by KD Michaels
“Alright ladies, let’s get this show on the road. Looks like four girls disappeared from the BlueMan arcade two nights ago and the parents were none the wiser due to the girls all claiming they were staying at the other’s house. Only one of the four parents knew that the girls had gone there because the kid actually told her mom something. The victims are Tabitha Jennings age 15, Danika Starr age 16, Juanita Sanchez age 15, and Farzooh Nadinaez age 15. The arcade owner, Dennis Ackerman, told the responding officer for Seaside City PD that he saw the girls come in but then had gone into the back where his office is located. He says he never saw them leave or what happened to them after going into his office. He just assumed they went home. He does have cameras in the facility but states they are only for show to deter would be criminals from doing anything in the place so there are no recordings,” Captain Irby informed Alpha Squad.
“Great, so not only is he useless as a manager but he’s got fake equipment to make it look like he’s a good guy. So what’s our plan with this one? The parents are pushing for us to check into this guy, right?” Rameriez asked.
“That’s pretty much our take too, Rameriez. The plan of action is to pair you guys up and have each of you to talk with the parents separately. I also want one of to talk with the arcade manager and give me your take. Pratt, I want you and Cortez to pair up, talk with Tabitha Jennings’ parents. The parents, Richard and Diane Jennings, are divorced and like to bicker back and forth from my understanding. You two are good at dealing with parents like that. When you’re done with them, I want you two to also take the arcade owner since you two have a good bullshit meter with people like this,” Irby looked down at her paper as she walked over toward Raso.
“Raso, you’re with York. You two talk with Marita Sanchez. She’s a single mom since the father passed away approximately six years ago in Iraq. Raso, you’re a single mom so I think you’ll be able to identify with her since I have Pratt working with Cortez on the Jennings and the arcade manager.” Irby smiled at Raso as she made eye contact before moving over to Rameriez and Diesel.
“Rameriez, I put you with Diesel on this one, and I want you two to talk to Mohummad and Nazirina Nadinaez. Apparently it was their daughter who told the mother where they were going so we have a starting point.” Irby nodded to them before making eye contact with her second-in-command.
“Lt. Haile, I’m putting you back in the field and teaming you up with Sgt. Brocard for this case. You two are going to go and talk with Dr. Abel and his wife, Karen Starr. These two are wealthy and holier than thou. They like to think they are running this show because he’s a doctor and they have money. You two know as well as I do if I put either one of these other six detectives on them, we’ll have issues because our girls don’t take shit from people and these two think we are beneath them, lower than-pond-scum. I don’t play that game and neither will you two. I want you two to make it very clear our detectives will run this show, so you two have permission to put them in their place as you see fit,” Captain Irby informed her two ranking officers before turning to look at each Detective in the conference room. After looking at each one and nodding, Captain Irby walked out of the room.
“Oh goodie, we get the arcade and the bittersnatch parents. Pratt, how the hell did we wind up the bullshit metermaids? I thought that was Diesel and Raso,” Cortez quipped.
“Well Raso has a good b.s. meter too, but Diesel would probably knock their heads off their shoulders. I think we’ve knocked one too many heads together as well, but who knows. Let’s get this adventure dealt with so I can get home at a decent hour and enjoy sloppy joe night with the boys,” Laura said.
“Awww, already calling him sloppy Joe? Thought SEALs were supposed to be clean freaks?” Diesel laughed.
Laura walked over and smacked Diesel on the back of the head. “It’s food, you moron. If you actually cooked instead of eating out all the time or stopped dating pussy boys then you’d know what we were talking about. Jeezus.”
The team had a few more laughs before going to their vehicles. Laura and Cortez headed to their SUV and pondered which interview to tackle first. “Do we want to get the sleezeball over with first or do we want to talk with the parents to get a better idea of what to watch for with said sleezeball?”
