Wanna send a quick shout out to all my 2020 seniors out there who due to terrible circumstances didn't get the proper senior year they deserved. I'm so sorry that this happened but I know nothing can make up for it. Any of my senior readers out there, this is for you.
Enjoy!
Darry walked into his parents' bedroom and closed the door behind him. Then, he went over to their nightstand and opened the bottom drawer where some of his dad's old pants were. He reached towards the bottom until he pulled out an old notebook. He turned to the first page where he reread the entry.
Something happened today. Harrison Lynch came to Tulsa and kidnapped a kid from Pony's school. I hadn't paid much attention to him because I've been too focused on the house and everything that happened with Pony and Johnny recently. What scares me is that he goes after young kids and does whatever he wants with them; just for the hell of it according to the rumors. One of my co-workers said that most of those rumors were started by Lynch himself to try and start up a panic. I think I'll go crazy by doing this but I don't have a choice. That and Pony was acting weird tonight ever since I picked him and the others up earlier. Soda, Johnny, Pony, don't you worry; I'll take care of this. I promise.
Darry then turned the next few pages which again had some writing until he came to a blank page and started writing.
A body was found today; thank God it wasn't Pony or Johnny. It was another teen that Lynch killed. Damn, I can't shake this feeling out of my gut. If Lynch went and killed someone else, what does that mean for Pony and Johnny? Did Lynch get tired of them and moved on to another victim or are they still calling and begging for me to save them? Glory, I can't take much more of this. Momma always used to tell us never to hide any fear or anger for too long or we might explode. I remember Soda used to think that we would literally explode if we held it in for too long and he would never get tired of telling Mom and Dad everything. But I have no one to confide in who will still think of me as Superman. This is the only way to not go insane with keeping a straight face for Soda and trying to find any kind of lead. Those stupid search parties aren't doing any us any favors and to be honest, I think are doing more harm than good to me and Soda. Now that Soda went back to work, I can start investigating more because I know Helms and Carlos aren't going to help me out. It's time to get started.
Darry then turned to look at the dusty nightstand with a picture of all three of them weeks before Susan and Darrel Curtis were killed in that accident. "I love you kiddo. Wherever you and Johnny are, just hold on for a bit longer," he said and closed the notebook before opening it again and skimming each page ripping out the ones that didn't have a journal entry. One page had basic facts about Lynch that Darry had collected mentally or from asking around. Another had a few of Lynch's victims written down along with their ages and where exactly they were located. Another had a timeline of what had happened during the last few days.
-Lynch came to Tulsa (?)
Monday, Sept. 20th
-Kidnapping of Scott Gregory
- Discovered Lynch is Thrill killer (co-worker)
Tuesday, Sept. 21st
-Plays game with police by sending letters (some are ciphers)
-Lynch spreads false rumors about himself to scare people (rumor but most likely)
-Soda found out about Thrill killer
-black and white '65 G.T 350 Ford, Mustang with red lines on tires (Possible car)
-Possible letters from Lynch to victim's families (?)
Wednesday, Sept 22nd
-Confirmation of Lynch sending letters and other 'souvenirs' to the family (co-worker's relative was a victim)
- Scott Gregory found alive in a burning building near DX
-Possible burning alive (?)
Thursday, Sept 23rd
-Pony and Johnny taken during a school shooting
-FBI on case with Agent Helms leaders
Friday, Sept 24th
-Teacher of Pony who has a record sold him and Johnny to Lynch
-Lynch has been watching us the entire time (Has file about Pony and Johnny and some pictures of them and us at home)
Darry read through the rest of the timeline he had written down for the weekend and set that on one side of the bed, and put the stuff about Lynch personally on the other side.
All of a sudden, someone pounded on the door. "Agent Carlos of the FBI. Open up Darrel," said the loud, muffled voice. Darry left everything where it was and went to unlock the door and open it.
