The Time Bubble

by Jason Ayres

  She wasn’t depressed. There were no problems with drink or drugs or any family issues as far as they could tell. It seemed they were destined to draw a blank.

  That was before Dan decided to stick his oar in. He had been sitting with a few of the others from Charlie’s year eating a bacon sandwich. Kaylee’s disappearance was dominating the conversation. There were all sorts of ill-informed opinions flying around, and the police presence was merely fuelling the rumour mill further.

  “I heard that the railway workers found her mutilated body on the railway line this morning”, said a tall, ginger-haired boy sitting opposite Dan.

  “That’s not what I heard”, piped up a shorter, dark-haired boy with a greasy complexion and an acne problem. “I was talking to the bloke in the paper shop this morning and he reckons that the bloke that attacked her cut up her body and dissolved it in a bath of acid”.

  “How would he know that?” asked Dan, irritated. Why did he have such idiotic friends?

  He decided that he would speak to the police himself. He wasn’t happy at the way he’d been treated by Lauren, Charlie and the others the past few days, and saw an ideal opportunity now to get his revenge.

  He got up from the table and made his way over towards Adrian and Hannah.

  Charlie and Josh had walked into school together, deep in conversation. They hadn’t come up with any realistic ideas about how to deal with the situation. However Josh had suggested speaking to Mr Grant again to see if he might give them more credence following this new development.

  They had decided they would definitely not say anything about the Time Bubble to Kaylee’s family or to the police. They knew how distressing it must be for Kaylee’s family as they had talked about this potential scenario before. Now it was happening right in front of them, but at least it was only going to be for a couple of days.

  They entered the canteen, instantly recognising the two police officers. Charlie immediately felt on edge, and when he saw who was talking to them, he was even more worried.

  He and Josh walked over to their usual table and the tables they passed fell silent. He could feel the eyes of the other students burning into his back. Could it be that they suspected him?

  Dan was having a field day with the police. He was gleefully recounting the tale of the party last Saturday, elaborating on the facts for maximum effect.

  “Oh, yeah, I’m telling you, he just wouldn’t leave her alone. At one point he said he couldn’t live without her and he’d kill her and himself if she wouldn’t go out with him”.

  This was a total fabrication as Charlie had never said anything of the sort, but he continued, unchallenged by his peers around him. “Yes, I reckon he’s your prime suspect. She probably rejected him and he couldn’t take it so he’s done her in”.

  Hannah was not enjoying listening to this at all. She had taken an instant dislike to this fat, obnoxious boy, and didn’t like the way he was blatantly trying to drop Charlie in it. That aside, what other leads did they have? Charlie didn’t seem to her like the sort of person who would attack or abduct anyone, but even so, he clearly knew more than he was letting on. They would have to take him in for more questioning.

  “It’s not for you to make allegations as to what may or may not have happened, Daniel”, she rebuked him. “We are merely trying to build up a picture of Kaylee’s lifestyle and her relationships with her friends”.

  “Well, that’s up to you”, replied Daniel. “But I know what I think”.

  “I strongly advise you keep those opinions to yourself”, she said. “There is such a thing as slander, you know”.

  Dan decided not to push it any further and Hannah decided to bring the conversation to a close. She turned to Adrian, noticing Charlie’s presence across the room as she did so.

  “I don’t think we are going to get much further here, Adrian. I think we need to take Charlie in for some more questioning”.

  “Agreed”, said Adrian.

  “Good idea”, added Dan.

  “Go away, Daniel”, said Hannah. “And remember what I said or I’ll be taking you in for questioning as well”.

  Dan sheepishly backed off, but he was satisfied he’d put the boot in enough to drop Charlie in it. He went back to his table and watched to see what happened next.

  Hannah and Adrian walked over to the table where Charlie was sitting. Charlie saw them approach, sensing what was probably coming. Every single pair of eyes in the room was now focused on him.

