FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Through the window, Detective Shepherd is staring at a board, littered with papers such as notes, profiles, crime scene photos, clues and other information set on it with thumbtacks, strings racing around it and connecting each paper, leading up to one paper with the outline of a head that had a big question mark on it.

"Who are you...?" The detective asks, "What did you do with Robert?"

While the detective is lost in thought, footsteps are heard heading to his office and finally a knock on his office door, snapping the detective out of his daze of a thought process.

He looks up and notices a man, about 6 feet in height, his demeanor looked off-putting, almost like you never want to be in the same room as this man. He wore black cargo pants, had a blank white shirt with a padded leather jacket over it. His hair was long, white and put into a ponytail on the back. The detective also notices a strap around his chest which slung a sheath on his back, the handle of the blade sticking out. But the strangest feature was his eyes. One iris was a bright purple and the other was crystal blue.

The Detective sighed, setting down his cup of coffee and places his hands on his hips before stating the obvious, "Son, you have a lot of nerve to come waltzing into a police station with a weapon. I'm amazed they even let you through and didn't tackle you the moment you walked through the door."

The man chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with an almost goofy expression on his face, "Oh yeah... Well, I figured it wouldn't matter since it was sheathed, which is what I what I told them. They weren't going to let me through... Then, I told them I was looking to see where I could find an old friend of mine, Robert Walker, I think his name was?" The man said.

"They said to come and speak to you right away..." He added.

The detective sighed and sat down in his chair, "And how do you know Mr. Walker?" He asked, clearly still questioning what the man planned to do.

"Oh, Well we met when he traveled to Ireland for a job in historical teaching." The man explained.

"Well, I certainly hate to tell you this Mr..." The detective reached for an identity in which the man immediately replied, "Dustin."

The detective nodded and continued, "But if you came here to assassinate Robert, then I'm afraid someone else will be cashing that check."

"Wait," Dustin questioned, stepping more into the office and up to the desk, "What do you mean, sir?"

The detective pointed over to the board, "He's missing, probably dead since it's been a few years, along with others."

The man walked over to the board, scanning it clearly and sighed, "Okay, well, I came here to link up with an historic team, hence my weapon, to go investigate the ruins outside of town and figured I'd get a drink with Robert since it's been a while and catch up. But now, you've gone and struck my curious side..." The man explains before turning to the detective, a friendly smile on his face, "Do you happen to have any files you could lend me so I can do my own investigation?" The brutal honesty of the man made an impression on the Detective, but more so, he did want to find Robert as well, at the very least know what happened to him and he figured it couldn't hurt to have an extra dedicated body to help.

The detective sighed and took a paper, filling it out before handing it to the man.

"Here, take this over to evidence and tell them that I signed you on board with the search. They'll give you everything they can on the case as well as give you access to any updates."

The man gratefully takes the paper and smiles, "Thank you, detective. But if it isn't too much trouble, I'd like to give you my phone number just in case another disappearance happens... I'm very good at tracking animals and can usually spot things that others might miss." The man proposes.

The Detective sighs and nods, "Very well. I can't promise access to crime scenes for obvious reasons, but I will give you a call if I need some assistance." The Detective was never actually going to call the guy but figured he'd ease the mind of one of Robert's old friends. It's the least he can do.

The man pulls out a pen and pad, writing down his number before ripping the page off the pad and handing it to the detective. He accepts it and places it on his desk as the man walks out, heading towards the evidence lockers.

A few months later, and nothing. Nothing at all. No disappearances, no new leads or evidence, and no new information from the mysterious man known as "Dustin".

The Detective sat in his chair, filling out paperwork when he suddenly heard a knock at the door, causing him to look up and to his confused surprised, he saw an unknown man standing next to one of the officers.

The Detective pinched the bridge of his nose and then blinked a few times, just to get reacquainted with light as he was just staring at paperwork for a few consecutive hours.

"Thank you officer," The Detective said before dismissing him.

As the officer walked away, the Detective looked up at the man, getting a feel for all his features.

The man was about 5 feet and was wearing a t-shirt with a band on it, jeans and simple tennis shoes as well as a strange sapphire crystal charm necklace. He had short cut, messy brown hair and was fairly fit. He looked about mid-30's and had a slight expression of fear on his face and had a folder in hand.

