by N. M. Brown
That meant it was up to Leighton to carry out his own investigation, regardless of the personal and professional risks.
Forty minutes later, Leighton turned off his engine and stepped out of his car. He had parked it in an area of scrubland on the edge of the road, hoping it wouldn’t create an obstruction to passing traffic. He then made his way to the edge of the dusty road and began searching. Rustling through the dry grass, he peered around the edge of the road on both sides for a while, unsure of what he was even looking for.
Without any real strategy, he stepped deeper into the undergrowth, following the vague direction he believed Tina may have travelled in.
The ground Leighton was stepping through was uneven, dry and rocky, with little indication of a path. Tall tufts of dried grass merged with each other forming a golden labyrinth. After wandering north for half a mile or so, he stopped and gazed around at the rocky landscape. The girl could be anywhere, and a single cop wasn’t going to do much good on his own. And that was assuming that the girl had ever been here, and Leighton wasn’t quite as crazy as everyone seemed to believe.
Eventually, with a growing sense of defeat, Leighton turned and reluctantly began to make his way back towards the road. His journey through the wilderness was unsteady and at one point he felt her was drifting too far west.
Turning around by ninety degrees he made his way back towards the road. That was when he noticed the tiny piece of yellow plastic sticking out of the ground.
Crouching over the place where it lay, Leighton narrowed his eyes and peered at the tiny object, half buried in the dust. He recognised what it was straight away, because Annie had one at home just like it.
He gently pulled the plastic dog free and held it in his hand. It didn’t look faded or cracked by months of exposure to the elements; it looked like it come straight from some kid’s toy box to this place. There was no reason for this object to be out there in the middle of the dusty wilderness, unless a kid had recently taken it there.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Leighton got out of his car just as Dane and Lorenzo were leaving the station building in the direction of the car pool. He knew he would have to be quick to catch them before they got in their cruiser.
‘Officers,’ Leighton called over, ‘have you got a minute?’
Both men stopped and turned. Dane – the taller of the two – turned to Lorenzo and said something that made him laugh. Leighton pretended he didn’t notice and hurried across the parking lot to meet them.
‘What’s up?’ Dane asked.
‘You’re the guys working the Blanchette case, aren’t you?’
‘That’s right,’ Lorenzo said. He folded his arms across his chest. ‘What of it?’
‘Did Levvy tell you that I made a possible sighting of the kid on Monday evening?’
The two officers glanced at each other for a moment. Then Dane nodded unconvincingly, ‘Sure, she told us, of course.’
‘So, have you guys been out to the location yet?’ Leighton asked.
‘No, not yet. It’s on our list, though.’
‘Good,’ Leighton nodded with a grim smile. ‘So answer me this, boys. What’s the name of the location that’s on your list?’
There was a moment of nervous laughter from Dane and Lorenzo.
‘Come on.’ Leighton continued pushing it, ‘I mean you must know the actual name of the place, right?’
‘Look, we’re busy, man,’ Dane said, ‘I probably have it written down somewhere.’
‘This is such bullshit,’ Leighton said with real anger and frustration, ‘Levvy didn’t tell you, did she?’
‘Jones,’ Dane said with a shake of his head, ‘stick to your own job. You have no business interfering with missing persons anyway.’
‘Yeah?’ Leighton said pointing his finger at the two officers, ‘I guess that makes sense. You wouldn’t want me getting in the way of your fucking inactivity.’
‘What did you say?’ Lorenzo tried to step toward Leighton in confrontation, but Dane held him back.
Leighton shook his head and walked away from Dane and Lorenzo. By the time they had reached their car, Leighton had already entered the station.
A young female officer who was working reception looked up when Leighton came in.
‘Is Captain Levvy in?’ Leighton asked, as he walked purposefully up to the desk.
‘Hold on, I’ll check.’ the young officer said, as she picked up a telephone. However, he was stopped by another voice coming from the corridor to his right.
‘That won’t be necessary, Andrea,’ Chief Winston said. ‘Officer Jones, can I speak to you for a moment?’
Leighton followed the chief into his office where both men took a seat at opposite sides of the cheap wooden desk.
‘What was that pissing contest in the parking lot all about?’ Winston asked.
‘Nothing,’ Leighton said.
‘Looked like something to me.’
Leighton sighed. ‘I was just asking those two knuckleheads about the Blanchette case. That’s all.’
Chief Winston closed his eyes in exasperation. When he opened them, he looked like a man who was rapidly running out of patience.
‘Right, this ends now!’ Winston said.
‘What does?’ Leighton asked.
‘This missing kid madness you seem to be enjoying so much.’
‘I wouldn’t say I’m enjoying the fact that a kid could be out there with nobody looking for her.’
‘I don’t see what’s so damned complicated about this. Ellen Levvy is in charge of missing persons, not you. You need to back off. Stop harassing your colleagues.’
‘Why?’ Leighton asked. ‘What harm does it do to have another cop helping with the search?’
‘Look, you’ve got no jurisdiction, it’s not your case. You work traffic, period!’