"Hello Darrel. Do you mind if I come in?" Agent Carlos asked through the screen door. Darry hesitated but eventually backed out of the way for him to come in dressed in his navy blue suit, white shirt, and grey tie. "Thank you. First, I want to apologize for how rushed and frazzled I might have sounded over the phone."
"Hey speaking of which, why aren't you still at the crime scene investigating this 'new' case of yours?" Darry said with his arms crossed.
"Now Curtis, I know you're upset about your brother but that still doesn't excuse you for how you talk to me and Agent Helms. Neither of us has time for your smart-mouthed attitude," he said and Darry rolled his eyes.
"Oh so everything's my fault now? Even the part where every time I try and get more information to go off of, your boss threatens to call Social Services on me?"
"Try not to take everything so personal, but we at the FBI try not to expose the public to the difficulties of this job. I've seen some sick things during my career that an average citizen like you could only dream of," Agent Carlos explained.
"Yeah yeah. I've already been playing with some of those scenarios myself. So what do you want?" Darry asked.
"First, I'll start with a little bit of good news for you. Special Agent Helms has decided that I'm going to be put in charge specifically with your case so he can focus on the case murder this morning. He'll no doubt join back up with us later, but for now, I'll primarily be looking for your brother and Jonathan."
"Great. How is that good news for me again?" Darry asked.
"You better count yourself lucky that Agent Helms has even agreed to this Darrel. If you disapprove, then I can just go back to Agent Helms and we can focus our attention on the new murder more than your brother."
"Is that supposed to be a threat?"
"Yes," Carlos said with narrow eyes, and Darry just rolled his eyes.
"Fine. Anything else?" Darry asked.
"Yes. The newspaper was forced to publish a letter from Lynch today and the letter was about you."
"Me?" Darry asked.
"Yes. There were actually two letters we've received from Lynch since we last met. One today, and one yesterday that was addressed to Special Agent Helms personally."
"There's another thing you didn't bother to tell me. Are you gonna tell me what they said, or is this another secret you have to keep from me?" Darry asked.
"The first one from yesterday was just an introduction from Lynch and his set of rules he has for us. It's always the same and has nothing to do with Ponyboy and Jonathan specifically. The second one you can read for yourself," Carlos said handing Darry the folded up letter.
Dear Editor,
This message goes out to Special Agent Helms. I'm very upset with you. We've been playing this game for years now and I thought you would know my terms, but it appears I was mistaken. How unfortunate, and while I already took my frustration on my guests today, a penalty must still be enforced. Remember that this hurts you way more than it hurts me, but enough about me. This letter comes with one of my puzzles to solve that I'm sure your team will figure out in no time. I'll write back tomorrow for an update.
Best,
H.L
"What does he mean by a 'penalty'? And how does this letter have to do with me?" Darry asked.
"There're certain rules and terms to his games that we have to follow, or he'll give us a 'penalty'. Remember the kid we found this morning?" Carlos asked. Darry nodded and then his face went pale.
"God damn," Darry mumbled.
"The cipher that he's talking about told us the longitude and latitude of where the body was, but Lynch didn't count on someone else finding him first."
"Why did he do it?" Darry asked.
"We didn't have all the required players needed to play his game properly. So technically, we broke one of his rules and we were penalized for it," Carlos explained. "It's hard to explain, but think of a board game. You need the pieces to play the game, but you also need a certain amount of players to play. Lynch's little game of hide-and-seek has certain players that all have to be accounted for while we try to find him. They include him and his victims, Agent Helms and his team, the forensics investigator which is normally me, and one other person; the victim's family."
"But all the players were accounted for," Darry said.
"No they weren't. The victim's family has to be completely involved in the investigation which includes the examinations of the crime scenes and clues that we find. We normally try not to involve family members in investigations because we don't want the family to suffer more than they already have and will; especially with the gifts, he sends out. In your case, we figured that we could get around involving you because you've been so persistent in interrupting our investigations with questions and know a little more about him than the average person. Unfortunately he found out somehow and if we don't get you further involved, he'll end the game early," Carlos explained and Darry's face was left horrified.
