Target Acquired

The Witness

Adrian and Kost talked easily about Kost's make-believe children while they waited in line to order lunch. They had an appointment in a few hours to take a look at one of the nearby houses and decided to scout out the restaurant and the nearby park for anyone who may have noticed something suspicious during that time. The restaurant was the same one the agent from the diary had described, and they hoped that by visiting the same locations  they could find someone who had seen something the day the entry was written.

Nobody approached them with concerns as they made their way to a seat at a table in the middle of the room, nor did any smiles at the overheard conversation hold a grain of worry. Kost made sure to emphasize how he was worried about finding a safe neighborhood. Still no negative reaction. It seemed no one here had noticed the man following the missing agent.

The two men walked to the park a few blocks away when they had finished their lunch. They stopped a few times on the way to ask other passersby about the neighborhood. The adults they talked to were eager to point out all the good things their neighborhood held. No one's eyes flickered as they answered Kost's questions about safety.

Kost was starting to lose hope that someone could tell them what they needed to know. Had the agent from the diary entry been wrong? Had no one actually followed him?

Their luck changed a few minutes after they walked into the fenced-in park area. Since it was the middle of the day, the area was overrun by children at the height of their energy. Adrian and Kost were a bit overwhelmed by the commotion, not sure who to talk to first. They noticed a woman to the side who was watching them with a small smile and decided to approach her first. 

"This is Adrian and I'm Kost. We are here looking for a new house for my family and I to move into."

"My name is Teresa, and welcome to the most popular location in the neighborhood." She spread her arms wide to encompass the area. "My son is the one who believes he can touch the sky if he swings high enough."

The two agents followed her finger to where a young boy was stretching his arm out as far as it could go at the apex of his swing. Kost chuckled knowingly. "My daughter Julie currently believes she is a princess. The only time she takes off her plastic crown is when she is in the bathtub and in bed, and even then it has to be within arm's reach."

Teresa bit back a smile as she warned, "I'm still my dad's princess. It never stops."

The agent gave a slight bow in teasing gratitude.

"Thank you for letting me know. I will prepare myself for crowns and ball gowns in my future." He glanced around the park, stepping out of the way as a rowdy group of boys ran past. "What is your opinion of the neighborhood? I have two children and another on the way, so I want to find a good area for them to grow up in."

"I've lived here ever since I had Nathan and have never had a problem. The neighbors are friendly, the stores and restaurants are clean and high quality, and everyone looks out for each other."

"What about safety? Are the roads kept up? Anyone I would need to look out for?"

Teresa considered, her eyes wandering to her son who had given up on reaching the clouds and was sliding off the seat.

"There was one thing I noticed," she commented, not looking at the two men beside her as though not seeing them would let her pretend that nothing was actually wrong.

"A few months ago, four people moved into a condo near the edge of the neighborhood. They said they were business partners doing some research, I think. Anyway, one of the men, Robert, came by the park a lot to play with the children. They loved him, called him the 'Game Maker' because he would come up with the coolest games. But a month ago, he and his friends were gone with no explanation."