Detective Ganon sighed shakily as he sat in his squad car, turning off the engine and the heat. Cold air crept in right away, raising goosebumps on his skin. Despite the freezing cold and the snow piling up outside, sweat beaded on his forehead, his heart hammering profusely in his chest.
He then pressed the side of his walkie-talkie and spoke, his voice trembling despite his attempt to sound calm. “This is Detective Ganon. I’m on scene with a potential suspect related to the kidnapping of Judith Auburn. Please advise.”
As he waited for a response, Ganon looked across the road at the suspect’s house in front of him. Squinting through the falling snow, he could tell the house was the ugliest on the block in one of LaFera, California’s many small neighborhoods. Its windows were boarded by wooden planks, gutters hung loose from the roof, and green vines and moss crawled along the brick walls.
Worst of all, a maroon colored Camaro sat in the driveway without a license plate. The exact vehicle reported to have kidnapped five-year-old Judith Auburn.
It had taken Ganon four weeks to get a lead as good as this. He desperately hoped Judith was here, even if what was inside was a potential nightmare.
“10-4. Proceed with caution. You’re the only unit on scene, Ganon,” the female dispatcher replied.
Ganon nodded to himself as if she were right beside him. Deep down, though, he knew how alone he truly was. He could tell by the dispatcher’s tone that she thought he was reckless, maybe even losing his mind. The truth was, everybody in the police station thought that same thing.
By week two, they had declared Judith as unofficially deceased with no body or proof.
Ganon refused to accept that. He’d never failed to solve a case, and he wasn’t going to start now when this one hit too close to home.
Judith’s parents were losing their minds at home. The mother was slipping into alcoholism, empty wine bottles stacking along her kitchen counters as she whispered Judith’s name like a prayer. The father burned with rage. More than once, Ganon had to stop him from barging into strangers’ homes, convinced his daughter was inside.
Ganon understood the kind of pain both parents were in. He knew what it felt like to lose a daughter, waking up and fearing what happened to her every day until eventually you have no choice but to accept that she’s gone. All the while, you lose your marriage because grief consumes the relationship.
Now, tears filled Ganon’s eyes as he stepped out of the vehicle, locking the door behind him. His heart raced, and his lungs seemed to forget how to work. He recognized these as the early signs of a panic attack, but he wouldn’t allow that to happen. Not this time.
Snow crunched beneath his steel-toe boots as he crossed the road. Flakes of snow covered his navy jacket. Icy wind lashed at his face, blurring his vision. Moonlight glistened on the slick, snow-covered grass as he reached the front door, the house looking even worse up close and smelling rotten. Wind speeds picked up, the snow falling harder, and unleashing bitter freezing temperatures.
The suspect’s name was Dan. Just Dan. He had no last name, no online presence, and no history. His birth certificate and anything about him seemed to have been erased. The only trace of him had come weeks ago when he bought the Camaro from a man who lived a few blocks away. The seller described him as mysterious and quiet, giving only his first name. That same Camaro was later spotted during Judith’s abduction.
With a shaky, gloved hand, Ganon rested his grip on his holstered pistol and knocked on the paint-peeled door harder than he intended. He knocked once more when no one responded, this time purposely loud. “LaFera Police Department! Open up!” Ganon shouted, veins popping out of his neck.
He was getting angry as guilt and old wounds filled his heart. Dan had to be the kidnapper. Stress swirled and twisted Ganon’s thoughts, confusing him as he suddenly considered the idea that this man might’ve taken his daughter as well, even if her disappearance had been many painful years ago.
Ganon began to shake. His red, exhausted eyes widened now as he lifted his leg to kick the door down, but then he heard a sudden click.
Dropping his leg, Ganon watched as the door cracked open slightly, restrained by a deadbolt. Warm air fled through the small gap in the door, and with it came a sour, heavy stench. Ganon squeezed his pistol hard, knuckles cracking as he now stared into the eyes of a man with wide eyes that held no emotion.
“Dan?” Ganon asked, breath unsteady as he came up with a lie that could cost him his badge and this case. He didn’t care, though. He needed this to be the house where Judith was kidnapped. “Open the door. I have a warrant to search your house.”
Dan’s eyes darted from inside the house and back into Ganon’s, fear in his shaky voice as he clearly began to fall apart. Panicking, he said, “I didn’t do anything. You’ve got the wrong house.”
Ganon’s adrenaline rushed as he stared at him with a calm, serious face. “Why can’t I come in if you have nothing to hide? Nothing’s stopping me from kicking this door in your face.” Chuckling as rage continued to consume him, Ganon continued, “There’s a vehicle in your driveway. No plates, and it’s the same one spotted on a scene where an innocent little girl was taken. Not to mention that in all my years of working, you are the first person I’ve never been able to find information on through files and on the web. You want to explain that to me?”
Dan suddenly grunted as he tried to slam the door shut on Ganon’s face. Ganon was faster and stronger as he lifted his leg and kicked the door, sending it flying and ripping off the deadbolt with it. The door splintered and cracked as Ganon kicked it open wider, this time sending Dan staggering backwards as he began to whimper and mumble words, wide eyes darting every which way as he cowered in his own home.
Ganon’s adrenaline pumped as he swiftly pulled out his gun, pointing and scanning the house while also making sure Dan didn’t move an inch.
“Make any sudden moves, and I’ll make sure the next thing you see is God’s judgment,” Ganon shouted as he moved swiftly.
Standing in a hallway, Ganon analyzed the messy home. Paint peeled from the walls, trash littered the hallway and the rooms it led to, and all kinds of bad smells filled his nostrils.
Dan’s lip quivered as he spoke up, his eyes filled with emptiness, despite a face that was starting to look amused. “They’re not here anymore, and you won’t be able to catch up to him, Detective Ganon.”
Ganon spun, gun leveled at Dan’s chest. “What are you talking about?”
Dan let out a childish giggle in response, showing his true, unstable colors as he said, “You’re a day late.”
Without another word, Ganon cuffed Dan to the wooden handrail of a staircase, making sure he had no way of escaping, and and searched the house, looking through every filthy room and finding nothing until reaching the basement. Opening the wooden, splintered door, he felt cold air rush up from below, carrying a strange scent of what smelled like candy and something metallic. Ganon swallowed hard and stepped forward, letting the darkness swallow behind him as he descended down the creaky, wooden steps.
Clicking on his flashlight, the light cut through the darkness below, revealing a long hallway at the end of the stairs that the beam couldn’t reach the end of. The walls were marked by scratches, some small and some large.
Ganon began walking into the unknown.
