“That poor girl’s family, I just can’t imagine what her Mom must be going through.”
Lia looked closer. She saw that it was a ‘missing person’ poster. She recognised her straight away. It was a picture of that girl Amberlee Robinson, who had been Jay’s date for that college dance.
“Hasn’t she turned up yet?” Lia was very surprised. She had thought that the girl would have just gone off somewhere, to sulk and stroke her wounded ego for a short while. She hadn’t given much thought to the matter, but it appeared that Amberlee had decided to milk it as much as she could.
“Nope, the police don’t have any leads either, but my friend Marylou, her husband works for the police department, told me that he says that they may have a suspect!”
Lia’s ears pricked. She wondered what the cashier was going to say next.
“Really?” she replied innocently, “how come?”
“Well” the cashier leaned towards her voice lowered as if in a conspiracy. “It turns out that this Amberlee girl was on a date with some boy when she went missing.”
“But how does that make him guilty of anything?” asked Lia. She was careful not to seem too curious, or have any knowledge of the people in question.
“When they left the dance he must have taken her home surely?”
“Oh no” said the cashier emphatically, “She left on her own, the police say that they had a fight, or something happened and she stormed out and he stayed at the dance.”
“So why would he be a suspect if he didn’t leave with her?”
“Well Marylou says that the police think he may have an accomplice” answered the cashier dramatically. “You see not too long ago the same sort of thing happened. He was with a girl at a party and she also disappeared. Now that really was awful. She turned up stripped naked and dead.”
Lia suddenly felt alarmed for Jay.
‘What have I gotten him into?’ she thought a little shamefully. She knew that the cashier was speaking about the girl, who she had killed when she had first come through the portal. The woman saw her changed expression and misreading it she tried to comfort Lia.
“Now don’t you go worryin’ your pretty little head about such things honey, the police will soon have the culprit behind bars where he belongs, you’ll see.”
Lia went back to her house, and unpacked her shopping and placed it in the kitchen cupboards. She wondered how Jay was feeling and hoped that he was okay. The vampire’s only comfort was that she had not killed again in the modern day time frame, that she now dwelt in. She didn’t care for the missing girl, but she certainly didn’t want Jay to be blamed for her disappearance. The expression on the girl’s face when she saw her in Jay’s arms at the dance, had not been missed by the vampire. She had noted the flicker of revenge in Amberlee’s eyes, as she’d rushed to the exit. Lia knew all about revenge, and how sweet it could be. She had learnt this from her Father and Mother, who had told her and Kathrin that before they were born they had killed her Mother’s first husband. They had also told their daughters that they had travelled to Surrey, in the United Kingdom and taken great pleasure in a revenge killing there too. Lia had not given Amberlee a second thought, because she knew that the pathetic human girl was no match for her. She did not possess the supernatural power and ferocity, that was contained within the Beauchamp-Malenkov family. However, if she continued to make herself scarce it could mean a lot of trouble for poor Jay. Lia was not about to let that happen.
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Herb always made sure that his rota was to work on the night shift. He didn’t mind working at night, he was really quite happy about it, because it was better than spending the nights alone in front to the television. His only other alternative was to go to the local bar, but he knew that his drinking would rise to dangerous levels, so he thought better of it. There had been a few women here and there, since his divorce from Alexis. Unfortunately, due to the ending of his marriage, Herb had become very bitter, and refused to give his heart to another woman. It had hurt him badly when he had discovered that his wife had been having an affair with that jumped up lawyer. Then to add insult to injury, she had informed him that she was leaving and taking their only daughter away. Herb had so wanted to keep Amberlee, such was his love for his child. She had been daddy’s little girl from the day that she was born, and placed into his welcoming arms at the hospital. It had been up to her father to take care of the new baby, for the first few month. Her mother had refused to forget about her thirty six hours of labour, and had suffered from severe post-natal depression. He and his daughter had been so close, it was he who had taken her swimming, to the park and to the cinema. It was he who had played hide and seek with her, and the other childish games that she’d like, when her mother refused. It was him who had been willing to give her the little brother or sister, that at six years old she had craved for. He never heard from her now. Herb had just arrived home after his latest night shift. He made himself some breakfast and ate it with a large cup of coffee. When he had finished he started mounting the stairs, with the intention of taking a shower before retiring to bed. He stopped and turned around when he heard the doorbell ring.
