Cedar Point Police Bulletin - David Leonard Martin

On all social media and every news website and blog relating to Kingfisher Bay, Surrey, Langley and Richmond BC.

Police are conducting a wide scale manhunt for David Leonard Martin. He is a Caucasian male, 35 years old, 6’1, approximately 180 lbs, brown hair and eyes with a slight twitch in his left eye. Martin was last seen in conjunction with an armed robbery and assault at Chen’s Supermarket in Cedar Point on the evening of September 26^th, 2015. Two other assailants were taken into custody but David Martin is still at large. Do not approach. Martin is known to be violent and unpredictable. Please contact your local police if you see him to report the location. Cooperate with law enforcement to assist their search in your area.

Small Town Gossip

Anna Wright buttoned up her cardigan and pulled her purse from the hook. She pulled out her phone on the way up the basement apartment stairs to the door. The breakfast rush was over and her shift had just ended after the clean up. There was a text from her father Morgan.

Hey Anna Banana, can you grab my mail from my postal box. I’m driving to a protest in Alberta to meet Sunny this week and I forgot to ask you before I left.

Anna rolled her eyes. Sunny was Sunshine Meadow, her father’s on again off again whatever non label they were referring to it as this week. Morgan Wright was thought to be a bit of a crackpot conspiracy theory junkie amongst the Cedar Point residents but Sunshine Meadow was even further away from reality. The two of them together were too much to deal with. Anna felt sorry for the Albertans and chuckled to herself as she stepped outside and locked her door.

Jogging up the street was Stephanie’s brother Ryan. Anna mock frowned at him and tapped at her wrist pretending to be gesturing to a watch. Ryan’s run typically happened as her early shift started. She saw him go by most mornings.

Ryan smirked and nodded at her “Yeah I know. Ask Lee about it. Late night for the drunk tank. Supposed to be my night off.”

Anna sighed “Shit, not again. Is he out?”

Ryan laughed “Few hours and a pot of coffee but I think he’s banned from the Black Hole again for awhile. Cleared out the bar pretty early in the night and JD was not happy.”

Anna shook her head “Was it a fight or was he just his usual charming self?”

Ryan rolled his neck from side to side and then leaned to the right pulling his left foot up behind his body in a hamstring stretch “Looked like it started as a thing with a girl, then it went bad, then he bugged the girl until she and her friend screamed for a bouncer and it all hit the fan. That’s what JD saw anyway. This is all off the record of course, just a heads up because maybe you should check on him.”

Anna readjusted her purse on her shoulder “Who was the girl?”

“One of the hairdressers from Luxe. She’s new I think, kinda hot. A bunch of them were there.”

“Hmmm alright. Maybe I’ll go for a haircut and see if they’re still gossiping about it. Then I’ll go check on Lee. Thanks Ryan. Have a good run.”

Ryan had shifted to his other foot to stretch his right hamstring “Always do. See ya Anna.”

Anna walked around the Lavender Dreams B&B down Galley Crescent to the Luxe hair salon at the corner of Main Street. She sauntered up to the desk and spoke to Tracy, one of the long time hair dressers of the establishment. Tracy was a small framed short haired blonde woman.  Anna pointed at the unruly auburn mop on her head “Hi Tracy, do you have any openings for a walk in today?”

Tracy smiled “Yeah I can take you right now. Do you want to go short again or stick with the chin length but a bit more under control?”

Anna laughed “It’s never under control but sure, do your best. Since I seem to only have 2 hairstyles we can just alternate.”

She followed Tracy to the sinks and settled in to have her scalp roughly scrubbed and then lightly massaged. The warm repetition of the sprayer going over her head lulled her into a needed moment of relaxation. Tracy tightly wrapped her head in a towel and ushered her to a chair. The relaxation dissipated as the cut and conversation began.

“Lee Chen Wright is your brother right?”

So much for casually listening in and gleaming the details. A small town keeps no secrets. Anna kept her expression neutral as she made eye contact with Tracy in the mirror and replied “Uh huh. Half brother. You know him?”

