Chapter 1
It was a quiet Thursday morning when I got the call. It always seemed to startle me whenever I heard the familiar ring of the telephone. Of course I had still had to answer every time, no matter how terrifying and skin crawling the call would be. I loved my job, I truly did. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t scaring. Most of the things I had seen and heard, kept me up late at night as the flashbacks would flood my mind. Every victim coming back to me.
I picked up the phone and answered with calm tone. After my ten years of working, I learnt that if you stay calm, your client will most likely remain calm as well. I heard heavy breathing on the other side. I could feel my heart start to race wondering what I was about to face.
I heard someone try to speak but it was muffled, like they were whispering. “I’m sorry miss. I didn’t get that.” I responded clutching the phone firmly in my hand. I’m sure my knuckles were turning white.
“I -I need help. I’ve been kidnapped.” The girl’s shaky voice rang through my ears. I took a seat as I listened carefully.
“Do you know where you are?” I was hoping she’d say yes so that I could call the police and give them her location.
“He put me in the trunk of his car. It’s a silver Volvo I think, and I was last at the mall in town hall…” I grabbed my pen and wrote down the descriptions she gave, making sure to get every detail.
The line went quiet. She hadn’t responded again.
I nearly dropped my phone when an ear piercing scream came from the other line. I kept quiet, I didn’t want whatever or whoever knowing that she called, even though I knew they knew already.
I heard a beep as the line went dead. I slammed the phone before standing from my chair. I pulled on my coat and left my office.
I preferred to work alone. It was easier for me to think on the job. I did nearly all my cases alone, only using the help of the police when needed.
I walked to my bedroom and opened my cupboard. I took my gun and placed it in my belt along with some ammo. I put a knife in my pocket and my notepad in my other one. I got my bag of supplies and rushed outside to my car.
She had told me that the last place she had been was town hall. I drove to the only mall in our tiny town. When I had to decide where to work. I chose the small town of Forrest side. I thought that nothing much would go on in a small town in the middle of nowhere. But I was wrong. For some reason, psychos, killers, maniacs and everything in between had a liking for small towns. I had seen more horrifying things here than I had seen in cities and towns way bigger with many more people.
When I got to the site, it had already been covered with bright, yellow ‘caution’ tape. Cops surrounded the area as people were being escorted out. I took my badge out and clipped it onto my brown coat. I opened my door and got out of the car.
“Detective Jane.” An officer sighed relieved.
“Have you found anything?” I asked taking a look around the place. I looked back at them.
“No, we haven’t seem to find anything unusual.” I shook my head. You really just had to know where to look. And what to look for. I made my way to the underground parking. She said he had put her in the trunk of his car so he could’ve of been here. I walked around for awhile, scanning the area for something, anything that could help me find her.
I came to a halt when I saw a puddle of something. I put on my latex gloves and took out a plastic bag as well as a cotton swab. I leaned down on my knees and used the swab to collect the liquid. I placed the swab in the bag and sealed it before standing up straight again. I continued to walk around but had little luck with finding anything else. I handed the bag over to a doctor who was on the case to help with any evidence we found. They told me his name was Jacks New, but everyone called him Doctor Jacks.
“Run some tests on this and bring the results as soon as possible.” He nodded before walking off. I removed my gloves as I scanned over the place one last time. I walked outside and wondered on the path that lead to the main road. There was clear tire marks. Whoever took her was clearly in a hurry. I looked up at the building and smiled once I spotted it. Cameras.
I ran back to the officers. “Ask the owner of this place for camera footage. I’m sure we’ll be able to pick up a number plate.” Two of them left as I went back to look for more. I had three officers following behind me. “Where does this road lead?”
“It goes to the main road and from there it’s a straight drive a head until you reach the turn off.” I nodded.
“We need to follow that road.” They agreed and we all walked back to the cars.
“Detective! They have footage of the car.” I quickly followed after as we made it to the office. It was dark with a few cameras. There was a guy, probably in his late thirties, sitting in a chair facing the cameras. He rewinded back to earlier today. A few cars came in and out of the parking lot but none of them matched the description. Suddenly, a silver Volvo came into view.
“That’s the one!” I said pointing at the car on screen. He fast-forwarded to the car coming out. “Pause!” I shouted and he did as I said. Perfect. We had a clear view of the number plate. I got my note pad out and wrote the plates number down. “Thanks. Now we have to find this car.” I said exiting the room.
“Where too detective?” everyone asked.
“I want you guys to try and find the car that matches this number plate.” I tore out the page and handed it to them. “I’m going to see if the doctor has anything on my evidence yet.” With that said I opened the door and climbed back into my car.
Driving down the road, I thought about the little evidence, trying to get a lead. We had gotten a number plate which was really good, but not enough. I arrived at his office and waltzed in.
“Do have anything yet doctor?” I asked, looking around.
“Yes. The liquid you picked up was DNA. Saliva to be exact.” I smirked chuckling.
“Smart girl. She spat to leave her DNA around for us to find.” Tip to help you in case you get kidnapped. Leave DNA everywhere. It can be anything. Spit, hair even urine. Anything will help.
“Thank you doctor. Please do stay in touch in case I find anything else.” He nodded.
“Of course detective.” I thanked him one last time before leaving.
My phone suddenly started ringing. I picked up. “Hello?” I asked still walking ahead.
“We found the vehicle.” I let out a sigh of relief.
“Where?” I asked climbing into my car and starting the engine.
“Just as you turn off of main road. We already have two police vans on his trail.” I nodded sitting back slightly. I did my job. It was up to them now…
“Damn it!” I sat up straight once again.
“What? What happened?” I asked frantically.
“He shot at us before turning off the road…” he suddenly stopped. “We lost him.”
I slammed my fist on the staring wheel, throwing my phone aside. “Damn it!” I spat. This wasn’t an uncommon thing but it was frustrating. So close and we just lost them…
I let out a frustrated sigh before starting the car once again. I wasn’t going to give up just yet, it was my job to find her, and I was going to do that. I was going to find her; dead or alive.
I drove to the road and slowed down as I saw tyre marks. I stopped, climbing out to examine them closer. They were the same ones from the mall. I looked forward and found a headlight lying on the grass. She must have kicked it out. I thought to myself. I got back to my car I drove the same way as the tyre marks went. It wasn’t easy driving through the forest but I was determined.
I wasn’t sure how long I drove for, but it was awhile for sure. I stopped when I found something lying on the ground I didn’t get out but rather looked at it from my car for safety reasons. It was the cars number plate. I didn’t know who was smarter at this point. The victim or her kidnapper.
I didn’t know where to go from there. How was I going to find him now? I decided to just keep going straight. I was sure that I was bound to find something…
