The Owls Are Not What They Seem
(A "Labyrinth" "Twin Peaks" Cross Over)
by Midnightingale
Part One
Chapter One; The Special Agents
Drip, drip, drip, drip. The murky brown water plunged a seven foot fall from the ceiling into the half full plastic bucket with the steady drip reminiscent of a metronome. Special Agent Dale Bartholomew Cooper hunkered over the yellowed baby crib brushing a substance off the tiny mattress that appeared to be some form of glitter into a small plastic baggy. Yellow and blue makes green, bag and tag. He smiled the smile of a schoolboy and turned to his partner in crime, Special Agent Phillip Jefferies. Soft weeping could be heard in an adjoining room.
"What did you find?" Cooper asked.
"The lock on the windows busted, other than that no sign of forced entry. Weird thing is we're three floors up, and there's no fire escape."
"But?"
"But I did find this caught on the lock."
Jefferies held up his own baggy with a single white downy feather.
"That's new." Cooper smiled.
"Yeah I know. But I don't figure how a birds got anything to do with kidnapping."
"You can never tell. Better send it off to Albert and his team. We can see if he can tell us what kind of bird it is." Cooper tossed his bag full of glitter to Jefferies. "See if this is the same stuff we found at the others too."
"I don't get it Coop. Last week Chicago, the week before New Orleans, two days before that Bolder, now here in up state New York. This guy really gets around. Who knows how many more we haven't investigated. All with the same MO; broken window, missing kid, glitter everywhere. Hell of a calling card."
"You forgot about the book."
"Yeah, that little book." Jefferies snapped his fingers several times to get his thoughts in order. 'The Labyrinth,' what was it about again? Goblin King snatching a baby and turning the rug rat into a sniveling goblin. This perv is messing with us Coop, and I don't like it one bit."
"In the book the Goblin King could change into the from of a barn owl. I'm betting that's what Albert will find."
"You've got to be kidding me Coop. You don't really think…"
Cooper smiled his schoolboy smile again.
"Shit Coop, you're too fucking weird for me sometimes."
"Lets go talk the family and make sure their telling us everything."
The two agents left the room and turned down the little hall to the living room where three people were sitting. Mother, Father, and daughter were sitting on a faded blue couch the two women were sobbing, and the man looked as if he ate one to many burritos from "Taco Bell" and had a bad case of the flaming butt water; such was the grimace on the fat man's face. Actually the young girl was the woman's stepdaughter. She was a petite sixteen year-old, with curly red hair. Her eyes were rimmed with red and dark bags circled the soft tissue under her lower lashes. Upon inspection the stepmother, the missing baby's real mother, was much worse. Her mascara had run down the length of her cheeks, and was smudged all around her eyes looking as if she went a few rounds in the ring with a professional boxer. She was sniveling uncontrollably and leaning in a daze upon her husband, who still looked morose. Cooper opened the conversation.
"Mr. Steven's… Mrs. Steven's… Angela. I'm sorry to do this but we need to ask you a few more questions."
They all nodded in unison. Jefferies took up where Cooper left off.
"You two were out when the kidnapping took place. Am I correct?"
Mr. and Mrs. Steven's nodded.
"And Angela was home babysitting your baby girl." Jefferies continued.
"That's right. We went to the movies with two of our friends. We go every Friday night." Mr. Stevens answered. Cooper, then turned to Angela, and smiled trying to make her feel better.
"What do you remember about that night Angela? Just before Samantha disappeared?" Cooper asked.
"Well… Sam was crying, and I was trying to put her down for the evening. I tried everything, bottles of juice and milk, a fresh diaper, and her pacifier. She just spit it right back out at me. So I tried to read her a story to calm her down, but I didn't get past the first couple of pages before I gave up and left the room to try to find something else… I think I was going to look for her teething ring in the freezer. Then she stopped crying all of a sudden. I… I got worried cause she got all quite, and I went back into the room, and the light was out. I… I had left the light on! It was so dark and I was sacred… I went over to the crib and she was gone! The window was open. I… I didn't see anybody. She was just gone. A second later the lights came back on. I ran into the living room to call 911, and I noticed the clock by the phone. It said midnight. When I put her down to sleep it was eight. I… I don't know what happened. I don't remember anything! It's all my fault!" The girl started crying and her father tried to comfort her. She just sobbed and whimpered.
"It's okay baby. It's not your fault." He patted her back. She just kept crying. Cooper continued questioning her.
"Where is the book you were reading to her?"
"I…in the bed room."
Jefferies went to find it. He came back with a little red book. The title scrawled in fancy black writing on the cover. It said "Labyrinth."
"We're going to take this with us." Jefferies intoned as he placed it in a bag. Yellow and blue makes green, bag and tag "Labyrinth."
The Special Agents asked a few more questions, but finished up in about fifteen minuets. They left the ratty apartment building by means of the stairs. The lift was broken. Across the parking lot to Coopers forest green blazer and they climbed in with Coop in the drivers seat talking to his tape recorder about the mornings proceedings. When he switched it off he turned to Jefferies as he was pulling out of the small driveway.
"Have you ever noticed, Phil, that you park in a driveway, and drive in a parkway?"
Jefferies just laughed.
"You're one in a million Coop. Ever notice that?"
"Several times."
Jefferies laughed again.
"Let's ship this stuff off to Albert, and see what he has to tell us." Jefferies said.
