Flash Frenzy Round 37: His Sister’s Steps

Submitted for Flash Frenzy Round 37

360 words exclusive of title.

Photo by Ashwin Rao

His Sister’s Steps

“Do you want to go watch the game after work?” asked Phil.

“Sure but I have to stop by the police station first.”

“Police station? Everything OK Eric?”

“Just something I have to take care of every few months. I’ll fill you in when I meet you later.”

At the police station, Eric entered the building from the side entrance. A regular visitor over the last ten years, most of the staff knew him and his story.

“Hi Maggie. Is the Chief around?”

Maggie picked up the telephone and spoke to the Chief. “Eric Morgan’s here. Do you have time to see him?”

Hanging up, she said, “He’ll be right out. Have a seat Eric.”

A large man in his late 50s came through an inner door and walked toward Eric.

“Hi Eric. I am sorry but there isn’t anything to report.

“Have you located everyone that hung out in Peters Woods?”

“No but the trail was cold ten years ago. It was a hangout for teens back than but now they spend all their time in Internet cafés. The cabin at the top of the steps is abandoned and ready to collapse.”

Disappointed, Eric thanked the Chief and left the station.

At the pub, Phil was waiting for Eric. Spotting his friend, Phil waved and Eric joined him at the bar.

“Everything OK?”

“If you are willing to listen, I’ll tell you why I had to go to the police station.”

“When I was born, my sister Krissy was ten years old so there was a big gap in our ages. The summer before she was supposed to start college, I was just a kid. That summer, she started hanging out with a new crowd and their preferred hang out was an old cabin that can be reached by climbing the old steps in Peters Woods.

“I know them. I always thought that place a bit creepy.”

One Friday night she didn’t come home and the police found no clues and it is still a cold case today.

“Do you have any of your own theories?”

“I do. Do you want to climb those steps with me this Saturday?