“Let’s hit the parents first, Taz. If they are divorced, more than likely they are at each other’s throats. Let’s go put them out of each other’s misery so they can go their separate ways without causing bloodshed. They already know someone is coming by to talk to them. I’m not sure why we have the case yet since it’s not for sure they are human trafficking victims, but better safe than sorry.”
Detectives Laura ‘Red’ Pratt and Tarilyn ‘Taz’ Cortez drove to the home of Diane Jennings. The mother and the father were waiting there to speak with the detectives taking over the case and see where they were at in the investigation. Both women knew the drill with parents in the beginning of any investigation. The parents blamed themselves and each other, especially if there was any animosity between them. They saw it time and time again during investigations.
Laura and Cortez arrived at the mother’s house and knocked on the door. A woman in her late thirties opened the door with red eyes, hair in a messy bun wearing sweat pants, and a baggy t-shirt. “Hello, I’m Detective Pratt and this is Detective Cortez. Are you Ms. Jennings?”
“Oh yes, I’m Diane. I’m sorry, please come in. I’m sorry I am a mess. My ex-husband is in the living room pacing. Please come in.”
“No worries ma’am, we understand this is a very upsetting time. Just know that we are doing everything we can to find your daughter and her friends.”
Laura and Cortez followed Diane into the house, into the living room, and stopped by the couches.
“Diane, who the hell was at the door? Don’t walk away when I’m talking to you damn it,” yelled a man standing in the living room.
Laura looked over at Diane who stood near the archway by the door. She was in her late thirties wearing no makeup with red eyes that revealed tiredness from lack of sleep but she was otherwise beautiful. She looked like she wanted to crawl into a deep dark corner and escape from the rest of the world, but most of all from the man in the living room. The exchange between Diane and her ex made Laura suspect that the husband was a jerk who belittled the ex-wife on a daily basis and possibly more so since the daughter went missing. Only time would tell during this interview.
“Excuse you sir, I’m Detective Cortez and this is Detective Pratt with the Riverton County Sheriff’s Department. We are the reason she walked away from you, so she could answer the door. We are here investigating the disappearance of your daughter and her friends.”
“It’s about damn time someone showed up to talk with us. This is bullshit. I knew I should have gone for custody when we went through our divorce. I knew her fucking ass couldn’t take care of my daughter and I should have followed my gut. She’s just as useless now as when we were married,” Richard Jennings yelled at Laura and Cortez.
“Richard, I thought she was at a friend’s house. We were the same way when we were kids. You can’t blame this on me,” Diane stated quietly.
“Yes I can because you should have called that brat’s parents and made sure it was the truth. Now because of you, our daughter is missing.”
“Mr. Jennings, I’m sorry but we will not tolerate you bashing your wife over your daughter’s disappearance. Kids will be kids, and sometimes these things happen. It doesn’t mean it’s your wife’s fault. In case you’re forgetting, there are three other girls missing along with your daughter, so stop blaming your ex-wife,” Cortez reminding Richard Jennings in a firm tone.
He simply laughed. “Just like a fucking woman taking sides. IF she had done what a real mother did, hell if any of them had done what a real mother should, we wouldn’t be going through this right now.”
“Mr. Jennings, one of the girls did tell their mother where they were going. They were all planning on staying at one o
f the girl’s home. Those parents thought they were at a friend’s house helping her pack for the same sleep over they assumed their kid was going to. So if anyone is to be blamed, it’s the kids for lying to their parents, not the parents. Now when you’re ready to talk like an adult and not act like a child, then we can get down to business,” Laura stated.
“It’s ok, Detectives. Richard is just upset our daughter is missing. No harm. How can we help you find our daughter?” Diane quietly stated.
“Well, we do have several questions in regards to your daughter. Do you know if she’s been to this arcade before?” Laura asked.
“Yes ma’am, she has. She and her friends like to go there to play some dance arcade game there where you can step on it and try to remember the colors or something with a big screen tv on it. They liked to play on it, saying it helped them with their cheerleading practice. They were planning to try out for the cheerleading squad.”
