Read how my first day in Dog Wood went here Part Two
I had only been a detective for about a week before the town of Dog Wood pulled my calling card. I was still recovering from my first day, still in a daze, and just tryna get back on my feet from all the weirdness. That is until I heard my phone ring.
“Hello Detective Night, this is Sheriff Ling. We need you at 2830 Grabe road.” The sheriff spoke in a huff. Sounded like she was annoyed with something.
“What’s the case?” I asked, checking my watch to see that it was about three in the morning.
“Missing Persons” She said sharply. Seems like I had pissed her off even more.
“Just be here in the next 15 minutes. There’s a big church on the street and my cruiser is parked out front. You can’t miss it.” She hung up without so much as a goodbye.
I wondered what sorta stick worked its way up her ass as I got up and dressed. Honestly I was a little more than hesitant to take that first step out onto the street. I wasn’t one for the whole mentally weak thing. You know PTSD and all that, but damn did I feel scared. Just touching the doorknob to my apartment sent shivers down my spine. Maybe because I was half expecting a small voice to call out to me from the other side.
I had to cast those thoughts aside. It was difficult, but I had a job to do. I took a breath and opened the door. A slight breeze kissed my cheeks as I was greeted with the brisk air of the outside world. It felt like it had been days since I had seen the outside of my small apartment. Maybe because it really had been.
I walked to my car that was parked on the street and hopped in. With a few wrong turns and dead ends I was headed down Grabe road. There were rows of houses on either side, but they soon gave way to trees and thick brush as I headed further down the road. I could see the church in the distance and glanced at an oncoming traffic post on the side of the road. It read: Speed Limit 45.
I thought that was a little quick for what was technically still a residential road, but maybe they just do things a bit differently down here. I pressed my feet on the gas and was quickly clearing 50. It was weird though. It seemed like the faster I went the further the church got. I brushed it off as just my mind playing tricks on me.
But after another 10 minutes of driving I couldn’t see the church at all. Just winding trees and thick forest covering all sides of my vehicle. I could see the dim lights of the town fading away in my rear view mirror as I drove on.
My first thought was that I might have made a wrong turn somewhere. Then I thought how impossible that was. It was a straight shot to the church from the road I was on, no turns, no nothing.
I slowed down to about 30 and started looking for somewhere I could turn off or maybe park when the familiar red and blue lights accompanied by a siren showered my vehicle. I pulled off to the side of the road and placed my car into park. To my surprise the officer didn’t get out.
“Get back on the road and keep driving. Do not go any faster than 30 miles per hour. Press your break twice if you understand.” A man’s voice said from the cruiser’s megaphone.
“What the hell?” I said under my breath. Tension was rising in me like a log in a fire pit.
I decided to roll my window down and flash my badge. Maybe they’ll be nice enough to extend a little professional courtesy. I could see small wisps of fog rolling in from behind us.
“I know who you are, Detective. Please follow my orders. We don’t have much time. Don’t make me leave you here.” The man’s voice was more frantic now. I couldn’t see into the cruiser but I could tell from his voice that he was a much younger man then myself.
What the hell did he mean he’d have to leave me here? And that we didn’t have much time? I decided to just roll my window up and comply with his weird commands. I pumped my brakes twice and threw my car into drive. I got back on the road with the officer following close behind, making sure I didn’t go past 30.
To my surprise after only 5 minutes of driving the trees cleared and we were turning into the church parking lot. I could see Sheriff Ling leaning on her cruiser having a smoke. Her demeanor seemed a lot cooler than she had been on the phone. I pulled up beside her and the cruiser that was following me did the same. I could still see the wisps of fog clinging to my car as I hopped out and made my way to the Sheriff. Just as a young blonde officer that was in the other cruiser did as well.
“Well better late than never.” Sheriff Ling said in that same contempt laced tone. It seemed she wasn’t as cooled down as I thought.
“Uhh sorry, I ended up getting pulled over a ways-” I started to say, but was cut off.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” Sheriff Ling glared at the young officer standing to her right. She crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation.
“I-I’m sorry Sheriff, he caught me off guard. It won’t happen again.” The young officer stammered.
She looked him up and down, not even attempting to hide her anger and disappointment. Then at me. She shook her head slowly and flicked her cigarette. Just as she did she took another one out of the pack, lit it and brought it to her lips. She took a long drag before she spoke again.
“Detective Night, meet Officer Graves. He’s our newest member on the force and a local of the town. He’ll be working on this case with you.” She said, taking another long drag of her cigarette.
“Look, the last thing I need is a partner. What I do need to know is what the hell that was back there. Why did you pull me over just to tell me to drive below the speed limit?” I asked.
“Well It isn’t safe to go more than 30 on that road. Plus you were going about 50. That’s way more than the speed limit Detective.” Officer Graves said.
“What are you talking about? The sign said 45 was the speed limit.” I said.
Both Ling and Graves looked at each other. Then back at me.
“Are you absolutely positive that’s what the sign said?” Ling asked.
“I’m positive.” I said.
“I’ll go check it out, you fill in the Detective in the meantime.” Ling said as she hopped in her cruiser and sped off.
