The Madeleine Richards Box Set (The Madeleine Richards Series Book 4)

by Juliette Duncan

  Shirley shooed her other four children into the living room, and sat down at the kitchen table with Sarah, Hank, and Brian, who had just come in from outside.

  "This isn't looking good," Hank began.

  "I hope they're not out in this storm." Sarah glanced out the window at the rain that was now pelting down outside.

  "We need to think rationally," Hank continued, giving Sarah a pointed look. "Let's go over exactly what they said they were going to do, in case we've missed something."

  Sarah kept her eyes on Hank. So cool and calm and in control. Thank you God for giving him to me, she prayed.

  Sarah and Shirley recalled again what each girl had said to them, but nothing had changed. They both had said that they were going to each other's places, and then maybe for a ride. However, neither girl had turned up at the other's place.

  "It certainly seems like they planned this. Whatever this is," Brian concluded.

  "Did you notice anything unusual when they left?" Hank looked at both women, encouraging them to think carefully about what they might have noticed.

  "Come to think of it, I thought it was a bit strange that Maddy took the big backpack. Normally she just takes the small one, but as she rode off, I noticed that she had the big one on instead. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but now... " Sarah stopped and looked at Hank, her eyes widening as the reality of what she'd just said hit her.

  "I didn't notice what Hannah took with her, but I'll go and check her room." Shirley stood up and hurried down the hall to Hannah's bedroom. She looked around quickly, but didn't notice anything unusual. She then opened the hall closet to check which bag was missing, and yes, the big pack had gone.

  She scanned the contents of the closet, and also saw that one sleeping bag was missing. A feeling of dread flowed through her body.

  "It does look like they planned this. The big pack and a sleeping bag are missing," she said when she re-entered the kitchen where the other three were deep in conversation.

  "That means they're out in this wild weather!" Sarah exclaimed as she glanced out the window again.

  "We need to call the Police," Hank said. "They won't want to go out in this weather, but there's nothing we can do on our own."

  "Good idea," Brian agreed. He picked up the phone and dialed the number. Constable Peters answered. Brian explained what had happened in a calm, controlled voice, and was advised that a patrol car would be sent over as soon as possible.

  They didn't have long to wait. Within minutes, they heard a car pulling up in the driveway. Brian went to the door and let the two police officers in. Being only a small town, the police officers already knew the McDougall's and Sarah, but they hadn't previously met Hank. They shook hands, and then took down the details.

  "Have they ever done anything like this before?" Constable Savage asked. He looked around the large, old fashioned kitchen. The pot of stew bubbling away on the hob reminded him that he hadn't eaten since breakfast.

  "No, never," Sarah replied.

  "We'll need to take a look at their bedrooms," he said.

  They started with Hannah's room, but found nothing that gave any clue as to where the girls might be. "Nothing here," Constable Savage said to his partner.

  "Can you take us to your house, Ma'am?" he asked Sarah when they re-entered the kitchen. "We'll need to look in Maddy's bedroom. Maybe there'll be something there."

  Sarah nodded. "It's not far from here, but we'll need to drive."

  Chapter 10

  The rain hammered down as they ran from the house to the cars. Torrents of water gushed down the asphalt, making it look more like a river than a road. Hank drove slowly. He could hardly see, even though the wipers were on full. He turned the headlights on, but it didn't make any difference. The lights of the Patrol Car were just visible in his rear mirror.

  Sarah sat rigidly, gripping the seat, staring straight ahead. She couldn’t stop thinking about the girls being out in this. God, please be with them, she prayed.

  They finally reached Sarah's bungalow, which was now shrouded in darkness. Hank ran to the front door and unlocked it. Sarah and the police officers followed and she flicked on the lights so they could see. They took off their jackets and shook off the water before hanging them on the hooks in the hallway.

  Her home seemed empty and quiet without Maddy.

  She led the police officers upstairs and into Maddy's bedroom. "Maddy's not the tidiest girl around," she apologized as she opened the door to let them in.

