Now You See Her

by Paul J. Teague

  Cory didn't hesitate. He called the police, then found a couple of chairs just outside the stacks for them to sit on while they waited for help to arrive. They took advantage of the water cooler on that floor, and when the ambulance crew and police team arrived, they were sitting sipping cool water from plastic cups, their faces gray and stunned.

  Cory was pleased to see Louise there, knowing there would be a million questions to answer. It was going to be a long night, but at least there was a friendly face among the uniforms.

  Amid the frenzy of activity around them, his phone rang. He took the call.

  ‘It's my car,’ he said to Bianca. ‘It's been towed back to my house. I left the hood unlatched, so they've taken a look at it. It was the battery—one of the cables from that starter motor was a bit oxidized. It just needed a rub with a bit of sandpaper to improve the contact. We're back in action.’

  He said the words, but he knew it didn't matter after what had just happened. The ambulance team had confirmed that Imogen was dead.

  The forensics and investigations experts moved in, swarming like bees, each one knowing their job and sticking precisely to the hierarchy. Even Deputy Cabera was there, out of uniform, no doubt called out from his home for such a big news story.

  ‘Looks like Poppy Norman will be sharing the front page in Friday's newspaper,’ Cory said. ‘I'm supposed to be reporting the news, not making it.’

  ‘Hey, Cory.’ Louise attempted a smile, in spite of the circumstances. ‘I'm coming off shift shortly—do you want me to run you and Bianca back home once you're done here?’

  ‘We're not suspects, are we?’ Bianca asked.

  ‘Not at all.’

  Louise smiled at her and Cory noted the effort she was making to reassure Bianca.

  ‘We'll have to take detailed statements from you and eliminate your fingerprints and DNA from the crime scene, but no, don't worry. This is either some tragic accident, or we're hunting for a murderer.’

  Those words hung in the air as they all thought about what that might mean.

  ‘Look, I don't mean to pre-empt the investigation,’ Cory began, ‘but there's no way this was an accident. Imogen Franklin was intending to share some interesting local information with me tonight. My bet is that you won't find those documents in this building any more. If they've gone missing, I'm telling you for certain—somebody needed Imogen Franklin dead. And if they wanted her dead, then I'm onto something big -something that runs deep into the heart of this town.’

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Thursday - Day 4

  The next morning, Louise brought Cory a coffee into his bedroom. It took him a few seconds to search his mind for what had happened the previous night.

  She had offered to run them home, dropping off Bianca and then returning with Cory to his apartment. As they were chatting in the car on the road outside, Cory noticed that the board over his bedroom window was gone; the landlord had gotten the glass replaced after the damage to the property earlier that week.

  Not wanting to stop the conversation with Louise, he invited her in for a coffee. She'd finished her shift, after all. They'd carried on talking until the small hours and he'd poured them a whiskey each. He certainly needed one after the day he'd just had. Then what had happened? His memory was fuzzy.

  ‘Don't worry, I slept on the couch,’ Louise said, as if reading his mind. ‘You don't have to apologize for anything—you were a perfect gentleman.’

  ‘For a moment there… What time did I fall asleep?’

  Cory was relieved. He liked Louise—a lot—but there was his son to consider. And he loved Nadia, too, after all the years they'd spent together. He had no intention of throwing it all away.

  ‘I told you to go to bed, after I was talking to you and you started snoring in the middle of an anecdote. You barely made it without falling asleep. I hope you don't mind, but I couldn't risk driving with those three whiskeys we drank. So I made myself comfortable on the couch.’

  ‘At least nothing happened…’ Cory began.

  ‘Well, that's not entirely true.’

  Louise was perched at the edge of the bed now, a grim look on her face.

  ‘Oh no, what happened?’ Cory asked.

  ‘Well, did you know we both have the same make of cell phone?’

  ‘No,’ Cory replied, preparing to grimace at what was coming next.

  ‘Well, Nadia called first thing to let you know that Zach's head is okay. She sounded like she was going to apologize for something, but she got all worked up when I answered your phone. She asked why I was at your place.’

