Terror in the Night

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After being stitched up wonderfully by Sam, Faye dragged herself over to the coffee shop close to the station and ordered Colin's usual coffee. While she waited, she watched the news-24 that was on a muted TV in the corner of the cafe. Her lips twitched when coverage of last night's events unfolded for everyone to see. David Johnson was being wheeled away on a paramedic trolley, groaning and cursing at everyone and anyone.

When she got to the police station and signed in and was searched, she headed up to the fifth floor where Colin worked and hopefully get the next person to hunt.

But when she reached the fifth floor, it was chaos throughout the office.

Faye slid around people running around her and dodged around people who weren't looking where they were going.

When she finally reached Colin's desk and spotted his team of four were still working hard at their desks; she knew that because of the dark rings under their eyes. “Have you lot been working all night?” she asked as she placed Colin's coffee amongst the stacks of files and the rest of the clutter.

The officer sitting across Colin's desk looked up and grumbled something and looked around the office. “He said he went to get coffee but that was half an hour ago,” he muttered and dragged himself back into his work.

Faye guessed that was a hint to go and wake him up and swerved around everyone to get to the brake room. She had to giggle at the sight of Colin sprawled out on one of the sofas in the brake room with a newspaper over his face.

She gently closed the door and quietly crossed over to kneel by his head. “Colin,” she said quietly in his ear but he only grunted and rolled over. “Colin, you're late for work,” she teased, but at least he quickly sat up and looked around him.

He yawned and scratched his head while he kept looking around. When he finally noticed Faye, he frowned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “Couldn't resist me could you,” he muttered.

“Very funny,” she muttered back and stood back up and went to make a coffee for herself. “Your team are asking for you. What happened last night anyway?”

He swung up to his feet and went to stand behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and lightly kissed her neck, tickling her with his unshaven bristles. “If you're here...” he said instead of answering, but Faye understood why he didn't want to.

“Yes your coffee is on your desk,” Faye replied and turned in his arms with a mug of her own coffee and a gentle smile on her face.

Finally more alert, Colin finally noticed the discolouration on her face. “What did you do last night?” he asked, “Got into a boxing match with a pro?”

Faye's jaw went slack; he was so close to the truth, when she realised he was poking fun at David Johnson's arrest. “No, I tripped up the stairs last night and fell on an empty bottle,” she explained while wondering if it was a crime to lie to the police.

Colin scowled but reached tenderly to cup her face and trace her lower lip with his thumb. “I don't care what you say anymore and I don't care that we've only been dating less than a month. I'm insisting you move in with me, or at the very least, move out of your club, it's a death trap.”

Faye could only smile at his concern, but before she could reply the doors to the break from were flung open and a member of Colin's team poked his head through. “Colin, the captain wants to talk to everyone; the kidnapper has made his demand,” he said and quickly slinked back out again.

“What happened?” Faye asked again and this time she wanted an answer.

Colin signed and seemed to slump on the spot. “We've had another kidnapping and this time though they have given a time limit before they kill the girl,” he explained and slowly pulled them out into the already packed office.

All the available standing space was taken up by all every available man and woman, some even perched on empty space on the desks while everyone else had to find space around a stern looking man and a large white board filled with information.

Colin wrapped his arms around Faye and held her close to his chest while he lent on a closed door. “You're not many to be here, so try to look as inconspicuous as possible,” he muttered in her ear.

She rolled her eyes at him, his arms around her probably given it away that she wasn't meant to be there. But she leant on him and listened to the review that was going on; she might learn something from listening in.

“Everyone, listen up, we are all here to find Ellie Rochester and your efforts to find her are appreciated by everyone,” the stern looking guy announced and everyone fell silent. “So far all we know is that Ellie was taken from her local park coming out of the toilet block. We are assuming that it was a random snatch just like Shannon Donald.”

Faye bit her lip and looked up at Colin who was staring straight ahead with a stern look on his face.

“To give you a more detailed profile of this case, Detective Bishop, the leading officer on this case. Sophie, the floor is yours.”

A small woman with black curly hair and paper pale skin looked around at the large crowd in front of her. Faye could really describe Detective Bishop as a real life Snow White.

“Ellie Rochester is only five years old,” Sophie announced, for a small woman her voice was loud and clear for everyone to hear. “Like the captain said, she was snatched outside the public toilets. Her mum was sitting the other side of the play area taking to friends at the time.”

She slapped a security camera freeze frame on the board of outside the park toilets with Ellie in the arms of a man dressed in black and a black baseball cap that concealed his face from the camera.

“What we have gathered from whiteness and other park cameras, our kidnapper is over six foot tall, Caucasian and from we can tell, between early twenties to late thirties. We are taking to every family members and friends of the family but at the moment, everyone we talk to us either under six foot tall or have an alibi.

“Our kidnapper left the park through the south gates where a black van was waiting before heading north and being lost in the work rush. From all the camera angles we can only determine the last three digits of the licence plate.

“To round everything up round everything up, we are looking for a black van with the last three digits one, Bravo, Romeo somewhere north of the park. She has been missing for ten hours people, we have eighteen hours left before he grows tired of her and I don’t want any of the public finding out. Her parents have told us that they can get the money within the time but they are giving us time to look her their daughter but they said if we don’t find her they will do the drop two hours before the deadline.”

Everyone suddenly dispersed, having somewhere urgent that wasn’t in that office. Colin on the other just sighed and lent his chin on Faye’s shoulder. “I wish the Confessor would help with this,” he muttered as he pulled Faye away towards the lift.

“Who’s this Confessor and how can he help you?” Faye as she left her hug on a random desk.

“She is the vigilante; everyone is calling her the Confessor because the last two criminals we’ve arrested she recorded their confession. The last guy, we’re arrested; we are still looking through all records about. For all we know it could have just been something he screamed at her to stop her from hurting him,” he explained.

Faye had to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling. “So how could this dangerous vigilante help the police?” she asked.

Colin shrugged just as lift pinged. “I don’t know, maybe she could get the girl before she gets hurt. Or maybe she could find out why these girls have been kidnapped in the first place.”

Stepping into the lift, Faye smiled when she turned back. She could still be arrested for what she was doing, but she felt warm and tingly from hearing that she was a help. “Maybe you should try calling her,” she suggested as she pushed the ground button.

Colin frowned and slapped the door to stop them from closing between them. “What like Batman?” he asked.

“Yes like Batman. Now go catch a kidnapper,” she replied and pushed him away, letting the doors close.

“I’ll see you at your club,” he shouted back as the doors closed between them.