Thin Ice

His deep, boisterous voice echoed throughout the room. His large, clenched fist thudded like a boom of thunder, rousing me from my conscious slumber. “His name is Joshua Webb,” Sergeant Miller declared, pointing towards the overhead projector. “He is 17 years old, Caucasian, with black hair and dark brown eyes. His parents claim that he went missing about 16 hours ago and that his last known location was the home of Walter and Anne Peterson, whose son, Adrian, was throwing a party for Winter break. We’ll provide more details as we get them. Sumner and Davis will be taking on this case. The rest of you may continue with what you were doing. Sumner and Davis, get on it,” Sarge demanded.

I’ve worked with Josie Davis twice. Each time she was just as smug, like an Alpha wolf protecting her hierarchy, and I was the Omega. Although I was recently promoted to detective, my track record for closing cases circumvented her experience, and judging by her demeanor, she knew that. “We better get going.”

We arrived at the home of Theresa and Matt Webb. I knocked on the front door. A petite girl with medium length hair and dark brown eyes answered. Detective Davis pulled out her badge and nudged me to take out mine. “I’m Detective Davis. Are your parents around?" "Y-Yes. I'll go get them," the girl stuttered. Her eyelids were bloated, as if she had been crying for a while.

Shortly thereafter, two adults approached the doorway. “Good afternoon, Mr and Mrs Webb. I’m Detective Sumner. We were informed that your son, Joshua, has gone missing. We’d like to ask you all a few questions that could help us figure out where he could be.” Mrs. Webb nodded anxiously. “Of course! Come in."

We entered the house, removing our coats. They led us to their living room and motioned us to sit on one of the couches. “So, Mrs. Webb, you said that he went missing at approximately 10 pm, correct?” Josie asked. Mrs. Webb shifted in her seat and said, “That’s correct.” I took out my notepad and pen from my back pocket.

“Did anything seem off about Joshua yesterday? Can you think of anywhere he could be?” I questioned. “No, the usual: talkative, playful. He seemed upbeat and very excited for Adrian Peterson’s party. His friends said that they saw him at the party, and he stepped out around 10 pm. They expected him to return, but he never did. No one has seen him since,” Mr. Webb said in a defeated tone. I notated his response. The girl was sitting on the adjacent couch, slouched over, solemn.

“I suppose you’re Joshua’s sister?” I asked her. She looked at us with her big, puffy eyes. “Yes, I'm Isla,” she responded in a quiet voice. “Did you notice anything different about him lately?” Josie questioned.

“Um . . . no,” Isla answered, awkwardly. “I got annoyed with him for being obnoxious, but now that he’s missing, I regret it,” she sobbed.

I cleared my throat as I stood, putting on my coat. “Well, I guess we're done questioning you all for now. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Mrs. Webb walked us out and right as she was about to close the door, she mentioned, “Oh by the way, I didn't have a full description of the clothing he was wearing when he left since we hadn't seen him after he’d gotten dressed. However, his friends confirmed that he was wearing a white turtleneck sweater with a navy blue coat, washed blue jeans, black and white converse, and grey gloves. I hope that can be of help.” She gave a passing grin as she shut the door.

“To Winnipeg High we go,” Josie said.

We arrived at the school that Friday following the party. Several staff members were still occupying the building to tie up the loose ends before their vacations. Upon entering the main office, we were approached by a large, seemingly very friendly man. “Are you here regarding Joshua Webb?” he inquired, noticing the badges on our belts. “Yes, actually, I am Detective Davis, and you are?” I asked. “I am Mr. Ellis, Joshua’s Geometry teacher. Are there any leads on the case yet?” he inquired, his jovial demeanor shifted to one of concern. “As it stands, no. If you don't mind, we’d like to ask you a few questions in order to get a lead on where he could be. Is that okay?”

The teacher nodded, “Of course. Ask away.”

“How's his behavior at school? And how’s his relationship with his classmates?” I asked him. He thought for a moment and answered, “He’s quite the class clown, I must say. He is very smart, however. He's among the top scholars at our school. As for his relationship with his classmates, well, he’s a jock: some like him, others, not so much."

Josie looked like she was in deep thought about the situation then said, “Did you know that he has a younger sister who also attends this school?”

“I do. She’s in my sixth period class. She’s the polar opposite of her brother in just about every way, other than academically. She’s very shy and has no friends that I know of,” he stated with a sigh. “Nonetheless, she has a very bright future ahead of her. I always tell my kids that high school is just a small patch on the tapestry of their lives. She did get an invite to her first party though, so that’s an uptick, I'd say.”

