CHAPTER 2
“Sergeant, you’ve got a call on line one, says it’s an emergency.” I nearly jumped as my receptionist spoke, waking me from my daydream. “Line one?” I repeated, making sure I heard properly.
Mandy, my receptionist, nodded and left my office. I sighed, picking up the telephone and leaning back into my chair. “Hello?” for a while there was no noise, not even breathing, “hello? Anyone there?” This is precisely why I reviled phone calls. It was constantly so hard.
“Michael” the voice spoke, and I recognised it right away.
“Tom, what’s wrong?”
I could almost perceive sound of fret in his tone.
Tom and I had been job colleagues for a while; it had been a while since we’d spoken, even though we were working on the same case mutually. We were both appreciated officers of the law. We were welcoming to one another, but this case had torn between us. Months after months of youthful women running into the town, misplaced and frightened, screaming of rape and assault, and we can’t locate the bastard causing all this. Tom had become aggravated and asked to take a small number of weeks off, which I permitted, but he always continued to investigate, I knew he couldn’t help it. It was eating away at me just as it was him.
“Tom?” I repeated.
“There’s another one.” I gripped the phone firmly as he spoke. “Another what?” I grabbed a pen from my desk and began chewing on it, an anxious routine I developed from my Mother. I heard Tom gulp down hard before speaking. “There’s a girl, she was found strolling around town, she’s not talking much but there’s signs f physical abuse on her body. I think it’s another victim.”
Fuck. Not another.
The city had already begun talking of the police force and their aptitude to keep the women secure; we didn’t need another reason for their bullshit.
I don’t have time for this.
“What’s her name? Is she alright? Can you get her to come into the station? Tom we have to bring her in quickly before people see her. I hope you were the first one to find her. Just, just bring her in ok? I want to finish this case.”
Where is this bastard?
“Unfortunately I wasn’t first to find her.”
“Fuck.”
This is incredible.
“Look, I’ll try and bring her in.”
“Force her, Tom. Just do whatever it takes. Where are you?”
“I’m parked on the side of the road, she’s with me here.”
“Bring her in, Tom. She has no choice.”
“She’s just a bit scared; she looks like she’s been through hell and back.”
“Is she well dressed? It’s cold out.”
“Not exactly; she’s, wearing a small night gown- she just looks so, flustered.”
I rolled my eyes. “Are you sure she’s not just a junkie prostitute?”
“No, no I’m sure she’s another victim. She’s clinging onto me like her life depends on it. She looks to innocent to be like that. She’s real conservative like.”
“And you’re saying this all in front of her?”
“Well, she’s irresponsive. It’d be good to get a reaction out of her. Get her talking.”
I imagined Tom looking straight at the woman at the same time as speaking to me. “Ok, just bring her in Tom, I’ll get her talking. Be here soon.”