Leighton listened and nodded politely, but his position remained unmoved.
‘Sir, I just think the kid is still out there – alive, maybe.’
The older officer sighed and looked away for a moment. He then returned his attention to Leighton.
‘Okay,’ he said, soberly, ‘you have a theory, and that’s interesting. But what do you think would happen if we sent out a team to some godforsaken field every time a cop had a hunch?’
‘It’s not a hunch,’ Leighton said, defiantly, ‘I saw her, chief!’
‘You saw somebody.’
‘I saw Tina Blanchette!’
‘Bullshit. The kid is most likely in Alaska with her dad.’
‘Based on what?’
‘Two credible sightings.’
‘Credible my ass!’
‘We have traffic officers to manage traffic – you are answerable to Captain Pierce. This case – and anything Captain Levvy or Dane and Lorenzo do – is not your concern. If you pursue it, I have to tell you – formally – that you will put your position as a serving officer at risk.’
‘What does that mean, I’ll be fired for trying to do my job?’
‘Your job is dealing with highways and vehicles and drivers. If you stick to that we won’t have a problem. Why don’t you take the rest of the day, go pick up Annie and spend some time together?’
‘I can’t she’s staying with Heather’s folks for a few days – till Saturday.’
Winston looked at him.
‘Jesus, Leighton, don’t you think that’s maybe part of the problem?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Has she stayed with them before?’
‘Once or twice,’ Leighton said with a shrug.
‘For as long as this?’ Winston asked.
‘No, not quite. But what difference does that make?’
‘Well, don’t you think that maybe you’re projecting some of your mixed-up emotions onto this Blanchette case?’
‘No, I don’t,’ Leighton said, but the fight was gone from his voice. Perhaps it was the thought of Annie sleeping somewhere else or the fact that no-one was prepared t
o listen, but he felt exhausted and defeated.
‘Look,’ Winston said, ‘why don’t you go get a coffee, freshen up your mind then get back to work? Maybe chase up some warrants, yeah?’
‘Sure,’ Leighton nodded.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Tina had been dozing – half curled in the angular corner of the roof – when she saw the figure. A narrow gap between the dried wooden slats of the barn wall allowed her a limited view of the open ground. She had only just opened her eyes when she initially saw a blur of colour pass by the gap.
At first, she thought the vision was just her imagination, some vision of hope conjured up by her desperate mind… but then she saw it a second time. Peering through the space between the colourless slats, Tina felt her breath jam momentarily in her chest.
A man in a yellow T-shirt with a bright green backpack was hiking purposely through the dusty fields. Tina rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was dreaming. Yet the figure remained, striding confidently through the bushes. He definitely wasn’t the stranger either. This man was younger and healthy looking. But a dark possibility sat on the fringes of Tina’s thoughts – perhaps the stranger had sent him to lure her out. Yet that idea seemed unlikely. The young man didn’t look like he was simply hanging around; he looked like he was on his way to somewhere else. All of these thoughts twisted in Tina’s mind within a few seconds. Eventually, she conceded and realised that the fast-moving figure of the hiker probably represented her best and only chance of escape.
Tina cupped her hands to her mouth and tried to call out but her voice cracked and the noise was little more than a dry whisper. In desperation, Tina coughed and croaked, trying to form any kind of sound in her traitorous mouth. She tried a second time, and there was a dry croak. Finally, she grabbed at the brown beer bottle and held it to her mouth. Tilting the bottle upwards like a tiny bugler, Tina waited for what seemed like an eternity for the last two remaining drips of water to slide down on to her parched tongue. There was barely enough to swallow, but Tina tried. Letting the bottle fall away from her, she peered out at the figure and tried to call once more.
‘Help!’ Tina called from her rooftop prison. The word sounded muted and croaky in her dry throat, but at least it had escaped her mouth this time.
The hiker turned his head slightly, but continued walking. In a few seconds he would have vanished from her sight entirely. Tina shuffled stiffly on to her knees and put her face close to a wider gap in wooden slats of the wall and called again.
‘Help! Up here!’ she called. This time the sound was fuller and seemed to extend out from the building.
Despite Tina’s apparent success, the figure continued moving sideways, sliding from her view.
‘Help, over here!’ she called again. This time her voice was louder, but by the time she had found her voice it was too late. The figure had vanished from sight.
Tina could barely believe it. With little emotional energy left, she pulled her knees to her chest and began to cry. Her throat felt hot and sore. She missed her mom and her home. But worse than that, she now realised that it was quite likely she would see neither of these ever again. And then, through the blur of tears, she saw a flash of bright green reappear through the gap in the wall. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Tina gasped and felt her heart rate suddenly increase.
Pushing her face back to the gap she saw him again – clearly now.
The hiker had returned and was standing looking pensively toward the buildings. He held a hand up to his eyes to shield them from the sun and was peering directly at her. Then he glanced down at the checked cloth in front of the building and frowned.
‘Hello?’ he called. ‘Is there somebody there?’ The expression on his face suggested that he was unconvinced he had actually heard anything at all.