  Louise had a pained expression on her face, as if trying to warn Cory about what she was going to tell him.

  ‘I'd make a terrible criminal—I can’t lie to save my life. I'm sorry—I told her I'd stayed the night.’

  ‘You didn't, did you?’ Cory sighed in deep despair.

  ‘Sorry—Nadia put the phone down before I could explain.’

  ‘I'll call her now.’

  ‘I'd advise against that,’ Louise cautioned. ‘She was pretty pissed. I'd give her some time to cool down if I were you.’

  ‘This week is getting worse. I can't believe what happened to Imogen last night. It's like a bad dream.’

  ‘It's pretty shocking stuff for Shallow Falls. Who the hell would want to murder Imogen Franklin? I agree with you; it seems ridiculous.’

  ‘Well, I missed my morning run again. I'd better get showered and pick up Bianca. I want to have a word with her parents. I know she's not a minor any more, but still, with what's been going on, I ought to have a chat with them and let them know their daughter is safe.’

  ‘You'll both need to get swabbed for DNA and fingerprinted at the station, too, don't forget. Speaking as Louise, the sooner that's done the better—it'll help speed up the investigation. And save me from having to make an official house call.’

  ‘You'll check out that woodland at Shallow Falls, won’t you? Please don't mention it to Tarrant just yet, but I'd be grateful if you could. If it's just some harmless drifter or campers, fine. But I'd never forgive myself if it was connected with Poppy in any way.’

  ‘Yes, I promise—I'll make sure I do it today. And don't forget to call Nadia later. If you need me to, I'll speak to her and reassure her that nothing’s going on between us. I've a feeling that might just make things worse, though.’

  ‘I think you're right about that,’ Cory replied. ‘Surely this week has to start getting better soon? I'm going to have Mitchell Kane on my back today, too. He won't be happy about having to rewrite the entire front page of the newspaper.’

  Cory showered, grabbed a light breakfast, and saw Louise out. He looked up and down the street to make sure nobody was about; wagging tongues in Shallow Falls were all he needed while he was fighting for his marriage.

  He was relieved that the car appeared to be fixed—for the second time—but he winced when he read the handwritten bill sitting on the driver's seat. He'd had to pay a higher rate for the nighttime call-out and tow; it was more than he could comfortably afford that month.

  As he drew up outside Bianca's house, he could tell immediately that something was up before he even knocked on the door. From his previous visits, he knew Bianca's mom and dad were out of the house early in the mornings, but it was after nine o'clock and both cars were still in the drive. There was no sign of Bianca looking out the window, either, awaiting his arrival.

  Cory checked his phone to see if she’d sent him any kind of warning. There was nothing there.

  He walked up the driveway and knocked. The instant movement towards the door suggested he was expected. Bianca's dad answered.

  ‘Ah, Mr. Miles, come in, please.’

  There was no outstretched hand to shake, no smile, and he'd opted for the formal ‘Mr.’.

  Mr. Williams led Cory into the kitchen in silence. Bianca and her mom were sitting at the circular table. Mrs. Williams was stonefaced. If Cory didn't know better, he'd call th
is an intervention.

  ‘Have a seat, Mr. Miles.’

  His tone was curt and abrupt. Bianca made an apologetic face as Cory sat down.

  Mrs. Williams began to speak.

  ‘What on earth have you been up to with our daughter, Mr. Miles? Does your newspaper not have a duty to care for your interns?’

  Mr. Williams laid in, too, before Cory could respond.

  ‘Bianca comes home late at night with scratches all over her arms and face, and then we find out she's smack in the middle of a police investigation due to the murder of our local librarian. Does that not give you any cause for concern, Mr. Miles? Bianca has had a difficult year at school; we're already worried enough about her future. And now this.’

  It sounded like Bianca hadn't mentioned the gun. Or the narrow escape in the junkyard. Cory was grateful for small mercies.

  ‘I don't know where to begin--’

  ‘I'll bet you don't,’ Mrs. Williams retorted.

