Blackburn

Hearing the tones drop I follow the acting Captain and the others out to the bay while listening to the nature of the call. Gearing up I climb up into my seat on the truck thinking that this will be a quick one; especially after hearing Noels comments to Valentine. 'Bet we can knock it down and then cook burgers and hotdogs for lunch before they show. Shame we neither have burgers or hotdogs on board though.'

Patrol: 201 - Deputy Diaz 207 - Deputy Dempsy 212 - Deputy Richardson 213 - Deputy Wagner 216 - Deputy Hawke 220 - Sergeant Bruno K9: 230 - Sergeant Patterson Some notes from last shift, be on the look out for: Dekalb Street mugging in North Fort Shannon resulting in a stabbing. Suspect appears to be a white male in their mid 20s heading east on First Street North while wearing woodland cammo pants, black t-shirt, and sunglasses. Victim reported that the assaulter was bald and sporting a thick blond beard. Sixth Street South Shell Gas Station Robbery in South Fort Shannon, suspect appears to be a very tall Black male and was last seen heading south on West Side Drive wearing a Cincinnati Reds cap, grey hoodie, and a skull mask. Middleland Park in Delmore, as evident by photos taken before our arrival an elderly white man in his late 70s was seen exposing himself in Canadian Pond. Possibly related, a nursing home in Delmore has reported one of their more mentally ill residents has seemingly escaped their institution. Harbor Park, Fort Shannon, a spider monkey from the Zoo. If spotted it is advised to call the zoo and keep an eye on it until their capture team arrives.

Having given birth back in April, maternity time off is over for me now as I enter the parade room for the first time in almost a year. Well perhaps I spent a lil too much time off but I wanted to spend as much time with my firstborn son as possible. Now it's time for Mark to spend some time with Luke and for me to get back to work. Grabbing a seat in the back of the room I take a look around to see who is here.

Holding back a slight yawn I enter the duty room for the first time in awhile having taken some time off to help my family back at home due to the flooding that hit Ludlow, Vermont last month. With a nod to the others in the room I take a sip of my Monster and head to the back to hear assignments.

'Here'

'Here'

Standing outside I keep a lookout up front and keeping watch on the front door. Sure enough it is covered in vines barring it shut. There's no way anyone inside will be getting outside by getting through that exit. For a moment as I look back to my cruiser I reconsider staying out here and walking around the house again to join the others. When I look back to house though the looks have changed. The house is still run down looking as it ever has but all the overgrown shrubbery have cleared a path to the door and the vines are virtually gone from blocking it. It feels like I'm being invited in. 'Shit' I say to myself as I find myself walking to the front door. Surely it's locked I think to myself as I climb the stairs to the front porch. It's got to be locked I continue thinking as I test the door knob and turn it. The door opens with a creaking sound as I push it open. 'Fuck.' I mumble to myself cause I'm not liking these turn of events. Diaz, Richardson, it's Keene, I'm coming in.' Entering the house I look around and see the staircase leading upstairs. As I see Richardson and Diaz still down the hallway I hold my position until they come to me. The kids should be on the third floor so I keep my eyes on those stairs in case they suddenly start coming down. 'They should be on the third floor, right? Well, shall we go get them?'

Sitting in my seat I listen to the plan as we get en route. 'Two ladders, got it' I respond to confirm I heard.

Hearing the tones drop for us I head down to the bay and gear up before getting into my spot on the ladder.

Well finding someone from the ladder crew is pretty damn easy when they come to you. 'Detective Morris' Shaking the Fire Lieutenant's hand to finalize the greeting I pull out my notepad and pen once it's over. 'To start can you give me a size up of how things looked when you arrived and as you were working?' Figuring I'll start with this question and ask questions based on her replies to it.

'Lafferty, 204'

Upon getting back to the front of the house I keep my eyes on the third floor window where the green light is. It appears to be oddly pulsing now which makes me wonder what those kids are doing up there. Guess I'll ask the others when they get back. Still I feel like I'm being watched but this time from the bushes in front of the house however every time I shine my light on them I see nothing there.

'Yeah, I'll go talk with them.' Splitting up I go look for the ladder crew. Not sure what they'll have to contribute to the investigation but we'll find out. Maybe nothing, maybe something.

