MidReal Story
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Chapter One
Emily
I carried the last of my books to my car and glanced at the clock. I was late to work again, but it couldn’t be helped. These books were important. They were my only link to my past. And reading them, looking at the pictures, helped me remember who I was. What I was.
Before I became a journalist, before I came to Twin Lakes, I was someone else entirely.
And as much as I loved my life here, I couldn’t help but wonder about that other life sometimes. Especially lately. The dreams had returned, and with them, the memories. Only they were still disjointed. Like puzzle pieces that didn’t quite fit together. I’d been having them for months now, ever since I’d come to Twin Lakes.
I got into my car and set the books next to me on the passenger seat, then started the engine and headed out of the parking lot. As I drove along the streets of Twin Lakes, I couldn’t help but be struck by how different it was from the city where I’d grown up. It was smaller, for one thing, and more picturesque. Almost like a town you’d see in a movie. It was beautiful in its own way, with its historic buildings lining the streets and the trees that lined the sidewalks.
But there was something else about this place. A sense of darkness that weighed on me like a shroud. I wasn’t sure what it was. Or if it was just my imagination and paranoia getting the better of me.
I shook it off and pushed the thought out of my mind as I pulled into the parking lot of the newspaper where I worked. The Twin Lakes Times had been my home for two years now, ever since I’d moved here after getting a job as a reporter.
I walked through the doors and into the offices of the newspaper, a sense of excitement warming me as I did so. I loved my job. I loved being a journalist, and it was something that had come naturally to me ever since I’d started writing for my high school newspaper.
“Parker!” My boss’s voice made me jump, and I looked up at him like a deer caught in headlights.
“Sorry,” I said. “I’m late.”
“Again,” he said with a frown.
“I know,” I said. “I got caught up reading some books and lost track of time.”
“Reading?” He frowned at me.
“Yeah,” I said. “I got some new books in today that I ordered.”
“Books on what?”
“The missing persons cases,” I said.
“Ah,” he said. “Anything interesting?”
“Maybe,” I said with a shrug. “I’ll let you know.”
He nodded and headed back into his office, and I went to my desk and settled down to work.
Over the past six months or so, there had been a rash of missing persons cases in Twin Lakes. The police had been unable to solve any of them, and until recently, there had been no leads whatsoever.
But that had all changed with the most recent disappearance, when they’d found a note left behind at one of the crime scenes. It was unsigned, but it gave enough information that they were able to get an idea of who might be behind the disappearances.
It also gave them a deadline. The note said they would kill again in seven days if their demands were not met.
They still weren’t sure what those demands were, but they were working on it. And in the meantime, they were doing everything they could to find whoever was behind these disappearances before another person went missing.
I was working on a follow-up article on the latest disappearance, trying to see if there was anything I could find that might give me a clue as to who might be behind them, when my phone rang. I picked it up and answered.
“Parker,” I said.
“Ms.
Parker?”
a man’s voice said on the other end of the line.
“Yes,” I said.
“This is Detective James Black.”
My heart leaped into my throat at the sound of his name.
I hadn’t heard from him in years, and I certainly hadn’t expected to hear from him now.
“What can I do for you, Detective?”
I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
“I was wondering if you might have some time to come down to the station and talk to me,” he said.
“There are some things I’d like to go over with you.”
“Like what?”
I asked, trying not to sound too eager.
“I’d rather not discuss it over the phone,” he said.
“I think it would be better if we talked in person.”
“I see,” I said, trying not to let my disappointment show.
“Is there a problem?”
he asked.
“No,” I said quickly.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Good,” he said.
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
I hung up the phone and stared at it for a long moment, my mind racing.
Why was James calling me now, out of the blue, after all these years?
And what did he want to talk to me about?
I had so many questions, but no answers.
I had no idea what he wanted, or why he’d called me after all this time.
The only thing I was sure about was that I was going to find out.
After finishing up that article and sending it off to my boss, I grabbed my coat and headed out the door.
It was a cold day in Twin Lakes, and I shivered as soon as I stepped outside.
But I wasn’t going to let a little thing like the weather stop me from finding out what James wanted.
I got into my car and started driving toward the police station, my mind still racing with questions.
What could he possibly want to talk to me about?
And why now, after so many years of silence?
The two of us had gone our separate ways after college, and as far as I knew, there hadn’t been any reason for us to talk since then.
Like me, James had been a journalist in Twin Lakes.
He’d also worked for the same newspaper I did now, before leaving to join the police force.
I’d been sorry to see him go, but I’d also been happy for him.
He’d always seemed more interested in the criminal justice side of things than in journalism.
I’d never understood why he’d chosen to be a journalist if that was the case.
But I’d never asked him about it, either.
I could have sworn we’d parted on good terms when he left.
So why was he calling me now?
Whatever it was that he wanted to talk to me about, I was going to find out.
And once I did, I was going to get to the bottom of it, no matter what it took.
Chapter 4
I parked my car in the parking lot outside the police station and got out.
It was dark already, and the lights inside were lit up like a Christmas tree.
