Touching Cottonwood

by Randall Simpson

  Rebecca noticed that many who’d gathered around were glancing at her wedding ring—but none commented. She knew their silence was a matter of kindness, and though she might seem a widow to them—she certainly didn’t consider herself as such. Each time she returned to her house, especially at night after being out all day, the first thing she would check was the small candle. Only her mother knew about it, and once she had finally moved back into her own home and taken the candle with her, even her mother no longer inquired about it. It was Rebecca’s private miracle and hope.

  Of all the residents Rebecca missed during her absence from the Home, she had missed Blue Clair the most. She had heard that the old woman’s family had seriously considered moving her to another facility as a result of the investigations, but Dr. Reese’s commitment to improved security and a bit of personal persuasion had changed their minds. The Home, they concluded, remained the overall best place for Blue Clair to be cared for, despite the shocking and disappointing news of the atrocities committed.

  “And how’s Blue Clair today?” Rebecca said, joining the elderly woman as she was just finishing her breakfast on the patio.

  “Becca!” said Blue Clair, her face lighting up like a child’s on Christmas morning after receiving a greatly hoped for but unexpected gift.

  “Yes…I’m back!” replied Rebecca, smiling and then giving the old woman a long and tender hug around the shoulders. “You can’t get rid of me that easily!”

  Blue Clair looked Rebecca in the eyes. “You sick?” she asked.

  “No,” replied Rebecca, sitting next to Blue Clair on the bench. “I was just taking a long vacation.”

  Blue Clair’s eyes suddenly lowered, and she reached down toward Rebecca’s hand. “Pretty ring,” said Blue Clair. She touched the diamond itself. “Pretty…stars.”

  “Thank you,” replied Rebecca, looking down at the ring as well.

  “Is luck?” asked Blue Clair.

  Rebecca thought for a moment and then recalled Blue Clair’s comments from several weeks before—the day Rebecca had first worn the ring to work.

  “Yes,” said Rebecca, “I am lucky to have it.”

  Blue Clair then looked up from the ring and seemed to be studying Rebecca’s eyes. Rebecca had never recalled seeing the old woman so intent on anything—except, perhaps, for the ring itself.

  “Why sad, Becca?” asked Blue Clair finally.

  “Sad? Why do you think I’m sad, Blue Clair? Do I look sad to you?”

  Blue Clair slowly nodded.

  Rebecca didn’t know exactly what the old woman was seeing in her eyes. She was happy to be back, but was her underlying sadness over the loss of Matthew still so apparent—that even Blue Clair could see it?

  “C’mon,” Rebecca finally said, “it’s time to go inside.”

  Rebecca took Blue Clair back inside, and throughout the morning she warmly greeted all the residents whom she’d missed so much during her absence. Though most could not speak as well as Blue Clair, at each joyful reunion, their faces displayed the deep friendship and love they held for Rebecca.

  During the day, Rebecca reflected frequently back upon Blue Clair’s comments. She tried her best to hide any hint of the sorrow she still felt, and instead tried to focus on all the reasons she had to be joyful—to be back at work among friends, with the residents she cared for so deeply. And there was one final reason for Rebecca to be joyful—a secret now growing inside of her that she knew even Blue Clair could not yet see the signs of—something which Rebecca herself had only discovered a few days prior. It would reveal itself in due time in the months ahead, when there would eventually be no hiding it from anyone. The joyful secret was one more reason why she wasn’t ready to accept Matthew’s permanent absence from their lives.

  One Hundred Three

  Reports & Tasty Burgers

  Four other men had been standing close by as Matthew Duncan and Eddie Flynn plunged together over Abyss Falls. In the days and weeks following the event, three of those four faced their own seemingly endless stream of paperwork. Each man had numerous reports to file related to their own particular area of bureaucratic accountability. Agent David Westmore’s report needed to summarize the status of his search for Matthew Duncan and the prospects for the return of that escapee to the State of Washington. Sheriff John O’Neil’s needed to summarize the death of Eddie Flynn and the status of the search for both Matthew Duncan and Carl Taylor. The report by Akash Mudali needed to summarize his involvement in the events at Abyss Falls and the status of his investigation into the Cottonwood Dead Zone.

