A tear ran down Neil Sinclair’s face. ‘It was only ever Linda that I loved. After she died I couldn’t be near anyone who’d known her. I couldn’t bear even being in that house!’ he broke off, and gulped. ‘I sold it, the location of some of our happiest moments. Memories. I moved to the beach and set up this business. I never forgot her, never married again either, but things had gone back to a sort of normal. Until now.’
Grim determination set in again on Sinclair’s face. The car responded with a roar as he urged it on in pursuit.
The ute was dashing towards a railway crossing. Its red lights started flashing and they heard the ding-dong of its warning signal.
‘If she gets across and we’re held up by the train, we could lose her!’ said Jazz.
‘We can’t let her escape!’ Anika added.
In the distance, the faint rumble of a train became louder. Behind them, they heard the wailing sirens of approaching police cars.
Phoenix swore. ‘She’s going to get through before the cops make it here! She’s getting away!’
‘The cops won’t know where to go!’ Jazz cried.
Sinclair stepped on the gas even harder and his powerful vehicle surged after the ute. To his right, Phoenix could see the lights of the speeding train getting much closer, while ahead of them, Karen also gunned the motor.
‘Stop!’ yelled Phoenix.
Cornelius slammed on the brakes. ‘She’s insane! She’ll never make it!’
As they jolted to a stop, they watched with increasing horror as Karen raced towards the railway crossing, the train sprinting along its rails heading for the same spot. Suddenly they heard the scrape of brakes as the train driver saw the vehicle flash onto the railway crossing. The train screamed as it tried to stop in time.
But it was too late.
In a violent collision, Simon’s ute and the train created the point of a perfect—and perfectly lethal— right angle. A deafening bang caused them all to jump in shock as the ute was obliterated.
Phoenix, Jazz and Anika jumped out of Sinclair’s car, running towards the railway crossing as finally the last of the train’s carriages came to a halt.
They stared down the embankment on the left of the crossing at what was left of Simon’s ute. The train had hit the vehicle right on the driver’s door, which was now squashed as close to the passenger side as two pieces of sliced bread.
No-one could have survived the impact.
There was no hope at all for Karen Taylor.
Light and noise erupted around the scene. Police cars and ambulances screeched to the spot. Their sirens were soon drowned out by the persistent stutter of a police helicopter overhead, its glaring spotlight dulling the red-and-blue strobing of the emergency vehicles.
As shaken passengers were herded off the train, ambulance officers checked them over. Once cleared of injury, they crowded around the embankment looking at the wreckage. The shocked train driver, head in hands, spoke to the police.
Simon had arrived in a police car, and he was speaking to the cops as well, along with a distraught Neil Sinclair.
Jazz, Anika and Phoenix stood in a huddle. Worry furrowed their brows until eventually it became clear that no-one from the train was seriously injured. There were just a few bruises and sprains.
Soon enough there would be reporters and news cameras hovering around, but for now, there was a sense that the chaos was easing. And not just for the passengers.
Jazz, Phoenix and Anika started to relax. Still the trio stood in silence, unsure where to start. There was so much to fill each other in on. So much had happened in the past 48HOURS. They would be forever changed.
Anika broke the silence. ‘I was so frightened. I had no idea where I was. Karen must have drugged me. I remember being in my bedroom with an intruder, then there was a pain in my neck and then I woke up in that tiny room and couldn’t get out. It was horrible. Whenever Karen showed up to give me some food she was always in that freaky costume. I had no idea she was even a she! Or worse, what she was going to do with me.’ Anika shuddered.
‘You’re safe now,’ Jazz said, a reassuring arm around her best friend’s shoulders. ‘We have to tell Mack!’ she exclaimed. She held her phone at arm’s length and snapped a picture of the two of them, excitedly tapping out the message, ‘We did it!’ before sending it on to their friend.
Anika gave a shake of the head, still trying to convince herself she was really free. ‘There’s one thing you have to tell me, where was the jewellery box?’
‘It was in your room all along! You won’t believe what I was doing when I worked out where it was hidden.’
‘You mean what we were doing,’ interrupted Phoenix. ‘We solved this as a team, remember?’
‘That’s another thing you’ll have to fill me in on!’ smiled Anika. ‘Thank goodness Linda never gave that box to Karen, or told her what was in it. She would have destroyed it for sure. Then, even if I’d still found the journal, we would never have been able to find out the truth.’
An unmarked police car pulled up. ‘It’s Mum and Dad!’ Anika cried, running into her mother’s arms. Mr Belmont waited his turn and then the three of them hugged each other, laughing and crying together.
Jazz stood by watching the joyous family reunion, her hair blowing crazily in the down-draught from the helicopter. She felt so proud that she and Phoenix had helped to bring Anika to this moment of safety and love.
Mrs Belmont went over to Jazz and hugged her, too. ‘Thank you, thank you, Jazz. I thought I would never see my beautiful daughter ever again.’ Her voice faded away.
‘You don’t have to thank me, Mrs Belmont. It’s what best friends do.’ She winked at Anika, who grinned back at her.
Once the police booked in appointments for the Belmonts, Sinclair, Simon, Jazz and Phoenix to give their statements the next day, Jazz glanced at her watch. It was after midnight. The 48HOURS after Anika had been kidnapped had passed. And they’d done it—not only had they gathered all the evidence they needed to identify the kidnapper and solve a cold case, but they’d also found and rescued her friend.
