The Promise Read online

  "Excuse me, let's move on with forensics. Dr. Lowe?" As the police pathologist walked to the front, Gallagher stepped quickly out of the room to compose himself.

  Criminal investigator Paul Lowe explained, "The reports at the potential crime scene are negative in every aspect.

  From a forensic standpoint, there is no evidence that Allison Taylor even walked past the library that day or that she was even on this planet that afternoon..

  We have spent over one hundred man hours combing the grounds and, as far as any evidence proves, she does not exist."

  "Dr. Lowe in a situation as this would you expect any clues due to the number of people that day?"

  The pathologist thought for a moment, "Not really. It’s a needle in a haystack and the possibility exists there’s not even a needle.

  She may have been abducted miles away for all we know here. No one saw her when she disappeared around the corner, but that doesn’t mean the potential crime occurred there.

  She could have been taken several blocks, or even miles away."

  He stood there looking helpless like a five year old who had just lost his milk money. His job was forensic science but he had nothing scientific to work on.

  Gallagher stepped back into the room, a little pale but still in command of the scene, "Should we continue to assume that she probably did disappear close to the library based on the number of people who were on the other side of the building who do not remember seeing her?"

  Dr. Lowe was careful to reply, "I think she vanished that day and that is all I can say with certainty. Where or at what time, I cannot tell you. I have nothing to work with and I am not good at guessing, Detective Gallagher. I’m sorry."

  Several cynical remarks were heard throughout the room, "This case is clueless," “The blind leading the blind” and "We have zip here!"

  Gallagher stepped up, "Officers, I agree that we seemingly have little to go on and that we have more questions than answers."

  "That’s an understatement." roared one of the men, and the sound of chuckling rippled through the room.

  It was not amusing to the lead detective.

  "Look, I know we are up against it on this one. It may take years, even if we solve it.

  In my lifetime, I have never run up against a more baffling scenario, a beautiful young woman disappearing in broad daylight amidst thousands of students without a trace.

  No motive suggests a runaway. No motive for her father to harm her. She was well-liked and had no apparent enemies.

  Hell, even her dad was respected and well-liked, too. We are dealing with a ghost crime. Damn thing is invisible."

  Gallagher turned to Dr. Lowe, "Thank you, doctor, let us know when you find anything!"

  The pathologist started to step down and turned to Gallagher, "Well, there is one thing here, it may be unimportant and I cannot justify it scientifically but,"

  His statement sent a glimmer of hope through Gallagher, "Yes, doctor?" He replied quickly.

  "We found something near the curb next to the library but, it had no scientific match with any of the Allison girl's physical properties so we assume it was dropped by another student."

  Gallagher suddenly wanted to strangle his forensic scientist.

  Dr. Lowe was so careful that he never went beyond his microscope. At this point anything would have been an oasis in a desert of investigative desperation.

  "You found something that day? Why didn't you tell me sooner, doctor?" Gallagher said evenly, trying to control his temper.

  "Because we wanted to run tests on it first, to be accurate. I wanted to ascertain any forensic connection with the Taylor girl."

  Gallagher was now turning red in the face, "Dr. Lowe, tell us what you found!" His voice was now a bit more strident which took the good pathologist a bit by surprise.

  "Well, sir, we found a locket with some kind of a bird on it. But, the fibers did not match up with the potential victim and it appeared it had been outside a lot longer than the day she disappeared

  We assumed one of the students had accidentally dropped it."

  Gallagher was now marching strongly towards the podium, his manner definitely intense. As he got to the pathologist he stopped inches from his face and announced, "What in God's name were you thinking?

  Did it ever occur to you that it might belong to the potential abductor? For crying out loud, man. We don't need a science book to use our basic, brain matter!"

  The room suddenly fell silent.

  Larsen quickly went to the front and positioned herself between Gallagher and Dr. Lowe.

  It reminded her of the combative lacrosse games she relished playing in. "What Mike is trying to say, Dr. Lowe in his, uh, passion to solve this case is could you give us this locket and let us work on it, sir?"

  Gallagher was so close to climbing over Elie to get to the doctor he looked like her backpack.

  She stiffened her body and continued, "Do you have the article you found so we may place it in our evidence file? Now would be a good time to give it to us."

  Her eyes firmly stared at Dr. Lowe and he caught their message.

  He reached quickly into his bag and pulled out a plastic bag with the raven locket inside. He handed it to Larsen as she used her elbow to remind her partner to back off.

  Elie summarized, "Thank you Dr. Lowe. Detective Gallagher and I appreciate it. Why don't we all take a break and get some fresh air. Mike would you please accompany me to the conference room. I think that would be a good idea at this time."

