Ashley's Asylum (3)

11 | Ashleys Asylum

After arriving at the station in question and all the greetings were out of the way, Watts got straight to the point. "I'd like to speak to the witness."

A sergeant led them down to a small room. Through one-sided glass they laid eyes on the witness, seated facing them while an officer took a statement. She looked to be about 70 but records stated she was only 50 years old. Homeless and ragged from facing all the elements on the streets she looked tired and unwell but according to the sergeant, she appeared much better now after coming in out of a storm.

Johnson smiled faintly at the cup of tea she clutched dearly to her chest and the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. A terrible thought hit him as he watched her talk animatedly to the female officer in the room. He sure hoped her call wasn't an excuse to get off the streets. He wouldn't blame her but it would mean they had come all this way for nothing.

Johnson and Watt's spent a long time talking to the woman. Her descriptions were hit and miss. According to her, the girl she saw running through the street had short white hair which didn't match their missing girl at all, however, her description of Samuel Hanz held some credibility despite apparently appearing beaten. When they revealed a picture, the woman barely hesitated in identifying him. Johnson could feel his muscles tightening at a positive ID.

What bothered him was the absence of Michael Wilton in the woman's statement.  Could something essential have developed in such a short amount of time? Was it possible the killers had parted ways or could something bigger have occurred? If the male from the statement truly was Sam, his beaten appearance could support various chilling theories. On the other hand, Wilton could simply have been elsewhere at the time. A car was seen leaving the estate within a matter of minutes after the sighting. That could have been Wilton. The woman failed to give a detailed enough account of the car for them to confirm if it was the same car David had been seen driving on various traffic cameras. 

If they knew how David had attained the car the three were travelling in, it could be traced back and a number plate could have been sourced but David had been careful in that respect, no doubt a cash in hand purchase from some nobody. They'd issued an advert requesting anyone to step forward and Johnson remained hopeful. 

His thoughts brought him back round to the females description. It could be Ashley, unfortunately, it could just as easily be a different girl. If the latter were true, they were more than likely looking for a body now. Johnson hoped it was her for the sake of her family and friends. The idea of another innocent girl dying at their hands made his blood boil to the point he could hardly keep his temper. 

After the interview, Watt's and Johnson took a break. They took up seats around the back of the station outside with two cups of tea. Johnson could barely hold back the urge to know Watt's thoughts on the old woman's statement. Watts evidently didn't want to hold him in suspense either as he lit a cigarette.

"No Wilton" he murmured through an exhale of smoke. 

Johnson nodded briefly. "Could have been in the car she saw. Do you think it was them?"

Watts flicked some ash away. "It's possible. We've got a positive ID on Hanz despite our witness being questionable."

He didn't argue with that. The witness wasn't exactly top stellar but she was better than no witness at all. "And the girl?"

"What do you think?"

"It could be Ashley. I hope it's her."

"Our witness claims the girl she saw had short, white hair wearing bottoms and a top. Our missing girl was last seen wearing a dress and has long dark hair."

Johnson knew that, but he wasn't about to simply accept that the girl in the statement was someone else.  "They could have made her change, it makes sense that they all found new clothes and they could have easily cut and dyed her hair."

Watts shrugged one shoulder.  "Think about it, why would she be wearing new clothes? If the girl in this statement is  Ashley her appearance has drastically changed. What does that tell you?"

"It tells me Wilton and Hanz are planning to keep her alive for now."

"But why? They've never felt the need to keep any of their previous victims alive which has to make you wonder whether she's being kept alive as a hostage or as an accomplice?" Watts added. 

Johnson didn't like the sound of it and his gaze hardened. It never got easier, hearing about the victims they'd taken get idly thrown around as apart of police lingo. It wasn't just a statement when one of those girls had been family. He didn't want to believe Ashley was helping Wilton and Hanz.  It didn't make sense for her to help them, there was nothing for her to gain by helping them. They were evil.

He stared hard at the scorching end to his partner's cigarette whilst he thought about Watts suggestion and the way it made him feel.

There needed to be a reason. There were stories of bright young teenagers spontaneously turning violent and murderous but helping dangerous convicts escape from a secure facility wasn't spontaneous. If Ashley had been a part of this, she would have been lying in wait at the Asylum for over a year. There had to be a reason and he couldn't conjure one that wasn't nonsensical. 

He didn't want to consider Ashley a suspect. No girl could ever be involved with those monsters. They killed everyone dear to them in a brutal and heartless act, it was a miracle that Ashley was still alive; if the white-haired girl was her. They were the scum of the earth and that poor girl was stuck with them. He clenched his teeth together. 

"There's something we're not seeing" Watts finally murmured whilst stabbing out his cigarette. 

It broke Johnson out of his thoughts. Watts was right there, he felt like there was something obvious they simply weren't getting. To be frank, everything about the case was blotted with holes and if they didn't begin to fill the spaces soon. Johnson dreaded to think.

Just as they were preparing to leave Watts received a phone call from the station back home. Johnson closed the car door as Watts turned to look at him seriously before hanging up.

"I told you there was something we weren't seeing" he proclaimed animatedly, his movements uncharacteristically eager as he belted up.

Johnson froze amid putting his own seatbelt on.

"They found something?" he exclaimed, shock quickly hitting home.

Watts turned on the engine. "Oh, they found more than something."