Chapter Forty-Seven
1
The windscreen wipers were on full but that hardly made a difference as the rain beat hard against the glass. Jack Moon kept his eyes focused on what little he could see of the road ahead. He knew that he was well in excess of the speed limit long before he looked down at the speedometer but that was the last thing on his mind. He had to find Tamicka, that was the main priority.
"Slow down Jack!" Donna's calm voice held a slight edge of fear.
Moon took his eyes from the water blurred glass and gave her a cursory glance. Outwardly she seemed the perfect picture of calm until he looked down at her hands. They were clenched, the fingers of the right one tightly interlocked with those of the left, so that her knuckles became white with the pressure.
"Look, the sooner we get the police onto this the quicker we can find her." Moon changed gear and the car picked up speed.
"And what use will we be to her if we crash and die?" A shade more fear had wormed it's way into her serene facade.
It took Moon a few seconds to break out of his adrenaline rush and process Donna's words. He clicked the gear shift down a couple of notches and brought the car to a much more agreeable speed.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. You're right of course." Moon knew the smile he flashed his passenger was unconvincing but she did appear to be much more comfortable now that he wasn't driving like a maniac.
"I still don't understand why we're not going back to where you found her last time," remarked the woman.
He glanced at her again before fixing his eyes back on the blurred road. She may have been right there too although he doubted it. Last time he had felt like her had been dragged to that little building in the woods as if by some invisible connection. This time there was nothing, everything just seemed blank.
2
Penny pressed the disconnect symbol on the screen of her mobile phone and frowned as she placed it down on the left arm of her chair, away from the heat of the fire.
"I did tell you that those things don't work up here dear," said Mrs. Hughes as she set the tray holding three cups and a large teapot down on the mahogany coffee table.
"I know, I just feel so useless though," Penny replied looking back at her phone. "I need to be doing something."
"But we are doing something sweetheart," the old woman poured tea into one of the cups and handed it to Penny.
"Drinking tea?"
"No dear, not just drinking tea," Mrs. Hughes started to pour tea into the second. "We are waiting here in case that poor little child comes back. It wouldn't do for her to get here and find nobody home would it?"
The girl took a sip of the hot, refreshing liquid and gazed at the intricate floral pattern that decorated the ultra fine bone china cup. "Well that's all well and good but it doesn't make me feel any less useless." Penny knew that she was pouting but she was beyond caring.
"She won't be coming back!" came the little girl's voice from the sofa where Cass sat.
Penny felt her heart pick up by a few beats as she starred over at the young woman. Only the smash of the precious ceramic cup Mrs. Hughes had just dropped snapped her out of her gaze.
"Jane, is that you my dear?" The old woman took a few steps towards the sofa.
"Yes Nana, it's me. I was just with her and she is so frightened."
"But Sweetheart, what do you mean when you say she's not coming back?"
"She won't be back here at the big house tonight, the other one won't let her come back!"
Penny jumped out of her seat and joined Mrs. Hughes. She noticed that Cass's brown eyes had turned green again just as they had last time. "Jane, can you tell us where she is?"
"Yes, she's in town."
"Okay, do you know where exactly?"
"No." The child's voice was so slight that Penny wondered if she had actually heard it.
"How can we help to find her if you can't tell us where to look?"
"This nice lady will take you!" The girl's voice matured again as it faded into mist and the eyes which had been green became brown again. Jane had gone.
"Well what are we going to do now?" asked Penny starring at the old woman..
"Get dressed dear you heard what Jane said, we have to find Tamicka," said Mrs Hughes as she helped a bewildered looking Cass up from the sofa. "Come on you poor thing, let's see if your clothes are dry yet."
"But Mrs. Hughes, how are we going to get to town?" asked Penny as the two women made their way over to the door. "It'll take us ages to get there on foot!"
"Just get changed dear and then check around and see if your mum left her car keys behind when she left."
"Mrs. Hughes, I never knew you could drive."
Mrs. Hughes turned her head and gave Penny a quick wink. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me dear."
3
Donna Stephens breathed a sigh of relief as Jack pulled the car up outside Eastlake police station. Not long after she had managed to calm him down, just as they had reached the Sheen's farm, he had put his foot down once again and this time he did not slow down until they had reached their destination. Without standing on ceremony, and not so much as a backward glance at her, he jumped out of the car and into the downpour. Somewhere in the distance the sound of sirens could be heard just under the crashing thunder.
She regretted the moment it was her own turn to meet the storm from the cover of the car but somewhere out there in the middle of it all was a lost and frightened little girl. There would be time enough for comfort once they had found her.
Donna walked across the threshold of the station's reception area just in time to see Sergeant Galvin and two other policemen walking out of a door to her left. When he realised who they were he walked over to join them. He was not looking at Jack but straight at her.
"Mrs. Stephens we've been trying to get in touch with you but you weren't picking up your phone."
"Have you found her?" asked Jack as he wiped the rain water out of his eyes with his fingers.
"Sorry sir, found who exactly?" The sergeant looked at the man as if noticing him for the first time.
"Tamicka of course, have you found my little girl?"
"This night just keeps getting better," mumbled Galvin under his breath.
"Sorry, come again?" Anger filled Jack's words with venom.
Donna could see the tension building up in him and put her hand on his arm to calm him. Thankfully it seemed to have the desired effect.
"She's gone again?" asked Galvin. "Look I'm sorry but I'm a little rushed at the moment, all hell seems to be breaking loose tonight. When did you report her missing?"
