it a tug.

  “Yay, we have light.”

  It was a dull light, but at least he thought it would enable him to see what was so interesting down there that Ted felt it necessary to keep the key hidden. Turning over onto his knees, he edged over the side until his foot found a rung on the ladder. One step at a time he descended until he hit the floor. Through the space between the rungs of the ladder and on a wall in front of him, there was a large map of America. A fizzling sound behind him had the hairs on the nape of his neck standing to attention, when the light bulb flickered and then died.

  Chapter 30

  TURNING around in a three-sixty, the shaft of light from the living area into the cellar wasn’t enough to illuminate Shaw’s surroundings. Looking up at the entrance, Gyp stared down at him, his paws hanging over the edge of the entrance and whining.

  “Come on, out of the way,” he said, as he scrambled up the ladder. He made his way into the kitchen, dragged a kitchen chair under the light fitting, clambered onto the seat, then removed the light bulb. Walking back into the living area, he heard a thud and stopped.

  “Gyp, where are you?”

  The sound of a muffled bark echoed. He hurried over to the trap door. Gyp was sitting at the bottom of the ladder, wagging his tail.

  “Damn it, boy, you could have broken a leg,” he said, as he made his way down the ladder.

  He inched his way into the darkness, his hand held aloft to his front and stroking the low ceiling. His fingers hit a crossbeam and he stopped. The humidity and the pungent smell was overbearing. He groped around and felt wiring on the beam. Following the wire, he located the bulb, unscrewed it and changed it to the new bulb. Shaw squinted at the flood of light and stooped under the beam. Directly ahead was a wooden bench running from wall to wall. Stuck to the wall were five colored A4 photos of young women. There was one at the top, two below that and three running underneath. Either side there was wood shelving. On the bench top, there were two box files at the side of a computer and desk jet printer covered in clear-plastic sheeting. He bobbed his head under another beam and stood directly at the bench.

  He studied the photos, his mouth gaping. The top picture had two nails above it with a gold cross and chain dangling over the picture. It was the same cross that the girl was wearing around her neck in the photo. The same cross her mother had described that Gail was wearing on the day she went missing on her jog in the park. His legs went weak and he pulled out a chair from under the bench and sat. He didn’t have to look at the names, or the text reports below them. Who they were where already imprinted in his mind. They were all printouts from the missing persons’ site. They were his missing girls from that fateful day back in two thousand and eight.

  The hot air around him was stifling. He choked at the taste of the humidity and the noxious smell. To one side in a space between the shelving, he noticed an air conditioning unit. He switched on the electrical socket fixed to the wall. A vision of the aluminum vents passed through his mind as he switched on the unit.

  Shaw snatched at one of the box files to his right and pulled out a ring binder. It was heavy. He opened the front leaf. It was stacked with reams of papers. Locaters running down the side, listed different American states. He opened the first page. It was another MUPU leaflet from the site. Written in felt tip was a date of birth and July 11th, 2008. He flicked through the pages. They were all missing girls from different states and all similarly marked with the date of birth and the year. They were all eighteen-year-old girls. He pulled out the second ring binder. It wasn’t as heavy. There was no hand writing on these missing girls’ details. The dates of birth and the date they went missing were already listed. The ones he checked were all eighteen years old, with the same year listed, but none of them on went missing on the eleventh of July. Shaw suspected the hand of Homeland Security in the dates missing from the first file to avoid a connection.

  Shaw rested his elbows on the bench and sank his head into the palms of his hands. His mind trawled over the significance of his find. Ted would have been fifteen and a half back in two thousand and eight. He thought it not impossible, but strange that someone of that age could have a hand in the girls going missing. But the gold chain and cross sealed it for him. If he had a hand in their abduction, then, abducting Amy wouldn’t be out of the question. The big question was why?
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  At the far end of the bench was another box file. He reached out and pulled it toward him. Pulling out the ring binder, some photos fell out onto the bench. Shaw spread them out and studied them. He recognized the tubby guy in the picture, even though he had only met him the once. It was the guy from Homeland Security he’d met at the MUPU meeting. He was walking and carrying a file. The second picture was a blow-up of the file he carried, with the words ‘Operation dog-s’ clearly visible. The second picture brought back memories of FBI agent Summers from that same meeting at MUPU. He was walking on the same street as in the picture of the Homeland Security guy and carrying a similar file, but with the wording obscured. The third picture, Shaw couldn’t place him, but it was the same street and this time it was a zoom picture with the words visible on the file.

