Samuel

Chapter 18

Red and blue lights flashed throughout the community. One squad car, then dozens with EMS services surrounded the home. A flurry of first responders hustled and bustled as a large audience gathered. Beginning to trickle in while the police maintained a barrier around the home, many times, the officers reminded onlookers to keep their distance.

One reporter, with her videographer close in tow, stood with her microphone close to her breast, scouring the area for an opening. Her previous attempts to bypass the police line proved unfruitful. Accosted for attempting to circumvent the barricade, as her competitors lurked in the back of the home before the officers spotted them, she continued to weave her way around, surveying the area for any sign of entry.

"Hey, sergeant! Where do you want this?" An officer inquired.

"Get your head out of your ass! Put it around back and sit there while you're at it!" The sergeant screamed.

Sulking, the officer took the yellow roll and moved around his vehicle towards the back of the home. His shoulders low, his head down. Turning around, the sergeant continued his conversation with his captain.

"Fill me in." The Captain ordered.

Very thin with an elongated face, the Sergeant met her height yet not her physique. An older man, with deep eyes and heavily drooping eyelids, the pear-shaped man exhibited poor health as heavy bags and dark circles hung under his eyes.

"Well, it's the damnedest thing. There is a mummy in the house. It's the size of a boy and is most likely the son of the household."

"What?!" She exclaimed. "How can that even happen?"

"That's the tricky part. The homicide investigators have no idea. I have been searching on my computer for anything similar to this." He said looking down at his laptop connected with a mifi. "Zip." He responded glancing back at the Captain.

"Where is the family?" The Captain inquired.

"Now, that gets even stranger. The mom just died, recently, and the dad is not far off. But..." He held a solitary finger in the air. "Here's where it gets even trickier. There is a kid missing."

"Hmmm, kidnapping? Possible ransom?"

"No idea ma'am. The investigators say this happened mere hours prior. If this is a kidnapping, no one has called for ransom, yet or given any demands."

"Get the picture of the missing boy and have it posted on the news. Continue to cordon off this area." She circled around gauging the area. "Get those reporters back. Tell them we will have a conference in one hour. Right there." She pointed to the edge of the driveway where it and the road met.

"Yes, ma'am." The Sergeant turned to relay the information to another officer.

"One more thing." The Captain called out.

Stopping mid explanation to his officer, the Sergeant pivoted his head back towards her.

"What is the name of the missing child?" The captain inquired.

The Sergeant looked down at his notepad to jog his memory. "Samuel Walker. The remaining child we know of their whereabouts is Janet. The corpse is suspected to be Kyle all with the same last name."

"Right. Let's do all we can to find the missing boy. Whoever did this, most likely has Samuel. We have limited time to find him. Get it done Sarge."

"Got it!" He responded over his shoulder.

Continuing to talk to one of many officers to facilitate the orders, in all, ten uniformed police officers and four homicide investigators were present while yellow police line lingered everywhere. Overly excited, in their work, this sleepy town with a potential homicide, albeit a mysterious one at that did not happen in this community since the late 1950's.