  “We need to ask you a few more questions, Charlie”, said Adrian. “Could you possibly accompany us down to the station?”

  Charlie got up quietly, and headed towards the door, an officer on either side. The room was deathly silent. Just before they reached the double swing-doors, they flew open and Lauren burst in. She looked at Charlie, flanked by the police and feared the worst.

  Had he done something to Kaylee? And after she had put so much trust in him?

  “Oh, Charlie”, was all she could say, as they passed, her usual fire deserting her.

  “You see!” shouted Dan triumphantly, as soon as the doors closed behind them. “I told you he did it!”

  =============================

  There was no Year 12 English class on Thursdays but Josh knew he needed to talk to Peter again as soon as possible. As soon as Charlie had left with the police he made a beeline for the staff room.

  Peter had just got back from teaching Macbeth to some GCSE students to discover that not only was there a full pot of coffee on the go, but some clean cups as well. Perhaps someone had listened to his rant the other day.

  He’d just settled into his favourite chair, the one Mr Hooper, the P.E. teacher, usually hogged when a couple of other teachers came in.

  Miss Simpson, a young maths teacher with short, cropped dark hair, and Miss Clarke, a curly redhead who taught history, were the two biggest gossips in the school. Today they were having a field day.

  “They’ve arrested Charlie Adams”, said Miss Simpson. “I’ve just seen the police carting him off”.

  Peter didn’t really want to get involved in the conversation because he’d learnt from experience that most of what came out of their mouths was rubbish.

  He couldn’t help eavesdropping, though. He liked Charlie and couldn’t believe the lad would do what some people were suggesting.

  “Have they found her body, yet?” asked Miss Clarke.

  “I don’t think so”, replied Miss Simpson, “though I’ve heard a few different stories going around. You know what people are like for gossiping”.

  Yes, I do, thought Peter, and you two are a prime example. He was tempted to say something, but he bit his tongue and listened some more.

  “Apparently they found her bicycle abandoned in that new railway tunnel under the HS2 line” said Miss Simpson.

  Now this really did grab Peter’s attention. He thought back to the previous day, his conversations with the boys and his trip to the tunnel. What was going on here? Was there a connection? Had they been planning something to do with Kaylee and taking him to the tunnel was part of the plan?

  They couldn’t be trying to frame him for something, could they? But why would they? All these questions and more rattled through his mind. None of it made any sense. Unless of course they’d been telling the truth and the Time Bubble really existed.

  He was interrupted from his thoughts by a knock on the door. Miss Clarke answered it but he sprang up as soon as he heard the voice from the other side.

  “Excuse me, is Mr Grant here please”, said Josh.

  “Just the person I want to see”, said Peter.

  “What have you been up to, Josh?” asked Miss Simpson, nosey as ever. She knew that Josh and Charlie were friends.

  Peter acted quickly to divert her attention. “It’s just a little matter of some uncompleted coursework, right, Josh? You’d better come with me to the library”.

  He walked out through the door, hoping the two gossips would accept thi
s explanation, and walked along the corridor with Josh.

  “This isn’t the way to the library”, remarked Josh.

  “I know”, replied Peter. “We’re not going to the library. We’ll go back to the classroom instead. There won’t be anyone in there now and I really think we need to talk”.

  He was determined to get to the bottom of what was going on. Time Bubble or not, he knew Josh must know more about all of this.

  =============================

  Across town, Charlie had arrived at the police station and was now seated in Meeting Room A. Kent was sitting opposite him ready to begin the interview or, as he preferred to think of it, the interrogation. Hannah was standing at the side of the room observing.

  “Right then, lad. You had better tell me everything you know about this girl’s disappearance”, began Kent.

  “I don’t know anything about it”, said Charlie. “I never saw her last night”.

  “That’s not good enough. The last person to see her before she disappeared told us quite clearly that she was on her way over to see you. So what happened, eh? Come on, it’ll be a lot easier in the long run if you just tell us the truth”.