  Agent Westmore had remained in Cottonwood for nearly a week following the disappearance of Matthew Duncan, personally spending many hours aiding in the search. As the prospects for finding the body grew dimmer, the agent returned to Washington State, where, after taking a weeklong vacation fishing and relaxing near Port Townsend, he returned to his office to file this report:

  State of Washington

  Bureau of Investigation

  Case Summary Report

  Case #020086044

  Agent/Investigator: David Westmore

  Suspects/Offenders: Matthew William Duncan

  Case Summary: I had been assigned the normally routine case of looking for an escapee from the Department of Corrections. From the very beginning, however, there were several things not routine about this case. First of all, the escapee, Matthew Duncan, had walked away from the Monroe Correctional Complex, which has a reputation for the highest security and the fewest attempted escapes—and no successful escapes over the previous ten years. Additionally, the escapee was far from an ordinary inmate. He had no significant criminal history prior to his conviction and confinement at the Monroe Complex.

  I was assigned this case after the escapee had been missing several weeks, and the search for him in the immediate vicinity of the prison had proven fruitless. With surprisingly little effort, I was able to follow the trail of Matthew Duncan that eventually led me back to the small town of Cottonwood, Colorado. It is now this investigator’s very strong opinion that, in fact, the escapee purposely made that trail easy for me—he wanted me to follow him back. I will have more to say about that later in this report.

  With the permission of my supervisor, I took the unusual step of driving to Colorado from Washington State. This step proved fruitful, as additional clues about the escapee’s behaviors and tendencies were able to be collected along the way.

  Once in Colorado, I had received word that the escapee had already been captured by the local sheriff. My arrival in Cottonwood was complicated by the now well-known “Dead Zone” that has affected that town. This event has been widely reported in the news and continues as of the writing of this report; therefore, I will not go into any great detail of it at this point—except to say that it caused some delay in my arrival and eventual departure from Cottonwood.

  When I finally arrived in Cottonwood, after meeting with the local sheriff, John O’Neil, I had my first meeting with the escapee. I was immediately taken in by his overall demeanor. He was unlike any escapee that I had tracked down before. My feelings in this regard, and of my feelings that the escapee led me to Cottonwood, I shall speak to at the end of this report.

  Despite my warnings to the sheriff about Mr. Duncan’s ability to escape and the sheriff’s subsequent increase in security by using handcuffs on the escapee round-the-clock, a few days after I arrived in Cottonwood, Matthew Duncan did, in fact, escape from the local jail. With the assistance of a private citizen as well as the local sheriff and deputy, we traced Matthew Duncan’s movements to an area landmark known as Abyss Falls. These falls are over three hundred feet in height, and it was there that we (the sheriff, deputy, and I) approached the escapee as he was struggling with another man at the very edge of a large rock overlooking the falls. The other man was a local citizen by the name of Eddie Flynn, who the sheriff and deputy knew, but I had never met. As Matthew Duncan was struggling with Mr. Flynn and after several war
nings by the sheriff, the three of us fired our revolvers toward the two struggling men, and both fell over the edge and down into Abyss Falls. Only Mr. Flynn’s body was recovered, and subsequent autopsy reports and ballistics tests confirmed that two bullets had entered his body, and that one of those bullets had passed through the deceased man’s heart and was found lodged in his ribcage. The caliber of that bullet exactly matched the caliber and type used in my revolver. It is beyond a reasonable doubt that this was my bullet that struck Mr. Flynn.

  I remained in Cottonwood for six days after the event, helping in the search for Matthew Duncan’s body—without success. I have been in contact with the local authorities on a daily basis, and as of this writing, his body has not yet been recovered.

  Recommendation: It is my recommendation that the State of Washington consider the escapee as “missing and presumed dead.”