  She walked swiftly away from Gallagher who paused long enough to give a final cold stare at his forensic partner and then, like a reluctant Irish setter who had just been told to unhook his teeth from a helpless rabbit, he strode into the conference room and slammed the door.

  "That guy has two brains, one’s lost and the other is out looking for it!" he growled.

  "We’re busting our butts here and he says, 'Oh, by the way, I found this locket near the crime scene.’ What a moron!"

  Elie Larsen smiled, "Yeah, but we need him so let's just calm down and see what this little piece of jewelry says to us.

  No prints, some fibers but no person to excuse the pun, hang it on." She took it out of the bag and looked at it. "It’s a bird all right, it looks like a crow!"

  The necklace was made of stainless steel, a heavier metal than gold or silver. The crow was sharply detailed with definitive features.

  It had a distinct beak, beady eyes, sharply honed talons and a menacing face. It was not a romantic piece of endearment but more of a statement of evil.

  It was a menacing, silver crow.

  Gallagher asked, "Is there any writing on it or initials of any kind?"

  Elie examined it carefully turning it over several times. "Not that I can see. It’s just a fierce looking crow with a chain.

  It resembles a bird of prey all right. Whoever wore this as a locket has some serious issues!"

  Gallagher was now more curious than angry, "Sheryl Crow?" He laughed out loud at his own joke. He needed to release his emotions from the previous hour.

  "This girl’s poor boyfriend probably had the psyche of a field mouse!"

  Laughing again he took the locket from Larsen and studied it. "Ugly sucker. I wouldn’t want to have this little varmint mad at me. Whatever happened to Hekyll and Jekyll? They were the good guys!"

  Elie smiled, "Yeah, but they’re boring in today's world. Everyone’s fascinated with evil, Goth crows are in."

  Gallagher agreed, "But is this swift and unseen predator related to the lovely Miss Allison Taylor?"

  A chill went through Larsen, "If it is, I doubt she’s alive."

  With that sobering thought they returned to Parker’s office.

  Chapter Seven-A bird in Hand

  Chief Parker looked at the crow carefully. He used his index finger to trace the outline several times as if to see if touching it would bring some kind of revelation into the case.

  "It’s a fascinating
piece of jewelry all right," he summarized, "But, it could mean absolutely nothing, too. The odds are that some student just dropped it."

  Gallagher spoke up, "But, the chain could have been ripped off the abductor at the point of attack!"

  "The chain has not been damaged in any way!"

  "But, sir, the clasp was undone and,”

  "Undone but not broken, and that’s why the chain was on the ground and not around the person's neck suggesting it may have been planted there. Larsen have you ever seen a locket like this?"

  "No, sir, I have not. This says more about someone’s philosophy or belief system than it does about jewelry."

  Chief Parker continued to examine the piece, "It’s unusual enough that someone might have made it themselves in their basement.

  The detail on it is flawless but my senses tell me this is a personally produced art piece, not a mass produced one."

  Gallagher said, "If that’s the case, they may be back looking for it. I need some undercover officers watching the site."

  Larsen was curious, "Does anyone here know what a crow symbolizes?"

  The chief fancied himself as an expert on history and mythology. It was one of his greatest pleasures to give impromptu lessons on related subjects to his officers. This was one of those special opportunities he relished.

  He came out from behind his desk and lit his pipe ignoring the “no smoking” rule. He leaned back into the front edge of the bureau and spoke slowly savoring every word,

  "The legend of the crow goes back to Norse Mythology. The god Odin had two of them, and they perched on each of his shoulders.

  They flew out daily and came back and reporting to him. Their names were Hugin and Munin.

  Hugin stood for Thought and Munin represented Memory. They were a perfect team for this great god, as legend goes, anyway!"

  The crow is referred to as the 'Einstein of the bird family,' It is by far the most intelligent of the predators and is very clever and social.

  Crows are family-oriented and they stick together. They are cunning and can be vicious even to larger animals. They are a special breed. The person wearing this locket probably knows this as well."

  Chief Parker proudly relished his avian history lesson. His two underlings sat there waiting for some vague connection to the Taylor case.

  But, they were to be disappointed.

  "I think this locket is probably not connected to Ms. Taylor’s disappearance, but, we’ll hold on to it for now.

  Gallagher, you owe Dr. Lowe an apology for your behavior towards him in public. I expect you to follow through on that immediately.

  Miss Larsen, good luck to you in your high school endeavors! I will expect you to do all your homework including your algebra!"

  Elie grimaced, she hated math.

  The detective had one more question. “By the way, Chief, what’s a group of crows called, a flock?”

  Chief Parker soberly responded, “No. They’re called a murder, a murder of crows.”

  Gallagher just stared at him.

