the makeshift tooth/claw.
“Shit,” Jason
said. He turned around and headed for the door and a long drive.
* * * * * *
3
Anna sat down in
the swivel chair in front of the switchboard that accessed the various cameras
throughout Crimson Falls. A few of the deputies who were off duty were arriving
at the station. Damien Gross and Rick Stanley walked into the office.
“Hey guys,”
Damien said to the kids.
“Hey Damien,”
they said disjointedly.
“I’m in here
guys,” Anna called.
“Hey boss.
What…” but his voice trailed off as he saw the cameras.
“Yes, welcome to
my secret lair,” Anna laughed.
“Sheriff? What
is this?” Rick asked.
“These are our
eyes that will help us nail this bastard.”
“I had no idea this
was even here,” Rick said, in awe of the technology in the room.
“Sheriff Kelly
passed this down to me,” she said. “I’ve used it a few times to help locate
lost hikers, pets, and a few other things. But aside from that, we haven’t
needed it.”
“But why did
they build it in the first place?” Rick asked.
“That’s a long
story, and not one that needs to be told now. What matters is that we see if we
can find our killer.” She flipped master switch that turned on all cameras.
Three dozen televisions lit up the room, each with a panoramic view of its
surroundings.
“Whoa,” Damien
said.
“Cool,” Trevor
shouted from behind.
“Trevor, for
Christ sake!” she hollered.
“Language,
mother,” he retorted.
“Would you
please just leave? Have some respect.” Trevor huffed and turned around, heading
back to the table.
“Okay. Damien,
you take this group of ten. Rick, you take this group. I’ll take this one.”
They nodded in agreement.
For several
minutes they watched the screens without speaking. Sounds of the forest filled
the room, with occasional car horns and loud mufflers.
“Anything,
guys?” Anna asked while still watching her group of screens.
“Nothing boss,”
they said one after the other.
“Okay. What I’m
going to do now is go group by group and play back the footage from the past
few days.”
“Won’t that take
hours?” Damien asked.
“No, they’re on
a trigger. So we may see a lot of animals, but it’s what we have to do.” Anna
got up to leave.
“Where are you
going?” Rick asked.
“I’m sending
John back here to help you. The camera only stays on for one minute once it’s
triggered. Let me know if you find anything.”
“Where will you
be?”
“I’ll be making
some calls.” Anna walked out of the room, smiling at the kids as she made her
way to the main lobby of the station. She sent John Felber into her office to
help the others. Less than a minute later Aaron Peterson came through the back
corridor.
“Sheriff!” he
yelled.
“What do you
know?” Anna asked impatiently. “I figured you would have sent word by now.”
“Dr. Styles
thinks it’s an animal,” he reported.
“He what?” Anna
said, momentarily caught off guard.
Aaron shook his
head. “I’m sorry, that came out wrong. He thinks the weapon is some kind of
animal claw. Maybe an elephant tusk. Or perhaps a bear claw painted yellow.”
It took Anna a
moment to process what she had heard. “So the murder weapon was made from some
sort of animal bone or something?”
“Yes, Sheriff,”
Aaron said. He was breathing heavily, still excited by the day’s events. “Jason
is on his way to the university right now to meet with a professor who can tell
us what animal it comes from.”
“Well that’s
good news,” Anna said. Although David was exceedingly strange, he did excellent
work. She found herself being thankful that a brilliant man like Dr. Styles
enjoyed remote locations. He could easily have worked at the University of
Minnesota Medical Center teaching America’s future coroners, or work as a CSI
expert.
“Does he think
it was an animal that did this?” she asked.
“No, ma’am. I
think he thinks it was a
“Shit,” Jason
said. He turned around and headed for the door and a long drive.
* * * * * *
3
Anna sat down in
the swivel chair in front of the switchboard that accessed the various cameras
throughout Crimson Falls. A few of the deputies who were off duty were arriving
at the station. Damien Gross and Rick Stanley walked into the office.
“Hey guys,”
Damien said to the kids.
“Hey Damien,”
they said disjointedly.
“I’m in here
guys,” Anna called.
“Hey boss.
What…” but his voice trailed off as he saw the cameras.
“Yes, welcome to
my secret lair,” Anna laughed.
“Sheriff? What
is this?” Rick asked.
“These are our
eyes that will help us nail this bastard.”
“I had no idea this
was even here,” Rick said, in awe of the technology in the room.
“Sheriff Kelly
passed this down to me,” she said. “I’ve used it a few times to help locate
lost hikers, pets, and a few other things. But aside from that, we haven’t
needed it.”
“But why did
they build it in the first place?” Rick asked.
“That’s a long
story, and not one that needs to be told now. What matters is that we see if we
can find our killer.” She flipped master switch that turned on all cameras.
Three dozen televisions lit up the room, each with a panoramic view of its
surroundings.
“Whoa,” Damien
said.
“Cool,” Trevor
shouted from behind.
“Trevor, for
Christ sake!” she hollered.
“Language,
mother,” he retorted.
“Would you
please just leave? Have some respect.” Trevor huffed and turned around, heading
back to the table.
“Okay. Damien,
you take this group of ten. Rick, you take this group. I’ll take this one.”
They nodded in agreement.
For several
minutes they watched the screens without speaking. Sounds of the forest filled
the room, with occasional car horns and loud mufflers.
“Anything,
guys?” Anna asked while still watching her group of screens.
“Nothing boss,”
they said one after the other.
“Okay. What I’m
going to do now is go group by group and play back the footage from the past
few days.”
“Won’t that take
hours?” Damien asked.
“No, they’re on
a trigger. So we may see a lot of animals, but it’s what we have to do.” Anna
got up to leave.
“Where are you
going?” Rick asked.
“I’m sending
John back here to help you. The camera only stays on for one minute once it’s
triggered. Let me know if you find anything.”
“Where will you
be?”
“I’ll be making
some calls.” Anna walked out of the room, smiling at the kids as she made her
way to the main lobby of the station. She sent John Felber into her office to
help the others. Less than a minute later Aaron Peterson came through the back
corridor.
“Sheriff!” he
yelled.
“What do you
know?” Anna asked impatiently. “I figured you would have sent word by now.”
“Dr. Styles
thinks it’s an animal,” he reported.
“He what?” Anna
said, momentarily caught off guard.
Aaron shook his
head. “I’m sorry, that came out wrong. He thinks the weapon is some kind of
animal claw. Maybe an elephant tusk. Or perhaps a bear claw painted yellow.”
It took Anna a
moment to process what she had heard. “So the murder weapon was made from some
sort of animal bone or something?”
“Yes, Sheriff,”
Aaron said. He was breathing heavily, still excited by the day’s events. “Jason
is on his way to the university right now to meet with a professor who can tell
us what animal it comes from.”
“Well that’s
good news,” Anna said. Although David was exceedingly strange, he did excellent
work. She found herself being thankful that a brilliant man like Dr. Styles
enjoyed remote locations. He could easily have worked at the University of
Minnesota Medical Center teaching America’s future coroners, or work as a CSI
expert.
“Does he think
it was an animal that did this?” she asked.
“No, ma’am. I
think he thinks it was a
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