No Way Kebab

Posted on Mon Apr 17th, 2023 @ 6:33am by Alonzo Blazevic & Hale Stratton

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Bangor or Bust
Location: Bangor, Maine
Timeline: Sunday, August 19th, 2010

At approximately 12:15 in the afternoon, Alonzo had pulled onto Hammond Street just down the road some few minutes where the mauling had happened. It was all still fresh, the wounds of the city had not even had a few days yet to heal over. Fortunately for him the crime had been so gruesome that keeping lips tightly sealed was an improbability for the police despite their best efforts. The only thing they could do was tape off the scene around the home itself; however, situated in an area where houses were placed next to one another all down the street, neighbors talked and people knew the family that found deceased.

Getting out of his grey Pontiac Vibe, Alonzo walked up over the curb and onto the sidewalk glad that it was Sunday because it meant he wouldn't have to use change for the parking meter. They were the bane of his existence, always eating up any little extra change he found stuffed underneath couch cushions.

The little white building, a small Kebab place had decent reviews, and it was a convenient place to meet up with his source. She was the next door neighbor of the couple that we found mauled to death in their home, and she was also very familiar with the couple's teenage son who had gone missing, undoubtedly a prime suspect in the police department's investigation of the double homicide.

Stepping across the threshold of the restaurant's door, it was a small place, the sort you gave your order and paid at the counter then waited on it and took a seat. He was supposed to meet the woman here, but he was a handful of minutes earlier than their arranged time. It was just enough time to order himself lamb kebab and tea. As he stood there waiting, he thought about all the questions that he needed to and wanted to ask her.

When his food was up, he gathered it and brought it over to a table and took a seat where he had clear view of the doorway. When a vehicle pulled up, his gut told him that it was the neighbor that he was due to meet.

She sat in the car for a moment, white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel, the car running and just stared out of the front window while an internal debate raged within. It took a moment, really more than one, for her to get moving but then, she had always been that way. Hard to make the decision but once made, she could act.

She found some change for the meter and did something normal. Understandable. Shut the car down. Lock it and put money in the meter. Just an hour because she wasn't going to stay. Not in the restaurant. Not in the house it had taken her and Ben thirty years to pay off. Not even in the city. Just get it done, she thought. You can do this.

Shouldering her purse, she entered the restaurant and stopped just over the threshold. Her nervous gaze taking in the room as it came to her that she had no idea what the man looked like. Five minutes, she thought. If no one approaches in five minutes, I can go.

Alonzo was fairly certain that the woman who has walked in was the woman who he had spoken with by phone. She at least looked like the sort of woman that went with the voice. "Hey, over here," he said standing up from his seat and waving the woman over. "The food is good, I promise. You won't regret the kebab."

Nodding her head, she walked over and took the seat opposite him. "Sorry," she said as she settled in, "just don't have much of an appetite." She took a deep breath, willing herself to relax. "On the phone, you said you had some questions for me, Mr. Blazevic?"

Yeah, okay, makes sense thought Alonzo given what the woman knew had happened next door to her. I'm sure the crime scene photographs were something otherworldly and with those thoughts, he focused on answering her questions. "Yes, I know you've lived next door for several years and with what happened...tell me about the couple? I understand they had a teenage son too, but he's missing?"

"More like thirty," she said, nodding her head slightly. "Yes, I think that's right. Ben and I bought the place two years before we married. So, it's fair to say I know the Thompsons fairly well. Alice and I, that's Mrs. Thompson, used to commiserate over coffee after Ben and Harvey went to work. They had a teenage boy, Ethan. Nice enough. Him and his father used to come over and rake the leaves for me after my Ben passed." She leaned forward, tears forming in her faded blue eyes. "Just dreadful, them dying like that."

