Dark Blue - Part 1

#15 - To Stay Would Be too Dangerous...

John stared blankly at the two officers in front of him, a cold sweat forming on his body.

"Yes." He replies with a small voice.

"Sorry to bother you, we have a few questions for you, if you don't mind." The other officer continued, "I'm officer St. Germain and this is officer Hooten." He said introducing themselves.

"What can I do for you fellas?" John said, trying to keep his door closed as much as possible.

"We were at Calderstones today, got a phone call 'bout a missing girl. She's one of your students. Priscilla Ann Beaulieu." Said officer Hooten as he held out a picture of Priscilla.

"Yes, she is my student." John replied look at the picture briefly. Christ Priscilla, stay in the kitchen... he thought.

"Her mum phoned us this morning, appears she didn't come to school today. Once her mum got the phone call from the school stating Priscilla was absent, she called us to report her missing." Officer Hooten continued.

"Seems a little drastic, doesn't it?" John replied.

"Her mum informed us Priscilla has been living with an older male for the past 3 weeks. We interviewed all of Priscilla's other teachers, asking if they noticed any suspicious behavior from her lately." Officer St. Germain stated.

"I haven't noticed anything suspicious. She's just a little girl." John stated as he tried convincing them of his lack of involvement in Priscilla's life.

"Well, we wanted to come and question you as you were the only one left on our list. The headmaster said you had called in sick." Stated officer Hooten.

"Sorry I couldn't be of more help fellas." John said with a smile. "If I notice anything, I'll be sure to call right away." John slowly began to close the door.

"Oh and another thing." Officer St. Germain glanced down into a pile of papers he had brought with him in regards to Priscilla's case. He then pulled out a piece of ruled paper and began to hand it over. John could feel his heart sink into his stomach.

The paper was from Mr. Rhodes' English class. It was an essay Priscilla had written on Rock-N-Roll music. Officer St. Germain then flipped the essay over to reveal Priscilla's doodles that filled the back page. Some of the words scribbled across the back read, 'Priscilla & John 10/13/58', 'John Forever', the name John in the middle of a heart. As John's eyes then wandered to the bottom of the page. He could feel himself turn a whiter shade of pale as he read the words 'I love John Lennon' in Priscilla's handwriting.

John looked up to meet the stare of both officers. Smiling he responded, "I guess she fancies me a bit."

"Indeed." Replied Officer Hooten.

Paul then approached John from inside his flat, "Hey John, who are you..." Paul trailed off as he noticed the two uniformed officers. "Hello officers."

"Hello sir." Replied officer St. Germain. "Mr. Lennon, we will be in touch with you." He then glanced at Paul and back towards John, "Feel better."

John shut the door immediately reaching for his cigarettes. "Bloody Christ Priscilla." He said as he bit the end of a cigarette. He then pushed Paul out of the way to barge into the kitchen.

Startled by John's actions, Priscilla gasped.

"Are you fucking stupid or something?" John shouted in her face, leaning into her.

"What are you talking about?" Priscilla said as she backed up into the counter.

Paul rushed into the kitchen, grabbing hold of John's arm. "Easy Johnny."