Tracy pursed her lips, her eyes going wide for a moment and then she lowered her voice and said “Well…I do now. He and Brandy who works here had a bit of a thing. She broke it off last night and he totally freaked on her. We were all at the bar. It was bad…like call the cops bad. I mean he didn’t hit her or anything but they were yelling and then the bouncers….I think one of them hit Lee and then he broke a bottle. It was a mess. Candy called in sick today. Don’t take this the wrong way…but you seem really sane….”

Anna smiled awkwardly “Compared to my family, I get that a lot. Lee’s complicated and more so if he’s had a few drinks. But he can also be a good guy. I’m sorry you saw him at his worst.”

Tracey pulled up a section of hair and cut in little precise snips “Whatever, men right? Brandy sure has rotten luck.  Our towns a bit dry that way. Am I right?” She giggled.

Anna shrugged “I dunno. Not really putting myself out there right now but I’ll take your word for it.”

Tracy raised one eyebrow and then rolled right into the next bit of gossip about the previous night “Speaking of men, there was some weird guy in the Black Hole dirty dancing with Megan after all the crazy went down. He was kinda creepy looking, just kind of emerged from the shadows. I don’t think she served us a drink all night. Old JD doesn’t seem to care that his daughter grinds it with the tourists every Saturday night. He’s usually pissed himself though so maybe he can’t see that far.”

Anna grimaced quietly, debating whether or not she should mention this tale to Tamela. The topic of her sister’s promiscuity and her father’s drinking was never going to be a good conversation.

Tracy proceeded to snip and tousle and blow dry with snippets of town gossip after that. Anna was thankful for the conversation turning away from her own family and was eager to pay up and go check on Lee. She exhaled slowly as she walked down the back walkway to her brother’s bachelor apartment. She sent a text about halfway there with no reply offered. There was no point in calling as Lee rarely answered the phone anyway. Maybe he was still sleeping it off. Anna knocked loudly at the door a few times but Lee never answered.  She gave up and slid her phone back into her purse.

Anna rounded Galley Crescent to Main at the other end and started walking towards the lighthouse. She decided to cut through the parking lot by the walk in clinic and walk along the ocean. The sound of the waves and the salty air were soothing to her. She stopped briefly to stand and look out across the water. The tide was going out. There was a smattering of fishing boats past the harbour and people of all ages gathered at the ends of the docks to fish as well. A bicycle bell chimed beside her as a gaggle of children whipped by on their way to the beach. Anna continued her walk in the wake of their shouts and laughter. She peered into Sakura’s as she passed looking for Stephanie. There was no sign of her but Garrett noticed her from behind the counter and started waving after breaking into a wide friendly smile. She grinned and waved back and then cut through the next parking lot past Chen’s to the lighthouse. The grocery store was a bustle of activity, as usual. She’d have to come back and wade through it to get to her father’s post box. But first she climbed the hill. The view from Beacon Hill road was always breathtaking at any time of day or night. She paused to look down at the town and catch her breath and then continued on to the lighthouse to get the mailbox key. Morgan had put a scrawled sign on the door closing the museum for refurbishments. He often did this after the busy season to take a bit of a break. Sometimes he fixed up a few of the exhibits while the sign was up and sometimes he chose not to.

Anna used her key and let herself in. The museum was a bit spooky when it was closed. Some of the townsfolk were convinced the place was haunted. With the breeze of the outside door closing behind her the skeleton of a dolphin that hung from the ceiling in the lobby swayed and creaked. Anna felt her breath quicken for a second and she darted a look up and then shook her head.

“Just the wind…” she murmered.

She wasted no time in dashing behind the counter to the doorway into her father’s spartan accommodations. The main room was a combination living room, kitchen and dining room. Morgan used a wood stove for heating his living space and cooking even though the building was wired for modern electricity. He was never a fan of the idea of upgrading because he loved to stoke the fire. As a child Anna had thought it like time travelling to come and stay here.  She went to the old desk past the dining table and took out the key from the drawer.  As she made her way back across the room she heard an odd scuff from her sneaker and felt like she was kicking loose debris. Anna looked down and noticed not just carpet dirt but large chunks of earth on one corner of the carpet. She puzzled at it momentarily and then shrugged it off. Her father was notoriously lax at housekeeping. As she locked up the lighthouse a light rain began to drizzle on her. The air cooled rapidly as she descended the hill.

