Dick Cabesa and the Missing Dame

The year is 2019. Small towns are a thing of the past, part of a bygone era when life was simpler. I never thought I’d find myself in a place like Mayberry, a town out of time. There are no computers here, no cell reception, and only one car on the road, my old beat up Chevy. My name is Dick Cabesa. I got a call about a week ago about a missing woman. I’ve been a P.I. for a good many years now and I’m pretty good at what I do but this case has me stumped before I’ve started. There’s not much information on this little town and even less on the missing dame.

           21 Baker Street, I drift to a slow stop in front of a modest suburban home. As I step out onto the sidewalk I take in the details of the house. The white paint of the wooden siding falls off in flakes here and there. A short path of slate stepping stones lead to the four steps of the front porch which extends to either side of the house. A creeper vine has made its way up the right side of the porch to tap at the glass of a second story window.

           As I take the first step onto the porch, the front door slowly swings open. “Hello young man.” She looks to be about 75. Dressed in a simple floral print sundress and small white apron, she has tan wrinkled skin, thin lips pulled tight in a warm smile, a single braid of long silver hair tossed over her left shoulder and striking blue eyes.

           “Good afternoon ma’am,” I greet her politely, “My name is Dick Cabesa, private eye.” I place my right hand on my chest and bow my head slightly. “You must be Mrs. Miller.” She opens the door wide and gestures with her right hand, “Please come inside Mr. Cabesa. I’m so glad you came.”

Inside there are two floral print armchairs and a love-seat of the same design positioned on either side of a wooden framed coffee table with an etched glass center. The mantle of the small fireplace holds a few family photos and knickknacks. “Would you care for some tea Mr. Cabesa?” she pulls me out of my contemplations.

           “No thank you Ma’am. I noticed a diner on my way into town earlier and was planning on visiting later to ask around about Ms. Bloom.”

           “Oh Mary!” she let out a weak, almost sighed, exclamation. “Please sit Mr. Cabesa.” She gestured to the armchairs as she sat on the couch adjacent. “As I told you over the phone, she has been missing for quite some time.” She idly fingers her apron as she gives me a far off look. It’s as if she is seeing something else now, another time and place. “Mary was such a sweet girl. She lived over on Drury lane just a few blocks over. She used to come and bring me sweets and spend time with me on Sundays after church. Oh, what a lovely girl.”

           As I sit I rest my hat on the side table next to the armchair and take my notebook from my coat along with a pen, “Mrs Miller, any information you can give me about Ms Bloom will be very appreciated as it will make my work easier. So please, tell me, when was the last time you saw her?” I stare at her with interrogation in my eyes and with a flick of my pen I get ready to start noting down the essentials.

           “Maybe a week ago or so. After that she stopped coming by and I knew something was wrong.”

           “If you don’t mind me asking, when is it that Ms Bloom started visiting you?”

           “For some years now, I would say 8 perhaps.”

           “Have you considered that maybe she might be busy?” I try to be polite as I propose this, not just because I’m a gentleman, this lady has already an advanced age, and also because of the circumstances of our encounter and the sensitivity of this topic.

           “I asked around town, she is nowhere to be seen.”

           “And you think she didn’t leave willingly.” I contain myself from making a question out of it, instead of affirming.

           “I’m not certain of what is going on, that is your job inspector. What I know is that such a sweet girl would not disappear like that, even if she was to go away she would at least come to say goodbye.”

           With that last comment from Mrs Miller I can detect bitterness in her tone of voice. Seems like the thought of Ms Bloom just not showing by doesn’t not settle well with the elderly lady. Understanding the cue I stand up and grab my things as I head for the door with one last comment to my client, “If I need anything else from you I will make sure to drop by.”

The drive to the diner is fairly quick, as I step inside the bright diner, the smell of fries hit me immediately. My stomach lets out a low growl in response. I take a seat and get comfortable. A young looking girl wearing a red uniform dress and a name tag appears at my table-side smiling, “Hello, I’m Audrey. How can I help you today?”

           “What is your best dish?”

She lets out a quick laugh, “That would have to be our ‘Ultimate Burger’, it’s got a patty, cheese, onions, bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato, and fries on the side.”

