When I was a kid, my parents took me to an amusement park. That’s when I found out that I both loved and hated riding roller coasters. I loved the rush of the ride, my body tossing back and forth as the car I was in dropped and banked and looped. In that moment, my mind shut off and I felt absolutely present in my body, totally occupied by what I was seeing and feeling.
But I hated the first part of the ride. The long slow climb up to the first drop, my mind spinning at a thousand RPM, wondering if this time something was going to go wrong with the coaster. Was my seat restraint going to fail? Would the car jump the tracks? Would I catch a face full of puke when someone in front of me lost their lunch?
Looking back now, I know that that meeting in Jackson Square, finding the pickup truck, our subsequent investigation, that was the start of the long steep climb that sent me plummeting in no time at all down to the cemetery, the bloodshed, and the pool of light amid inky darkness.
It didn’t take much time at all for Rob to make it to the area. Since Lacey hadn’t arrived yet, I gave him directions to where I was standing. He arrived and stood beside me. We didn’t say much to each other and he didn’t seem to be very impressed by the band. It was his loss, I suppose.
After waiting another ten minutes or so, with Rob becoming increasingly impatient and fidgety, we finally got contacted by Lacey.
“I’ll be in the parking lot in five minutes,” she said.
We headed back to the pickup and arrived just as a gray Mercedes van pulled into the lot. It looked like one of those Class B motorhomes that had been converted for stealth urban camping. Affixed to the sides were magnetic signs that said “K&K Mobile Locksmith Services”. Through the lightly tinted windshield, I saw a familiar figure at the wheel.
The van pulled in behind the pickup and Lacey got out. “Are you the gentlemen who locked their keys in their truck?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’s us,” I replied while Rob just grunted at her. She walked over and handed me a clipboard.
“This is our standard rate sheet and service contract. Sign at the bottom to accept our service terms. We will do our best not to damage your vehicle but you assume any risk of damage if you want to hire us.”
I glanced at the blank piece of paper on the clipboard and signed Derek’s name at the bottom. Hey, what’s a little forgery among friends?
She walked up to the vehicle and read the VIN and appeared to enter it in the tablet device that she was carrying. She then went back into her van for a few minutes and returned holding a key fob. She pressed the button on the fob and I heard the doors to the truck unlock.
I opened the driver’s door and peeked into the truck. It was a mess inside, with fast food wrappers strewn all over the floorboards. I did notice that behind the seats were a pair of black tactical bags.
“Thanks a lot,” I said as I turned towards Lacey. “You’re a real life saver. I don’t know what Mr. Grumpy over here would do if he didn’t get his medicine. Like we discussed, can you follow us to an ATM so I can get you paid?”
“Yeah, but don’t try to drive off and scam me. I have your tag number, Derek,” she replied.
I reached out to shake her hand, and when our hands clasped she passed me the key fob. I got in the driver’s seat and Rob hopped in the passenger’s side. He looked over at me and said “Mr. Grumpy?” I just shrugged.
“Find me a big box store parking lot or something where we can unload and lose this truck,” I told him. He directed me back towards my hotel and then to a shopping center on the other side of the river. I let Lacey know where we were headed.
We arrived without incident. I reached behind me to grab the tactical bags. One was full of personal effects – clothing and some snacks. The other, though, held a Sig Sauer 10mm handgun and a bunch of ammunition already conveniently loaded in magazines. Some of the ammunition was clearly for a different model of handgun. There was even a shoulder holster. I grabbed the bag and Rob and I immediately began searching the truck for any notes, documents or devices that could compromise our identities or our mission.
Thankfully, there wasn’t much. There was just one note with our names on it and “Jackson Square – 7 PM”. We cleaned up the trash, wiped down the inside of the car with one of Derek’s shirts, and exited the vehicle, locking it behind us. I happened to glance up at one of the light posts and noticed the bubble of a video camera looking down on the parking lot. So, I returned to the vehicle, opened the door with my shirt sleeve, rolled down the window and put the key fob on the driver’s seat. Hopefully someone would come along and take the opportunity to take the truck for a ride. Short of putting up a sign that said “Free Truck” it was about the best that I could do.
We walked over to Lacey’s van and climbed in. It was packed with computer equipment and other electronics, but everything was tidy and it was well-appointed. There was even a small bunk and a wet bath with a combination toilet and shower. Lacey pulled out of the parking lot and headed back towards downtown.
“Noverunt is sending us a replacement teammate, but she will not be here until tomorrow at the earliest,” Lacey said. “What do you want to do now?”
“Do we want to find out whether Derek’s murder had anything to do with the reason we are here?” asked Rob. “I don’t even know how we’d begin.”
“Well, I may be able to access the police reports if I call in some help from the Network,” Lacey replied.
While they were talking, I thought about my walk over to Frenchmen Street. When I passed Esplanade, I remembered seeing a bunch of street people who looked like they might frequent the area.