‘Who in the hell is that?’ he thought as he descended the stairs. He was tired and he wanted to go to sleep. He opened the front door and to his surprise, the person who stood there was someone that he hadn’t seen for about nine years. Her hair was dishevelled, and her make-up had run. Herb saw instantly that she had been crying. Time may have slipped by, but he had known who she was as soon as he saw her when he opened the door. Then when she said ‘hello Daddy’ he felt his eyes fill with tears, his little girl had come home.
Amberlee Robinson’s disappearance continued to remain a mystery to everyone. Jay had been questioned by the Portland police department for the second time, but they did not have any grounds to charge him with anything. They had thoroughly searched the woods and the forests in the area, but had found nothing and no one, dead or alive. Amberlee had been gone for two weeks now, and no one had a clue as to where she could be. The police of course, had contacted her biological Father in Philadelphia. Amberlee had begged him to tell them that he had not seen her. Herb had gladly lied for his daughter, saying that the last time he saw her she was eight years old, and he probably wouldn’t be able to recognise her now. The police accepted this as truth because there was no reason for it not to be. Herb couldn’t care less about the effect that a missing daughter would have on her Mother. That woman had ruthlessly trampled all over his heart, nothing that he had done had ever been good enough for her. It had been Alexis’ own Mother who had put all those high flying notions in her head, because she had also been given to airs and graces. So his mother-in-law had been very disappointed, when her precious Alexis had taken up with the likes of Herb Clayton. She had wanted her to marry a doctor or someone like that. Not a Mr working class, blue collar, everyday people smuck like him! Her dreams were left in ruins, temporarily as it turned out, when he had got Alexis pregnant. So they got married and his wife of eight years and three months, finally fulfilled her Mother’s wishes when she’d ran off with that fat cat lawyer guy. Sure, her mom had been lying in a cold grave for a couple of years before their divorce. But Herb had surmised many times, that his late mother-in-law had given the devil himself a day’s vacation from her tormenting, when the news of her daughter’s freedom had whittled down to hell.
“You can stay right here with me honey” Herb said to Amberlee, after she’d told him of how she had been virtually ignored by her Mother when she’d had her stepbrother Joey. “This is where you belong, damn straight.”
Amberlee had typed her full name in the Goggle box, next to the words ‘missing person.’ Her father was asleep after completing his night shift. He would be on the same rota for the next three months, but he was going to ask his boss for some day hours, so that he could spend the evenings with Amberlee. However she was glad to be alone when she was immediately c
onfronted with a recent photo of herself, on the computer screen. It was placed with an article about her sudden disappearance, from a local Portland newspaper. A satisfied smile spread across her face as she read it. It talked about how she had gone missing from the dance, having cruelly been abandoned by her date. It also stated that her date, who could not be named for legal reasons, had been questioned on two occasions by the police. The sinister note at the end of the article announced, that the same person had also been at a party with the teenage girl Elena Hudson on the night of her disappearance.
‘Mom must have got a real kick when she talked to that reporter’ thought Amberlee knowing her Mother as she was. She closed the page on the computer screen, because she didn’t want her father to see it, and demand that she let Jay Patterson off the hook.
