The Factory Read online

  “Okay, I’ll report that you said he threatened to kill you. That’s a punishable offense and I can haul him in on those charges. That’s when you pulled the trigger. Is that correct Ruth?”

  Gary saw the tears in her eyes. She looked at her friend and softly said,

  “Yes, that is the way it happened.”

  After a pause and a sniffle, she added,

  “Thank you Walter. I just don’t want him taking my Gary from me.”

  Although Gary was lost to the conversation, he understood one thing, his grandmother was crying because of him. He couldn’t help himself. He barged into the kitchen and hugged her tight, saying,

  “I’ll never leave you Grandma.”

  Forlorn eyes looked down at Gary and gently stroked his hair. The Sheriff looked to Ruth, nodded and said,

  “I understand the situation. I’ll look into his complaint and see what I can do. Now, let’s get to filling out this restraining order.”

  All three were now standing on the front porch and Ruth refused to let go of Gary’s hand. Sheriff Walter Cornwall put on his white Stetson hat and was about to leave when Gary stopped him with a question.

  “Are you allowed to help find lost children?”

  Understanding that he was talking to a vulnerable child, Walter put on his best soft face and replied,

  “That’s right Gary. If there is ever a lost children in my town, I will do everything in my power to help find them.”

  Walter was very good at reading facial expressions. He saw that Gary wanted to say something but did not know how to get it started.

  Knowing that in the past few month three children had disappeared in his town, Walter became very attentive. He asked,

  “Did you want to ask me something about a lost child?”

  Ruth too noticed Gary’s awkwardness and contributed to the encouragement. She added,

  “Walter is an old friend and a good man. You can ask him anything you want.”

  Accepting the reassurance, Gary slowly asked,

  “Do you know where all the children in Twin Rivers live?”

  Walter chuckled and replied,

  “Well, not everybody but if I know the name I can find out. What’s on your mind young man?”

  It was only then that Gary realized he could not tell the Sheriff why he wanted to know where somebody in Twin Rivers lived without his grandmother finding out that he had been in the attic with Sam. Thinking fast, another lie came easily.

  “My friend is lost and asked if I would help find where she lived, that’s all.”

  Recognizing the evasive question, that there was much more attached to it, Walter produced a knowing smile and simply said,

  “As Sheriff of Twin Rivers, it is my duty to help all people in need. Tell me her name and I’ll find out for you.”

  Pleased that the Sheriff was able to help, Gary said,

  “She told me her name was Amina.”

  As if it were a name from a distant memory, the Sheriff paused and tried to bring it forward. When nothing came to the forefront, he nodded and said,

  “I’ll do my best young man.”

  While walking down the stairs toward his police car that was parked out front, he said to Ruth,

  “This is not the wild west Ruth. Put the shotgun away.”

  Chapter 16

  The Twin Rivers police station was located downtown in the Maple Shopping Mall between the grocery store and a furniture outlet. In front of the Police Station five parking spaces were reserved for police vehicles only. That was where Sheriff Walter Cornwall parked and entered the precinct. Edith staffed the front desk and watched him come in. As he passed the counter, it was a casual greeting.

  “Morning Edith.”

  Edith did not look up but blandly replied,

  “Morning Sheriff.”

  As he walked past her and down the hall to the main precinct at the back, still not looking up she blurted out,

  “Did you want me to get off my sorry ass and walk over to the ‘Report Board’ you just passed and enter you as ‘in’ because you didn’t want to?”

  Recognizing that he had once again forgotten, he turned and went back to the ‘Report Board’. Because Edith wanted to know what deputies were in the precinct and who was out in the field, she hung a large board on the reception wall that was listed with the names of the deputies. A peg was intended to indicate ‘in’ or ‘out’. On his way back to it he did not let her sarcasm go.

  “You are a pain in the ass Edith.”

  Still looking down at her paperwork she countered,

  “You didn’t marry me for my good looks huh?”

  She was a good looking older woman with gray hair done up in a tight bun. Clearly she had looked after her health and that effort twinkled through young eyes and a ready smile that always melted Walter. Yet, hard permanent furrows crossed her forehead and only disappeared when Walter was present. It was an indication that there had once been a great sadness in her life. As Walter disappeared down the hall and into the precinct, she returned to her desk duties and the permanent frown once again dug deep into her forehead.

  Although the precinct had five desks, four were empty. That was something he liked to see. At least to him, it implied that everybody was out in the field. Sitting at the lone occupied desk was Deputy Isaac Rutherford. He was new to the force, a rookie. Rather than send a novice into the streets, Walter told him to go through active unsolved investigations so that he might get a better feel for the character of his new town. He was a good looking young man. Many said that he looked a lot like a young heavyweight boxer named Muhammad Ali. It was a comparison he relished. His baby face and slender frame was far from synonymous with a serious Deputy Sheriff. However, Isaac had a secret weapon quashing that flaw.

