Disappearing Act Ch. 01

The chronological order of my stories is as follows:

Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, The Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series, Teresa's Summer Race, The Trilogy series, Dark Side Of The Force series, Caught In The Act series, The Phyllis Files 1-2, Case of the Murdered Bride series, The Credit Card Caper series, The Phyllis Files 3, The Hot Wives Investment Club series, Seriously Inconvenienced series, Case of the Paper Trail series, Christmas Mystery Theater, The Porno Set Mystery series, The Medical Murder Mystery series, The Eightfold Fence series, The Phyllis Files 4, Pale Morning Light series, Silverfish series, Cold As Ice series, Secrets of Apple Grove series, Sting of the Scorpion series, Reichenbach series, Case of the Parole Officer series, Teresa's Summer Race Redux.

Disappearing Act, Ch. 01

This story list is now in WifeWatchman's biography!

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

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Part 1 - Prologue

Tuesday, July 13th. The first summer heat wave was enveloping the Town & County, with temperatures approaching the upper 90s, and the humidity soaking the air into an unwanted, velvety blanket of unbreathable oppression.

The day before (Monday), my Police email account received a post from an insurance company, Reems & Berry Life Insurance, bypassing normal Police channels. This irritated me, but I held my composure and read the email. They wanted information on a missing persons case that had taken place nearly seven years ago. As is usual for requests of this kind, I sent a copy of the email to the local FBI Missing Persons office, and replied to the insurance company that I'd forwarded their request to the FBI, and to direct all further inquiries to the FBI or to our Police Public Relations Department.

That apparently wasn't good enough. This morning, Tuesday, July 14th, I'd barely had time to sit down in my comfortable chair in my office at 8:00am when the phone rang. Helena French, my assistant, buzzed me.

"It's the Governor, sir."

"Of the State?" I asked. Obviously I was not fully awake, nor had I consumed a proper amount of coffee.

"Yes sir." Helena replied with a giggle.

I took the call, of course. "Yes, Governor Jared, how may I be of help to you this morning?" Yes, Chief Emeritus Griswold had taught me fairly well about kissing ass.

"Good morning, Commander." said Governor Jared. "You sound busy, so I'll get right to it: I'd like you to do me a favor. My friend Mr. Richard Hudson of the Reems & Berry Life Insurance Company needs some help in closing out a missing persons case, and I would appreciate it if you can give him a hand in doing so."

"Uh, sure, Governor." I replied, then added. " But 'missing persons'? Would not the FBI be better able to handle that?"

"I'm sure they normally would," said the Governor, "but this is actually a cold case that occurred in your County. I know it was before your time, but maybe you can glance into it and give the insurance company some help. Two people disappeared, and the insurance company has never believed that they were dead. Some very strange things about this case, Commander; I would imagine it would appeal to your liking of those seemingly inexplicable cases that you've so often solved so brilliantly."

"Sounds interesting, Governor." I said, not interested at all. "Does the insurance company understand that if I find evidence these two people are dead, that I'll be obligated to present my findings to the families, and the insurance company will have to pay up?"

"Oh yes," said the Governor, "they understand. We- er, they just want closure on the case, if that's possible."

"In that case," I said, "I will assign my Cold Case experts to it at once. They're better than me at such things as this, and they've solved some cases I've thought impossible. I'll be backing them up, of course, but if they can't get something for your friend, no one can."

"Thank you very much, Commander." said the Governor. "I'll let Mr. Hudson know that you'll contact him this morning. Thanks so much, and you have a great day, Commander." I barely had time to say good-bye before I was holding a dead phone line in my hand. Politicians. Sheesh.

Part 2 - The Case

"Captain Ross and... Detective Troy?" asked Richard Hudson with some surprise on his face. "I thought Troy was the Police Commander. And I thought he was going to help me on this case."

