Background
dark disturbing serial killers - and the cops who chase them.
|
"West Yellowstone Police" Was the answer to the third ring on the phone.
"Uhm yeah, I'm not sure if I should even call you but I thought I saw something weird here today and I thought I should maybe call it in?" He was unsure and nervous about the call, maybe it was nothing and he would get in trouble for wasting the police's time.
"Why don't you tell me what you saw and then we can determine if it warrants more attention." Replied the patrolman on the other end of the line. He got a lot of 'weird' phone calls, and honestly most them bored him. Things like, sasquatch sitings, UFO's and multiple struck animals out on the highway. He was guessing it was one of the first two.
"See, I work at the Exxon in Big Sky Canyon and this guy came in here today. Well, at first, he drove around back of the store and was there for a couple of minutes. I figured he was probably pissing back there, so I didn't think too much about it and for 12 bucks and hour I ain't going check it out. So, then he comes to the pump and tried his card but it didn't work, so he had to come into the store. He pays for his gas and grabs some snacks and coffee."
The officer on the other end of the line was doodling on a piece of paper. Not noticing anything of any value to write down. He just wanted this kid to wrap it up. He sighs heavily, "Unless you actually saw him urinate and have clear identification, we can't prosecute him for any misdemeanor at this time."
"Yeah, ah no. That's not what was weird. He had on new clothes. Casual stuff but his car was all beat up and old like and for a guy so neat and tidy it was weird that his car was full of junk, ya know? But I saw through the back window under the junk in the back I saw some movement. Under all the junk and old blanket. I thought maybe he poached an animal or something and if I'm right maybe I can cash in on that thirteen hundred bucks reward for reporting poachers." The cashier reported.
This was a little more interesting to the officer. Frankly he had had a boring shift and this perked him up a little. Not his usual area of expertise but hell, it was something to do.
"Did you get a plate number? Or can you tell me anything about the car?" Now he was paying more attention. His pen ready at hand on a fresh sheet of paper.
"Well, it's an older Oldsmobile, I think. Brown and rusty, a little dented, no plate number, no. But I did get him to sign up for our discount card. So, I got his name and stuff."
"Ok well, I will dispatch an officer to come to your station. I need you to stay until an officer arrives." That was going to be him. 'Let's roll', he thought to himself.
Soon after, Officer Leven, inside his 4 x 4 cruiser was on the highway headed north. The only report he made to the one person left at the tiny precinct was that he was checking on a possible poacher. He would be available by radio, if needed.
An hour later, he pulled into the station. It was quite busy for 'small town USA'. The back parking lot full of rigs and campers resting for a short while. Inside, the cashier was standing behind the counter serving a couple of clients when the officer walked in.
Police Lieutenant Leven, wasn't far from retirement, mid 50's and physically fit. He was from a German descent with a strict personality to match. He worked homicide in Tennessee for years, but wanted a quieter last few years before retirement. So, he took this position, not understanding how incredibly boring it was going to be. He really wanted to 'stretch his detective legs' for some time. However, the wife really liked the small town and he thought he would stick it out, for her. He genuinely hoped for something more adrenaline filling to enter his life.
It was only a few minutes before a second staff member arrived to release Cory from his cashier duties. Then Cory led the officer to a small back office to discuss the events of earlier in the day. Cory assured his co-worker all was fine and he would share information after the officer left.
A few minutes into conversation after a recounting of the events, a brief description of the customer and the vehicle the officer asked for the copy of the discount card application. Cory was concerned to give the original to the officer but after taking a photocopy for the store, the officer left with the application. As he was walking out, Cory caught the officer outside.
"Officer. Uhm, do you think you may need the surveillance footage? I mean we delete it after 30 days, but I could get my boss to maybe send it to you?"
Damn, he was losing his touch. Of course, the station would have that. "That would be useful. Have your manager contact me when he gets in. My number and emails are on the card."
"One last question? How long do you think it will take till you know if there was a poaching or not? I'd kinda like to get the cash. Uhm, if I can." Priorities, priorities. Seemed the kid was hard up for money.
"We will let you know." The answer was perfunctory and noncommittal.
The officer tried the number listed on the application, of course it was not in service. He noted the name written down was John Smith. Figures. It was a week later when the footage came in. Damn the kid was right, there was something moving in the back of that car. It sure has hell didn't look like any animal. It looked more like someone struggling. His years on the force in homicide certainly helped him in this case. He ran the plates; they came back as stolen. They were from Seattle, Washington. They were reported stolen just one day before.
Lieutenant Leven was feeling particularly bright. He finally felt like he had a puzzle to work on. It was time to assign all the boring work to the team and focus on this. His gut told him there was a lot more than a poaching. Perhaps he needed to check NamUs to see if there were any missing persons close to that little town. Not that, that necessarily was what it was. Also, now that he had a better view of the vehicle, a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass. This is no longer a common vehicle. He was going to have to see how many were left registered in Montana, and possibly also Washington.
Steven Leven, was on a trail and he knew it. He started a new case and utilized his homicide skills to create the file. He went with the assumption that there was a missing person in the back of that vehicle. Perhaps a child. He wasn't sure that, that is what this was, but this method of creating the case was the most thorough.
He was going to start with the recent reporting of missing children. Cross check them against the area that the car was seen, and the direction it came from and headed towards, and create an outgoing grid. It was likely that it was a parental kidnapping, so he would look for fathers who were suspected to have 'extended their parental visitations'. Then look at their drivers' license pictures to see if there were any similarities in appearance. One step at a time. The security camera at the service station wasn't the best, and the driver of the Oldsmobile was wearing a cap and sunglasses. This wasn't unusual due to the weather of that day.
There were a few suspected parental kidnappings on the web but no luck matching the information he had against these reports. He starting searching for all missing persons. There were a number of them, but strangely there were 5 known cases in Bozeman. There was a Seargent Hayes attached to these cases. It was time to give this man a call.
