Unidentified by Mikel J. Wisler Page B

these since last year Jeff and I …”
    She drifted off. At the sound of her own voice saying her partner’s name out loud, it was as if a vice had suddenly squeezed her heart. Just a year ago, they had been in this same room, poured over many of the same case files. Now he was gone. She stared down at the case files, but her eyes were unfocused.
    “You okay?” Evans asked, looking around the file box between them.
    “Yeah,” Mitchell shook herself out of it. “I’m fine. Let’s get to work.”
    She laid the file out on the table and began explaining to Evans. “This one is just some lights seen hovering out near Paradise Road. It later appeared over Pemigewasset River that cuts right through town.”
    “How about you tell me what you know, and we’ll take it from there,” Evans offered.
    Mitchell closed the folder before her and grabbed another one. “This one’s someone claiming they saw a UFO on their street and then shortly thereafter, Big Foot came out and waved.”
    “You serious?” Evans chuckled.
    “Well, not about the waving part,” Mitchell smiled.
    She set that folder aside as well and then pulled out the next. This proceeded for a while. She paused and opened folders and read enough to jog her memory before giving Evans a quick summary. Sometimes he would have questions, other times they would just move on. They spent a good while discussing the case of a local drunk who’d claimed to have been abducted. Evans also took particular interest in the case of some tourists who had stayed in town and gone hiking in nearby Lost River Canyon. One had gone missing for two days. The other two claimed a UFO had abducted the man. He turned up later, but the consensus seemed to be that all three had been stoned out of their minds while hiking. As this went on, they drained their coffee cups.
    One case involved a detailed explanation by a local woman in her fifties who claimed to have been taken aboard a ship and examined about three years ago. It fit the UFO abduction scenario. Evans even remarked that it seemed to fit it too neatly. Almost any of the details, the saucer ship, the lights, the grey beings, the examination, the missing time, the telepathic communication, could have been lifted from any number of other UFO stories—actually reported or in TV shows and movies. Either this woman was describing a genuine experience many others shared or the suggestions of such an event were so strong that familiarity with UFO folklore filled in the generic details, he pointed out.
    Finally, they reached case files that were new to Mitchell. They opted to divide them and they both began to read. After a bit, however, Evans stood and announced it was time to return the borrowed coffee. He headed out of the room. Mitchell poured over a case file that told of another mutilation of local livestock. This time it was a goat, but the details were similar: the goat had several internal organs taken. There was no blood at the scene of the crime. However, marks on the animal’s neck indicated where blood might have been drained from the goat. What’s next? Mitchell wondered. Did the Chupacabra decide to visit the White Mountains? I mean, I guess everyone needs a vacation. She grinned, imagining a tabloid article titled, “Chupacabra Seen Skiing the White Mountains.”
    She set the file aside and grabbed another. This new one appeared to be about a local resident seeing alien beings on his property. As Mitchell began to read, Evans walked back into the room. Mitchell’s jaw dropped as she read the details of the case. Evans noticed this and stopped where he stood.
    “What is it?” he asked.
    “It’s a report from last year,” Mitchell said.
    “About Tommy’s case?”
    She looked up at Evans. “I think we need to go pay Pastor Diego a visit.”

 
    CHAPTER SEVEN
    Nestled behind the brewery and restaurant in North Woodstock stood a small old church building. Its steeple that housed a bell had a cross on its top