Wonderland

by Jennifer Hillier

  The Seaside Police Department’s motto was “Protect, Respect and Serve.” It was emblazoned in large letters at the bottom of the logo, which was everywhere—on the coffee mugs, on the business cards, on the wall of the main office, and on the T-shirts you could buy from the Seaside PD gift shop for twenty dollars plus tax.

  Seaside’s police force included thirty-five officers, six detectives, two sergeants, one deputy chief, and one chief of police. The wall in the main lobby featured every officer’s photograph, and soon Vanessa’s would join theirs. It was amazing to her that everyone’s picture fit on one wall. The entire police department here wasn’t even close to being as large as Seattle’s West Precinct, from where Vanessa had transferred.

  The officer who’d greeted her had passed her off to another officer, a blonde who couldn’t be more than thirty, judging from the absence of wrinkles on her pert face. She’d introduced herself as Claire Moran, and she’d made a point of telling Vanessa that she’d been “volunteered” to show her around. While her words were polite enough, her tone of voice and lack of warmth made it clear there were a thousand things she’d rather be doing.

  During her quick tour of the department, Vanessa was halfheartedly introduced to a dozen or so officers and a handful of administrative personnel. The rest of the staff were either too busy to say hello, or simply not interested, and with each passing minute it was more and more obvious that she wasn’t welcome here. Vanessa had no idea why she was being frozen out; this type of treatment was usually reserved for rookies, which she most certainly was not.

  Sitting alone now in her new office, she unpacked the few small personal items she’d brought with her. A small framed photo of Ava and John-John was awarded the place of honor on her desk. Her black leather-bound notebook—no iPad mini for her, thank you—was placed beside the photo, along with her favorite mug from home. She was in one of six offices that lined the outer edge of the main area, and it had a glass wall that overlooked the department. Behind her, a small window showcased a view of—what else?—Wonderland.

  There was a flurry of activity inside the department this morning, and whatever was going on, the officers seemed excited. Vanessa thought she heard someone say that a dead body had been found at the park, but snippets of disjointed conversation were all she could pick up.

  Had someone died at Wonderland? It was ridiculous to have to ask. She was the deputy chief of the Seaside Police Department, for Christ’s sake. And it was her first day, goddammit. What the hell kind of welcome was this? Mind you, the title of deputy chief in a police department this small, and in a town as small as Seaside, didn’t mean what it would have in a larger city. While Vanessa outranked everybody here except police chief Earl Schultz, the brunt of her job was to head up the Investigative Unit, working major crimes cases hands-on. The rest of her time would involve assisting Earl in whatever administrative and political capacity he needed, which was the only aspect Vanessa wasn’t thrilled about. She detested ass kissing in all its forms.

  Her new badge, ID, and business cards were ready, but she didn’t yet have a username to access her account. Officer Moran had showed her where the break room was and she’d poured herself her second coffee of the day. The coffee tasted like shit, but she sipped it anyway, in desperate need of caffeine thanks to all the alcohol she’d consumed the night before. Drumming her fingers on her desk, she couldn’t help but think of the guy from the bar. Had he been disappointed to wake up this morning and find her gone? Would they run into each other again? Did she even want to?

  She’d been at her new job for exactly twenty minutes and already she was thinking about a man. Stop it, she told herself. Find something else to focus on.

  Opening the top drawer of her desk, she found a half dozen used ballpoint pens, a couple of business cards that said CARL WEISS, DEPUTY CHIEF on them (the man she’d been hired to replace), and a partially eaten Twinkie with the wrapper still attached. She tossed the Twinkie into the trash and sighed.

  Happy first day, she thought. As her daughter would say, it sucked being new.

  There was a light knock on her open door and she looked up to see a man standing there. Midtwenties, muscular and clean-cut, his hair buzzed short, he was dressed in civilian attire. His posture told her he was a cop; the gold badge clipped to his belt said he was a detective.