(A "Labyrinth" "Twin Peaks" Cross Over)
by Midnightingale
Part One
Chapter One; The Special Agents
Drip, drip, drip, drip. The murky brown water plunged a seven foot fall from the ceiling into the half full plastic bucket with the steady drip reminiscent of a metronome. Special Agent Dale Bartholomew Cooper hunkered over the yellowed baby crib brushing a substance off the tiny mattress that appeared to be some form of glitter into a small plastic baggy. Yellow and blue makes green, bag and tag. He smiled the smile of a schoolboy and turned to his partner in crime, Special Agent Phillip Jefferies. Soft weeping could be heard in an adjoining room.
"What did you find?" Cooper asked.
"The lock on the windows busted, other than that no sign of forced entry. Weird thing is we're three floors up, and there's no fire escape."
"But?"
"But I did find this caught on the lock."
Jefferies held up his own baggy with a single white downy feather.
"That's new." Cooper smiled.
"Yeah I know. But I don't figure how a birds got anything to do with kidnapping."
"You can never tell. Better send it off to Albert and his team. We can see if he can tell us what kind of bird it is." Cooper tossed his bag full of glitter to Jefferies. "See if this is the same stuff we found at the others too."
"I don't get it Coop. Last week Chicago, the week before New Orleans, two days before that Bolder, now here in up state New York. This guy really gets around. Who knows how many more we haven't investigated. All with the same MO; broken window, missing kid, glitter everywhere. Hell of a calling card."
"You forgot about the book."
"Yeah, that little book." Jefferies snapped his fingers several times to get his thoughts in order. 'The Labyrinth,' what was it about again? Goblin King snatching a baby and turning the rug rat into a sniveling goblin. This perv is messing with us Coop, and I don't like it one bit."
"In the book the Goblin King could change into the from of a barn owl. I'm betting that's what Albert will find."
"You've got to be kidding me Coop. You don't really think…"
Cooper smiled his schoolboy smile again.
"Shit Coop, you're too fucking weird for me sometimes."
"Lets go talk the family and make sure their telling us everything."
The two agents left the room and turned down the little hall to the living room where three people were sitting. Mother, Father, and daughter were sitting on a faded blue couch the two women were sobbing, and the man looked as if he ate one to many burritos from "Taco Bell" and had a bad case of the flaming butt water; such was the grimace on the fat man's face. Actually the young girl was the woman's stepdaughter. She was a petite sixteen year-old, with curly red hair. Her eyes were rimmed with red and dark bags circled the soft tissue under her lower lashes. Upon inspection the stepmother, the missing baby's real mother, was much worse. Her mascara had run down the length of her cheeks, and was smudged all around her eyes looking as if she went a few rounds in the ring with a professional boxer. She was sniveling uncontrollably and leaning in a daze upon her husband, who still looked morose. Cooper opened the conversation.
"Mr. Steven's… Mrs. Steven's… Angela. I'm sorry to do this but we need to ask you a few more questions."
They all nodded in unison. Jefferies took up where Cooper left off.
"You two were out when the kidnapping took place. Am I correct?"
Mr. and Mrs. Steven's nodded.
"And Angela was home babysitting your baby girl." Jefferies continued.
"That's right. We went to the movies with two of our friends. We go every Friday night." Mr. Stevens answered. Cooper, then turned to Angela, and smiled trying to make her feel better.
"What do you remember about that night Angela? Just before Samantha disappeared?" Cooper asked.
"Well… Sam was crying, and I was trying to put her down for the evening. I tried everything, bottles of juice and milk, a fresh diaper, and her pacifier. She just spit it right back out at me. So I tried to read her a story to calm her down, but I didn't get past the first couple of pages before I gave up and left the room to try to find something else… I think I was going to look for her teething ring in the freezer. Then she stopped crying all of a sudden. I… I got worried cause she got all quite, and I went back into the room, and the light was out. I… I had left the light on! It was so dark and I was sacred… I went over to the crib and she was gone! The window was open. I… I didn't see anybody. She was just gone. A second later the lights came back on. I ran into the living room to call 911, and I noticed the clock by the phone. It said midnight. When I put her down to sleep it was eight. I… I don't know what happened. I don't remember anything! It's all my fault!" The girl started crying and her father tried to comfort her. She just sobbed and whimpered.
"It's okay baby. It's not your fault." He patted her back. She just kept crying. Cooper continued questioning her.
"Where is the book you were reading to her?"
"I…in the bed room."
Jefferies went to find it. He came back with a little red book. The title scrawled in fancy black writing on the cover. It said "Labyrinth."
"We're going to take this with us." Jefferies intoned as he placed it in a bag. Yellow and blue makes green, bag and tag "Labyrinth."
The Special Agents asked a few more questions, but finished up in about fifteen minuets. They left the ratty apartment building by means of the stairs. The lift was broken. Across the parking lot to Coopers forest green blazer and they climbed in with Coop in the drivers seat talking to his tape recorder about the mornings proceedings. When he switched it off he turned to Jefferies as he was pulling out of the small driveway.
"Have you ever noticed, Phil, that you park in a driveway, and drive in a parkway?"
Jefferies just laughed.
"You're one in a million Coop. Ever notice that?"
"Several times."
Jefferies laughed again.
"Let's ship this stuff off to Albert, and see what he has to tell us." Jefferies said.