The reporter glanced down at the notebook in his hand and then back at the camera. “According to the legend, Joseph Wither began his crime spree back in the 1940s, over seventy-five years ago. While only a few disappearances of young girls have been officially credited to Wither, over the years Johnson County residents have reported sighting a shadowy entity matching the description of Wither corresponding to the time of a disappearance.

“Tonight, the small community of Pitch is on high alert and eagerly waiting an official statement from law enforcement as to what happened to these young girls. Stay tuned to KQIC for the most up-to-date information on this bizarre, frightening case.”

The news report sealed it for me. Ghoulish, I know. This case had it all: a vulnerable little girl, a crime apparently carried out by a fictional villain, a family in crisis. A challenge. I was up for it. In fact, I couldn’t wait to get started.

Case #92-10945

Case #92-10945

Excerpt from the journal of Cora E. Landry

Nov. 10, 2017

So all of a sudden there are now three people in our group and we have a completely different topic. Deanna Salas and her family suddenly up and moved to Saint Louis so Mr. Dover asked Violet and me if Jordyn could join us.

Like we had a choice. Of course we weren’t going to say no even though I wanted to. Violet and I have become really good friends and having Jordyn work with us is not great news. She’s just really hard to figure out. One day she’s aiming volleyballs at your head and the next day she’s smiling at you like she’s your best friend.

When Mr. Dover told Jordyn to work with us on our project she didn’t seem all that happy about it. She was like, “You’re really going with the Pop Rocks and Coke thing?” and she said it all snotty.

Violet and I looked at each other, both of us not sure what to say. I wanted to tell Jordyn to go find another group if she didn’t like our idea but of course I just sat there. “Listen to what Deanna and I were working on.” She looked around to see if anyone else was listening.

I rolled my eyes at Violet and she gave me a look that said, I know, she’s ridiculous. Jordyn leaned in so close that I could smell the tacos from the lunchroom on her breath. “Joseph Wither,” she whispered, like we were supposed to know what she was talking about.

I’ve heard of Joseph Wither. I knew he was supposed to be some kind of ghost but I didn’t really know why everyone was supposed to be afraid of him. Thankfully, Violet was the one to speak up and ask who Joseph Wither was so I didn’t feel quite so dumb.