After the End

Chapter 5 - The Victim

 The front door to Naomi's five-bedroomed home was wide open, letting in the cold evening air. The black paint on the door had faded due to the sun and had started to look more like a deep grey.

Panic struck Allegra instantly as she pushed it open, entering as slowly and as quietly as she possibly could to avoid alerting any trespassers or unwelcome guests that might be hiding inside.

She trod silently through the hall; her trainers had managed to stay quiet despite the wet weather that she had been exposed to outside.

"Naomi?" Allegra whispered as she crept through the house, looking carefully into each room for any sight of her sister. "Naomi?"

She rounded the corner and entered the living room, where she could see Naomi laid out on the sofa in a mauve vest and some white and pink spotty pajama shorts; a half empty bottle of wine in her hand.

"Naomi!" she crossed the room as quickly and as quietly as she could, rushing to her sister's side to check her consciousness. "Are you ok?"

"I'm great," Naomi grinned.

"You're drunk," Allegra said a little louder, realizing that Naomi had probably gone to the pub after work, got drunk, and left the front open as she got home. She had probably drunk-dialed Allegra, but she didn't mind as it had given her an excuse to tear herself away from Taylor.

"No, I'm not," Naomi announced. "Well, maybe just a little," she giggled, trying to demonstrate the amount with her free hand but failing.

"Where's Jack?" Allegra asked, concerned.

"Wayne took him" her sister hummed.

"What?!"

"He just came in... Grabbed his stuff... And took him," Naomi's hands danced in the air as she spoke, each word slow and long.

"We need to call the police," Allegra seized her phone from her back pocket.

"No, we don't," Naomi mumbled, closing her eyes and pushing Allegra's phone to the floor as if the light from the screen hurt her eyes.

"Um yes, we do, Naomi. That's called kidnapping."

"Jack is his son."

"That doesn't make a difference. I'm calling the police."

"Oh, you're so overdramatic."

Allegra ignored her and began dialing 999 as quickly as she could, holding the phone to her ear as the ringing tone sang.

"How much have you had to drink?" she asked as she waited.

"Yes," Naomi smiled, her eyes still closed.

"What service?" the operator asked.

"Police please," Allegra said quickly, hoping it would encourage the operator to act faster.

"Hello, can I take your address please?" the police operator asked as the line opened to them. The woman's voice was gravelly and loud but was clear and to the point. Allegra could tell that the lady on the end of the phone was not one to mess with.

"Hi, I need to report a kidnapping," she said shakily, trying to keep her composure as her sister started to fall asleep in front of her.

"Can I have your address?" the woman asked again, this time a little more impatiently.

"We're on Belsize Grove in Belsize Park," Allegra started speaking quickly again, unable to understand why no one was able to understand that it was urgent.

"Is that where this incident occurred?"

"Yes."

"Ok, ma'am, I'm just dispatching some police officers to your house to investigate the scene. What is the victim's name?"

Allegra paused, sickness filling her stomach as the word 'victim' echoed through her head.

"Jack Thomas Mussard," she managed to say eventually.

"What relation is he to you?"

"He's my nephew," Allegra choked, tears beginning to well in her eyes.

"Can I take your name?" the operator asked, sounding a little friendlier. Allegra had assumed this was to try and calm her down.

"Allegra Mullins."

"Do you know how old your nephew is, Miss Mullins?"

"Um... 7," she said. Normally it wouldn't have taken her so long to remember, but her brain was scattered, and she wasn't able to think straight. She noticed that she had started to feel faint as well as sick. "He'll be 8 later this year," she added as if it would make any difference.

"Ok," the operator said calmly. "Are Jack's mother or father there?"

Allegra looked at her sister, who was fast asleep and dribbling onto the pillow that she was rested on.She sighed and shook her head, trying to stop herself from breaking down.

"His mum is, but she's –"

"Can I speak to her please?"
Allegra hesitated. Her sister was in no fit state to talk to anyone at the moment. She looked down at Naomi once more as she woke herself up with the amount of dribble that had escaped her mouth.

"Who's on the phone?" she slurred, propping herself up on her elbows.

"She's intoxicated," Allegra cried to the woman on the phone.

A moment of silence passed, and Allegra was about to check that the lady was still there when she heard her sigh.

"Where is his father?" she asked; a new, almost unsurprised, tone to her voice that upset Allegra.

"He's the one that took him," Allie replied, her voice a mere cold whisper.

"Are the officers at your house yet, Miss Mullins?"

Just as the woman finished her question, headlights filled the hall as a car stopped in front of the house. Two car doors slamming could be heard from where Allegra was sat on the floor in the living room, next to her intoxicated sister who had once again fallen asleep on the sofa.

"I think they've just pulled up outside," Allegra answer, her voice stronger.

"Ok. I'm going to stay on the phone with you until they are in the same room as you. They will want to ask you and Jack's mother some questions."

"Ok."

A knock on the door awoke Naomi from her light sleep, and she jumped up quicker than Allegra had ever seen her move before.

"I'll get it!" she called, running past Allegra and disappearing into the dark hall.

"Naomi, no!"

"Ooh!" she heard Naomi call. Allegra ran out to join her sister, the phone still held to her ear just in case the woman spoke again, and saw Naomi standing at the door in her vest and pajama shorts, the cold night's air seemingly not affecting her. "Hi there, officers," drunk Naomi winked at the two women in uniform. "Allie, I didn't know you ordered some strippers!"