Shadow Falls

by Wendy Dranfield

  As Nate watches the divers bring bones and other unidentified objects to the shore, he keeps Brody subdued by stroking him. He can’t understand why the dog went so crazy. He’s more relaxed now and enjoying being petted. He drank a ton of water once the women had driven off, so maybe he was dehydrated, or hungry or something. Nate’s considering whether to leave him be when he gets a call.

  “Rex? How are you?”

  “Hey, my man. How’s things up there? Found the girl yet?”

  Nate looks at the lake and takes a deep breath. “Possibly. Divers are pulling bones out of the lake as we speak.”

  “Holy shit. I’m sorry to hear that. I was hoping for a better outcome.”

  “Me too.”

  Rex clears his throat. “Do you know who might have put her there?”

  “No. There are no obvious suspects and the family have fired me.”

  “No shit? What did you do to get fired?”

  “Nothing. Esme Lucas passed away and her son and daughter-in-law no longer require my services. Said they don’t want to upset the local police.”

  Rex sighs. “I’m sorry to hear about Esme. She seemed like a nice lady when I spoke to her.”

  “Yeah, it’s sad that she didn’t get to see her granddaughter come home.”

  Rex doesn’t reply.

  “What are you thinking?” asks Nate. Rex isn’t often quiet.

  “Well, this might be nothing, but I looked into that detective you told me about. Just confirm his name for me, would you?”

  “Detective Ted Morgan, from Trinity Creek PD.”

  “Yep, yep. That’s what I thought you said. Is he dark-haired, about five-ten, with brown eyes? Maybe mid thirties?”

  Nate looks across at Morgan, who is examining the bones. That description fits him.

  A coroner’s van pulls up in the camp’s parking lot, ready to transport the remains to the local mortuary.

  “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

  “Hmm. How does he act around Jennifer’s mother?”

  Nate stands straight, pulling his hand away from Brody. He’s taken aback by the question. “What do you mean?”

  “Are they extra friendly? Seem like they know each other from before all this?”

  Nate shakes his head. “No.” Then he thinks about it. He realizes he’s never actually seen them together. Brody attacked Anna before she reached them. Morgan didn’t go inside to check on her. “Actually, I haven’t witnessed them together. Why, Rex? What’ve you found?”

  “Well, Ted’s police record is clean as a whistle, so he’s not obviously crooked, although we both know that could just mean he’s not been caught doing anything.”

  Nate grunts in agreement.

  “So I decided to look into his social media. He has a Facebook account that’s completely locked down. But I also checked the social media pages of the Lucas family. Anna Lucas hasn’t used her Facebook account for years, but she gets tagged in things all the time, so she came up on other people’s pages. And one photo I found showed her from eight years ago—it was date-stamped—in a bar with a group of old college buddies. Looks like they had some kind of college reunion, because they’re all wearing UCLA sweatshirts. Anyway, she’s got her arms around a few girlfriends, and the last girlfriend has her arm around a guy. Ted Morgan. They were both tagged.”

  Nate’s eyes widen and he looks back at Morgan. “They know each other from college?”

  “It looks like it, unless they just happened to be in the same photo at the same time. That does happen. But they’re both wearing college sweatshirts, and if it’s a class reunion, it’s likely they would’ve known of each other at least. Could’ve shared some classes.”

  “That’s a good possibility.”

  Rex continues. “So I checked Anna’s friend list, which she hasn’t locked down, unlike Ted, and they’re definitely Facebook friends. She ever mention to you that she knew him from way back?”

  Nate thinks about his conversations with her. “No. All she said was that she didn’t want an investigator looking into her daughter’s disappearance because she was worried she’d upset the police. Maybe she didn’t want to upset the police because they’re friends and because of that Morgan would take offense at her not trusting him to find Jenny.”

  “Well you need to look into their relationship. Dig a little deeper. There’s only so much I can do from behind a computer.”

  “Is he Facebook friends with Grant, too?”

