Ashley's Asylum (3)

11 | Ashleys Asylum

"There's been a positive sighting of one male pursuing a young female. Descriptions match."

Johnson froze at his desk and shot John Watts an exhilarated look.

"You think it's Wilton or Hanz?"

Watts gave him a grim smile. "Let's go find out."

Local teams were dispatched to the area while Watt's and Johnson made their way up to the coast. It was a fair distance, and the possibility of it being their three suspects made the drive so much harder for Johnson who couldn't keep his nervous twitch still for five minutes. He caught Watts toss a few agitated looks at him throughout the journey but they kept quiet, each man swallowed in his own thoughts.

Johnson thought back to before all the calls had begun flooding in.

At first, it had been easy to keep the media out of the loop, merely stating that two mentally unstable individuals had gone missing from the Dale-creek hill facility. No one was aware of the danger these individuals posed which was a small godsend and handing out a description was harmless yet effective at first. Those involved were warned against talking to the media for the time being in order to prevent damaging the investigation and to give the grieving families involved time alone.

Admitting that two highly dangerous criminals had escaped from a secure location would only send the media into a scaremongering frenzy but regardless of that Johnson knew it was only a limited amount of time before the media did eventually get wind of the real severity of the situation. The longer Wilton and Hanz remained elusive to the authorities, the more dangerous it became to leave the public completely unawares. There was a thin line between giving too much and too little information to the general public and it was a difficult call to make.

While holding meetings to discuss how to handle the situation someone solved the problem for them. A member of staff from the Asylum decided to divulge the 'real' story of the Dale Creek Hill tragedy to a local paper for reasons beyond him. Whether it was for a small slice of fame, a pretty penny or general desire to divulge the truth it was a selfish act. Like wildfire the story quickly spread until the menacing mugshots of two boys everyone hoped to never see again became plastered across the tv screens the very next morning.

The news was out now and Johnson knew it was causing a panic. He remembered all too clearly what it was like the last time. After all, they were the reason he joined the force. They ruined his life.

Dealing with the media and using their resources to capture Wilton and Hanz was the priority for now and it was finally paying off.

Johnson hoped to god that this call really was their three, there had been so little sightings of them. Thousands of calls had been coming in, relating to their descriptions but few calls had been fruitful. Many were frightened calls desperate for advice on how best to stay safe. There had been one call from a motel, reporting two men of similar description to Hanz and Wilton carrying a young girl into a room but the local officers that checked it out said it was likely a prostitute and clients. They found no condoms or drugs which he found strange but Watts brushed it off. This call however had Watts interested and that had Johnson stoked. He wanted to catch them so desperately, he had never wanted anything more.

Though he desperately wanted to see the area in question for himself, they were going to the local station first where they held the witness. Teams were already scouring the area, including a large estate of abandoned apartment blocks and warehouses. It made sense for him and Watts to be at the station with the witness if anything did come out of the search they'd be notified soon enough.

Though he wanted the call to be fruitful, it worried him how far the killers could have managed to travel undetected. He always knew they were smart and it was a painful reminder.