The Detective leaned back in his chair, "Take a seat young man."

The man then sat in a chair opposite from him, placing the folders on the detective's desk.

"What can I do for you young man?" The detective question.

"Well... You see," The man starts off before opening the folder and going through it, "I'm here to ask about a 'Robert Walker'?" he said, handing one of the papers to the Detective.

The Detective took the paper, kind of shocked that this is the second man to come asking about him after being missing for so long. "He's been missing for 5 years now, what exactly do you wish to know, Mr. uhh.." The Detective fishes for an identity.

"Night. I'm Kevin Night." The man responds, "And I want to know if he died in the house or did anything there."

The Detective chuckled softly, "Kevin, Robert moved here from the UK after losing his family in a tragic mass shooting. He lived alone and was a pretty big shut in except when it came to taking pictures and researching historical landmarks. Rarely left the house and left the country once to go do some research in Ireland for a year. Taught a school there some as well." The detective places the paper down on his desk before taking the rest of Kevin's folder, reading over it as he continues to explain, "No dogs, no cats, no girlfriend or hookups, no..." The Detective pauses for a moment, intensly reading a section of one of the papers...

"D-Detective?" Kevin asks with a slight stutter.

"He never made any reports of someone stalking him..." The Detective says out loud before getting out of his chair and heading over to the doorway of his office, calling out to an officer, "Officer Evertt!" and hands the papers to an officer, "Take these, start doing some digging at the residence of Robert Walker and try to find ANY records, forms, calls, anything! That mentions him being stalked." He orders.

The officer nods and rushes through the prescient as the Detective sits back in his chair.

"Mr. Night, I want to thank you for bringing this information forward... You may have just given us some new evidence to bring in the person responsible." He explains.

"Uhh.. No problem Detective..." Kevin says nervously, still confused by all this.

"Please, call me Ed." The Detective corrects him, offering a handshake.

Kevin accepts the gesture and shakes his hand before the Detective retracts it and gets out a pen and small piece of paper.

"Now, I don't wish to alarm you Mr. Night, but with the idea of this happening to Robert, and you stumbling onto this information and revealing it, you might be in danger. Now, I can offer a protection detail to watch your house if you'd like." The Detective explains as he looks up to Kevin.

Kevin shakes his head, "No need sir, I appreciate the offer and concern... But I have a protection detail already. My dog, luke. He was trained by an active officer who was a friend of mine. When he died a few years back, I was given Luke. I should be fine." Kevin explains back with a soft smile, still timid over the worrying information the Detective just disclosed to him.

The Detective laughed softly with a nod, "Very well. Sounds like you got one hell of a dog! Here, at least take my number, in case you get into any trouble or find any new information." He hands Kevin the small piece of paper.

Kevin gratefully takes the number and stands up out of the chair, shaking the Detectives hand firmly, "Thank you Ed! I really appreciate this!" He exclaims.

"Your very welcome Mr. Night. Have a good night." The Detective replies, smiling warmly to Kevin.

Kevin leaves his office and heads out the police station as the Ed closes his door behind him and pulls out his cellphone and lifts up a paper on his desk, dialing the number on it.

The line rings...

Keeps ringing...

Someone answers.

"Is this Dustin?" The Detective asks.

"Yeah," The voice responds, "Who's this?"

"This is Detective Shepherd. You came into my office a few months ago asking about Robert Walker." Ed answers.

"Ah yes, I remember. Any new information on the investigation Detective?" Dustin replies with slight excitement in his tone.

"Maybe," Ed says back, "But first, I want to make something very clear Dustin... I will only say this once."

There's a slight pause...

"Go ahead," Dustin states in a firm tone.

"I don't know who or what you are, but your clearly someone who knows how to work outside the law and have no record of existing. I did some digging on you and to be frank, I'm questioning if you even really exist or if you're just some ghost..." Ed explains, his tone revealing a questioning nature to it, "But, Either way... Your my best bet at finding Robert, so I'll give you the new lead, however, I want any and all information you get. Do not lie to me. Understood?"

A pause follows...

"Crystal Clear, sir." Dustin finally replies.

"Good, here's what I found out..."

