The Killers Amongst Us: Chimera Dawn Chronicles (4 page)

“Jesus, are you sure it wasn’t a brown bear?”

“Can’t say. I know I wouldn’t like to meet whatever did the
damage. It must have been powerful to overcome a Bullmastiff.”

Shaw re-zipped the bag.

“What are you going to do with the body?”

“Not sure. The coroner’s office suggested a veterinary
surgeon over at Wildlife and Game carry out an autopsy. But for now were
putting it on ice after we’ve taken more samples for DNA around the wound area,
and combed the dog’s coat in the lab. With a bit of luck, the DNA analysis will
identify exactly what attacked the dog. If it is another dog, we’ll know the
breed from its DNA. Find the dog and the owner might just know what happened to
the girl.”

“I doubt it’ll be that simple. I hope we find her alive
before you get the results. Anyway, let me know what you find.”

“We will.”

Shaw looked around. There was nothing to see. It was just a
patch of waste ground; stained where they had found the body. With no houses
nearby, there were no doors to pound for any witnesses. He walked back to his
car, settled on his seat and set off along the highway back to the city. His
mind wandered in all directions. Maybe, the dog had run off and Lucy was still
searching for him. But then why not phone home? He pulled into the headquarters
parking lot, when it struck him that the journey had been a blur, and that
maybe the long hours working were getting to him. Parking in his usual spot, he
climbed out of his car and set off walking to South Spring Street and the
Justice Department.

Shaw was used to seeing death masks, but the vision of the
Bullmastiff’s head, hanging by a chunk of its coat attaching it to its body,
churned his stomach. He shook his head, but it failed to dispel the gruesome
vision.

“What the hell could do that?”

Friday, 12:55 p.m. 11th, July 2008. Missing and Unidentified
Persons Unit.

ARRIVING
at the MUPU reception desk, Shaw showed the
young woman his ID and was given a nametag. The receptionist pointed him in the
direction of the meeting room. There was just one guy in the room. He walked up
to Shaw and they exchanged glances at their nametags. The guy held out his
hand.

“Detective Shaw, pleased to meet you,” said FBI agent
Summers, and shook his hand.

“Please, call me Brett.”

Agent Summers nodded, but failed to exchange the same
civility.

More people arrived, exchanging introductions, when a small
in stature, but well-rounded guy, walked into the room. His nametag simply had
‘Homeland Security’ typed on the paper badge. He hardly looked the part,
wearing a crumpled shirt, and the knot of his tie skewed to one side. His pants
looked like they had never seen an iron, and his hair had never seen a comb.

“Homeland security?” Shaw said. “Surprised they would have
an interest in the cases.” The guy offered no response. Shaw held out his hand.
“Detective Shaw, LAPD homicide. And your name is?”

The guy took his hand in a firm grip and answered.

“My name is on the tag, Homeland Security, but you can call
me whatever you want. I’m only here as an observer. As for our interest...” He
released his grip and tapped his finger on his nose. “That’s for us to know.”

Shaw turned away, took a seat at the polished oak table and
dropped his missing persons’ file on the surface. Homeland Security pulled a
chair away from the table, and sat in the corner next to the door. Shaw thought
the HS guy was a self-righteous son of a gun, full of his own importance. He
could think of many names he would like to call him, but none of them to his
face in front of witnesses. He knew that he had to have shown his ID at
reception, so he would be legit. But why he didn’t want his name known was
beyond him, apart from it was the height of ignorance. Shaw shrugged his
shoulders. With all present, Rachael Gomez, the head of MUPU, took the chair at
the head of the table. Shaw took his cell phone from his pocket and switched it
off.

“Please, if you’d all take a seat, we can begin,” she said.

A shuffling of chairs, and opening of brief cases, then all
eyes focused in her direction. Gomez’s vision coursed over those at the table,
settling on the stenographer to her left and nodded to her.

“Gentlemen, Ana, sorry we’re running late, but thank you all
for attending. I know this meeting is unprecedented... but then so are the
circumstances. Ana is going to record the minutes and you’ll all receive
copies. As head of MUPU, I can tell you that our role will be to collate the
information necessary to ensure that any law enforcement agency searching the
various databases, they will have access to enable them to identify with the
missing persons. All the relevant details will also be posted on our web site
for the public to access, and the national database for those with security
clearance. I have to say though that the governor has been informed and he says
that what we put out for public consumption needs to be sensitive to both the
victims’ families, and to avoid panic in the population.”

Shaw wasn’t surprised by that revelation; not with nineteen,
eighteen-year-old girls, all going missing on the same day. Scenarios of
newspaper headlines and television news reports had already formed in his mind.
Gomez swayed an open palm in the direction of agent Summers.

“FBI agent Summers is in overall charge of the cases and he
will coordinate all the various agencies efforts.”

Summers stood and cleared his throat.

“Thank you, Rachael. If you are not all aware, we have
reports of nineteen missing young women, all of a similar age. We have three
clusters in California. One group is located in the Beverly Hills district with
five missing. There are seven reports from Sacramento, and seven from West of
Fresno. Based on preliminary findings, there is sufficient information to
believe that ten of them could have been kidnapped, though we haven’t received
word from any kidnapper, nor do we have any witnesses to any of the events.”

Summers opened a buff file and passed out papers to all
present. Shaw wondered if the two additional kidnappings included any of his
victims. He read the notes on the paper.

Chief of police. Los Angeles - Fresno - Sacramento.

Designate uniformed officers and highway patrol for
enquiries.

Distribute photographs of missing persons & clothing
type worn.