“I have an idea,” I said and explained what I had observed. “If they regularly hang out in the area, maybe they saw something or heard something. They might not want to talk to the police but maybe, with the right inducement, they might talk to one of us.”
“That’s not a terrible idea,” Lacey replied. “But if we all approach them it might scare them off. Do you want to do it?”
“Sure,” I said. “I probably fit in the best. We need to stop at a convenience store on the way though to grab some things though.”
At the convenience store I grabbed a sack full of roller dogs and a twelve-pack of cheap beer. Lacey then took me back to Esplanade, dropping me off a few blocks away. I walked back towards the river, one hand full of beer and the other full of greasy hot dogs.
When I arrived back in the vicinity of the fire station, I noticed there were only two people left hanging around. I slowly made my way over to them and stopped about twenty feet away.
“Can I join you?” I asked. “I’m new in town and I could use some friends.” I waved my supplies at them. “I’ll share!”
The two people remaining were a late teenage man and a young woman about the same age. They looked tired, dirty and a little strung out, not all that dissimilar to Sara the last time that I saw her. The young man had been using a battery-powered Dremel to sharpen a knife as I approached. The sparks were sent flying high into the night air, their glow a threat or a warning.
He stopped sharpening the knife when I walked up. “Hey, no problem man, I’m Matt and this is Abby. Where you from?”
“Last stop was Houston,” I replied. I sat down and immediately started handing out food and beer. “I was supposed to meet my friend Derek down here but I can’t seem to get in touch with him. His phone must have run out of minutes or something.”
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“Man, it’s not safe around here,” Abby interjected between swigs of beer and bites of nitrate-filled meat. “There was a murder just up the street last night and our friend Jose has disappeared. Everyone else is out looking for him. We stayed here in case he comes back. We checked but he is not locked up anywhere. He used to sleep up around here but nobody has seen him since last night.”
“Damn, a murder,” I replied. “Who got killed.”
“Got no idea,” Matt said. “Didn’t know anything had happened until we saw the lights from the squad cars.”
“Well, I am not the brave type. If people are disappearing and getting killed around here, think I will find some place else to bed down.” I stood up, leaving the hot dogs and beer on the ground. “I’ve had my fill, you can keep the rest. I hope you find your friend and he’s OK. Nice to meet you and I am sure I will see you around.”
“Wait,” said Abby. She got up and handed me a photocopy of a picture of her and a small Hispanic man sitting on the same sidewalk. “That’s Jose. If you see him please tell him we are looking for him and worried about him.”
I nodded, waved goodbye, and headed back into the French Quarter. As I walked through the heavily trafficked tourist area, I wondered if the area always smelled like urine and vomit or if I just happened by on a particularly bad evening.
When I got closer to Canal Street, I called Lacey for a pick up. She was still cruising around the area so I didn’t have to wait long to find myself back in the van.
“So, you get anything?” demanded Rob.
“There were only a couple of people out, and they knew nothing about Derek, but here’s something interesting. Their friend Jose went missing last night from the same area.” I handed over the photocopy. “It could be a coincidence, but then again maybe it isn’t.”
“It is getting pretty late and I am about to crash,” said Lacey. “I think our next step is to see if I can force my way into any surveillance cameras in the area and image search for this guy. Can I drop you off where you are staying?”
Rob and I got out of the van on Canal Street and headed to our respective hotels.
I fell into bed, deeply exhausted. If I dreamed, I can’t remember what I dreamed about. The next morning, I took a shower, pulled on a clean t-shirt, and grabbed a bite to eat from the free hotel breakfast. Just as I finished, I heard Lacey’s voice in my earpiece.
“You guys are definitely going to want to see this. I’ll pick you up where I dropped you off last night in twenty minutes.”
I told her I would be there and headed that direction. Rob, sounding like he had just woken up, said he would be there as well. She was right on time.
After picking us up, both Rob and I immediately started asking questions, but her reply was one word. “Wait.”
She drove around until she found a place to park her van. Then, she headed to the back and turned on a large monitor. “One second. You are not going to believe this.”
The monitor lit up with the image from a traffic camera. The caption said Esplanade and Decatur. The time was just after 3 AM and several people were sleeping on the sidewalk. One person stood up and headed up Esplanade away from the camera. The resolution of the image wasn’t great but the person looked like it might be Jose. He stopped and began urinating. That’s when I saw the other figure approaching – a fairly nondescript bearded older white guy wearing a gray hoodie. The two appeared to say something to each other and the older man reached out with his hand, as if he was going to shake hands with Jose. Jose reached out in reflex and when their hands touched, Jose began glowing.
I think you know what happens next. The old man’s eyes glowed for a moment and Jose began to light up and pixelate and he could only take a couple of steps before he collapsed on the ground. Dark spots had been appearing within him since the process started, and they got larger and larger until there was not a trace of Jose left. It was as if his body had disappeared into thin air.
