She Never Came Home

Chapter 11

Richard continued to stare into Coreen's car for a while after Chuck left, almost as if in a trance. He kept thinking about the driver's side window being partially open... It had been pretty chilly last night; Reeny certainly wouldn't have been driving with it open for ventilation. He pulled out his cell phone and checked to see if he could get any reception. He waved it up in the air, searching for a tower, with no luck. It was making him increasingly upset to stand and stare at Reeny's abandoned car, so he started walking back down the dirt road that lead to the construction barrier. He continued to click on his phone and was surprised to suddenly get a signal. He quickly pressed 9-1-1 and tried his best to sound calm and controlled as he described the situation to the operator.

"My sister-in-law has been missing since last night, and we've just found her car... it looks like it was abandoned... My in-laws have already filed police reports, I believe..."

"What's your sister-in-law's name?" the operator asked kindly.

"Coreen Crowley," Rich replied and then spelled out her last name for clarity. He heard the sound of computer keys clicking and then the operator came back on the line.

"Please hold for a moment while I forward your call."

A few minutes passed and then a voice said, "DeWitt speaking."

"Um, what?" Richard was confused.

"This is Detective DeWitt. Your call was forwarded to me regarding a police report made about..." Dwayne paused to review the text message that the 911 operator had forwarded to him. "...Coreen Crowley, who was reported missing by her mother and boyfriend earlier."

"Yes, yes," Rich was suddenly excited to speak to someone in a position of authority who understood the situation. "I found, er, we – my brother-in-law and I – found Coreen's car."

"Found Coreen's car." Those words gave Detective DeWitt that sinking feeling in his gut that he'd developed over many years of searching for missing people, especially young women. But his training had also taught him to keep up the spirits of family members until bad news was ultimately delivered.

"Just to clarify," he said on the phone while simultaneously gesturing for his partner to grab his coat and get ready to roll, "you found her car but not Coreen?"

"Yeah," Rich started to sound frightened again.

"That's a good sign, it's a place to start backtracking from," DeWitt did his best to keep Richard from losing all hope. "Where are you?"

"On the Mercy Road exit off of I-15," Rich replied. "Oh," he added, "the car is way past the construction barrier at the end of the exit ramp..."

"Got it," Dwayne replied. "We're on our way; in the meantime, please don't touch anything."

"No, I won't," Rich replied softly. Those words only reminded him of Chuck's admonishment, which further made him think that everyone else was regarding Reeny's car as a crime scene. He suddenly felt the need to vomit, and he dashed to the side of the dirt road and heaved into the weeds. He caught his breath and wiped his mouth with one of his sleeves. As he stood back up some sort of light caught his eye. He walked back to the dirt road and saw the flashing lights of a police car approaching. Chuck leaped out of the back seat and ran ahead to tell his brother-in-law breathlessly, "I flagged down this black-and-white..."

The two uniformed officers slowly approached the white VW and then it occurred to Rich to announce, "I got hold of some detectives on my phone, and they're on their way. They said not to touch anything."

The uniformed officers suddenly maintained a wide margin around the car as they inspected the area. They shone their flashlights into the trees and brush that lined the desolate area. One of the cops walked further up the unpaved road into the woods and then reversed his trail so that he returned to the unfinished bridge that crossed the Peñasquitos Creek. He shone his flashlight around the area, and then down below. Chuck, who had been following the Exploring Cop, immediately noticed when the officer had abruptly paused and was spending much more time shining his flashlight in one particular spot.

"What's up?" He started to ask. "What did you – "

"Sir," the officer replied in his Most Official Tone, "I'm going to ask to you please stand back."

"Why?! What's down there??" Chuck was shouting now and fighting the officer to get to the railing of bridge. Years of working outdoors had made Chuck strong and muscular, and he easily shoved the police officer away from him. He ran to the railing and shone his high-powered flashlight down into the now-dry creek bed, some 65 feet below. He gasped and almost dropped his light. "Oh, no...." He bent over and sobbed into the crook of his left arm.

Just seconds later another car drove past the construction barrier and two men in civilian clothing emerged. Chuck didn't notice them, but the officer he'd pushed aside walked up to him and said, "These men are detectives. You'll need to talk to them."

By the time Detectives DeWitt and Park had exited their vehicle and were physically restraining Chuck, Richard had arrived on the scene. He'd heard Chuck's almost animal screams of "Oh, no, no!" and had run towards the sound.

"What's - ?" before Rich could finish his question Chuck turned and collapsed into his arms. The two men embraced one another, and Richard started crying, even though he wasn't absolutely certain of what was happening.

"Reeny," Chuck eventually gasped into Richard's ear. "She's...she's down there..." He paused and then stood straight up to look into Rich's eyes. "She's dead!" He shrieked, and then wrapped his arms around Richard's shoulders and sobbed as if his heart was literally being torn into pieces.

Richard clutched Chuck tightly and kept repeating through his tears, "No, it's not her, it's some kind of mistake.... It can't be her..."