I happened to be hanging by the water cooler when Ethan Mars burst into the precinct's main hall to report his son missing. Killing time before my 7 o'clock rendezvous with Madison, I was casually chitchatting with Charlene when this shabby-looking guy came barging in around 6.30 soaking wet, crying about his son gone missing, insisting on talking to an officer. Not diverging his attention from the monitor, Blake made a gesture to his protégé, who reluctantly rose from his seat and leisurely strolled up to meet the distressed man. I yawned and rubbed my eyes carefully to not smear my makeup. One night of tossing and turning, and I could easily feel the effects of sleep-deprivation. How on earth did Madison cope? Leaning against Charlene's desk, I sipped on water as I watched Ash guiding the shivering, angsty-looking fellow to where he and Blake were sitting. Gesturing to an empty chair, he encouraged the man to take a seat.
To be perfectly honest, I didn't just happen to be hanging out between Blake's desk and Perry's office. Though I did my best to pretend otherwise, I was hoping to 'casually' run into Norman, giving me an excuse to strike up a conversation. Lt. Jerk had deprived me of that earlier today when he ripped Jane's report on the tire tracks out of my hands as I'd been on my way to hand them over to the FBI agent.
Mars appeared to be in his mid-thirties, dressed in a well-worn brown leather jacket, a hooded black jumper and faded blue jeans. The bottom half of his face was covered in this unkempt half-beard that men get when they don't bother to shave or trim their facial hair. Blake sat down on top of his desk, and Ash initiated the query. The men were close enough for me to eavesdrop on the conversation.
"This is Lieutenant Blake, Mr. Mars," Ash informed while gesturing to his colleague. "Could you please tell him what happened."
"This afternoon, after school… I took my son, Shaun, to the park," he recounted, turning his attention to Blake. As he continued speaking, he appeared remarkably calm, collected and composed.
"We played together for a while… after about twenty minutes or so, he wanted to go on the carousel so I put him up on one of the wooden horses and when I turned back... Shaun had disappeared."
My pulse picked up, but I did my best to appear unfazed. Blake had that hardened cop-look that he'd spent years mastering to perfection. Ash sported his usual dull expression. He was dressed in the same grey shirt he'd been wearing every day the week before. Or maybe he just happened to own a dozen copies of the exact same shirt.
"Exactly what time did you arrive at the park?" The middle-aged lieutenant inquired with a dull tone. "Try to remember exactly, Mr. Mars. Every detail can be important," he pretend-urged as he made absolutely no attempt at making notes.
"It must've been about…," the father hesitated as he put his memory to work. "Four, I think. Yes, four-fifteen. I remember exactly because I looked at the clock in the park when we arrived," He assured with conviction, maintaining eye contact with the lieutenant.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Norman circling up behind Blake as the lieutenant asked Mr. Mars to describe his missing son's clothes - a beige raincoat, green pants and sneakers. I swirled the near empty cup and made a conscious decision to not look directly at the federal agent as he came to a halt at the other side of Blake's and Ash's desks, directly facing Mr. Mars. Fumbling with his hands close to his face, he idly listened in on the conversation. My pulse quickened even more, and I had to put all my effort into remaining cool. Blake, who had yet to note down the details provided by Mr. Mars, leaned forward, his mouth springing open as if he'd just had a sudden revelation.
"How could Shaun have disappeared without you noticing? Weren't you right by the carousel?"
Mr. Mars shifted in his chair, visibly uncomfortable by the question. Though he was quick to regain composure. As he replied, he avoided eye contact with both officers. "I-I waved at Shaun. Then I went for a short walk around the park. I sat down on a bench nearby while waiting for the carousel to stop. But when it did, Shaun was nowhere to be seen!"
Norman continued to listen to the conversation, ceaselessly folding and unfolding his fingers, tracing his jawline or rubbing his chin. He was vigilantly observing not only Mr. Mars, but the officers conducting the questioning as well.
"You said you took your son to the park after school, around 4.15," Ash broke in. "After twenty minutes, you noticed Shaun had disappeared. But you didn't report him missing until now, two hours later. Why did it take you so long to contact the police?" he confronted, side-eyeing the FBI profiler with a smug satisfaction.
