CHAPTER SIX
Hope and Determination
The “Jumeirah Lakes Town” also known commonly as JLT, is a state of art sprawling waterfront community sprinkled with unique towers, and unequaled life style. Yet, people were trying to stay away from this community whenever it came to the Christmas season. Its notorious reputation of murders, day and night by Santa, drove people away. “Here’s the place.” Kris looked out of the rear window of the car searchingly. She was suspicious of these vacant buildings in the lakes. To a great extent, the streets looked empty, but there was one vacant residential tower they had targeted. The building was vacated and the remaining few residents had fled from the building leaving it without any tenant. They knew Santa liked these kinds of places, so what could be lurking there? Kris opened her back seat door followed by Tracy. “Hold on ladies, you’re too quick for it.” Andre said, before turning off the engine of his Audi car.
The condition of the building gave them the impression that no one was really inside, even the reception area didn’t look that clean. But Andre had always passed here, every morning, whenever his jogging mode peaked. The street with small trees, and red and yellow flowers, had now faded off due to the winter season. But Kris had convinced them (She knew better having spent most of her life here at the Marina.) that the JLT was the area she was most suspicious of. Setting off for the entrance, they tried the door. It would not open. It was a glass sliding door, and it looked as if it would never open. Finally, Andre decided they should try another route, heading into the passage between the buildings. “We have to be on high alert for any threat.” Tracy said. Their only focus was to find her daughter.
In the passage, Andre tried to look as carefully as he could, his mind expecting something. “I wonder whether we can find something important here. The place looks duller than it should in spring and summer. But it’s all about trying.” “Yeah, its obvious people are out of town for Christmas” Tracy said, but she was more pre-occupied with bloody thoughts of her missing daughter.
Suddenly the passage led them to another street. They saw and affirmed the number of police cars parked on the street. Was there trouble in the building? Or was it a fire outbreak? She wondered. They all wanted to know what the police were doing there in large numbers, though they had to wait aside as the police would not allow them to interfere while their investigations were in progress.
With most of the police cars racing away to follow the helicopter that had airlifted what seemed to be the patient, Tracy felt her heart burning. Time was running out and she was stretching her mind to know what had happened here. One policeman remained waiting at the entrance before he rushed to enter the waiting police patrol car across the street. Tracy stopped him before he stepped into the car. “Excuse me, officer. What happened here?” she questioned, staring at the officer who was busy chewing gum. “It’s very difficult, to rush to a conclusion, Ma’am. Whether its suicide or somebody intentionally pushed this little girl from such heights.” The officer hurried his words, and Tracy queried for more information. She looked like a delirious woman, obviously concerned as a person who had a missing child. “She was a younger woman, that’s all I can tell you now ma’am,” the officer said and opened up the passenger door to sit in the waiting police car. Dazzling red and blue lights were flashing in Tracy’s face and her eyes. Tracy trembled convulsively after the officer failed to confirm to her the real name of the victim who had been airlifted. She imagined the countless intense aversions she had heard about Santa ever since her daughter was abducted; so many of the people had been found dead. And she imagined the words of Santa in her house. Whether serious or not, she knew her daughter was in trouble.
She let the officer go and then she rushed to join Kris and Andre waiting, but the saddest part of it was that she had received insufficient information about the incident. Tracy had a forged smile on her face as she approached them, thinking much about her child. “There’s a victim who has just been airlifted from here, but she was in critical condition. And the officer also had sketchy details about it.” They loitered around the paving material before entering the building through the back access, with Kris already scared. She thought they would be able to find out who the victim was, before the police air ambulance airlifted her from the scene. Her heart and her body felt cold. She crossed her arms over her chest and realized she was feeling cold for Tracy and Andre. Cold fear engulfed all three of them.
