Among the White Roses (Crazy mistakes included)

[NotAlice]

Crazy mistakes included - Spell checker checked only. Seriously, loads of crazy mistakes. Please excuse them . Unfinished and unlikely to ever be finished. *shrug* As you please.


(There is an edited version of this first chapter, but I'm using the origional stuff.)

Chapter 1

The soft echo of footsteps was the only sound that broke the silence of the night. There wasn’t even a breeze through the trees or a rodent scuttling through the under growth. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the moon was in the end of its waxing crescent, leaving the deserted footpaths of Langden Creek in almost complete darkness.

Piper Brooks scanned the darkness around her before darting quickly out from behind the old, rotting wooded shed to hide behind the cover of the old, dying oak. Her target was moving away from her, seemingly not noticing he was being followed.

Jaden Ryder was the local ‘bad boy’ whose mother believed he could do no wrong. His father however, was not so blind. In the past few weeks he had noticed a significant change in his son, including his increased hours outside off the radar, and his reluctance to talk about what he was up to. In the end, Anton Ryder had decided to go to the Langden Creek Investigations Office, a small team of private investigators for the area, to follow up on his sons’ actions when he was out.

And that’s exactly what she was doing. Piper kept her eyes on the teen she was following whilst regularly scanning the area for anything out of place. The last thing she needed was to be seen following a teenage troublemaker in the outer parts of Langden Creek in the middle of the night.

She watched as the boys head bobbed up and down, his sandy brown hair unmoved due to the amount of gel clagged on it keeping it spiked. Jaden’s’ head was bowed down and his shoulders hunched against the cold night air. All he wore was a black hooded jacket and a pair of faded and torn jeans. His Adidas trainers were tattered and coming away, and had obviously seen better days.

Piper shuddered involuntarily and pulled her thick winter coat tighter around her shoulders, resisting the urge to hide her frozen hands in her pockets. Even though it was only mid October the nights were recorded to be almost as bad as the mid winter nights they’d had last year. Damn cold and in the minus’s. She moved quickly along the path and pressed her back against the wall of an old building with a collapsed roof with only wildlife for its residents. She peered around the corner, keeping her target in sight.

She had spent the last three nights out following this teen, and every time she seemed to turn a corner and he was gone. Tonight she was sticking close. She would not lose him again.
For the next ten minutes she followed this routine. Watching, following, hiding, and keeping him in her sight. Eventually Jaden turned off the foot paths and led the way across the old rugby field, which no one dared go to any more. A single street light with broken glass cast flickers of orange around. It was enough to see her target by, but it also meant that she could walk freely after him, without having to worry too much about being seen. Not that he’d looked around to check he wasn’t being followed anyway.

When she was across Piper stopped behind the cover of the hedge that ran the length of the field and more. She moved the branches apart as silently as she could and watched Jaden as he made his way up the steps to the front door of Charlton House. No one had lived there for years, not since the Thackery murders that happened three summers ago. She could remember the details clearly enough. Remember the news articles headlining ‘Three Found Dead in Gruesome Murder on Charlton Street!’ She remembered watching as the police and forensic detectives marched in and out of the house, as a state coroner and his team removed the bodies one by one. She’d spent endless nights that week sitting at the dining table in Ryan and Louise’s house, waiting with Louise until Ryan came home, just to hear an update on what had happened. Ryan had refused to let her get involved in that case. She was only 19 at the time, so she could understand why. It still annoyed her to have had to stay home and get her information second hand. This was part of the reason she often snuck out and watched the proceedings from a distance. Even when Ryan found out, though he had agreed that so long as she was careful and stayed away she could watch.

Three people had died that day. Two people were still nowhere to be found. Thomas Thackery and his wife had been found first, the family’s maid last. Thomas had been brutalized and mauled, his face so indistinguishable that they had to use his dental records for evidence that it was him. His wife on the other hand, much alike the maid, had been tied and bound, then raped with a knife, unable to move or cry for help. Sarah was killed first, then the maid shortly after.

The son, Leon, and his girlfriend Penny, who was staying with them at the time, had vanished that night, and even three years later had still not been found. While the case was still open, police had pretty much given up on it as a lost cause.

Why Jaden was coming here now she had no idea. What could possibly be in this house apart from memories of bloodshed? She shivered. She had no choice. Once Jaden passed through that door she had to follow him. It was the only way to find out what he was up to, and what was inside. She scanned her surroundings slowly, and then shot off silently to the gap in the hedge that the teen had passed through, brushing branches out of her face.

