Free Hybrid by Greg Ballan Page A

introduced them to Steve. Alissa continued to stare as everyone seated themselves around his overcrowded office. Erik walked over to Alissa and gestured for her to follow him out to the hall.
    “Quite a crowd,” he began.
    “Really!” the young girl agreed, nodding her head and looking up at him.
    “Can you take an order for me?” he asked.
    Alissa nodded and smiled. Erik ordered three pots of coffee, an assorted cold-cut platter, some sliced pickles, and an assortment of dessert pastries. He gave the young girl a hundred-dollar bill and told her to keep the change. Her big smile was appreciated, as was all of her service when Erik had guests.
    When Erik returned to his office, he noticed that there was a flurry of activity. The three detectives were busily talking with Steve, while the Reynolds talked to their attorney, the man in the poorly fitted suit. He walked back over to his seat and everyone ceased their activity.
    “Thanks for coming, everyone,” Erik began. “I spent several hours combing the park area, but like my colleagues in the police force, was unable to uncover anything. So, I played a hunch, if you will, and I found these.” Erik produced his findings and slid them on the table toward the Reynolds. “Do you recognize the contents of this bag, Mrs. Reynolds?”
    Both Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds stared at the buttons and tattered cloth. The woman intently focused on the objects and then began to weep.
    Mr. Reynolds held his wife, whispering small words of comfort. He looked over at the other men. “Those buttons came from my daughter's shirt,” he answered, barely suppressing his sob.
    “Are you sure?” Erik gently pushed.
    “Yes. I bought her that shirt only a week ago. She loved the shiny silver buttons because of the red hearts embedded in each one. Where did you find them?”
    “I found them outside the town forest,” Erik answered as he took the bag from Mr. Reynolds and handed it over to the detectives to examine. Each investigator examined the evidence, and then the last of them handed it over to Steve.
    “Officer Forrest will catalogue this evidence and submit it for analysis,” Erik muttered as he tried to filter out the poor woman's cries of despair.
    “We'd like to get a copy of the report as soon as possible,” one of the investigators said.
    “And a copy of any other documentation pertaining to this case,” another added.
    “We'll provide you with all the information that we have up to this point. May I remind you, any other physical evidence or leads must, by law, be channeled through Hopedale's department,” Steve replied firmly as he pocketed the evidence.
    “I assure you, officer,” the third investigator spoke, “that we'll abide by the law; just make sure your people don't interfere with our work, and we'll wrap this up for you in a couple of days,” he responded, prompting laughter from the other two.
    Steve was about to respond, when there was a light tapping on the door. Erik stood up and opened the door. Alissa walked in carrying a large platter with cold cuts, pastries and coffee. Erik cleared a space on the table for the young girl to set the tray down. The detectives dug into the food hungrily while Alissa poured coffee for everyone.
    “Will there be anything else, Mr. Knight?” she whispered shyly.
    Erik stood and placed an arm on her shoulder. “This is my receptionist, Alissa,” he introduced the young girl to the others. “If it wasn't for her, I'd probably die from starvation. She's probably the best receptionist anybody could ask for.".
    Alissa smiled at his guests and gave Erik a smile of appreciation and quickly left the office.
    Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds were quiet for the rest of the meeting. Erik spent another twenty minutes over lunch discussing possible leads and theories with the investigators, and the possible tie-in to the latest missing person. He was surprised at how easy it was to discuss theory and analysis with these men. Erik was secretly