Shadow Falls

by Wendy Dranfield

  Josh doesn’t move to let him in. “You need a warrant to enter my house.”

  “Exactly. Which is why I haven’t entered. Plus, I’m not a cop so I couldn’t get a search warrant even if I wanted to. Anyway, I’m sure Detective Morgan has already searched the place.”

  Josh explodes. “What the fuck are you talking about? He hasn’t been here. I’m not a suspect for anything.”

  Nate can’t believe it. The police should’ve searched every house in this crappy town. It’s not like it would have taken long. What have they been doing all this time?

  “If you let me look around, I can rule you out as a suspect and let you get on with your day. I’ll only be ten minutes.”

  Josh is shaking his head. “No way, man. You’ll probably plant something on me. I know how the law works.”

  Nate can’t fault his logic. “Again, I’m not a cop, so—”

  “Get off my property! Next time I see you here, I’ll shoot you without warning.”

  “You have a license for your weapon?”

  “Yes, asshole! Now get out of here.”

  “You’re only making yourself look suspicious, Josh. Can’t you put yourself in the position of Jenny’s parents? They just want to know where their daughter is. The more people I rule out, the closer I’ll get to the truth of what happened that night. That will give her family closure. Can you imagine what it’s like for them not knowing where she is?”

  Josh doesn’t even consider it. “I won’t warn you again.”

  “Okay, fine. Whatever you say.” Nate turns around. All Josh has done is incriminate himself further. There’s no reason why a law-abiding citizen wouldn’t let an investigator search their house when there’s a child missing. Sure, they don’t have to like it, but wouldn’t an innocent person want to help?

  He has to walk back to his car without Madison so that Josh doesn’t know she’s snooping around. He’s sure she’ll find a way to meet him down the block so he can pick her up, but where is Brody? When he reaches the road, he turns back to see if Josh is still watching him. He is. Nate really doesn’t want to leave either of them here.

  He wonders whether to keep walking.

  Forty-One

  When Madison moves around to the other side of the rusty car, to stay hidden from Josh’s view, she notices a wooden outbuilding at the far end of the back yard, under a large willow tree. Brody notices it too and starts sniffing around the door, then paws at it, trying to get it to open. The outbuilding is completely hidden from the road and is covered in creepers, almost disappearing into the landscape.

  She can hear Josh yelling at Nate at the front of the house, so, knowing her time is limited, she runs over, puts her hands to the window and peers in. Inside, there’s a small desk with four laptops stacked on it. The one on top is open and switched on, but she can’t see what’s on the screen because of the rain blurring her vision. She stands back, wondering how to open the door, then notices that Brody has managed to pull off one of the lower wooden slats with his claws and teeth.

  “Good boy,” she whispers. Getting soaked by the rain, she crouches down and pulls off two more slats. Brody tries to slip through ahead of her, but she pulls him back and squeezes in front of him. Her hands are wet and covered in mud, but it feels good to be back in action.

  The navy raincoat she borrowed from Nate catches on a nail that’s sticking out from the wall. “Shit.” Knowing she has to be quick, she pulls the raincoat off. As she does, she looks up and realizes the interior walls are covered with weapons. On one wall alone she spots three handguns, a rifle, two machetes and what looks like an antique rifle similar to a Winchester. No matter what’s on those computers, something’s not right with Josh Sanders and there’s no way on earth he should be working with children.

  She crawls to the desk. There’s no seat, so she kneels, dries her hands on her jeans and looks at the laptop screen. A screensaver of a naked woman disappears when she hits the space button.

  Convinced the computer will ask for a password, she holds her breath. It doesn’t. The desktop is open and ready for use. What a dumbass. She can’t believe anyone would leave a laptop unsecured, especially someone who’s clearly up to no good. Why else would he need four computers? She double-clicks on the internet icon, but a message says the computer isn’t connected to a network. She looks desperately around the small shed but can’t see anything that will connect it.