I looked over at Graves. He was a tall man about six even with a rather muscular build. Short blonde hair covered his head down to his ears. His dull blue eyes stared back at me.
“So… fill me in. What the hell did you mean you were gonna have to leave me back there?” I asked.
Graves looked down at his shoes and placed his hands on his service belt. He took a deep breath and looked back up at me.
“Grabe duty Detective. I’m the newest on the force and they give that job to all the newbies. It’s our small town version of a speed trap, but not really. It’s more of a public safety thing than anything.”
“They say if you can’t handle Grabe duty, then you might as well just quit the force. Because shit gets more intense than that. You see, Grabe road isn’t like any other road in Dog Wood. A straight shot just off the main street headed South past this here church and into oblivion.”
“There are, well there should be, clear signs on the road telling people what the speed limit is. If anyone goes over the speed limit it’s my job to catch up to them and do exactly what I did to you.” Graves said.
“But why tell me to just go the speed limit and follow behind? Why not just write a damn ticket and be on your way?” I asked.
“Well, just look Detective.” Graves pointed a finger toward the town.
“We can see the lights of the town from here and yet we were so deep in that forest we couldn’t even see the church. So where did the forest go? We were somewhere else entirely. That’s the reason I did what I did. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said this road goes into oblivion. Now about having to leave you, well, when the fog starts to roll in times just about up and you’re just about lost.”
“But lost where?” I asked.
“I haven’t the faintest clue, but wherever that forest road takes you it can’t be good and most folks aren’t seen again once the fog consumes them. That’s why it’s so important to stop any and everyone that speeds on this road.” Graves said.
He motioned me to follow him to his cruiser. Where he opened the glove box and pulled out a manila folder labeled CASE #111
“Here, this is everything we know about the case as of right now. Hop in my cruiser and I’ll fill you in while we catch up to the Sheriff.” Graves said, getting into the driver’s seat. I got in on the passenger side and started to read through the documents inside the folder. It read:
A local teenage boy by the name Eric Halter(17) was last seen leaving for a friend’s house on the South side of town. Friend’s name is Pruit Davidson. He never made it there. His parents only reported him missing after he didn’t call them the next day. It’s been about 24 hours since Eric was last seen. He was driving a yellow Nissan with a crack in the back windshield. The car has not been found either.
“Seems like you guys don’t know much.” I scoffed and threw the folder back into the glove box.
“It’s a work in progress.” Graves said.
“Well the first step would be interviewing the family.” I said, punching the address into my GPS.
“You don’t need that. I’m a local, remember.” Graves smiled.
“Wouldn’t you know, I guess you do have your uses.” I said.
I radioed the chief and she said she’d meet us at the station once we had a working theory on where Eric had gone. We pulled into the driveway of a single story ranch home out on the East end of town. Bottles and debris littered the ground around the neighborhood and alley cats fought for what little scraps still remained in the overturned garbage cans strewn about the street. Suffice to say this wasn’t exactly the ritzy part of town. The house itself was in good enough shape though. The windows were all in place and the door wasn’t kicked in or boarded up.
After a few taps on the door a very frail looking woman answered. She looked to be about 45. Her hair was a mess and I could see the black bags under her eyes in the dim light of the street. She hadn’t yet turned on the lights inside her home.
“Yes? May I help you?” She said in a groggy, almost raspy voice.
“Hello, Mrs. Halter, I’m Detective Night and this is my partner Officer Graves. We’re here to ask you a few questions about your son’s disappearance.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, please come in.” She said opening the door and flipping the lights on.
“Sorry for the mess.” She said sheepishly.
Despite her claims the house looked to be in pristine condition. A far cry from the trash and abandonment that laid just outside on the streets. It was almost too clean. The couch looked like it hadn’t been sat on since they tried it out at the department store before they bought it. The coffee table was free of any debris or clutter. Not even a magazine. No dust. Not anything.
“It’s no problem ma’am. Would Mr. Halter happen to be here as well? We’d like to speak to you both if at all possible.” I asked while taking a seat on the couch.
“Wait!” Cried out Mrs. Halter.
I stopped with my knees bent in an awkward position. I looked up at Mrs. Halter expectantly.
“Uh.. Let me get you a cushion.” She said as she went into the other room and left me and Graves alone for a moment.
I stood back up and shot Graves a small look of, what the fuck was that. He just shrugged his shoulders.
“You know if the Halters were going to be moving anytime soon.” I asked Graves in a hushed tone.
“Not that I know of. There is some gossip around town ab-” Graves was cut short by Mrs. Halter. She entered the room with three cushioned pillows.
“There you are, gentlemen. Please, make yourselves right at home.” She said, motioning us to take a seat. We obliged and I took out my pocketbook to take notes.
“Now about your son, Eric. Tell me about him. What was he like?” I asked.
“Well, we don’t really talk much. He’s a very quiet boy you see. He’s a good kid though. Always did well in school and stayed out of trouble. Always came home on time just before curfew.”
“What about his social life? Any friends or girlfriends?” I asked.
