Snatched, page 16
Rebecca watched on as Blayze made his way to the door, not happy at being told what to do. “It’ll have to be, won’t it?”
Blayze could sense that Rebecca was annoyed with him, but he didn’t really care. With everything else going on, pissing people off was the least of his problems.
He walked out of the situation room and headed towards the elevator where Ms Brown had been asked to wait for him. He extended his hand. “Special Agent Blayze Carlson. How can I help you, Ms Brown?” There in front of him was an elderly lady, dressed in flat brown shoes, a knee-length skirt with a white blouse tucked in. Her hair reminded Blayze of his late grandma’s, white and permed.
With a brief handshake, she replied, “It’s about my neighbor, Mr Hollow.”
“Do you mean Daniel Hollow?”
“Ahem,” she replied, nodding.
“Come this way, will you?” He gestured for her to follow him and let her into an empty room nearby. “Please take a seat.”
He paused while she made herself comfortable and sat in the chair across from her. “So what can you tell me about Daniel, Ms Brown?”
“Where do I start? He lives in the apartment right above me.”
Blayze leaned back in his chair. He remembered his conversations with his grandma and every time they began with ‘where do I start’, it would be a long story.
“I bumped into him the other day,” Ms Brown continued. “He told me about being questioned by the police for looking like someone. Then he laughed it off.”
“What’s made you come in today, though?”
“Occasionally I can hear him talking to himself through the ceiling. It’s mostly muffled, so I don’t always hear what he is saying.”
“How do you know he’s talking to himself?”
“He’s had no one else around. When I first met him, I’d knocked on his door to welcome him. He told me about not liking phones. Something to do with not wanting people to get in touch with him or find him. I can’t remember what he said, but that’s how I know he talks to himself.”
Blayze looked down at his watch, and Ms Brown took the hint.
“Anyway, I’ve come to see you because, the other night, when you were on the television, he must have been watching the same program, as he kept saying your name repeatedly. Kind of chanting, in a way. It was rather odd. Then I’m sure he said something like ‘You can’t get me’, which made me rather suspicious.”
“Is he always in the apartment?”
“He doesn’t spend that much time there. Only really around meal times.”
“So, does he sleep there?”
“I don’t know, to be honest. My apartment overlooks the pathway to the main street and I’ve seen him head out late at night before, but then I go to bed and I don’t hear anything after that. I’m a heavy sleeper. I can sleep through almost anything.”
“Lucky for you. Do you know where he works, or any places he goes?”
“No, sorry. I haven’t seen him since the night he was chanting. I’ve been away at my sister’s the last couple of days and spoke to her about it all. She told me to contact you. He seems a bit of a strange one, if you ask me.”
“In what way?”
“I don’t know, really, but he’s not all there,” she said, tapping the side of her head.
Blayze stood up and offered his hand once more. “Thank you, Ms Brown, for bringing this to me. I appreciate it.”
“I just thought you needed to know. I tried calling the hotline number, but it was always busy, which is why I came here in person,” she said, standing and shaking his hand.
“I will look into this, don’t you worry.” Blayze opened the door to let her out, but she stopped and reached into her bag.
“I almost forgot.” She pulled out a set of keys and handed them to him. “Here, this is a spare set to his apartment. I’ve had them for years. The landlord wanted me to keep the place tidy for when renters were looking around. It’s part of our contract that we are not allowed to change the locks, so they should get you in, no problem.”
Blayze glanced first at her, then at the set of keys now in his hand and smiled. She had just made his day. “That’s great, thank you.”
He watched as Ms Brown walked back towards the elevator. Once she was in, he lifted the set of keys up to eye level.
“Daniel Hollow, I’m coming for you.”
Chapter 20
Out in the car, Blayze had joined Rebecca in the drive around of the previous parks that ‘The Holiday Snatcher’ had taken children from. She had agreed to start at the first park, The Ice Kingdom, while he would start from the latest, Snow White’s Castle, and then meet halfway. He had only been on the road five minutes when a call came through from the Texas police department.
“Special Agent Carlson?” Blayze answered.
“Police Sergeant Thomas here from Texas PD.”
“How can I help?”
“They asked me to call you with any updates on the bodies that have been found here in Sugar Land.”
“Have they have found all nine?” Blayze noticed a row of shops up ahead and pulled into the parking lot so he could give the officer his full attention.
“We have found eight so far.”
“I’m telling you right now, do not stop searching. There will be one more, I can guarantee. What can you tell me about the bodies you have found?”
“So far, there are three males and five females, all in their late teens. We don’t have a more accurate age for them yet as we are sending the bodies to get examined the moment we find them. So, as you can imagine, the mortuary has a pile-up right now.”
“Assistant Director Stone had asked for someone to look at the surrounding area. Has anyone done that yet?” Blayze was taking notes on everything the police sergeant said, to make sure he didn’t forget anything of importance.
“I had a walk around myself. We found the bodies buried just a few feet underground, all in their own separate graves. The entire area here is mainly forest and there is a dirt track about forty yards away. There isn’t that much around the main area of the burial site, but further down the track, there are a few old log cabins scattered about.”