  She stops to listen over the heavy rain and realizes she can’t hear Josh’s voice anymore. With Brody stationed by the hole in the door, she decides to risk her safety and keep checking out the laptop. It might be the only opportunity they get to catch this asshole and find Jenny. She clicks on “Documents” and fourteen folders appear. Chills run down her back as she realizes each folder is named after a different girl. She looks for Jennifer’s name but it’s not there, so she clicks on the first folder, which is named Kelly.

  “Crap!” It wants a password. She tries the next one; same thing. They’re all password-protected. But she’s seen enough. She needs to get the police out here to seize these computers, because those folders can only contain something Josh wants to hide.

  She looks out of the window as she fumbles for her cell phone in the discarded raincoat. She calls the police.

  “Nine one one. What’s your emergency?”

  “I’m at a house in Shadow Falls that contains what I suspect is child abuse images. The suspect works at the summer camp where Jennifer Lucas went missing. He doesn’t know I’m here but he’s hostile, he has many weapons and I need backup immediately.”

  “Okay, ma’am. What’s your location?”

  She gives him Josh’s house number and street name.

  The emergency operator is typing fast. “I have two officers en route. Is the suspect armed right now?”

  “I don’t know. He’s a Caucasian male, early twenties. Name of Josh Sanders.”

  “Copy that. And who are you?”

  “My name’s Madison.”

  “Which PD do you work with, ma’am?”

  Madison hesitates for the first time. “I… well, I’m no longer serving. Get here fast.” To avoid any further awkward questions, she ends the call. Brody is whining but she can’t see anything outside the shed. She resists the urge to crawl out, but as Brody’s whining gets louder, she wonders if Nate is in danger.

  A loud gunshot rings out nearby, making her jump. She hopes to God it was just a warning shot. She looks at Brody and realizes they have to go and protect Nate.

  “Let’s go!”

  She pulls her weapon and is about to follow the dog out when she hears the once-comforting sound of police sirens approaching. It makes her pause, because after everything that has happened to her, the sound of sirens now makes her want to flee.

  Forty-Two

  Madison’s body is shaking with adrenaline. After explaining everything to the cops, she found Nate sitting on the couch in Josh’s living room, grilling him about Jenny’s whereabouts. But Josh remains adamant he had nothing to do with her disappearance.

  A uniformed officer lets Detective Morgan enter. He rolls his eyes when he sees her and Nate. Then he notices Brody, who’s sitting inches away from Josh, emitting a low growl and staring directly into his eyes. The dog barks when he looks up and sees Morgan.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Morgan addresses the dog, but Madison knows the question is intended for all three of them.

  “Your job, by the looks of it,” says Nate.

  Morgan glares at him. “Listen, I know you hate cops, and thanks to a Google search of your name I know why, but don’t take your issues out on me. I wasn’t the one who put you in prison.”

  Madison’s heart sinks. Morgan’s done his digging. Donna must have given him Nate’s last name. She looks across at him but she can’t tell what he’s thinking.

  Morgan turns to Josh before Nate can respond. “Well, well, well. What else have you got hidden around here, Mr. Sanders? Jennifer Lu
cas, by any chance?”

  “Fuck you. I’ve already said I want a lawyer.”

  “Spoken like a true criminal.”

  “I was framed by these guys,” says Josh, nodding to Madison and Nate.

  So much for waiting for legal representation.

  “I got home from work and they were snooping around my house. I’ve never seen those laptops before in my life. I don’t even own this house; it’s leased. I’m being framed.”

  “All I want to know is where Jennifer Lucas is,” says Morgan. “Did you take her?”

  Josh is resolute. “No way, man! I’m not into kids, for God’s sake! There’s no way you can pin that on me.”

  “So where were you the night she vanished?” asks Madison. “Because your girlfriend has let slip you weren’t with her all night.”

  Morgan looks as surprised as Josh to hear that.

  Josh shakes his head. “I knew she couldn’t keep her mouth shut.” He looks up at them. “It’s not how it sounds.”

