Chapter 2 #3
“Let’s take this in the direction we can,” Zach said. “We’ll interview Fin; then I’m going to suggest, if you’re willing, we get some research done on movies being made in the area or just on local costume or monster shops. I think there are a few.”
“All right. It’s a plan,” Skye agreed. “In fact, I’ll start looking …”
She pulled out her phone, keying in costume shops for the area.
“And?” he asked.
She winced, glancing his way. “Here and in the surrounding areas? Dozens of costume shops, makeup shops, and even more wiccan shops and monster shops! Museums with movie monsters … tons and tons of shops.”
“Okay, from what I’m seeing through what you’ve said, this is a very particular costume or look. We can try to see who might carry that costume.”
“True. If we can combine that with green body makeup …”
“We might have a shot.”
Zach was watching the road as they headed toward Essex Street.
“And,” he said, glancing her way quickly, “I still say that we take a look at those traffic cams. Whoever took Patricia and Jeremy could have forced them down in the back or maybe even forced one of them into the trunk. At least we’ll see who might have traveled from the outskirts to the center—”
He frowned, his speech just stopping.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Why—why would you kidnap two people and bring them back—dressed as a green witch—to an area where you might have a dozen witnesses?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Good point.”
“Okay, and it seems … We’re here. Well, where I can park legally, and we can walk.”
They were a block off Essex. He’d found street parking right by Salem Common, and near the Salem Witch Museum.
She looked up at the museum.
“Something?” Zach asked.
She shook her head smiling. “I came here often as a child. I always liked that museum, the history, the displays. I mean, I’ve seen the trial records, and you could read forever. But if you want a great synopsis of what happened here, that’s a great place to go.”
He laughed softly. “Yeah, I’ve been here, too. And I do love this museum. And others—the Peabody Essex, the New England Pirate Museum … and the homesteads, the Rebecca Nurse Homestead—”
“I got it! You’ve been here, too!”
He shrugged.
“Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery, Crow Haven Corner, and more—great shops,” he said.
She grinned at that. “Maybe we can go shopping when it’s all over.”
His smile faded slightly. “Yeah.”
“What? That took you a minute,” she said.
He gave himself a shake. “I’m just afraid that …”
“That it’s not over?” she asked.
“Not by a long shot. There’s our apartment building ahead. Let’s do this.”
“He may not even answer,” Skye warned.
But he did.
Phineas Yarborough, or Fin, opened his door when they knocked. He looked at them with a frown of confusion.
Of course.
He’d already been interviewed by the detectives assigned to the case.
“Yes? May I help you?”
“We think you can,” Zach said, producing his credentials. “We’re—”
“Did you find her? Did you find Patricia and the little boy? Oh, God! Oh, no, you’re not here because you found them …”
He looked as if he was going to burst into tears.
“No, no, we haven’t found them! There’s no reason to suspect that they’re dead!” Skye said quickly. “But we’re determined we will find them. That’s why, I’m sorry, we need to speak with you again, to see if there is anything at all you can say that might help us!”
He was a good-looking kid, blond, blue-eyed, medium in height and build. He stepped back, indicating that they should come in.
“Anything, anything—I’ll answer any question that I can; I’ll do anything!” he swore. He looked as if he was about to shed tears.
Maybe he was a great actor.
But …
“Sorry, I’m in college, financial help from my folks, but it’s still not much of an apartment. A studio, but there are a few chairs,” Fin said.
He indicated the apartment: His bed and a TV were in the center, but there was a small kitchenette with a table and chairs near the door.
“That’s great,” Zach told him as the three of them took chairs at the table. “We’re grateful you’re willing to be helpful. So, when is the last time you talked to Patricia?”
“That afternoon. She had gotten Jeremy started on his homework. He kept asking her if he was spelling words right. Simple words, of course, he’s not that old.
He’s a great kid, just a kid, loves to play baseball …
This is so horrible! I think it was about three o’clock.
I was home, here alone. As you can see …
well, it wouldn’t be a great place to share with anyone else.
Of course, I know I’m a suspect, and this place doesn’t have a doorman, so …
no one saw me here. But you need to understand, I love Patricia!
I would never, never, in a thousand years, hurt her in any way, shape, or form! Please!”
He did start crying. Burying his face in his hands, he cried softly, whispering, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”
“We believe you,” Zach told him.
“But it might have been my fault!” Fin said.
“Your fault? How would that be?” Skye asked gently.
He shook his head. “I don’t know … Maybe I angered someone out there who was on the verge!”
“How?” Zach pressed.
“I just published an article about the witch trials,” he told them, rubbing his face and trying to regain his composure.
“There are a gazillion articles about the witch trials,” Skye said. “So—”
“I compared what happened then to the way that people are easily deceived today, you know. If it’s on the Internet, it must be true. We’re just as susceptible to lies now as we were then. And I couldn’t help but think that …”
“Wouldn’t someone come after you then? Why would they go to the Bolton house—and take Jeremy and Patricia?” Zach asked.
