Haunted in the Night

Chapter One- Part Two

It was a small close knit town, one where everyone knows everyone and it's virtually impossible to keep anything private, even behind closed doors, especially once the rumours start, the people in a town like this live for gossip.
The town was called Meadows Ville, it was out in the middle of nowhere, miles from anything, secluded and surrounded by an almost endless woods, if you went walking in them you would either want to know the layout of the land or be with someone who does, many had gotten lost in the past but it wasn't considered an option of involvement in the case of these missing people.
"Hello miss Claire, my you have really grown over the years, I'm sorry that we are meeting again over these circumstances" a tall man dressed in a police chiefs uniform said once he had walked up to her, she was standing with her suitcase at the bus stop sign post.
He spoke rather formally but friendly however he also spoke as if he knew her but she did not recognise him.
He looked to be in his early fifties, he had a long, strong face, small piercing blue eyes, short grey hair with a receding hairline and had a tall, strong build, he obviously kept in shape.
"I'm sorry have we met?" Claire asked, she didn't want to be rude but 14 years is a long time and she hadn't been in a good place when she left, it had taken a long time for her to open up to her grandparents when she went to live with them after her parents disappearance and thankfully they had been very patient and understanding with her.
"Ah yes, my name is Robert Tuckerman but I prefer Bob, I'm the police chief, I was only second in command at the police station when you were here, I still remember that night when you showed up in hysterics, your voice still haunts me every night" he told her and she looked down at her suitcase awkwardly, fighting, struggling to keep the memories at bay.
"Oh goodness I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...." he was saying before Claire cut him off even though she had been taught that it was bad manners, she just wanted out of the awkwardness.
"It's okay, is there a hotel where I can put my stuff?" she asked, it was only 3pm, still another 3 hours left of daylight.
"Right I forgot to tell your grandparents when they called me back to tell me what time you were coming, I rented out for you a little wooden cabin just on the outskirts of town, it's a lot more peaceful and private out there and I live in the one just down the road so if you need anything just let me know" he told her as he led her over to the police cruiser.
"Thanks I appreciate it" she replied as he helped her put her suitcase in the trunk.
"You can sit up front, I don't feel comfortable having innocents in the back" he said while walking to the side of the car and opening the drivers side door.
It hadn't taken them very long to get there and when they had Claire had stayed in the car while he quickly just put her bag inside the door.
For a car that he would of had for years it was very clean, barely any wear or tear, it smelled nice, like apple and it was obvious it was his pride, with how well he looked after it.
"So where do you want to go?" he asked once he climbed back in and handed her the keys to the cabin.
"I would like to go to Helena's house please" she told him and the expression of shock on his face told her that he had not been expecting that.
"But wouldn't you like to go to the town hall and find out what she left for you? Besides her house is still a crime scene" he said once he gained his composure back.
"Exactly that's the best time to find evidence" she replied and he looked at her confused.
"I'm currently studying criminal psychology, I want to be a criminal profiler" she explained and surprise flashed over his face, the reason why she was working towards that profession is because of what had happened with her parents, the fact that they had never been found and that the criminal had never been caught.
She had always planned to one day hopefully solve the crime but she also had dreaded it too, after all she was only still studying and had a long way to go, plus all the memories that haunt her.
"Good for you, you're really doing something great in your life and I suppose as chief of police I can grant you permission to assist on the case" he said, a look of pride on his face, obvious that he was proud of her for her profession choice, him being a policeman, understanding her desire to help other people and taking initiative to do it.
Once again the drive only took a few minutes, it was very different from the big city living in Adelaide.
When they got to Helena's house or as Claire supposed Helena's old house now Bob unlocked it and led her to the master bedroom, looking at it and being inside it brought back many memories, it was a small white cottage that had marble stones leading to the front door and on either side of the footpath there was an abundance of wild flowers, she had forgotten how Helena loved to garden, she had even been teaching Claire how to grow her own veggie garden.
Inside her bedroom was a double sized bed in the middle of the room, the head of it was against the wall, the blanket was a mess, it was a big thick comforter, covered in pretty blue flowers, from what Claire could remember Helena always had it made and neat.
There was a small silver armchair across from the bed in a corner next to the window, on the seat was placed some knitting attached to a ball of red yarn.
The only other furniture was a brown wooden dresser, Claire checked and it was still full of Helena's clothes, none had been taken.
On top of the dresser was one small silver framed mirror and there was also a photograph of Claire with her mother and father on her 10th birthday, it had only been two weeks after that that her parents had disappeared.
The last photograph was in a handmade pink frame with big bold flowers painted on it, Claire recongised it immediately as she was the one who designed it, in the photo was Claire and Helena half hugging while facing the camera.
Helena had shoulder length grey hair, light blue eyes, slight wrinkles, thin lips and a small brown mole on her right cheek bone, however that photo was over 14 years old and Helena would be 63 years of age now, if she is even still alive.
"That window had been wide open when we got here, it was late morning when we recieved a call from the young man who works for her, she hadn't opened the store that morning or called him to let him know if she was sick which is extremely out of character for her" Bob told her.
"Is there any chance that she would have opened the window?" Claire asked as she checked it out, the lock wasn't broken.
"Not with this Autumn chill, besides everyone keeps everything closed and locked tight at this time of year, for 3 months everyone is on high alert, between the months of March, April and May the disappearances tend to happen, not every year but we still try to prevent it, not that it seems to help any" he said, regret and sorrow on his face and in his tone, it was clear to Claire that he blamed himself, the chief of police but still unable to solve the crime and stop the disappearances.
"Yes my grandparents did tell me about another man who went missing a few years back" Claire said as she continued to search around the room hoping to find some kind of clue.
"Keith Rowe, yes he was our only suspect at the time but that was mainly because of little town superstition, a lot of people still believe that he made himself disappear to avoid being arrested so we still haven't cleared him of being a suspect and we are testing his finger prints compared to the ones we found on Helena's window, however they'll more likely come back a match to Helena's, this criminal is too meticulous, they'd wear a pair of gloves" Bob basically sneered, the frustration pouring from his demeanour.
"Do you have any evidence down at the station?" Claire asked after finding nothing.
"Yes we have a letter, written in blood, we found it on top of her dresser, we have dusted it for prints but again they will probably be Helena's and we are also testing the DNA from the blood" Bob told her as they made their way out of the house.
"And when you say we?" Claire asked, obvious that she knew this town was far too small for their own testing laboratory.
"The lab at Sydney" he admitted as he locked the front door and checked it by trying to turn the door handle a couple of times.
"So what did this letter say?" Claire asked as they began making their way back over to the police cruiser.
"Something about 'I have been watching you' and 'You will pay for your part' I will give you copies of the crime scene photos" he said as they climbed into the car.
"Thank you, so where to now?" she asked him as she was coming up blank with where to go to next.
"Would you like to go to your parents store?" he asked and Claire froze.