  “Negative. Grant isn’t on social media. At least not using his real name.”

  Nate considers the practicalities of looking into these links. He’s been fired, Anna isn’t going to tell him anything if he asks outright, and it’s not like he and Morgan get on. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Maybe your new lady friend could be useful here. Maybe she could bond with Anna over lady things, secure her confidence, I don’t know.”

  Nate laughs. “‘Lady things’? You’re so old-fashioned, Rex.”

  “Hey, that’s what happens when you get old. I’m sixty-five this year, remember. It’ll happen to you one day too.”

  “Leave it with me.”

  Nate ends the call and has absolutely no idea what to do next.

  Sixty-Four

  At the hospital, Anna is attended to fast. Pregnant women always take priority, and for that Madison is relieved. Kat had to leave—she got a friend to pick her up—but Madison stays with Anna until a doctor pulls up a chair to do an internal examination. At that point she gives them some privacy.

  Whilst waiting in the corridor outside, she buys a Coke from the vending machine and checks her cell phone. There’s nothing from Mike yet, so he’s probably not made it to Stephanie’s house. It makes her feel uneasy. She’ll feel better when she gets reassurance that he’s spoken to Steph and made her see that she needs to get away for a while.

  She wonders how long it’ll be before she and Nate can leave this town, if it is Jenny’s remains that have been found. The thought of going to Lost Creek makes her stomach roll, and she can’t tell whether that’s down to nerves or excitement. It can’t be excitement. She hasn’t been there since her trial ended, and nothing good will come out of stirring up the past. It’s going to upset a lot of people.

  The doctor comes out of Anna’s room. He pulls his sleeves down. “Are you a family member?”

  She nods yes, knowing the hospital won’t tell her anything otherwise.

  “Well, she needs complete bed rest. The baby’s close to coming, but it’s too soon. That little girl needs to stay in there as long as possible for the best chance of survival.”

  “Understood.” So it’s a girl. “Apart from that, is Anna looking okay?”

  “She’s clearly stressed; her blood pressure is way too high. What’s going on in her life to cause that? Was it just the dog attack?”

  Madison sighs. “I’m sure the dog didn’t help, but her twelve-year-old daughter is missing. She’s been gone for just over two weeks.” She looks around to check she’s not being listened to by anyone else. “It’s actually possible that her daughter has just been found. I don’t know for sure yet, as the remains need to be identified. That could take some time, as she was submerged in water.”

  The doctor’s eyes widen. “I see. Well she can’t know. Not yet, at least. She needs to lower her stress levels and stay in bed for as long as possible.”

  Madison thinks about the media. “In that case, we need to keep the TV off in her room. Tell the rest of the team who will be checking on her. Just pretend it’s broken or something, okay?”

  He realizes what she means. “I’ll try. I guess we could hide the remote control. The set is pretty high on the wall, so she might not be able to reach it herself.”

  “Good. I’ll do what I can. I need to get in touch with her husband. I’ll let you know when he arrives.”

  The doctor nods, and then checks in on Anna again before he leaves. Madison follows him into her room.

  �
��Mrs. Lucas, we’ll get your husband here as soon as possible. I cannot reiterate strongly enough that you need complete bed rest if you want to keep your baby safe.” He squeezes her arm. “She’s relying on you, okay?”

  Anna smiles weakly. “I understand. Thanks, Doctor.”

  “I’ll get some food sent in. You need to eat more; I want a big baby come delivery day.” He smiles, then he’s off. Madison hopes he’s going to brief his team.

  She sits on the chair next to the bed. “Do you mind if I stay with you for a while?”

  Anna shakes her head.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Just tired. I’ve got to say, it’s nice to rest and have people take care of me. It almost makes me forget what’s going on in real life.”

  Madison feels for her. Although Anna’s not been too friendly toward them, it’s understandable that she would be wary. She’s still got her doubts about her, though. There’s something bothering her that she can’t put her finger on. “Just try not to think about anything but your baby girl for now. Have you chosen a name yet?”