“Do you think that’s what we’re looking for?” Lacey asked.
I nodded and looked over at Rob. He had not said anything but he had slightly paled and I noticed his hands were trembling.
“Yeah, I think that’s what we’re looking for,” I said. “So what do we do with it? If we go to the police, they will just think we doctored the footage or something. By the time they verify it is real and react there could be a lot more disappearances.”
“Well, if we pull the Network in on this we can probably get a facial recognition program in place to help find this guy,” Lacey said. “But then it will be up to you to do something about it. We should concentrate in places people congregate. Bar and restaurant districts, entertainment venues and places like that. I think we can ignore the heart of the French Quarter and other similar places because there are way too many people on the street to pull off something this showy without being noticed.”
I looked at Rob and said “You haven’t said much. Are you in or is this too much for you?”
“You can count on me,” he replied. Based upon his current demeanor, I wasn’t so sure.
“OK, for this I think Rob and I need to stick together. I don’t know how we’re going to take this guy down, though.”
“I assume he will bleed like anyone else,” Rob replied.
“I will submit this to the Network and see if we can get any additional field teams down here,” Lacey said. “I think we could use the backup, and our new teammate says she can’t make it until tomorrow.”
So, Rob and I spent our day going to places where people congregate. Some people, but not too many people. City Park. Bywater. Audubon Park. Algiers Point. Magazine Street. Freret Street. Maple Street. St. Claude. The list went on and on. And we found nothing, and neither did Lacey.
Day turned into night and we were starting to become dispirited and frustrated. Part of me started questioning whether I saw what I thought I saw on the video, but we kept at it. After all, lives were at risk. Finally, the drought broke.
It was just after midnight and Rob and I were stomping around the Irish Channel in an area with many breweries on Tchoupitoulas Street when Lacey’s voice excitedly crackled over our earpieces. “I think we have him. He is on Magazine Street near Louisiana Avenue headed toward the Central Business District. You guys are only about six blocks away from Magazine Street.”
Rob and I took one look at each other and started running towards Magazine Street. The other people in the area looked at us curiously, like we had lost our minds. Maybe we had. Louisiana Avenue was farther uptown so we were essentially headed on an intercept course. We hustled that way as fast as we could, but within a couple of blocks I was already huffing and puffing. I guess I should have kept up with cardio. We arrived at Magazine Street out of breath. I really wanted to put my hands down on my knees and suck in some air, but I forced myself to stand up straight, my eyes scanning the crowd.
Lacey’s voice broke in once more. “He made it past you. He’s at Washington Avenue, one block away. He’s appears to be talking to a young woman who was busking in the area. Wait! She stood up and she’s following him up Washington Avenue away from the river.”
And it was off to the races once more. I had a metallic taste in my mouth almost like the taste of blood. We ran past Magazine Street and paralleled it until we reached Washington Avenue. Looking to our left, we could see our target walking with a young woman carrying a guitar case. She looked like she was counting paper money in her hand.
My hand briefly brushed over the grip of Derek’s handgun. I was carrying my backpack on my back and the straps were digging into my shoulder as it bounced uncomfortably when I ran. I looked at Rob and he nodded at me. We started quickly approaching the pair.
As we got closer I gasped out “Nice guitar.” The young woman clutched it, glaring at us as if we were about to try to take it from her. I looked at the older man and his eyes bored into me, as if he was frustrated by our approach.
I looked him in the eyes and said “Hi sir! I wonder if we could talk to you for a minute. Our friend Jose disappeared a couple of nights ago and someone matching your description was reported to be in the area at the time over on Esplanade. We just want to find him.”
He studied me briefly and then looked at Rob in a calculating way. His lips pulled back from his teeth in a feral grimace. Then, without saying a word, he turned and bolted up Washington Avenue.
At the time, I was quite embarrassed because that old dude was faster than me. I ran as hard as I could but he stayed ahead of me. Rob, however, was keeping up. I didn’t know how long he could keep his bulk moving that fast though.
We pelted up Washington Avenue. A block ahead, I could see the walls of an above ground cemetery. I knew from the maps that I had studied that it had to be Lafayette Cemetery. The old man reached it before we did. He tried the gate but it was locked. He then took a couple of steps back and then ran towards the wall, springing off it and running up it like he was in some sort of parkour video. Rob and I arrived at the wall seconds later. Rob jumped and grabbed the top of the wall, pulling himself up to the top. He reached down and I jumped and he grabbed my hand, helping me to scramble up.
I announced to Lacey “We are at Lafayette Cemetery and we’re following him in.” Then we dropped off the wall into a maze of silent tombs.
Well, you know what happens next. The roller coaster had finished its ascent and I was on the ride, whether I wanted to be or not.