A chime rang out as she pushed the door open at Chen’s. She walked to the post boxes and gathered the mail. It was mostly a pile of bills, some of them appearing urgent. The children who had bicycled past her were in the candy section nearby, expressing themselves with great enthusiasm. Ushi Chen was behind the cash counter peering down at them as she rubbed one temple with two fingers. A particularly rowdy red haired boy laughed loudly and tossed some sort of slime candy at unsuspecting dark haired girl squatting in front of the Reece’s peanut butter cups. The girl yelled in protest and shoved the boy. Ushi looked mildly rabid. Her name meant bull in Chinese and it went almost too well with her personality. She was a robust woman in her mid 50s with wispy chin length jet black hair and an intense face that rarely cracked a smile.

“Hey cut it out!” Ushi shouted “This is a store not a playground. You throw it around, you buy it!”

A silence fell over the children as the red haired boy sheepishly went to the counter and fished through his pocket change. He fell short and Ushi’s stare was like a death ray. Anna gulped and walked over, leaving Morgan’s mailbox hanging open. She cleared her throat and then carefully asked “How much do you need buddy?”

The boy shrank into himself and squeaked out “Fifty five cents.”

Anna pulled out her change purse and augmented his payment, sighing at Ushi. The rest of the kids quietly filed out the door and the boy followed after looking back briefly and saying a very quiet thank you.

Ushi turned the death ray on Anna “Great. You want to help the kid be a bigger brat? He could have worked it off sweeping the floor.”

Anna stepped back a bit but replied “Ushi, he’s just a kid. He got a bit silly. It happens. Speaking of kids, have you seen Lee today?”

Ushi scoffed “No, and his stupid landlord called here too. Tell him to pay his rent if you get a hold of him.”

Anna sighed “Before you hear it from anyone else, he got into a bit of a situation last night at the Black Hole. It sounds pretty minor compared to…..well…”

Ushi flew off the handle again and started ranting “You see? THAT’s what happens when you let them become brats! They turn into criminals! I should have made him go to military school in China!”

Anna took a few more steps back and headed towards the still open mailbox “Alright well…uh….now you know. Sorry…see you later.”

She could hear Ushi still grumbling as she turned her back and almost pictured smoke coming out from the severe woman’s nostrils. Anna scooped up the mail and shut the box quickly before veering to the other end of the store to exit through the opposite doors. Michael Chen was in the produce section talking to en employee about something in the display cooler. Michael was about 10 years younger than Ushi as there had been a lot of Chens in Cedar Point born into their family. He had similar physical traits but was the polar opposite of Ushi in persona; always having a smile for everyone he met which extended to the warmth of his eyes. He was joking with the worker now and they both laughed. Michael saw Anna and waved cheerily “Have a great day Anna!”

She smiled back “Thanks, you too.”

As she went outside she glanced back up towards the lighthouse. If her father was just texting her today, she’d probably have to grab the mail again in a day or two. She decided to hold onto this pile and deliver the whole lot after her next mail run. She pulled out her phone and checked for messages. There was still no reply from Lee.  There was a text from Stephanie though, inviting her for a late lunch at Sakura’s. Anna texted back, deciding to go de - stress with her friend. It was a well known fact that sushi cured all.

Cedar Point Dragon Naming Contest

Mayor Shirley Douglas and the town council of Cedar Point are inviting you to help us name our new dragon. This dragon was a gift created by a group of sculptors from Guanzhou, China. We are very honoured by generosity and will feature the statue near the main public beach for all to enjoy. Our townsfolk have put forward the 4 following names:

Mookie
Dremora
Dante
Dorp

You can vote for your favourite in the top right corner of the website. We'll announce the winner on  the evening of September 1st!

The Open Road

Stephanie Yamada's (fictional) Facebook Status Update:

We're hitting the road suckas! Tamela Douglas refused to look up because she's a cranky pants. Thanks Tallulah Beal for taking this pic. Anna Wright made awesome cookies and we're not sharing. See you in 9 days!

