Waldrum and Berner were surprised by my display. Not surprised enough. When I asked them about it they said, as best I can remember, this is not word for word;
“Certain parts around here are . . .” they looked each other “. . . are what? Dangerous? Diseased? Haunted? No one wants to put a name to it. No one wants to be the first admit they believe in the boogeyman.”
“This area is on the verge of a property boom. The rest of the state is going to hell in a handcart because of the energy bubble bursting but here we’re moving in the right direction. Foreign companies are talking about investing here. Those suits out there could make a lot of money if it all goes smoothly. Get social media freaking out about animal mutilation, serial killers, cults and monsters and that’s bad for business. They tasked us with keeping it all quiet, we’re the freak squad.”
When I asked they who they pissed off to get this duty they said they “saw something” and were dumb enough to report exactly what they remembered. That report was “lost” but right after they were visited by agents who claimed to be FBI. Waldrum and Berner both said it was bullshit, they know FBI and these guys weren’t fibbies. These were “spooks” as they called them.
Whoever they were told Waldrum and Berner to tell them everything they put in that report again. The visitors took detailed notes and said that would write it up in a different report. After the meeting was over Berner and Waldrum were to never mention anything about it again. Ever. Not ever. To anyone. Ever. Not one detail. They were told that the report would be given to the station captain who would make a copy for the feds and then mark it restricted.
They were told that no one can ask to see the report, civilians, media, politicians, police, nobody. The report is sealed and unavailable to anyone. They were told to forget that they ever made the report.
Some real men in black shit.
I told them that we might be walking into people that could kill at distance in a way that no bulletproof vest could stop. I admitted that I had no fucking clue what they might be able to do. I asked them what they would do if they were outgunned in a normal investigation.
They said they’d call for back-up. At first I thought I had no back-up.
Maybe I do.