She stayed close to the wall of the building so she couldn’t be seen by anyone looking out, and the hedge protected her from prying eyes on the other side. When she reached the bottom of the steps she pulled out her gun and flicked the safety catch off. She flew up the steps and crossed to the opposite side of the door and flattened her back against the wall, her gun held up defensively in front of her face. She waited for a few seconds straining her ears for any noise coming from inside the house and any sign she had been heard or sighted. Nothing.

Keeping her gun close Piper edged around the front door which had been left open. She scanned over it quickly, taking in the broken hinge and peeling paint. The place looked every bit the haunted house the locals believed it to be. Inside, the floor was scattered with everything from moth eaten curtains to rot consumed cardboard boxes. Piper couldn’t help but scrunch her nose up at the smell. It smelt of the rot that was evident, old age and damp. The once elegant wallpaper was now greying and covered in patches of mould, the ancient paintings hanging lopsided with their frames cracked and peeling.

She made her way carefully across the hall and out of the way of the door. Just before she reached the staircase she stopped and hunkered down. She examined the patterns in the thick dust trying to determine whether Jaden had taken the stairs or walked on past. It wasn’t easy. Footprints seemed to cross back and forth many times across here, many leading to the stairs and many straight past.

She was about to keep walking past to clear the downstairs rooms when a floor board squeaked above her. Bingo. She changed direction and looked up the stairs into the gloom beyond. She wished she could use her flashlight. She hated walking blind into an unfamiliar environment when anything could be lurking in the darkness, but using a flashlight wasn’t an option this time unless she wanted to be found.

Readjusting her grip on her gun she moved so her back was against the wall and tested the first step warily. She gradually put more pressure on it until her full weight was on that step. It didn’t squeak. She slowly made her way onto the next one up, and the next and the next testing each one first. Surprisingly, none of them squeaked and she made it up the stairs without a problem. Her eyes darted about the darkness beyond, taking in everything from the dust covered portraits to the cobweb covered wooden fascias around the ceiling in very intricate patterns. She turned left, choosing to look into the rooms on the shorter end of the corridor.

She leaned up against the first door frame and swung round into it, her gun swinging from left to right and back again as she checked that there was no one inside. All she could see was a bed and a wardrobe. The deep red velvet comforter was thick with dust. It hung off one side of the bed and pooled partially on the floor. The springs in the mattress poked through the bubbled material, a sign that it had been well used over its years. The wardrobe doors hung off their hinges and cobwebs hid the space behind them. The room looked gothic. Like a murder scene, she thought. Her gaze dropped to the once white carpet that now held a more brownish tint. At the foot of the bed, the carpet held a dark coloured stain that wasn’t caused by old age. An old newspaper extract jumped into Pipers mind. The body of Sarah Thackery was found in the main bedroom of Charlton House. She was found tied to the bed post in a pool of blood.

Piper breathed deeply, her eyes going wide. She quickly turned and moved onto the next room, which was a bathroom. She dismissed it quickly and hurried on to the opposite door. She turned the handle slowly but it didn’t budge.

Her breathing quickened as she turned to face back along the other end of the corridor. Somewhere along there was Jaden. And somewhere along there could be something much worse than him. What am I thinking? The only person here is Jaden. There’s no ‘something worse’ involved. Feelings of trepidation still flooded her sense and made her heart beat faster. She gripped her gun tighter and started forward, her eyes wide and unblinking in the darkness.

At this end of the corridor there were only two rooms. One she knew must be the son’s bedroom, and the other must be where they found Thomas Thackery. From what she could remember he had been found in a room that was a cross between a second living area and a study on the first floor. What better place was there for a troublesome teen to hangout than a ready furnished living area where there’s little chance of being disturbed?

She kept her gun low as she edged along the wall towards the first doorway. From the side of the corridor she could only see brief flashes into the room opposite. Making up her mind she moved quickly on past to look in the bottom room first. As she leaned around the door she could make out the shapes of an old desk that looked to be covered in papers, and a bed on the middle of the room. From where she stood it looked like there was something on the bed but it didn’t look like a duvet. She moved in closer.

From the foot of the bed she had a clear view of what lay there. She gasped, and silently re-pocketed her gun. She moved to the side of the bed. On it laid a woman. Her eyes were wide and look of horror was etched onto her frozen face. Her blonde hair was tangled and bloody, and her hand was stretched out in front of her as if she was trying desperately to reach for safety in the final moments of her life. Piper let her eyes travel down the woman’s body, her clothes torn and blood pooling out around her. Bile rose in her throat and she had to battle it back down as she gulped in mouthfuls of air. A soft, almost inaudible noise behind her made her turn sharply.