  He opened the ring binder. The first page was stamped ‘TOP SECRET’ and below that ‘Operation dog-s. Turning the page, it was a chain of command list. At the top of the list was typed ‘Whitehouse Executive Council (W.E.C.).’ An arrow pointed right on the page to the C.I.A. From there, an arrow pointed right to the UN Security Committee and below that, an arrow pointed down to a list. Shaw recognized some as secret service organizations around the world. Running from the W.E.C., there were lines to each department listed below, from the N.S.A., to the D.H.S. and then to the FBI, with an arrow pointing to the right and then the MUPU. Below that, there were four columns in rows listing cities and detectives names. Shaw flicked through the pages, surprised that nothing was redacted. Whatever the reports may contain, this was big. Too big. He stopped at some Egyptian inscriptions and symbols. He wondered if it was the basis of some type of secret code they were to use.

  Moving on, he saw the name Jedward Grimes on the last locater tag. He opened it at the first page. It was the report into his death. It was around thirty pages, together with an additional number of photographs of the scene of his death and taken from different angles. The report included one of Ed Grimes’ overdrawn bank statements, a foreclosure notice on his bar and a copy of the lease for the silver mine signed by Ed. The last page was marked, ‘File closed. Accident’ and signed with an indistinguishable signature over an official stamp of the NSA.

  Closing the file, he thought that Jedward’s report was out of place. He sighed. It would take a week to read all that content. He didn’t have a week. He put everything back in its place. Only Ted would have the answers and he needed them before the FBI took him away. If the warrant was in place, he could take away the files and have Jim and Frank help him to read the files for clues that may help him find Amy. Once he had done that, they would be welcome to them. Whatever Ted’s involvement, he couldn’t help but think that it looked as though he was tasked with following the investigation. There would have to be a central command to have carried out such a massive undertaking with the number of girls involved.

  Shaw swiveled around on the chair and stood. He walked over to the wall with the map. It was peppered with red pins. He picked out California. There were three pins all stuck in the cluster areas where the girls had gone missing. One other pin stood out. It was a blue pin, and it was stuck in the map at Breakers Pass.

  He took a last look around. Shaw noticed a buff file on a shelf at the side of the map. He picked it up and opened the file. His eyes widened. He’d seen the contents before. There was a Xerox of a newspaper article following his resignation from LAPD. A paper clip held a number of sheets together. Turning the page, there was his wife’s obituary. Behind that was an article on his appointment as sheriff at Breakers Pass, and on the same page, Amy’s name and date of birth written in pencil. At the side of that was written the figures ‘18’ enclosed in a circle. Shivers passed through his body. He closed the file and put it back on the shelf.

  “Come on, Gyp. Let’s get back to the office.”

  Shaw strode over to Gyp, picked him up, raised him to the opening, then launched him with a push on his backside through the trapdoor entrance. Climbing the ladder, his legs were leaden. Drained of energy, he hauled himself into the living area. With everything locked and put back in place, he set of back to his car. As he approached his vehicle, he could see a woman sat on the lawn, holding and resting the head of the old guy in her lap.

  “Please, help,” she called out.

  Shaw rushed over. The old man was groaning and clutching his stomach, the pallor of his cheeks had a distinct pale yellow hue. His breathing was rapid, and he was foaming at the corner of his mouth,

  “Have you called the medical center?” said Shaw.

  “I can’t get through. The line’s busy every time I’ve tried.”

  Shaw took out his cell phone, located the medical-center number and pressed the call button. It was engaged. He knelt and placed his hand on the guy’s head. His temperature was off the scale.

  “What’s his name?”

  “Jeff. I’m Annie”

  “I’m going to town. Help me get him into my car, and I’ll take you both to the medical center.”

  They helped Jeff into his car. Annie climbed into the back. Shaw opened his door and Gyp jumped in and onto the passenger seat.