“Have all the cabins been checked?”
“We’ve sent officers to knock on the doors of all of them, and as far as I am aware, all bar one had someone in.”
“Do me a favor.”
“Sure.”
“Search that empty cabin and find that ninth body. I’ve a hunch that’s where he may have kept them. It had to be somewhere close by to take all the bodies out into the woods and not be noticed.”
“Will do. Get back to you soon.”
The phone cut off and Blayze sat back in his seat. He leaned his head back on the rest, thinking over everything he had just been told. His mind was ticking, racing with images, trying to picture the scene. He called Stone.
“Have you got anything yet?” she asked as soon as she picked up.
“I’ve just got off the phone to Texas PD now. They have found eight out of the nine bodies so far. Listen, I have a feeling that he kidnaps the children young, keeps them alive for so many years, and then kills them before he can start again. It seems to me he has to follow a cycle each time. Now, close to where the bodies were found, is an old log cabin. It’s a perfect place to hide people. I’ve asked the police over there to check out the only one where no one answered. Can you get hold of the Garland police and ask them to look at any forested area that has wooden cabins nearby?”
“I’ll call them now. It may take some time to find, though. There could be hundreds of places with that kind of description.”
“It’s a start, and a chance for closure for another nine families if they can be found.”
“Totally. How far off are you from catching this son of a bitch?”
“If the man is who we think he is, then we know where he lives. And now, more importantly, I have a key to his apartment. Once I meet up with Agent Scott, we are going to head over there and search his place.”
“Turn it upside down.”
“Don’t you worry. There will be no stone left unturned.”
“I want an update every hour. Time is ticking, Blayze.”
Stone ended the call, and Blayze started the car back up. He wanted to get to Daniel Hollow’s place straight away to find out what Daniel was hiding, and more crucially, where. He remembered that he had agreed to meet Rebecca halfway round the parks, and so dialed her number and put her on speakerphone while he set off. After giving her a quick update on what he had just found out from Texas, he told her about Stone wanting hourly updates. “Oh, and by the way, that Ms Brown turned out to be very useful after all. It just so happens she’s Hollow’s neighbor.”
“Did she say anything of interest?” Rebecca asked.
“That he’s not right in the head. We need to run any medical background we can on him to see what we are dealing with. Anyway, I didn’t call you about that. Drop what you’re doing and meet me outside Hollow’s place now.”
“Another stake out?”
“No. Ms Brown gave me a set of keys. We’re going in.”
BLAYZE AND REBECCA both pulled up outside Daniel Hollow’s apartment. They didn’t need to worry about where they parked this time as night had drawn in and the only things lighting up the area were the street lamps. Blayze noticed lights on inside Daniel’s apartment, so he got out of his car and went and sat with Rebecca in hers.
“We need to wait until he is out so that we can search the place,” Blayze said, closing the car door. They both sat there, waiting, just looking at a figure through the curtains, moving around. Blayze looked down at his watch. “It’s almost 7pm. He must be getting ready to leave, like Ms Brown says he does. I’ll send Stone an update now to let her know we are about to enter the property.”
The swoosh noise of the text message being sent had just sounded when Blayze spotted Daniel leaving the front door. This time, though, Blayze knew that something was different. And then it clicked. He was wearing the same outfit he had had on in the CCTV picture they had gotten from the park.
“It is definitely him! He’s out to get his last child, I can tell.”
“What should we do?” Rebecca asked.
Blayze desperately wanted to get into that apartment. “You follow him and keep me updated while I go inside and see if I can find what we are looking for.” He hurried out of the car so that Rebecca didn’t lose sight of Daniel and crossed the street, heading for the front door. After finding the correct key, he was in.
Making his way up the stairs, Blayze let himself into Daniel’s apartment. He put on some gloves and turned on a little table lamp near the door.
The first thing he noticed was how clean the place was. There was a hint of lavender in the air, which was coming from the incense sticks on the same table as the lamp. This was not what Blayze had pictured at all. He carried on down a little corridor until he came to the living room. A neatly positioned sofa and chair, both facing a small television. The place was very minimalistic and had a sort of Japanese zen vibe going on.
‘Are you really this neat?’ Blayze said to himself, making his way towards the kitchen area, ‘or is it this way because you’re never here?’ He noticed the one cup, one plate, and a knife, fork and spoon that had been washed up and left to dry on the rack by the sink.
He carried on through to the bedroom, opened the closet doors, and turned on the light. There in front of him were newspaper cut-outs of the missing children, along with pictures of Rebecca and Blayze. Although Blayze thought it was creepy, it wasn’t evidence of the actual kidnappings. He could just be dealing with a strange stalker.
He carried on searching the room. After turning the bedroom inside out, he had found nothing, so he headed back to the living room. “Come on, Daniel, where have you been hiding them?” he said out loud, surveying the room. He just wanted some sort of evidence that would put him at the scene so that they could pick him up and arrest him.