“Well, thank you for your time and cooperation. We must go,” I stated. He stood and extended his hand to shake. His grip stained my palm red. “Of course. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.” The ride to the station was silent. When Josie finally spoke, it startled me. Although at a normal volume, her voice resounded, “I’ve been scrolling Adrian Peterson’s social media. His parents are on a ski trip, they’ll be back on Monday so we will be in contact then. In the meantime, we will see what other leads we come across." She looked at me, “Sounds good?" she asked. ''Yep!” I responded.

Later that night, the phone rang. It jolted me awake in a panic. Through squinted eyes and little orbs of light, I could see on the clock that it was 1:16 am. “Hello,” I grunted. “A body was discovered at Willow Pond,” Josie remarked, urgently.

“What?” I mumbled

“He was discovered by a bunch of drunk college kids that were hanging out and ice fishing late last night. They noticed him face down, frozen right beneath the surface,” Josie stated. “Any I.D.?” I asked.

“No word yet, but we need to get down there right away!”

We arrived to a multitude of divers meandering on the bank. Some were removing their thermal gear or re-securing their cutting tools. The nocturnal chorus of crickets stridulating, along with the hoots of Burrowing Owls were resonant. As we began to approach the gurney, we noticed Sarge heading in our direction. “We’ve sent an officer to the Webbs’ to notify them,” he proclaimed. “We’re going to have them come down to I.D. the body.” His voice trailed off as I got closer to the cadaver, the surrounding clamor muffled. I pulled back the sheet, revealing a young, deceased male with swelling and abrasions around his head and face. “This isn’t Joshua Webb!" I yelled. “These are not the clothes that he was wearing that night.” Josie ran towards my direction. “Oh my God! This is Adrian Peterson,” she declared. “I recognize him from his social media accounts.” A few moments later, the Webb’s Silver sedan pulled up.

Before the Webbs could get a word out, a voice bellowed from the edge of the pond, “SARGE! COME QUICK!” A uniformed officer was standing in the shadows of a wide beam light illuminating a section of crack drifts and jumbled ice. Exposed right beneath the top layers of that frozen pond was a foot inside of a black and white converse; next to the pile of shards, a lone grey glove. Thirty minutes later, the dive team had recovered the body of Joshua Webb.

The horror at 2232 Stockwell Ln. preceded the beautiful, clear Winter’s day as the onset of dawn began to burgeon, and the sun began to ascend on the horizon. The little puddles of blood imprinted on my shoes, the screams and wails from Mrs. Webb imprinted on my brain. What could you say to two parents who had to deal with the loss of two children in one day? And to know that one was responsible for such horrific events surely had to be a tough pill to swallow.

A slim, olive complected woman who appeared to be in her mid 40’s, with long dark hair was bawling as officers held her back behind the tape. A ginger male with glasses, also early to mid 40's, was sitting on the ground beside her, knees to chest, in a daze. Judging by their clothing, the Peterson’s had finally arrived after a 2 hour emergency flight back home. “You BITCH! Your kids' did this to my son!” Anne Peterson shouted through her sobs as she fell to the ground into her husband’s arms, he pulled her head into his chest. This was gonna be a long day.

“You can’t make this stuff up, huh?” Josie asked rhetorically, disrupting me from my scurrying thoughts. “You’re definitely right about that,” I replied. “This is a tough one. How about we go and grab a stack of cakes and some hot brew before diving any deeper into this one,” Josie offered, to which I immediately accepted. As we drove past the frozen pond, we noticed the ice was melting in patches. But the memories of that morning would be frozen in our minds forever.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I guess it’s all out in the open now. I am sorry for all of the pain I have caused you. I don’t know what came over me. Between Joshua’s constant teasing, Adrian’s harassment and bullying, and the general torment I suffered from my classmates, I guess I just snapped. That party invite that I received, turns out it was Josh who sent it as a prank. When I arrived, Adrian made me feel worthless. He told me I hadn't been invited, and that he would consider letting me in for a “favor.” So I told him that I would do a “favor” as long as I didn't have to do it in the house. I asked him to come out to Willow pond with me. I’m very familiar with the area. I go there a lot to clear my mind. Once we were there, I followed behind him, directing him verbally. The moment he turned around, I started clobbering him in the head with a large rock I picked up. I guess Joshua followed us out there because he walked up on us. He said that I was crazy and had lost it. The nerve of him, coming to the defense of that asshole instead of his own sister. He didn’t know what was coming; before he got another disparaging word out, I began beating him with that rock. I made a hole through a thin section of ice with the same rock, dragged them to the edge, and dumped them in. I didn't want it to come to this, but I couldn't help it. I ended my life because I didn't want to face the consequences. I am so sorry to hurt you two. I love you so much, although I never really said it.

Farewell,

Isla