‘Just a couple of minutes,’ Louise said to her colleague at the door. The door closed, the echo the only sound in the sparse chamber.
‘So, what's going on?’ Cory asked, the moment the echo had faded. ‘Is Bianca safe?’
Louise was silent for a few moments.
‘I want you to know that I'm about to place considerable faith in you, Cory Miles. I could lose my job for what I'm about to do. But I'm doing it because I now believe it's the only way we're going to find out what happened to Poppy Norman.’
Cory was stunned. He'd never seen her as earnest as this.
‘I'll do anything to get Poppy back home safe to Reece,’ Cory said. ‘I'd want people to do the same if it were Zach in her place. I promise, Louise, everything I've told you is true. The dress was for real.’
‘I know it was—I don't doubt you for a moment. But my colleagues don't see it that way, and that's why I'm about to do something. I mean it—if I've called this wrong, I'll be looking for a new job.’
Cory nodded. He got it, this was serious.
‘Bianca has disappeared,’ she began.
‘How? Has she been taken?’ Cory wanted all the answers at once.
‘This is between you and me, Cory. What's about to happen is on us. Don't breathe a word of it when we step outside these cells.’
‘I won't,’ he replied. If he had to sign a document in blood, he'd have done it at that moment.
‘I called Bianca's parents. Her mom was unable to find her after she spoke to you. But she found her cell phone on the grass by the highway.’
‘Are the police out looking for her?’
‘Her mother has received an anonymous text. It said that Bianca would be returned home safely, but only if you back off.’
‘You're kidding me. Really?’
‘Yes, you specifically, Cory. You appear to have pissed someone off big time. And I don't just mean the obvious suspects like Chief Tarrant, Deputy Cabera, your wife, Mrs. Williams… did I forget anyone?’
Cory felt his cheeks flaring with embarrassment. He had to admit, it was quite a list.
‘Anything else?’ he asked.
‘Yes. No police, except maybe Louise. If the police get involved, it's game over. That's why we have to do this. We have to close this down.’
‘Why did Denise Williams speak to you?’ Cory wondered.
‘Bianca has talked about us at home. It appears that young intern of yours has excellent observational skills. With you out of the picture, Mrs. Williams swore me to secrecy. I feel like I just made a pact with the devil, Cory.’
‘What about Spencer Jones? Why let him go?’
The chief put a movable timescale on both of you. He wanted to teach you both a lesson, and I figure you've both had long enough to cool off now. I need to know if you're with me on this, Cory. If I've got this wrong, my head will roll. If any harm comes to Bianca as a result of what we're about to do, we'll never forgive ourselves. But I honestly believe this thing is so screwed up, this is the only way now.’
‘Why, what's screwed up?’
‘Never tell anybody I told you this, please…’
‘I promise, Louise. We're in this together.’
‘Councilor Ingram's death was not suicide. It was made to look that way. He was murdered.’
‘How do you know that?’ Cory asked. It came as a surprise that he wasn't particularly shocked by the information.
‘It hasn't been released publicly yet, but it's official. It must have taken two of them to get him up there, but there were all sorts of signs indicating foul play. It wasn't suicide, Cory.’
‘So, it has to be linked to Imogen's death, then?’
‘Yes. Imogen's death was no accident, too.’
‘How long have you known all this?’ Cory asked.
‘For longer than I'd have liked to, without you knowing about it,’ she replied. ‘But whatever the nature of our personal relationship, there are some things I just can't tell you, Cory. You know that.’
He nodded. It was an explosive combination for any police chief to have to deal with: an officer and a newspaper journalist who were on friendly terms.
‘So somebody trapped Imogen in that shelving?’
‘Yes, she was crushed in there. There's no way she could have done it to herself and the handles on those shelves have safety locks on them. The library volunteers are all trained in their correct use. Imogen Franklin was murdered.’
‘When does the rest of the world get to know about this?’ Cory asked.