The Detective spends a few minutes on the phone with Dustin, explaining the situation. He tells him about the reports of Robert being scared he was being stalked and all the information Kevin brought to him, including Kevin.

They exchange their goodbyes before the detective hangs up and sighs, sliding his phone into his pocket before going back to his paperwork.

The next day, The detective enters his office, coffee in hand and closes his door when his cell phone rings.

He answers, "Hello?"

"Detective Shepherd..." A firmilar Irish accent is on the other end.

"Dustin? I'm surprised you're up this early. I kinda took you as the 'sleep in' type." Ed says with a slight chuckle.

"Why would you think that?" Dustin questions.

"Just your 'vibe' as the kids say these days," Ed answers, sipping his coffee as he sits in his chair.

Dustin is quiet before replying, "I have a lead, but I need some time to confirm it. Should take about 3 days, until then, I figured you'd want this.."

Dustin gives the Detective a phone number and he writes it down...

"And who's this number belong to?" Ed asks.

"Kevin Night," Dustin replies.

Ed gets a slight chill down his spine... "How did he get Kevin's number??" the thought raced through his head and continues to create other questions...

"And how did you acquire this information?" The Detective questions him.

"Doesn't matter," Dustin replies, "All that matters is you might want to call him and try to meet him. At his house."

Ed sits in his chair, still confused before Dustin comments, "I'll call you as soon as my lead turns something up." Then he hangs up.

Ed decides to give the number a shot. He didn't know what it was, but he felt Dustin was someone he could trust... He obviously had a bigger hidden agenda than he led on, like having a drink with an old friend and Ed knew this. But yet, it felt as if even though Dustin's true motives were a little darker, they both still wanted the same thing... To find Robert Walker.

A few hours go by and Kevin isn't answering... "I hope he's okay." The detective thinks allowed. He decides to give up on calling Kevin for now and go ahead with his paperwork for the day.

It's around 8:30 PM. The detective finishes enough of the paperwork and decides to call Kevin one last time before heading over himself.

The line rings...

"Hello...?" A tired voice answers.

"Kevin!" The Detective replies in a relieved voice, "Are you alright?? I've been trying to get a hold of you all day."

"Yeah, S-Sorry, I must've slept in," Kevin explains.

"It's fine. Just glad Luke was able to keep ya in one piece." The detective says with a tired laugh, "Listen, Kevin, I'd like to come over. I have some new information about the stalking reports and run them by you, maybe you could provide some information about any of them?"

A brief pause, "Yeah, sure! I'll get the house cleaned up some."

Kevin gives the Detective his address and he writes it down.

"Great!" The Detective exclaims, "I'll head out right now and should be there in about 30 minutes or so."

"See you then, Ed," Kevin responds before hanging up.

As Ed puts away his cell phone, he re-reads the address and suddenly has a horrible realization... "This Address..." He says out loud, "It's Robert's!!"

The Detective throws on his jacket, exits his office and locks it. On his way out, he calls out to reception, "I'm heading off for the night, if anyone stops by and wants to see me, call me!" He explains and the officer at the reception desk nods, "Of course sir."

Ed gets into his car and drives off from the police station, already scared for Kevin.

About 30 minutes pass...

As Ed pulls up past the community gates and to Kevin's driveway, he stares at the house, "Haven't been here in almost 5 years..." He thinks to himself. Ed shakes his head and steps out of his car, locking it before he steps up to the front door and knocks.

"Mr. Night!" The detective calls out, "It's Detective Shepherd!"

A bunch of thuds and crashes are heard as Kevin calls out, "Y-Yeah! Just one second! woooooaaahh!!!"

Ed tilts his head with a slightly concerned look on his face when suddenly a thud is heard against the door... "K-Kevin?" he calls out before the door opens, Kevin standing there in a black muscle shirt and boxers and a vacuum in one hand as well as with the hose wrapped around his neck and a slightly goofy expression on his face...

Ed looks at him, kind of stunned with how weird this guy can be... But Ed just laughed and smiled "Oh ho ho man Kevin, did ya have a wrestling match with the vacuum, cause if so, I think Luke is going to want his money back!" Ed jokes with the situation, causing Kevin to laugh back and replying with, "It didn't look so tough at the start! I thought I could take him!"