****************************************
Lia picked up the modern touch telephone and tapped the numbers of Jay’s cell, which he had written on a piece of paper. She wasn’t quite sure what its function was but she had seen Jay put his cell to his ear, and make some sort of communication with his mother. When he had given his number, and told her that she could ‘reach’ him on it, she hadn’t really understood. However she hadn’t wanted to show her ignorance of modern day technology and arouse his suspicions, so she had nodded and thanked him sweetly. The strange ringing in her ear had made her pull away momentarily, but then she heard a voice coming from the phone. She recognised that it was his.
“Hello?” His voice was low and quiet, he sounded sad.
“Jay? It’s me Lia.”
“Lia!” Jay answered sounding much brighter now. She was the only good thing that had happened to him lately.
“Yes it’s me” Lia was smiling radiantly now, she felt a familiar stirring inside of her. “Can you come to the house? I really want to see you” she said tenderly.
“Me too, give me an hour okay?”
“Okay I’ll be waiting.”
Jay had got lots of study to catch up on but that could wait. Life had really sucked just lately, and he was in dire need of some light relief. He couldn’t wait to get out of Portland, away from the prying eyes, blatant stares and whispering. When he was with Lia he would be able to forget.
Lia made some coffee in the coffee machine, the way she had seen Jay do it. She had placed a plate of cookies on the kitchen table, ready for his consumption. Then she decided to change her clothes, she wanted to look her very best, she knew that he was dazzled by her beauty. So she dressed herself in a different pair of jeans and a thick, red knitted jumper that had been recommended by Jodi, the young shop girl. She noted that her modern clothes did not make her feel uncomfortable, as she had first thought that they would. They also did not change her vampire body temperature. She had been privately amused when Jay had rubbed his hands up and down her back, in an attempt to warm her up. Lia then applied some make-up subtly. She put on some eye liner and mascara, before putting her favoured tube of matte, red lipstick on her lips. Now ready she sat and waited, in excited anticipation for Jay’s arrival.
Cora Patterson didn’t object at all when her son asked if he could borrow her car. She knew that he was going through a really rough time, with this Amberlee Robinson business. She was finding it very difficult to cope herself, Jay was her baby, her beautiful boy and it wrenched at her heart to see that he wouldn’t go out of the house, because of the suspicious looks and the accusing stares that he was being subjected to. He had taken time off college soon after it had reopened, because of all the ‘did you do it’ questions, and the speculation from the other students. When the police had arrived on the college grounds, and took him away to question him again, that had been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Cora was delighted that it seemed to be going so well with his new girlfriend, Lia. She had not met her yet, but she was looking forward to it. She, like Jay thought that it was the only good thing to come out of this awful mess. Kevin had kindly been collecting Jay’s work from Claremont for him, so Cora suggested that he take it with him to Lia’s and if it was alright with her, he could stay in Westport for a few days. Hopefully, by the time he came home, Amberlee would have reappeared, and everything would go back to normal. Cora said that she was happy to get to the office on public transport until then. Jay accepted the small suitcase of his clothes gratefully, that his Mother had so lovingly packed.
Lia and Jay spent two lovely weeks together, but he was obviously distracted. He was as attentive to her as much as he could be, but his mind kept slipping back to Amberlee Robinson, and how the police seemed to be trying to pin her disappearance on him. Lia gave him all the comfort that she could, and assured him that everything was going to be alright. However when Jay switched her television on, the news continued to focus on the missing girl, and he would once again feel the reality of the situation come crashing down on him again.
Lia and Jay would have liked this time to come together physically, but it didn’t happen. Jay was too worried and Lia, in her concern for him, had got other things on her mind. So each night they lay in each other’s arms, tenderly kissed, each willing to wait until the time was right. Then on a night when Jay lay sleeping beside her, Lia thought of a plan, and she raised herself from the bed without disturbing him.
