Mystery at Devil's Elbow

“I want to thank all of you for meeting with me again to let me know how your search went,” said Tammy. They met at the sandwich shop at Devil’s Elbow when it opened at 11:00 AM. It was an old Route 66 restaurant and still had the red and white checkered table clothes, jukebox, and counter with stools for customers in a hurry. They sat in a large booth in the corner where they planned to discuss Bigfoot.

“Glad to do it,” said Sonny.

“Me too,” said Casey.

“Casey, can you give our readers an update on what you’ve found?”

“Certainly. I’ve been searching each night. I’ve recorded what I believe are vocalizations from Bigfoot. I also recorded tree knocks each night. The area around here is just what a Bigfoot needs to survive.”

“Thank you.”

“I too have been searching every night. I’ve found one footprint which I have here. I also took a picture of it for you,” said Gunner, handing her a photograph

Gunner held up a large oval piece of plaster that had a significant footprint in it for all to see. He then set it on the table. The print looked like a human footprint of a bare foot, but it was huge. Gunner then held up a dark, grainy picture for them to see and set it next to the plaster casting of the footprint. Trees could be seen in the photo with the footprint in the dirt.

“That’s amazing.”

“I also recorded what I believe were vocalizations and noted tree knocks,” said Gunner.

“Me too,” Sonny said. “Two nights ago, I saw a strange sight. It was two people on a hill near the Devil’s Elbow Bridge. You could see them against the moonlight, and I watched as light covered the people from above. Just as the people started to elevate, the light went out. One of the people was much taller than the other. I think one was a Bigfoot. It was very tall,” said Sonny.

“Did you get a picture of that?”

“I certainly did. I have a print here for you,” said Sonny.

The photo was grainy and showed what could be people against the moonlight. Sonny smiled. Tammy, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure.

“The photo is awfully grainy.”

“It was taken at night from a great distance,” said Sonny.

“Still, it doesn’t absolutely show what you described.”

“I think it does,” said Casey.

“Me too,” said Gunner.

“Yeah, I guess if you look closely enough I see what you mean.”

Tammy thanked everyone and got releases to show the photos in her next story. Outside the sandwich shop was a crowd of tourists anxious to speak to the Bigfoot Hunters. They went outside and sat at a picnic table and talked with the people and showed them their evidence. The people gathered for the chance to see the Bigfoot print and were very interested in the stories. Several television news reporters were getting stories from the hunters too. The camping area had become somewhat of a carnival.

Tammy rushed her evidence back to the paper, where she walked over to Basil’s office.

“Basil, do you have a few minutes?” asked Tammy.

“Sure, come on in,” said Basil.

Tammy sat down. “I got a wrap from the Bigfoot Hunters and two pictures I’d like your opinion on.”

“Okay, lemme see em.”

Tammy handed him the first photo. “This is supposed to show a Bigfoot footprint by a large tree.”

“This picture could be anything.”

“That’s what I thought, but the Bigfoot Hunter swears it’s a Bigfoot print.”

Basil pushed a button on the intercom. “Send Eddie from printing up here.”

Eddie was there in five minutes. He was a young, poorly dressed man with thick glasses, but he was an expert at cleaning up photographs.

“Eddie, look at this and see if you can do something with it,” said Basil.

“Got it,” said Eddie.

“The second picture is even weirder. This one supposedly shows two people backdropped by the moon being picked up into the air by a light. The taller is supposed to be a Bigfoot,” said Tammy.

Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Wow, that’s quite a story for a picture that shows nothing but two figures against the moonlight.”

“Casey Benson, a Bigfoot Hunter, pointed out how tall the person on the left is compared to the person on the right.”

“What if the person on the right is a child?”

“I thought of that, too.”

“Here, Eddie, this one too, see what you can do.”

“Got it,” said Eddie.

“If you want to use them, Tammy, we can say that the Bigfoot Hunters claim the photos shows such and such and leave it up to the reader to decide.”

“Sounds good,” Tammy said. “I better get back to work on the story, and lemme know what you think, Eddie.”

Eddie, engrossed in the photographs, didn’t say a word as he walked out of the office with Tammy. He nearly ran into a desk in route to the hallway.

Just as Tammy reached her desk, she heard the phone.

“Tammy, this is Rodney.”

“What’s up, Rodney?”

“You know I normally wouldn’t call you on police business, don’t you?”

