Now You See Her

by Paul J. Teague

  Harry was armed and he'd snatched his child. If the police thought there was any danger of him shooting or harming her, they'd take him out in the blink of an eye. He had to get to Harry, to reason with him that it was time to give himself up.

  ‘Get Dean secured, Bianca. Do it now, before he moves more. Then I want you to make your way back to the parking lot. There's an ambulance crew there. Get some help, to make sure he lives. I want that jerk to go to prison.’

  Bianca gathered the ropes and moved toward Dean. Cory gave him one more check to be certain he was still out enough from his wound that Bianca would have time to safely secure him.

  ‘Take care, Bianca,’ he said, moving off toward the road.

  Harry Shannon was navigating his way through the dark woods with Poppy. Even though he was behaving like a scared animal, he'd shown Cory already that he was a different kind of father than Jerry Hunter. He seemed to care for his child, even if he'd been completely misguided taking her from the school and hiding with her in the woods.

  Cory ignored the scraping of the low branches. He had to get to Harry and Poppy before it was too late. He moved as fast as he could, his chest, arm and stomach raw with pain, thinking only of getting to Poppy, returning her safe to Reece.

  Sooner than he'd expected, Cory burst through the trees and into the road. He hadn't quite got it right—he was a hundred yards or so in the wrong direction from Dean's car. The sign on the road pinpointed his location, warning of the deadly bends up ahead from the Westview direction.

  Cory began to jog, passing Dean's car. Harry hadn't made it that far; like Cory, he must have come out wide of it when he exited the woods. He ran past the shopping bags with their contents half-spilled into the road. It looked to Cory like they'd been investigated by inquisitive animals already.

  Then he stopped dead in the road. There was a gunshot—then a second. The sounds lingered in the air like a wisp of smoke taking its time.

  Cory began running, forgetting any potential hazard on the winding road, intent on reaching the falls as soon as possible. As he came around the bend and reached the Westview end of the parking lot, he was distressed to see the scene at the top of the falls. An officer's gun was pointing straight at him.

  ‘Whoa, stop there.’

  ‘It's me, Cory Miles, from The Shallow Falls Tribune.’

  ‘Damn, Cory, what are you doing here? Stay back, this nutjob is armed. He has the child.’

  Another officer was shining the beam from a flashlight directly at Harry, who looked like a startled deer in headlights. He was holding Poppy over the edge of the falls. She looked out of her mind with fear.

  The police officers were the ones he'd bought coffee for at Lacey's. Cory had to try to take the heat out of the situation. Harry was panicking now; if Poppy got hurt, he'd never forgive himself.

  ‘Cory? Thank God, I thought you'd died in the car fire.’

  It was Louise's voice. She was walking over from the parking lot, coming to give the officers backup. Her gun was poised, ready for action.

  ‘Louise, I'm fine. I want to talk to Harry.’

  ‘That's Harry Shannon?’ she replied.

  ‘Trust me, Louise. Can I move in to speak with him? He's not dangerous. Do you hear what I'm saying? Trust me.’

  The three officers looked at each other. Far in the distance, the sound of police sirens could be heard. This was all going to play out within minutes. Backup would arrive and Harry would be taken out. If Poppy made it out alive, she'd be without a father.

  ‘Harry, it's Cory Miles, the man in the woods. I don't have a weapon. I know Reece well, and I know the other children--’

  ‘Keep away from me, or I'll drop her in the falls,’ Harry shouted. ‘You make a move and I drop her. You hear me? She's going in! I want Tarrant's car. I get to walk away from this.’

  In the distance, Cory was aware of the police cars arriving in the parking lot. He also heard a shout, far off, that said Chief Tarrant had arrived. It was in Tarrant's interests to have Harry Shannon shot dead. Harry was armed and threatening a child. Chief Tarrant could give the command the moment the child was out of danger.