  Qualification: I would like to offer a qualification to the above recommendation and to this report, in general. I am taking the unusual step of offering this qualification based on the fact that during the course of my investigation, I fully admit to becoming extraordinarily and personally attached to this case. Matthew Duncan’s case history—and several personal experiences I had related to him—have caused that attachment. I alluded to these earlier in the report, and now I would like to detail them for the official record:

  1) I am convinced that Matthew Duncan purposely led me to find him in Cottonwood by giving me ample clues, with the possible reason that he somehow wanted me to assist in ridding the town of Eddie Flynn. Subsequent investigations by the sheriff’s department and the State of Colorado proved that Eddie Flynn had been involved in significant criminal activities, including the kidnapping of a local woman, who, as it turned out, was the wife of Matthew Duncan.

  2) I am convinced that somehow (through methods I make no claim of understanding) Matthew Duncan was responsible for, or at least involved with, the creation of the Cottonwood Dead Zone.

  3) I believe Matthew Duncan escaped from the Monroe Correctional Complex with the intention of returning to Cottonwood and that he escaped from the jail in Cottonwood for the purpose of saving kidnap victim Rebecca D’Arcy (who, as stated above, proved to be his wife).

  Conclusion: There are many other things I could add to the claims I’ve outlined above, though all of them would be equally outrageous. I fully understand these are not the types of professional statements an agent with the Washington State Bureau of Investigation ought to be making. For an agent to allow his or her judgment to become clouded by becoming personally attached and affected by a case is a sign that it is time for that agent to move on. It is for that reason I shall be offering my immediate resignation from the Bureau, as given in a separate letter.

  Respectfully Submitted by,

  Agent David Westmore

  The separate letter written by the agent was short and as follows:

  To whom it may concern:

  For personal and professional reasons, and after careful consideration of my responsibilities and career options, I hereby tender my resignation from the Washington State Bureau of Investigation, effective immediately. I have enjoyed my years of service and have had the opportunity to work with some truly wonderful people. I wish everyone the very best.

  Sincerely,

  David Westmore

  There were also several non-work-related documents the agent had been busy preparing—the most important one being written notification to his landlord that he would be moving out of his apartment at the end of his current lease.

  For Sheriff John O’Neil, the onset of the Dead Zone had delivered a small crime wave to his community, and not only did his paperwork involve missing citizens, car thefts, home break-ins, and jailbreaks, but also the kidnapping of one citizen and the death of another. The sheriff filed the following summary report to Mayor Gilmore:

  Cottonwood, Colorado

  Sheriff’s Office

  Incident Summary Report

  Reporting Officer: Sheriff John O’Neil

  Event/Suspects/Offenders: Incident involving the shooting death of Eddie Flynn, the kidnapping of Rebecca D’Arcy, and the escape and disappearance of Matthew Duncan.

  Case Summary: About the same day the so-called Cottonwood Dead Zone started, I had been made aware of the appearance in town of a former town resident—Matthew Duncan. Several reports to me, as well as personal contact, indicated that Mr. Duncan’s behavior was somewhat odd. I instructed Deputy Sparks to follow Mr. Duncan and keep an eye on him.

  As it turned out, Mr. Duncan was in the possession of the cane of Mr. Carl Taylor, a blind resident of Cottonwood. A subsequent search of the town, Mr. Taylor’s home, and the surrounding countryside has failed to locate Mr. Taylor, and certain evidence found in his home indicated that some sort of foul play might have been involved.

  In searching law enforcement databases, Deputy Sparks came across information that Matthew Duncan was wanted for escaping from prison in Washington State. We immediately located Mr. Duncan at the home of Rebecca D’Arcy, where he was arrested without incident.

  A few days after his arrest, Agent David Westmore from the Washington State Bureau of Investigation arrived to pick up the prisoner. Agent Westmore needed several days to arrange for transportation out of Cottonwood, and during that time, Mr. Duncan was able to elude our security measures, which included the extra measure of having him handcuffed while in his cell. Deputy Sparks was found handcuffed to his chair with these same handcuffs, and my suspicion is that the deputy may have acted negligently, though no further investigation is deemed warranted at this time.

