‘You need to shut your mouth and get back to your shitty little paper. I hear it's brilliant for litter boxes and lining birdcages.’
He waved the gun from side to side, his finger loosely hovering over the trigger. Cory began to stand up.
‘Sit down,’ Jerry shouted. ‘Now tell me, why are you really here? What do you know? Why are you snooping around?’
All Jerry's smugness was gone now, and Cory was worried for Bianca's welfare. He knew he'd have to play this one carefully if they were both going to get out of here.
A woman appeared at the door, wearing only a silk nightgown. Her hair was ruffled, but she'd been quiet coming down the stairs; none of them had heard her.
‘What's going on, Jerry? What's holding you up?’
The sound of her shrill voice caught Jerry by surprise and the gun went off. A single bullet hit the plaster just above Bianca's head and a cloud of dust exploded over her hair. She jumped up and Cory followed her, terrified that she'd been hit.
‘You stupid bitch, look what you made me do,’ he screamed at the woman.
‘I told you to get rid of that damn gun,’ she yelled back at him. ‘Look what you've gone and done—we'll have to get the ceiling redone now.’
‘We're going,’ Cory said. ‘That's enough, Jerry. We're walking out of here and you need to stop talking now. And put that damn gun away.’
Cory looked at Jerry directly in the eyes, so he knew he wasn't messing around. He ushered Bianca out of the house, helping her to shake off the plaster dust as he did so.
So that was Jerry Hunter. They'd finally met one of Reece's men. No wonder she was in such a mess.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cory and Bianca said nothing as they ran over to the car and got in their seats. Cory started up the engine and drove off two hundred yards or so before stopping, desperate to get away from that house. His hands were shaking.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked at last, when he could be sure his voice would be steady enough to get the words out.
Her eyes were wide with shock.
‘I can't believe that just happened,’ she murmured, her voice wavering.
‘The man's an idiot. He could have killed you with that shot.’
They sat in silence, broken only by the rumbling sound of the engine.
‘Should we report him to the police?’ Bianca asked.
Cory considered that one.
‘It's not illegal to have a licensed gun in your own home. And although that man is a complete fool, I don't think for one minute he meant to fire that weapon. Did you see his face? He was as scared as we were.’
‘But still, he got all angry when you started pushing him about the insurance on Reece's house. He must be covering something up. We should tell the police about that, shouldn't we?’
Cory paused a moment. This was the gray area between journalists and police officers and he wanted to make sure he said it in a way that Bianca would understand.
‘If you want to report this to the police, I certainly won't stop you. In fact, I'll back you up fully and will happily be a witness. However, I think we're best sitting on this one, certainly until I've got a look at those documents that Imogen has for me at the library. I suspect there's another story mixed in with all this, and I don't think it involves Poppy's disappearance. But there's something going on and I don't like the smell of it.’
He paused, trying to think of the right words to persuade her.
‘I think we can help Reece more if we bide our time a while longer. The police have already interviewed Jerry, and they're obviously happy that he has nothing to do with Poppy's case. So, if we can get over the fright of what just happened, I think we should wait a little longer and find out if this runs any deeper.’
The way Bianca looked at him, he could tell she was thinking it over.
‘Do you think Jerry did anything? Other than being a crappy father and leaving Reece to pick up after the mess he made?’
‘I think he may have deceived Reece,’ Cory said. ‘But if my hunch is correct, I think a number of people might have been doing the same. That's why I want to wait. I want to find out more. If I thought it was in any way connected with Poppy, I would go to the police immediately. But at the moment, I can't see how it could be.’
Bianca exhaled a long, deep breath as if she was expelling all the tension of the past half hour.
‘It's getting late,’ Cory remarked. ‘It'll be dark soon. I take it your parents know your whereabouts? Are you keeping them informed? The life of a reporter can be a bit irregular at times.’
Bianca confirmed that she was keeping them up to date via text messages. After checking that she was fine to continue, Cory began the drive back to Shallow Falls.