  Chapter Eight-did She?

  “Gallagher, there’s a young lady here to see you. She says she is a friend of Allison Taylor’s and she has some information for you.”

  The detective looked up. “Send her in.” As he stood up, he is greeted by a blonde girl similar in age, height and looks to Allison Taylor.

  The two of them could have been sisters. “Mr. Gallagher, my name is Sara Wodehouse. I’m one of Allison’s best friends. I wanted to talk to somebody about her disappearance.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Sara. What can I do for you?”

  “Well, uh, I don’t know how to say this, but I don’t think she was kidnapped.”

  “Why do you believe that, Sara?”

  “Because she was really mad at her dad and her boyfriend.”

  Gallagher played dumb, “Who is her boyfriend?”

  “His name is Justin Shaw.”

  “Why was she angry at her father?”

  “Because right before she disappeared, her dad and Justin sat down with her and told her to grow up. They were really tired of some of the immature things she had been doing. They cared about her, they wanted to help her.”

  “What kind of immature things, Sara?”

  “Well, uh, stupid things. Like one night she got drunk, took her clothes off and jumped into a neighbor’s swimming pool. Then she took Justin’s American Express card and called the company and cancelled it so that when they were out to dinner that night he was really embarrassed when he went to pay the bill.”

  “Okay. But, concluding from these behaviors is a stretch to say that she ran away.”

  Sara gulped, “Yes, sir, I guess so.”

  “Why do you think she ran away? Do you have any proof other than her being mad and acting out like that?”

  “Uh, she borrowed some money from me the day before she disappeared…”

  “How much money?”

  “Five thousand dollars.”

  Gallagher almost fell off his chair. “Five thousand dollars? How did you have access to that kind of money and why would you give it to her?”

  “I had a trust in my name. I drew it out. She’s my best friend. She said it was an emergency and that she couldn’t go to her dad about it. So, I gave it to her.”

  “Sara, you’re a good friend, maybe a little too good. Let me think about this, okay? Leave your address and phone number and I will get back to you. Thank you for coming in. I am sure Allison will show up and you will see your friend again.”

  The girl stood up to leave. “I hope she did run away. That means she’s alive, right.”

  Gallagher smiled, “It’s a positive sign of survival, yes. Please hold on to your money in the future, okay?”

  Sara smiled and walked out the door leaving Gallagher to sit there pondering the obvious question, “Did Allison Taylor run away to get back at the two most important people in her life?”

  He now had a favorite new scenario for the missing Allison Taylor.

  Chapter Nine-the Media

  “Hey Gallagher, there’s someone here to see you! It’s some lady from Channel Two.”

  The detective groaned to himself, “The press has arrived, how lucky can one man be.”

  An attractive blonde woman walked up to him, “Detective Gallagher, I’m Cherise Cannon from Channel Two news. How are you today, sir?”

  Without looking up Gallagher mumbled, “Busy. Leave your card.”

  She laughed, “Come on detective, play nice. I just want to check out a possible story here.”

  He turned to face her. “Oh, are you referring to the story of the re-opening of the Kent Weldon murder case from twenty years ago? I have the press release right here. Thanks for coming down.”

  She smiled smugly, “No, but thanks. I am here to ask you about the disappearance of Archer Taylor’s daughter, Allison. We have it on a good source that she went missing a week ago and,”

  Gallagher bluffed, “Well unfortunately, your good source is way off base. We have our sources and they are telling us that Miss Taylor went on a little vacation up by Dahlonega to do a little hiking before school starts,”

  Cherise Cannon was not fazed, “Well, my source is her mother, Ashley Taylor.”

  Gallagher knew he was beaten.

  He cursed to himself, “That damn broad! No wonder Arch divorced her. What a big mouth.”

  He feebly tried one last time to keep his fingers in the dike before the water gushed through, “Oh, Mrs. Taylor told you that her daughter is missing? That’s news to me.”

  “Yes, Detective Gallagher, here is some more news to you. Ashley Taylor is sitting down with me on camera and doing an exclusive interview tonight on Channel Two. Care to fill in some of the details so we get the story straight?”

  Gallagher was furious, but he remained calm on the outside, “No details to give. A girl is walking across the campus and vanishes in thin air. Beyond that I have no comment.”

  C
herise had her notebook out and was writing everything he said, “You think she is a runaway?”

  Gallagher nodded slightly, “It is one of the scenarios we are pursuing, possibly.”

  “On the record the Athens police believe Allison Taylor ran away?”

  “Whoa. Hold on here!” Gallagher exclaimed, “I have no official comment on the surety of this girl’s disappearance. This investigation is in its initial stages. Scratch that I even half agreed with you. In all honesty, we don’t know what happened.”