Tallulah Beal, Morgan Wright, Ryan Yamada, Hiroshi Yamada, Anna Wright and 4 others liked this post.

House Rules

Tamela Douglas stood outside The Black Hole bar, breathing deeply and steeling herself before pulling the door open with an audible exhale. She was a tanned skin muscular brunette with a chin length cut that framed her face. Her heritage was Aboriginal and Spanish. She wore large sunglasses that obscured her face but under them she was nothing short of striking.

 It was the switch over between afternoon dancers and the lead up to the regular happy hour crowd. A fleshy gaggle of strippers could be seen past the open door of the coat check as they made to clock out. A dwindling number of middle aged men nursed the last of their drinks inside the club, savouring the show that had just ended. Tamela walked past them with her sunglasses still on despite the dim room. Most of them knew better than to chat her up but seeing as it was tourist season she didn’t feel like inviting any who did not. She found her sister behind the bar adding fire to the top of a shot with her zippo lighter. Tamela chuckled and rolled her eyes. Megan Douglas looked up at the sound. Megan was a slighter version of Tamela with longer hair. Her face was longer as well. She dressed to show and unlike Tamela, enjoyed the attention it got her. She put the drink down in front of Tamela and nodded at it.

“My latest creation. Too bad you don’t drink.”

Tamela slid the shot back towards Megan and settled into a bar stool “I disagree. Smells like Sambuca though.”

Megan grinned “Holds the fire best.” She leaned on the bar and beckoned to someone behind Tamela with her finger “Hey Craig, come get a free shot honey. Trixie said you tipped the highest.”

Craig practically flew to the bar “She did? I mean…she’s a really gu … gu  … good dancer. Do you think she liked me?” Craig was a pale stout man who had a pronounced sandy blonde comb over. However his chest and back hair spilled generously over the top of his golf shirt collar.

Megan began to giggle as Craig downed the shot and shuddered while waiting for her answer.

Tamela took off her sunglasses and tossed them on the bar in front of her roughly.

“Oh for fuck’s sakes. Are you really that much of a tool?! She’s a stripper man. You put money in the string and of course she’ll act like she likes you.”

Craig jumped “Officer Douglas, I didn’t see you there.”

“Oh relax I’m off duty and sadly being a moron isn’t something I can arrest you for. But do you mind pissing off now? I’m having a conversation with my sister.”

Craig mumbled something quickly and inaudibly and then scampered away like a dog with his tail between his legs.

Megan sighed “Dad says you’re bad for business you know. Why do you have to be so fucking mean?”

Tamela frowned “I’m not mean, just honest. People can’t handle it, that’s their deal.  I’m here to give you the keys, but first we need some ground rules.”

Megan made a face and pre-empted her sister in a mocking tone “No boys, no parties, no bonfires in the living room. I can agree to one of those at least.”

Tamela’s frown deepened “How about we just say don’t do shit I might have to arrest you for later in my place? Change the sheets, wash the dishes and and take out the garbage and recycling. You need to take the trash all the way down. Chute’s blocked. Some dickwad stuffed an ottoman in there and the landlord’s on vacation. And check in on Dad too. I know this is a nice break but he needs someone around.”

Megan nodded noncommittally “Yeah alright. Where are you going anyway?”

Tamela shrugged as she slid a set of keys on a ring across the bar “I dunno, east of here. It’s a road trip and we’re camping so we’ll see how far we get before we need to get back. I think Steph has some sort of colour coded plan in her fucking iPad. Anna’s driving. I’ll chop wood and keep bears off us.”

Megan grinned wryly and took the keys “Good times. Bring me a bear claw.”

Tamela slid her sunglasses back onto her face as she hopped off the bar stool “Don’t tempt me.”

