Page 74 of The Instruments of Darkness

“My name is Detective Sharon Macy. This investigation involves the efforts of multiple branches of law enforcement across the state and beyond its borders. I’m the acting liaison officer between the Portland and South Portland PDs, but I also have experience coordinating multiagency operations in the state. I try to smooth the way when I can.”

Sullivan didn’t look any happier at Macy’s intervention. Sabine wondered if he didn’t like women very much. He opened his mouth to regain control of proceedings, but Sabine continued to address herself to Macy, as much to annoy Sullivan as anything else.

“I try to smooth the way, too,” said Sabine, “so we have that much in common. And I’m not interested in any reward money, if that’s what you’re worried about. I don’t need seventy-five thousand dollars. I already have enough to get by.”

“How do you earn a living,” said Macy, “if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I channel the numbers for the state lottery. I stick with Pick 3, though, so as not to draw attention. On straights and box three-ways, I can usually clear six hundred a week, give or take.”

There was silence in the interview room. Sabine let it build, then said, “Actually, I work part-time at Muller’s grocery store in Haynesville, which helps pay the bills, but my mom and dad left me with enough investment income to support a frugal lifestyle, and I don’t have a mortgage. You guys. I swear, it’s a wonder nobody has swindled your watches and wallets from you before now.”

But rather than lighten the mood, this turned out to be the final straw for Detective Wilbert Sullivan.

“I don’t have time for this,” he said, and left the room. Cogan and Macy stayed, the latter taking Sullivan’s chair.

“Detective Sullivan hasn’t enjoyed a good night’s sleep since this began,” said Macy. “No one involved in the case has, so patience is at a premium.”

“I think Edie Brook’s parents give her grape juice and a cookie as a treat each afternoon, probably at around four o’clock,” said Sabine. “She prefers Oreos. You might want to check that with them.”

“How do you know this?” asked Cogan.

“Because that’s what I hear her asking for.”

Cogan looked at Macy.

“I’ll do it,” he said.

He went away. Macy didn’t try making small talk, which Sabine appreciated. Cogan returned after about five minutes, nodding once at Macy.

“Is it a trick?” Macy asked Sabine.

“It’s no trick.”

Macy spun her cell phone on the table while she thought. She shared an unspoken exchange with Cogan, who shrugged.

“Okay,” said Macy. “What else can you tell us about her?”

SABINE SPENT TWO DAYS trying to establish a proper line of communication with Edie Brook. It was difficult, more difficult than anything she’d attempted before. Edie was oddly resistant, and the channel between them remained open for only a few minutes each day. Finally, though, Sabine managed to convince her to describe her surroundings, and what she could smell and hear.

She was not blindfolded, Edie informed her, but the man who had taken her wore a wolf mask when he came to bring her meals, or to empty the bucket she used to go to the bathroom. She thought she was in a cellar or basement, with a single small window high up that she couldn’t reach. She could hear vehicles passing, but not people. The man never spoke to her, but neither had he hurt her in any way. She had a TV to watch, and candy and water to consume from an old refrigerator. She heard the man go out once or twice every day, sometimes for long periods. His car made a racket as it drove away.

Cogan and Macy stayed in touch with Sabine throughout. Slowly, Edie Brook was opening up to Sabine, although she remained reluctant to engage for any length of time. Edie was, in most senses, a blank slate. Macy asked Sabine to find out from Edie what news channel she could see on the TV, and Edie told her it was WLBZ, which was the state’s central and northern NBC affiliate. If Sabine really was in touch with Edie, she was being held somewhere in the top half of the state. It wasn’t much to go on, but it was a start.

On the fourth day, Edie told Sabine that if she moved the refrigerator and climbed on top, she thought she might be able to see out the window. The refrigerator was heavy, she said, but if she put all her weight against one side, she could shift it a fraction. It was tough work, though, and any movement made a noise on the floor. Sabine advised her to wait until the man left before making a big effort.

Edie moved the refrigerator. Using the interior shelves, she managed to climb up and peer out the window. She could see a sign, she said, black on white, just above some trees. The sign read PATTEN. Patten was a small town in Penobscot County, at the intersections of Route 11 and State Route 159, which fit with the TV receiving WLBZ. By this time Cogan and Macy—Macy in particular—had invested a lot of faith in Sabine. They wanted to believe her.

The focus of the investigation shifted to Patten, although the source of the information—the noted medium Sabine Drew—was not revealed. Law enforcement personnel descended on the town, quickly followed by a media pack. Houses and properties were searched both inside and beyond the town line. Cogan and Macy encouraged Sabine to reach out again to Edie and ask her if there was anything else, anything at all, she had seen that might help to narrow the search. But Edie Brook had gone silent.

“Is she dead?” asked Macy.

“I don’t know,” said Sabine. “I can’t find her. It’s almost as though—”

She stopped. She didn’t want to say it.

“What?” said Macy.

But Sabine could not be dishonest with her.

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