  “Good morning.” He had two coffee cups on a tray in one hand, and a stack of files in the other. The coffee was from the Green Bean café downtown, and the aroma was fantastic. “I was supposed to be the one to show you around on your first day, but I was running late this morning and the lineup at the Green Bean was long.”

  “Long, but worth it,” Vanessa said, feeling absurdly grateful for his friendly demeanor. “Coffee cures all. Please say one of those is for me.”

  “I didn’t know what you’d like, so one’s an Americano and the other one’s a vanilla latte.” He held the tray up. “Your choice.”

  “Latte, please.” She took the beverage and gave him a smile. “Way to suck up to your new boss.”

  He blinked. “I—”

  “I’m kidding.” She laughed. “I’ll take suckage any day over the icy blonde who gave me the tour and made it clear I ruined her morning. Thank you for the coffee. Vanessa Castro.” She offered him a hand, and they shook.

  “Donnie Ambrose. Detective, Investigative Unit. It’s nice to meet you. And you must be talking about Claire. She’s never been a morning person.”

  “Have a seat.” Vanessa gestured toward the chair across from her desk. “You look awfully young to be a detective, if you don’t mind my saying.”

  “I’m twenty-six.” He sat down, crossing his legs comfortably. “I was promoted about a month ago. But you’d think it happened yesterday; people here are still mad about it. Detective spots don’t open up often, and competition is fierce. I’ve only been with PD for five years.”

  “You must have done good work as an officer, then.”

  He shrugged, a modest expression on his face. “I love the job, and I aced the detective’s exam. I also graduated from PSSU with a dual degree in criminology and computer science, so that gave me a leg up.”

  “Impressive,” Vanessa said with a smile. “I studied criminology at PSSU, too. What are you doing working for a small-town police department? The FBI loves guys like you.”

  “You think?” Donnie said with a surprised grin. “I’d love to work for the FBI, and god knows I’d love to get the hell out of Seaside. But it’s not that easy to make the jump. I grew up here, and there’s a lot of history. But, you know, maybe one day.”

  She nodded. History was a powerful thing. And she of all people understood how hard it was to start over someplace new.

  “Those your kids?” he asked, glancing at the photo on her desk.

  “Ava and John-John,” Vanessa said. “Fourteen and seven, respectively.”

  “They look like you. You’ve got your hands full.” Donnie placed the stack of files in front of her. “Anyway, Earl wanted me to make sure you were up to speed on all of IU’s active cases. You up for it?”

  “Of course. By the way, what happened at the park? I overheard some of them talking about a dead body?” She nodded toward the main room, which was still buzzing with activity. “Everybody seems so wound up.”

  “Nobody updated you? Call came in from Wonderland earlier this morning. One of the employees found a dead body near the Wonder Wheel. Deader than dead, actually.” The young detective wrinkled his nose. “Apparently there’s a stench.”

  “Really?” Vanessa was surprised. “If there’s an odor, then that means he’s been dead for at least a few days. Which means he couldn’t have died in the park. Which means he died someplace else and somebody deliberately moved him.” The wheels in her brain were turning, and despite her hangover, she was getting a little excited. She had expected things would be quiet in Seaside, but
a decomposing body dumped in a public place was an interesting case, for any city. “The Wonder Wheel’s right by the midway, isn’t it?”

  Donnie nodded. “The body was in plain view.”

  “Who caught the case? Maybe I should head over. Homicide’s my specialty, assuming that’s what this is.”

  “It’s Earl’s.” The detective looked at her like she should have known that. “Because it’s Wonderland.”

  “Seriously?” Vanessa was confused. In her experience, the chief of police’s job was largely bureaucratic. She’d never heard of a police chief being a first responder to a crime scene.

  “Earl handles all the Wonderland calls personally,” Donnie said. “Things are done a specific way when it comes to the park.”

  Vanessa’s desk phone rang before she could ask him to elaborate. Thinking it might be Earl, she answered it right away. “Detective Castro,” she said, and across from her, Donnie grinned. “Oops. I mean Deputy Chief Castro.”

