Chapter 8
The office had a strange feeling without Captain Williams. Today they were to meet their new captain, but until he arrived, they were going over the previous
night's events.
'There are somethings I want to check out.' Fred addressed the team.
He was surprised, the officers in front of him had notepads and were ready to take notes. Normally they would just listen to what was said and try and remember everything. Daphne was usually the only one with a notepad.
'I want a background check on all the parents; the parents of the missing children and the parents who hosted the parties. Also, I want the statements from last night along with a list of the items claimed to have been stolen last night.'
'Henderson and I will check out the parents, are lookin' for anythin' specific?' Jacobs asked.
'I don't know.' Fred replied, 'Go as far back as high school and everything after that.'
Jacobs nods and quickly writes on his notepad.
'I'll collect the statements from last night.' Garrett spoke.
'Daphne, Chapman and I are going to City Hall to check out the crime scene.' Fred spoke, 'Call if you find anything, I want to hear whatever you find, even if it turns out to be nothing, tell us.'
Everyone nodded, Fred nodded back, and the team dispersed, leaving Daphne and Garrett with Fred.
'I always thought you would make a good captain.' Garrett said, patting Fred's shoulder before he left the office.
Daphne smiled, she stood up and walked towards Fred, 'So Captain Jones, how does it feel?' She asked.
Fred chuckled, 'I wasn't expecting it.' He blushed, 'But it's only temporary.'
When they had arrived in the office in the morning, the mayor was there along with Williams.
'Your new captain was supposed to have been in today.' The mayor spoke, 'But some things have come up and he won't be arriving until next week.'
'So, we're getting Williams back?' Garrett asked hopefully.
Williams chuckled, 'No Garrett, there will be a temporary captain.'
'And he's right there.' The mayor said pointing at Fred.
His eyes widened and everyone looked at him, 'Huh?' Fred asked.
'Detective Jones, congratulations, you are now Captain Fredrick Jones.' Williams said.
'Temporarily.' The mayor added.
It was a dream, Fred though, and Daphne looked up at him, as did all the officers before they looked back at the mayor and Williams.
They asked Fred to come to the Captain's office, he did and when the door closed, they watched from the other side of the door.
The mayor was shaking Fred's hand, and he motioned to William's a few times, and then William's shook Fred's hand.
And here they were, standing inside the captain's office going over the case.
Fred leaned against the desk smiling at Daphne, 'The mayor said the new captain is starting next week. There's something about an issue with his transfer that set it back.'
'That's too bad, you would have made a great captain.' Daphne replied.
'No, I don't think so.'
'Obviously, the mayor and Williams don't think that otherwise, they wouldn't have given it to you, even if it is just temporary.' Daphne spoke.
'I suppose.' Fred shrugged and Daphne smiled, 'It's true.'
The car pulled up outside City Hall, and Fred, Daphne and Garrett climbed out and walked up to city hall.
The security guards from last night were now stood outside the building. The 3 showed their badges and they were allowed into the building.
Roy Chapman had worked for the NYCPD for 15 years as the crime scene analyst – along with Fred and Daphne – before he also began working in forensics.
They took Chapman over to the platform where the Magic Man made the hoop turn into a curtain and Dylan Townsend appeared from behind it before they chased him to the rooftop.
Chapman couldn't find anything, no powder or anything to show that there was a trapdoor beneath the platform for the boy to step out from.
Chapman gave Daphne and Fred an uneasy look before they took him to the roof, taking the route they ran last night.
Chapman inspected every step, wall, and floorboard towards the roof, but found nothing. However, on the rooftop, after a few minutes of searching, he found what appeared to be powder on the ground and he suggested that's where the Magic Man disappeared from.
'You're sure?' Fred asked.
'I'm certain.' Chapman replied, 'There is no trace of the powder from beyond this point. Though there is no trace of it before the point, I would suggest this is where he "vanished" from. I don't think he magically disappeared.'
Fred and Daphne stared at him, 'If he did then it would change my career, 100 per cent.' Chapman said, 'I spent years studying science. My college major was forensics and crime scene analogy, not magic, wizardry and witchcraft. I grew up with science. I did not grow up with religion or make-believe mumbo jumbo. My cousin, Velma and I grew up with science.'
