The Taken (8 page)

This had nothing to do with the shock, and everything to do with the shitty hand life had dealt. Her rage gave her energy and she pushed herself away from him and stood upright.

“Like you said, we need to try and get help. Let’s go.” She wondered if her bitter tone carried over the sound of the rain as she turned and headed back to the road, ignoring his offer of an arm. She hoped it did. She didn’t care whether he liked her or not, and as soon as he realized that, the better it would be for both of them. There was no more time for romance, and as soon as she got that through her own thick skull the better.

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Kneeling on her bed to pull the curtains open, Laura figured it wasn’t all bad.

Yes, it was raining, but it wasn’t cold. And surely once the storm passed, the sun would blaze down for at least a week and then there’d be plenty of time for exploring and dam-building and treasure hunting in the countryside. Not that they’d be staying inside all day today. Mrs. Granville would be driven mad by having all five of her own kids plus Laura in the house. In fact, now that she thought about just how loud and manic that would be, Laura decided it would probably drive her mad too, and she was only eleven.

She heard the buzzing sound three times before she figured out what it was. Her bed made and toys tidily put away, she stared at her school bag. The buzzing was coming from there and the only thing it could be was her mobile phone. Undoing the straps of the old-fashioned brown satchel, she felt the short vibration through the leather and her brow furrowed. There 72

were two things confusing her: Number one was the obvious one—everybody knew that no phones got a signal in the village, and she knew for sure that hers didn’t work unless she was at school in Taunton, so the phone shouldn’t be buzzing at all. The second thing was that school had been over for two weeks or more, so even if she’d left it on, the battery would have been dead ages ago.

Pulling it out, she stared at the lit-up screen.

New Text Message.

The screen looked slightly odd and it took a moment or two before she figured out why. There were no lines or bars on either side of the message, framing it.

Which meant that the phone had absolutely no battery and no signal. She sniffed, not unduly concerned. It could also mean that her father’s cast-off Nokia was finally dying. Phones did odd things as they reached the end of their lives.

Everyone knew that. Screens came on and off and went funny colors. Maybe hers was just doing that. She pressed the open button.

Do you want to come out to play?

Smiling, a thought came to her. It must be Jimmy or Jenny. Their home phone must not be working either, so they must have tried their mobiles instead. Having tried to call after breakfast and getting no dial tone, Laura had been just about to grab her coat and head down to their house now that she’d done all her boring chores. Glancing at the top of the text, she saw there was no number or name to identify it. That was odd too. Her fingers moved deftly over the keys.

Is that u jen?

The phone buzzed again with a new message almost immediately after she’d pressed Send.

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I’m lonely.

Staring at the message, Laura felt confused, but not afraid. It didn’t sound like anything Jen would say, not even if she was mucking around. Maybe it was Jimmy? After all, who really knew what went on in boys’ heads? And now that they were eleven the differences between the girls and boys were getting bigger. It wouldn’t be long before Jimmy would stop hanging around with them and be up at Tucker’s farm helping his dad with the lambing and bringing crops in.

Jimmy?

Sitting back on her ankles, she waited for the phone to buzz again. She didn’t know why Jimmy would send something like that, either. When the vibrations ran through her fingers she almost dropped the phone.

New Message. Open.

If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise.

This was not Jimmy. Jimmy would never write anything so odd, and even if he did, he wouldn’t write it like that, with all the words in full. He’d write it in text. The words were familiar, and she found herself singing them in her head.

The teddy bears picnic—definitely not something Jimmy would write about. The words looked creepy staring up at her, dark against the green screen.

Who r u?

Laura had heard of text-bullying at school, but never had any of it herself. Was this what it was like? She shrugged. She didn’t feel particularly intimidated, just confused and a bit curious.

Melanie. Come and play with me. I’ve got lots of friends for you to meet.

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Laura only looked at the message for a second before shutting it down, bored.

Mind games didn’t interest her. Whoever this Melanie was—and she must be one of the townies on holiday down at the caravan park or something—she was too weird for Laura. One minute she was lonely, the next she’s got lots of friends. She punched in her own reply.