  ‘Mom,’ Bianca intervened.

  ‘I can't explain what's going on in this town at the moment; I've yet to figure out how to connect the dots. Imogen Franklin's death is tragic, but we just happened to be the first on the scene. If it wasn't for Bianca's help, that poor woman might have been there all night.’

  He felt their hackles retracting a little. If he was going to get away with this, he'd need to be conciliatory.

  ‘As for the scratches, it was due to Bianca's excellent observational skills that we may have found a lead to help with finding Poppy Norman. If it wasn't for your daughter, I'd have driven straight past it.’

  Bianca smiled a little.

  ‘I have to compliment you on raising a very impressive young reporter,’ he began, deciding to pick up on Bianca's hint and spread it on thick. ‘She's an absolute credit to you and a complete natural at this job.’

  He watched as Bianca's parents looked at each other, then visibly relaxed in their chairs. They'd clearly been working themselves up for a confrontation but had discovered instead that their daughter was the hero of the hour. He'd keep quiet about the other stuff; there was no way a couple of compliments would get him off the hook if they knew their daughter had narrowly missed being hit by a bullet the day before.

  ‘Can I get you a cup of coffee, Mr. Miles?’ Bianca's mom asked, her tone now completely softened.

  ‘Cory, please,’ he smiled.

  ‘Well, good to meet you, Cory,’ Mr. Williams said, his arm now outstretched. They shook hands.

  ‘I'm delighted to hear that Bianca is doing so well after her troubles at school. If she can turn the corner and put all that behind her, we'll be very happy.’

  ‘Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Williams.’

  ‘Please, Cory—it's Paul and Denise.’

  ‘Don't worry, Paul and Denise, I'm certain that Bianca is going to go far in this line of work.’

  Cory's coffee arrived, thankfully straight and black.

  ‘So what is it you do?’ Cory asked, trying to deflect them from tricky territory into calmer waters.

  ‘Hasn't Bianca told you yet?’ he asked.

  She had mentioned it, but Cory didn't let on. He wanted this conversation firmly back on safe ground.

  ‘I'm a realtor,’ he said, proudly. ‘I built up my own business, but you won't see my name on the boards. I call the business Absolute Realty.’

  ‘Oh, yes, I've seen your signs about town. How's business? Are people moving much these days?’

  ‘The housing market ebbs and flows, but it's the big developments where the future of Shallow Falls lies.’

  ‘Oh, yes?’ Cory asked. ‘Anything I should know?’

  ‘Only that there's an awful lot of money about to be invested in Shallow Falls. And some people are about to get very rich. Particularly those people who own the right plots of land, that is.’

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  ‘I think we just about got away with that.’ Cory smiled at Bianca as they walked toward the car.

  ‘I thought they were going to put an end to the internship last night—they were furious about what happened. The scratches from the woods didn't help. It was a stroke of genius talking me up like that. They seem to think my career is over before it's started, after what happened at school. It makes life difficult, but I'm sure we can work around it.’

  They were soon seated and belted up in the car, ready to move off.

  ‘What do you think your dad meant about the investment that's coming into Shallow Falls? He got all cagey with me after he dropped that piece of information. Anybody would think I was a reporter on the local newspaper, the way he clammed up when I started asking questions.’

  They laughed and Cory started the car, taking a moment to be thankful that the starter motor problems now seemed to be fixed. He left the car idling while he finished the conversation. There was something he wanted to suggest to Bianca, and he wasn't certain how she'd take it.

  ‘What your dad told me—about the investment money that's heading our way—nothing’s been raised in formal council meetings yet, as far as I’m aware. You wouldn't dig a little, would you? See if you can get your dad to share a little more information. It'd be off the record—I'd have to validate it via a third-party source.’

  ‘Good luck with that,’ Bianca replied. ‘Ever since the events at school, it's been difficult to talk to Dad. He's gotten very secretive about what he's up to. I mean, the regular house sales are fine. But he seems to be handling something big at the moment. He doesn't even talk to Mom about it.’