  ‘Trust me, Louise, and be ready.’ Cory said. ‘Harry, I'm going to step over the police tape and walk very slowly so you can see me. I won't move in close and I'm not armed. You can hear the police now, Harry. I want to help you and Poppy. I want to get you out of here alive.’

  ‘You come too close, I’ll drop her into the falls.’

  As Cory got closer, he had a better view. Harry was right at the top of the falls, holding Poppy under her armpits, moving her toward the edge whenever he felt threatened. On the other side of the police tape, which was still there after the killing of Councilor Ingram, were three officers, including Louise, their weapons trained on Harry, waiting to take their shot the moment they could bring him down without harming the child.

  Cory heard Chief Tarrant's voice barking instructions in the distance.

  ‘The moment you get a clean shot, take him down.’

  Harry heard it, too, and he moved Poppy over the edge of the falls again. The child was terrified, screaming and kicking now. Cory saw the impact that had on Harry, but he was a scared man, cornered, terrified for his life. Cory could see he was expecting a bullet any moment.

  ‘Harry, it doesn't have to end this way. Let me take Poppy. Put your gun on the ground—you can walk away from this. You can still be a father to Poppy. You haven't killed anyone. Dean Tarrant is still alive. This doesn't have to end badly.’

  Cory spoke gently and calmly, aware that all around him, armed officers were moving into place. He was also moving in, closer and closer to Harry.

  ‘You get a shot, take him out.’

  Tarrant was covering his ass; he needed this man dead.

  ‘Be ready, Louise,’ Cory said quietly. She was to his left side, just beyond the police tape, watching like a hawk.

  ‘That's far enough,’ Harry shouted. He now had one arm around Poppy's waist and was pointing the gun randomly toward the officers who had their own weapons trained on him. Harry was desperately looking for a way out, but it was clear to Cory that he wasn't going to find it.

  ‘You're basically a good man, Harry, and you love your daughter. You haven't killed anybody. Please, trust me.’

  Harry held up the gun toward Cory, about to shoot. As he did so, he had to pull Poppy around, so that she was no longer dangling over the falls.

  ‘Now, Louise,’ Cory shouted.

  A shot rang out and Harry Shannon fell to the ground. As Louise fired, Cory dived down and rolled toward him, snatching Poppy as she fell. The two of them rolled off the edge, toward the rocks, the crashing of the water from the falls roaring below.

  Epilogue

  For the first time in 97 years, The Shallow Falls Tribune came out two days late that week. Never in its history had it been published on a Sunday. It was a bumper issue, too, and every copy sold out. The entire town simply couldn't wait to get chapter and verse on what had happened at the falls that night. There were rumors and speculation, but only the local newspaper would carry the truth. And the entire town was desperate to hear it.

  ‘That's a piece of history there,’ Bianca smiled. ‘And I was part of it. Not bad for a first week as an intern.’

  Cory laughed, but winced as he did so. He was more comfortable now, propped up in a hospital bed, his wound treated and bandaged, but it would take some time for all of him to heal properly. He didn't care; they'd saved Poppy.

  ‘Who drew the picture?’ Bianca asked, looking at a hand-drawn card, showing a man holding a child's hand. She picked it up and looked inside.

  To Cory, thank you for helping me, love Poppy

  ‘That's lovely,’ she said, placing it back on Cory's bedside table. ‘I heard that Reece and her kids are staying at Xander's house while they get back on their feet, or as much as they ever were. It makes sense. I'll bet Xander will be glad of the company. There certainly are enough rooms
in that house of his.’

  Louise Powell entered the room, wearing her civilian clothing and clutching a bunch of flowers.

  ‘For the patient,’ she smiled. ‘I figure they'll brighten things up a bit around here. How are you doing, Bianca?’

  Bianca rubbed her wrists and held up her hands.