  “Josh?” says Morgan. “You could do yourself a huge favor by being honest with us and telling me what you’re hiding on your computers. My team will get access to them eventually, so we’ll find out either way. But it’ll look better for you in court if you cooperate. Are we going to find child abuse images on there?”

  Josh shakes his head vigorously. “Of course not! I didn’t have anything to do with Jenny’s disappearance. If you ask me, she’s in the lake.”

  “So what’s in the folders?” asks Madison.

  He looks at her but there’s no defiance in his eyes, only embarrassment. “Just videos I took of various women.”

  She looks at Nate, who says, “Sex videos?”

  Josh nods. “They didn’t know I was filming them. And Kat didn’t know I was screwing other women. That’s where I was when I left her sleeping that night. One of the other counselors at the camp had been coming on to me for weeks. I decided to hook up with her.”

  Morgan shakes his head and mumbles, “What a waste of my time.”

  Madison’s disappointed. She really thought Josh had taken Jennifer.

  Morgan turns to the uniform. “Take him in, Officer. Get him all warm and cozy in interview room one. I’ll be along when I’m ready to hear the sordid details of what’s really going on at that summer camp.”

  “Yes, sir.” The officer walks over to Josh and pulls him up. His hands are already cuffed behind him, so he needs help. As the officer marches him out of the house, Brody races ahead of them and jumps into the back of the police cruiser, tail wagging so hard anyone would think he was off for a trip to the beach.

  “What’s with that dog?” Morgan asks.

  Nate stands and watches through the window.

  “You don’t know?” he says. “He’s a former K9. His owner died in the line of duty.”

  Morgan looks thoughtful. “Maybe we could use him in our department.”

  Nate moves to the front door and calls him back. “Brody, come!”

  The dog races back into the house, leaving room for the uniforms to push Josh into the car. Morgan removes his suit jacket and takes a seat on the worn-out couch next to Madison. He pulls out his notebook and pen. “Come on then. I guess you’d better tell me what happened here before I arrived.”

  Madison is surprised that he’s asked her for the details. Maybe she could get him to trust her and let him in on the finer points of his unsuccessful investigation. She fills him in on finding the laptops.

  He sighs. “Just because he’s filmed a few girlfriends in the bedroom doesn’t make him a child sex offender, but I’ll see if the women in question want to press charges. The weapons will need looking into. If he doesn’t have licenses, I could arrest him for that and then grill him further about Jennifer Lucas. Maybe he knows more than he’s letting on. He’s obviously untrustworthy, so he probably has some shady friends. But I don’t think he took her.”

  “Why didn’t you search his house?” asks Nate. “Surely all the camp staff are potential suspects?”

  Morgan rubs his eyes. “I would have needed a search warrant, and for that I need probable cause; a reason to think he was involved in her disappearance. At the time, I had nothing. Unlike PIs, cops have to do things legally, otherwise we’ve got no chance of securing a conviction at trial.”

  “Well you need to seize the camp’s office computer too,” says Madison. “Because someone’s been searching for pre-teen girls on that one, on the day Jennifer vanished.”

  He looks surprised. “You’re kidding?”

  “No. We won’t be able to tell who it was, unfortunately, because everyone has access to it, but it might be worth checking the time and dates against the staff schedule to narrow down the list.”

  He raises his eyebrows and smiles at her. “We?”

  She feels her face redden. She’s getting carried away, but it can’t be helped. This is what she’s made for. “Okay, you. But I found it so I want to know what else you discover.”

  He nods. “Sure.”

  “Have you got the data back from Jenny’s cell phone yet?”

  “Yeah, there’s nothing on it. No clues as to why she went missing. No social media accounts or strange messages. It’s mostly just filled with selfies, a lot of them with her dad. None with friends, though, which is unusual for a girl of that age.”

  “It sounds like she struggled to make friends,” says Madison. “In fact Josh told us the other kids accused her of stealing their stuff.”