  ‘If you hear him drop any more snippets of information, let me know, will you?’

  ‘Yes, but he won't get into any trouble, will he? I think I've tarnished the Williams family name quite enough for the time being.’

  ‘I have no reason to think your dad is up to anything. It's perfectly normal to be discreet about deals that are being negotiated in the background. I'm just seeing a lot of different things in play at the moment, and I've a feeling some of them might link up.’

  Cory moved the car slowly away from the sidewalk. He noticed Bianca's parents watching them from the windows and wondered what they were saying. It was an unusual alliance, a young intern and a middle-aged man, but something about it worked.

  ‘Where are we heading, the office?’ Bianca asked.

  ‘Later,’ Cory answered. ‘We'd best check in at the police station and make sure they have everything they want from us. I need to file some news copy about Imogen. Oliver Vasey texted me on the drive over here to tell me they've already published the basics on the website, so the pressure is off for an hour or two. And I want to pay a visit to Xander Griffen. Are you up for that?’

  ‘After our recent escapades, what could possibly go wrong?’ Bianca replied. ‘Besides, poor Xander doesn't have anyone to talk to, as far as I know. He must be terrified. He'll probably be grateful for a bit of moral support.’

  ‘I want to ask him about that cell phone. Cell phones don't just appear in bushes, somebody must have thrown it there. Somebody who wanted to point the finger at him as a suspect.’

  ‘I can't believe it's Thursday already and there's still no sign of Poppy. It feels like we're doing more than the police.’

  Bianca had made a good point.

  ‘There are more police officers about town, working through all the leads they have. Jerry Hunter’s been questioned already, for instance. But they must be getting suspicious now, what with the incident at the junkyard and Imogen Franklin's death. Something is going on in Shallow Falls, and it stinks.’

  Cory was frustrated to learn that Chief Tarrant was out in the field when they stopped off at the police station to make sure the investigating team had everything they needed from them. There were no witnesses, no leads, and no security camera footage. The police had drawn a complete blank on Imogen's death. And, as Cory suspected, there was no sign of the documentation she'd had sent over for him.

  Before leaving the police station, Cory put a call into Oliver Vasey
, asking him to chase whatever Imogen had sent over from the county branch of the library. He needed to see that documentation.

  Next stop was Xander's house. They'd passed it several times during the past few days, but it was high time they checked in on him. Cory would have liked to get it out of the way sooner, but the previous day had been challenging, to say the least.

  He parked the car a few houses away from Xander's property, on the opposite side to where Reece's trailer was. He didn't want Reece to know that they'd been in the neighborhood without dropping in to see how she was. He could only imagine how she was feeling, on the fourth day since Poppy had disappeared without a trace.

  ‘Go gently with Xander, won't you?’ Bianca asked. ‘He's shy and will get spooked easily. He knows me from the store. Maybe I can take the lead?’

  ‘Sure, that makes sense,’ Cory replied. ‘I'll play good cop, you play great cop. I won't push him—he sounds like he's quite vulnerable.’

  Cory surveyed the house. If ever a property needed several cans of paint, a re-roofing and a landscape gardener, this was it. The house looked careworn, tired, and in desperate need of a refresh, though as a turn of the century property it had probably survived much more than a bit of neglect. Although it bordered Reece Norman's property, it was quite a distance away from her trailer. Those old properties were not short of land.

  Bianca tapped at the door. The old brass knocker was tarnished and had corroded so much that it was stiff and resistant.

  There was movement in the house, then silence.

  She tapped again, a little harder this time.

  Cory thought he heard sobbing, but assumed he must be mistaken.

  ‘There's somebody in there,’ Cory said. ‘Shall we walk around, see if we can get his attention?’

  ‘Maybe he doesn't want to speak to us?’ Bianca suggested.

  ‘Let's see if we can encourage him,’ Cory replied. ‘We don't have to be pushy, but the most reluctant talkers usually have the most to say when it comes to a news story.’