He shook his head. “I—I don’t know. Maybe … do you think they meant to kill Mike Bolton?”
Skye glanced at Zach. “You heard he was murdered?”
They had just gotten the emails that the elderly man’s heart attack had been purposely orchestrated.
“They just put it out there in the news,” Fin told them.
“I guess people thought at first that whatever had happened caused his heart attack. I guess that’s true in a way, but the news is saying he was fed a substance that caused his heart attack.
Which, of course, just keeps making this all worse and worse.
Whoever did it has already committed one murder, so …
if you’ve committed one, what’s to stop that someone from committing more murders? ”
“First, Fin, let’s work on faith. Whoever killed Mike Bolton kidnapped Patricia and Jeremy. If they were just out there to kill people, they would have killed them, too. So we’re going to be optimistic; we won’t stop until we find the truth,” Skye promised.
Zach glanced at her. They weren’t supposed to promise they would solve a case.
There were too many cases in history that had never been solved.
But she hadn’t promised to solve the case; she had promised not to stop until she did find the truth.
Still, wrong, but …
She believed Fin.
“Okay, so you went to your classes, you came back here, and you were studying when all this happened. And when you talked to Patricia, everything was fine?”
He nodded. “Patricia didn’t have a great childhood.
When her parents died, she went from foster home to foster home until she aged out.
She’s in college with a great scholarship because she’s so smart, and she makes extra money babysitting because she really, really loves kids!
She’s just an amazing person. And I promise you, she’s not in on it.
Don’t waste your time thinking she’s in on it, and that she’s going to demand a ransom for Jeremy—”
“We don’t think that at all,” Zach assured him. He glanced at Skye, almost smiling. “Trust me, we believe you. Patricia is not involved; we know that she’s a victim. And we will do everything in our power to get her back.”
They stayed a little longer as Fin told them about his day. Zach wanted to know if he drove, and Fin assured them that he did; that’s why he kept busy writing articles. Besides school, room, and board, he had a car payment; but he’d gotten a great deal on a new dealer’s demo car.
He was happy when Zach told him the car’s GPS could be obtained, and they could prove he had gone to school and come home.
Finally, Skye and Zach glanced at one another. They’d gotten all that they could get, and it was time to go.
“All right,” Skye said as they headed back to the car. “Costume and makeup shops. I’ll find a place to start—”
“After food. During food, we can make a list,” Zach said.
She looked at him and he laughed.
“Maybe you can go forever; I need something to eat.”
“Gotcha. Okay, well, we’re right by the Hawthorne, and they have a great restaurant—” Skye began.
“Sold!”
They were just a block or so away; they left the car where it was parked, and headed into the restaurant. Skye never read the menu; she was already looking up shops and trying to determine where they should start.
“I’m not sure how we’re going to explain my obsession with costume shops,” she stated. “I mean …”
“Not to worry. We can say it’s a theory that someone dressed up as something else. How else could someone con a man like Mike Bolton into taking something that he knew would kill him?”
“They can say he reacted to his great-grandchildren being threatened.”
“Except,” Zach reminded her, “there was nothing out of order. It doesn’t appear the person was in his little in-law apartment with Justin or Patricia. There were two separate entries.”
“Aha!” Skye murmured. “Thank you, good thinking.”
He ordered the Fisherman’s Platter.
She did the same, engrossed in studying the different shops online and seeing just what they sold.
“I’m not seeing any major movies being filmed at the moment,” Zach said, studying his phone as well.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean, these days, that someone isn’t doing something shorter or smaller for one of the social media outlets—reels and shorts are becoming more and more popular on just about every site out there.
Our lives are all on social media these days. ”
Skye laughed. “Not mine. Well, okay, a little. But I’m only on one site and that’s to see family and friends.”
“Wave of today and tomorrow,” Zach said dryly.
She shrugged, thanking the waitress when their food came, her attention still on her phone as they began to eat.
“Okay, I do play around on certain social media. I like the dog sites,” she admitted. “I really should say, I like animal sites. Cute creatures doing cute things … Oh, here! I found a place—” Skye broke off.
Her phone was buzzing; Zach’s was, too.
An urgent message popped up on her screen.
Another woman and child were missing.
“I’ve got the bill; we both have expense accounts,” Zach said, rising to pay their waitress. “Damn, and dinner was delicious!”
“Zach!”
“What?”
“A woman and child … they just disappeared from the Prince of Darkness Costume Shop and Monster Gallery!” Skye said.
“Right. I read about that, and yes, it’s concerning, but—”
“No, no, Zach! They sell a witch costume like the one I saw on the person at the Bolton house—and a full line of face and body makeup there.”