Chapter Four: "The Article"

Ashley Falls Post

Body of Local Teen Found

By Clancy Scott
Ashley Falls Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 1st

The body of a teenage girl was discovered by police late Wednesday night near the base of Sunset Hill along the outskirts of town. The body was later identified as local student Jessie Fryman, 17, whom according to police, had a history of running away from home.

The police are still combing the area for evidence, but Fryman’s death is being treated as an accident and not a homicide, said Ashley Falls Sheriff Douglas Coleman.

“It would be impossible to rule anything out at this point, but based on the evidence at the scene, it does not appear to be a homicide,” said Coleman. “Sunset Hill is a popular hangout for teenagers, but it can also be quite dangerous under the right set of circumstances. It’s very possible that she tripped and fell all the way down, which would be consistent with the injuries we have observed.”

Coleman also noted that an autopsy would not be necessary, however a thorough external examination of the body would still be conducted this weekend.

Fryman’s parents could not be reached for comment.

Chapter Three: "The Plea"

January 26th

Dear Mr. Brinkman,

I know that you asked me to go directly to the police, but I’m getting nowhere with them and I just don’t know what else to do. They look at me like I’m crazy. I followed your advice and did exactly what you suggested, but something just didn’t feel right when I visited my friend’s house. Her parents don’t seem to me like they’re all that concerned about the whole thing. Why? I know that they didn’t always get along and that she caused her parents a lot of grief over the past few years, but how do you just one day stop loving your kid?

Mr. Brinkman, I am begging you for your help. I didn’t find anything out of the ordinary in my friend’s bedroom, but I did find a journal hidden in her mattress. I didn’t even know she kept one to be quite honest. I started to flip through it and most of the entries were pretty standard stuff. I might even go so far as to say boring, especially for someone who lived the way she did. What’s strange though is that within the past couple of months worth of entries, it sounds like the fights with her Mom were starting to escalate. On one occasion, she even noted that the fight got physical. I can’t believe she never told me that. She must have been so scared.

There is one more entry that seemed to stand out, but I’d love for you to take a look at it and give me a second opinion. It was from about a month ago and she wrote that she was awoken by someone at the front door early on a Saturday morning. She said that she saw her Mom talking to a man in a black suit and he flashed some type of badge, but she couldn’t make out what it was. She went on to write that when she asked about it later, her Mom said that it was an officer going door-to-door searching for a person of interest who reportedly fled a scene in the area. Mr. Brinkman, I read the papers every day and I don’t remember hearing about anything like this. Do you? I mean, what kind of crime can go unreported in a town this size? When I sneeze I feel like even everyone down at the diner knows about it.

Something doesn’t add up, Mr. Brinkman, and I’d really appreciate it if you would reconsider your decision to help me. I can’t just let my friend disappear off the face of the earth. She’s out there somewhere and she needs help, I know it. I don’t know how, I just do. I just have to find her!


Sincerely,

Jessie Fryman

Chapter Two: "Miller Brinkman"

From the Desk of Miller Brinkman, P.I.

January 13th

Dear Ms. Fryman,

Thank you for your letter. Allow me to extend my deepest sympathies to you during this time of sadness. Though I appreciate it and am flattered that you would seek me for help with your crisis, I’m afraid it may just be a little above my pay grade. You see, Ms. Fryman, I typically get calls for simple things like cheating spouses or blackmail attempts. Things that the average person can’t, or won’t, go to the cops for. It’s true that I have been involved with the occasional missing person case during my career, but from the sounds of your letter, your friend may have been involved in a situation she didn’t want anyone to know about. Of course that’s just speculation. For all we know, she just got bored of this town and ran off with the boy that Mommy and Daddy didn’t like. It wouldn’t be unheard of for someone her age, but even as I write this, I know it’s probably not likely.

I don’t know, Ms. Fryman, I just think you should go to the proper authorities on this one. I know you said in your letter that you’d already tried that and they were less than helpful, but I think your grief may be clouding your vision a bit here. Sometimes people do just seemingly vanish without foul play being involved. Are you certain she wasn’t hiding anything? Have you tried contacting her parents to see if they’d allow you to take a look through her things? If you two were as close as you say, then you would have the best chance of recognizing anything out of place or finding any clues hidden within her room. The first thing I’d do in your situation is see if she kept a diary or journal of some kind. I know it can feel intrusive, but it may contain some idea of where she is. Just some free advice for you.

Keep your chin up, Ms. Fryman. It may not feel like it right now, but I’m sure everything is going to turn out just fine. Please consider what I’ve said and perhaps conduct your own mini-investigation. If you do uncover something of interest, try the authorities again. They won’t be able to ignore you if you’ve got a lead. I wish you the best of luck and I hope your friend shows back up soon.


Yours truly,

Miller Brinkman, P.I.