  Anna’s eyes light up for the first time since Madison met her. “I have lots of potentials, but Grant keeps vetoing them.”

  “Like what?”

  She runs through a long list of names, and Madison is conscious that this could be helping her. The transformation in her personality is obvious. She’s planning for life with a new baby, and when she’s animated like this, you would never guess she has a missing child out there somewhere. This is the most she’s ever opened up. When she stops talking, she sips the juice on her nightstand, and then a nurse enters with a tray of food.

  “Here you go, sweetie. I just managed to get you some hot food before the kitchen closed. It’s lasagna with a slice of garlic bread.”

  There’s some fruit on the side too. Part of Madison relaxes knowing Anna will be taken care of while she’s in here. The nurse checks the IV drip that’s going into Anna’s non-bandaged arm. As she lifts the sleeve of the hospital gown, Madison can see some nasty pink scars. She wonders if Anna’s been self-harming, but looks away so she doesn’t notice she spotted them.

  “The doctor tells me you’re to be caffeine-free for a while, to give your blood pressure a chance to drop,” says the nurse. “If anyone brings you hot drinks, make sure you tell them.”

  Anna smiles. “Sure.”

  “What about you?” the nurse asks Madison. “Can I get you anything?”

  “Actually, I need a coffee so I’ll head to the cafeteria. You don’t mind if I take a break, do you?” She touches Anna’s shoulder.

  Anna is wolfing her lasagna down. “No, of course not.”

  “Great.”

  They leave her to eat and Madison walks to the elevator. Her phone shows a text from Nate.

  It’s not Jenny. They’re animal bones. How is Anna?

  She’s relieved that Jenny could still be alive, but also a little disappointed at the thought that they’ll have to stay here longer to find her. That’s if Anna finally opens up and helps them.

  She texts back.

  Doctor wants her de-stressed and on complete bed rest for as long as possible to help the baby. She’s already relaxing in here. Should I stay?

  In the cafeteria, she orders a cappuccino. As she looks out of the window at the parking lot below, she hears her phone buzz.

  Stay with her for now. Apparently she knows Morgan from college. There’s a link there so I’m going to quiz him about it. Call me if you need me.

  Madison is shocked. Was that why Grant and Anna chose a summer camp in Shadow Falls: because they knew someone who lived here and he recommended it? Maybe he offered to keep an eye on Jenny for them.

  She takes a seat as she slowly realizes that Detective Ted Morgan is now a potential suspect.

  Sixty-Five

  Nate’s trying to catch up with Morgan. The detective left Camp Fearless before he could quiz him about his relationship with Anna Lucas. When he spots Morgan’s car pulled over at Jeanie-May’s gas station, he pulls up alongside it and gets out.

  When Morgan sees him, he rolls his eyes and looks like he’s about to start his engine and drive away. Instead, he lowers the passenger window. “What now, Monroe? You know, you’re really starting to get on my nerves.”

  Nate leans in. “Thought you’d like to know I’ve just heard from Madison. Mrs. Lucas needs complete bed rest, so she’ll be staying in the hospital for a while.”

  Morgan nods. Is that relief Nate sees in his eyes? Concern for his friend? The detective’s cell phone rings, and although he glances down at it, he ignores it and sighs loudly. Nate imagines he’s feeling the pressure of the investigation going nowhere. He’s probably getting his ass kicked by his chief of police back at the station. Especially if the chief knows there are two PIs on the case who appear to be doing a better job than his detective.

  “Let me guess,” says Nate. “You’re taking some heat for not finding Jenny yet.”

  “It’s none of your goddam business. Why haven’t you left town yet, like Mrs. Lucas asked?”

  “I like to see things through to the end. Can I ask you something?”

  Morgan laughs and shakes his head. “You’re going to anyway, right?” He looks to his left, away from Nate.

  “How long were you and Mrs. Lucas in a relationship?”

