Jonathan Frakes - Opening:
We are often encouraged to view things from another's point of view to gain a different perspective.
Many times, doing so can indeed help us understand other people better, and even resolve severe conflicts.
But what if it seems like there aren't two sides to a story? Look at this image. Just a pretty way of writing a name, right? And yet when I turn it upside down, it remains the same.
Tonight's story is about a girl going missing. As you watch, keep this image in mind, but remember - even a mirrored image changes when you turn it on its side.
I've been a detective for almost thirty years of my life. In that time, I have seen unimaginable things. I have seen the horror humans inflict on each other. I have seen bizarre actions and even stranger defenses.
I used to say I have seen it all. That's until I was assigned the case of Hermione Jean Granger.
"You said you're concerned about your neighbors?", I ask the elderly woman before me.
She nods intensely.
"I lived next to the Grangers for twenty years now. They used to be quite a sweet young couple. A bit arrogant, but I suppose that comes with the field.
But ever since their daughter was born, they have changed. Turned that girl into a show pony right from the start. 'Hermione', what nonsense. No wonder the poor child was bullied at school. And all that studying. You can't tell me that's normal. She knew things children have no business knowing. And bless her, but you could tell it was getting to her. There were always weird things happening around her. Got even stranger when she turned eleven".
"What happened then?", I prompt.
"She was sent to some sort of school for gifted kids. Hardly ever came home. Even during holidays, she often stayed away.
I think something bad is happening at that school. When she came home during summer, she seemed so removed from everything. The last two years especially, she looked like she'd aged a decade.
And her parents, well. They didn't seem the slightest bit concerned about it. I don't think they paid any attention to her at all, if I'm honest. Whenever I asked about her and what she was learning at school, they gave me vague answers. Answers that didn't make sense. I haven't been to school in a while, but I'm pretty sure we started doing arithmetic younger than 13".
I take a few notes, then look back up. "What has encouraged you to come forward with this now?", I ask.
She looks uncomfortable. "Well, I wanted to check in with them today. You know, it’s summer, and Hermione hasn't been back at all. I was worried. So I paid them a visit and immediately I felt like something was off. They seemed very different. When I came into the living room, I saw that all the family photos they had didn't have Hermione in them anymore.
I even took a peak in her room and there was nothing personal in it at all. When I asked them about her, they acted like I was crazy. Said they didn't have a daughter and asked if I was confused. So I excused myself and went straight here. I only wished I had said something earlier. Do you think they hurt her?”
I frown. They had altered family photos to remove their daughter from them? Either this lady truly was confused, or something extremely strange was going on.
“I can’t say anything with certainty at the minute, but thank you very much for coming in and talking to me, Mrs. Miller. Can I call you if there are further questions?”, I reply, trying to hide my concern.
“Naturally. I hope you’ll find her soon”.
I nod as I escort her to the door where I find my partner perusing a file.
"Find anything?”, I ask him as soon as the old lady is out of earshot.
“Yes and no”, he replies.
“The girl certainly lives on Heathgate. Went to the nearby primary school, has a doctor in the city, but beyond that, there is nothing. No exam results after primary, no doctor’s visits either. If it weren’t for a vacation in France a couple years back, you might think the school ate her”. He is annoyed. Few things set him off like a lack of records.
“Mrs. Miller said she went to a school for gifted kids”, I offer.
“Her grades were certainly good enough, but there’s no school on record. What do you make of this?”.
“Can’t be sure until we’ve spoken to her family, but we have to assume the worst. They deny the girls’ existence to the point of altering family pictures. Even if she’d done something that made them disown her, this doesn’t make any sense”.
We barely managed to catch Mr. and Mrs. Granger before they were able to flee the country.
But even during interrogations they kept up their story. When we confronted them with Miss Granger’s legal records, they claimed to have no idea about how they came to exist. Investigating their house and searching the area turned up nothing and so we turned to the public for help. The results were shocking. Seven other teenagers had gone missing in similar circumstances. All students at a prestigious private school in Scotland, all described as “odd” and at the center of unexplainable events, and all with families denying their existence.
We were searching for this supposed school for over a year and turned up nothing. Theories range from a small, isolated school over trafficking to a cult and everything in between.
It was hard to keep the case going with the lack of new leads, but I still didn’t expect the captain to call me in and tell me the case was closed just shy of three years since it started. He had gotten word from on high that the problem had been dealt with and that all family members held in custody were to be released immediately. The public outcry was predictable, and yet somehow extremely shortlived.
Within weeks, people forgot about it and moved on. Even I felt an urge to let it go. I almost forgot about it all for several months. But then I woke back up to the reality that these kids were missing and probably in danger. I’ll keep looking for them. Someone has to.
Jonathan Frakes - Ending:
Could you determine truth from falsehood tonight? What about the case of the missing children that was suddenly closed? Would you say that story is too outlandish? You’d be wrong, it happened in England in the late nineties.