  Walter liked his newest young deputy. He came with the best qualifications as well as the best personality to work in a small town. He also liked that although he respected authority, he was often flippant and poked fun at those above him. In this precinct, that was everybody. Walter marched straight up to his desk and although trying not to make it sound like an order, that was not the way Isaac heard it.

  “I need my memory jogged. Go into those unsolved files and look for the name Amina. For some reason it sounds familiar. Also, I want to see a rap sheet on Rick Calhoun.”

  In response to the sudden workload it was plain by the grin on Isaac’s face that he was about to say something witty. However, Walter was years ahead of him in that department. At what he knew was coming, Walter threw a pretend sneer that could stop a pack of snarling Pit Bulls in their tracks. Isaac quickly stopped short of any smart ass reply and respectfully, wisely said,

  “Right away sir.”

  A few minutes later Isaac entered Walter’s office holding two files. Presenting the first one, he said,

  “The Rick Calhoun file is rather thick. He has a long record of drunk and disorderly, criminal aggression, a pile of speeding tickets that would choke a hippopotamus and just the other day he was cited by Deputy Grant Lloyd for drunk driving.”

  He placed the file on the desk and held out the other one.

  “This is the file on Amina. Her last name is Green. You remember the name because four months ago she, along with two other children disappeared without a trace.”

  Suddenly Walter remembered the unusual name.

  Although the case was not closed, it had gone cold. An extensive search for the missing children came up empty. Isaac proved his worth when adding.

  “When you hired me, you told me to go through the ‘unsolved’. I went through Amina Green’s case file and discovered that the other two missing children were the same age with the same result, no bodies and no clues.”

  He then added,

  “Are you looking into the Amina Green case again? If you are, I’d like to be assigned to it.”

  He was disappointed to hear,

  “No Isaac, I just heard the name this morning and the cop in me took int
erest, that’s all. What caught my attention was what a young boy said, that ‘she’ told me her name.”

  As Isaac prepared to leave, Walter had a change of heart. Handing him back the Amina Green file he said,

  “No wait. I know it’s a cold case but look into it again. This can be your first official assignment. Question the parents and friends listed in the report. Perhaps you can come up with something new.”

  Isaac was so happy that he practically stood at attention and clicked his heels together. In the reception area he went to the ‘Report Board’, checked himself ‘out’, turned to Edith and proudly reported,

  “I just got my first case.”

  Although she smiled, the permanent frown stayed in place.

  The Amina Green house was at the end of the street in the newer section of Twin Rivers. Isaac parked his patrol car out front, pushed the small front gate open and marched up to the door. When Mrs. Green opened it and saw the Deputy standing there she was suddenly overcome with grief and it showed in her gasp. Isaac was quick to understand the misconception and explained,

  “No, Mrs. Green, I have not come with bad news. The case is still unsolved.”

  In a way, that was still bad news to a grieving parent. He continued.

  “In the hopes of discovering something new, I have been asked to renew the investigation. May I come in?”

  According to his file, he knew that Lola Green was 39 years old. Although it was close to noon, she was still in her house coat and her hair was a mess. Isaac may be a rookie but he had been very well trained. When seated on the sofa looking across the coffee table at Mrs. Green, in order to counter his boyish appearance he activated his secret weapon. A stern hardnose persona washed over his baby face and while using his best firm voice, he said,

  “I would like to talk to both of you. Where is your husband, Jim?”

  It was a sad and defeated response,

  “My husband and I are separated. After our daughter disappeared we just seemed to go different ways. He couldn’t handle the stress. I guess neither could. He lives with his brother on the other side of town.”

  Accepting the defeat, Isaac started his interrogation.

  “In the previous investigation I couldn’t help but notice blanks to questions that should have been asked. Either the investigator neglected to ask them or you lied to him about it. I would like to address some of those issues with you now.”

  Although it was a bluff, just a way to jog her memory, he saw by her nervous reaction that he was onto something. He continued,

  “It says in the report that she was seeing a psychiatrist but the reason for it was not listed.”

  He then cast a firm look in her direction and made it seem like a command.

  “What was that reason?”

  While nervously fidgeting with her fingers she practically whispered,

  “No big reason. Just normal things a young girl might need help with.”

  He stayed in his ‘bad cop’ persona and said,

  “No, I don’t think that’s true at all. If it was just for normal reasons, then why would she need a psychiatrist? That’s what is missing here Mrs. Green. You are not telling me something and whatever it is might be the key to finding her. If you want this new investigation to go forward now is the time to open up to me. What are you holding back from me?”

  When it looked like she was about to cry, Isaac knew he was going to get something new added to the investigation. After a deep breath for courage and while still looking at the hands in her lap she opened up.

