unfortunate ➸ primeval

Chapter 6

The group rejoined in the entrance hall of the house, Jenny leading them to the exit and pulling the door open. "Well, that was eventful," she commented, before stopping dead in her tracks as she noticed a man leaning against the pillar on the porch. He was a bit younger than Cutter, at an educated guess, and his stern face made him look like someone you wouldn't want to mess with.

"It's a nice place, isn't it?" He said dryly, flashing them his policeman's badge. "Do you care to explain what you're doing here?"

"Just visiting," Jenny answered calmly.

"Well, the way I see it, you're either burglars or trespassers," he said, spinning around to face them, hands shoved in his pockets.

"Do we look like burglars to you?" Jenny scoffed. Connor snickered from behind her.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I've seen laughing boy on a wanted poster, yeah," he retorted.

"Is he talking about me?" Connor muttered to Abby.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Oi, Officer. . .?" Jenny trailed off.

"Detective Constable Quinn," he corrected. "And you are?"

Jenny quickly glanced around, her gaze lingering on a fallen For Sale sign that lay abandoned in the overgrown bushes. "We're property developers," she lied.

"You're lying," Quinn stated, glancing to the sign as well. "I should arrest you all, but to be quite frank I can't be bothered. You people aren't worth the paperwork. Now go." He stepped aside to let them past.

Straightening her jacket, Jenny strode past him and headed for the old bridge, Abby and Connor following while Clara brought up the rear. Before she left, though, a thought crossed her mind. She turned back to DC Quinn. "What do you mean, you people?" She asked.

"Murder tourists," he growled. "You make me sick. Now get out! And if I see you round here again then your feet won't touch the ground, do you understand?"

"Come on," Jenny said, and the three girls carried on while Connor turned back around.

"Do you know what? Can I just say," he began, and Clara suppressed an eye roll. "That I think the police do a fantastic job, and the occasional lapse into cliche is completely understandable under the circumstances."

"Connor," Abby muttered, pulling him away so they could cross the bridge. DC Quinn did not look amused; his face remained hard as he watched them go.

"There's something strange going on there," Jenny announced once they were off the bridge. "Abby, Clara - stay here. If anything out of the ordinary happens, call us." She then headed in the direction of her car.

"Where are you going?" Clara asked.

"To get some answers!" She called. "Connor, you're coming with me!"

"Bye!" Abby waved, grinning as she watched him trail after Jenny.

Out of the corner of her eye, Clara saw a flash of red among the greens and browns of the trees. "Abby," she tapped her friend on the arm, causing the blonde to look at her.

"Yeah?"

When Clara looked closer, the flash of red had disappeared. She shook her head, dismissing it as a trick of the light. "Nothing. Let's go and watch the house."

——

An hour or two later, the cloudy sky darkened a little in colour. Abby and Clara were swinging backwards and forwards on the porch swing of the house, Abby pushing it with the tips of her black boots and humming to herself cheerfully. Clara fiddled with the anomaly detector, enjoying the comfortable and peaceful silence that surrounded them; except for the tinkling wind chime at the front of the house.