  Morgan snaps his head around so fast that he pulls a muscle in his neck, causing him to wince with the pain. “Motherfucker!” He massages his neck. “You’re out of line now, Monroe. You need to leave this town and that family alone.”

  Nate realizes he’s hit a raw nerve. He slowly shakes his head. “Sorry, I can’t do that. I need to know someone’s looking for that girl.”

  Morgan looks like he wants to get out of the car and punch him. His eyes narrow and the tone of his voice becomes threatening. “You might want to get out of here before I find something illegal in your car. I’m sure that wouldn’t go down well in court, not with your history. You wouldn’t want to go back inside, would you?”

  Nate’s smile fades as he considers what Morgan is implying.

  “Hell, for all I know, you took the girl. Is that why you’re so interested? Are you a sex offender, Nate? You into little girls? I mean, you were a priest in all but title. The media would love that, and I could sure make it look that way.”

  Nate shakes his head in disbelief. “I was right. I knew all cops were bad.”

  Morgan’s smirk falters. He rubs his face and leans back against the headrest. “Jesus Christ. This case—this town—is sending me crazy.”

  Nate slowly returns to his car. As he drives away, he wonders if finding this missing girl is worth losing his freedom for.

  Sixty-Six

  Madison brings Anna a decaf coffee and sits in the armchair next to her bed. She’s decided to try to gain Anna’s trust, because she knows that’s the only way they’re going to find out what’s going on.

  It’s so warm in the room that she has to remove the shirt she’s wearing over her T-shirt. They’re on the fifth floor of the building, so the windows don’t open, and the air con must be busted.

  “Have you tried calling your husband yet?” she asks.

  Anna looks up at her. “Yes, but he’s not answering. He’s probably on his way up here. I’ve messaged him to say I’m in the hospital but that everything’s okay.”

  “Good. I expect he’ll arrive overnight.” Madison checks her cell phone, wondering where Nate is. She doesn’t mind babysitting Anna for now, but she doesn’t want to be here for days on end.

  A sound at the door makes them both look up, and a tall, slim woman enters the room. She’s not wearing hospital scrubs or a white coat. They both look at her.

  “So sorry to bother you at this difficult time, Mrs. Lucas, but I’m Ava Carter, a reporter from the local newspaper. We’ve heard about what happened today out at Camp Fearless. Would you like to give us a comment on the record?”

  Madison’s fuming. Anna didn’
t need to know about that until she’s better.

  Anna looks at her, confused. “What does she mean?”

  Madison stands up and walks to the woman, pushing her out of the room. “You need to get out of here. You’re not welcome.”

  The reporter tries to stand her ground. “I’m doing my job. Who are you anyway? A friend of the family? Here’s my card if anyone wants to speak to us and get their side of the story out.”

  Madison pushes her harder.

  “Hey! You can’t do that.”

  Once outside the room, she leans in close. “You’re putting her life at risk by stressing her out. You need to leave.”

  The reporter looks shocked. “Why? What’s wrong with her? I heard it was just a dog bite.”

  Madison doesn’t want the press finding out that Anna’s pregnant. It would only add to their interest in the story of the missing girl. “It’s none of your business. Are you going to leave, or do I need to find security to escort you out?”

  The reporter glares at her for a few moments, then relents and walks away, annoyed. “Call me when you realize you have no control of the story.”

  Madison shakes her head in disgust and re-enters the room. Anna is trying to get out of bed.

  “Whoa! Where do you think you’re going?”

  She collapses back, clutching her stomach. “Tell me what’s going on! What’s happening at the camp?”

  Madison helps her get back into bed and pulls the blankets over her. “Nothing. The divers found some animal bones in the lake earlier. The press have obviously been tipped off by someone who works at the camp, but I promise you, it’s not Jenny.”

  Anna tries to catch her breath and rests her head on the pillow. “It’s going to revive interest in the story, isn’t it? I’ll never be able to get away from the news talking about Jennifer on repeat all day, every day.”

  “You know what they say, today’s news is tomorrow’s trash.”