A New Beginning

Chapter 72: Crime and Time

Chapter 72: Crime and Time

"Y-You mean she's not here?!" Emma gasps.

Jack is completely astonished as he looks at his friends through the bars of his cell. He has tears forming in his bright blue eyes. His knuckles turn white as he grasps the bars.

"Why would she be here? I wouldn't want my pregnant wife to be anywhere near this place without proper security. You mean to tell me she's not with you."

"She ran off after you were arrested a-and we can't find her..."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIND HER?!" Jack shouts.

"She vanished in the church parking lot," Peter explains, running a hand through his styled blonde hair. "All we found was her veil and Emma's comb. We thought she might've called a taxi to get here."

Jack begins to shake, not just in anger but in fear. The bars practically rattle in his tightened grasp. "She... She's not here and she hasn't been here for the past few hours! Not that I would know, I was locked in an interrogation room and here for all of it."

Everyone's hearts drop into their stomachs, they feel dread flow through them like it was coursing through their veins.

"We have to get you out of here," Emma says, trying for the moment to ignore the much larger problem that hovers over them.

"YOU CAN'T WORRY ABOUT ME, YOU HAVE TO FIND ROSE, SHE'S CARRYING OUR BABY FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

Peter chews on his lip for a long time while Emma bites at her manicured nails. She then turns to her would-be husband. All are shaking with worry and terror. Emma knows that deep down that something is very wrong, her vision has likely come true and Rose is in grave danger. "You find out how to bail Jack out and convince the chief otherwise. I'm going to call home to see if she's there or if she's still at the church. She might be with Molly, trying to get here..."

A shadow of doubt and dread hangs over them as the couple splits up to do their assigned duties.

...

"Holly, is Rose there?" Emma chokes out when the woman who was supposed to be her sister-in-law answers their house phone. She stands in a quieter corner of the station, making as many phone calls as she possibly can, in search of her best friend.

"No, we thought she was with you..."

Emma's stomach drops. She can hear the concerned conversations going on in the background and little Thomas crying in confusion and despair.

"Who is at the house right now?"

"My parents, Ruth, Molly Brown, Mr. Jamieson and his family, Wendy, Tommy and a few other people."

"Is Sybil with you?"

"Carl just put her down for a nap; she woke up not long after you left in the car and became upset by all the chaos. I think she misses you and knew something was wrong."

"And you're sure Rose isn't there?"

"We're positive. Carl and Mr. Jamieson are rallying up the neighbours to begin looking for her."

"T-The sooner the better," the young female lawyer says.

"How is Jack doing?"

"He's worried about Rose when he should be worried about himself too."

"What is he accused of?"

"Attempted murder, rape causing pregnancy, child abduction, and assault."

"Wha...How What How?" Holly stammers. "Who would think such a thing?"

"I don't know. But the chief is saying that he needs to pay for the crimes that occurred on the Titanic."