Rocky

Ryan Yamada sipped slowly from a cup of strong black coffee as he poured over his designated stack of incident reports that would dictate the course of his day. He was just deciding between following up on a vandalism report or a break and enter incident when his eyes were drawn upward by motion passing the top of his cubicle and the familiar waft of Lily of the Valley perfume. His sister Stephanie rounded the corner of the inadequate partition. She was smiling but with a determined look in her deep brown eyes, and to Ryan’s alarm she was holding a large wire mesh cage containing a hamster.

“Good morning!” Stephanie chided.

She had shiny jet black hair like Ryan’s, her own worn long with the front pulled back. Stephanie shared the same slim athletic type build as Ryan and had similarly even skin. The two both took after their mother, Sakura. Their older brother Garrett was built thicker, like their father Hiroshi, and had skin that showed all his life’s marks. Stephanie was wearing a green patterned sundress with a light matching summer cardigan over it and high heeled beige strappy sandals. Her purse matched the shoes and her pedicure matched the dress. To say Stephanie was organized was an understatement.

Ryan eyed the cage warily “Uh hi…why are you carrying that around? Show and tell at Tristan’s day camp?”

Stephanie shook her head and gave her brother a look of disappointment “No and I see you haven’t read my email yet or you’d know why I’m here. This is Rocky. We have him over the summer from the school. He has an anxiety disorder so he gets a little queasy if he’s left alone too long, and he needs to get used to people. I figure you guys should get to know each other since he’s yours on the list of care duties regarding Tristan when I go away.” Her cheery smile returned as she said brightly “He’ll keep you company at work!”

Ryan watched with restrained shock as his sister shoved piles of work aside on his desk and made a featured space for the cage. She started detailing a litany of feeding, water bottle filling and shavings changing that mostly flew by him because of the speed she delivered it at. When she stopped for a breath he asked with a tone of dread “There’s a ….list….. of duties?”

Stephanie sighed and then laughed “Don’t worry. It’s super easy if you and Gare follow it in order. I numbered it actually. Mom’s back at work now that Dad’s doing a bit better so she can’t be expected to do all the child care. Plus she’s doing my job part time too.  I put Tristan in camp again then though so he’s sorted during the day, unless he gets sick….then one of you has to stay with him…but its summer so he probably won’t.” Stephanie shifted her purse higher onto her shoulder and leaned in giving Ryan a peck on the cheek “You guys are awesome though. I haven’t had a vacation in years. This is going to be so amazing. Have you seen Tams by the way? She wasn’t at the front desk.”

Ryan stared at her like a deer in the headlights. He was completely overwhelmed with information and obligation. Finally it registered that he was expected to answer a question so he stammered through.

“Uh yeah…no problem. I think she’s on community service supervision. Check the beach. It’s clean up day. Listen Steph, I really need to get to these.” He gestured at his stack of reports and she took the hint and wrapped up.

“I know. I just wanted to bring this little guy by. I’ll catch you later at the restaurant. Bring Rocky OK?”

Ryan nodded and chuckled to himself “Yeah OK. See ya.”

No sooner had Stephanie left the building and his phone vibrated on silent in his left chest pocket. He took it out and it was Garrett trying to face time him. With a wince Ryan slid his finger across his phone to unlock and then answered.

“You guys know I’m at work right? Steph just left. I do actually have shit to do.”

Garrett looked and sounded like he had just woken up, which he probably had considering he worked nights as a sushi chef in their parent’s restaurant “Nine pages.” He mumbled.

Ryan squinted in confusion at his brother’s face on the screen “What?” Garrett had his phone held at extreme close up so his face filled the entire screen. His head was tilted back so Ryan could see up his nose. The effect was disturbing to anyone new to face time with Garrett as this was his standard operating mode. When he laughed his mouth took over the screen. Ryan often teased him saying he could pick Garrett’s tonsils out of a police line up.

“Nine fuckin pages man. I just put Steph’s duty list into a word document. Does she really think we’re going to starve the kid and let him stay up all night?”

Ryan laughed “Yep. We gotta do the list in order or the kid turns to sugar and melts. But we can’t give him any sugar or it happens faster. But don’t worry Gare, I’m on hamster duty so you dodged one.” He shifted his screen to show Rocky running anxiously on his small plastic wheel.

