Chapter 3

“Where have you been Kate?”  “I was starting to get worried.” Doris says as I walk through the back door.  She’s motherly toward Linda and me.  I must admit it’s nice to have someone like that around.  Everyone needs a mother to look after them.

“I’m fine.” “Just took a little extra time during my run this morning.”  “I brought you your favorite coffee from the River Walk Café.”

“Now honey thank you but you shouldn’t have.”

I know Doris doesn’t indulge herself so I like to treat her once in a while.  She takes a break to enjoy her cup of coffee while I check the emails for the gallery.

While on line I check the local newspaper’s website to see the latest news about the little boy.  They say his name is Dylan.  His parents have been found and they live just north of us in the next town.  Dylan had only been missing a little over 24 hours before his body was found.  Police haven’t said much about the parents except they are trying to eliminate them in Dylan’s death. There’s a picture of them but the mother doesn’t look like the woman I saw yesterday morning.   I also see that there is a memorial service scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 pm.

At lunchtime Doris and I go over to the River Walk and eat lunch.  The weather is beautiful and we like to have lunch outside when it’s slow at the gallery.  It won’t be much longer before we will be too busy to leave at lunchtime.

“Doris, I have something to tell you but I need to know that you won’t tell anyone about it, at least for now.”

“Of course, Kate, you can tell me.”  “And don’t worry, who am I going to tell?”

“This morning during my morning run I ended up at the children’s park”.  “I don’t know why but I walked over to the swing set and noticed something sticking up out of the ground.”  “I picked it up and it was a child’s brown sandal.”  “I think I may belong to the little boy.”  “The news report said he was missing one brown sandal.”  “I wrapped it up and took it home but I’m not sure what to do.”

I purposely didn’t say anything about seeing Dylan the day before or what happened when I picked up the sandal.  There is no way I can explain that to her without sounding crazy.  I’m having a difficult time believing it myself.

“My dear you must take it to the police.” “Let them see if it’s the little boy’s sandal.”  “It might help them find out what happened to the poor little thing.”

“Do you think I’ll get in trouble for taking it home?”

“Kate don’t you worry about that.”  “Just get the sandal over to the police and let them worry about it.”  “That’s their job.”

After lunch I go back on-line and find the name of the detective assigned to the case.  It’s John Fitzpatrick, which is good since I know him.  It will be easier to talk to someone I know about this crazy situation.  At 3:00 pm I tell Doris she can go home and that I will finish up for the day.  Twenty minutes later I am out the door heading home to take care of this business.

I carefully unwrap the sandal from my jacket and hold it with part of the fabric so I don’t touch it directly and put in it a large zip lock plastic bag.  I place it in my purse and head for the police station.  When I get there it’s very quiet. I ask for Det. Fitzpatrick then sit down and wait.  It’s somber inside the police station.  A crime like this takes a toll on everyone and certainly isn’t something our town is used to.

Finally a police officer returns and tells me that Det. Fitzpatrick is out following up on some leads.  I tell him I have something I need to leave for him and that it pertains to the case.  I ask for a piece of paper and an envelope and write the following note "

Hi John,

During my morning run I went by the children’s park and noticed something sticking out of the ground under the swing.  I went over and picked it up and it’s a child’s brown sandal.  I remember from the news report that the boy found yesterday was missing a brown sandal.  This is his missing sandal.  I can also tell you that you are looking for a young man in his mid-20’s.  He has a slight build and dark hair.  He was wearing denim pants, a white tee-shirt with black lettering on it and black work boots.  I can’t explain in this note how I know but give me a call and I’ll be more than happy to meet with you. 

Kate Johnson

Just reading the note makes me think I’m crazy; but deep down I know I am right and it’s something I need to follow through on.  I put my business card and the note inside the envelope, seal it and attach it to the plastic bag.  I hand it to the police officer and he assures me that Det. Fitzpatrick will get it as soon as he returns.