  The police officers took their time. They searched through Maddy's closet and drawers, through her bags, and under her bed. They rummaged through her random belongings that were strewn on the floor.

  The younger constable of the two found an envelope on her desk. How he'd missed seeing it until then he wasn't sure. He picked it up and opened it. After scanning the contents, and gave it to his partner. "You'd better look at this."

  Constable Savage read the note, before turning to Hank and Sarah, who were standing in the doorway. "You'd better read this too," he said, passing them the piece of paper.

  Sarah saw Maddy's distinctive handwriting on the paper, and started reading:

  Dear Mom,

  I know you'll be worried by the time you find this note. I didn't want to do this, but it was the only thing I could think of that would make you listen to me. You don't seem to understand that I really don't want to leave Riversleigh. Every time I think about moving to Smithtown I start crying. I don't want to go, and I'M NOT GOING TO GO. Which is why I needed to do this. Hannah and I have taken off, and we won't come back until you change your mind. I know you've said Hank can't get a job here, but I'm thinking he just doesn’t want to. I'm sorry I lied to you, but you didn't leave me any other choice. Hannah and I will be okay. Don't bother looking for us, because you won't find us.

  I love you Mom.

  Maddy

  Sarah handed the note to Hank, but he'd already read it over her shoulder. He passed it back to the Police Constables.

  "I gather that there are some changes that your daughter's not too happy about. Is that right, Ma'am?" Constable Savage lifted his eyes and spoke directly to Sarah.

  "Yes." She glanced briefly at Hank. "We're getting married soon, and we have to move to Smithtown for Hank's work. He's a doctor at the hospital. Maddy said she wasn't happy about leaving here, but I didn't think she'd do this." Sarah wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand.

  "Do you have any idea where they might have gone?" the Police Officer continued.

  "The girls often go for rides on their bikes. They like going into the hills, but I don't know exactly where. There's nowhere to stay up there. I'm scared for them, out there in this storm."

  Sarah stared out the window at the storm that was raging outside. Rain pelted into the window pane, and the wind was howling through the trees. The noise was horrendous. How could they survive out there in this, she thought. Oh God, please be with them.

  "We’ll get a search party together, but it's going to be difficult in this weather," the Police Officer said to both Hank and Sarah.

  Chapter 11

  Hannah and Maddy huddled together on the cave floor, wrapped in their sleeping bags, trying to keep warm and dry. They'd given up trying to play cards. The storm was scaring them both, even though Maddy tried to put on a brave face for Hannah's sake. The noise of the wind and rain was deafening, and water had begun to leak into the cave through the hole in the top.

  "I want to go home," Hannah whimpered as yet another clap of thunder exploded overhead.

  "I know." Maddy pulled Hannah tighter. "This wasn't meant to happen. We've just got to sit it out though. We can't go back out in this."

  "I bet Mom is worried," Hannah said.

  "I'm sorry I talked you into coming, Hannah. It was pretty silly now I think about it. We'll be okay, though. The storm will pass. Let's eat something. That'll make us feel better."

  The girls rummaged through their bags an
d pulled out the food that they'd packed. The light that Maddy had brought was just bright enough for them to see by, but cast strange shadows on the walls of the cave.

  Neither girl was very hungry. The storm was so intense that it was difficult to think about anything else. They nibbled absentmindedly on the cookies that Hannah had brought, and watched the storm through the gap at the front of the cave.

  Eventually the thunder and lightning eased. The wind died down, but the rain continued. The puddle of water inside the cave was slowly growing, and Maddy knew she had to do something about it, otherwise the whole floor would end up wet, and they'd have nowhere to sit.

  She looked around the cave and saw a loose rock lying in the far corner.

  "I'm going to try to get rid of this water before we get flooded.” She peeled herself out of her sleeping bag, and reached into the corner of the cave. The rock had a pointy edge, which she used to dig a channel, allowing the water to escape out the front and over the edge. It worked, and the puddle started to disappear.