'Velma?' Daphne asked, thinking the name fell into the category of odd names along with Compass and Prissy.
'Yeah, Velma and I would probably meet up once or twice a year and go to science speeches, not all of them, but those we deemed…acceptable to science.' Chapman explained.
Daphne imagined Chapman's cousin to be extremely geeky with huge glasses, and the image of Chapman and his cousin stuck in her head as she watched him investigate the crime scene, 'But I am sure this is where he disappeared from.'
'Ok…ok.' Fred muttered and he looked around.
'But the timings are off massively.' Chapman continued.
'Huh?' Daphne asked, and Chapman took a few steps away from her, 'Based on the footage from the security camera, you were this distance from the Magic Man. Therefore, there is no way he was able to hide himself, a duffle bag and a kidnapped child in such a short amount of time.'
From the distance, Chapman looked Daphne up and down, 'Based on your height, weight and stamina, I would say that you were fairly close to the Magic Man.'
'Yeah?' Daphne replied, curious as to where this was going.
'And my guess was that he was just a little bit lighter than you, no offence detective but our suspect is smaller in weight than yourself.' Chapman explained.
Daphne looked back at Fred, glaring at him as he laughed at Chapman's observation.
'Like I said, no offence intended it's just an observation.' Nevertheless, Chapman continued, 'But he must have been strong enough to carry a child weighing exactly 25 kilograms along with a duffle bag, but I don't know what it was inside. Regardless, my conclusion is that there is no way the "Magic Man" got away so quickly with you on his tail whilst carrying a 25KG child and a duffle bag.'
'So?' Fred asked.
'So…where is he?' Chapman asked.
'Click on that one!' Henderson exclaimed.
'I'm clicking on it!' Jacobs snapped.
'Alright dude, calm down!' Henderson replied.
'I can hear you two from here!' Garrett shouted from across the room. He sat at his desk with the reports from last night spread across his desk. One report in one hand, and a chicken sandwich in the other.
Jacobs and Henderson returned to the computer screen.
'Well, would you look at that?' Jacobs spoke, 'Melanie Preston and May Townsend went to the same high school.'
Before they were Preston and Townsend, they had been May Woodworth and Melanie Thompkins. Jacobs clicked on a button and it took him to the next page of the digital yearbook.
He and Henderson studied the page before they saw the faces of Tyler Jackson, Bradley Townsend, Victoria Rossman (née Green) and Addie Halder (née Chalk).
'Hmm…'
Henderson grabbed his phone and called Fred, explaining everything they had found. Fred congratulated them on their find and encouraged them to do more research.
'Strange, after high school, there was nothing that linked them. They all went their separate ways.' Jacobs said.
He was right:
Melanie Preston studied graphic design at NYU before she was hired for a company that designed logos for businesses before she quit to become a full-time mother, having 3 children.
Victoria Rossman became an interior designer before she also quit and became a full-time mother to 4 children. Before Prissy disappeared, she planned on returning to work but either on reduced hours or working from home.
Mary Thomas studied social sciences for years before she became a teacher at a high school. She reportedly hated her job and was relieved when she was pregnant with her son Russell. She quit her job and studied psychology whilst on maternity leave and began working as a therapist when Russell started school.
Bradley Townsend was born into wealth; his father was a businessman and after he graduated, he came into the business and then politics and began working at City Hall roughly 20 years ago. Based on the pages of the yearbook, he was an arrogant bastard.
And finally, Tyler Jackson. He was the athlete, known to spend hours practising and training before a car accident whilst at university put an end to his dreams of being a pro footballer. But he trained the elementary school team and continued to move up, finally coaching the NYU college football team.
Jacobs sat back in his chair, 'I dunno, man.'
'Looks like a couple of 'em went to NYU.' Henderson said.
'Yeah, I see that. But that doesn't mean they have anything to do with each other after graduation, or at uni.' Jacobs replied.
'What if we called their high school?' Henderson suggested.
'And ask them what they were like?' Jacobs asked.
'Well yeah. Then we can find out if they were all friends or if it was a coincidence that they all went to the same school.' Henderson replied.
'Good idea.' Jacobs said, and he picked up the phone.