Alonzo grabbed a few napkins from the napkin holder on the table, and pushed a small stack over towards her across the table. Dreadful but interesting he thought although he was not about to express his intrigue. "Yes, I've read some of the details. At least what was released to the public. You said their boy, Ethan? Ethan was 'nice enough' and would help his father rake leaves for you. Teenagers tend to be moody and their behavior shifts a bit, but have you noticed anything peculiar about Ethan lately?" Drug use maybe thought Alonzo.

"Well," she said as she sat back in her chair, twisting the strap on her purse with one hand, her gaze distant, unfocused for a moment before snapping back. "You know, Alice had mentioned the other day that Ethan had been sneaking out at night. Obsessed with motorcycles he was, always talking about racing. She heard something on the news about teens doing street races somewhere out past the warehouse district and she was worried for him."

That hits close to him and with the mention of street races, Alonzo started thinking about himself and his own past. "Boys will be boys," he replied shyly. "But that can be very dangerous. Was it common for Ethan to explore reckless behavior like that?" This was a good starting point. If Ethan was involved with street racing he could have been involved in other things, and even if he wasn't he would know places that he could hide.

"No," she said, shaking her head and then stopped herself. "Well not before the trouble started anyway. His parents were fighting more, bills and the like. Alice said they were going to marriage counseling but ... I don't think it was working. Poor lamb."

The man couldn't help but to look down at his plate. Lamb kebab, and at her for the choice of expression. "They were together for a while. Enough to have a teenager, an older one at that." He was interested about the troubles. "What do you think caused the marital issues? An affair?"

"No," she said, drawing out the sound of the word. "I mean, I don't think so. Not that Alice ever said. He was a ... researcher, I think ... always working long hours. Alice said that even when he was home, he wasn't. Always on his laptop. Always acting like the world was going to end if he didn't keep at it. She just .. got tired, I think. Of raising Ethan on her own. Of being alone all the time. Of waiting for him to notice he was married again."

"I see," replied Alonzo. "Given what happened to them, how they were discovered... Do you believe Ethan is responsible or could be responsible for what happened. I know they initially thought a rabid bear had gotten in or something, but it doesn't seem like there was any forced entry. I drove by the place earlier."

"I heard the screams," she said, paling visibly, "and I called 911." Her gaze dropped to her lap for a moment, her hands fisting on the strap so hard that her knuckles showed white. "I was afraid to go there but I ... I looked out the window and I ... I saw something. There was a sound, like firecrackers going off in the street, and then someone came out the back door and just ... walked away. Took the police a full half hour to arrive, you know. Shameful. Just shameful."

Alonzo wasn't fully aware that she had seen someone or something. "Something? It was late I'm sure. If firecrackers were being set off, the sun must have had gone down by then or close to it. What was the shape that you saw? Bipedal? Did it look like it could have been Ethan?"

"How could it have been," she asked. "Ethan's a nice boy. A little too wrapped up in motorcycles and street racing but a nice boy ..." She paused, her memory drawing her back to that time almost against her will. "It was dark and all ... definitely a person ... but odd, you know ... walking slowly with its head a bit to one side. Ethan never walked anywhere. Alice used to say that he was born running."

And whether he did it or not, that's probably what he is doing. Running thought Alonzo. "Okay, so it probably wasn't Ethan that you saw then" he stated. "I appreciate you giving me some insight on the nice. If you can remember if you saw or heard anything else, call me."

"I'm leaving," she said quietly. "Going to visit my sister and try to get those awful screams out of my head. I hope this helps you ... I hope it helps them." She rose from her seat, shouldering her purse once more. "You take care of yourself. Don't end up like they did. Not even justice is worth that. Good-bye."

Duty to the Thompsons done, she walked out of the restaurant and headed straight for her car. She didn't plan to stop again as long as she had the gas. As she settled into the driver's seat, she turned on her favorite station and let Johnny Cash sing her troubles away.

This festival should give me time to work out these details he thought. He would need to come back after the festival when he could, postpone going to classes. He wanted to find Ethan and get to the truth.

 

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