Mr. Mars twisted his hands, and suddenly it looked like he wanted to flee the scene. "I-I panicked! I looked for him everywhere," he exclaimed. His Adam's apple shot up and dropped as he swallowed hard. I noticed his hands started to tremble.
"First, I searched the park and nearby streets, then I ran home and looked for him there. When I couldn't find him, I thought that maybe he'd gone off with some friends from school and that he'd come home soon. I don't know what I was thinking… Shaun would've never gone just off like that… he wouldn't."
"Did you notice anything in particular at the park?" Norman joined in questioning for the first time. The sound of his calm, soft-spoken voice made me fluster and the renowned tummy-butterflies announced their presence. I emptied the tumbler.
"Anyone that acted in an unusual manner or stood out from the crowd? Did anyone speak to you or your son?"
"No, not that I can recall."
"Does Shaun have any particular difficulties, Mr. Mars?" he continued, as he started pacing the narrow space between the officer's desks. "Anything that might've caused him to run away?"
Mr. Mars continued to rub his hands nervously. "No… no, I don't think so."
"Everything ok at school? Any particular problems between you and your wife?" Norman frowned, and leaned over Ash's desk, making the officer back away with a dissatisfied expression.
Mr. Mars hesitated, his eyes drifting. "My wife and I have been separated for the last six months. Our relationship has been a little difficult recently, but… no, he'd never run off without telling his mother or me!" he replied, while looking at Ash.
"That's all the questions I have for now." Blake broke in, rising from his desk. "You're free to go, Mr. Mars. We'll continue to look for Shaun overnight. We'll contact you if we have any more questions."
Mars shot up from his chair and anxiously stared after the lieutenant. As on cue, Ash rose as well, while keeping an attentive eye on the distraught father. Norman straightened, observing the situation unfold.
"Do you think… the Origami Killer…" the father stammered.
The lieutenant shrugged. "Your son's probably just run off and will turn up in a couple of hours," he replied to an unconvinced Mars.
"But what if it is the Origami Killer…?"
"Then we have about four days to find him alive," Blake responded in a dull voice.
Blake and the father wandered off in separate directions. The lieutenant entered captain Perry's office, Ash went to the men's room, and Norman resumed leaning over the desk. I didn't want to intrude, so I left him to his thoughts. As I re-filled the plastic cup, Mr. Mars walked up to a red-haired woman dressed in a dark blue raincoat waiting on a chair on the other side of the hall. Shaun's mother, I assumed. Even from across the lobby I could tell she'd been crying. Biting down on the now half-filled plastic cup, I observed them talking. I couldn't hear the words, but the woman was getting more and more upset, pacing the floor and covering her face with her hands.
"What happened, Ethan? How could you lose Shaun like that?" She screamed out, loud enough for the entire foyer to hear.
"You should never have taken your eyes off him. For God's sake, how hard is it to keep an eye on a child in a park?"
Mars did not respond, but he looked absolutely gutted.
"Why did you leave him, Ethan?" the woman shrieked. "Wasn't it enough loosing Jason?!"
She started crying, and I could ever so faintly hear I'm sorry… between the sobbing. Mars reached out to her, as he wanted to embrace her. She turned away, making him change his mind, or lose his courage, and instead he let his arms fall to his sides. The woman had now completely broken down in tears. Poor people. I wish there was something I could do to ease their pain. The implications that the Origami Killer had kidnapped yet another child…. I knew it was too early to say, and I knew better than to jump to conclusions, but I couldn't help the chilling realization that…
"We may have another child abducted by the Origami Killer."
Norman's voice, soft and gentle as always, still startled me, which made me unintentionally squeeze the half-filled tumbler, expelling cold liquid on my blouse. He apologized and handed me a paper towel he got from Charlene. Despite the grim circumstances, the FBI agent's mere presence sent tingles through my body. Except from a couple of texts, I hadn't spoken to him since Thursday afternoon and I'd gotten worried he was avoiding me. He appeared as calm and composed as ever, but I noticed redness in his eyes and traces of half-dried waterdrops on his collar, suggesting he'd recently splashed his face with water.
"Yeah… So... eh, what about the interrogations yesterday?"
"Nothing. We ended up questioning 9 different people. Neither fit the profile, and all had an alibi for one or more of the murders. The only reason they matched my profile in the first place is because of poor protocols."
