Chapter 12: A masked identity

Cassidy's cells all over her body felt alert as she locked Principal Wheeler in a holding cell at the station. Aaron was still sitting in the hallway silently.No one could really tell what was going on in his mind. With Wheeler locked behind bars, Cassie had a lot of question surging through her mind. The more she thought that she was solving the mysteries around the death cases and disapperances,the more Gracetown pulled her into it's darkness.

After locking Wheeler up, Cassie returned into her office. In as much as she was adamant in finding the truth,she couldn't tie her head around Wheeler's cryptic warnings and Aaron suddenly becoming her ally,the whole occurences were quite disorienting.

"Sheriff, what is your next plan?"

She almost jumped up with fright,only to see Aaron leaning on the door frame,with his gaze on her.

She tilted her head towards him and their gaze met. Cassie could see a mixture of anxiety and curiosity in his eyes.

"The answer to that depends on why you are asking. And i don't know why you are suddenly interested in incriminating Wheeler."

Aaron smirked but hesitated first before answering right away, his gaze was directed towards the corner, as if he was looking for an answer there. He then responded slowly and carefully.

"Let's just say that our perspectives on family values contradict."

"And may i ask what you mean by that?"Cassie asked raising her eyebrows.

His expression softened. His intimidaring aura and unwavering confidence evaporated. Cassie closely studied him. She saw something unusual in his expression, a state of vulnerability in him,which was surging it's way to the surface, but he couldn't let her see him like that, so he immediately switched off his emotions. He shook his head

"I'll leave you to continue with your investigations, Sheriff." He then turned and left.

********************************************

The next day, Cassidy was in her office trying to put together the small pieces of the case- The missing girls,Wheeler experiments. Whatever was going,she knew for a fact it was much deeper and darker than she'd ever imagine.And everytime she thought she was having a breakthrought in the case, then it would slip right through her fingers.

At midday, Logan bursted into her office with a worried look on his face.

"Cassidy, you need to hear this. It was reported that the other missing girl-sophie, saw someone lurking by her window before her disapperance. And the person is not Wheeler. The report says that the person had a scar on his cheek."

Cassidy's mind started racing. The description fitted the man he met at 457 Willow Lane—the man who was telling her about "sacrifices" and experiments. She knew that the man had to be a significant piece in the puzzle, but she also knew how elusive he was.

"According to the reports,where was he last seen?" Cassidy asked with a hard tone.

"In the outskirts of town,near an old train. The place has been deserted for years,and the locals say that no one goes there." Logan's face was filled with dread.

Cassie grabbed her gear and waved at Logan to follow him. They arrived at the train yard when the sun was almost setting, the darkness that was starting to settle in made the place even more scarier.

The buildings were sapless, their window tattered,and walls were covered in slopy and careless writings that were close to a graffiti. They cautiously moved across the deserted yard. The night was still,silence was suffocating, Cassie's flashlight pierced through the darkness,each creak and rattle crippling every part of her body with fear.

As they approached an old maintenance shed, Cassidy saw a dim light inside the shed. She signalled Logan as they moved towards it slowly.

Inside the building, they were met with a big surprise. The sight was disturbing. The walls were filled with photographs of all the missing girls spread across the walls to the furthest end. Beneath each photo was a scribbled note about their; habits,places of frequent appearances,their whereabouts before their disappearance. Every details of their lives. The scene was fazing.

Cassidy's stomach churned after seeing her photograph placed at the center of the other photographs. There were disturbing notes around it,but the eye-catching word was "TARGET" which was written in bold letters.

Cassie heard a rattling sound behind the piled crates,she flickered her torch and the light caught a fast- darting shadow.

"Reveal your face!" she shouted, pointing her gun towards the direction that the noise came from.

The figure came out with a raised hand—a familiar face. Aaron Langston! He had a calm demeanor,almost as if he was expecting her to show up there.

"I guess showing up where you are not expected is one of your hobbies, Aaron." She said mockingly. "And may i know what you are doing here."

"Take it easy, Sheriff," he replied in a smooth voice. "Just like you,i'm here looking for anwers."

Logan's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Answers you say? I thought you were also a part of this mess?"

Aaron's grin evaporated, and was replaced by a heightened gaze fixed on Cassie. He shrugged Logan.

"I happen to know the person who put those pictures on the wall. It is the man with a scar on his cheek. He has been using his influence for a while now, Sheriff, and Wheeler is just a puppet to him."

"And why are you telling me this now?" Cassie lowered the gun,with her guard still hanging high like a cliff.

"Because you've already been involved deeply to the point of 'no backing out."

Aaron pointed towards a photo amongst the many. That particular one had a group of men in it,they appeared to be in a formal ceremony,and they were shaking hands. Cassie immediately recognized Wheeler among those men,and shockingly,another familiar face; his predecessor. Sheriff Lawson!

"Sheriff Lawson! how is he involved in all these?" She asked with utter disbelief.

"The people involved in keeping this town under control were a protege' of Lawson's protection. I guess that is why vanished into thin air without a trace. The people involved might have realized that he was close to exposing them. So they made sure that he was dealt with,and he never returned." Aaron said in a low voice.

Cassie's heart was pounding fast inside her. It was dawning on her that she didn't know much about Gracetown as she presumed. A tingling fear crept inside her. If Lawson was easily made to vanish because he knew too much,and was close to uncovering the truth, then she was now convinced that she was treading on dangerous grounds.

Suddenly, her antention was caught by an unsteady movement in the corner. Cassidy thrashed at the perfect time and angle,and she came face to face with the man with a scar. The same man he met at 457,Willow lane. just in time to see the man with the scar—the same man from Willow Lane. He watched them with an obvious unsattisfaction, almost clinical interest.

"Sheriff, i didn't expect that you'd find this place so soon." He said with a calm but cold voice

"Who are you?" Cassidy asked him in a demanding. Only a keen person would notice that she was really shaken.

He twisted his lips as a sinister smile formed on them.

"That's not important,let's just say that i'm here to ensure that the people of Gracetown are...tractable."

"Tractable? And by keeping them tractable,you mean abducting girls,maiming them and terrorizing families?" Cassidy's voice was filled with rage.

The man's eyes became darker. You don't understand,don't you? I already told you that Grace town is a 'living' experiment. Each of the residents here have roles to play,and each sacrifice made is to the benefit of all."

Cassidy anger surged,she clenched her hands into a fist,and stepped closer to him.

"You people are sick. People are not experiments,and as long as i am around, i won't let you continue playing those twisted games on innocent people."

To her surprise,the man did not react as she thought he would. His expression became soft,and he looked at her with pity.

"In as much as you hate to admit, you are alone in this,sheriff. You can't trust the ones that you think are close to you."

He then stepped back into the darkness and vanished into thin air,leaving Cassidy standing there speechless. Cassidy stood there with many questions racing through her mind,she felt a shred of doubt cutting through her. She then turned to Aaron,who was equally dumbfounded by what the man said.

"Is he telling the truth?" she asked with a slight noticeable tremor in her voice.

Aaron's gaze was unclear, his face was a mask of emotion.

"Can't tell, Sheriff. But from all these, one thing is apparent;Gracetown has many more twists than either of us knew."

Cassie felt like each passing day,she was met with a new suprise. She could not even figure out the direction to take with the case. It felt like dodging time-ticking bomb from all corners with no shield. She was still hell-bent on uncovering the truth. The challenges hardened her resolve.

As they walked out of the shed, she asked herself how many residents of Gracetown were a part of thr sk called 'experiment' and to what lengths were they willing to go, to protect their secrets."