Richard Hudson was in his late 40s or early 50s, with curly hair that reminded Cindy of the late Mr. Blair of Lightsource Industries from the 'Murdered Bride' case some months before. Hudson was not in as good shape as Blair had been, though, and Hudson had a sneer of arrogance about him... it was clear he'd expected Commander Troy to personally come running at his beck and call. It was just after 2:00pm, and he had kept the Detectives waiting for nearly 30 minutes before admitting them to his office, having rebuffed their efforts to see him earlier in the day.

"He is indeed the Police Commander," said Police Auxiliary Detective Phyllis Troy, who Mr. Hudson did not know was the Commander's mother, and who was making a large effort to conceal her anger and disgust with the arrogant insurance executive, "and he is helping by sending Captain Ross and myself to help you. We are his Cold Case team, and the Commander has shown his high regard for this case by sending his Chief of Detectives to personally see you and look into this case."

"I see." said Hudson sourly, not at all happy about it. Despite the heat, both women had worn their 'Duty Dress' uniforms, and apparently Hudson did not know that the silver-framed red rectangle and purple rectangle above Cindy's right pocket above her nameplate represented some of the County's highest honors that had been bestowed upon her: the Medal of Valor and Purple Order.

"Mr. Hudson," Cindy Ross said crisply, "if you will give us the details of the case, we will be able to begin our investigation immediately."

The insurance executive did not like having control of the interview wrested from him in so strongly a fashion, but could see he had no further choice. "Okay, here are the details." he said, opening a file folder on his desk.

"Nearly seven years ago, on the Labor Day holiday, two people disappeared, both of whom had life insurance policies on them with this company." said Hudson. "On that date, they can and will be declared dead by the Court if we cannot find evidence that they are still alive, and we will have to pay their beneficiaries. It is routine for us in these situations to review these cases with the Police before the time expires, and give it one last effort to make sure the insured are indeed dead or irrevocably missing."

Cindy was about to say something, but was stopped by Phyllis's hand on her arm and Phyllis saying "Please continue, sir."

Mr. Hudson said "There was a party at the address of 123 Little Street, at the home of Claude and Jenny Tolson. The house is two stories, and there was a small attic bedroom which could be called the 'third floor room' or 'attic room'. There was only one set of stairs to this room, which had a bathroom all to itself. The room below, from which the stairs ascended, was a sitting room that had been turned into a game room of sorts."

"About 5:00pm," Mr. Hudson continued, "the Tolson's oldest son Billy Joe, who was 20 years old and a college student at-" Hudson named the school that Phyllis's son Don had attended- "and was home for the summer, went upstairs in the company of Bonnie Jean Mason, age 42. The Masons lived in the home that bordered the back side of the Tolson's home."

Hudson continued: "There were about six to eight teenagers in the game room, and from the time Billy Joe and Bonnie Jean went to the upstairs room, there were never less than four people in the room. No one saw Billy Joe nor Bonnie Jean leave, nor heard the stairs creak, and by all accounts the stairs creaked loudly."

"About 6:30pm, Art Mason, Bonnie Jean's husband, came into the house and into the game room. He was angry and looking for his wife. He went up the stairs to the top room, but found it empty- completely empty. Several people had followed Art upstairs, and they looked in the bathroom, the closets, under the bed, everywhere... there was no sign of the two. There was no trapdoor or any entrance to the attic above, no damage to the walls or ceiling. The window was shut and locked from the inside; and that window opened onto the yard where there were many people at the cookout party; surely they would've been seen by someone if they'd left by the window and attempted that dangerously steep descent."

Hudson went on: "Art Mason was very angry, and grabbed Jimmy Tolson, Billy Joe's younger brother, by the collars and was screaming at him, demanding to know where his wife was. Jimmy had been in the game room the entire time, and said he didn't know where they were. Jimmy was somewhat skinny and frail, and Art was shaking Jimmy very hard and Jimmy was not defending himself."

"About that time, Claude Tolson, who was not a huge man but strong enough, came into the game room, saw Art physically assaulting Jimmy, tore them apart, and punched Art hard in the face, knocking him down. Mason got up to attack Claude, and got knocked down again with another punch to the face. People got between them, and within moments the police arrived and began trying to sort out the mess. As the game room remained occupied, and then had police in there for hours afterwards, there was no chance at all for anyone hiding in the upstairs room to escape undetected. But that is apparently what happened: Billy Joe Tolson and Bonnie Jean Mason have never been seen alive again."

