“I’d like to report a missing person.”
Calvin looked suspiciously at the young girl. She seemed jittery, like she could jump out her skin at any moment. She had a backpack across her shoulder, and a cell phone in her right hand. It was half past three o’clock. She must have come straight from school.
Not that teenagers just showed up at the station asking to file a police report, but with kids now, who knows? His own teen aged son was an arrest warrant waiting to happen. Since he couldn’t trust his own, he’d developed a distrust for other people’s kids as well.
The girl waited patiently, looking at the door every now and again like she thought someone would come in behind her. He was about to tell her to get lost when he realized who she was.
“You’re Jennifer?”
“Yes,” she smiled nervously. “Is my uncle here?”
“Sheriff Drake won’t be back in until later today. But you said you wanted to file a police report. Is that right?”
“Yes, I do.”
Ah hell, here we go, Calvin thought. He took out his pad and started to do the intake. “First of all, what is this person’s name?”
“Mackenzie. Audra Mackenzie.”
“How old is she?”
“Sixteen. She’s a student in my English class.”
“Okay. How long do you believe she’s been missing?”
“A week.”
“So she’s been out of school for a week. Have you tried contacting Audra’s parents?”
“Audra… well she doesn’t have parents.”
“Come again?”
“She told me her Mom died last year. Audra lives in the house her parents used to own.”
“Likely story. Have you visited the house?”
“Yes, and no one is there.”
“What’s her address?”
“1520 Henry Avenue.”
Calvin paused as he took down the address. That house number was familiar.
“Okay. I can check and see if there has been any word from the school. They are supposed to report to us any children that have been gone without an excuse for longer than five days. Truancy laws and all that,” he explained. “But if this is day five it may have slipped beneath their radar. How about you take a seat over there in your uncle’s office?”
Jennifer flinched. She heard the patronizing tone in Calvin’s voice. “I’m telling the truth you know,” she snapped, and walked back to the Sheriff’s office.
Calvin shook his head. The girl sat down and busied herself texting on her cell phone.
Meanwhile, Calvin accessed his computer and did a search under Audra MacKenzie.
***
Stephen Drake arrived back at his office after getting an urgent call from Calvin. The men exchanged a few words, and he went back to his office. Jennifer was waiting there, listening to her I-Pod. She pulled the plug out of her ears and greeted him as he came in.
“Calvin doesn’t believe me,” she spat. “But I’m serious about Audra. Someone has to find her.”
He sat on the edge of his desk, so he could be close to her. “Jen, Calvin told me about Audra. First of all, I want you to know that I believe what you tell me. And I’m glad you came here today. You have class with this girl. Do you remember the first time you noticed her ?”
“Well, Macie has been there since the beginning,” Jennifer said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I mean, Macie’s her nickname, she doesn’t really use Audra. She was one of the first people that spoke to me when I started.”
“Baby,” Stephen paused. “Jen, I don’t even know how to tell you this.”
She felt her throat closing up on her. “What’s happened?”
“We have a file on Audra Mackenzie. She used to go to Lazarus High.”
“Used to? Why do you have a file on her?”
“Audra MacKenzie died fourteen years ago. She was killed in her parent’s house.”
©2008 Lori Titus
Lori Titus’s The Marradith Ryder Series appears each Wednesday on Flashes in the Dark. She is the short story editor for Sonar4 ezine. Her stories have appeared on MicroHorror, Shadeworks, and The Daily Tourniquet. Her first anthology of horror stories, Tales for the Dark, is scheduled for release in 2010.
September 10th, 2009 at 5:49 am
This was a great example of a classic ghost story. I loved the dialogue.
September 10th, 2009 at 8:42 am
Thanks, Laurita