“Yeah like that’s going to happen with her ass as big as it is. I told you that you needed to curb her fucking eating habits,” Richard sneered.
“Mr. Jennings, this is the last time you’re being warned. One more rude outburst and you can continue this discussion down at the station. Your daughter is missing and that’s my concern right now, not your bullshit attitude about how her mother sees fit to parent. Now sit down and shut the hell up,” Laura ordered.
Cortez reached over and patted Laura’s arm as she leaned over, “Hey it’s ok, don’t let his assiness get to you, chica.”
After an hour of talking with the Jennings, the two headed over to the BlueMan Arcade to speak with the manager. When they arrived, there were kids going in and out of the establishment. “Shouldn’t these heathens be in school right now? I mean come on, it’s the middle of the day.”
Laura laughed at Cortez’s assessment of the kids. “Taz, they are on spring break. They are out for at least a week right now so no there is no school.”
“Wasn’t that last week? I mean seriously shouldn’t these things be learning how to take over the world and make our lives miserable and all? Don’t get me wrong, I love little Cody but these brats, just ugh,” Cortez complained, staring at the kids through the car windshield.
Laura shook her head. “Spring break varies from school-to-school or district-to-district. Cody was out last week while these kids get out this week. Just wait until you have yours.”
“Oh hell to the no, this chick ain’t having any of that koolaide. Nope, not happening captain.” Cortez shook her head.
Both women laughed as they got out of the car and headed into the arcade that was overflowing with the kids coming and going. When they walked into the building, they requested to speak with Dennis Ackerman. The kid behind the counter picked up his phone and called the manager. When the worker hung up, he stated that the manager would be out in a few minutes. Taking advantage of that time, Laura and Cortez looked around at the surroundings trying to get an idea of what the girls saw and went through when they disappeared.
“You know they may not have been taken from here. If they walked or took the bus then they could have been taken along the way,” Cortez stated as she looked around.
“True, but here’s my issue, how do we know which house they left from? We need to get everyone back together and look at time lines for these kids. I highly doubt we’re going to get a decent time line from this guy by the looks of this place,” Laura commented.
The owner for the BlueMan Arcade came up to them and introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Dennis Ackerman. I’m the owner of this establishment. How may I help you?”
“Hello I’m Detective Pratt and this is Detective Cortez. We are investigating the disappearance of four missing girls. They were last seen at this arcade, and we are trying to find out anything we can about their disappearance. I know you spoke with an officer from Seaside City PD already, but we have taken over this investigation at the request of the parents. We have a few questions for you if you have a few moments.”
“Oh yeah,” Dennis Ackerman responds hesitantly. “Ok sure, what can I do for you?”
“You told the previous officer that you saw the girls come in but you left to go to your office in the back, is that correct?” Cortez asked.
“Yes, that’s correct. I saw them come in and go over to the video game area over there,” Ackerman pointed to the back area furthest from the door. Laura and Cortez looked to their right which had their back to the door. “They all separated at first so I didn’t think anything of it,” Ackerman continued.
“Ok, do you know how long they stayed?” Laura questioned.
Ackerman shuffled around a little, sliding his hands into his pants pockets, refusing to look into their eyes yet getting upset with the questions. “No I don’t, I’m sorry. As I said before, I went into my office to do some paperwork and get caught up with some stuff since I had been out last week due to a family member’s death. Is there anything else?”
“We still have questions. You told the officer your cameras are for deterring theft. What kinds of theft have you been dealing with?” Cortez asked, purposely keeping him from going to the back.
“Well, we haven’t had any per say, which is why I said they are there to deter it. They aren’t operational, but no one knows that yet. I like to think that is what keeps them from doing anything,” Ackerman answered stiffly.
Cortez stared at Ackerman for several seconds then shrugged. “Ok thank you, that’s all for now. We’ll be in touch.”