Tina smiled and a sense of relief washed over her. The hiker was taking a small pair of binoculars from his pocket. That meant he could possibly see her if she waved.
She was just about to call out to him again when she saw the stranger silently rise out of the rippling grass behind the hiker. He looked like some monstrous snake emerging from its lair. Tina tried desperately to scream out a warning, but her open mouth only croaked once more. She watched in horror as the stranger grabbed the hiker around the neck and pulled him down into the dry grass.
Tina couldn’t see what was happening, except for an occasional leg kicking at the air.
She hoped desperately that the hiker was strong enough to fight off the stranger, and that he would be the one to emerge from the struggle.
Eventually, the stranger stood up from the disturbed grass. His face was shiny with sweat and his lower lip was bleeding, but he was grinning. He looked towards the buildings, clearly unsure of which one she had called from.
‘I know you’re there!’ the stranger called. His voice sounded deep and hoarse. Tina could see that his hands were trembling. ‘I had to do that, he was going to hurt you! He was one of the bad people who had come looking for you. And there will be more of them coming after him, too. They’ll be wondering why he hasn’t returned with any information. Then they’ll come for you.’
After he finished speaking, the stranger moved his head from side to side, carefully scanning the area for any sign of the girl. Seeing no movement, he carried on shouting to nowhere in particular.
‘It’s not too late for you. If you come out now, there’s still a chance that we can go get you some food and water, then meet up with your mom. She’s waiting and she misses you something awful. But I’m trying to keep you both safe, and all the time that I’m spending out here looking for you means that she’s not safe.’ He paused for a moment then wiped the back of his neck. ‘So really, if anything happens to her, I guess it’ll be your fault.’
Tina knew he was lying but the words still hurt just the same. Her small lips trembled and she started to cry.
Through the blur of her tears, she watched as the stranger picked up the hiker’s feet and began to drag him from where he lay into the shadows of the trees.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Leighton was sitting on the back step of the fire exit of Oceanside Police Station. He had jammed the door open and was sitting with his back to the empty recreation room. Scattered around his feet were hundreds of crushed cigarette butts. He was holding a polystyrene cup of coffee, and was lost in memories of the previous November when he and Annie had gone to the Carlsbad Village Fair, where she had spent almost an hour leaping joyfully around in the bounce house before they had feasted on pancakes soaked in melted chocolate, washed down with homemade root beer. Annie had said it was the best food she’d ever tasted and asked if they could go back every weekend. When Leighton explained that it was an annual event, she had looked at him with genuine sadness in her eyes.
‘I don’t understand why the good things can’t last for always,’ she had said.
Leighton told her that he didn’t understand either, then he hugged her.
He took a sip of coffee and then glanced down at the pile of white envelopes stacked in his lap. He was starting to plan which was the best route to drive, when he was distracted by the arrival of an unfamiliar female officer in the room behind him. She appeared to be struggling to operate one of the two recently installed hot drinks vending machines. She pressed the coffee button several times in increasing frustration. Leighton turned fully around.
‘You okay there, miss?’ he called over to her.
The woman stopped pressing random buttons and turned toward Leighton. ‘Sorry, I just can’t seem to get this thing to work.’
‘Don’t worry, it’s not your fault,’ Leighton said with a smile, ‘the coffee button on that one never seems to work properly, but if you just select latte it should work fine.’
As she followed Leighton’s advice, the young woman looked genuinely surprised when the temperamental machine gurgled to life and began dispensing her steaming drink.
‘Thanks,’ she said as she removed the hot drin
k from the tray. ‘Is it okay if I join you out there?’
‘Sure,’ Leighton nodded and shifted over on the step.
‘I’m Lisa,’ the other officer said as she sat down on the step next to him.
‘Leighton Jones - traffic. So, are you just starting with us?’ Leighton asked.
‘Yep, just started this week as a dispatch operator.’
‘You a rookie?’
‘No,’ she said with an expression of mock indignation, ‘I’ve done four years already, just got transferred down here from San Bernardino.’
‘Transferred, huh? What did you do?’ Leighton sounded intrigued.
‘I guess I didn’t really see eye to eye with my captain.’
‘You don’t get transferred for that.’ Leighton chuckled. ‘Otherwise I’d be working somewhere on the east coast, or Europe even.’
‘You do if you threaten them,’ Lisa said.
‘Oh.’ Leighton raised his eyebrows. ‘That’ll do it.’
‘Yep, so me, my husband and my babies had to up sticks and move to here, thanks to my big mouth.’
‘Well, I suppose there are worse places to end up,’ Leighton shrugged. ‘The beach down at the pier is nice for kids. You got a couple then?’
‘Yeah, for my sins,’ Lisa laughed.
‘How many you got?’ Leighton asked.
‘Two boys – three if you count my husband. The smallest is only three, his big brother is six. ’
‘Can’t be easy leaving them,’ Leighton said, knowingly.
‘No, but it pays the bills,’ Lisa shrugged. ‘How many have you got?’
‘Just one – my daughter. So how you finding the job working dispatch?’