****************************************
Joyce Miller had seen the news and read the papers, about the disappearance of the Robinson girl. She worked at a motel very near to the airport. Her job as night receptionist meant that she was the person who booked in the customers, and gave them the keys to their rooms. Joyce had been on duty on the night when Amberlee had walked up to her receptionist desk. Her eyes had been red, and her face looked puffy, as though she’d been crying hysterically. Joyce didn’t ask any questions. She had got minding her own business down to a fine art, she figured that it was the best way of not drawing any attention to herself. For the last three years she had used a false name, and had gone to great lengths to drastically change her appearance. If anyone came looking she was not going to be found.
Her real name was Alice Doyle, and she used to live in California with Bobby, her boyfriend. Neither one of them had worked a job, they got by on their wits and their criminal endeavours. Their MO was to go into shopping malls, and steal purses and wallets from the wealthy Californians, who they vehemently despised. It had been so easy. They had never been caught, and had always had enough money to accommodate their preferred diet, of beer and cigarettes. Then Bobby had become greedy. Alice had thought it was a bad idea, when Bobby had decided that he wanted to raise his status in the criminal world. She had thought that his plan to rob a bank was crazy, and she had wanted no part of it. When she had tried to persuade him not to go through with it he had ignored her. She gave up trying when he acquired a sawn off shot gun, from one of his no good, ex-con friends, fresh out of the slammer. It came as a big surprise to her when Bobby pulled off the bank job, and came back with all that money. They had immediately buried it in a place far away from their cheap apartment, which was situated in the wrong side of town. For the first time in his life Bobby had felt like a big man, and had decided that the sawn off shotgun was a keeper. Alice wished that she could feel the same way about him. During their entire relationship Bobby had cheated on Alice constantly. Time after time she had caught him in their roach infested bedroom, with one little whore after another. Alice had dreamed of getting away and starting a new life, and now she saw her chance.
On night, when Bobby was passed out drunk, Alice went back to the place where they had hidden the money and dug it up. She put it into the trunk of her car, and didn’t stop driving until she was well out of State. Then she found a public phone booth and called the cops. With chapter and verse she told them that Bobby had robbed the bank. Then she gave them his address, and told them that he was keeping the fire arm under his bed. Bobby hadn’t shot anyone during the robbery, but he had shot a hole in the ceiling of the Californian Bank. Alice knew that it was going to be so easy for th
e forensic team to match the bullet with the gun, that had his finger prints all over it. Meanwhile she was long gone, and she was not in a hurry to be found or recognised. So when the police officers from the Portland police department had asked her if she had seen anyone matching the description of Amberlee Robinson, she had shook her head and gone about her business. The police had then concluded that the young teenage girl had indeed vanished, without a trace.
Lia closed the door behind her quietly. She didn’t want Jay to know that she had gone out, and she intended to be back before morning broke. She flew back to the woods, and landed purposely outside the little antique shop. Abe and Dalia Jackson greeted her warmly, as she entered their place of business. The couple thought that the vampire looked very different now, because she was wearing modern day clothes. However they did not fail to remember her exceptional beauty, which could know no disguise. Lia wasn’t carrying any bags or sacks of any sort that they could see, so they immediately knew that this time she had nothing to sell. Then she told them the reason why she had come to see them.
“I need your help, I will pay you of course.”
“What is it dear, what can we do for you?” asked Dalia.
“Have you heard about the missing girl who goes by the name of Amberlee Robinson?”
Abe liked to keep his eye on what was going on in the outside world. He had a small television set, from which he watched the news. Sometimes when he observed it he thought that human beings were far more deadlier than some of his scariest supernatural customers. He wondered why the vampire was so interested in the missing girl.
“Sure” he said, “we know all about that. What’s your interest?”
“I want you to find her and when you do I want you to tell me where she is” was Lia’s answer. There was a note of steel in her voice when she made her demand, that was not lost on the Jacksons. Her determination to have what she wanted at the time when she wanted it, was still a big part of her natural make up. The recent change of scenery and her love for the Jay Patterson, had done nothing to defuse that. Dalia nodded and said that she would see what she could do. She was sure that it wasn’t going to be a problem.
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