           “Sounds perfect. I’ll have that and a beer on tap, please.”

           “Coming your way.”

           As she turns to leave I interrupt her, “Oh, one more thing,” with her attention back on me I ask, “Is the owner around?” She nods. I ask if I could have a word with him.

           A tall, lean, middle aged man walks this way at a steady place, he introduces himself as Mr Stanley, the owner of the diner, and inquires the reason for the pleasure of the meeting once I introduced myself.

           “First, I apologize for coming by so unexpectedly and having to confront you with this, but I would like to ask you a few questions. I’m investigating the disappearance of Ms Bloom. I was told by Mrs Miller that she was very known around town and that recently she vanished. Could you confirm this?”

           “Yes, that is true. Ms Bloom was a girl full of life and almost everyone knew her, I was acquainted to her because we both attended high school together. I remember a particular event with her, because she was part of the yearbook committee. She managed to not have her picture in because she was self-conscious.”

           Interesting… So, Ms Bloom was actually around, “Do you remember when she went missing?” At that moment Miss Audrey comes to our encounter and places a plate and mug in front of me, “You’re looking for Mary?”

Looking up at her I reply, “I am. Did you know her?”

           “Not personally but I’ve heard about her, everyone has. I heard that she had an abusive boyfriend and he had something to do with her disappearance. She would always wear long sleeves and pants even when it was hot to cover the bruises. I heard that he liked to...”

           “That’s enough gossiping Audrey,” Mr. Stanley interrupts.

           “It’s okay Mr. Stanley,” I regard Audrey, eyes now wide with excitement, “Do you know this man’s name?”

           “Pierce, I think. I’m not sure though.”

           I look back to Mr. Stanley, “What about you? Have you heard anything about Ms. Bloom’s whereabouts or this ‘Pierce’?”

           “I couldn’t possibly help you with that information Sir. I don’t pay enough attention about other peoples’ lives to know what they do and when they do their deeds.”

           “What about other people? Someone must have mentioned something.” To this Mr Stanley nods, and confirms my suspicions, “I believe I first heard people talking about it a few weeks ago, maybe two.”

           “Do you know who else would be able to confirm your story?”

           “Everyone in town, but I believe she was close to the mail man, you might want to have a chat with him.”

           I asked a few more questions, not as important as the first ones for my case, and then he leaves me to enjoy my meal. As soon as I’m done I pay for it, tip my hat in the direction of Miss Audrey as a thank you and head for the post office.

            When I reached the post office and I discussed with the mail man my affairs in town he told me that he remembered Ms Bloom, and so did the owner of the supermarket and the lady from the antique store. However, the town’s mechanic has never heard of such dame; the librarian may have crossed paths with her but they were not close so she did not know much of her whereabouts; the pharmacy owner has heard rumours of the lady’s disappearance but not enough to alarm him; and at last the lady that sells fruit by the market mention that even though she has never seen Ms Bloom she has heard the rumours of her disappearance and that concerned her because she had heard of people being abducted in the newspaper, and her sister, that was assisting her at the market, seemed to remember an abusive boyfriend the girl used to have.

           The mixed opinions and information that was provided can be considered suspicious, at least, for such a small town, they should be more aware of what is going around the place. As much, to be aware of a person going missing, this is where my last source of information comes in play and is the one that interested me the most. What people was she referring to? When were they abducted? Why did no one mention this before, even though I interrogated ten people? And what about this boyfriend?

           The day was long, but not enough for this case. As the sunset is coming to an end the stars and moon are ready to take their place in the night sky. I make my way to the closest and only hotel in Mayberry. The place is pricier than I thought it would be, especially considering that it certainly doesn’t have enough customers and it is its high demand that explains the price. Quality isn’t the reason as the hotel is pretty plain. My room contains a double bed, a wardrobe, and bedside table. The bathroom is down the hall with just a sink, a toilet, and a shower. In any case, I was just planning on staying here for one night. If I have to stay over one more night I might stay in the luxury of my car.