  Charlie was exasperated by all of this. He was 99% certain Kaylee was in the Time Bubble which meant she’d emerge safe and sound the following evening. He couldn’t tell Kent that, though, and he didn’t particularly want to spend the next 24 hours with this red-faced copper in his face.

  He’d just have to stall for time. What was it they always said on TV in these situations?

  “I’m not saying anything without a solicitor present”, he said.

  All this did was make Kent angry. “You can have a solicitor later, but I want some answers now. I want to know what you’ve done with this girl”.

  “I haven’t done anything with her”, replied Charlie.

  “Well that’s not what I think. We’ve been pretty busy this morning, you know, and we’ve found a few interesting things out about you, lad”.

  “Like what?” asked Charlie, who’d seen Dan talking to Hannah and suspected he’d dropped him in it.

  “Like the fact that I’ve got statements from people saying that you’ve been stalking this girl for weeks and have been going around telling people that you can’t live without her and making all sorts of threats”.

  “That’s rubbish”, replied Charlie.

  “I don’t think it is rubbish” said Kent. Yes, he was beginning to get it all clear in his head now. This lad might think he was being clever playing it all innocent, but Kent was an old hand at this game. Or at least he thought he was. He continued: “Do you know what I think?”

  “Tell me”, said Charlie. He wasn’t feeling in the least bit intimidated despite Kent’s old school bad cop routine, because he knew the truth and Kent didn’t. That gave him the upper hand, no matter what Kent thought.

  “I think that you lured this girl over to your house, tried it on with her, and when she said no you raped her. Then you killed her and disposed of the body”.

  Even though he knew this wasn’t true, Charlie was shocked by what he’d said. How could this horrible man say such a thing? He wasn’t the only one taken aback. Hannah, who had been listening quietly thus far, felt that she should intervene.

  “D.I. Kent, could I have a word outside please?” she said.

  “Right we’ll leave it there for the moment”, said Kent. “But I haven’t finished with you yet”.

  He stormed out of the room, with Hannah in tow.

  What Kent had said had really upset Charlie, and without warning he burst into tears. He couldn’t keep this up for another 24 hours. He would have to try and say something.

  Outside in the corridor, Hannah was making her feelings felt. “You can’t go throwing accusations at him like that. He’s just a lad, for goodness’ sake. We’re not interrogating some terrorist or drug dealer here”.

  “Well you speak to him, then. I’m going to get a coffee. Try the good cop routine on him, maybe that will work. Otherwise I’m going to have another go”.

  “I don’t even think he’s done anything, boss. I think we’re barking up the wrong tree here. He just doesn’t seem the type”.

  “But what is the type? It’s not like you’re an expert is it? You’ve spent the last three years giving out spot fines in the High Street. It hardly gives you an insight into the criminal mastermind, does it?”

  Kent didn’t have a great deal of experience himself of dealing with criminal masterminds, but he wasn’t going to let on to Hannah about that.

  “Just give me half an hour to talk to him and then we’ll decide what to do”, suggested Hannah.

  “Alright”, agreed Kent. “But I want some results. This is a big case for us. It’s a real chance to put this station on the map”.

  “With all due respect, sir, I’m more concerned with the welfare of this missing girl than making a name for myself”, said Hannah. And with that she went back into the interview room.

  =============================

  Josh and Peter had been talking for some time. Peter was beginning to come round to the idea that the Time Bubble might be real, but couldn’t quite bring himself to completely accept it.

  “There must be some way I can prove it to you”, said Josh. “Didn’t you say you knew someone at Oxford University who has been doing experiments with tachyon particles?”

  “I do, yes, but I don’t really see how he can help us”, replied Peter.

  “Maybe he has got a tachyon particle detector or something?” asked Josh.