Laura and Cortez left looking at each other as they walked out. They both didn’t like the answers they received from the manager for some reason. When they got into the SUV, Cortez took her phone out. “I think we need to have this guy looked into. My b.s. meter was going off the Richter scale on this guy.”
“Yeah, mine too. Let’s head back to HQ and debrief then go from there. Joe should be picking up Cody in a few minutes, so not sure what the man is cooking but I’d like to spend a little bit of time with him before we dive deep into this one.”
Laura and Cortez headed back to the HQ conference room to meet up with the others on Alpha Squad. For the next two hours, they went over notes and comments from the parents and the arcade manager, discussing time lines and their next step in the investigation. They all agreed that something didn’t add up with this case.
“On the outside, this guy looks clean and so do all the parents, but we need more background on them. Something just doesn’t ring right with this whole thing. We’ve done this long enough to know when something isn’t on the up and up with the statements. I want to make sure these parents aren’t in dire straits to the point they would consider selling their kids and their friends or whatever the case may be. Pratt, you said the guy who owns the arcade gave you the creeps?” Captain Irby questioned after heavy discussions.
“Wasn’t just me Captain, even Cortez said she’d rather face those clown freaks stepping out of the woods near her place than deal with this guy. I agree, I’d rather deal with the clowns since I can shoot their asses and get away with it on the self-defense rule. This guy just weirds us out and it’s illegal to shoot someone for being weird.”
Captain Irby nodded after thinking for a few seconds. “Ok, I’m calling our computer expert and seeing what we can find out. Go home and get some rest. I want everyone back in here at 0700 hours ready to tackle this head on. Hopefully we can find some more information.”
3
Everyone headed out after the meeting ended. Laura called Joe to see if she needed to pick up Cody or if he’d already gotten him, but got her answer when Cody picked up. What she didn’t expect was to hear a woman speaking in the background. She felt jealous but since she didn’t know where they were, she couldn’t really react so she headed home to wait for them.
“Laura, are ye home?” Joe yelled out as he and Cody walked into the house.
“Yep, I’m in the kitchen. How was your day? Hey Cody, get started on homework. I’m making your snack for you
.”
“That’s ok mom, Joe took me for ice cream. That’s where we were when you called.” Cody hugged Laura before running to his room to do his homework.
“Oh, ok.” Laura walked out of the kitchen and headed to the bedroom to get out of her uniform.
“Lass, what’s wrong? Ye seem upset,” Joe asked following Laura into the bedroom.
“I’m good, Joe. Just a lot on my mind with this case that’s all.”
“Uh huh, nice try love. Talk te me. I can see that look on ye face like ye feel hurt or something. Are you upset I took little mannie te the ice cream place with Wolf, his team, and their families?”
“Who was the girl you were talking to in the background?” Laura blurted.
“Ah, so ye think I was messing around on ye with Cody around, is that it? Laura, that was Caroline I was talking te, wanting te know if I was coming te the cookout that she is having in a couple of weeks for Wolf’s SEAL team and mine. She wants ye and Cody te come as well. I was telling her ye would be there if I have te drag ye there with me. They are good women and would love te meet ye.” Joe reached over pulling Laura into his arms. “Laura, I have been with ye, in ye, and loving ye for a year now. I am nae going te wander from ye. Ye can ask the men on my team and ye can ask Wolf, as well as his team members the same question - there is nae one else for me. Ye are it and I will tell ye until I am blue in the face, I love ye, lass.”
“I love you too, Joe. I’m sorry. I keep waiting for you to look at me and say it’s over and that you decided you want someone who is better,” Laura mumbled into Joe’s chest.
“Och lass, ye are the only woman for me,” Joe leaned down and kissed her on the lips gently. “Ye are lucky Cody is still awake or I’d be tanning this delicious ass of ye right now. Ye will be punished later when he’s in bed. So dinnae think ye got away with it, love.”