  ‘Still sore, but I got off lightly, if you ask me. And Mom and Dad think I'm some kind of hero. They won't even hear about me leaving the paper now. They've completely changed their tune. Hey, Cory, I didn't tell you—the school may be reversing their punishments. It looks like I might make it to the yearbook after all. They said they'd await the outcome of the trial, but it was looking pretty likely. I might even get a full apology.’

  ‘Nice one, Bianca—you deserve nothing less,’ Cory said. ‘And I'll be honored to work with you as an intern; journalism needs more young people like you.’

  ‘Did you hear about the chief yet?’ Louise asked.

  ‘I don't hear anything stuck in here,’ Cory told her.

  ‘Well, the good news is, he's been arrested,’ she continued. ‘He fought it, but that delightful son of his told them everything from his hospital bed. The kid's a weasel, trying to save his own ass while dropping his father right in it. Spencer Jones, too—he'll be spending more than a night in jail after this. The five of them were in it together: Chief Tarrant, Dean, Harry Shannon, Councilor Ingram, and Spencer Jones. I'm not certain we'll get the people they were working with to secure the land—that's all tied up in crooked, arms-length companies and the like. What a mess! Those were some moves you pulled out there, by the way. I didn't know you had it in you.’

  ‘He's been all cagey about his heroic rescue,’ Bianca teased. ‘Can you tell me what happened?’

  ‘It was a bit of a team effort, actually.’

  Louise looked at Cory and he smiled as she explained.

  ‘I shot Harry Shannon in his shin on Cory's mark. Neither of us could be sure that the other officers wouldn't shoot, so Cory had it all worked out. He rolled with Poppy over the edge, but he knew how the rocks lay. It was the perfect move, they dropped onto the small ledge above the falls so Poppy was perfectly safe if the guns started going off.’

  ‘Wow, it sounds amazing,’ Bianca said, clearly gripped by the tale.

  ‘It was damn scary to be honest with you,’ Cory replied. ‘I hear you're a bit of a hero, too, Bianca?’

  ‘If you mean I gave Dean a kick in the balls when he started getting feisty with me, then, yes, I'm a hero. I never thought tying up a jerk would give me so much pleasure.’

  Cory laughed.

  ‘How is Poppy?’ he asked Louise.

  ‘Oh, you know kids,’ she said. ‘She's happy to be back with her mom and sisters. I'm so pleased for Reece; that poor woman deserves a break. And Poppy still has her father. There's no way he won't serve time, of course, but at least we got him out of there alive. We make a great team, Cory.’

  As if right on cue, Zach ran into the room, jumped on Cory's bed, and gave his dad a hug. Cory winced with pain as Zach landed right on his rib cage, but he was so ecstatic to see his son, he didn't care.

  Nadia followed immediately afterward, registering Louise and Bianca, visibly uneasy about being in the room.

  ‘Hi, Nadia,’ Cory said. ‘Thanks so much for bringing Zach in to see me.’

  ‘I know we have our problems, Cory, but don't think I'm not proud of you for what you did to save that child. You're a good dad, Cory—the best. I won't ever take that away from you.’

  ‘Thank you, Nadia. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that,’ Cory replied, choked up by her words. He was beginning to accept that it was over. She didn't love him, but they didn't have to be enemies. It could work like this, putting Zach first and placing aside their differences.

  ‘I got you that information you wanted,’ Nadia continued. ‘Xander Griffen's contract won't stand up in court, it was signed under coercion, and he should have had a designated proxy to act on his behalf anyway, what with his learning difficulties. He's getting signed up with social services to get the help he needs. Both he and Reece are potentially sitting on decent pots of cash. Oh, and it looks like Jerry Hunter swindled Reece out of her insurance money on the house. The whole thing is a very sorry affair.’

  ‘Well, it helps having direct access to legal professionals through your wife,’ Cory said.

  He felt a sense of relief. They'd returned Poppy safely to her mother, and his own son was delighted to see him, sitting next to Cory on the bed, cuddled in hard. It was the best feeling in the world. He couldn't even begin to think how much better Reece Norman was feeling at that moment, with all three of her children safe and Poppy back where she belonged.