  “I’m looking for Carl Weiss.” The man on the other line sounded cross.

  “I’m sorry, he’s retired,” Vanessa said. “This is the new deputy chief. Is there something I can help you with, sir?”

  “Yeah, I’m calling about my son for the three dozenth time. I want to know what you’re doing to find him.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

  “It’s not my name that matters, lady, it’s my son’s name. Aiden Cole.” The man spelled it, making a point to overenunciate each syllable. Vanessa dutifully wrote it down in her black notebook. “He went missing three years ago and you guys aren’t doing jack shit. He was only eighteen, still a kid. Did you say Carl Weiss is retired? I call that idiot every month for an update, and he didn’t say anything about retiring the last time we talked.”

  Vanessa looked at Donnie and pointed to the files he’d brought with him, mouthing, “Aiden Cole?”

  “Archives,” Donnie mouthed back, shaking his head. “Basement.”

  She nodded. “Carl Weiss retired about a month ago, yes,” she said into the phone.

  “Well, hallelujah.” The man snorted in Vanessa’s ear. “He was absolutely useless, so I’ll take that as good news. I rode that man’s ass like a donkey about Aiden, calling him every month, because god knows he could never be bothered to call me. But then again, why would he? That would mean he had something new, and why would he have something new if he wasn’t working the goddamn case?”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t have the file with me right now,” Vanessa said. “I apologize, it’s my first day. Is it all right if I call you back when I’ve had a chance to look it over?”

  “Are you really going to call?”

  “I give you my word. I’m a parent, too. I have a fourteen-year-old daughter, and I can’t even imagine what you’ve been going through these last three years. I am so sorry.” There was a long silence on the other line, and after a few seconds, Vanessa was beginning to wonder if they’d been disconnected. “Sir?”

  “I’m here,” he said. “Thank you for what you just said. You actually sound like you give a shit.”

  “I do,” she said. “Now can I get your name and phone number?”

  “David Cole.” He sounded less harsh, and he gave her the numbers for his home, office, and cell. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. It’s just, my dealings with Weiss were never productive.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Mr. Cole,” Vanessa said. “Give me a day or two to look over the case, and then we can talk about your son more in depth. Does that work?”

  “That’s fine.” His voice faltered. “Well, thank you. I look forward to hearing from you.”

  “We’ll speak soon.” Vanessa disconnected and looked at Donnie, who’d been checking his text messages. “That was David Cole,” she said.

  “I gathered that.” Donnie put his phone away. “He always calls every month at the same time. If he can’t get ahold of Weiss, he’ll shout at whoever’s unfortunate enough to get stuck talking to him.”

  “Well, I don’t blame him.” Vanessa’s sharp tone made the young detective sit up straighter. “If he calls every month, why is his son’s case in the archives?”

  “That’s where they put all of Carl Weiss’s unsolveds,” Donnie said. “Aiden Cole was his case.”

  “What do you remember about it?”

  “Not much,” he said. “Because there wasn’t much to remember. It was three years ago, I think. Aiden was supposed to catch the Greyhound bus to Seattle after the end-of-summer staff party at Wonderland, the one they do every year. And then he was supposed to catch the ferry to Bainbridge Island, where he lived. He never made it home. We don’t even know if he got on the bus.”

  “And the party was the last place he was seen?”

  “I believe so, unless Weiss found some new information at some point. Which would be in the file, which is archived in the basement, which is a disorganized mess. I can go dig it up, if you want,” he said, looking unhappy. “Might take all day, though.”

  Vanessa thought for a moment. “What’s Claire Moran’s extension?”

  “Three-five-five.”

  She punched it into her desk phone. “Officer Moran,” she said when the woman picked up. “This is Deputy Chief Castro. I need you to retrieve a file for me in the archives.”

  “I . . . okay,” Moran said on the other end, clearly caught off guard. “That’s in the basement. I can ask someone—”

  “I don’t want someone, I want you,” Vanessa said cheerfully. “You were so kind in showing me around this morning, I thought maybe you could use a change of scenery.”