  "We probably should try to sleep," Maddy said to Hannah once she'd dried herself off as best she could and had wiggled back into her bag. "We can walk back down in the morning when we'll be able to see where we're going. Maybe the rain will have stopped by then, too."

  The girls curled up on the hard floor of the cave, trying to get comfortable. Hannah suggested they pray before going to sleep. Maddy agreed, but mainly to keep Hannah happy. She didn't believe it would do any good, but it probably wouldn't hurt, either.

  "You start," Maddy said. Hannah reached out for her friend's hand.

  "Dear God. We're sorry we lied to our Moms. You know how scared we are. Please help us get out of here alive. Be with our moms too. They're going to be worried sick." Hannah struggled to finish, but felt better having done so. "Your turn, Maddy."

  "Okay," she said, not really knowing what to say. She knew her mom prayed. And she'd heard the prayers at church, but she'd never really prayed herself. Oh well, may as well give it a go. "Dear God. I don't even know if you're up there, but if you are, and you can hear me, I'm sorry for being so stupid. All I wanted to do was make Mom and Hank change their minds about moving. And now here we are, stuck in this stupid cave. Help us to get home okay. Amen."

  "Amen", Hannah said quietly.

  They lay there for some time, lost in their own thoughts, before drifting off to sleep. Despite the noise of the rain hammering on the roof of the cave, they both felt more confident that they'd be okay, and although the floor was hard and uncomfortable, they both managed to sleep for most of the night.

  Maddy woke as the first hint of daylight began to penetrate the darkness of the cold cave. She could still hear rain, but it seemed to have eased a little. Without disturbing Hannah, who was still curled up in her sleeping bag, she crawled carefully to the front of the cave to see out. What she saw wasn't good. The path had turned to mud, and she couldn't see very far because of the rain and mist.

  She crawled back into the cave, and into her sleeping bag. It was much warmer and nicer in there than outside! She drifted back to sleep, but her mind was restless, as she dreamt that she and Hannah were riding through a tunnel that seemed to have no end. The tunnel was creepy and dark. It was covered in vines that kept catching them. They rode faster and faster, trying to get away from the vines, but the faster they rode, the more vines there were. They tried to brush the vines off with their arms. Maddy heard a voice. It seemed to be coming from one of the vines. "Let me go!" she yelled.

  "Maddy! Wake up. You're dreaming!" It was Hannah shaking her! She came to, relieved to know it was only a dream.

  "What time is it?" she asked, as soon as she'd worked out where she was.

  "It's seven o'clock, and it's still raining."

  "Great! I guess we'll just have to go out in it. Or we could just stay here. That was the original plan."

  "No, I want to go home. It's horrible here."

  Maddy knew that she couldn’t expect Hannah to stay there with her, but all the same, she felt a degree of failure. Running away had been the last resort. Now what was she to do?

  "It's going to be really slippery, Han. We'll have to be careful." She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes.

  "Better than staying here," Hannah said, looking around at the cave now that she could see it properly. Water had seeped through the walls, and the whole cave felt cold and miserable.

  "Okay, let's go." Maddy pulled herself out of her sleeping bag and started to pack up now that a decision had been made.

  Chapter 12

  The word had got out quickly that two girls were missing in the storm. Despite the horrendous weather conditions, a group of about thirty volunteers and emergency workers had joined together with the police to begin the search.

  Hank had taken Sarah back to the McDougall's house, where she stayed with Shirley McDougall while the men went out to look for the girls. She'd wanted to go with them, but Hank had been firm, and told her she needed to stay put. He didn't want her out in this weather, not in the state she was in.

  Shirley McDougall had embraced Sarah when Hank brought her in. Although she herself was worried sick about Hannah and Maddy, she had to be strong for the other children, who had just been told that the girls were missing.