Dont think so.

Pulling herself to her feet, she grabbed her parka from the wardrobe and put it on, stuffing her small purse into one pocket. The phone buzzed once more, and sighing, she opened the message. This game was getting dull.

But I want to play with you Laura. I’ve got things to show you.

For the first time, she felt a small shiver of fear trickle almost unnoticed down her spine. How had this girl got her name? Angry with herself for letting the stranger get to her, she left the message unanswered and shoved the phone in her pocket. Jimmy was right—townies were just plain weird next to country people.

75

Although the air temperature outside probably wasn’t that cold, the force contained in the rising rage of the wind and the sheer volume of falling water choked any warmth from the summer’s day, and Alex was chilled to the bone as she stumbled back into the familiar surroundings of Mary’s kitchen. Maybe it was just the shock and the cancer; who the hell knew? Not her, that was for sure. At least she hadn’t seen any imaginary children on her way home, so maybe she should just be thankful for small mercies. Letting Simon shut the door behind them, she headed to the stove to warm her hands on its surface.

“Is the phone back on yet?” Noticing that Mary wasn’t in the room, Alex wondered if her aunt was even up. Well, she was going to have to get up soon, that was for sure. After Mary’s experience in the garden the previous day and what the vicar had said before he died, Alex found the idea of her aunt being asleep and vulnerable in this house to be a little bit frightening.

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Warn them. That’s what poor Reverend Barker had said. Was Mary one of the people that needed to be warned?

“No.” Paul stared at her and then Simon, his eyes wide and shaky. “What the hell happened to you two?’

Glancing down at her jeans, Alex could see the dark stains on her knees that had nothing to do with the soaking she had received outside, and looking at Simon in the bright light, she noticed the shadows of pink that lingered on his blond hairline. Had that come from her? From her own head when she’d clung to him? She wondered how many more ghosts of blood were visible on her and realized how they must look to Paul. Like veterans of some awful war zone. The kind of place Simon was used to.

“The phone line was down at the shop too, and then we thought we saw something at the church.” Inside, she almost giggled. Sure, we thought we saw something.

Imaginary children pointing our way to dying men. What would the police make of that? It would be her they’d be arresting.

“We went inside and someone had vandalized the altar, or maybe he even did it himself, who knows, but then we went outside and found Reverend Barker dying.”

She knew the words were coming out in a blunt flood, but she couldn’t help it.

“He either jumped from the bell tower or was pushed. And he said some strange stuff before he died. About that girl, Melanie Parr.” She stared at Simon and then at Paul. “How the hell are we going to contact the police if the phones are off?”

Paul stared back at her for a moment, no outward sign of shock at their news apart from the telltale

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clenching of his jaw, something only she would recognize, and then he grabbed the hand towel and passed it to her.

“Jesus. Jesus Christ.” He paused for a second and then drew himself up tall.

“Yes, you’re right, we’ll have to find a way to get hold of the police, but you also need to get warm and dry.” He stared at the stains on her trousers. “And you’ve been sick. I think a cup of tea for you.”

As she squeezed the water out of her long ponytail, watching him putting the kettle on, she remembered just how much strength he had. Yeah, Paul could be a lot of things, but weak wasn’t one of them. It was easy to take things out on the people you loved. An old cliche, but true. She’d been hard on everyone, and the shit in her life was nobody’s fault. Except maybe Ian’s, and that pain was too big to face.

Paul pushed his hands into his trouser pockets, making the roundness of his belly more prominent as it escaped over his waistband.

“Are we sure all the lines in the village are down?”

Alex shrugged in response. “If ours is and the shop’s is, then I’m pretty sure they all are.”

Simon took off his glasses and rubbed his face, leaning back against the kitchen counters. Alex thought he looked tired, and felt a pang of sympathy for him. It hadn’t been much of a party weekend for him so far. His voice was still calm when he spoke, though. “I don’t suppose there’s a policeman in the village, is there?”