  “I’m pretty sure such a thing doesn’t exist, Josh. I know if this was a movie there would probably be some scientist nearby with all the answers and lots of gadgets to fix it all, but the real world isn’t like that. Besides, from what I’ve heard the whole area of the tunnel is sealed off for the police investigation. We can hardly just wander in there with some magic machine and just retrieve her, can we?”

  “But you do believe me?” asked Josh. “That the Time Bubble exists?”

  “I want to”, said Peter. It was true. He did want to. The thought of the leukaemia was ever-present in his mind and the Time Bubble, if it did exist, opened up some very interesting possibilities.

  He remembered his doctor talking about the revolutionary treatments that would be available in a few years’ time.

  He took a bold decision. He would go along with it. There was probably a 90% chance that the whole thing was a load of rubbish, but that meant a 10% chance it could be true. Not only could it lead to the adventure of a lifetime, but it might even save his life.

  “OK”, he said, grabbing hold of a white-board marker. “Let’s go over the whole thing in detail from the beginning again and map it all out on the white-board”.

  Josh was relieved. At last Mr Grant seemed to believe him. Hopefully now they could sort this all out. He started to go into exact detail of everything that had happened since Monday evening.

  =============================

  Hannah had gone back into the interview room to discover Charlie sobbing. This wasn’t on. Kent had been totally out of order saying what he had. She spoke gently.

  “Are you alright, Charlie?”

  “I want my mum”, he said. He knew it sounded pathetic but he really needed her and besides, she could help him. “She told you last night I was at home all evening”, he said. “If she comes down here she could make a statement to that effect”.

  “I’ll get someone to call her”, replied Hannah. “In the meantime I want to talk to you while D.I. Kent is not around”. She handed Charlie a tissue.

  He dried his eyes and looked up. He liked Hannah, she wasn’t like Kent. Although she’d ticked him off before for hanging around the tunnel, he felt like he could talk to her.

  “Why don’t you tell me the truth, Charlie?” asked Hannah. “I don’t think you’ve done anything to Kaylee but I do think you know something that might help us find her”.

  Charlie thought ab
out whether he should. He thought back to Monday evening and Hannah’s trip in the Time Bubble. Had she noticed the time she’d lost? Perhaps she had – and that meant there was a good chance she might believe him.

  He took a deep breath and began. “I do know where Kaylee is”, he said.

  “Tell me Charlie”, said Hannah softly. “It’s OK. Take your time”.

  “She’s trapped in a Time Bubble”, he said, beginning the same lengthy explanation that Josh was giving to Peter back at the school.

  Chapter Fourteen – 25th October 2018 (2.00pm)

  Josh had gone over all of the facts with Peter again in painstaking detail and they were now discussing some of the finer points of the Bubble’s workings. Peter had suspended his disbelief for the time being. The whole concept had intrigued him, true or not.

  “It’s very interesting that it doubles exactly each time”, remarked Peter. “It’s almost as if every time someone passes through, it unfolds, like this?

  He picked up the half-folded piece of A4 paper which was still on the desk from the other day, and unfolded it again. “Now it’s twice as big as it was before”.

  “But it can’t get any bigger”, said Josh. “You’ve unfolded it as far as it can go”.

  “But what if I could carry on unfolding it eventually?” asked Peter. “In the end it would be as big as the whole universe. The Time Bubble could be like that – doubling forever until the end of time”.

  “But that would take forever, surely?” asked Josh. “You’d have to jump millions of times”.

  “Not necessarily. When you double things up they soon mount up. Did you know that if you had a penny and doubled it every day within a month you’d be a millionaire?” asked Peter.

  “I wish”, replied Josh. “So how did it get there in the first place then? It first appeared on Monday – that’s when the first person went through”.

  “But they might not have been the first”, replied Peter. “That’s the first person you saw go through, but there could have been many trips before that. They could have been so short in duration that no-one would have noticed. What if the first time it happened it was only a millisecond? Or even less? There is a minimum unit of time, you know. It’s called a Planck.