‘Tomorrow morning. A Saturday, too. Chief Tarrant will be out of bed early for a press conference. The big guns are getting called in, so it's likely to pass out of Tarrant's direct control now.’
‘I can't believe all this,’ Cory said, taking a moment to think it through. ‘Is it linked? Are the deaths linked to Poppy's disappearance?’
‘I just don't know,’ Louise replied. ‘But I know that the answers probably lie out there in those woods. That's where you found Poppy's dress. Those officers laughed in my face when they came back empty-handed from the woods. But you saw a dress out there, and so did Bianca. I believe both of you. So, if my fellow officers won't take action, I will.’
‘Even if it means losing your job? I think we may have an intern's position free after all this is over--’ Cory stopped speaking. He'd meant it as a joke, but realized that if they messed this up, that position might be vacant for another reason altogether. ‘I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry.’
‘We're going out into the woods, Cory. That's where I think Bianca is. That's where I think Poppy was taken. We can't sit on this if Poppy's dead. God forbid that's the case—but if she is, Bianca is in extreme danger. We can't leave her or trust the assurances in that anonymous text message to her parents. We have to find her. And if there's still some small chance that Poppy's alive, we have to rescue her.’
‘You won't regret this,’ Cory said. ‘Sometimes you have to act on a hunch, even if you might end up in a pile of crap as a result. And Bianca's just a kid—she'll be terrified. What's the plan?’
‘Well, I take it your car is still parked outside Chief Tarrant's house?’
‘Um, yeah, probably.’
‘We're going back to my house to pick up a couple of flashlights, then we're heading out to the woods. It'll be almost dark out there now. Not a word when I get you checked out of the Hotel Shallow Falls at the desk, okay? Just look like you learned your lesson in here, pick up your stuff, and meet me by my car in the lot. Okay?’
Cory nodded and Louise tapped on the metal door. Her colleague on the other side opened it up. As they were walking up the stairs, Cory stopped to ask a question.
‘When Poppy was taken, was there any sign of a struggle? Was there anything that suggested she'd been abducted?’
‘Why do you ask?’
‘Just a feeling,’ Cory said.
‘No, there wasn’t. That's what's so infuriating about this case. If she'd been snatched, she'd have screamed or cried out or made some kind of a fuss. That's why we spent so much time figuring that she just wandered off. Somebody would have noticed something if she'd been snatched; it was broad daylight. She seems to have gone like a lamb to the slaughter. Why, have you got a theory?’
‘Maybe, maybe not,’ Cory replied. ‘There's just a few things about all this that have been bothering me. I can't see how the deaths of Imogen Franklin and Councilor Ingram fit in with Poppy's disappearance. And now Bianca, too. It's become a nightmare. They wouldn't have warned us off if we didn't have their scent. So what the hell can’t I see here, Louise? How does this all piece together?’
She stopped on the staircase and turned to look at him.
‘Shallow Falls Police can't figure it out either, Cory—that's why they're bringing in the big guns. We're out of our league. Tarrant's not happy about it, but he loses the entire case tomorrow. We've hit a dead end with all leads, they go nowhere. But I'll tell you one thing for sure. If there's any chance
of finding Poppy Norman and Bianca Williams, I'll bet my job as a Shallow Falls police officer that we'll find it in those woods.’
Chapter Forty
While Louise buckled up and started her engine, Cory tested the flashlights in the passenger seat of the car. They'd need them to see out there in the fast-failing light. He'd lost track of time in the cells.
‘Both working—this second one is a bit dull, but they'll do the job,’ he said, as he placed them both in the cup holders.
‘Officially, I'm on my evening break,’ Louise said, ‘so it's best I use my own car rather than a police vehicle. It might help reduce the trouble I get into if all of this goes pear-shaped.’
‘You know, you don't have to do this,’ Cory said. ‘I'll go alone and sort it out myself, if it's going to get you into big trouble.’