She turned and found herself face to face with Jaden. His grey eyes were wide and full of anger. He lunged at her, grabbing her by the throat and pushing her into the wall. She didn’t have a change to react before she was seeing stars.

“You followed me.” Jaden stated anger evident in his voice. His face was close up to hers as she struggled to get free. From this close his eyes seemed empty. It was almost like he was seeing without really seeing. Like he’s being controlled... she thought. “Why?” He pressed her back a little further, his strength almost inhuman.

“It’s my job,” Piper gasped. “It’s what I’m paid to do.”


“Who paid you to follow me?” His voice was cold and held no life. Something was definitely wrong with him she thought.

“You’re father. He’s worried about you. Now let me go.” She stared right back at him but he didn’t react to her gaze.

Jaden laughed; a cold but cruel sound that sent ice shooting down to her fingertips. “Let you go? Now why would I do a thing like that for?”

With his free hand he grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her back as he pulled her away from the wall and moved his grip from her throat to her hair and gripping down hard. She yelped as pain shot up her harm and across her skull but she had no choice but to let herself be led out of the room and into the room she had walked past before.

He kept her head pressed down so all she could see was the floor beneath her. Her hair hung down around her, blocking her view. They stopped suddenly and without warning as Jaden pulled back on her hair. A gasp escaped her as she bit down on her lip to stop herself from screaming. She felt defenceless and she hated it.

A voice, cold and piercing froze her in her struggles. To Piper it felt like someone had wrapped icy fingers around her heart and squeezed tight, as fear constricted in her chest.

“And what have we here, Jaden? A human in our midst?”

[NotAlice]

(I realize also that I am now missing italics. Some of these may not make sense without them. I might add them in later.)

EDIT: Starting to go through and add italics now. Chances are I'll miss quite a few along the way. Sorry xD)



Chapter 2


Wyatt Hunt dropped flat on the ground below where the concrete foundations dropped off to become a jungle of weeds and uncut grass. He rolled over so his back was pressed against the side, and he could watch above him in case the teen had seen the movement and come to investigate. He hadn’t been expecting company. In fact, he’d been so absorbed in trying to find Jaspers exact location inside the house that he’d only noticed the boy arriving when his trainer scuffed in the mud and his jacket had caught on one of the branches of the hedge as he passed through. Wyatt could only imagine the mess he’d have got himself into if he’d been any less cautious. He was already kicking himself at being such a careless idiot as it was. If he’d been paying attention to what was going on around him he wouldn’t be laying on his back in a swamp of uncut grass with his head about an inch from a rather nasty looking prickle.

He could hear the teens’ heavy footsteps as he made his way over to the steps leading up to the front door. He didn’t breathe, didn’t move, just held himself as still as a board, awaiting the boys next move. It was only as the boy got closer that he realized that if he walked up the steps and looked down, the boy would have a clear view of Wyatt there on the floor. And if he was right about the boy, then he couldn’t just play dead this time either. He mentally cursed himself for his foolishness again.

He lay frozen with baited breath as the teen started up the first step, then moved to the next, and the next. He was about to let out the breath he’d been holding, but right at that minute the teens’ head jerked around and he looked over his shoulder. It seemed luck was on his side that day, as the boy’s eyes never focused on him, and he went on his way inside the old house.

Well that’s a nuisance he thought, picking himself up off the ground and brushing the mud off his jacket. He scowled at a rather badly placed grass stain and rubbed at it with his thumb.

“Shit.” The voice was almost inaudible, but it carried across the stillness of the night and he heard it. It was a woman’s voice that seemed to come from the direction that he’d first heard the boy. Sure enough just seconds later a figure appeared.

Wyatt dropped back down quickly into the grass and had to fight back the urge to hiss as his head landed on the thistle he’d only just missed out on before. He rolled off it, so that he was front first against the concrete side of the foundations this time and listened carefully, following the sounds of the woman’s footsteps as she slowly made her way over to the bottom step.

She was being more cautious than the boy was her steps slow and indecisive. When she started up the steps he heard a click, and the sound of something metal. She has a gun? He wondered. He stayed still as stone. One wrong movement now could potentially earn him a bullet through the head and he really didn’t want to die before all this was over. He had a job to do, and he intended to see it through to the end.