  Sarah had taken the hot cup of tea that Shirley offered her, and sat at the table with her hands wrapped around the warm cup.

  Hank and Brian McDougall left the house, and drove to the community center to meet with the other volunteers. Tom Brown, Head of Emergency Services, was co-ordinating the search. He'd been told by the Police Officers that Jim Carmody, the pastor of the local church, had seen the girls on the road to the falls about 10am that morning. No-one had seen them since, but at least it was a start. They would head out that way, and do a thorough search of the area between where the girls had last been seen, and the falls.

  The searchers formed groups of four, and headed out into the wild weather. Hank and Brian McDougall stayed together, and were joined by Jim Carmody and another man from the church. Lost in their own thoughts and prayers for the girls, the men didn't say much to each other on the way out.

  When the car stopped at the spot where Jim had seen them, the men got out and began to walk, spread out in a straight line, along the edge of the road towards the falls. It was difficult to see anything because of the rain, but they continued on, desperate to find any clue that might lead them to the girls.

  There was another group of four on the other side of the road, doing exactly the same. The rest of the searchers had gone to the falls, and were scouring the area for any sign that the girls had been there. It was hopeless. The rain had been so heavy that any bike track or footprint would have been washed away. The best they could hope for was to find some rubbish that they may have left behind, or maybe a bag or a shoe, or perhaps one of their bikes.

  They found nothing. When the two groups searching the road reached the falls, Tom Brown gathered the men together to discuss what the next step would be.

  "There are a lot of tracks leading off this road up into the hills," he said. "We need to cover the whole area, as we don't want to miss anything. The rain will make it harder and more dangerous. Given that the last sighting was at 10 o'clock this morning, they could be miles away by now, but we need to start here."

  Once again, the men spread out and began the difficult search of the sodden terrain. They tried to keep to the tracks, but often had to deviate because of the number of branches and debris that hindered their way. They shone their torches into the surrounding undergrowth as they plowed their way slowly along the tracks that were now full of mud. Although they wore thick jackets, the cold from the insistent rain seeped into their bones, and their boots became heavy and wet.

  It was Brian McDougall who found their bikes. He'd been flashing his torch into the bushes along the track he and the others were walking along. He'd just about given up hope of finding anything when he noticed a reflection that made him stop. He c
alled to those around him, and together they pulled away the bushes that were covering the girls' bikes.

  "Good work, Brian," Hank said. Truth be told, Hank had also just about given up hope of finding anything in the rain, so was visibly relieved that Brian had noticed the reflector and stopped. He whistled loudly so the others could hear, and before long, the whole group was standing around looking at the bikes.

  "I don't think we should risk climbing up there tonight," Tom Brown said to the group. "At least we have a better idea of where they are. There are a few caves up there, so my guess is that they're in one of them. Let's get back and grab some sleep, and reconvene at the center at six am. We'll have much better visibility in daylight, and hopefully the rain might have stopped by then as well."

  The men agreed, although initially Brian McDougall and Hank had both been keen to keep going.

  "No, we'll all be much more effective in the morning. It looks like the girls knew what they were doing, so they should be okay."

  They made their way back to the road and to their vehicles, feeling encouraged. Hank called Sarah as soon as he could to let her know the news.

  Chapter 13

  Maddy and Hannah ventured outside and started walking very carefully along the track that would take them back home. The rain and the mist were making it difficult to see where they were walking, and the track that had been tricky the day before had now become treacherous.

  Each step provided a challenge, as the rain had made the track extremely slippery. They used their hands to clamber over rocks and tried not to slip as they crossed the fast flowing rivulets that had appeared overnight. Although the rain had eased further, the girls were already wet and cold. After clambering down a rock face, they stopped to check their bearings.

  "I think we should go that way," Maddy said, pointing to the right. Hannah agreed, although everything looked the same in the mist. They continued on in silence. Maddy didn't say anything to Hannah for a while, but she had a horrible feeling that they might not be on the right track.