In June of 2005, a customer at a gas station in Derry, New Hampshire, carried a prepaid cell phone

to the counter. They paid for it in cash, and then afterwards they went out to their car and cut

open the packaging. Then once they had the phone, they dialed a number to activate it. But when

the customer service rep asked for their name, the customer hesitated. Because the whole reason they'd bought

this prepaid phone in the first place was specifically

so nobody could trace the calls back to their real identity.

But before we get into today's story, if you're a fan of the Strange, Dark, and Mysterious

delivered in story format, then you've come to the right place because that's all we do.

So if that's of interest to you,

please offer to make the follow button a nice home-cooked meal. But be sure you first douse it

with liquid laxative. Okay? Let's get into today's story. On an afternoon in June of 2005, a 57-year-old truck driver named Jack Reed took a sip of his

margarita at a barbecue in a park in Derry, New Hampshire. Now, he usually didn't drink,

but today he was celebrating. It was his daughter, Megan's high school graduation party. And this was

a big deal for Jack. He'd grown up in the foster care system with nothing,

and he'd worked really hard to ensure that his kids were set up for a better life than he had.

So he was just really proud of Megan for making the right choices and finishing school.

Now he looked over and he saw Megan sitting at a picnic table with her brother, Jack Jr., and also

their mother of Virginia.

Even though he and Virginia were not together anymore, they were still in good terms,

and he was glad the whole family could be there for this special occasion. But then,

Jack tensed up as he spotted somebody else who was walking across the grass toward them,

Megan's boyfriend, Walter. So Megan and Walter had moved in together recently, and Jack was definitely not thrilled about it. He didn't have anything against Walter in particular, but his daughter was

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