He listened to her footsteps as she went inside; he heard how she stopped at the bottom of the stairs for a minute before continuing up. She didn’t seem to know where she was going and that somehow secured his belief that she wasn’t here with the teen who passed through before. When he heard her safely upstairs he stood up again and flicked to infra-red and looked around. He wasn’t in the mood for having to dive on the ground again anytime soon, and he certainly didn’t want another collision with that damned thistle. He rubbed the back of his head subconsciously and winced ever so slightly. He looked down at the thistle again and frowned. It had become enough of a nuisance to him already so without thinking; he lent forward and ripped it from the ground roots and all. Glaring at it, he pulled his arm back and threw the weed over the other side of the hedge out of his way.

Wyatt moved up alongside the house again and stepped back up onto the foundations. He lent around to peer in through the door and get a look at the hallway. He couldn’t see much from where he was just piles of junk strewn across the floor and dust thick on the few bits of broken furniture.

His frown deepened as he thought he heard a gasp from the upper floor of the house but he dismissed the noise and moved away past the door. He didn’t bother trying to hide out here. The windows were too dusty and unclean that it was impossible to see through them, and the hedge blocked him from site of any one passing by on the other side. All he needed to do was make sure he didn’t make too much noise that it would attract attention.

If it were possible, his frown deepened even more. He knew Jasper was somewhere inside of this house, he’d been following him when he left to hunt and he always came back to this same place. He couldn’t leave during the daylight hours, but by now he’d no doubt be up and moving around.

Wyatt placed his hands on the side of the old weather worn building and thought about what he knew so far. Both the teenager and the woman had gone upstairs, and there was only one floor and the then attic. The boy seemed to know where he was going, and if he was right, the boy was working for Jasper. Therefore surely Jasper must be hiding somewhere on the upper level of the house? He nodded slowly to himself as he let that information sink in.

Looking around, Wyatt noticed a large tree that hung in front of one of the upstairs rooms. If he couldn’t locate Jasper from the ground floor, perhaps he’d have a little more luck locating him from the first floor. He ran at the tree, jumping up and gripping the sturdy branch tightly until he stopped swinging. Then he pulled himself up and climbed up higher. When he reached the branch that stretched out across the front window he edged along it slowly. He stayed low to the branch, ears strained as he listened for some sound of movement from within.

Just as he was about to back along the branch a familiar voice reached his ears and he bit back a snarl. He’d just found Jasper. And if he was right, he’d just found the teenager and the woman here as well. He stopped and moved back up the branch, a glimpse of light catching his eye. There was a crack in the window. He moved up to it as close as he could and peered through. From where he was, he could just make out the silhouette of Jasper sitting in an old armchair, his back straight and posture perfect. The teen stood just inside the door, and the woman was with him, bent over, her arm twisted behind her back and his hand pressing her head down. Definitely not on Jaspers side.

“And what have we here, Jaden? A human in our midst?”

*** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Her fingers dug into the palms of her hands as Piper tried desperately to keep her fear at bay. Whoever the voice belonged to was circling her slowly around her. Jaden stood stiff as stone behind her, keeping her arm twisted back in a vice like grip and a strong hold on her hair. She couldn’t decide which hurt most as she stood there desperately trying not to move at all.

“Who are you?” The voice hissed the sound grating and sending shivers down her spine. She gasped sharply as her head was jerked back suddenly and a fiery sensation spread across her scalp. The action brought tears to her eyes.

Her eyes darted about the room and came to focus on the owner of the voice. He was stood closer to her than she first thought his eyes almost silver in what little light that made it into the room. His dark hair fell loosely across his face and down to the nape of his neck. A pale scar ran the length of his face, stretching from the top of his eyebrow right down to the side of his top lip. It was jagged and uneven, and Piper had to repress a shudder as images of how he could have got it came to mind. However it happened, she thought, it must have hurt - a lot. A smirk came upon his handsome face and her eyes went wide.

“Doesn’t look like some sort of private investigator does she?” He directed his words at Jaden who sniggered, his grip loosening slightly on her arm. “That is what they call you these days, isn’t it?”He mocked.

She stayed silent as his cold eyes stared into hers and she fought to try and look away from his steely gaze. Jaden’s grip slackened even more and she hoped like hell he would loosen up just a little bit more. She could hear him sniggering softly behind her.

The man in front of her turned sharply and walked over to the small window and stood, as if he was looking out of it. That was impossible of cause from the thick muck and grime that clung to it. With his attention riveted Piper took the only change she might have of escape, and flung her elbow back into Jaden’s stomach, as she kicked back at his shins.