“I know that.”

“There was a little girl that went missing last night. We found her, but her hair had white streaks, her eyes changed from brown to blue, and you can see the veins near the surface her skin. People need to know so I thought I’d call you.”

“Wait, what?”

He slowed down just a tad. “There was a girl that went missing yesterday, and when we found her, she was physically changed.”

“What’s her name?”

“Lisa Fisher. She was one of the girls that saw the Bigfoot also. She just happens to be the girl that found the skeletons too.”

“Oh my, she’s at the center of it all?”

“She’s only 12 years old.”

“Don’t tell anybody I told you this, or I’ll lose my job. But this scares the crap out of me.”

“Your secret’s safe with me. I can say it came from an anonymous source. Thanks for calling.”

“Just don’t tell anyone it was me.”

As soon as Tammy hung up the phone, she connected to Basil’s line.

“Basil here.”

“Boss, I just got the scoop from a police source that a girl named Lisa Fisher, 12 years old, is behind the sighting of the Bigfoot and the location of the graves. Now she’s in the hospital after being missing for several hours. Her physical appearance was changed significantly when they found her.”

“If this is true, Tammy, this could be the story of a lifetime.”

“That’s what I thought, too. I better get back to it. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Go get ’em.”

Special Agent Cooper was receiving a fax at the sheriff’s office. He stood by Maxine and was thumbing through the pages as they came in from St. Louis. It was the report on the missing woman in Devil’s Elbow, with an attempt to cross-reference them to the skeletons. Once all the pages were in, Cooper sat at his desk to review them.

The FBI came to similar conclusions as the coroner and the anthropology team. The skeletons were from women who had been reported missing around the age of 20 and had been buried after their death with a range from 40 to 65 years old.

He read that there was a lower probability for skeletons five and six being the persons they assumed, due to the skeletons being incomplete. Although this was useful information, it didn’t help him find Victoria Abney. He needed to meet with Sheriff Cooper and Doctor Bennett to go over the results.

An hour later, Cooper was sitting with both men in the sheriff’s office.

“Thanks to you both for meeting with me on such short notice,” said Cooper.

Doctor Bennett was all smiles. “I wouldn’t miss this information for the world.”

JD wore a straight face, “I hope it tells us something.”

“Here’s a copy for each of you. Take a minute and look it over before we discuss it.”

Bennett and JD thumbed through the pages before Cooper spoke again.

“The report agrees with your findings, Doctor Bennett, as well as the results of the anthropology team.

“Yes, I can see that,” said Doctor Bennett.

“The FBI did note that skeleton number five may be Mary Gibson. This is a person you don’t have a record of because her missing person report was misfiled at the Phelps County Sheriff’s Office. The chart shows her information. She was not from here but worked here. As you know we couldn’t locate all her skeleton,” said Cooper.

“So, she is the first not to be from here,” said Doctor Bennett.

“Does that matter, doctor?” asked JD.

“Not sure, but it’s different than the rest,” said Doctor Bennett.

“This next one is different too,” said Cooper. “There is a likelihood that skeleton belongs to Jane Goodwill. Her situation is like Mary Gibson’s. Wasn’t from here, but worked here. Her chances are also reduced because part of the skeleton was missing.”

“This covers a little over 70 years,” said JD.

“It sure does.”

“I don’t see how any of this helps us find Victoria Abney,” said JD.

“I agree, Sheriff. I don’t think it helps at all.”

“I disagree, gentlemen. I believe Miss Abney is just the latest in a string of missing woman we’ve listed on this worksheet,” said Doctor Bennett.

“Why?” asked Cooper.

“Gut feeling,” said Doctor Bennett.

“What do you mean, doctor?” asked JD.

“I mean this is much bigger than us. We may never put all the pieces together,” said Doctor Bennett.

“That means we’ll never solve these crimes,” said JD.

“What crimes?” asked Doctor Bennett.

“The doctor’s right. As of now, none of the women you found as skeletons can be called a crime,” said Cooper.

“But we don’t know about Victoria Abney yet,” said JD.

“No, we don’t know for sure. It’s likely her fate will be the same as the previous girls,” said Doctor Bennett.

“I can’t accept that, doctor,” said Cooper.

Doctor Bennett sat silent for a few moments and brushed his hand through his hair. “You don’t have to accept it for it to be true.”