"Oh. That's… too bad. But what about the Origamis or orchids? Anything new?"
"No. Paper's too common, it's no use as a lead. Visiting flower shops didn't lead to anything. No further information from the parents… the investigation is currently at a stalemate."
As he was talking, he stroked the back of his head. I noted a small tremor on his hand. I scrambled my head for words of encouragement. Or, anything to say at all. Had he noticed me eavesdropping? If so, had it bothered him? Maybe stop making everything all about me?
"What now?" I queried.
"The most logical way to proceed is to visit the place where Shaun Mars disappeared."
That made sense. Although…
"Do you think there'll be anything there, though? With the rainfall and the fact that this killer never leaves behind anything that can be traced back to him, I doubt we'll find anything of interest."
Okay, Debbie Downer.
"This is the first time a scene of abduction can be investigated with ARI the same day as it occurred. In addition, we must register the location of every CCTV. If we're lucky, the killer's car is on camera."
Video surveillance. ARI. Good points. We. Noted. He'd said we. Probably we as in we, investigators and forensics… or we, as himself and the Philadelphia PD. Not we as in me and Norman.
Perry and Blake exited the captain's office and gestured for Norman… and me!? Blake waved at Ash, and shortly thereafter, Gabs and Jane joined us. The seven of us gathered outside Perry's door.
"Good, you're all here." The captain started. "As you probably know, a ten-year-old boy has gone missing while playing at a park in the Northern Liberties district this afternoon. While it's too early to conclude, it's quite possible this is the work of the Origami Killer. If that's the case, we have no time to lose. Every minute counts if we're gonna find Shaun Mars alive."
The captain grunted and fumbled with his tie-knot. "I don't have to remind you of the press conference tonight at eight. It's in a little over an hour," he stressed. I couldn't help but wonder what drove the captain more. A desire to 'strike while the iron is hot' or hoping to land a bone he could throw to the press.
"As to not risk destroying potential evidence, we've decided to send as few people as possible," Gabs continued. Blake sneered. Perry fumbled with his tie. Norman seemed pleased.
"Jane and Lisa, you two go to the park. Cover every inch, turn every stone. Ira will stay here and run hair and shoe prints, sequence DNA, and analyze samples from the scene."
"Blake and Ash, you go and knock on doors," Perry instructed. "Talk to the locals. Find out if anyone saw or heard anything." He turned to Norman. "Jayden, I assume you'll go with them?"
The FBI agent nodded.
"Gather what you need and get going!" the captain barked. "There's no time to lose."
Jane offered me a lift as we hasted downstairs to get our equipment. I sent a text to Madison cancelling our plans as 'something had come up at work'. I let her draw her own conclusions. At that moment, the effects of hanging by the water cooler for over an hour sat in.
"Jane, can you get my stuff too? I have to pee."
Within minutes, five people and three cars were on their way to the area where Shaun Mars had disappeared a few hours earlier. Me together with Jane and Ash went with Blake. Norman drove alone. At our destination, we split into three teams. Blake and Ash would be talking to the locals, which meant knocking on doors and questioning pedestrians. I doubted there would be much of the latter. Jane was quick in offering to patrol the fence and sidewalks, and note down every CCTV, leaving me and Norman to search inside the park. As there was no body and the area would be desolated until the next day because of the time and the miserable weather, a cordon was not necessary. Spreading out, we got to work. The downpour made us instantly soaking wet despite wearing raincoats. We were quick to locate Shaun's black schoolbag next to the carousel, and I put a tag next to it to mark the find. Then we started searching the muddy ground for footprints and other clues. Norman retrieved the ARI and the accompanying SmartGlove. I realized this was my first time witnessing the FBI agent using the wondrous glasses. As he activated the hi-tech shades, a blue light emerged from under the lenses, and buttons along the temples cast off an intense, cerulean glow. A minuscule wave of his gloved hand prompted a 360-degree scan of the immediate area. Occasionally he'd crouch down and touch the ground with his gloved hand, which caused built-in diodes to be lit up in the same blue light, as he recorded comments to log potential evidence. I supplemented with photography. In spite of the circumstances, it felt good working side-by-side with Norman again. It was, however, not the time nor place for casual chit-chat or subtle flirting.
