Chapter four: Detective Jack Marshall

Jack sat in his apartment in its dim lighting staring at the laptop screen with open case files and frustration etched across his face. He ran his hand through his chestnut brown wavy hair and his deep brown eyes focused on the location of the little girls' disappearances at Shoreside city park. The descriptions of the three girls were in front of him. Jack found himself rereading them hoping something would click into place. Surely a similarity to something they were last doing could be a clue as to where these girls ended up. Yes, they were all in the park with their mothers, but there had to be more. Honestly, Jack knew the only clue that these girls were at the park in the first place, apart from all three mothers reporting them being taken, personal items of the girls were found: a shoe being Anna's. Drew's scarf and Leah's watch. He wasn't sure if these were left as calling cards or if the girls or the girls lost them in the struggle, but the whole thing didn't sit right with detective Jack Marshall.

  Jack closed his laptop, rubbing his eyes, his body was tired, but his mind was exhausted. The constant thoughts filled his mind, theories that filled each corner of his mind. Jack wasn't just solving this case; in his mind he had another little missing girl he thought of. One that wasn't ever found and to this day haunts him. Jack became a detective in hopes of solving the case that was so poorly managed by the detective at the time. A now retired detective who seemed to live his retirement without care or worry about that little girl.

  Jack became a detective when his friend lost his young daughter in a kidnapping when he was in his twenties. Jack wasn't a detective at the time but was working toward that career path. A newly determined man to solve the evils that came across his desk and caught all criminals. It killed Jack to this day that the perpetrator was never apprehended. A fact that bothered Jack to his very core. Now a thirty-two-year-old and haunted by his friends' pain. Even though Jack knows that the little girl is long gone, he still hunts for the truth. Hoping that every case he solves will shine light and help him see something that was missed by the detective. Macy Stevens was like a niece to him. She was always eager to see Uncle Jake, and he loved to play with her and spoil her. His friend spiraled like any parent would and his marriage to his long-time girlfriend was over two years after Macy was taken. Jack watched his friend stop caring and waste away to a hollow shell. His former self was now a ghost. Jack lost a niece and his best friend, and it killed him. His heart was heavy with that pain. The pain is his determination to find any missing person.

  Jack sighs, his broad shoulders slumped as he slowly stands, his tall frame casting a shadow over his bedroom. The darkness it casts matches the void of stress that fills him daily. He knows these girls are as good as dead, and he can't do a damn thing about it. All he can do is try and race against the clock. Hoping that maybe, by some miracle, one or two will survive if they are lucky. Jack hopes to find anyone who may have caught a glimpse of the girls. As of now, there were no witnesses or any real suspects. Jack was well aware at this stage that there were just parents that had lost their daughters.

  No one had come forward with any information and the parents didn't seem to have any idea who would take them either. Jack had already started the standard procedure of looking into all close family, friends and extended family, hoping to find anything that could guide him in the direction of where these little girls could be. Babysitters and teachers were questioned. Now cousins and friends of the family were on the list for questioning. They work tirelessly through the list hoping one of them could know more or was to blame. Whoever took these girls didn't leave a trail and seemed not to be connected to the family, which was certainly a lot less common than people realized.

  Jack walked around his old apartment, throwing the stress ball he often played with while trying to solve cases. Tossing it up and catching it while going over what he knew already. Knowing full and well tomorrow, the parents would be at the station to ask him what they had found and all he could offer them was. "We are trying our best, we are asking questions and collecting evidence." He wanted to be able to tell them he had a lead at least, that they were on the hunt for that lead anything more than the bull shit generic answer he knew did nothing to ease the stress and fear they were feeling at every moment. Jack took a deep breath trying to calm his loud mind. The thoughts swirled loudly around his mind, loudly repeating the facts, and the girls' faces flashed in his mind, serving as a guilty motivation. A force propelling him into a determined madness. He knew he would have to admit soon that these girls were likely dead. Saying these to the parents felt cruel and unnecessary. Hope kept them from ending up like his friend Tom.

  Jack threw the stress ball onto his double bed and walked into his cramped, outdated kitchen. Opening his off-white fridge with a magnetic photo of Macy and her parents on the door. Tom and his now ex-wife Diane looked so happy with the then baby Macy. Jack grabbed a beer and popped the lid off, knocking it back, savoring the taste that slid over his taste buds. It wouldn't take away his stress, but self-medicating with beer was more of a hobby at this point. He didn't have time for many others. His work consumed his every waking moment. It wasn't easy trying to solve homicides or missing cases that almost always became homicides. Jack catches his reflection in the window of the kitchen. Seeing his face with a beard starting to grow, his hair tousled, and his face looked more tired than usual. The past was defiantly weighing heavy on his mind during this case. He needed to go do something productive. Sitting in this apartment staring at the case files wasn't going to solve the case. It was around 11pm and Jack knew going to a crime scene alone wasn't standard, but he wanted to go search the area again. His gut feeling that the answer was there gnawed at him.

  Jack was dressed in his standard dark denim and black T-shirt, throwing on his watch his mother got him and the old brown leather jacket that he'd had since he went to college. He laced up his black leather boots. Planning a stroll around the infamous park hoping to come across anything leading him to the kids' locations or who might have taken them. Maybe he'll find a hiding place where the perpetrator watched the kids before kidnapping them, or maybe the kidnapper left something behind that was missed before. It was dark, but the park was a brightly lit park for regular sports events, hoping to deter the regular crime that seemed drawn to this park.

  After arriving at Shoreside Park, Jack walked to the areas where the items were found. He looked to see if he could find a sewer or water system entrance large enough to accommodate a child and big enough to fit an adult too. He found nothing that stood out to him. No obvious blaring signs like broken foliage or muddy boot prints. The person who took these girls knew this area well and that worried Jack to no end. The fact that not only was he desperate to find these girls, he was fighting the clock and a seasoned kidnapper and serial killer if they were all killed.

  Jack rubbed his temples and sighed heavily, the dark night sky was deep and speckled with lights. The park was well lit up in most parts except for areas close to where the girls' items were found. While Jack ran and threw various possibilities in his head, he noticed the darker parts of the surrounding bushes in the gardens were thicker, mostly untouched and left to grow wild except in one section.

  Jack walked closer, looking to see why this area had been kept when it hit him, the sewer system. The pipes here were for maintenance and had pipes large enough to accommodate a fully grown adult. These pipes also run under the whole city. It was a long shot, Jack knew that, but it would explain why these kids were never seen when taken and how they stayed unseen. Jack took a deep breath, inhaling the cool night air, chilling his lungs, calming the storm that was brewing in his gut and mind as he wondered where in the sewer system under the whole city the kids could be.