The Detective and Kevin both continue to laugh before the Ed decided to speak up, "Alright Kevin, let's head inside, shall we?"

Kevin nods with the same goofy smile, still kind of laughing and lets the Detective in.

Inside, the detective sits down at the dining room table while Luke laid down next to the dining room table.

Ed looks down and admires the dog, "What an incredible looking dog you have here. German Shepherd-Husky mix you said he was?" He asks Kevin as he brings out two cups of coffee, "Yeah!" Kevin replied, "But I swear he has some rottweiler in him," he says with a chuckle as he comes back from the kitchen, handing one to the detective before sitting down across from him.

"So, what's up?" Kevin asks, sipping the coffee.

"The information you brought to me yesterday... I have a 'personal friend' looking into it as well."

"And so this 'Personal friend' is how you got my number?" Kevin question.

Ed sighed with a slight chuckle, "I almost hate to say this, but yes."

Kevin shrugged, "Didn't take you one for using criminal informants Detective," He said with a soft laugh, "but I won't judge. This has become a strange mystery, so we gotta do what it takes to solve it, right??" Kevin smiles at the detective.

"Yeah, I just wish I didn't have to step to such measures," Ed says with a slightly saddened tone, "But thanks to him, I was finally able to understand why you wanted to know about Robert... Your living in his house, but I still don't know what brought this on." Ed looks up at Kevin, "Perhaps you could start from the beginning, Mr. Night?" The pulls out a pen and notepad, the clicking sound making Kevin realize it's time to actually tell someone about this.

"Very well, Ed. But please, don't think I'm crazy."

Ed nods as Kevin begins. A few hours pass as Kevin explains everything that has been happening to him lately as Ed writes down important parts, completely stunned that he thinks Robert was haunting the house.

Now, Ed is a bit skeptical, but even in his years of being a police officer and detective, he has seen some unexplainable things that can only be described as 'paranormal'.

Once Kevin finishes, Ed clicks the pen and sets it down on the table with the notepad. "Quite the experience you've had Kevin... Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me. It's given me some clarity." Ed explains as he smiles softly.

"No problem Ed, thank you for actually hearing me out. I've been too scared to tell people because I wasn't sure if anyone would believe me." Kevin responds.

Ed grabs his notepad and pen, placing it in his pockets and finishes his coffee before standing out of his chair and offering his hand to Kevin.

"I'll contact my personal friend tomorrow and try to arrange a meet. He could help since he's experienced in this kind of stuff. We'll set up a time and date together and get together again."

Kevin shakes Ed's hand and nods in agreement, "Sounds good, sir. I'll be expecting your call." Kevin reassures.

"Yeah, try not to sleep in late again." Ed jokes with a laugh as Kevin laughs back. Ed heads out the door after petting Luke some and heads back to his car and drives away.

A few days later, Ed is sitting in his office, looking over the information that Dustin had uncovered, looking through them.

Then, the phone rings.

Ed picks it up, "Detective Shepherd."

"Hey detective, we got a call about a possible break-in." The female voice replies.

"Ok, so send a few officers to investigate." Ed states

"We did sir, the thing is... We figured you'd want us to call you for this report..." She replies.

"And why is that?" Ed questions.

"You remember Kevin Night, right?" The girl answers with the question he never hoped would come up in this conversation...

Ed's eyes widen as he quickly hangs up the phone, grabs his jacket and rushes out the precinct, driving as fast as he can to Kevin's house.

Ed arrives at the scene within 15 minutes thanks to the backroads he was able to take. There was the house, with several officers walking around. He heads inside and notices a female sitting at the table. He walks over to her, "Excuse me miss, I'm Detective Shepherd. Did you know Kevin?" He takes a seat across from her

"Yes," The woman responds, tears still running down her cheeks, "I'm his ex-wife..."

Just then, She calls out, "Sarah! The detective is here!"

"Coming mom!" a young girl's voice calls back.

Ed looks over at the hallway and sees a young girl leaving her father's room, Luke beside her and sighs, "Oh no..." Ed quietly comments under his breath...

"Alright," He takes out a notepad and pen, clicking it, "Go ahead and walk me through from the time you arrived on the road to the gates, all the way up to now. Spare no details." Ed explains and the woman begins explaining everything the Detective asked. After about 45 minutes, Ed finishes taking the statement.