Paul’s laugh was loud, short, and humorless. “You guessed right, my friend. We don’t even have our own postman out here. I think the nearest police station is Taunton, and that’s over twenty miles away.” He gazed out of the small panes.

“And I doubt we’d make it there in the car. Most of the roads will be flooded by now

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and more than likely we’d get stuck somewhere, even if we took the Land Rover.

A tingle like electricity ran through Alex’s veins as a thought ate through her brain and straightness came back into her spine. As she moved nearer to the two men, her voice was excited. “No, there may not be a policeman, but I know what there is—there’s a retired traffic cop. Daniel Rose.”

Paul and Simon exchanged a look, and it was her cousin that spoke. “No offense Al, but I don’t think—”

“No, you’re not getting it.” She cut him off, shaking her head impatiently.

“Daniel Rose has a kind of CB Radio. He’s a radio ham. Talks to people all over the country on it. Don’t you see? If the phones are out, we may still be able to speak to the police!”

She looked from one man to another. “We need to get down there. For one thing, we can’t leave the body out there in the elements for too long. If there has been foul play, the evidence will be ruined, and we need to know how to shut the place off so no one else has to go and find him.”

Simon nodded, and this time his attention was fully back on Alex. Despite her earlier anger, she found that she liked it. She couldn’t help herself. What a time to start finding men attractive. But then, her timing and choices had never exactly been perfect, had they? And she’d control it. She had to. It wouldn’t be fair on anyone if she didn’t.

“Come on then.” He smiled at her gently and she wished with an ache that came out of nowhere that she could see that grin, whole and happy. “Let’s go, lady, before we get too dry.”

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Nodding, she turned to Paul, who put back the mug that he was about to make her tea in. “Get Mary and we’ll meet you down at The Rock. We’ll probably need you to help let people know what’s going on, and I don’t think we should leave her up here alone.”

“Okay, but then you’re definitely going to get warm and fed. You’re too thin these days, Al.”

She smiled at her cousin, although his words twisted her stomach slightly. So the weight loss was starting to show. Well, she’d be getting a lot thinner in the next couple of months.

“Take the Land Rover; the keys are on the hook in the hall. It might be a good idea to have a car in the village anyway, and it’s too harsh out there for Mary to walk. Not with … well, with the way she’s been.”

“I’ll get her down there as quick as I can and see you in The Rock. If you’re not there, then I’ll leave Mary in the pub and walk up to Daniel’s. Okay?”

Alex reached out impulsively and hugged her cousin. “Take care, Paul. Get down to the village as fast as you can.” The memory of the vicar’s destroyed body was too fresh at the front of her mind. Come for us. Who did he think Melanie Parr had come for and why? She zipped up her wet jacket. First the police, and then she’d start asking questions.

Paul pushed Alex gently to the door until she was standing next to Simon. “Now go, you two. We need the police here as soon as possible.” He kissed her on the forehead, and for a second she felt as if she was a child again, and he the only big brother figure in the world worth having. Suddenly she didn’t want to go back out there. She just wanted to stay here with her family, Paul 80

and Mary, stay here and pretend that all was well in the world. The lips vanished from her skin leaving only a cool patch, and taking the moment with them. Without another word, she followed Simon back into the restless storm and whatever waited for them there.

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It took them about fifteen minutes to get to the Roses’ old cottage, and during that time the air had darkened almost to black. Luckily they were just inside when the thunder ripped through the sky, cracking like a bullet fired in warning just above their heads. Alex jumped, even though they were within the warm confines of Daniel Rose’s attic room. His wife was downstairs making a pot of coffee for them, and as much as Alex relished the idea of the hot liquid inside her, she wasn’t sure that her damaged nerves needed the added caffeine. But she did need the normalcy of it. She needed the normalcy of something. At least she hadn’t seen any strange children on this journey, although as the wind and rain had battered them, she’d had the spooky feeling that even the weather was against them. Simon also seemed preoccupied, but then, she reasoned, his day hadn’t exactly been normal either. And looking at the man fiddling with the buttons on