  While searching for Mr. Duncan, we received word that another Cottonwood resident, Rebecca D’Arcy, was also missing. Knowing she had visited Mr. Duncan earlier in the day, and based on the testimony of Diane D’Arcy, it was believed at that time that Mr. Duncan might have kidnapped Ms. D’Arcy.

  Though we had obtained the use of tracking dogs from the Colorado State Patrol and were using them in the search for Mr. Duncan, it was actually a citizen’s tip that led us to both Mr. Duncan and Ms. D’Arcy, and also to the now deceased, Mr. Flynn.

  We were led to Abyss Falls where Mr. Flynn and Mr. Duncan were both struggling over a knife, very close to the edge of the falls. After repeated warnings to stop, Agent Westmore (who was participating in the search), Deputy Sparks, and I each fired toward the two men, and they fell over the edge. Only Mr. Flynn’s body has been recovered, and coroner and ballistics reports have shown that it was Deputy Sparks’ and Agent Westmore’s bullets that struck Mr. Flynn. Later investigation and witness testimony by Rebecca D’Arcy confirmed that it was, in fact, Mr. Flynn who had kidnapped her. Dr. Reese has testified to me that Mr. Flynn was also apparently involved in several other serious crimes that the State of Colorado has been investigating separately.

  It has also been revealed, subsequent to the events outlined above, that Ms. D’Arcy and Mr. Duncan were recently married, though I must stress that neither my deputy nor I had personal knowledge of that fact until after the Abyss Falls incident took place.

  Conclusion: It is my conclusion that although Mr. Duncan was and still is a wanted and escaped convict, he was apparently trying to save his wife from Mr. Flynn. Why Agent Westmore shot Mr. Flynn and not his own escapee, I do not know, and the same holds true for the actions of Deputy Sparks, as he has testified that he “wasn’t sure” why he shot Mr. Flynn, but confirmed it was where he was aiming. As I have stated in another report, I did take aim at the escapee, Mr. Duncan, and I have a high degree of confidence that I hit my target.

  Regardless of the exact circumstances surrounding the Abyss Falls event, we are still dealing with the case of our missing person, Mr. Carl Taylor. It remains my strong belief that Mr. Duncan may have known the whereabouts of Mr. Taylor, though now that information will obviously be difficult to obtain. Our search for both Mr. Duncan and Mr. Taylor remains ongoing, as time allows, though the prospects for finding either man are lesse
ned with each passing day.

  Respectfully Submitted by,

  John O’Neil

  Cottonwood Sheriff

  The third and final report on the events in Cottonwood was filed by Akash Mudali and submitted to Gwendolyn Mercer and the State of Colorado:

  Dear Ms. Mercer:

  This letter is to serve two purposes. First, it is a summary report related to the current status of my investigation into the cause of the Cottonwood Dead Zone. Secondly, it is an official report as to my involvement, as slight as it was, with the events surrounding the unfortunate death of one Cottonwood resident and the disappearance of another.

  Official investigative findings on the Dead Zone:

  1) The Dead Zone is a perfectly circular region of land centered in the town of Cottonwood, Colorado. It is approximately 74.87 square miles and the radius of the circular zone is approximately 4.882 miles.

  2) Inside the Dead Zone, no internal-combustion vehicles of any type will operate. This includes gasoline or diesel cars, trucks, motorcycles, and even gasoline-powered lawn mowers. When any one of these same vehicles or engines is taken out of the zone, it immediately becomes fully functional once more, with no apparent damage or residual effects.

  3) The Dead Zone does not seem to be caused by any known electromagnetic, geomagnetic, or atmospheric phenomenon.

  4) Aircraft flying over the Dead Zone do not appear to be affected, though one helicopter that landed in the zone was unable to restart for takeoff and the aircraft then had to be hauled out by use of an electric towing truck and trailer. Once out of the zone, it was again functional.

  5) The center of the Dead Zone is located at a point on the sidewalk on Main Street in Cottonwood, about twenty-five feet south of the intersection with Second Street. Research and excavation of the site revealed no anomalies beneath the surface. Though the site has been filled back in, a small marker has been placed on the site as a reference for future investigations.