Garrett laughed heartily, with his mouth opened fully and creepily across the screen, “Suckah! K go arrest someone or something.”

Ryan shook his head “Not likely but thanks. See you tonight man.” He tapped to close his phone app and looked up into the not remotely amused face of Chief Nick Callahan.

“Officer Yamada, that’s one personal visit and one personal call today. Do you have any other social distractions that are going to keep you from getting to your work I should be aware of?”

Ryan gulped  “No Sir.”

Rocky let out a high pitched squeak and Callahan looked down at the cage in disdain “What’s with the rat?”

“It’s a hamster Sir. My nephew’s but my sister needs me to…” He broke off as the police chief’s impatient glare bore through him.

Nick Callahan was simultaneously ancient looking and ageless. His skin had a leathery quality to it. He had steely blue grey eyes and cropped white hair cut that likely never dared to to grow and a small neatly kept white goatee. His sparse but expressive eyebrows were potentially a life form of their own and they furrowed, threatening to jump off his face at Ryan and consume him whole.

“You know what, not important. I’m going to hit the pavement and do these follow up calls.”

Over Easy

Anna Wright shifted her weight from her left foot to her right as she hovered with a plate of toast and bacon by the stove, waiting on her trainee to make a third set of over easy eggs in the hour. After a few disasters Caitlin had finally perfected the many types of eggs demanded of them by the tourists who overflowed the Lavender Dreams Bed and Breakfast in the summer months.

Caitlin grinned as she flawlessly slid the eggs on the plate “Perfection.”

Anna laughed “Simmer down now. But you’re doing great.”

She leaned into the door to the dining area to open it and deliver the meal to the patron. He was an American in around his late fifties or early sixties planning to hike as much Canadian West Coast as he could set his boots on. He looked to be in the right shape to take in on with a tall and wiry muscular frame. He was lightly tanned with a short grey goatee and a matching full head of silver hair. She suspected his accent originated somewhere in the range of Ohio as yesterday he had asked her about the location of the Laundromat because he wished to “worsh” his clothes. He thanked her for the eggs and darted a look at his dwindling supply of coffee.

“Could I get a refill on that please?”

Anna smiled “Sure. I’ll be back in a sec.”

She circled the dining area, gathering dishes in a mildly precarious stack and made her way back into the kitchen.

Her mother, Tallulah Beal, was in the kitchen talking to Caitlin as she loaded the dishwasher and the two looked up as Anna came in.

“Oh, got some more for you.” She teased before taking them to the sink to rinse off anything too chunky for the machine.  Tallulah took them from the sink and began to pass them to Caitlin. Tallulah had her long white hair swept up in a bun for the morning’s work. She looked like an older, slightly more robust version of Anna except for the long hair and her tortoise rimmed glasses. Tallulah was an eternal hippie. She had on a worn tie dyed t-shirt and loose billowy capri length pants. If it wasn’t health code regulation to wear close toed shoes in the kitchen, she’d happily be in bare feet than her small flat shoes. Beside her, Caitlin was practically a pixie with her slight build and bobbed blonde hair.  Cailtlin also had a very bohemian vibe which is likely what drew Tallulah to hire her as a summer cook. There was, of course, another reason for the hiring which Tallulah addressed.

“Anna, we’ve got this you know. You should take that road trip with Steph and Tams.”

Caitlin nodded in support of the statement and Anna looked between the two women “Are you sure? It’s the high season. Having three of us has actually been a really good balance. And that Swedish exchange group won’t have even arrived yet when I’m supposed to be leaving.”

Tallulah shook her hands in the air and then placed one still damp hand on Anna’s shoulder “We’ll be FINE. Take the camper and have some fun.”

Anna exhaled and then hugged her mother “OK, but I’ll keep it short.” She let go, reaching for the coffee pot. “That hiker guy needs a refill.”

Tallulah flushed slightly and scooped the pot away from her daughter “Oh you mean Paul? Please allow me.”


Anna released her grip and smirked. Caitlin giggled. After the door swung shut from her mother's exit Anna said "Keep an eye on her while I'm away Caitlin. She shouldn't be left unsupervised."