"Are you serious right now?! Why the hell didn't you tell me this earlier?!" Darry demanded.
"We thought we didn't have to involve you anymore then you needed to be," Carlos explained calmly.
"You son of a bi***! You risked their lives all because you forgot to mention that I was supposed to play?!" Darry said storming forward making a fist.
"Regardless of why we didn't tell you then, we need you now if you want to see your brother and friend again," he explained. Darry turned away from the agent grabbing his head while breathing in deep, heavy breaths to try and calm his nerves. After a few moments, Darry turned back around with a new determined look on his face.
"Okay, what do I need to do?" he asked.
"We'll need you at the forensics labs and possibly at another crime scene, but we also have to go over some rules between you and the FBI such as not sharing anything to the public or we'll have the right to prosecute you; stuff like that."
"I've got one too. Soda's not getting involved in this at all or finds out that I'm working with you more than normal."
"Agreed, but if it does come to that….." Carlos said.
"It won't! If we get any more letters from Lynch then I'll try to hide them unless he finds it first." Darry said.
"As we've said, we can hold on to anything having to do with this case. Also, we have a short favor to ask of you. Now normally we don't do this but is there any way you can talk to Jonathan's parents and explain to them the situation? We tried to go over there earlier and explain the situation but…"
"You won't get much out of them. Half the time, they're too drunk to even care about Johnny," Darry said leaving out the abuse side of Johnny's parents. "They won't be much help to the investigation."
"I had a feeling about that, but I wonder how Lynch would feel about that. Jonathan's still his guest, and we need his family involved," Carlos said.
"Wait a minute! You said Lynch sent a letter to the newspaper and had them publish it right?" Darry asked and Carlos nodded. "Well what if I did the same thing? I could write a letter to him and have the newspaper publish it. If he goes through all that trouble to have his letters posted, then he must read the newspaper at some point. Remember that binder that Ponyboy's teacher had with all their information and photos? If he's been spying on us then he must know about Johnny's folks."
"You've got a point there Curtis. We've never done something like that, and I see no issue with trying it out," Carlos said. "Come on, Agent Helms wants you at the new crime scene since now you know it's somewhat related to Ponyboy and Jonathan's kidnapping. But before we go, the press is already there having a field day, and it won't help matters if you just show up. I think it'd be best to have you disguised as an investigator; just until we move out of that crime scene."
"If I'm disguised, then how will Lynch know that I'm involved?" Darry asked.
"Lynch has specific key players for his game, remember? He'll notice that someone new is investigating, and since he's been watching you, we hope that he'll recognize you," he explained. Darry was about to respond but was interrupted by his watch going off; two o'clock.
"Alright, let's go," Darry said.
"Do you happen to have a suit and tie?" Carlos asked and Darry nodded. Carlos then followed Darry into his room and pulled out a dark grey suit. "That'll do. I think I might have a spare mask and dark glasses for you to wear in my car. You start putting that on, and I'll go see about the glasses and mask." Carlos left the room shutting the door behind him so Darry could quickly change.
When he finished and was fixing his tie, he stared at his reflection in the mirror.
"Relax. Just tell them exactly what happened, and everything will be fine," Darry said to his younger brother while fixing his tie. Then he turned and put his arm over Ponyboy's shoulder. "If you get nervous, Soda and I are gonna be right in the front row. You can do this," he continued and Ponyboy nodded.
Darry finished putting on his tie and then walked out of his bedroom grabbing onto the notes he had placed on his bed as well as the journal.
Nothing too crazy, but we got Secret Agent Darry now. I hope you all have enjoyed and stay safe out there. Hopefully one day soon this will all be a really bad, crazy nightmare.
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LaurenHardy13