  “Okay, Jeff, we’ll soon have you there. Hang on in there,” said Shaw, as he closed the door and started the engine. Turning onto the road, he activated his siren, together with his reds, and blues, then stepped hard on the accelerator pedal.

  The journey passed by in a blur of scenery. Approaching the medical center on the outskirts of town, he slowed. Confronting him was a scene that appeared as though he was approaching a jamboree. Cars were double-parked, and the medical center was surrounded by a crowd of town folks. Women were clutching their children. People sat on the sidewalk comforting others. A nurse was walking through the crowd carrying a clipboard, and wearing a surgical mask. Shaw stopped his car and climbed out. He was met with a crescendo of children and babies crying, interspersed with groans. He noticed that the nurse was taking down names, and handing out surgical masks.

  “Wait here,” he said. “I’ll find out what’s happening.”

  He rushed over to the nurse.

  “What’s all this? I have an old man in the car, and to be honest, he doesn’t look good.”

  “Look around, none of them look good. We’ve got some sort of food poisoning hit the town. The doctor’s had to call the county hospital for assistance.”

  “Please, just take a look at him.”

  They rushed over to the car. The nurse leaned in through the back door and checked Jeff’s pulse.

  “Quick, help him out of the car. It’s like an oven in there.”

  Shaw helped Jeff to get out of the car.

  “Where to?” Shaw asked.

  “Sit him down on the grass. There are no beds left.”

  The sound of sirens cut the air over the pitiful cries. A fleet of ambulances slowed, and the crowd parted. A medic jumped out of the first ambulance and the nurse signaled for him.

  “We need a gurney and an IV over here.”

  “Is there anything I can do?” said Shaw.

  “Yeah, you can get the hell away from here just in case it’s something contagious,” she said, and handed Annie a facemask.

  Shaw turned to Annie, put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze.

  “He’ll be fine now the medics are here. I’ll look in on him later.”

  “Thanks, Sheriff.”

  He let go of her, turned, then climbed into his car. He didn’t need telling twice. That last thing he needed was to be hospitalized if he was to be any help to Amy.

  Driving down the main street, a vehicle parked outside Hogan’s butchers. It was sign written, ‘County Health & Hygiene’ in blue lettering. As he passed the steak bar, he rubbed his stomach, relieved that he couldn’t feel any soreness. Approaching Ed’s bar, Grimes was smoking and talking with some of his customers on the sidewalk. Ed stepped off of the sidewalk and waved for him to stop.

  “You getting anywhere with finding out what killed Maria?” Grimes as
ked.

  “I thought you’d be more interested that your town’s suffering some sort of epidemic?”

  “That, it’s probably some contaminated meat, or something. You’d best hope it’s got nothing to do with that burger van.”

  “Well now, if I hear malicious rumors along those lines before my medical, my attorney will know where to look. Incidentally, your customers can smoke on the sidewalk, but they can’t drink liquor unless they want locking up.”

  Grimes frowned and his cheeks rouged. He turned to his customers.

  “Joe, Harry, take your drinks inside,” said Grimes, and turned back to face Shaw. “So, are you any nearer with Maria?”

  “Getting close, Ed. Real close.”

  Shaw wound up his window and drove on to his office, allowing himself a smirk. He parked up and climbed out of his car with Gyp following.

  “Any news from Jim?” he said, as he walked through the office door and on over to his desk

  “No, but I’ve interviewed Oliver and Tanya.” Frank said. “They don’t know anything about drugs, Ted, or Amy that can help us. Oh, and there’s the number and name of an FBI agent who called. It’s on your desk. He wouldn’t tell me what he wanted. He said he’d only speak to you. I’ve confirmed Ted stayed at the Globe. He’d booked for two nights, but only stayed the one. The cell number you gave me for the Jamie is a wrong number. There’s a digit missing. I can’t find any Brook Street on the map either.”

  Shaw took his gun from his holster and placed it in his drawer.

  “Empty the ammo from your gun and then put it back in your holster. I’ll speak to the FBI first, and then we can interview Ted.”

  “Why empty my gun?”

  “I’m likely to want to kill him that’s why. He’d better have some answers after what I found at his cabin.”