           Tomorrow, in the early morning, I’ll head for the town hall and see the archives. Maybe there I would be able to find some records about Ms Bloom, newspapers about the disappearances that have been occurring, and the reports of those missing people. For now though, I am going to have a good night of sleep to wake up with a clear head.

*

           He makes his way inside the town hall, welcoming the warmth that comes from inside the building as it is a chilly morning. He strides through the place and asks the receptionist about the articles that he needs, she provides him with newspapers, documents, records, and random notes, all dated from 2010 to 2019. He thanks the lady and makes his way to a table. Considering how small the town is and how isolated it is from the world, he is surprised with the amount of paper he got, seems like Mayberry has a lot more to tell than meets the eye.

           Dick Cabesa has been a PI for many years but what he found, after a whole day of searching files, left him stunned. He thought that the newspapers of the missing people would be the outbreak for this story, but he was wrong. As he went through the records of the deceased he found the daughter of Mrs Miller, she had passed way almost 11 years ago. The medical report states that she had a violent death.

           She was found dead in her car off the side of a road. According to the report, the side of her skull was fractured, and she bled to death. A man named Geoffrey Pierce, identified as her boyfriend, found her while out for a walk. He was locked up for 2 years prior for charges of assault and battery, domestic abuse, and resisting arrest. However, he made it out the same year that Mrs. Miller’s daughter was found dead. There were no skid marks leading up to the crash site indicating that she had not applied the brakes. Inspection of the vehicle revealed the brakes to be in working order and very little damage sustained despite impacting on the tree. The medical examiner at the morgue noted that the amount of blood found on the victim’s clothing was much less than what would be expected of a motor vehicle fatality. Further investigation revealed that Mr. Pierce disappeared shortly after. His name couldn’t be found in any property or public records after that date.

           There were more than a couple things fishy about this story. As Cabesa takes it into consideration he comes to the conclusion that this is an unsolved mystery. The lack of documents, the medical and morgue reports contradicting each other, along with the addition of the missing violent boyfriend leads to an unsettling conclusion.

           He makes his way to Mrs Miller’s house and prepares himself as to tell her his verdict: Ms Bloom, also known as the ‘missing’ girl, is just a way of Mrs Miller coping with the death of her daughter.

           The knock on the door is smooth but seems to have echoed around him, Mrs Miller opens the door and urgently guides him inside. They go through the same routine as last time, as she asks him if he would like tea, he refuses, and they sit down while facing each other. She is leaning forward and looks expectantly at him, on the edge of her seat.

           “So, Inspector, what brings you here?”

           “I come here to tell you that I have figured it out.” He clears his throat as he gets ready, “I spent yesterday talking with many town inhabitants inquiring about Ms Bloom’s disappearance. Then today I searched records in the town hall. You see, both the information from the documents that were provided to me as well as the interviews were confusing. No one seemed to know who Ms Bloom really was and the ones that did seemed to be thinking about someone else. There are no records of Ms Bloom anywhere to be found in the town hall. The only person that has gone missing in this town in the past 20 years that fit the description of Ms Bloom is your daughter along with her boyfriend, but as you are well aware your daughter isn’t exactly missing.”

           Confusion is evident in Mrs Miller’s eyes and maybe even a tint of despair, but Cabesa continues, “This case is intriguing because seems like no one has seen Ms Bloom except you, and you started mentioning her around the same time your daughter died. I’m sorry to inform you but I think Ms Bloom is not missing, she is just someone you invented to replace the memory of your daughter and keep her alive.”

           “How dare you?” Confusion and despair long gone from the look in her eyes, instead it is filled with outrage and incredibility, “Ms Bloom is missing, and I assure you that she is real and needs help.”

           “I understand that it might be difficult to accept this but as yo—” His apology is interrupted by the elderly lady.

           “Save your words Mr Cabesa. You’re wrong and I’ll prove it.” With a look of determination, she stands up from the armchair and motions to the door, ‘politely’ inviting him to leave. Before exiting though he leaves a card of good friend and colleague, another inspector, in case she wants to try again with someone else.

Making his way down the road and back home, he can’t help feeling like the small town of Mayberry has secrets of its own. Something weary resides in it, but that might be a case for another time.