Page 38 of Under Your Scars
Hacking isn't as easy as the movies make it seem, but the MCPD firewall is made of popsicle sticks and hot glue. Not surprising, considering everyone in Meridian City hates the local police department and they haven’t had decent funding since Christian Reeves pulled his yearly billion-dollar donations to the department over a decade ago.
I click through the poorly scanned records and begin to dig through pages and pages of seemingly useless evidence logs before finding the actual narrative.
As expected, all the names are redacted, but it doesn’t stop me from reading through the entries and taking meticulous notes as I do.
On August 15,1989,I,Officer Harold Fischer,reported to the lobby of the Meridian City Police Department to take a harassment report.
Diana Louise Young,date of birth 12/17/1960 explained that soon after starting a new job,the owner,[REDACTED],began making unwanted advances towards her.She described the first few conversations they had as typical of an employer-employee relationship.They would exchange small talk and he would often bring her coffee before going to his office.As the receptionist in the lobby,they crossed paths often.
[REDACTED] extended a dinner invitation to her.She politely declined,stating to him that she is happily married with two young children,and reminded [REDACTED] that he has a wife and six-year-old son.
Mrs.Young claims that he handled this initial rejection well,and she blew it off.Several weeks passed,and [REDACTED] began to extend dinner invitations again,sometimes multiple a day.She declined all of them,once again reminding him that she is happily married and committed to her family and advised him that he should focus on his wife and son.
Mrs.Young claims the invitations turned into lavish gifts,including flowers,jewelry,and presented me with statements that show her bills had been paid in several yearly sums,totaling several hundred thousand dollars.Mrs.Young made a report to the company’s HR department.She was told that an investigation would be conducted.Three days after making the report,she was informed that the investigation was closed,and that no inappropriate behavior was found.She was given a written reprimand for making a false report.
I assured Mrs.Young we would investigate the matter and advised her to report any more harassment to us.I provided her with my business card.
On August 20,1989,I,Officer Harold Fischer,responded to a 911 call at the Young residence.Mrs.Young states that [REDACTED] showed up unannounced and uninvited to her doorstep demanding to be let in.She refused,and she claims he grabbed her by the wrist so hard it caused her immense pain.I observed several bruises consistent with fingerprints around her right wrist.
I interviewed [REDACTED] and asked him for his side of the story.He admits that he was at the residence,but denies grabbing Mrs.Young.He claims she was shocked to see him at her doorstep and was so ‘frazzled’ that she tripped on the doorframe and fell,so he caught her by the wrist.I informed him that his story was not consistent with her injuries and placed him under arrest for Misdemeanor Assault.While booking him into the Meridian City Jail for overnight processing,I filled out a request for the arraignment judge to issue a temporary no-contact order on behalf of Mrs.Young.
I informed Mrs.Young about the arrest.She advised that she told her husband,Elliot Young,about the situation,and he had some questions about the investigation.I told her he is free to call me when he is able.Mr.Young is in the United States Army and currently deployed in Korea,so I will not be interviewing him at this time.
17 hours after [REDACTED] was taken into custody,Judge Willis,who handles arraignments,dropped the misdemeanor charge and denied the no-contact order on the grounds of insufficient evidence.I informed Mrs.Young of the outcome.I later received a call from Mr.Young,who was infuriated at the outcome of the arraignment hearing.I informed him that the charges were dropped at the judge’s discretion and there was nothing I could do except wait for further evidence.
I received a records request from [REDACTED],who states in her request that she would like the entire investigative file for this matter as her husband intends to open a defamation lawsuit against Mrs.Young.I informed her that we do not release records of ongoing investigations,and that she would need a subpoena to obtain them.
Subpoena received in the matter of [REDACTED] v.Diana Louise Young.Investigative file produced to Plaintiff’s attorneys.
On August 26,1989,I,Officer Harold Fischer,responded to a 911 call at the Young residence.Dispatchers informed me that Mrs.Young called the emergency line screaming for help,and they heard several gunshots in the background.Five units responded to the residence,where Mrs.Young was found face-down in the kitchen.She had three gunshot wounds in her chest and no pulse.Officers checked the rest of the house and found Lisa and Mary Young,both age 6,with gunshot wounds in their chests and unresponsive.All three were pronounced dead at the scene.
I made an emergency call to the American Red Cross who assisted in informing Elliot Young about the deaths of his wife and children.
[REDACTED],when interviewed,admitted to the murder of Diana,Lisa,and Mary Young.He was taken into custody on three counts of first-degree murder.
Under advice of the county attorney,Judge Willis,and my superiors,this investigation has been changed from confidential to highly classified.Due to the sensitive nature of this crime and the high-profile suspect,an emergency meeting of the Grand Jury was called,and the jury found insufficient evidence to indict [REDACTED].The charges were dropped,and this case is now closed.
I set the laptop to the side and scan over my notes, tapping my pen to my temple. It’s not going to be easy to unravel this mystery that’s haunted the Young family for Elena’s entire life.
What I do have is a year, and Diana’s full name and date of birth. The police report mentions that this all went down in August of 1989, and that whoever her stalker was, he had a six-year-old child. Perhaps I can cash in some favors and gain access to confidential police and court records from that time, and then if all the stars align, maybe find out the name of her murderer.
The police report mentions he was a high-profile business owner, and there weren’t many of those in Meridian City in 1989. There are a few old money families that inhabited the island before Thomas Reeves made it the center of his empire, so maybe those names are a better place to start.
Of course, the easiest way to get the name of the man who murdered Diana Young is to simply ask Elliot himself, but he sure as hell isn’t going to divulge the name of the man who haunts his nightmares to the man that haunts Elena’s.
I’d bet my life that he knows the person who did this.
I’d also bet my life he took his own revenge.
I understand now why Elena is so afraid of me. She’s worried about history repeating itself. She’s worried that I’m one of those stalkers that will eventually grow to resent her for not loving me back and then ultimately kill her, but it’s not like that. It’s not like that at all.
I’m different.
I’m in control.
Maybe not when it comes to my murderous impulses, but I’m in control when it comes to loving her. I’m in control when it comes to keeping her safe.
Though the Youngs have a history of stalkers, I’m not in this because I have some indescribable obsession with Elena.