His cell phone rang. “Where’s he heading?” he asked straight away.
“Well, he walked for a while, making his way to a lockup. I’m now following him on highway four-fourteen towards South Apopka.”
“Keep following, but keep your distance. I’ll put you on speaker, so keep me posted.”
“You found anything yet?”
“Just newspaper cut-outs. Nothing to tie him to the parks or the children.”
“Hang on a minute. He’s turning off.”
The phone went silent for a couple of seconds. Blayze paused with anticipation.
“He’s just turned into the ‘Winter Gardens’ parking lot. I think you were right. He must be here for his last victim. You need to get here. Now!”
“Okay, I’m on my way. If he goes in, follow him in, but head straight to security and get them to close the park quietly, and to lock the doors, gates, and whatever else they have around the area. No one gets in or out.”
“It’s a twenty-minute drive from where you are,” she said.
“I’ll be there before then. Meet me at the entrance.”
He hung up the phone and was making his way back to the door of the apartment when he noticed another door straight ahead. Blayze hadn’t seen it when he had entered as the front door had opened onto it.
He opened it to find a small storage room. There was a suitcase, some coats hanging up, and a couple of medium-sized cardboard boxes with lids on the floor. Knowing he had to get the Winter Gardens as soon as possible, he picked up the suitcase, gave it a shake, and decided that it was empty. He then hurriedly opened the boxes. They were full of papers and other things, but he didn’t have time to go through them all. He took a picture of them in situ and closed the door, knowing he would have to come back for them another time. He had to get to the park immediately.
BLAYZE WAS NOW RACING towards the Winter Gardens with his foot flat on the gas, weaving in and out of traffic, sirens blazing. His sat nav instructed him he was close, so he turned his siren off; he didn’t want to let Daniel know they were there.
He sped into the parking lot, pulled up at the entrance, and slammed on his brakes. He rushed out of the car and ran towards the main door where Rebecca was waiting.
“Is everything closed off?” he asked, making his way inside the park.
Rebecca followed and closed the door behind her. “Yes. All the exits are covered. Here, take this.” She threw him a radio. “I’ve got one too. All the guards have radios and have been instructed to let us know if they see anything suspicious. The only problem we have now is that with all of the guards securing the exits, that leaves just the two of us to search the entire park. We need backup.”
“We can’t spook him with more officers. We need to catch him in the act.”
They had reached a signpost. “You go that way,” he said, pointing to the path to his left, “and I’ll go this way.” He walked in the other direction. “Listen. If you spot him, don’t engage. Radio for me and we can corner him, okay?”
“Will do,” she replied, walking away.
The hunt was on.
On his way in, Blayze had noticed that the parking lot wasn’t full, and yet there seemed to be a lot of people inside. It must be a popular park with the locals, he thought, looking around at everyone and keeping his eyes peeled.
As he kept walking, he noticed a few posters on the side of a railing. One displayed the park’s opening dates and times, the other mentioned a fireworks display on their closing night. Of course it was busy —— it was the park’s last day of business. Finding just one person was going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack; there were just too many people around him, walking in all directions. Blayze knew he would need to get a height advantage if he were to have any chance of catching a glimpse of Daniel.
He stopped moving for a second and looked all around. He saw some tall roller coasters, but at the speed they were going, he wouldn’t be able to spot anyone. Then, there it was, the perfect height advantage he was looking for. The train. He watched as it passed him by and noticed that he could see people’s faces clearly.
While he had been looking around at what he could use, he had spotted a map of the park close to a children’s ride nearby. He headed straight to it to find out where the train stopped. He was in luck. The train had four stops around the park for people to get on and off as they pleased, and one stop was only a hundred yards away.
When he got to the station platform, he discovered that he had just missed the train. “Shit!” he muttered, then realized he was being stared at by a young girl, around eight or ten years old, he thought, holding her mom’s hand. He raised his arms slightly. “Sorry,” he mumbled. The girl just shook her head.
Blayze turned back around to face the park, feeling quite uneasy about the little girl’s reaction. Peering back over his shoulder to see if she was still looking at him, he saw her glaring at him. He spun around quickly, shaking his head to get the girl’s disappointment out of his mind. He had work to do.
He reached into his pocket and grabbed the radio that Rebecca had given him. “Anything from your side, Agent Scott?”
“Nothing yet,” came her response.
“I’m just waiting for the train.”
“We haven’t got time to go on rides,” she said, sounding rather annoyed.
“It’s to get higher up. I can’t see anything over this side. It’s too busy.”
“Well, enjoy your ride,” she said sarcastically.
Blayze didn’t respond. He just put the radio back into his pocket. While waiting for the train, he got to have a good look at the park from the platform.
This park hadn’t been shy on rides. Down every path he could see dozens of smaller children’s rides, while the space above them hosted bigger ones, like swings and flying aeroplanes. The screams of children being catapulted into the air, on what he could see was called ‘The Ice Blast’, roared above the quieter screams from down below. Over in the distance, he could see the larger rides —— the giant roller coasters which loomed over the park with all their twists and turns.