  He nods. “Yeah, I heard the same thing. That’s kids, though. I can’t tell you how many teenage kleptomaniacs I arrested when I was in uniform.” He closes his notebook before standing up. “Thanks for your help so far, but remember that this is still a police investigation, so I’m not at liberty to divulge anything to you.”

  “Will you at least be contacting Jennifer’s grandmother to tell her what happened here?” asks Nate. “Because if you don’t, I will.”

  Morgan looks annoyed. “Not unless I find something on those laptops that relates to her granddaughter. I’m not going to upset the family for no reason. Now just let me do my job. And remember, we have no evidence to suggest that Jennifer was abducted. She still might be at the bottom of the lake, or on the road having run away.”

  Morgan is clearly annoyed that Madison and Nate are doing a better job of investigating this case than he is. As they stand, he loosens his tie and crosses his arms. “I assume you’ve both given signed witness statements to my officers?”

  They don’t say anything.

  “You’re witnesses. You’ll need to testify that you found those items, and explain what led you here in the first place. Otherwise Josh’s lawyer could argue you planted them.”

  Madison looks at Nate. She knows there’s no way he’s going to get involved as a witness. That will mean too much involvement with the police.

  “Let’s see if there’s anything incriminating on them first,” he says. “We’ll take it from there.”

  Morgan shakes his head. He looks around the living room. “I’ve got work to do here and I need you both to leave. I’ll be in touch within the next few days for DNA samples.”

  Madison spins around to look at him. “What do you mean? I’m not giving you my DNA.”

  “Sorry, but you’re standing in a potential crime scene. If I find any evidence that Josh was involved in Jennifer’s disappearance, I’ll need your DNA to rule out against any other DNA we find. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you it’s standard police procedure.”

  She turns to Nate and he calms her with just a look, then heads out the door. “Come on, Madison. Let the detective do his job.”

  Morgan watches them as they leave. Madison gets the impression he’s about to start investigating them, but she can’t understand why.

  Forty-Three

  Nate can feel Madison walking close to him as they head to his car. The rain has let up slightly, but it’s still a pain in the ass. He wants a hot shower, a change of clothes and a li
ne of coke to calm his nerves. But that’ll have to wait.

  “I’m not giving him a statement or my DNA,” says Madison.

  “I know. Neither am I. Not unless Josh could walk free without it.”

  She stops and pulls his arm, forcing him to stop. “Even then I won’t do it.” She looks determined.

  “Are you saying you’d actually let him off the hook?”

  She looks away, avoiding eye contact. “If it delays finding who framed me and reuniting me with my son, then yes. Convicting Josh is not my responsibility. If I was still a cop then of course I’d do it, but things are different now.”

  Nate doesn’t know what to say. His opinion of her isn’t improving any.

  She must sense his disapproval. “I know it makes me sound callous, but I can’t stay in this town, waiting around until the cops pull their shit together and go to trial. That could take a year. I can’t keep putting other people first, Nate. Look where it’s got me. No one ever puts me first! No one ever stands up for me! I’m left high and dry with no child and my career in tatters. I have nothing.”

  He touches her wet sleeve. “Listen, I completely understand why you feel that way. But you know better than me that guys like Josh Sanders should not be working with children. Regardless of what they find on his computers, and how old the women are, the guy’s obsessed with weapons. A conviction would stop another summer camp employing him.”

  She looks at the ground, then turns back to the house, where Morgan is on his cell phone, watching them from the front window. “Goddammit.” She slips into the passenger seat and slams her door shut.

  Brody is waiting for the back door to be opened for him, but Nate can see he’s dripping wet. “Shake off first.”

  The dog just stares at him.

  Nate sighs. He walks to the trunk and retrieves a large towel from one of his holdalls. He approaches Brody slowly, in case he runs off, but the dog happily sits while Nate rubs him all over with the towel. He even licks Nate’s ear as his paws are dried. His thick coat is hard to dry completely, but Nate gets what he can. When he opens the back door, the dog jumps in. Then he shakes himself off, all over the upholstery.