"I'm sure your company investigated the case?" said Phyllis.

"Yes, we did." said Hudson. "A copy of our complete case notes and findings are in this folder, which I will be giving to you. I'm sure that you can obtain further police notes from your Department, and you can also contact the FBI about their investigation of the case... which I must say left me very disappointed with their lack of effort."

Richard Hudson handed Cindy the thick file folder, and it was clear he wanted the interview to end. But Phyllis had more questions.

"Sir, how much were the policies for?" she asked. Was that a hint of displeasure in the wincing of Hudson's eyes? she thought.

"Tolson's was for $250,000, with an education benefit." said Hudson. "Mason's was for a million dollars. In both cases, the amounts were raised just a couple months before they vanished, which is one reason we're suspicious of how they disappeared."

As she stood up, Phyllis said "If we have further questions for your company, sir, whom do we contact?"

"You can contact me through my secretary, and arrange for some time for further interviews." said Hudson. "Thank you ladies for coming, and let me know what you find. Time is of the essence, so I hope and trust that you and your Commander will find something soon..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Wow," Cindy said as she drove back to Headquarters, "if it weren't for the fact the Governor himself called Don, I'd be ready to shove these papers up Richard Hudson's arrogant ass."

"Oh, but didn't you find that to be the most interesting of interviews?" asked Phyllis, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"How so?" asked Cindy.

"Think about it, dear." said Phyllis.

"I'm driving, Phyllis." said Cindy, who was driving and therefore concentrating on the road and the notoriously unpredictable Town and County traffic.

"Yes, dear, of course." said Phyllis. "And if you stop at the Courthouse Square Bistro for an afternoon late lunch, I'll treat you while we talk about it."

Some minutes later, as they sat down for what the British might call afternoon tea at the bistro, sitting outside and braving the heat, Phyllis said "Okay, what did you think of the interview?"

Cindy had been learning from her father to channel her thoughts and energies, and did so at this time as she thought about the interview.

"It was clear," Cindy began, "that he was upset that Don did not personally come to see him. Total arrogance on the bastard's part."

"Yes, that's true." said Phyllis. "Go on." She was watching Cindy as the ruggedly pretty platinum blonde thought about it.

"He obviously wants this case solved, and preferrably these people found alive, so that he doesn't have to pay out the money." said Cindy.

"And why do you say that?" Phyllis asked.

"He all but said so." said Cindy. "But I sense you're driving at something, and I'm not seeing what that is."

"You did well, and you're on the right track, so let me connect those dots for you." Phyllis said. "What I see is that the Governor of the State called my son and asked him to give attention to this case. That shows this Insurance Firm is powerful with the Governor, likely through political contributions, and that the Governor has no problem asking a local police officer to look into the case due to that influence."

"And that leads to this deduction: for the Insurance Firm to call in a 'chit', or a favor like that," continued Phyllis, "it bespeaks the importance of this case to the Insurance Company. Oh yes, he wants the case solved... he's almost desperate for it to be solved, to the point he calls in favors from no less than the Governor of this State. And as you said, he was clearly disappointed that we arrived instead of Don, though he doesn't realize that you and I are his better hope for solving the case."

Cindy smiled at that one, as Phyllis continued, "When I heard him say that it was 'routine' to do one last check on these in the months leading to the Limitations running out and him having to pay out on the policy, I knew that what he was saying was technically true, as far as process was concerned... but it also was a dishonest comment which conflicted with the importance he's already shown that he attaches to this case. Now the reason for that importance may be equally compelling to us as finding the truth about these missing persons."

"When we get back to Headquarters, I'll start looking at the details." Cindy said. "By the way, I joined the Force about the time this happened, but I don't remember anything about it. We'll have to dig up old case notes."