"Those fancy shades of yours will probably make this redundant in the future," I insinuated, hinting at my camera.
"It'll probably be less common, but not redundant. Analogous documentation will always be a crucial back-up in case the digital technology fails," the agent assured. "The same goes for crime scene investigators," he continued, as if reading my mind. "ARI is of great aid, but it's merely a tool and cannot replace human wits."
The tool of great aid located numerous prints resembling Ethan's shoes at the merry-go-round, adjacent to a seesaw and around one of the swings, as well as at a patch behind one of the benches. Other than that, it was one dead-end after another.
"Goddamn rain. It's impossible to find any good prints," the FBI agent repeatedly grunted.
I recalled my apprehension regarding use, or more precisely, over-use of the ARI. This was however, not the time nor the place to bring that up. On the other hand, the FBI wouldn't give their agents potential harmful tools, would they? Even if it was an experimental prototype. Surely, they were harmless. Focusing elsewhere, I observed my surroundings. The vicinity wasn't as scruffy as Susan's neighborhood, but could certainly be described as one of the 'poorer parts' of the city, the Origami Killer's preference, well inside his comfort zone. It was a small park, surrounded by private houses, apartment buildings and containers. The usual activities were spread around the playground. Swings, seesaws, wavy slides, a merry-go-round and an elaborate jungle gym with monkey bars. I noted several benches and over-filled garbage bins. The carousel was placed in the northwest corner near one of the entrances.
Leaves were constantly falling, a reminder of the season. Roads were travelling along the south and east side. There were two entrances, one on the north side and one to the east. A concrete wall made up the west end, with the park rules and a huge clock mounted on it. Behind the wall was a red-brick apartment building. The rest of the area was fenced off with shrubs and small trees growing near the enclosures, most likely to offer the visitors some shield from the traffic of cars and people outside. In the southeast corner, the Ben Franklin bridge could be spotted in the distance. Despite its light blue color, it reminded me of the Golden Gate bridge with nearly the same shape, age and length. Oh, how I missed the West Coast.
We searched every inch of the park in hopes of coming across footprints similar to the ones detected at the crime scene last week, but to no avail. Most patterns were undistinguishable because of the rainfall. We returned to the lone backpack and crouched down as Norman activated the ARI's scanning device to search for prints or other clues.
"Make sure to scan every patch carefully," I urged. "Fingerprints are made of fatty oils produced by our skin, which makes them naturally water-repellent. Which means that despite the weather, there's a good chance of finding prints."
Which… he already knows, Lisa.
A meticulous scan of the backpack revealed two sets of prints. Most likely the ones of Shaun and Ethan Mars. After two hours of scrutinizing, we decided to call it the night. I started packing our bags while Jane decided to circle the park one last time. I put the bags over my shoulder and headed towards the northern entrance. The carousel, the bench nearby where Ethan had allegedly sat down, the nearest entrance, the open area… something, just didn't feel right.
"Norman, do you think Ethan Mars was telling the truth when asked about why he didn't notice Shaun disappearing? About talking a walk and sitting down on a bench? I mean…"
As I exited the park, factory lights glimmering in the dark, rain-filled night greeted me. Behind them, tall buildings stood erect against the dark, starless sky. I tried to put the irking realization growing at the back of my mind into words. All while deciding if it was worth following. The last thing I wanted was to be a distraction, or even worse steer the investigation in the wrong direction. Then again, it was Norman who'd said we had to keep all possibilities open.
"It's probably nothing, and the last thing I want is to sound like an accusing douche a.k.a. Blake." My eyes quickly darted up and down the road outside to make sure the accusing douche I'd just outed was nowhere nearby.
"But I couldn't help but note that there's only a few short steps from the carousel to the nearest bench and there's nothing to obscure the view. How could someone abduct Shaun without the father noticing? Besides, don't you think he was acting a little weird when asked about it?"
Just saying it out loud made me feel like an ass. But as much as I hated to admit it, Ash was right. It seemed strange indeed. Norman offered no response. Come to think of it, he hadn't spoken at all in a while. That wasn't unusual considering his frequent in-deep-thought quietness and overall reserved demeanor. Yet, he always responded to direct enquiries.
Turning my head, my eyes widened as I saw the FBI agent leaning heavily on the fence circling the park, gripping his chest.