‘I just wanted thank you kids,’ said Neil as he prepared to leave. ‘It has all been a terrible shock. My wife’s own sister killed her? And now she’s gone and I can’t . . .’ He paused. ‘It . . . it breaks my heart to think that Linda believed I was trying to get rid of her.’
‘I’m so sorry, Mr Sinclair. It’s a lot to take in. And we’re sorry we broke into your house as well. Sorry we suspected you of something so awful.’
Sinclair nodded that he understood, then held his hand out to shake, first to Jazz then Phoenix. ‘I know you were trying to save your friend.’
‘When you get the chance, I think you should read Linda’s journal. Karen hid it at your house,’ Jazz said.
Neil shook his head.
‘I don’t think I could. It would be . . . too painful.’
Jazz nodded. ‘I understand,’ she said gently. ‘I think the last entry might help, though. Linda wrote, “How could I have been so wrong about the man I married?”’ Jazz looked up into Neil Sinclair’s face, and placed a hand on his arm. ‘I believe that entry means she knew, Mr Sinclair. She knew it wasn’t you.’
It was Sinclair’s turn to nod. He was struggling to hold back tears. ‘That makes me feel a little better. Thank you.’
They said goodnight to Anika and left her safely in the company of her relieved parents.
Jazz, Phoenix and Simon got a lift home in the back of a police car. Jazz could see Phoenix was shaken up by the whole incident, and she put her hand over his and gave it a gentle pat as they travelled on in silence.
‘I honestly didn’t think we’d be able to save her,’ she admitted. ‘But we did it.’
Phoenix smiled.
The first stop was Schmick n Fit. As Simon got out of the police car, Jazz climbed out too and threw her arms around him with Phoenix close behind her. ‘We couldn’t have done it witho
ut you, Simon. Thank you so much for everything . . . and I’m so sorry about your ute.’
‘Me too,’ said Phoenix, shaking his hand. ‘Really sorry.’
‘Not as sorry as I am,’ said Simon.
‘If it helps I’ll service the next ute you get for free,’ said Phoenix. ‘I’m not just a brilliant mind—I have mechanical skills as well.’
‘A bit of humility and you’ll have the whole package,’ teased Jazz.
The next stop was Jazz’s place, where her mother and Tim were waiting for her. It was clear from her mother’s face that any trouble she might have been in for getting mixed up in the investigation of a kidnapping murderer over the last two days, and lying about it, had been set aside, for now. Jazz clambered out of the police car and hugged her mother. She turned back and saw Phoenix standing awkwardly by the side of the vehicle. She walked up to him, unsure how to say goodbye.
‘I guess this is it,’ said Jazz. She stuck her hand out to shake his, but found herself pulled into a hug instead.
They gripped each other tightly for a moment, but just as quickly it was over. They both shuffled their feet and stared at the ground.
‘Hey, so, Phoenix,’ Jazz started. ‘You want to hang out in the lab again sometime?’
‘Are you asking me out?’ he said.
The look on his face made her burst out laughing. ‘Very funny! I was thinking we could do some more lab work! Maybe your mum needs another assistant?’
‘I think that can be arranged,’ said Phoenix with a grin.
‘So I’ll see you back at school?’
‘Good chance.’
Phoenix got back into the police car and gave the driver his address. As the car pulled away, the police officer sitting beside the driver turned and said, ‘You’ll sure have a story to tell the kids at school, won’t you, pal?’
‘School,’ said Phoenix, shaking his head. ‘It’s been a while. You know . . . I’m actually looking forward to it.’
Published by Scholastic Australia
Pty Ltd PO Box 579 Gosford NSW 2250
ABN 11 000 614 577
www.scholastic.com.au
Part of the Scholastic Group
Sydney • Auckland • New York • Toronto • London • Mexico City
• New Delhi • Hong Kong • Buenos Aires • Puerto Rico
First edition published by Scholastic Australia in 2017.
This electronic edition published by Scholastic Australia Pty Limited, 2017.
E-PUB/MOBI eISBN: 978-1-76027-235-7
Text © Gabrielle Lord, 2017.
Cover illustration by Ben Jelfs, Redrum Studios.
Illustration and design copyright © Scholastic Australia, 2017.
Additional illustrations: 404 © istockphoto.com/zentilia; abstract overlay © istockphoto.com/Godruma; boy © shutterstock.com/MJTH; DNA © istockphoto.com/Firstsignal; emoticon © istockphoto.com/Pingebat; engineer © istockphoto.com/Georgijevic; flare © shutterstock.com/pixelparticle; footprints © shutterstock.com/JasonWinter; hair © istockphoto.com/Firstsignal; hexagons © istockphoto.com/tonivaver; nails © istockphoto.com/BackyardProduction; pixels © istockphoto.com/dikobraziy; rust © istockphoto.com/Ludibarrs; sand © shutterstock.com/MichaelMilvich; SUV © istockphoto.com/Skyak; woman © istockphoto.com/aldomurillo; wood © istockphoto.com/germi_p.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, unless specifically permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 as amended.
The Vanishing Page 13