Deputy Sheriff Jim

I was feeling a bit groggy after I woke up. The domestic disturbance in the Delaney household last night had dragged on and by the time I was free to get back home, it had been really late. I got up and went to the kitchen in my trailer to make some coffee. I tried to arrange my thoughts as I gradually woke up from the daze that I was in. The situation was still absolute shit in this town. Four girls were still missing and by now, presumed dead. In a town this size, that was a massive number.

The faith that the people had in the police force had all but evaporated. Even the Sheriff’s daughter Mary had gone missing along with her friend Daphne three days ago and so far we had jack shit by way of evidence or leads. The complete lack of respect that the populace now had for the police force translated into more and more violent incidents springing up around town. I had to wonder about just how long we’d be able to uphold the law and order here with things as bad as they were.

I was awoken from my musings by my phone ringing. I went over to grab it from the side of the bed. I thought it was probably Pam, asking me when I was going to come in. Therefore, I was pretty surprised to see that it was Sheriff Lawton who was calling me. I had avoided calling him for the last couple of days since I had no updates that I could give the man. It was a really shitty feeling when you ended up in a position where you could do nothing for your mentor. I was green as grass before sheriff Lawton took me under his wing and taught me all I know about police work. The haunting, lifeless look in his eyes from our last meeting was still on my mind as I answered the call.

“Hello sheriff, good morning” I said.

“Good morning Jim” he replied.

I was very pleasantly surprised to hear that the tone of his voice didn’t sound utterly depressed like last time.

“I was just calling to tell you that I’ll be coming in today. Make sure we have everyone on duty assembled at the station by 10AM.” he said.

“Alright, got it sir. Look forward to having you back at the station, Sheriff” I said.

There was a pause before he replied “Thanks Jim” and hung up the phone.

I straightened up, feeling a lot more energetic than I did a few minutes ago. I wondered what had happened to give him the fresh hope that was apparent in his voice before picking up my cell to call the rest of the gang to share the happy news.

Peyton

Jay and I reached Bison’s creek by morning and decided to head over to Sheriff Lawton’s house right away. It was a bit early, but we figured we’d get started right away. Jay and I were both dressed in formals and had our fake IDs with us. I had to say that Jay cut a fine figure dressed in a suit. I think he caught me staring at him a few times, much to my embarrassment.

The house looked pretty much the same as every house in the area in the neighbourhood. The trash cart parked on the side was full and the lid was not fully closed. There was a definite air of unkemptness around the property. Jay knocked on the door only once before it was opened by a well built middle aged man who looked dishevelled.

“Sheriff Lawton?” Jay asked.

“Yeah, Who’re you?” he replied with a slurred voice. He’d either started drinking this early in the morning or was still drunk from last night judging from the smell that was coming from him.

“We’re from the department of homeland affairs. I understand that you raised an investigation request” Jay said as I watched the sheriff’s eyes go wide and his mouth pop open slightly.

“Oh my god. ah..You’re real, you’re actually real. I was starting to think that I’d hallucinated about that phone call. Thank you. Thank you for coming. Come on in”, the sheriff stammered out.

Jay and I nodded in acknowledgement before Jay sent me a look. We had discussed that he wanted me to take a more leading role in the investigation as part of my training. My communication skills hadn’t exactly been great before my transformation.

“Before we come in, Sheriff Lawton, know that you’re the only one in this town who’ll know about the department of homeland affairs. As for everyone else, we’re just two FBI agents sent to consult with you on the matter. You understand?” I asked as I stepped forwards.

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“That’s fine by me, but what if someone runs your ID?” Sheriff asked.

“They can run our ID’s. It’ll come back verifying us as FBI agents. Don’t worry”. I said reassuringly.

The Sheriff nodded, not seeming particularly reassured about how the authorities of governmental agencies were being subverted. Jay had explained to me last night that there was an entire division inside the FBI that was controlled by our agency and that they could activate and deactivate ID’s at will.

“What should I call you guys?” the sheriff asked.

Oops, we hadn’t yet introduced ourselves. I straightened up before extending my hand to him.

“I’m agent Peyton Smith and this is agent Jay Brown” I said.

“Well, come on in Agents Smith and Brown. You can call me Sheriff or just John” he said before he stepped inside and gestured to us to follow him. I saw Jay give me a wink just as the sheriff went in.

“How’d I do?” I asked in a low voice.

“Very good Peyton. You sounded strong and reassuring. You make a good lead investigator. Keep it up” Jay said with a genuine smile.

I blushed a bit as I muttered my thanks. I arranged my face into a neutral expression as we stepped into the house.

The sheriff was busy moving a few files and boxes out of the couch before offering us a seat on it. It seemed obvious that the man had been working feverishly, but with little success. My gaze fell on the half full bottle of whiskey on the table. The sheriff immediately moved to hide the bottle behind the couch before all of us sat down.

“Mind if we talk a bit quietly? My wife’s not up yet. She went to bed late last night.” the sheriff said. There was unmistakable pain on his face as he said this. I could imagine what it was that had kept her up late. I wondered if both the parents had gotten anything better than fitful naps since their daughter had been taken.

“That’s quite alright Sheriff, we don’t mind” I said reassuringly with a smile.

I got a weak smile in return before he ran a hand over his face as if to shake away the cobwebs.

“So, What is it that you guys are planning to do exactly?” Sheriff asked, suddenly focused.

“We plan to investigate, Sheriff. We’ll be going over the work you guys have done so far and try to advance from there.” I said.

“I’m sorry, but the FBI has already consulted on this case a few months back after Sadie Newton and Amy Schweitzer went missing. They weren’t able to dig up any leads then. What makes you think that you’ll be able to crack the case when they weren’t?” he asked.

I took in a breath and waited a moment before answering. Beneath the calm mask that he was wearing I could sense the struggle of a man who was trying to reign in any hope he felt, lest he be disappointed. It was important that we didn’t give out false hope, but I didn’t want to leave the father in him utterly shattered either.

“We can’t guarantee a breakthrough or success John. But what we do have are certain tools to investigate this that nobody else possesses. I wish I could explain to you in detail what that was, but I’m afraid for now you’ll have to trust that we know what we’re doing” I said trying to be gentle towards his feelings and be firm in our duties.

The sheriff didn’t look too pleased that we couldn’t tell him exactly what we were planning to do, but seemed to accept it nonetheless.

“What do you need from me?” he asked.

“We need you to introduce us to your deputies and let us have a look at the detailed reports on your investigation so far” I said.

“We’ll also need something with your daughter Mary’s smell sample on it” I added hastily as I almost forgot one important detail.

Sheriff was a bit perplexed when he replied “The K-9 unit has already been all over the scene of their disappearance. They didn’t find anything a few hours after the girls disappeared.” he said.

“Still, we’d like a scent sample. I’m afraid it’s one of those things that we can’t explain about” I said.

Sheriff Lawton let out a breath before replying.

“Alright, I’ll get you a scent sample and everything else you need. Gimme a few minutes to get changed” he said.

“Take your time Sheriff, we’ll wait outside” Jay said, speaking for the first time since he entered the house.

We walked out of the house towards our car while we heard the Sheriff making calls on his phone. His voice had a lot more energy than when he was talking to us. I was careful not to give him any false hope, but I started to worry if I’d ended up doing just that.

“How’d I do Jay?” I asked, my tone tinted with worry.

“You did well Peyton, I couldn’t have done any better myself” Jay said as he placed a hand on my shoulders reassuringly.

I sure hoped that he was right. I knew that I’d rather run 1000 rounds nonstop around my mountain trail than to have to leave here without bringing closure to these people.