‘Let's put it this way—we have the duration of my break to find out something solid about Poppy or Bianca. If we do, you call it in as an anonymous tip-off. If we don't, then we have to discuss overriding the Williams' wishes and getting Shallow Falls Police involved.’
‘If we can keep Tarrant out of it, we should. He won't listen to me after what happened at his house earlier. And Deputy Cabera is pissed with me, too. We've got to find something out in those woods, Louise—all paths seem to lead there.’
She looked at the time on her phone and drove the car out of the parking lot. They made their way steadily through the town, eventually reaching the road which took them to the falls area.
‘It's getting dark; those woods are a bear to navigate when you can hardly see where you're going.’ Cory thought back to the last time he and Bianca were in among the trees. He still had the scratches as unwelcome souvenirs.
As they neared Xander Griffen's house, they suddenly became aware of a flaring light up ahead.
‘What the hell-- pull over, Louise—pull the car over!’
Reece's trailer was on fire, and there was no sign of the children outside, or the officer assigned to look after the family. Reece's car was parked in front, as was a second police vehicle. The flames were roaring against the trailer's two doors, making it impossible for anyone to get out, and flames were beginning to spread across the roof.
Louise swung the car across the road, bringing it to an abrupt halt to the side of Reece's vehicle. The moment Cory opened his door, he could hear the screams from inside.
‘Damn it, Louise, they're all in there—the doors are blocked off.’
‘Any windows accessible?’
‘None.’
‘Is there any water around? A hose or something like that?’
‘I can't see anything—we've got to get them out of there. The trailer will go up completely in no time.’
Cory ran up to the main door, darting his hand through the flames to try to grab the metal handle. In the split second that he managed to reach through the fire and touch it, he could sense the intense heat that was coming off it.
‘Officer down over here,’ Louise shouted. Cory ran over to the other door of the trailer. The screams from inside had now been replaced by coughing; they didn't have long to act. Lying just underneath the trailer, her trouser leg on fire and her head gashed, was Officer Ambrose, one of the personnel assigned to liaise with Reece over the search for Poppy.
‘She's alive—just,’ Louise shouted, patting out the flame on Officer Ambrose's burned leg.
‘Here, help me pull her away.’
They took an arm and a leg each and placed her well away from the trailer.
‘The gas cylinders,’ Cory said, realizing that there was an even worse hazard at the back of the trailer.
‘We can't fight it, I have to call the fire department.’
‘OK, do it. But Reece and the kids will be dead by the time they get here. I'm going to get them out.’
‘Cory, no—you'll suffocate in there with them.’
‘Call the fire department, Louise. It might be too late for Poppy already, but I’m not letting two more children perish.’
He ran off, shocked by the height of the flames and the force of the fire. There was no way Reece and the kids could escape through the doors, and if those gas cylinders blew, they'd all be dead. He ran to the back of the trailer, and spotted the propane tanks mounted at the side, just below a window. Light flames were already licking their way around the containers. Above him, the flames on the roof were intensifying. Testing the heat levels as he moved cautiously toward the trailer, he figured if he darted in fast enough, he'd be able to release the cylinders one at a time.
He watched the movement of the flames in the breeze, making sure that he wouldn't be caught. It didn't matter anyway—he had to move them, or they were going to explode. Cory picked the left-hand tank and ran toward it, trying to figure out how to release the mechanism which transported the gas into the trailer. He put his hand on the metal lever, pulled it over 180 degrees, twisted it and pulled off the valve. As he did so, a face appeared at the window. It was Reece Norman, terror and desperation in her eyes.
‘Can you open the windows?’ Cory shouted at her.
‘They're all either sealed off or they only open a small way,’ she screamed, coughing. ‘The girls… they’re unconscious. We can't get out, Cory, the ceiling’s beginning to melt—it’s coming down onto the floor.’
‘Get the girls by the window, Reece… quickly.’
