Danny walked over saying, “no, we’re FBI. This is agent Mallock, and I’m agent Langley. Are you the person who called the police department about the hit and run girl? Are you David Wilmore?”
David took a step back, thoughts running through his mind, hoping he has done the right thing.
“I need to see some I.D. before I answer. You could be two mobsters for all I know!”
Jason was becoming impatient.
“Show this kid some I.D. before I yank him out from behind the counter,” said Jason staring the boy in the eye.
Danny took out his badge and showed it to David.
“You can calm down now. Are you David Wilmore or not?”
“Yes, I’m David, and it was me that called the police. I’m sorry about that girl. She was shy but seemed very bright though, never late with her rentals.”
Jason asked, “do you keep an address of your clients? A membership form or something?”
David shuffled through the membership files and found the surname in alphabetical order.
“Here it is. Name and addresses. Sarah Masters. Addresses, 4 peacock apartments, W 37th street.”
Danny wrote it down is his notebook. On their way out of the store, he picked up a membership form. They contacted chief Berks letting him in on the info they got from David Wilmore. It took about twenty minutes to arrive at Sarah Masters address. The neighborhood was quiet with palm trees neatly trimmed, and the streets were clean from any garbage.
Nice place thought Jason.
Danny found the apartment block and whistled to Jason to come over. They climbed the open stairwell to the apartment. Danny knocked on the door while Jason placed his hand on his firearm.
Nobody answered the door, and Danny suggested calling the proprietor to come open, but Jason thought otherwise and picked the lock. After a few seconds, a familiar click of the lock was heard, and the door opened a couple of inches. They entered cautiously keeping their backs to the wall. The blinds were closed, making it difficult for Danny to see in the dark. He fumbled for the light switch while Jason went to open the blinds.
“My god, what is that smell?” said Jason.
They both searched the rooms trying to identify the bad odor.
“It seems to be coming from the bathroom,” said Jason.
As he slowly opened the door, the smell was much stronger. Jason pulled the shower curtain open to find the remains of a pet cat.
Danny looked in, saying, “poor thing must have got stuck in here and died of hunger.”
They searched Sarah’s apartment going through her drawers, cupboards, closets. They found nothing out of the ordinary. Jason saw something under the lounge table.
“Found her handbag. She must have left in a hurry, dropping it under the table.”
Danny came over to have a look as Jason emptied the bags contents onto the table. A makeup box, hand wipes, gum, etc.…
Jason noticed a black leather binder among the possessions.
“What have we here? Must be her notebook,” said Jason, opening it.
He read the first few pages which were simple reminders of things to do and buy. No names or addresses were written down. They continued searching, positive they will find something of importance to help them.
Danny found the overdue rentals placed on the TV table. They were documentaries about supernatural behavior dating back to the 1800s.
“Hey Jason! At least we know we’re in the right apartment. I found the overdue rentals, and they’re all about that supernatural garbage. One of the covers has a picture of that weird tattoo the girls have.”
“Keep looking. We can’t leave here empty handed.”
Jason was in one of the bedrooms, looking through the closet when he noticed something protruding through the sheets on the upper shelve. He reached for it and pulled out a book with a black leather cover. The first page reads, “Diary of Sarah Masters.”
He moves over to the bed and sits down, quite sure he found something of importance. Jason continues reading the next few pages, mostly about day to day things, what the day was like and where she went. The next page gets interesting, dating back a few months ago.
Jason reads out what Sarah wrote. “I started a class about spiritual phenomena and how to meditate and relax your mind. I found it to be very pleasant, but what excited me the most were the parts about spirits and the supernatural.”
He continues reading. “Met new friends. We all have the same interests and get along great. I’m looking forward to the next session.”
Jason then hears Danny calling and slips the diary into his back pocket as he heads over to where Danny is.
“Did you find anything?” Asked Danny.
“I sure did. Sarah’s diary. Found it hidden in her closet. Let’s get out of here before some nosy neighbor starts asking questions. We don’t have a search warrant remember,” said Jason, on his way out the door.
“Let’s go over to the forensic lab. I want Kate to check out the diary. It has some weird writing in it, and she seems to know more about this paranormal stuff than we do,” said Jason.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Sally and Jackie managed to get to school just in time before the next class began. Both girls were excited about comparing notes and studies with a neighboring university and couldn’t wait to get going.
“I heard the anthropology class is one of the best in the country. They always seem to gather more info than any other class. I hope our notes are not too far behind compared to theirs,” said Sally.
Both girls listened to their lecturer Mr. Morgan discussing the trip, and at what time they will leave. They will be spending a couple of days which meant an overnight stay. Sally wasn’t prepared for the trip and still has to tell her father she won’t be coming home tonight. She decided to leave school a bit earlier than usual to collect fresh clothing for the night. It was around 3 p.m. when she called Jason from home.
“Dad, it’s me Sally!” Jason answered the phone sensing something was up.
“Hi Sally, your home early, is everything alright?” He asked her.
“Yes, I’m fine dad. Just to let you know the trip to Miami University includes an overnight stay. We will be coming back tomorrow night.”
Jason was not pleased with such short notice but trusted Sally as she has always been honest with him.
“Well, okay then, I wish I knew beforehand, so I could come to say goodbye.”
“It’s only for one night dad. You won’t even realize I’m gone,” Sally said with a giggle.
“You take care, and call me if you need anything.”
“Okay dad, I will, don’t worry. Bye for now, I have to go.”
Jason said bye with a worried tone in his voice.
The girls hurried back to school after collecting what they needed for the overnight stay. They waited with the other students in the assembly hall until everyone was present. At around 4:30 p.m. Mr. Morgan arrived, announcing all was okay for them to board the awaiting coach and begin the journey to the university.
Things were getting interesting back at the lab. Kate was downloading some computer software to try and decrypt the language found in Sarah’s diary. The writing seemed to be an ancient text she has never seen before.
Jason and Danny went to get coffee, and came back to find Kate still trying to figure out what the writing in the journal is.
“Any luck with the diary?” Asked Jason.
“It’s still searching for a code to unlock the language,” she replied.
“It must be very old. I hope we manage to understand it?” Said Danny as he scratched his head.
Jason went over to Kate handing her a cup of coffee.
“Why don’t you have a break until it finishes decoding? Danny and I will head over to this tattoo place he spotted earlier this morning. Call us when you’re ready, and we will come back later,” he said.