They leave, after helping the little girl convince her mom to keep Luke.

Ed steps outside to his car and pulls out his phone.

"Yeah?" Dustin answers.

"You wanted access to a new crime scene? Get here in the next fifteen minutes and you got it."

Ed hangs up the call before texting the address to Dustin. After almost 15 minutes, a black run-down jeep wrangler pulls up and out steps Dustin...

He walks over to the front door and is stopped by two officers, "Sir, please step back. This is a crime scene, not a museum."

Dustin was about ready to slip past them in the usual way he does but before he could even think about how to do it, Ed calls out. "HE'S WITH ME! Let him through."

The officers step aside before Dustin walking up to the doorway and follows Ed into the house. "So what do we got Detective?" Dustin asks

"Kevin has vanished. No trace. Just like Robert... Just like the damn others!" Ed shouts out, clearly mad at himself.

"Sir, please, calm down.." Dustin demands politely.

Ed turns around and walks up to Dustin, staring him intently... "He had a kid!"

"A kid?" Dustin raises an eyebrow.

"Yes..." Ed replies, a tear running down his cheek, "Her name is Sarah... Kevin and her mom separated, so he gets certain days with her and this was one of them..."

Dustin sighs and looks around, not seeming too fazed by the situation...

"What? are you heartless too?? Don't care about how a little girl lost her dad?!" Ed snaps at Dustin for his silence.

"People leave your life. It's how life is..." Dustin begins explaining as he begins looking around the house, "By death, or by simply walking out of your life... She's lucky. He's disappeared while she's young, meaning she can grow up to be stronger."

"What's the point of this little shred of wisdom, Dustin?" Ed questions him, slightly annoyed.

"What I'm trying to say sir, is that us getting worked up by something we can't control isn't going to help us find him," Dustin answers as he walks to the bedroom and looks at the window then over to the wall above his bed.

Ed follows and raises his eyebrow, "There's nothing in here..."

"Your eyes can be deceiving Detective. You gotta look past the mortal sight to know something is off..." Dustin argued back as he points to the wall, tracing his finger in the air, "There is a slight discoloration in places that form a pattern..."

Dustin pulls out a small jar filled with some kind of powder like substance from one of his pockets before popping off the cap then slashes the opening out towards the wall, causing the powder to reveal strange patterns that are different from the wall.

"Hey! You can't just disrupt a crime scene like that!" Ed shouts

"You see, Detective," Dustin starts off as he jumps onto the bed and starts using his hand to spread it along the wall, "Everyone is so distracted with looking for the obvious things that stand out and worrying for the person in trouble, that they miss something that could possibly be the one connection they need..." He stops and steps off the bed as the detective's eyes widen.

There, on the wall, unearthed from the powder that ended up turning bright white while lettering was purple...

It said:

"Follow the Echo of the trees and the tower will crumble as the stars align"

"What does it mean?" Ed asks

"I have no idea. It's definitely a location of some kind from what I can tell, but I'll need some time to make put it together." Dustin replies.

"Very well, We'll take a photo of this. I need to head back to the Precinct to fill out some paperwork." Ed explains.

"If it's okay sir, I'd like to stick around, perhaps I can find some more information," Dustin comments while Ed is walking away.

"Very well, Dustin, I'll inform the officers and the crime scene investigators that you'll be sticking around and to assist you if they are able," Ed replies before leaving the house, climbing into his car and drives back to his office...

A couple of months pass, still no new information...

Detective Shepherd is sitting in his office, watching a news reporter still going on about the disappearance. He turns off the T.V and goes over to his board, the new picture and crime scene photos of Kevin Night added to the collection. The detective sighs... "Why Kevin?" Ed mumbles, "Why take you too??..."

Just then, Ed is interrupted by a loud knock on his open office door.

He turns around and sees none other than Sarah standing in the doorway, tears streaming from her eyes and down her cheeks while she breathes heavily as Luke stands beside her.

"I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! I KNOW WHO TOOK MY DAD AND WHERE HE IS!" Sarah shouts

Ed's eyes open widely...

The screen cuts to black.

To be continued...