Gwendy's Magic Feather

58

THE BLONDE REPORTER FROM Channel Five holds the microphone in front of Sheriff Ridgewick’s face as he speaks. She’s wearing a fluffy light blue winter beanie that matches her coat and her make-up is perfect, despite the whipping wind and freezing cold temperature. The sheriff, eyes watering and cheeks raw, looks tired and miserable.

“…is currently underway for Deborah Parker, a resident of the nineteen-hundred block of View Drive. Miss Parker is fourteen years old and a freshman at Castle Rock High School.”

A color photograph of a smiling teenage girl with metal braces and dark brown curly hair appears in the upper right-hand corner of the television screen.

“She’s five-foot-two-inches tall, weighs one hundred and five pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen earlier this evening at approximately 7:30 PM. ice skating with friends at Fortier Pond. If anyone has any information as to Deborah Parker’s whereabouts or witnessed anything out of the ordinary in the Castle View area, please contact the Castle Rock Sheriff’s Department at…”