As they left the streetlights of Westview behind and moved into the enveloping darkness of the woodland that linked the two communities, Cory decided it was high time he gave Bianca a way out if she wanted it.
‘It's been one helluva day, Bianca,’ he began. ‘If you're thinking better of your internship at the Tribune, I won't hold it against you. What's happened these past few days is not typical, I assure you. But if you want out, I'll write you a glowing reference and there'll be no hard feelings on my part, though I'll be sad to see you go. I've enjoyed having your company and—to be perfectly honest—I'm not sure I could have managed the last few days without you. You're a complete natural.’
He sensed Bianca smiling to his side, but his attention was fully on the road now.
‘Are you kidding?’ she said after a few moments. ‘I can't remember the last time I had so much fun. I mean, I was terrified back there when Jerry had that gun out. And he was a horrible little man; I'd like to have given him a good kick in the you-know-whats. But I love what we're doing here—it really feels like we can make a difference. I want to help Reece and her kids. I'm desperate for them to find Poppy. But if we can make any kind of positive impact on this situation at all, then I'm in, with both feet.’
Cory smiled this time. It was exactly the kind of Hell, yeah! answer he was after.
‘Well, I'm pleased to hear it. I honestly believe that if you stick with this, you've got great instincts. People are happy to talk to you; you'll make a great reporter. And I promise, getting crushed in old cars and having guns pulled on you is definitely not a typical part of the job.’
They both laughed, desperate for a release of the tension after the incident at Jerry's.
‘We're nearing Shallow Falls now, so excuse me while I concentrate fully on the road for a bit,’ Cory said. ‘I always take a deep breath when I drive this stretch…’
‘Stop the car,’ Bianca shouted.
‘What is it? I can't just stop—the road is too narrow.’
‘Pull over as soon as you can.’
Cory looked for a stretch between the trees where it might just be safe to stop.
‘What is it—are you going to be sick?’
‘No, there's someone out there in the woods. I saw a fire through the trees.’
Cory applied the brakes and slowly pulled the car in between two trees. It wasn't the best parking in the world, but they were out the way and at least it was safe.
‘Are you sure? You didn't just catch a reflection from the headlights?’
‘I saw it. It was a campfire.’
‘It could be campers, or something like that,’ Cory suggested.
‘Shouldn't we investigate? If there's any strangers in this area, the police need to know, especially with Poppy missing.’
Cory turned off the engine and left the sidelights on.
‘Okay, let's take a look,’ he said. ‘Have you got a flashlight on your phone? It's going to be pitch black out there.’
They crossed the road and began to make their way through the woods. The ground was soft and yielding underfoot, but spiky twigs on low-hanging branches scratched their faces, making movement through the trees slow and occasionally painful.
‘Where was it?’ Cory
asked. ‘Are we heading in the right direction?’
‘It was definitely over there,’ she pointed, shining a beam from her phone.
‘I don't see any flames,’ Cory remarked, beginning to wonder if they were on a wild goose chase.
There was the crack of a twig up ahead.
‘Shhhhh,’ Bianca cautioned.
‘If there's anybody camping out here, we'll frighten the life out of them. Shouldn't we announce ourselves?’ Cory whispered.
Suddenly, to the side of them, there was a startled movement. A deer darted towards them, but on seeing the light from Bianca’s phone, it bolted off in the opposite direction.
‘Something startled it, and it wasn't us,’ Bianca whispered. ‘Look, over there, I can see the embers from a fire.’
Cory had experienced quite enough frights for one day and was eager to get out of the woodland and back to the car. But Bianca wasn't letting this drop. He owed her that, at least, bearing in mind the danger he'd placed her in at Jerry Hunter's house.
Bianca began to rush through the trees, ignoring the low branches and intent on reaching her destination.
‘Look,’ she shouted through the trees. ‘There’s a campfire here.’
