Chapter Fifteen

“Hey Sutton, my office now.”

Luke sighed as he heard his Captain’s distinctive bellow across the crowded squad room. He wondered, as he pushed his chair away from his desk, what kind of bollocking he was going to get this time. Truth was, he was nowhere with his missing person. He’d had the pizza box he’d found sent to forensics but there were no discernible latent prints, only badly smudged partials that had no matches in AFIS, the automated fingerprint identification system, nor was there enough DNA, from either skin epithelials or body fluids, in order to track a DNA fingerprint through CODIS, the Combined DNA Index System. He was up shit creek and the paddle had said goodbye a long time ago.

He walked over feeling very much like a man going to the gallows.

“You want to see me Captain?” Luke said, feeling nervous and angry. Angry that he was in this situation to begin with. Angry that he’d been taken off a murder just to find some missing woman, who probably wasn’t missing at all and who was probably holed up with a boyfriend somewhere.

“Yeah, get down to the cells, someone’s just been booked for using a stolen credit card...”

“Captain, what the fuck?” Luke snapped.

“…in the name of Jenna Riley. I assume you haven’t found her yet?”

Luke shook his head, slightly abashed.

“Didn’t think so,” the Captain said, tightly, “So get down there. She‘s a junkie and you don’t have much time before she spirals.”

Luke turned to go.

“And Sutton?,”

Luke turned back.

“Don’t fuck this one up.”

Luke’s jaw tightened in anger.


Luke sat opposite the young, skinny girl, dressed in a tight, short skirt and a tight teeshirt that stretched across her small breasts. She was wearing an oversized parka coat with ragged, grubby fur around the hood, torn tights and a pair of fake Ugg boots with multiple stains all over them He had her details in front of him, or, at least, the details she’d given them. Whether they were true or not was up for grabs.

“So, Melissa, It is Melissa isn’t it?, not Jenna by any chance?”

Melissa scowled, making her face ugly. She sat hunched up in the grey plastic chair and chewed on her ragged fingernails. Her fingerprints had already been taken and she screwed her face up as she tasted some left over ink residue.

“You know, if you don’t stop biting your nails you’ll reach your elbows one day.” Luke said softly.

She flashed a look at him and he was taken aback by the sheer amount of hatred in her eyes.

“How old are you Melissa?” he asked.

“18.What the fuck‘s it gotta do with you.” came her sullen reply.

“Let’s try again, how old are you?”

“17.”

“And again?”

“16.”

Luke raised his eyebrows, keeping direct eye contact. Beneath the caked on make up and the arrogance, she was barely a young adult.

“Melissa, we have your fingerprints and if you’re already in the system then you know it’ll only be a matter of time before we know everything about you. If you don’t tell me the truth then I can’t help you and using a stolen credit card is a felony for which you could be jailed. Do you understand? You could be locked up for this? So let’s cut the bullshit shall we and start telling me the truth.” he said harshly, staring at the underfed girl in front of him.

He knew that whatever had led her to the state she was in must have been bad but right now, he didn’t have the time or the inclination to care. He had a missing adult to find and if he had to bulldoze his way through some fucked up teenager then he would. He would feel bad about it when he could afford to.

A film of tears appeared in the girls eyes, making her look even younger.

“I’m 15.” she said, her voice hollow and defeated.

“That’s better. Where did you find the card?” he asked, watching the girl sink lower and lower into her seat.

He lowered his voice and relaxed his stance.

“Melissa, I’m not interested in what you tried to buy with the card or even that you had it. I want to know where you found it. If you co-operate with me I’ll see what I can do about the charges.” Luke said, knowing full well that there was nothing he could do.

Melissa lifted her head to look at him. Her eyes were glassy but held malevolence, her skin mottled and drawn. She had the look of an addict. Luke wondered how long she’d been smoking and whether she was now injecting.

“Bryant Park.” she said in a quiet voice.

“When?”

“Huh?” she said.

“When did you find it?” Luke asked, softly. He knew he had to work fast as she seemed to be losing the plot fast.

“Erm, like two days ago? I was there…to meet some friends,” she said, shifting in her seat, which Luke translated as ‘I was there to score’, “And I saw this red thing sticking out of the dirt, I waited till my friends had gone and then dug it up. It was a wallet.”

Luke sat up straighter. Did this mean she had the wallet on her? No, of course she didn’t, she’d been searched already before she’d been placed in the holding cells, along with having her fingerprints taken.

“What did you do with the wallet.”

“Um…threw it.” her voice was wispy

“Where? Think Melissa, please. Where did you throw it?”

“Hmm?”

“the wallet? Where did you throw it?”

“Oh, the park. I took the credit card and dropped the wallet back into the hole.”

“What hole?” Luke asked, wondering if his luck had run out. He was proved right when she leant forward and vomited all over the grey lino, before collapsing into a shuddering heap.

Thankfully help was on hand and Luke left her in their capable hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Abby felt a strong pair of arms encircle her waist.

“Morning beautiful.” Jon whispered, huskily, as he bent to nibble on her neck.

She giggled as she felt his warm lips and tongue sweep the skin under her ear. It was a tender, ticklish spot which he well knew about and she squirmed slightly in his grasp.

“Jon…stop. It hurts.” she gasped, laughing, her heart rate accelerating under his touch.

Jon let her go, reluctantly on his part, and she turned to look at him. God he was just the most beautiful man she had ever seen…and yet there was a stillness to him that she couldn’t explain. A kind of deep sadness that ran through him that no-one could reach. Sometimes his smile just didn’t reach his eyes and it made her sad to see, knowing that she couldn’t help him.

He opened his arms and she walked into his embrace, feeling his warmth envelop her, his scent surrounded her and she felt at peace.

They were outside the house, standing by the covered over swimming pool. It had snowed over night and there was a deep layer covering everything in sight. Pale sunlight glinted through the slight, low lying mist, lending the landscape a golden, fantastical yet slightly surreal look.

Abby turned in Jon’s embrace and sighed with joy at the sight before them.

“You know, it seems like a unicorn is going to come galloping up any minute, and that we could look over at the ocean and see the Lady of the Lake holding up Excalibur.” she said softly as Jon leant forward to rest his head on her shoulder, holding her tightly to him.

“It does, doesn’t it? The way the light reflects off those trees and makes everything golden, I feel that King Arthur himself could appear…any minute.” he murmured.

Abby turned her head to look at him. She looked at the wry smile and narrowed her eyes.

“Are you taking the piss?” she asked, her lips curling up involuntarily.

“No!, Whatever gave you that idea?” he started to say but giggled half way through and totally ruined it.

“Jon? You’re a shit.” she said, smiling.

He laughed and walked back towards the kitchen for a coffee refill. Abby could still hear him laughing as he poured them coffee.

Jon looked at the two cups and laughed some more.

“Unicorn?” he murmured softly to himself, “Excalibur?”; more laughter.
“Abs, you’re nuts you really are.” he whispered, again to himself as he poured two cups of black coffee. A song broke through his consciousness as he carried the cups back outside, glad of his thick windbreaker.

“She wakes up when I sleep, talks to ghosts like in the movies.”

He sang in softly all the way back out to where Abby was perched on a wooden seat, wrapped up in a thick woollen blanket, watching the waves.

“…Wildflower…” he murmured as he handed her a cup.

“Hmm?” she murmured back, quite entranced by the frosty, winter wonderland sight in front of her.

“Nothing.”

Jon took a sip of the scalding liquid and gingerly set the cup down on the bench.

“Abs?”

“Yeah?” she replied, staring out to sea, lost in the haunting beauty.

“I want to take you to meet my parents today.”