He picked up the gas tank and ran away from the trailer, dropping it at a safe distance. There was a half brick discarded on the ground, one from the remains of the old house; he picked it up and ran in for the second canister. He could barely make out Reece; it was all but dark now and the smoke inside the trailer was dense and enveloping. The paint on the outside of the gas canister was now beginning to peel and curl as light flames began to lick round it.
Cory pulled down the sleeves of his shirt to give his hands as much protection from the hot metal as he could manage. He unclipped the valve mechanism, releasing the canister. Cory picked it up, but it was heavier than the other, still full of the liquid gas. There was a burst of flame as he saw that he'd not quite released the valve correctly and a small jet of gas had been released at the top.
‘Goddammit,’ he cursed, as Reece banged desperately at the glass, screaming for him to get them out.
‘I can't break the glass,’ she shouted, ‘I can't reach anything heavy enough.’
He had to move the canister first, otherwise they'd all get caught in the explosion. Cory heaved it up and moved as fast as he could, well away from the trailer. The leak in the valve persisted in shooting out a flame at the side and the flames appeared to have taken hold at the far end. Cory moved it as far as he dared, then threw it away from his body as the heat became too intense. As it landed on the ground, the container struck a brick and the side ruptured.
Cory dove to the ground amid a fierce bang. There was a furious roar of flames as the gas inside exploded. His ears rang with the sound, as if a powerful gun had gone off at his side. The explosion settled quickly and as he looked up to check that he was clear to move again, he spotted Louise coming over to his aid.
‘Are you okay, Cory?’
‘I'm fine, but they're still in there. I'm going in; I need you to drag the kids clear of the trailer, okay?’
Cory ran up to where the tanks had been, picking up the half brick and standing on the bottle mounts to gain the height he needed. He couldn’t see Reece. As he smashed the glass with the brick, the sudden rush of air made the flames inside the trailer roar with a new and deadly power. He moved the brick around the metal frame as quickly as he could, clearing as much of the glass as possible, then pulled himself up through the opening and rolled down onto the floor.
The living area, where only days previously Toni and Megan had been coloring with Bianca, was now a fiery inferno, the table all but destroyed. On the floor was Reece, with Megan at her side, both still, their faces blackened with soot. Cory picked up Megan and moved her toward the window, where Louise was wa
iting.
‘Where are those damn fire engines?’ he cursed, as he passed Megan through the window.
‘They have to come from Westview—ten minutes, maybe,’ she answered.
Moving Reece was not as difficult as Cory had feared; her body was gaunt and limp. He picked her up and maneuvered her towards the window. She began to cough and splutter as she inhaled the fresh air.
‘Toni,’ she gasped, ‘Toni is in the back bedroom.’
‘I'll get her,’ Cory promised. ‘Can you walk? Can you climb through that window frame if Louise helps you?’
Reece nodded and began to move through with Louise's encouragement. Behind Cory, a section of roof fell in where the table had been. The flames were beginning to rip through the fabric of the trailer now; there might not be much for the firefighters to save by the time they finally arrived.
To reach the bedrooms at the rear of the trailer, Cory had to navigate a length of corridor which was engulfed in flames. He looked around. In the sink was a bowl full of water where a couple of cups had been left to soak. In the kitchen area, there was a fire blanket, wrapped up neatly and fixed to the wall, where it had probably sat for years, unnoticed. Cory removed the cups and tipped the bowl of water down his clothes, then unwrapped the fire blanket and pulled it over his head.
‘Toni,’ he shouted. ‘Can you hear me?’
He had one chance to get it right, but there were three bedroom doors. His plan was to dart along the corridor and burst through the door. If he got the wrong bedroom, he might not get a second try.
‘Help, I'm scared,’ came a small voice. ‘Mom! Mom! I can't get out.’
Cory followed the voice to the far bedroom. He worked out his route and took a deep, smoke-laden breath. Then he sped through the flames and crashed into the bedroom door. The room was filling with smoke and the roar of the flames on the roof above was deafening. Toni jumped at the sight of him; he probably looked like a ghost with the fire blanket over him.
Now You See Her Page 21