  “Amina was an odd girl. We thought she was going crazy. She would wake up at night screaming or stand in her bedroom with crayon in hand and draw strange scribbles and patterns on the wall. Well, my husband was up for a promotion at the firm and thought it was best if it was not known we had a rather infirm daughter. He said it wouldn’t look good and such.”

  When guilty eyes slowly rose to meet his, Isaac interjected.

  “So that’s why you didn’t mention it to the investigator. For the sake of your husband’s promotion you kept valuable information from the case.”

  In an effort to keep the vulnerable Mrs. Green talking, the ‘bad cop’ intensified. He pointed a stern finger at her and curtly said,

  “Let’s not make that mistake again.”

  He then added,

  “Did the initial investigator ask to see her room?”

  “No. He just sat right where you are and asked questions about her friends and how things were at school and home.”

  Although posed as a question, it was in fact an order.

  “May I see her room?”

  The bedroom was typical of a young girl. A single bed with a flower pattern sheet was thrown back and messy. A vanity mirror and desk was against one wall. A closet with an open door revealed more clothes crumbled on the floor than hanging on a hook. He asked,

  “It looks like you haven’t touched a thing since she disappeared.”

  Coming into the room behind him she confessed,

  “No, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet, that’s all. I guess I feel that by doing so would be a sign of closure, you know, admitting to myself that she is not coming home.”

  Turning to his right he saw the wall and asked an obvious question.

  “Is this all the things she wrote with the crayon?”

  The entire wall was covered in strange mathematical equations only a physicist or genius could make sense of, if indeed there was sense to be made of it at all. Isaac then saw that the entire ceiling was also covered with the same scribblings. Pointing up to it, he turned to Lola and asked,

  “How did she manage that? Did she stand on a chair?”

  Instead of an answer, Isaac got a most fearful look from her. She started to back away as if wanting to escape the room. Isaac sternly bellowed,

  “Now is the time for the truth. Do you want your daughter back or not?”

  Through flowing tears, she blurted out,

  “She lay on her back and scribbled it there.”

  Shocked at the impossibility, Isaac demanded,

  “Make sense. Explain how that is possible.”

  In a hysterical manner she shouted,

  “She floated up there. She was hanging there in mid-air with her nose to the ceiling and scribbling it all down.”

  Isaac’s expression must have been one of disbelief for she madly pointed to him and proclaimed,

  “There. There, just like that. That’s why we didn’t tell anybody. I see your question. You are wondering who the crazy one is now aren’t you?”

  Indeed he was but it was not an assessment left up to him. He again scanned the room and said,

  “If you are telling me the truth, it is new information and might be very helpful.”

  Through the tears she cried out,

  “With God as my witness that is the truth.”

  Isaac spent the next few minutes taking pictures of the wall and ceiling with his cell phone.

  The next name on the missing children list was Alexander Graham. He was the same age as Amina Green but went to a different school on the other side of town. Both parents were home and Isaac went through the same harsh routine as with Mrs. Lola Green but with different results. They neither weakened nor faltered in their vague story. When he asked to see the boy’s room he was only allowed to stand in the door and look in. It was as clean as a whistle. He noticed the walls and ceiling had a fresh coat of paint and wondered why. Were they covering something up? He saw a stack of papers on the desk across the room and asked if he might be allowed to see them. He was denied. Mr. Graham simply explained,

  “They are just reams of scribbling. Something about his school work, mathematics I believe.”

  When asked if Alexander had sought professional help for anything there was a slow confession,

  “Yes, we took him to a see a specialist for children’s emotional distress.”

  When asked what the problem was, both claimed it was ju
st the common problems any adolescent boy might suffer.

  “May I ask who the attending doctor was?”

  “Yes, a Doctor Fran Jorden.”

  The next missing child was Robert Ellsworth. Isaac’s tough cop ploy met the same dead end as Alexander’s parents. They were not about to admit any paranormal activity or strange behaviour of their son. Isaac noticed that both parents were clutching a Bible and there was a cross of the crucifixion in every room. He wondered if that was a new development in their lives. Did they see something that suddenly turned them to God or were they always like that? Isaac was not permitted to see his room and knew that without a search warrant it was not going to happen. However, he also had suspicions about why he was not allowed to see it. Clearly all parents of the missing children had hidden from the investigation their child’s paranormal activities because they feared it would be associated with madness. Isaac had discovered something new to the missing children case.

  Recognizing the dead end, he apologized for the intrusion and prepared to leave the house. However, he did not leave empty handed. He had discovered a common connection to all three abductions. Aside from the trauma of a missing child, all the parents were terrified about something. At the door, with a sad expression Mrs. Ellsworth pressed something into his hand and said,

  “Here, take this. If God is with us, it might help.”

  Looking down at the gift, he saw a small black note pad. He asked,