She waited for him to catch up.
‘Hold your hand over it. See, it must have been extinguished with water—some of the wood is still warm. Somebody was here—they must have heard us coming.’
‘It might have been a vagrant, for all we know,’ Cory suggested, beginning to feel a little exasperated.
‘Yes, and it might be connected with Poppy's disappearance, too. We need to report this to the police—we can't sit on this information.’
She was right, and Cory told her so.
‘I promise I'll let Louise know tomorrow morning, first thing. We'll keep it away from Chief Tarrant. I'll ask Louise to take a look out here off the record and we’ll see what she thinks. Is that okay?’
Bianca nodded, and they headed back towards the car.
As they neared the edge of the road, Cory realized he couldn’t see the car’s sidelights.
‘We didn't take a wrong turn, did we, Bianca? We ought to be seeing my car by now.’
‘This is right, I'm sure,’ she replied. ‘Look, there it is, just across the road there.’
She shone the beam from her phone. There it was, exactly as they'd left it. But there was no sign of any sidelights.
‘Damn,’ Cory cursed. ‘I've run down the battery. That new starter motor can't be charging it fully. Either that, or I didn't connect the wiring properly.’
He climbed into the driver's seat and tried to start the engine. It was dead.
Once again, he got Bianca to assist him while he messed around under the hood. Now he was smeared in oil, as well as covered in fresh scratches. Eventually he gave up trying to fix it.
‘I'm so sorry, Bianca, the battery is gone. There's no hope of me getting a phone signal out here to call for a tow truck. We're going to have to walk back to town in the dark.’
Chapter Twenty-Three
‘You know, if we're quick, we'll just catch Imogen before she leaves the library,’ Cory said as they were greeted at last by the welcome appearance of streetlights. ‘We've got ten minutes—do you think you can keep the pace up?’
‘Yes, why not?’ Bianca replied. ‘I'll text Mom and let her know. I've got my signal back now.’
‘Me, too,’ Cory said, checking his phone. ‘I'm going to call the garage and see if I can get the car towed back to my house this evening.’
They caught the library in the nick of time. The lights were still on, but the sign at the entrance informed them that it had been closed to the public since seven o'clock.
‘Imogen must live in this place,’ Cory said. ‘I hope I have half her energy when I reach her age. She was working when I dropped in first thing today and she's still at it.’
Bianca took the lead, straining at the heavy wooden door. ‘I guess with her husband dead, it gives her something to do. She's always lived for the library. This door’s locked.’
‘Imogen said to give it a shove. Let's push together, okay? One, two three…’
The door opened. The lights had been dimmed to indicate that the library was not open for business.
‘Mrs. Franklin?’ Bianca called out. ‘It's Bianca and Mr. Miles…’
‘Call me Cory, you're making me sound like a teacher,’ Cory said with a smile.
‘Mrs. Franklin—it's Bianca and Cory.’
There was no sound.
‘Maybe she's upstairs?’ Cory suggested. ‘I hope she's not wearing headphones—we'll frighten the life out of her.’
‘Let's check between the shelves first, then head upstairs,’ Bianca suggested. ‘You take the first half of the alphabet, I'll take the second half and let's meet up in Mystery and New Adult, that's somewhere near the middle.
Methodically, they worked their way up and down the rows of books, all the time calling out for Imogen.
‘I hope she's okay,’ Cory said as they met up in the central rows of shelving. ‘Let's head upstairs to nonfiction.’
They made their way up the grand staircase to nonfiction and called out again.
‘Imogen! It's Cory Miles—are you here?’
Still no answer.
They used the same technique as they had on the ground floor to work through the shelving. Cory half expected to find her engrossed with a book somewhere, but there was no sign of her. The lights had been turned down as if she'd been getting ready to leave the building, but there was no sign of anyone.
Bianca rejoined Cory at the political books section.