Part 3 - Beginning The Investigation

The next morning, Wednesday, July 15th, Cindy Ross came into MCD looking a bit tired. Jenna Stiles was with her. I handed them large mugs full of coffee and asked what was going on.

"I was reading the case notes of this disappearance cold case last night." Cindy said. "About two o'clock in the morning, there was this redheaded woman behind me, with my new blue crowbar in her hands-"

"If you will excuse me, I have work to do." Jenna said as she hurriedly scooted out of the room.

"So Jenna had your crowbar..." I said, getting Cindy started again.

"She said that either I could come to bed, or she would knock me out with it and put me to sleep that way." Cindy said.

"So what did you do?"

"She was standing there naked." Cindy said. "So of course I took her to bed."

It took a supreme effort on my part not to spew coffee all over the place...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At 8:00am my mother came into my office, so I asked her and Cindy to bring me up to speed on the case. Just in case the Governor called, of course.

"It's very interesting." Phyllis said. "Bonnie Jean Mason was a very attractive blonde woman, fit body, nice legs... you'd like her, Don. Billy Joe Tolson was well built, slender, and according to a few notes on the police reports, he was well-endowed and a player with the ladies."

"You'd like him, Mom." I retorted. That got a withering look from my mother and a chuckle from Cindy.

Phyllis continued: "Apparently this young stud and older MILF were headed to the upstairs room to have sex. One of the teenagers in the game room apparently snuck up for a peek and told the police he observed them having intercourse on the bed--"

"Who gave that report?" I asked immediately, interrupting my mother's narrative.

"The younger son. Jimmy Tolson." said Phyllis, her eyes twinkling with understanding.

"For that matter," I said, "who called the police? I understand that they got there very fast."

Cindy replied "The Duty Desk logs of that time only show a call from a 9-1-1 operator to the Desk, and it was over a domestic disturbance at the location. They initially sent Senior Patrolman Briscoe, who is now a Sergeant, and his partner, now Sr. Patrolman Cole, who at that time was just a rookie Officer in rank. Cole is up for Sergeant on August 1st, by the way. They were in the neighborhood at the time, so their fast response time is not a surprise."

"And the 9-1-1 call? Who was that from?" I asked, persisting strongly in this important line of inquiry.

Cindy shuffled through some paperwork, then said "The 9-1-1 service gave the number of the caller, and it was a land-line at the Tolson home. It was only used for the fax machine... they didn't even have a phone connected to that line, so there's a bit of mystery there."

"So we have a strangeness right there, right off the bat." I said, hoping my point was not being lost upon my Cold Case Team.

"We have a bigger one in that the lovers disappeared into thin air." said Cindy. "In reading the police reports last night, the kids... who were really teenagers around 18 years old or more, and hardly young kids... were playing video games or computer games the entire time, and they all swear under oath on the affidavits that the couple did not come down again after going upstairs."

Cindy continued: "The police reports were pretty thorough about police searching every nook and cranny of the room and being sure there were no exits, including secret exits behind the walls. They even had sonar equipment brought in during that night, and there are no places the couple could've possibly hidden."

"Definitely a strangeness." I said. "So what's the plan?"

"I drove through the neighborhood last night." said Phyllis. "The house is empty and up for sale, so I called the real estate agent, Leanne Gonzales, to allow us in this morning so that we can look at the home for ourselves."

"I've already contacted Sandra Speer with the FBI," said Cindy, "to ask her to get the case info from their Missing Persons offices. I also called Missing Persons myself. They, meaning Missing Persons, have yet to return my calls."

"That's curious." I muttered. "I might have to look into that. No point in either of us being FBI Consultants if we can't use it to get some answers."

"I might suggest, Son," said my mother, "that your friendship with Special Agent Muscone will serve far better on this matter than your own status within the Bureau."

"You're right, Mom." I said, then wisely added "As always. Okay, what else?"

"Speaking of status," said Cindy, "I'm going to use mine to conduct some interviews of the Police that investigated the case. Most of the officers are still here on the Force. Then we'll start trying to find witnesses and talk to them again."