Is This True?

Chapter 7

A case?

"I know you all are familiar with the rituals we do around here,"
Mr. Woods eyed me briefly, acknowledging the newness of my positions, "except for our newest addition, Miss Agent Patterson. However, I'm sure you'll do just fine, won't you?"

I nodded my head in assurance, feeling several eyes watching me.

"Anyway, back to the case."

He clicked a button on a remote just as the lights went out and the projector on the other side of the room turned on.

"What you're seeing here, ladies and gentlemen is our new case. Specifically about our little friend, Charlie Hunter, named after his father, Charles Hunter. Charlie has been missing."

Mr. Woods clicked another button showing a picture of Charlie and his dad huddled together where what seemed to be a baseball field in the background. They both looked extremely happy, probably because Charlie might have hit the ball or gotten a home run. He looked about six or seven with noticeable curly brown hair and an adorable sweet grin. I can't even imagine what happened to this boy.

"For three days."

Mr. Woods continued. "His father died unexpectedly when he was seven, three months shortly after this photo was taken. His cause of death was never really confirmed, but ruled out on either a stroke or a heart attack."

"Sounds suspicious, but wouldn't he be a little young for either of those?" I thought. "Maybe, maybe not."

"What about the boy's mother?" Agent Harper asked, leaning forward in interest.

"His mother, Andrea--" Mr. Woods clicked to the next picture,"--hasn't been seen either in three days, but we can only assume that she's with him."

"And why's that?"

"There were no phone calls, texts, messages, letters, or information indicating they were leaving. The grandparents of the boy--who are Andrea's parents--are the only local relatives. Charles' parents have already passed from cancer. All the family that is left are them and the occasional aunt, uncle, or cousin scattered across the United States."

"Have you contacted them?" Another voice asked.

"Yes, we've contacted all family relations including close friends, but they're just devastated and have heard nothing."

"If he's been missing for three days, why are we just now acting on it?" Agent Harper sounded distressed, her dark hair shaking as she spoke.

Mr. Woods--I could tell--was losing his patience. "If you'll only let me finish, you'll understand. Right?"

I eyed Denise from two seats away, who gave me a small wink. No wonder she warned me about asking so many questions.

"Anyway--" Mr. Woods continued, "--from what we've learned from the mother's parents, the mother suffers from depression, anxiety, and dementia. She's been known for staying indoors for long periods, forgetting things and memories easily, and she's even known to neglect the needs of her son. Again, we can only assume this is because of her tragic loss of her husband which in turn, caused her to go through some mental and emotional trauma."

He clicked the remote to another picture.

"These are some pictures the hospital released to us for evidence."

The picture showed a thin young woman with dark hair pulled into a sideways bun. Stray hairs stuck out on the sides of her head seeming to cover her swollen eyes and sunken cheeks. She looked as if she'd turn to drinking and smoking from the looks of her sad condition.

"And this is what happens when things get out of control."

This time, it was a picture of Charlie but instead of a happy smiling one, he looked frightened. And, he was covered in bruises.

Oh, Charlie.

"The grandparents tried to take him away from his sometimes abusive mother, but the excuse she gave was that he was bullied at school. We then contacted the teachers and some of his friends, but they say Charlie was the friendliest and most respectful kid in the class and no one was mean to each other nor mean to him."

"So, we're dealing with an abuse case, right?" One agent asked, the same woman who had sarcastically asked about Denise earlier. "Had CPS ever been called?"

"Or a possible kidnapping?" Someone else chimed in. 

Mr. Woods clicked to the next slide which was a picture of what I assumed to be their house.

"When Charlie didn't show up for school, his teacher and the office only assumed he was sick, and also knowing Andrea's condition, she might have forgotten to phone in to notify them. However, yesterday someone came by the house, but one was there. Nothing was taken, nothing was moved in some sort of struggle, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary."

Mr. Woods held up a simple piece of paper showing a flyer of the missing two. "And since no one has heard from either Andrea or Charlie, we can only assume that they both were taken or Andrea took her son herself."

As I assumed, Agent Harper only shook her head. "That seems far-fetched. How do we know they were taken? All we know, they could be on some trip."

"And completely disappear without saying anything let alone not taking anything along with you?" Agent Davis argued turning to her, "that's not reasonable."

"Since when have you ever been reasonable? We're dealing with a little boy here--"

"What do we know about the father?" I piped up, silencing the bitter feud between the two agents. "I mean, besides the fact he supposedly died of a stroke or heart attack? What if Charlie had something to do with his father's death and that's the reason why Andrea abused or took him?"

Agent Harper squinted at me carefully, "You're saying he murdered his dad?"

"Oh, I didn't say that, not purposeful, but accidental instead and maybe, Andrea is blaming him for it. She's using Charlie as an outlet for her anger. She is either mourning the loss of her husband and taking her grief onto him, or there is something else wrong with her mentally." 

It sounded stupid, but it was all I got, honestly.

"Sounds more reasonable than taking a trip." Agent Davis commented earning another glare from Agent Harper.

"Charles' just seemed too young for a heart attack. Did he have known heart troubles?"

"It's not common, but is possible." Mr. Woods added. "I'd have to retrieve his medical records."

I sighed as Agent Harper yet again, opened her mouth, "Well, that's just wonderful. We don't know how Charles died, we don't know where the mother is, or the boy is. We hardly know anything--"

Suddenly, the doors burst open.

"Excuse me! Sorry to disrupt, but we have urgent news."

Mr. Woods walked away from the table to the rushed speaking agent who entered fully inside the room.

"We found the boy."