“Sure,” Cole griped. “That’s what they want you to believe.”
“And if you paid taxes here, you’d have every reason to complain. Since you don’t, just shut up and let me make my call.”
After a few minutes of choppy conversation over her phone, Paige snapped it shut victoriously. “We’ve got an appointment!” she declared.
“With who?”
“Remember that cop named Stanze? The new girl answering the phones for MEG got a contact number and I finally got a message through to him! We’re set to meet him for lunch. He even said he’d take us around to the spots where those animals were sighted.”
Cole nodded. “I could have gotten the number for you, but whatever. So what do we do until lunch?”
“Let’s worry about getting downtown before you start trying to ration your free time.”
The traffic inched along all the way to Crown Center. It would have taken a row of topless bikini models lining the streets to make it a destination worth the hassle of getting there, but it was a nice place all the same. The buildings along Pershing Road had a futuristic, glassy look to them complete with walkways crossing above the street in several places. Cole couldn’t take in many more sights than that because he had his hands full trying to drive without getting killed. By the time he found a spot to park, he practically had to peel his fingers from the grooves they’d dug into the steering wheel. For someone who’d become accustomed to driving in Chicago, that was saying a lot.
As soon as he turned the engine off, heat seeped into the Cavalier from all sides like an invading army that had been waiting for the right moment to make its big push. “Where to?” he asked.
Since the air conditioner barely managed to turn the air lukewarm, Paige hung her arm out the window. “He said he’d come by to pick us up.” Before long her phone rang. She answered it and immediately perked up. “Officer Stanze? We’re a little early, but we’re here…That’s right. The Cavalier with the Illinois plates…All right. Thanks.” Hanging up, she looked over to Cole and said, “He’s almost here.”
When Cole saw the red and blue lights flashing nearby, he swore under his breath. There were no fire hydrants or important signs nearby, but the police cruiser separated itself from the traffic on Pershing and headed his way.
“Just take it easy,” Paige said as she patted his arm. “If anyone asks, we are not carrying firearms in the glove compartment.”
After pulling to a stop behind the Cav, a policeman who looked to be anywhere in his late twenties to early thirties stepped out. He had the build of a football player and carried enough gear on his belt to make a superhero jealous. Judging by the spotless uniform and friendly smile he wore, one of his powers was immunity to the summer heat. “Is Paige Strobel in that car with you?”
“Yes,” Cole replied.
“I’m Officer Stanze. We spoke on the phone.”
Paige leaned toward the driver side window. “Officer Stanze? That was quick.”
“My shift’s over, so I was just waiting for you to get here.”
“Oh. I was expecting someone a lot more…never mind. I’m Paige.”
“Right. So you two are with the Ectological Group?”
“Yep. I’ve been with MEG for a few years and Cole’s new.”
“Cole, huh?” Stanze asked as he offered his hand. When Cole tried to shake it, Stanze shook his head and asked, “Mind if I see some ID?”
“We don’t carry badges or anything,” Cole said.
Paige took something from her pocket and placed it into Stanze’s hand. It was one of the few business cards she carried around that she hadn’t designed herself. Apparently, MEG offered more benefits than a phone service. “You can call the number on there if you like,” she said. “Just ask for Jarvis.”
Taking the card from her, Stanze examined it for a few seconds and then tucked it into his shirt pocket. “That’s the same number I called when I spotted that UFO a year or so back. Sorry if I seem suspicious, but messy cases attract all sorts of crazies. Not that you or your friend are crazy, but would you mind answering a question for me?”
“Ask away,” Paige said.
“What’s the stick for?”
Cole reflexively glanced toward the spear propped within his reach behind Paige’s seat when she answered, “It’s a divining rod. You can find anything, from spiritual activity to a well, from a hundred yards away.”
“A divining rod, huh?” Stanze said. “Takes all sorts, I guess. That’s Penn Valley Park over there. Some of those strange calls we talked about before came from there. Most of ’em were weird animal sightings, but we haven’t been able to spot anything ourselves. There’s a good amount of nutcases living in that park, so the calls are probably just them trying to get some attention.”
Paige found a notepad somewhere among the garbage on the floor at her feet and flipped it open. “What kind of animals were sighted?” she asked in her best reporter impression.
Stanze glanced toward the park. Only a few trees could be seen from where they were, but he pointed as if the place was laid out in front of him. “Some homeless guy named Alvin swore a giant dog with big teeth ran past him over at the west end of the park. He said it moved like a cougar or some sort of mountain lion, but the animal I found definitely has a snout like a dog.”
“Like one of those pit bulls on the news?” Cole asked.
Shaking his head, Stanze replied, “That’s in North Terrace Park and it’s not a pit bull. My cousin Terry has pit bulls and they’re not as big as the things these people are seeing.”
“You think this is connected to the people that were killed?”
Stanze pulled in a breath and chewed on it for a second. “Hard to say. People tend to get crazy during the summer and this is a hot one. We’ve been establishing a solid presence in the areas where those attacks happened, but haven’t turned up any more bodies than what was on TV.”
“Have you found any suspects?” Paige asked.
“It’s an ongoing investigation,” Stanze replied. “Every-thing I’ve told you has already been released and I can’t say anything more. I can show you where those animal attacks happened, though. You can finish your interview back at the station, where I’m keeping that body, and then we can catch some lunch. How’s that sound?”
Paige flipped her notebook shut and said, “That would be great. I’ll come with you while Cole has a look at this park.”
Glancing down at Cole as if he’d forgotten about him, Stanze grinned and said, “I wouldn’t suggest drinking from any wells you find with that stick.”
“Thanks,” Cole said uneasily. “Should I bother looking for this Alvin guy?”
“Sure. He’s not hard to find. Hangs out in the southeast corner of the park under a little bridge that crosses Penn Valley Drive. Long hair. Approximately a hundred and fifty pounds. Caucasian. Early fifties. Lots of black tattoos on his neck and arms.”
“Black tattoos?” Cole asked.
“That’s right. No real pattern. Just a bunch of lines that’re probably covering a whole lot of needle tracks. He’s not dangerous, though. Just some poor old junkie. You have any trouble, just give us a call.”
“I should be fine.”
“So you’re riding with me, Paige?”
“Sure thing.”
Officer Stanze gave them a curt nod and walked back to his car.
After the policeman moved away from the window, Paige said, “He seems nice. A lot younger than I thought he would be. I know I haven’t slept much, but I don’t look too bad, do I?”
“No,” Cole grunted. “What interview was he talking about?”
“I told him I was coming to interview him for the MEG newsletter,” Paige said as she fussed with a few stray pieces of hair sticking out from the mostly disheveled whole. “He’s a fan, so that worked out really well. I asked him to show us where those people were supposedly attacked by dogs so I can write up a story. It was when you were bitching about the traffic. Check out that park and see what you can find. If there are Half Breeds around, that’s the sort of place they’d make a den.”