Red Herring ✔️

63. The Desolate Dark of Night

3 Hours to Midnight

The trembling in her hands failed to abate no matter how long she drove with the heat blasting on her body and the steering wheel heater on high. That's why Mazie's unsteady grip slipped several times on the front door to the police department before she collected enough strength to pry the door open wide enough to squeeze through.

No one sat behind the front desk which nearly sent her into a frenzy. "Hello? Helloooo! Is anyone there?"

Her boots screeched across the white linoleum floor, tracking clumps of dirt inside. She banged her fist desperately on the counter, hoping someone would appear by magic. A corridor extended on both the left and the right with no clear signs or markings as to their end destinations.

"Hello! Hello? This is an emergency!"

No one answered.

Mazie glanced frantically down both hallways, hair swishing back and forth around her face. Her braids fell out in a tangled mess, clumped together with dried strings of mud and debris. She smelled like wet metallic earth and probably looked like she crawled out of the grave herself.

"Hello!" She called one last time, her fraught voice bouncing off of the bare cement block walls. When no one answered, Mazie feverishly sprinted down the hall to her left, knowing eventually she would find someone somewhere. Her frenzied footsteps echoed in the enclosed space around her.

"Hey!" A cautious loud voice signaled for her to halt.

"Oh, thank God!" Retracing her steps back to the foyer, Mazie swiped her hair out of her face. She approached a middle aged bald black police officer in his black and blue uniform. His eyes curiously appraised her. Her lack of physical decorum was evident by his facial features. "I need help!"

The officer met her halfway, laying a heavy palm on her shoulder. "Slow down. Take a breath. You're okay now. Are you hurt?"

Nerves still bouncing around at light speed, Mazie swatted his hand away and pointed to the entrance. "We have to go. This is an emergency!" She sucked in a deep breath to level herself. "Have two teens been here? Lonny Harrison and Ailene Woods?"

The officer mulled over his response, deciding on the best course of action. "I don't know. I just got here. Why are you looking for them?"

"Because there is an emergency! I told you!" Mazie screamed.

Instead of responding, the officer lifted the radio on his shoulder to his mouth. "Anyone seen or heard from two teens? Lonny Harrison or Ailene Woods?"

While they waited for a response, Mazie impatiently tapped her foot on the ground. "Is there someone here who has overseen Meredith McCormick's case?"

Her expertly school his features but she noted the glint of surprised intrigue in his eyes. The gaze he kept glued to her briefly dropped to his watch. "Little late. But it's possible. Is that what this is about?" He controlled the deep baritone of his voice to attempt to keep her cool. His relaxed demeanor was like kerosene on a forest fire - worse than useless.

The officer held up a hand to quiet her when someone spoke through his radio. "If you mean at the station, it's been oddly quiet. You coming back from patrol, Ryan?"

"Yep," Officer Ryan responded into his radio. "Got a...young woman down here asking after Harding's case."

"What about Harding's case?" asked the man in relaxed professional attire who emerged from the locked doors on Mazie's left. He was handsome if a bit pretty boy charming. Younger than she anticipated for this Harding person.