II

Stolen

The loud noises outside startled the entirety of the Oakville Police Department. Matt and Megan jumped out of their chairs to figure out what was going on. As they walked away from their desks, Captain Mark Jackson came over the intercom.

“All available officers, please report to the vehicle lot.”

The office went silent. Everyone looked at one another, then sprang into action and headed to the lot. This lot was used only for officers’ personal vehicles and the vehicles under review from recent investigations. Many ran to see what all the fuss was about.

By the time Matt and Megan arrived outside, a gathering of officers had already formed. Matt and Megan made their way through the crowd, which was filled with whispers from one officer to another. The detectives started to get an inkling of what had transpired. As they broke through the opening in the crowd, they stopped, gazing in shock.

“Where is it?”

“Who would have—”

“Wasn’t that John’s—”

Captain Mark came barreling through the crowd of officers then, and his mouth dropped open. “What the hell?!” he proclaimed, and the crowd went silent. Parking spot number thirty-seven sat empty. Spot thirty-seven had been home to John’s Accord since they had brought it from Rick’s yard to the station.

John’s car had been re-reviewed while in the lot, but nothing additional had come to light. While parked, forensics had removed the stuffed body, as well as the pocket watch and registration. All had been logged into evidence. The vehicle had been sitting there, untouched, since Tuesday night. The forensics team had determined no further investigation into the vehicle was necessary. Everyone figured the vehicle would sit there until the case ended and either John or a family member would claim the car. If that were not to be the case, then the department would auction it off thirty days after the close of the case.

Once the detectives were able to take a step back from the shocking event that had transpired, they were able to determine that an officer, Officer Jones, had been outside of the lot when the event occurred. Captain Mark joined Matt and Megan, and they walked through the theft with Officer Jones.

“What the hell happened here?” said Captain Mark.

Officer Jones replied, “A man, dressed as an officer, came up to me and said he had to grab something out of his car. He said that he was in his first week and he had not received the access to open the gate yet. I didn’t think much of it, as that happened to me when I started—ugh, I am such an idiot. I should have known! I figured he had to be telling the truth. Captain, you know, I just got back from vacation with my wife. How was I supposed to know?”

“Listen, you know our protocol, but forget about that for now,” the captain said, waving his concern away. “Honestly, I don’t care, I just want to know what happened. Please continue.”

“Well, I scanned my card and let him into the lot. I stood over there”—he pointed over by the dumpster—“and smoked my cigarette. That’s when I glanced back over and saw the guy walking toward the back of the lot. I thought it was strange considering that’s not where we park but where the case vehicles are, so I walked over to him.”

“What did he say when you walked up to him? Can you describe him?” asked Matt.

“Well, he was an average-height and -weight male. As I said, he was in full uniform, so I didn’t profile him too much. He said he was just looking to see what case vehicles had been piling up. I didn’t think much of it, as he had a file in hand that looked like it was from the department. I walked away from him and headed back toward the building. I was between rows one and two when I heard a car start. I thought it was strange, so I turned around. That’s when I saw John’s Accord driving toward me. I ran up and closed the gate, then went and sounded the alarm.”

“So, correct me if I’m wrong, you walked away, got two thirds of the way through the lot when you heard it start, ran and hit the button to close the gate, then hit the alarm bell, which notified me?” asked Captain Mark.

Officer Jones nodded. “That’s correct.”

“What happened next?” asked Megan.

“Well, I hit the alarm and looked back as I heard the vehicle continue to accelerate. He rammed the gate, ripping it from its hinges, and it swung sideways, then crashed to the ground. He turned right out of the lot, then took a left up the road, tires squealing the entire way. Honestly, I don’t know how much damage to the car the impact caused, but it was a strong hit.”

“Thank you. Head inside and write all of that down,” Captain Mark told Jones. To his detectives, he said, “Matt, Megan, I want you on this; this is your case. Clean up his mess.”

“We’re on it,” they said in unison.

Matt and Megan had forensics review the scene. They instructed them to look for anything along the path from the front gate to where the vehicle had been parked. Matt and Megan headed to the security office to review the footage from the cameras placed outside of the department. Upon review of the footage, they found everything that Officer Jones had reported to be true. At no point in the footage was there a clear sighting of the man’s face. Megan went to forensics and requested one of them who had a history of portrait drawing to sit with Officer Jones. Whether from stress, shock, or something more, Officer Jones was not able to give a clear description of the man he had seen. A difficult fact for the detectives to hear, but an understandable one at that.

Upon Matt and Megan’s return inside the station, Captain Mark called them into his office for a status report. “What did you find?”

“Nothing,” Megan stated. “Forensics did not find anything to note. Review of the camera footage shows everything that Officer Jones stated to be true, but the man had his face hidden by a police cap, so we’re no closer to identifying him.”

“Any other bad news?” asked the captain.

“We have to fix the fence,” Matt deadpanned, hoping to lighten the mood.

Later that day, a report was sent out statewide by Captain Mark that read: “STOLEN: if found, call your local authorities.” Included was a photo of John’s Accord, as well as a description of the year, make and model, and vehicle identification number.

Two weeks had passed since the incident at the police station. There had been no sight of the car or of John, for that matter. Captain Mark had also put out a missing person flyer in hopes it would generate some new information. A reward had been cleared by the Police Chief.

$1,000 TO ANYONE WHO PROVIDES INFORMATION LEADING TO THE CONCLUSION OF THE INVESTIGATION

The same day the reward was announced, a press conference was held by Detective Matt Andrews.

“Hello, my name is Matt Andrews. I am the Head Detective of the Oakville Massachusetts Police Department. I stand before you today to announce we are offering a one-thousand-dollar cash reward to any person who can provide our department with any information that directly leads to the end of this investigation.” Hands rose, but he motioned to the audience to hold their questions. “As you are all aware, we are currently searching for John Lawrence, and we are looking to you for help. Anything you may know or have seen could help our investigation. We would appreciate if you passed along all information you have. In addition, two weeks ago, we put out a call to action for you to report any sighting of John’s Honda Accord; we are looking for that information, as it is still missing as well.”

Megan then took the stand. “Thank you for holding your questions this far. At this time, you may now ask the questions you have, and I will answer to the best of my abilities.”

“Do you believe John’s disappearance was of his own doing?”

“We are not sure.”

“Do you think he is a victim or a perpetrator?”

“At this time, we are not sure, but things appear to lean toward a victim.”

“Do you think John is involved in the whole car setup at Rick’s?”

“We are not sure.”

“Do you have any information as to where the pocket watch came from?”

“Not at this time.”

“Do you think John is alive?”

“We hope so.”

Megan closed questions and the conference concluded. The hope from the department was that the reward offer and the conference would bring the case to the townsfolk’s attention and provide an incentive to come forward with any information that might be out there. Matt believed that someone must know who was involved, whether it was John’s actions alone or whomever he might have run into that weekend.

Over the next three days, over two hundred tips came into the station. Matt and Megan, as well as other officers, followed every lead to its end. Well, almost every lead—some were immediately shut down by investigators. They had expected fake leads from people just trying to make a quick thousand dollars, but they hadn’t expected the crazy calls.

Leads came in from people in Oakville, Longview, and other towns all over the state, some stating information, some saying they were witnesses. All of them were false. Everyone who said they had supposedly caught the car as it broke through the fence or in its travels near the station did not pan out. Most callers stated the wrong type of car, the wrong color, the wrong day, or even the right day but the wrong time. Many people came out of the woodwork saying things like, “He was...