Vanished

Chapter 3

"So. What do we do?" We had left the manor, leaving the dead body under the watch of the three dolts who were getting jumpier the longer they had to stay with it, her. Steph was pacing back and forth in front of me while I sat on the stairs and the rest of the officers, who had yet to see what was inside and what the fuss was about, watched us with confusion.

" - I mean we should probably identify it, her. What do we call... it?" Steph was great at handling witnesses and loved ones of victims, but he was a small town cop who had never left this place and, until this had all started, had never had to deal with a dead body before. I had worked out of town for a while and had even worked in one of the bigger cities, so I was reasonably used to it.

"We call her, her, until we know who she is and then we call her by name."

"Okay, so we wait until the forensics and autopsy teams identify her?" Sometimes I forget he's a trained police officer.

"Yes, that's exactly what we do, congratulations Steph. You've won the award for knowing basic police operations when you're the head detectives co. Congrats!"

"If your done with the sarcasm, one of, what do call them? Oh yes, the trio of dolts, is coming this way."

"Now who's being sarcastic?" Steph didn't have time to reply before the man, who was indeed lead dolt, also known as Hawkinson appeared behind me.

"Ah... Miss, er Detective the teams have, um... have identified the body... and uh well..." So apparently his stuttering was not because of the dead body but because he was a full-blown dolt.

"Who have they identified it as, Hawkinson?" I was too tired to deal with stuttering twats and thankfully he seemed to sense this because his next words actually came out in a full sentence.

"They don't know but it isn't one of the missing girls and no one else appears to have been reported missing in town." It's so unexpected that for a second all Steph and I can do is stand and stare at him in shock.

"Right, Hawkinson, you call nearby towns to the South and West that have a path or road connecting them here. It could be towns that have a road that leads to her past, the path up here or towns that have paths over those hills. If you don't find anything in any of those try other nearby towns in those directions working outwards in a semi-circle from us." He nods and turns to go before I remember something else.

"Hawkinson!"

"Yes, ma'am?" He still can't get his head around calling me detective.

"Not a word to anyone you hear me? Not a single person, even if they're on the force. Just get the other two who were with you and know to help you with the calls but no one else finds out anything. I find out you or one of the others has blabbed, you and the other two are instantly fired alright? The last thing we need is a panic."

"Yes, Detective!" Oh, so once threatened with being fired he's suddenly discovered I'm a Detective who ranks above him, has he?

"Steph, it's times like this that convince me you should send your kids to school rather than homeschool."

Steph looks warily at me, "Where are we going, Jules?"

I smile at him before turning around to face down the hill, Tory and Chance appearing and disappearing as police walk back and forth in front of them, seeming to think that if I see them moving I'll think they're actually doing something useful. "TORY! CHANCE! WE'RE GOING ON A ROAD TRIP! FIRST TO THE CAR GETS A CHOCOLATE BAR!" Several men wince at my yelling and I've barely finished the sentence before Tory and Chance are streaking down the hill and onto the path down the forest.

Laughing Steph and I follow behind them, Steph speculating that they wouldn't run that fast if a building was burning down around them, and how amazing it is that even at fourteen and sixteen, neither is immune to the calls and promise of chocolate.

Finally emerging from the darkness of the forest we find Tory doing a victory dance while Chance leans against my car panting. They spot us at the same time and while Tory shrieks "I won! I won! Do I get chocolate now?" Chance smirks at us and asks "Could you possibly walk any slower dad? We've been waiting for at least ten minutes."

I laugh along with Tory while Steph glares at us and mutters, "Traitors, the lot of ya."

Tory high fives me before leaping into the front seat of the car. Steph catches the door before she closes it and leans in raising both eyebrows at her. "Just because you've finished all of your maths and are coming with us doesn't mean you get to sit in the front, Missy."

Tory pouts at him, an expression that no one can resist. "Please daddy, just for a little while? Please," she gives him puppy eyes which, as I've learnt the hard way, is a family talent and one which, despite being adopted, Tory has learnt how to do perfectly.

Sighing Steph relents and joins Chance in the back. Tory high-fives me and I smile at her before pulling out of the walking track carpark.

After four hours of driving, we finally reach the next town over to the North. I partially told Hawkinson to investigate towns to the South and West to test his navigation skills and partially to give me something to do while also saving on petrol. Usually, we would do this by calling from the station. Not only is this special because this is a dead body but we also have the kids with us since they're homeschooled by Steph and they would get too bored waiting in the station, so I figured I'd turn it into a road trip.

During the four hours, Tory and Chance spent most of their time telling stories, most of which were embarrassing for their father. Tory and I did some rapping and singing to songs on the radio, earning us shocked looks from both of the boys in the backseat, who had clearly never been exposed to our awesome skills.

Once we reached the park at the town's centre, which was about five buildings away from the edges of the town, Steph finally got his revenge on me for not stopping Tory from stealing his seat and for laughing with Chance and Tory at Chance's comment earlier.

"Hey kids! Why don't you go to the little park over there and Jules can look after you while daddy goes to do some work, huh?" Both kids gave him a look that told him exactly what they thought about going to the park.

"Dad, we're sixteen and fourteen. We don't go to the park anymore." Tory nodded in agreement to Chance's statement and Steph looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling widely.

"Well, since Tory never got her chocolate, how about Jules buys you ice cream?" They both seemed to like this idea and headed off to the ice cream parlour while I stared at Steph.

"I'm doing what now?"

"Well, you teamed up with the kids so I presumed you'd like to spend some time and money on them while I go and talk to the police. You can do the next town?" He fled my wrath before I could respond and I turned with a huff stalking across the road to the ice cream parlour.

"Alright what flavours are you getting?"

After eating their ice cream, the kids and Steph were sitting in my car while I talked to Hawkinson leaning against the driver's door of my car.

"Right, so no one is missing from any of the towns to the south?"

"Nope, sorry Detective Cross. I'm just about to check West I just thought I'd let you know of the results so far." He's discovered my last name apparently.

"Great, thanks, Hawkinson. Once you've done West call me. Unless you find something, then call me immediately."

"Yes, Detective."

Beep, beep.

The sound of the end of the call brought me out of my thoughts as I spun around pulled open the door and dropped into the driver seat. Steph had reclaimed the passenger seat, much to Tory's annoyance, and was now reading a map to figure out the quickest route to take without missing any of the connecting towns out.

"Turn right at the end of this road."

Chance was laughing as Tory leant forward to stick her face between our seats, I was instantly worried. "When will you two admit you like each other and start dating?"