  Donnie snorted and covered his mouth.

  “Which file?” the officer asked.

  “Aiden Cole.”

  “That’s one of Weiss’s files,” Moran said, sounding mildly alarmed. “The archives aren’t very organized . . . it might take awhile to find it.”

  “Great. Have it on my desk by the end of the day. Thank you.” Vanessa hung up.

  “Feel better?” Donnie asked.

  “Much.”

  “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

  “Always wise to remember that,” Vanessa said with a smile. “So tell me, was Carl Weiss just stringing David Cole along because there was really nothing he could do to find his son, or was he just a really shitty—” She stopped, realizing she didn’t actually know what Donnie’s relationship was with the former deputy chief. She didn’t want to stick her foot in her mouth.

  Donnie laughed. “Don’t censor yourself for me. Weiss was a terrible cop. Terrible. His strength was in schmoozing and ass covering and doing whatever Earl told him to do. He was a shitty investigator, which is probably why they brought you in.” He leaned in. “Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, but most of the department wasn’t too happy that Earl didn’t promote from within. He didn’t even do formal internal interviews. He just announced you were coming. Via email.”

  Vanessa sighed. “Well, that explains the not-so-warm welcome I received. I’m sorry.”

  Donnie lifted a hand. “You have nothing to be sorry for. It’s not your fault. But folks around here tend to hold grudges, so try not to take it personally. The two sergeants who were in competition for your job hate each other, but they hate outsiders more.” He paused, then said, “Rumor has it that Earl hired you because the new mayor asked him to. That true?”

  Vanessa gave him her best Mona Lisa smile. “Which mayor?”

  He laughed again. “All right, all right. None of my goddamned business, I get it.” Donnie’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he checked it quickly. “Speak of the devil, just got a text from Earl. You got your wish. He wants us at Wonderland. Everything else can wait.”

  Vanessa took a moment to down the last of her latte before following Donnie out of the office. “I guess dead bodies are pretty rare in Sea
side. In Seattle, unless it was some kind of celebrity death or mass shooting, you wouldn’t see both the chief of police and the deputy chief at a crime scene.”

  “It’s going to be so much fun watching you get acquainted to our small-town ways.” The detective grinned as they headed out of the building. He directed her to an unmarked Dodge and they both got in. “Mind if I speak bluntly about how things work at Seaside PD?”

  “I would appreciate it, actually.”

  “When Wonderland calls—about anything, dead body, dead squirrel, anything—the chief goes running. Bianca Bishop, the park’s CEO, is a real piece of work.” Donnie made a face. “She has Earl’s home number, and she never hesitates to use it whenever she needs PD for anything. Earl’s at her beck and call.”

  “That seems like a huge waste of resources.”

  “Oh, I agree,” Donnie said as they got into the car. “But Wonderland is the most important thing this town has. If anything goes wrong at the park, if the park doesn’t do well, then Seaside doesn’t do well. That’s been proven before.”

  “Yeah, but we’re the police. We don’t work for the park.”

  “No, we work for the town, which can’t survive without the park.” Donnie said this matter-of-factly as they pulled out of the lot. “It’s how things have always been. As far as Earl is concerned, nothing that happens at Wonderland is ever a waste of time.”

  “But for the chief of police to—”

  “It’s Wonderland, Deputy.” Donnie’s tone was firm but kind. “I know it doesn’t make sense to you, and trust me when I say that Wonderland is my biggest headache. I worked there as a teenager, and I know a lot of the management team, so when Earl can’t be there personally, who do you think he sends? I know every nook and cranny of that place. It looks like fun and games from the outside, but trust me, that place is not what it seems.”

  Vanessa waited for the younger man to say more, but he seemed content to drive in silence. He was right, she didn’t understand, but she was grateful for his advice. The last thing she needed was to get on Earl Schultz’s bad side by saying something stupid. Especially since he hadn’t wanted to hire her in the first place.