I hadn’t been to the Melville abandoned train depot in years. The memories came flooding back, and I shuddered. A sign on the front now said “NO TRESPASSING,” and every opening had been boarded up. Getting inside didn’t look possible unless we had a sledgehammer.

Percy and I sat there in silence for a moment. I studied the building.

“Michael got lost in there, right? It might be tricky getting inside. I’m not willing to ram my car through the front,” Percy said with a chuckle.

I shook my head. “Michael and I made it out of there okay, but we split up. Michael went in the opposite direction with his bike. The perpetrator followed him.”

“Do you ever wonder what would have happened if the criminal had followed you instead?”

“I used to have nightmares about it all the time. I had to go that therapy for a little while.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. That can’t be easy.”

“Let’s just take the photo,” I said.

Percy put his hand on the car door handle, but he observed me as I sat there like a statue.

“Well? Are we going?”

“So those six people, Ray, Cole, John, Barry, Mitchell, and Carol. were sacrificed for your invention?” I asked, turning my head to look at him.

“I’m not sure I follow?” Percy said, deadpan.

“The six people found dead in Wilton. The blood stolen from the hospital. Is that your doing?”

“Let’s just go outside and take a picture of Michael and his perpetrator,” Percy said.

“You’re not answering my question, though,” I said. My heart rate steadily increased.

“I can’t tell you much about them.”

“Why can’t you?”

“Because I don’t know anything. Now, let’s get out of the car and uncover the past.” Percy turned off the vehicle, and pulled the door handle, but he didn’t open it all the way. “No need to keep stalling.”

“You’re right. We should finish this up before the sun rises,” I said. I checked the time, and it was 4:30 in the morning.

Outside the car, the crickets chirped. It was muggy out, and I could see a few mosquitoes flying around.

“I’m going to need your help here, Eddie. Where should we put the camera, do you think?” Percy asked as he opened the trunk.

“Here, I’ll guide it.”

I joined Percy at the trunk, and we both grabbed the box and lifted it together. It was heavy and awkward to hold, but we managed to waddle our way out in front of the abandoned building. We set the box on the ground. Percy went to the car and grabbed the tripod, he carried it back, and we proceeded to put the human heart replica on top of the tripod. Percy made a few adjustments and aimed the camera at an angle that was probably best for capturing both Michael and the perpetrator.

“You know the exact time Michael would have encountered this person?”

“For the most part, yes,” I answered.

“Well, you need to be pretty precise with this.”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

“All right, I’ll let you turn the dials then.”

Percy stepped back, and I approached the camera and held a flashlight up to the dials. They clicked as I adjusted them to the exact date and time I thought the man made his appearance.

Based on what I knew, he was approximately sprinting out of the depot around 2:05 based on all the reports and estimations from the investigation all those years ago.

The dials were set, and I backed away. “It’s all yours, Percy.”

“Now, before I perform the final fine-tunings, we need to have a gentleman’s agreement sealed by a handshake. You’re a man of your word, aren’t you?”

“I try, to the best of my ability,” I said.

“Well then, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to take the photo, even if we have the timings off I’m going to take another one. We have enough supplies for five more photos, and that’s it. But the thing I want you to swear on, Eddie, is: in exchange for these photos of the man who abducted your friend, you’re going to let me walk away.”

“Let you walk away?”

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Percy nodded. “I don’t think we really have time to go over all of this, but you will say that I ran away in your reports. You did everything in your power to arrest me, but you couldn’t. You will have the photos though, you can tell people that I had them the entire time, but the fact of the matter is, I get to put all this behind me. I’ll pack up, take my camera, and leave you with the photos, do you understand me?”

“Yes, I understand you. Loud and clear. You give me those photos, and I’ll let you take the camera back and you can hit the road. You have my word.”

Percy shook my hand; tight and firm.

“Marvelous. Now let me grab the materials.” Percy went back to the car and pulled out a duffel bag. Approaching the camera, he pulled out some tubes and a specialized wrench, connecting things to the camera and tightening small valves.

I reached into my holster, clutched the grip of my pistol, and I unsheathed it from my shirt, aiming it directly at Percy. My arms twitched and I took a quiet deep breath, but I still had him in my line of fire.

“Perseus, put your hands up. Let go of all of the materials in your hands,” I ordered.

Percy continued working on the camera without looking back at me.

“So I guess you’re not a man of your word.” Percy tightened a screw on the camera then stopped and glared at me. “I’m disappointed in you, Eddie. This is the closest you’ll ever come to finding the monster that captured Michael, and you’re throwing it all away.”

“Put your hands in the air,” I said.

“Eddie, did you notice that your gun is a lot lighter than usual?”

I didn’t notice how much lighter it was in the situation’s intensity and everything that led up to that point, but he was right.

The ammo clip was empty.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.