"Well we don't have any reception up at Munford House so that's what I'm doing here right now!"
"All right Mr. Moon why don't you go over to that man at the desk and give him all of the details."
"Look pal, I don't think you understand!" said Jack as he squared up to the policeman.
"I am aware that a missing child is a serious matter and it will be dealt with. At the moment we'er in the position of having too much crime and too little manpower." Sergeant Galvin looked away from the enraged father and towards Donna.
"You've been trying to get in touch with me? How did you get my number?" she frowned.
"Yes, it's about your husband."
"Alan? What's happened?" Donna was shocked by the amount of concern in her own voice.
The policeman looked away from her and back at the man standing beside her.
"Mr. Moon, if you don't mind!" he said indicating to the constable seated behind the desk.
One of the policemen who had been standing with Galvin guided Jack away, this time with little protest.
"You were saying something about my husband?" Donna reminded the sergeant.
"Yes, I'm afraid there was an incident at a house in Granger Street tonight."
"Incident? What happened? I mean is he okay?" The words cascaded from her mouth before she could make sense of what she was trying to say.
"I'm afraid he has been arrested."
"Arrested? What for?"
For a long while the sergeant said nothing. The only sounds were the storm, the approaching sirens and the ringing of a telephone.
"Why don't you come through to my office where we can talk in private?"
"Serge!" the desk constable shouted from the other side of the room. "You're not going to believe this, there have been another two!"
"What? Where?"
"Over at the Sheen's farm."
"Okay I'll go on this one. Get in touch with Bannington and ask them to send down another forensics team." Sergeant Galvin turned his attention back to Donna. "I'm really sorry but would you mind waiting here until I get back?" he asked indicating towards row of chairs behind her.
Still stunned from hearing of her husband's arrest Donna walked over to the chairs and sat down.
"Burton, Grant let's go!"
The two policemen who had accompanied Sergeant Galvin earlier now followed him out of the station.
4
Mrs. Hughes pulled the car over as tight as she could to the edge of the road to allow the speeding police car passage.
"Where do you think their off to?" asked Penny.
"Well dear, you know as well as I there are only two places that they could be going in that direction, the Sheen's farm and the Big House."
"Maybe we should go back, they might have news from my mum and Mr. Moon," Penny said looking as far behind her as the headrest and her seat belt would permit.
"No, keep going!" shouted Cass from the backseat. "I can feel her she needs us right now."
Mrs. Hughes glanced over at Penny who was still busy trying to see through the darkness of the rear window. "Why don't you try calling your mother now dear, you should be able to pick up a signal from here if this blooming weather isn't messing things up too much."
Penny pulled her phone out of her pocket and seconds later the steady hum of her mother's ringtone came from the glove compartment.
"No offence dear but I think that your mother would forget her own head if it wasn't screwed on," the old woman allowed herself a brief smile as she maintained her course toward town.
5
"Alright sir," said the policeman as he added the last few notes into the computer. "If you'd just like to take a seat over there I'll have this processed as soon as possible."
"So that's it?" shouted Moon. "I just sit over there while I wait for you to process shit?"
"You can see how busy we are tonight sir."
"Actually I can't. All I can see at the moment is you sitting on you fat ass."
The constable looked up from the monitor. "Calm down and take a seat sir, we're doing everything we can at the moment."
"Yeah, well thanks a fucking bunch pal!"
"No need for language sir," the constable's tone was soft and calm as he pointed over at the row of seats where Donna was seated.
"Sure, I'm sorry,"
The sirens stopped and the sound of rubber screeching across tarmac intruded on the haunting music of the storm. Just as Moon was about to occupy the seat next to Donna the main double doors of the station burst open. Two policemen dragged a blood smeared man dressed only in boxer shorts into the reception room and over toward the door through which Galvin had entered earlier.
"I didn't do it I'm telling you, I swear I didn't" shouted the man. "It was the girl... The girl with the black eyes! She did it not me!"
As Moon sat down Donna shot up from her seat.
"Oh my god, Alan?"
"Donna, I promise I didn't kill her. It was the girl with the black eyes"
A buzzer sounded and one of the policemen opened the door. They pulled the man through before closing the door behind them.
Moon looked up at Donna and noticed the mixed expression of concern and relief on her face. Standing up from his seat he put his hands gently on her shoulders and pulled her against him.
"So you know that guy huh?" he asked, closing his arms around her.
"Yes, you could say I did once," she replied. "But not anymore."
6
"That's strange," Penny scrolled down the list of missed calls on her mother's phone.
"What's that dear?" asked Mrs. Hughes.
"I don't recognize this number but whoever it is seems really interested in getting in touch with mum."
"I don't think you should be looking through all that stuff dear, put the phone away there's a good girl. How are you back there Cass?"
Penny looked to the woman in the backseat when there was no answer. Cass's eyes were almost totally white where they had turned up behind her lids and saliva was running down her chin from her wide open mouth.
"Mrs. Hughes, I think there's something wrong with Cass."
"Okay dear, I'm going to pull up right over there," the old woman told her. "I'm not sure but I think that's Mr. Moon's car by the police station."
Author's Note
If you liked this chapter please give it a vote. It's easy to do, you only have to press on the star and that's all there is to it. Your vote will help push The Dark Place up the charts where it will make it easier for people to find and read. Thank you very much. :o)