Door to door enquires.

CCTV from all relevant places and times.

All information to designated detective.

All media enquires directed to the FBI

FBI agents.

Meetings with families.

Photographs, fingerprints, DNA samples. Description of
clothing. (Copies to MUPU)

Social media, phone records. Court orders if not
forthcoming.

Details of extra curricula activities. Emphasis on patterns
of connections between victims.

Check records of known cults.

All forensics to be carried out by the FBI.

Detectives. Los Angeles – Fresno –
Sacramento.

Collate all local information from enquires.

School records. Interview teachers for known connections.

Evaluate CCTV footage. (Include vehicles en-route.)

Follow up leads and report to FBI, with daily summary.

All media enquires directed to the FBI.

Shaw looked down the list and
stopped at the instruction that material had to be sent to FBI forensics.

“Agent
Summers, we’ve found Lucie Turner’s dog with its throat ripped out and our
forensic team has the body.”

“Okay, have them contact our forensics’ team after the
meeting.”

“Is that one on your list as a possible kidnap?” Shaw asked.

Summers scrolled his finger down a list of names.

“No, we only have two from your list, Gail Harvey and Carol
Buckshaw, so that makes it a possible eleven out of the nineteen. Listen, if I
can carry on, each detective from the three areas is going to give us a rundown
of the ones in their area. So please, let’s keep things ordered. First, I’ll
elaborate on the list in front of you all.”

Shaw scoffed inwardly, but he knew Summers was right. The
sooner the meeting was over, the sooner he could get to Amy’s party, so the
less interruption the better.

With detective Granger from Sacramento finishing off the
last of his missing persons’ reports, Shaw looked at his wristwatch. It was
already 3:00 p.m., and he knew if the traffic was bad on the Hollywood Freeway,
he could be late for Amy’s party. The tone of a cell phone buzzing caught
Shaw’s attention. All exchanged glances.

“Sorry about that, text message,” said the Homeland Security
guy.

He walked out of the room. Detective Granger finished his
report, then agent Summers called an end to the meeting. Over the sound of
scraping chairs, Summers’ cell phone vibrated on the table and he took the
call.

Shaw noticed Summers’ cheeks flush.

“What! The same pattern in almost every state? No way. What
the hell is going on?” He called out to those in the room. “Please all take a
seat again.”

The door opened, and in breezed Homeland Security.

“Sorry about this, change of plan. I’m taking control of the
cases. I’ll have to ask you all to stay a while longer.” He walked over to Ana.
“You can stop recording the minutes and leave,” he said. “We only need two copies,
one for me and one for agent Summers, then wipe your machine clean.”

Shaw turned to Summers.

“What’s happening?”

“The national database has thrown out a report of the same
pattern of missing eighteen-year-old girls in almost every state.”

Shaw’s mouth gaped. Homeland Security stabbed Summers a look,
then tapped his lips with his index finger. By the expression on his face, he
didn’t look too happy at Summers’ revelation. Homeland Security glanced around
the table. Shaw could see that no one seemed to have taken any notice of what
had been said.

“I need a word with you two in the corridor,” HS said. Shaw
followed them out to the corridor. “I want no more talk of the national
database report... understood?”

“Understood,” Summers said, and inspected his highly
polished shoes.

“Can you tell us what’s behind it all?” Shaw asked.

“No I can’t. I asked you a question. Is it understood?”

“Understood,” Shaw replied.

“Nothing changes in your investigation. Only concern yourself
with those cases you’ve been allocated. Talk to no one, not your family,
friends, or colleagues about a local or a national pattern. Our agency will
deal with the media and arrange gag notices. Nothing I have to say in the
meeting will be different to what I have just said, so you can go now.”

Shaw looked at his watch. It was 3:20 p.m.

“I’ll just grab my file then and I’ll be on my way.”

Shaw walked back into the room, picked up his file and
hurried out of the meeting. His mind was all over the place as he walked back
to the headquarters parking lot. His indignation at Homeland Security’s
attitude subsided. Shaw climbed into his car and drove off. He wondered just
what he meant by dealing with the media and for how long. In missing persons’
cases, media appeals for information usually brought good leads. Burying one or
two cases was doable with gag notices in the interests of national security.
Even considering that there were twenty-five thousand live cases in LA alone, he
still thought that nineteen on the same day would be almost impossible to
stifle. The families would be sure to demand coverage. But this wasn’t just
nineteen cases. It was goodness knows how many missing eighteen-year-old girls
throughout America. Homeland Security had not said it, but he imagined they
would set up a national agency committee. Second-guessing who was behind it
burned his gray matter. He pulled off the Hollywood Freeway and headed toward
his home.

The dash clock displayed 4:45 p.m. as he turned into his
cul-de-sac, forty-five minutes late. A shiver passed through his body. He
slammed hard on the brake pedal. Paramedics were walking down his pathway
toward their vehicle. The distinct coroner’s white van with a blue stripe was
parked in his drive. His neighbors were outside with children, some crying,
milling around his front yard. Shaw yanked at the door handle, and hurried out
of the car. He charged through the neighbors and on through his front door.
Mary sat on the sofa, consoling a grief stricken Amy. His gaze met Amy’s
tearful eyes. She pulled away from Mary’s grasp, and jumping at her dad, she
wrapped her arms and legs around his body. He held her tight.

“There now,” he said, as she sobbed. He stroked her hair. Shaw
looked over at Mary, his mind searching for answers, but not daring to ask the
questions.

Mary rushed over and put her arms around them both.