CODE NAME WOLFGIRL: LOST CHILDREN IN AMERICA

Chapter 12: Louisville

Louisville is due southwest from the city of Cincinnati in Ohio. It sits on the Ohio River before the river drains in the Mississippi. Close to Indiana, it is famous for the Kentucky Derby horse race and derives much of its fame from it. It’s also the largest city in the state and famous for the production of the famous baseball bat that bears its name. As up and coming city in the Midwest, it was not accustomed to the kind of negative fame the child abductions brought it.

Most of the investigations were ran out of the Metro Police Fifth division, far from the center of the city, but with plenty of room for the news crews, reporters and onlookers who were camped out in front of the building waiting on any word that might come from the investigation. A few months prior to the latest abduction, the media found out about the unsolved child disappearances that took place over the past year and decided to focus on it. An election year was in the works and the current resident of city hall didn’t want any adverse publicity.

The police officer on duty waved them through the barricade as the latest batch of reporters and activists moved out of the way to let the institute’s van into the secure parking lot. Jason groaned as he watched a volley of cameras and smart phones go off to photograph the license plate on the back of his van. Within the hour, they would know the Harvest Moon Institute was involved in the search for the missing children. This was the kind of publicity they didn’t need and he knew Majors would be furious. Captain Saunders had better have a good explanation as to why they were involved when the phones started to ring for a statement.

Candy took it all in and didn’t say a word. She’d been quiet that evening before. She merely asked a few questions about some difficult words in the news article she’d read on the abductions. Jason could see she had a difficult time understanding why anyone would do such a thing. She hadn’t made the connection between child abduction and her own origin. Yet. He feared for her when she did.

“Why are there so many people here?” she asked him as he found a place to park the van. Candy was dressed in a modest set of slacks with a business jacket. It looked good on her, but Jason could tell she found the fabric strange. She seemed to be most happy in a loose pair of sweat pants with a t-shirt for some reason. He’d brought along a pair of sensible dress shoes that didn’t bother her too much. Jewelry and any other adornments would have to wait.

Jason flashed his credentials to another cop in parking lot that looked at them. He compared them to the information on his clipboard. “They want you on the second floor,” he was told. “Big meeting with the chief and the detectives, or so they tell me.” He handed Jason and Candy a pass and returned to his watch on the parking lot.

The number Jason was given took him to a small conference room on the second floor. No one gave them much notice as they hurried down the hall and into the elevators. Jason could tell the place was the center of some unwanted attention. Police were stationed in each hall and the building was on lock-down once he was inside. He noticed the way Candy stared at all the handguns strapped to the side of the police as they hurried to the room.

They reached the room to find it locked. Jason expected this and rapped on the door. It was opened by a policewoman with a frown on her face. Her expression changed to excitement when he handed the pass to her. She opened the door wide and found them a place to sit down.

The table was surrounded by all manner of investigators in the local police department. Business suits and uniforms stood at the table as the man who stood at the front continued with his speech. He was framed by ten large photographs of individual children. On the wall, a screen rotated data about last known locations and patterns.

“And the latest one was similar enough to the other nine to draw a pattern,” he concluded as they were seated. “The FBI has their own task force on this, but they haven’t released a lot of information.” He turned and looked at Jason and Candy. “Excuse me; I don’t believe I know you.”

Another man in a uniform, whom Jason would discover to be Major Frank Unger, in charge of the Special Investigative Division of the Louisville Police, stood up and introduced them. “This is Mr. Jason with the Harvest Moon Institute, chief,” he told the man. “He’s come here to see if they can be of any assistance. Don’t you remember the discussion we had with that army officer last week?”

“Now I remember,” the chief spoke to the multitude at the table. “You were the people who found that woman in the woods, didn’t you? Is this her?”

“This is her and she has a name,” Jason spoke. He turned to Candy and asked her to stand. Reluctantly, Candy stood up.

“I would like to introduce Ms. Candy Doe,” he said to the rest of the room. “She was the victim of what you’re dealing with at an early age. Perhaps she can offer you some insight into this series of crimes.