“You can’t fool me, Eddie. I know Sheila emptied out your gun. You may as well be holding a children’s toy. Now, there’s still time to go back on that egregious decision. I haven’t taken the picture yet, but it’s close to being ready. I know what you want to do. You want to find Michael, and I can help you find your best friend. His family deserves to know. This community deserves to know. You have the power to make it all happen.” Percy took a step closer to me, but I stood my ground as my lip trembled. “What’s the matter? Let’s talk it through.”

“This gun is loaded. I had a secret magazine in my pocket. There’s no talking we can do. I’ve made up my mind. Now stop and put your hands up. You’re under arrest.”

I kept a close eye on Percy’s tool he used on the tubes connecting to the camera. He rubbed the tool with his thumb before pressing a button. A blade slid out.

“I said freeze!” I yelled.

Percy leaped at me with the blade out and stabbed my arm as he aimed for my heart. With my rush of adrenaline, it only felt like a needle for a shot.

In my other hand, I still had the gun. I struck him on the forehead with the barrel of the pistol. Resilient metal colliding with his skull. Percy stammered back, holding his forehead.

I sprinted up to him, and he swung his blade at me wildly, cutting my same wounded arm. I shouted in pain, but I knew I had to stop him. He couldn’t win. Gripping his forearm as he almost stabbed me again, I knocked the blade out of his hand. And although he had a larger frame than me, I managed to take his arm, bend it around, take his other arm, and snap a pair of handcuffs on him. I threw him to the ground on his stomach.

“Eddie, you made a poor judgment call.” Percy took a deep breath. “We can still reverse this. You need those pictures. It’s your life’s mission to find Michael. You’re so damn close, closer than you’ve ever been and you’re throwing it away.”

I didn’t respond. I stood there, gripping my bleeding arm.

Rather than shoving him back in the car and driving all the way back to Wilton, I called the police department in Lockweed.

After telling them where I was, their response time was five minutes to arrive at the scene. I held Percy at the spot, and not another word was exchanged between us, but as he was put into the back of the police car, Percy stared at me completely stoic and hollow, like the eyes of a dead man.

“You’ve let down your friends Michael tonight. Never forget that,” Percy said.

I ignored him as he was driven away to the police station. I conducted the other officers to put the camera inside the Escalade and take it to the evidence room. Meanwhile, I was driven to the hospital to get my arm sewn up, which at that point, the adrenaline wore off, and I needed medical treatment. I felt dizzy, and close to passing out.

At my outpatient surgery, I was given some painkillers, and I was released from the hospital.

Sitting in the hospital lobby, I had a lot on my mind, but regret wasn’t among my thoughts.

I’m sorry, Michael, I didn’t help you like I could’ve, but I know you would understand.

I cried silently to myself for a moment. Only a few tears crawled down my cheek before I wiped them away and took a deep breath.

Looking at my phone, I reread the message that Vicky sent me earlier. Just a simple text to call her back, but it still made my heart swell with warmth seeing her name on my phone. I felt like she wouldn’t believe the night I had. I thought about texting back, but I decided to call her later.

I had to call Martha right away.

“What’s the word, g-man?” Martha asked.

“Martha, I arrested Percy,” I said, almost out of breath. “It’s been a long night. Keep those people in the holding cell, and we’ll work on it all tomorrow. I need some sleep.”

“Okay, Eddie, I’ll talk to you soon. Take care of yourself, buddy.”

The call ended.

It was 6 AM when I left the hospital. I was picked up by a patrol car from the police department. They dropped me off at the local inn, where I booked a room. It was a small room with a queen sized bed and wooden floors and wooden cabinets. It felt like a cozy cottage. I fell asleep as soon as I lay on the mattress.

Seven hours passed.

I woke up without any nightmares. I was relieved. In fact, I couldn’t remember my dreams. Even better. Checking my phone, I saw that it was almost two in the afternoon.

I finally called Vicky back.

“Hello?” She answered.

“Hey. I’m really sorry it took me so long to get back to you. You wouldn’t believe the insane night I had or, hell, the past 48 hours, really.”

“I’m sorry to hear it’s been crazy for you. It’s been tough for me too. But, uh, I wanted to call you and let you know that my grandpa passed away last night.” Vicky’s voice broke towards the end of her sentence.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that, Vicky.”

She sniffled and said, “It’s okay, he’d been really struggling, and he can finally rest now. He had a great life.”

“I’m sure he did,” I said.

“Well, I have to get going now, I’m meeting with some family, but I’d like to see you soon.”

“Of course. I’m in Michigan right now, but I’ll be back in Wilton as soon as I’m able. Thank you for telling me, Vicky, and I’m really sorry for your loss.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you soon. Bye Eddie.”

I sat on the edge of my bed for a moment, taking a minute to think about her grandfather. I whispered a prayer to her family, and then I sighed.

Time to get back to work.

Calling Martha, I told her to expect me later in the evening.