'That front door looked blocked really good with those vines, I highly doubt they are going to be able to get out that way. However if you think they can use it to get out I'll go back around front and keep watch.' Stepping off the porch I make my way back to the front of the house.

Hearing my name being called to come over I make my way to Diaz and Richardson while still keeping my eyes on the backyard. Diaz has her eyes on a broken window that she suspects the kids used to get in and it's possible they used it. 'Well I'll do you one better. There's a door wide open on the back porch. We're not entering through the window.' With that said I walk back to where I was and step up onto the back porch that was more like a patio deck. The wood creaks beneath my weight as I walk over it but it feels stable enough. Shining my light through the open door I see it leads to a hallway to the front door. Shining my light at some open doors in the hallway I figure that those rooms are the kitchen, dining room, first floor bathroom, and living room. As I'm looking at the hallway layout prior to entering it feels like something is staring back at me from just down the hallway. Except there is no one there. 'Fucking murder house.' Mumbling to myself I look to see if Diaz and Richardson followed me back.

'Well if they didn't use the front to enter I doubt they'll use it to exit so...' My talking is interrupted as I see Diaz taking action as she starts heading around the back. 'Go with her, I'll head around the other side to the back' With that said I grab my flashlight and move taking the opposite side of the house. The pathway is filled with overgrown bushes but the path is there and as I'm shining my light on the house it clicks. 'Oh shit, this is the murder house, isn't it?' Yeah, it figures that it would be this house. Why wouldn't some adrenaline seeking teenagers not chose a house where a family of 16 were slaughtered in the 50s. Growing up in Oxnard it was a house talked about constantly around this time of the year when I was in elementary school. The news reported that it was the father that went crazy and killed his wife, his kids, his father, his brother, his sister, their spouses, his nephews, and his nieces. Then he killed himself. Though some say it was the brother that did it. Others say it was his father. What was reported made the most sense though as the man was never right after returning from the war having gone through D-Day. Course the brother wasn't right either after having fought through Iwo Jima but he held it in better. No one knows for sure what happened that night during the family reunion but everyone who encounters this house is sure it's haunted. 'Yeah, this is definitely the Dotson murder house.' Not spotting any way in on my side of the building I reach the back and wait for the others. There looks like a door on the back porch that's stuck open so I'm guessing we'll use that.

Pulling up on scene I park behind 206 and shut off the car. Looking at the house as I get out I can see the reported green light from the third floor window. "206 on scene." Walking up to the others I just simply nod at them and look back to the house that's looking familiar to me but I can't figure out why. Perhaps when we get in there I'll figure it out. It's run down though and I don't see a clear path inside with all the overgrown shrubbery on the front lawn. Even the front door is covered in vines. However if those kids got inside so can we. 'Guess we should circle around back to look for an entrance? Also better watch our footing once we get inside. House looks like a disaster.'

'Ok, just sitting around. Any word on when maintenance was done on it last? See anyone here that would probably know the answer to that one?'

As I hear the call go out I wonder why that address sounds familiar. I've got a bad feeling about this as I grab my mic and make my way there. "209, show me responding." Leaving my lights and sirens off I casually make my way over there. It's likely nothing but kids getting in the Halloween spirit. Still there's that bad feeling in the back of my mind. Why does that address sound so damn familiar.

Seeing Lewis enter with a greeting I respond. 'Lewis, I'm fine, you're in 203 this shift'

Hearing another knock at my door. 'Enter'

After assignments and getting my gear in place I head to the lounge and walk to the kitchen. Grabbing a bagel I split it apart and drop it in the toaster. As the bagel slices toaster I stand around as the Captain and Lieutenant seemingly joke about who would be in charge if they had ended up on the same truck.

'No, that sounds good for a start. I'll go see what that crew over there has to say.' I respond while pointing at another crew standing around unsure of what station they belong to as I'm not paying that much attention. 'Do we know the history of the crashed Ladder or is that for CI to figure out?'

After hearing my assignment I gather my things and head to my unit. Getting in the car I start up the engine and head out. "253 in service"

As Rutland comes in late I sigh mentally. 'Rutland you're in 253'