‘I know,’ Cory said, with a flash of inspiration. ‘Imogen left that message for me earlier. If she called me from her cell, I'll have her number. I’ll call it now, and we'll hear it ringing.’
Cory found the voicemail notification and worked through the screens until he found her number.
‘Lucky,’ he said, looking up at Bianca, ‘It's a cell phone. She must have called me on her lunch break.’
He called the number, and they listened.
‘Can you hear anything?’ Cory asked.
Just to the side of them a fluorescent lamp was flickering and buzzing.
‘I might be imagining it, but I think I can,’ Bianca replied. ‘It’s very quiet, though. Look, the light switches are over here—let's see if I can turn off that light so we can hear better.’
Bianca messed around with the switches, at one point plunging the entire level into darkness. Eventually she found the combination she was seeking.
Cory called the number again. It had switched to Imogen's voicemail.
‘Yes, I definitely heard a ringing,’ Cory said. ‘It was upstairs, though. I don't think that area is open to the public. It's restricted access, I think.’
‘Well, she's expecting us,’ Bianca replied, ‘and if she's had an accident, we ought to check up on her—just in case.’
Cory nodded and they headed back to the staircase, beginning the climb to the third floor.
‘I've never been up here before,’ Bianca remarked. ‘It feels quite naughty.’
At the top of the staircase was a flimsy barrier on which a photocopied sign had been attached.
Staff only beyond this point.
‘I guess you don't need a lot of security in Shallow Falls,’ Cory said with a laugh. ‘If you’ve managed to climb three flights of stairs, you deserve to be here.’
He called Imogen's number again. This time, it was more audible, but the sound was still not as clear as it should have been.
The lights were on across the entire level. It appeared to be used for archives and documentation. There was a local history section and several microfiche machines, too.
‘It's like an old treasure chest up here,’ Bianca said.
‘Imogen? It's Cory and Bianca. Are you up here?’
Still no reply.
‘I'm beginning to worry,’ Cory said, calling Imogen's pho
ne once again. They followed the sound of the ringing phone around a corner and into a walled area in the center of the upper floor. A door with a manual keypad lock had been left propped open with a chair. The light was on inside. That's where the ringtone was coming from, but it was still muffled.
‘Imogen?’ Cory lowered his voice, now they were entering a more compact space. They were in the stacks, a long room packed with movable shelving. At the end of each heavy metal shelf was a tri-spoked, rotating handle which allowed the shelves to be moved up and down tracks for easier access and more efficient storage.
‘Imogen?’ Cory asked as they walked up and down the stacks, peering into the gaps between the shelves to see if she was in there.
Towards the end of the rows of shelves was a cluster of five which were all bunched together, tightly grouped and firmly clasped. Desperately concerned now, Cory called Imogen's phone again. The ringtone sounded from the middle of the cluster of compacted shelves.
‘On my God,’ Cory said, realizing what must have happened. ‘Bianca, start to wind those shelves outward. I'll take the two at this end.’
‘She might have just left her phone on a shelf by accident,’ Bianca began, not sounding too convinced.
They wound the handles, first turning them the wrong way, then getting the hang of it. As the handles were turned, the heavy shelving moved along the tracks and the rows began to part. Bianca was on her last shelf and there was still no sign of Imogen or her phone.
Cory looked at her as she began to turn the handle.
‘You might not want to look, Bianca. I'm not sure I want to, either.’
As the handle was turned and the final shelves began to separate, Cory saw it before Bianca did. Imogen Franklin's dead body had been caught within the shelving, the force of the impact crushing her to death. Her arms were up high, as though she'd attempted to pull herself over the tops of the shelving, but she'd failed to make it. Either the shelves were too high, or she’d been unable to summon the strength to pull herself up. Once the shelves were parted, her body slipped off the shelving and slumped to the floor.
Cory gasped.
‘Don't look, Bianca,’ he warned, but she ignored him and peered around the shelving anyway. She flinched when she saw the body.
Now You See Her Page 12