The House

Chapter Fourteen

Detective constable Gary Philips sat at his desk alone, gazing at his computer screen. It had just turned midnight. As always, it was a quiet weekday night. There were only three night-shift detective constables on duty, along with one detective sergeant.

Philips sat there twiddling his thumbs, bored out of his mind. His other two colleagues had their heads buried in their paperwork and case files. Philips, on the other hand, sat there smugly, shaking his head at them.

He had no paperwork to complete, no files to prepare. Philips was known for his impeccable handling of his workload. He was a very driven detective. He wanted nothing more than a promotion. Philips had not been a detective long, having passed the exams only eight months prior.

Philips had solved three armed robberies, seven burglaries, and one murder. The murder case was that of an old woman who had been killed by her grandson. Philips's superiors referred to him as Bolt due to the lightning speed with which he was able to investigate and apprehend a suspect. Philips only liked to take on the big cases. He felt his talents were worthy of dealing with major events, not low-level crime.

Detective-sergeant Williams burst into the room, his tall, stocky presence towering over his detectives. "Right, gents," he said, clapping his hands together. "We've got a child abduction up at the house near Llyn Alwen."

Philips's colleagues looked up at one another in alarm. They then buried their heads in their work even further. "And, yes, I need a willing volunteer." The detectives' faces got lower and lower, nearly pressing against their papers.

Sergeant Williams turned to face Philips. Philips looked away; he hated abduction cases. "Philips, my office, now!" Williams roared. Philips huffed, pulling his athletically built body from its chair and pushing his light-blond hair to the side. His deep hazel coloured eyes glazed with boredom.

Philips walked to the sergeant's office, which was a large room just off the main CID room. Sergeant Williams sat with his feet up on the desk. "Ah, Philips, sit down please," Williams said, pointing at the chair in front of the desk.

Philips took a seat, crossing his legs.

"I know you don't like investigations like this one," he began.

"Sgt, please don't give me this case," Philips begged.

Williams raised a hand in protest. "This is not a debate, Philips. This is a serious abduction a four-year-old child was abducted from her room, with no suspects at this time. The only evidence left was a blood-soaked teddy bear belonging to the little girl."

When he heard the word blood, Philips's ears perked up. "Has a body been found?" Philips asked, intrigued.

Sergeant Williams shook his head. "No," Williams replied. "The child has gone without a trace. I need my best detective on this, Philips. Also, if you solve this one, I can feel a detective sergeant promotion following it."

Those words rang in Philips's ears. A promotion that's what he wanted. He wanted to be a detective sergeant. Philips stood up and walked to the door of the sergeant's office. "I'll take the case. Leave it to me," Philips said as he walked out, moving to his desk.

He picked up his personal radio, his overcoat, and his car keys.

"Be careful with this one, Gary," one of his colleagues shouted at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, buttoning up his overcoat.

The detective looked at him with a concerned look on his face. "Just be careful."