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Murder, Mystery and a Twisted Family. What is the truth?
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"Hey mom, What's up?" Terry said to her mother somewhat distractedly as she looked over files on her desk.
"I hate to ask you Hun, but your dad's been so busy lately that he hasn't been working as much. And you know Katie Girls therapy is so expensive." Terry's mother Linda said with sincere guilt in her voice.
Linda, a petite brunette never lost her old ways, she stayed in maxi dresses with long hair and braids, and could often be seen wearing a headband or a flower over her ear. But she did make the best and most fragrant home-made soaps. Whenever she could, she would sell these at farmers markets and county fairs. Along with the odd jobs her husband would get, they almost kept things paid.
"It's ok mom, how much do you need?" Said Terry already knowing what the call was for.
"Whatever you can spare, we are behind on the rent again. Honestly, I don't know what your father does with his time. Well, at least he brings back fresh fruits and vegetables when he comes home." She usually had difficulty staying focused but then again, she finds the best in people.
"Of course, Mom, I'll do it right away." Terry knew her mothers' shortcomings and, in many ways, loved her for them.
Soon after that call, she received a second call, this one from her father.
"Whatta ya know Joe." Was the usual greeting and it had become traditional between the two.
"Just you baby girl, you're ap'peal'ing." Was his response, a play on her actual first name, Tangerine.
"Dad, it isn't my day for Katie Girl, is it?" Terry asked him now that the greetings were out of the way.
"No, it isn't. I was just wondering if you can help your old man out. My cars been giving me trouble lately." Said Joe.
"Ah dad, when are going to get rid of that old beater and get a better car. I told you I'd help you out." Terry responded somewhat irritated at the same old conversations.
"She's a good car, she just needs a kick in the tires every once in a while." Joe paused before continuing on, "Uhm, Terry, do me a favour and don't tell your mom I called?" Joe pleaded.
"Of course, dad. But you know if she asks me directly, I have to tell the truth." Terry was always extremely honest but never offered information that wasn't asked for.
"Yeah, I know. The old car needs new tires and Frank at the shop won't take trade anymore." Joe added.
"Ok dad, I'll call Frank and pay the bill for you." Truth was Frank already called her earlier and she had paid the bill by credit card. A point she didn't bother telling her father.
"Thanks Tangerine, gotta go." With that he hung up the phone.
Terry looked up at the clock, finally the work day ended. She had taken an early shift so she could go and see Lieutenant Leven that afternoon. After heading home for a quick change and to grab Warren, she was on the road.
Leven wasn't expecting her, or Warren when they pulled up to the station a couple of hours later. As soon as her car pulled in, he was outside waiting.
"Good afternoon officers, what can I do for you?" Was Levens first words to both Terry and Warren.
"Hey, how did you know we were cops?" Asked Warren without preamble closing his door.
"Standard issue ghost car." Was Levens response.
"Except that this is my personal vehicle" responded Terry as they both approached Leven.
"Hmm good choice then. That means you're always on the job." Leven kind of respected that.
"Did Hayes send you down to talk to me?" Was his follow up question.
"Actually, that's part of the reason we are here. Is there an office we can go to, to talk about that?" Said Terry giving her best professional and serious look to the Lieutenant.
"Alright fine, come on in." He was now curious and wanted answers.
They were led into a small interrogation room with a table and three chairs. Terry was the first to start a conversation.
"Lieutenant Leven" she said.
"Steven, were all cops here."
"Thank you, I'm Terry and this is my colleague, Warren. Warren is a pattern specialist and descriptor. I am a detective with BPD, as you know." Terry intentionally didn't include the fact that Warren was from SJPD and not BPD.
"Tell me why you two are here when I specifically asked for Sargent Hayes." Steven Leven didn't like insubordination and if there wasn't a damn good reason for her being here instead of her Sargeant he was going to cut the meeting real short.
"I am here on behalf of my Captain, Steven and not my Sargeant." Terry offered, for the first time not telling the complete truth. "Aside from that, the missing persons cases are mine and not Hayes. I think I saved you time by bypassing the call to him to get me anyway." She stared straight into his eyes with that answer. That worked and Leven settled down enough to sit down at the desk.
Terry gave a basic and factual report on all of the missing persons that she had files on. Warren interjected when questions came up about patterns and decryption. It was obvious to Leven that Terry was doing a thorough job and the files were almost complete.
"So, your most recent missing person, Alexandria Zimmerman. Looks like the timeline matches when our guy was seen at the gas station." Leven offered.
"Did anyone get a description of the driver" asked Terry.
"Actually, we do. The clerk at the gas station..." Steven looks down at his notes and continues, "A Cory Webster" He looks up at Terry and adds, "he thought there was a reward for poachers and noticed movement in the back of the car under a blanket. Unfortunately, the camera doesn't get a clear shot of the driver but you can definitely see movement in the back. I had no reports of poachers in the area and it is off season for buck hunting. But something about the movement in the seat looked more like a struggle. My hunch said it was something that needed a closer look. The kid reported that the man was wearing a hat and sunglasses, not unusual for the weather, but he did notice that the driver looked like he was wearing all new clothes, casual but new. It seemed out of place for the car he was driving, I agree with the kid."
"Did you get a physical description?" Terry asked between writing down the details on her notepad.
"Not much, Caucasian, average build, around 5' 10 and short brown hair. That's about it and the video is very clear either." Leven offered.
"Can I see the video, Steven?" Asked Terry a little more excited now.
"Yes, I have it here on my laptop." And with that he swung the screen around for Terry to see. The moment the video came up on the screen, her heart dropped into her chest and her stomach froze. The car looked exactly like her fathers' car, right down to the colour. She tried to keep the shock off of her face, but she wasn't successful. Warren, who knew her well, could tell something was off.
"Is there any way to clean this picture up?" Asked Terry desperate to prove it wasn't her fathers' car in the video.
"Uhm yea sure, I can probably play around with it for you." Said Warren. "But I'll need a couple of days, can you forward that to me Steven?"
Leven noticed a change in Terry but not enough to call her out on it. But enough to say, "Whatever you find out, I am to be included in that information. It's my case currently." There was no argument afforded here. He took down Warren's information and closed the laptop.
"I ran the plates on the car and they showed up as stolen. The car is a '72 Cutlass, not so common these days. I was able to get 16 registered in the pacific northwest and of those, 7 were brown. There weren't any that came up in Bozeman at all. But the plates were from Seattle and I found 4 of them registered within a couple hours' drive from where the plates were stolen from." Steven offered.
Terry felt some relief, her fathers' car was in Bozeman and he had it for most of her life, and she was quite certain the insurance was Montana.
"Would it be ok for us to stop at the service station and follow up with Cory on our way back, taking for granted he is there when we get there?" Said Terry, more for professional courtesy than permission. Leven had already given Terry the clerks contact information and she was going to call him on the drive north anyway to make sure he was there when she got there.
"Of course," The way he answered it seemed to have a warning attached, like its mine and don't mess with it. "But before you go, lets agree to share information on these cases. It would be faster with all of us working together rather than separately. For now, informal, and when and if necessary, we will formalize it. Agreed?" Leven wasn't taking no for an answer but the good thing was that Terry was relieved to hear his offer.
"Absolutely." Terry offered her cell number for contact and took his. Just as she was packing up, Leven showed her the signed discount card and gave her copies for her own files. The handwriting didn't match her fathers but that could be because the clerk filled it out. Noting all of these details Terry and Warren headed out.