“Oh heavens no! Eric is a very quiet boy. He hasn’t had anything close to a girlfriend I’ve seen and the only other person I’ve ever seen him hang out with was that Pruit boy from over South.”
She turned her nose up when she spoke about Pruit. Maybe there was a thread there I could pull.
“You don’t much like Pruit?” I asked.
“It’s not that I don’t like him. It’s just that he’s got my Eric believing in tall tales and chasing ghosts. Just last week they were out on that road conducting experiments late into the night.” She said in a huff.
“I thought he was always home before curfew?” I challenged.
“Well it’s that damn Pruit keeping him up and away from home!” She said, I could see her getting more agitated.
“Alright Mrs. Halter, no need to get worked up. I’m just trying to get information to find your son.” I said, trying to get her to calm down.
“Maybe, I should continue the questioning while you go and check out Eric’s room.” Suggested Officer Graves.
I nodded and excused myself from the room. I could hear Graves talking and taking notes, and it sounded like he was making more progress than me. Maybe he wasn’t going to be such a pain in the ass after all.
I opened the door to Eric’s room and what I found only left me with more questions. It was a mess in here, but not like the typical teenage boy mess. No this looked like the mess of a seasoned investigator.
Instead of crusty socks there were newspaper articles and clippings scattered about the floor. Manila folders littered the young man’s desk with police reports spilling out. On the far side of the wall was a map of the entire town with multi-color yarn and tacks connecting various places of interest.
I took a look at the police reports on Eric’s desk first. There were mostly various disappearances in and around the local area. I could see he was highlighting everything that all of these reports had in common. Most of which were that the missing person was last seen in a car and they were all heading either from or toward the south side of town. Some of these reports were dated back almost to the 1940s.
Next I looked at the newspaper clippings scattered on the ground. Looked like they were about as old as the police reports. All of them were talking about disappearances in the town and it seemed like the townspeople were getting a bit more than worked up. Some of the headlines read:
Mayor In Hot Water Over Disappearances
Ghostly Road Takes Another, When Will It End?
Mayor Finally Finds Solution, Town Soon To Be Saved
I would have thought these were joke articles if I hadn’t seen the police reports that corresponded with them. Finally, I directed my gaze to the map on the wall.
Thankfully he had made sticky notes on all the points of interest on the map and even had a legend on the top right. There were three colors and with those three colors they each had a case attached to them. Green was labeled Mimic Migration. Blue was Colossus Textula. Red was Grabe Road Disappearance.
Instinctively I followed the red yarn. It seemed like they all correspond with the various disappearances from the articles and police reports. He mapped out the missing persons last known location and where they were headed. All of them intersected at Grabe Road.
It was obvious Eric saw a pattern and honestly I saw one too. This must have been that road Mrs. Halter was talking about. Knowing what I had just learned only hours before about that road my heart began to sink. I had to push those thoughts to the back of my mind. I only just started the investigation and I wasn’t going to let it end until I found the boy. Haunted road or not.
I snapped a few pictures and left Eric’s room. I returned to find that there was a third person now speaking with Graves. A short man with a stocky build. His hair was short and strawberry blond. With the way his worn out work boots snapped and popped as he paced around the living room, I assumed he had just gotten off work.
“Mr. Halter, I assume?” I asked, taking my place alongside Graves.
The man didn’t so much as look up at me. He just kept pacing around the room. I looked over at Graves and he didn’t seem too concerned.
“Well thank you fine folks for all your time. We’ll be in touch as soon as we hear anything. If you guys remember anything that might help us find your son don’t hesitate to call.” Graves handed them his card and I did the same. Then we left and got back into the police cruiser.
“So what did you find out?” We both asked at the same time. We shared an awkward silence until Graves broke it by going first.
“Well, the boy’s parents sure are a doozy.” He said.
“How do you mean?” I asked.
“Well the mom’s OCD if you couldn’t tell and for good reason too. You see how irate the father was acting? He started spazzing out when he noticed a speck of dirt on the coffee table.”
“Just a small piece of dirt set him off like that?”
“Yeah, the mom started crying and I could see she had make-up on when she wiped away her tears. Let’s just say the bottom of her eyes weren’t black from a lack of sleep. Honestly I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Eric just being a runaway.”
“Mh, maybe. I wouldn’t put all our eggs in one basket just yet.” I tossed him the pics I snapped just moments before.
“Damn Sol, you’re still using Polaroids!” Graves said in amusement.
“Sol? Since when did we get so chummy?” I asked, shooting Graves an annoyed look.
“Since we became partners of course!” He said taking a peak at the pictures.
“Looks like someones been playing ghost hunter.” Graves said.
“Seems like he’s been playing it pretty well too.” I said.
“They’ve been playing it pretty well you mean. Don’t forget about his little accomplice.” Graves corrected.
“Yeah, Pruit. That’s gotta be the next step He probably knows the most out of anyone. Especially regarding these extra curricular activities.”
“Don’t you mean paranormal activities? Haha!” Graves joked.
I could see now I was again too hasty in judging Graves. He was definitely going to be a pain in my ass after all.