  He'd known he was taking a risk when he took a chance on Louise knowing what his intentions were at the top of the falls. But he couldn't see any way out of it; if he didn't do something fast, Harry Shannon would be shot and Poppy's life would be in extreme peril.

  As he looked around the room at the faces of his friends and family, Cory knew that he would do exactly the same thing in an instant. To save the life of a child, he was prepared to risk everything.

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  Afterword

  Now You See Her is the first psychological thriller I've located in the USA. Usually my books are set in the United Kingdom and have a distinctly British feel to them.

  The change coincided with me teaming up with Adam Nicholls to co-author this story. Adam bases his stories in the States, so I had to hop across the Atlantic, authorially speaking.

  I've been to New York twice, but I consume American TV more than I watch UK television shows, so most of my knowledge is based on fictional situations.

  To make sure I got the language right, I teamed up with an author friend called Bill Cokas—who also writes mysteries—and he ran through the book for me, making sure I didn't mess anything up.

  Bill listens to my podcast for authors at Self-Publishing-Journeys.com which has listeners from all over the world. That can be very handy at times, when you need to make sure you're getting things right in your book.

  I'm delighted to have teamed up with Adam for this book. I first encountered him in a Facebook group for authors and I've been following his career since the early days.

  He's also been on my podcast twice as a guest. If you want to hear Adam's author story, you can find out more in these links:

  https://self-publishing-journeys.com/episode-45-adam-nicholls/

  https://self-publishing-journeys.com/episode-137-adam-nicholls-take-2/

  After recording that second interview, we decided to work together and, to be honest, we turned it around pretty fast.

  Adam recommended one of his books to read as a good example of his style. That book was You Saw Too Much, in case you're interested in checking it out.

  I read a lot of Linwood Barclay novels—he's one of my favorite authors, alongside Harlan Coben.

  Most of the time I'd say my books were more like Harlan Coben's standalone thrillers. Now You See Her is very much in the style of a Linwood Barclay story, with its local police department, small town setting, and local characters.

  As a former journalist, I often choose reporters as my main characters because I know their world so well. I spent 18 years of my working life at the BBC, most of that time as a radio presenter and journalist. You get a lot of access to the police and senior figures in the community as a reporter, so it makes a good job for a character to have in a thriller.

  A lot of my books are drawn from personal experience. Lacey's Diner is very much modeled on the diner I ate breakfast in when I first visited New York to attend an awards ceremony with the BBC. By the way, Prince appeared live on stage that night—can you imagine how pl
eased I was?

  Poor old Imogen Franklin gets killed off in the library stacks and this is another potential murder location I spotted some time ago. My wife works in our local library and on the top floor, they keep their archives in these stacks. They can be quite dangerous if staff don't follow the correct protocols.

  At my wife's place of work, she always places a chair between the shelves, just in case. That gave me a great idea for a way to dispatch one of my characters when she told me about it. Sorry, Imogen, it's nothing personal!

  When I was a lot younger and had to buy old cars that were very cheap, I'd go to junkyards with my dad, scavenging for parts and spares. I don't see as many around these days in the UK; I guess that's because cars are so complicated these days that most of us take them to dealers to get fixed rather than patching them up ourselves.

  When you're a thriller writer, you spend a lot of time thinking how you can place your characters in danger. It struck me some time ago that a junkyard is a great place to do this, hence Cory's rather thrilling attempt to get his hands on a starter motor.

  I hope you enjoyed reading Now You See Her as much as I enjoyed writing it. As you can probably tell, there are a lot more adventures to be had in Shallow Falls and I deliberately left some questions open, ready for the next book.

  Will Cory lose his job and will the newspaper close down?

  Will Bianca and Micky get together?

  What was this mysterious, arms-length company that was trying to secure the land? Was anybody else in Shallow Falls in it up to their necks?