Chapter 1
MARTY WATERSlooked up from his desk in the front room of his home on the south side of Carlisle, wondering what was going on outside with all the noise and flashes. His work involved maintaining systems for an old company that had been around for decades. But unfortunately they had lost the skill sets to maintain their old systems, so they paid him and his company to keep them running for them. This was just one of his clients, and Marty was knee-deep in an issue in a part of the code that hadn’t been touched in twenty years. This was his gift, or at least people often told him that. Not that it particularly mattered what his gifts were. This work paid the bills and had made him a sought-after resource.
He returned to his code, found the issue, and began working through how to repair it without breaking something else. By the time he figured it out and made the change necessary, more lights flashed outside his window. He sent a notification to the company that a new revision of the code was ready and that they should test it completely before implementing the new version.
Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, he went downstairs and outside, joining where a few of his neighbors had gathered. “What’s going on?”
“We aren’t sure,” Andrea answered as she scowled at the house near the end of the block. Every neighborhood had one, and this was theirs. The owner of the property had died some ten years ago, and then the person she had willed it to apparently died shortly afterward, so it was owned by someone in Virginia who had no real interest in the property at all. It had basicallysat empty for the last decade, which made it a real eyesore to everyone else who worked hard to maintain their yards and homes.
“Did part of the house collapse?” Marty asked. He had always thought the place would one day just give up the ghost and fall in on itself from sheer exhaustion.
“No. The police are looking for something or someone, I think,” Valerie, another neighbor, told him. “We aren’t sure, and they aren’t telling us anything.”
“They probably wouldn’t,” Marty offered up and wandered closer to the activity because he couldn’t help it. His mother had often told him that his curiosity was going to get him into trouble. Still, no one stopped him, so he continued down the sidewalk, staying on the far side of the street from the building in question, wondering what the hell was going on in their quiet neighborhood.
“Please stay back,” an officer told him, and Marty nodded, remaining where he was.
“Why are you here? This place hasn’t had anyone living in it in a long time. We all sort of watch the place to make sure no one tries to get in or stuff. Did someone try to break in again?” That had happened a few months ago, but they’d reported it and everything had been quiet since.
“I’m not at liberty to say,” the officer told him, and Marty nodded, just watching as a few officers came and went from inside. Others wandered through the overgrown yard and the old garage and carport area. They were looking for something or someone, and Marty’s curiosity continued pinging. “Have you seen anyone coming or going from the property?”
Marty shook his head. “No. It’s been quiet. But I’d ask the ladies down there. One of them might have seen something.”
“I did a while ago,” he said. “Now excuse me a minute… and please don’t get any closer.” His voice held a sharpness thatrankled Marty, but he did as he was asked and didn’t go any nearer. The officers continued to look for whatever they were hoping to find but seemed to be coming up empty. Marty was losing interest himself, but then another vehicle pulled up. As he watched, an officer got out and opened the back hatch, releasing a German shepherd.
“All right, Dexter, let’s go to work,” he said in a deep, resonant voice that vibrated all through Marty. The dog sat and waited, tongue out as he panted. The dog was handsome and well cared for, but Marty barely noticed him as the officer closed the door. Damn, he was built to be looked at and admired, that was for sure.
Marty wandered back to where the others were standing, still a little breathless.
“I see you met Officer Hottie.” Andrea grinned a little.
“Excuse me?” Marty asked, trying to keep a lid on the fact that all he wanted to do was follow the man with his eyes.
Andrea snickered. “His name is Officer Webster, but all the ladies down at the community pool were talking about him the other day. Apparently they’re all interested in giving him a test drive.” She laughed a little nervously. “But apparently none of the ladies at the pool were able to capture his interest, so we’re all thinking that he bats for your team. We’re not really sure.” All of them turned as Officer Hottie led the dog he was with inside the house.
They came out maybe ten minutes later and then went around the back. “What is the dog going to do?”
Andrea and the others shrugged, and eventually Dexter was returned to the back of the car. Officer Hottie got in as well, and off they went. It was kind of disappointing and most definitely anticlimactic. Just as Marty wished the officer would come back, his phone chimed with a message, and he excused himself to head inside to fix another issue.
The problem turned out to be data corruption, and after stripping out the affected record, the company was able to restart the program and run it successfully. Marty sent the information to his contact so they could investigate the source of the bad data, but at least they would be able to continue processing.
Marty pushed the curtains aside from the window behind his desk and peered out and down the street. The police were still there and appeared to be closing up the house. Sure enough, the ones remaining got in their cars and one by one pulled away. Marty shrugged to himself and checked on the rest of his clients to make sure their processing was progressing properly. He was sure he would get another notification fairly soon, but he took a second to go to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, while fantasies of a certain police officer played in his head.
MARTY DIDN’Tgive the whole incident down the street too much thought after that. He was always working, and sometimes days melded into one another. He was busy, the people who worked for him were busy, and the business prospered. Marty did good work and kept his customers happy and their legacy processing systems running. So when he was interrupted by sirens once more, he checked the view from his window and headed outside into the chilly morning air.
“What’s going on?” Marty asked as he pulled his sweatshirt closer around him. Spring in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, could vary from shivery cold to summery warmth, and this morning it was definitely the former. The police had been to the abandoned house just a few days earlier, and their return meant that something was definitely wrong. The neighborhood usually resembled snoresville, so with the police showing up a second time, there had to be something stirring.
The police officer in charge pretty much ignored his question, but one of the others responded. “There’s a six-year-old boy who’s been missing for three days.”
Marty nodded. “I heard about him. It’s been on the local internet news sites. And you’re looking for him here? Is that why they searched the house a few days ago?” He glanced around, secretly hoping that Officer Hottie would show up again. Not that Marty would do anything about it if he did. Marty was good with computers, and he could make them do whatever he needed them to, but when it came to people, especially hot guys, he usually retreated behind his glasses and unruly hair, ending up on the periphery.
“We got a report that he was seen around this house before he disappeared, and he hasn’t been seen anywhere since. So we’re searching the place again, and we’re bringing back a dog to go over the place once more.” And just on cue, a K-9 SUV pulled up on his side of the road, and Officer Hottie got the dog out of the back.
“Do the usual sweep?” he asked in his “voice of god.”
“Yes. Check the garage and back of the house first,” the officer in charge ordered.
“Officer,” Marty said, finding his voice and his courage to approach Officer Hottie. “Have you checked to see if the house has one of those old cisterns?”