A grunt escaped him as he bent double slightly, the impact was just enough to force him to let go of her hair, and his grip to slacken on her arm, enough for her to pull back and step out of his reach. She turned quickly at the sound of something moving towards her and tried to duck as a fist flew towards her face. She wasn’t quick enough and all of a sudden she was flying across the room and coming down hard on something. She shook her head trying to get rid of the stars she was seeing and blinked furiously. When her vision returned she glanced round quickly to see where she’d landed. She was on a sofa, a bit lopsided and on top of a broken spring, but on a sofa none the less.

She was definitely in the study room where Thomas Thackery was killed. Even from where she was now she could see the computer on the far desk, its screen smashed and its wires cut and hanging freely in various directions. There was a coffee table by the door covered in sheets of paper, presumably business letters, and stacks of books piled high up the wall along from where the grubby window was. In the centre of the room there were two sofas, the one she was on and one other that was adjacent, its cushions shredded and stained, with the coils underneath poking through the gauze-like material. A thick padded armchair stood about a foot left of the window with cobwebs hanging off the once elegant material.

Her eyes caught on a flicker of something by the window, but before she had time to look more closely, she was yanked back of the seat; the man with the scar dug his fingers deep in the top of her arm. She yelped and pulled back with enough force to dislodge his fingers and she hurriedly stumbled back. As he lunged for her again she managed to dive over the back of the sofa, landing in a rather ungainly heap on the floor.

She scrambled along on her hands and knees, raising a torrent of dust along the way. She choked silently, desperate to clear her throat but trying to keep quiet. She heard Jaden and the mad start to cough in the dusty storm that plagued the room. Stopping behind the armchair she placed her hands over her mouth, half breathing half coughing as she tried to stay silent.

She remembered the glimmer she had seen in the window and looked up, even through the dust storm she could still make out the window and the small gap of light. When she looked closer it looked like something was behind the glass trying to see in. Movement beyond caught her attention and she squinted. What looked like….an eye was on the other side of the glass. The eye blinked and she gasped. Someone was outside the window!

Jasper and the teen are over by the sofa, move now and you can get out if you’re fast.

Piper stared dumbfounded at the gap in the window. Did whoever was out there just talk to her? She hadn’t heard anything though; it was like… they were just talking to her in her head.

Stop questioning what just happened and get out before Jasper turns his attention to another part of the room.
Was Jasper the man with the scar? She shook her head to clear it and looked around the side of the chair and into the greyness beyond. From what she could tell the mystery man in the window was trying to help her, and right now, she wasn’t about to question him.

Taking a deep breath she shot out from behind the armchair, scrambling clumsily to her feet as she ran for the door. She tripped and stumbled on things along the way, but managed to get out and close the door behind her before either of the two men inside got her. She sent out a silent thank you to the mystery man, and she was sure she heard a quiet chuckle through her thought.

Blinking quickly and getting her thoughts back on track, she turned and ran for the stairs, grabbing her flashlight from her top pocket to guide her way down the stairs. From above she heard a shout, followed by a resounding crash and more yelps. She ran quickly out the door, tripping down the steps and rolling awkwardly onto the grass.

Above her she could see bright flames leaping from the window of the room she had just escaped. She could still hear shouts, but they seemed to be getting more distant. She flopped back on the grass and closed her eyes. Tonight was just so not her night.

She frowned slightly as the familiar feeling of being watched sent shivers through her. She opened her eyes slowly.
There, standing above her, stood the mystery man from the window.

[NotAlice]

Chapter 3


The man stood just to the side of her leaning his lower back against the side of the concrete foundations where it rose higher up. He stood with his arms crossed and an almost apathetic look on his face. Her gaze dropped, taking in the way his black turtle neck sweater clung to his broad chest, and the way his dark jeans perfectly showed off his long athletic legs. His night black hair framed his face perfectly, making his eyes glow in the darkness. He cocked his head to the side, studying her as she studied him. Even the slight movement made his eyes twinkle like blue diamonds in the feint light.

“Who are you? What are you?” He asked, his voice deep and soft. She blinked sharply, snapping out of her daze.

“Piper Brooks, I work for Langden Creek Investigations. Who are you? And why are you here?” Her voice was surprisingly calm as she looked at him curiously. Why was he here? And what was he doing at this particular house? She frowned very slightly.

“I’m Wyatt, and I’m here on business.” She looked at him closely. He obviously wasn’t someone who liked talking about himself and what he was doing. For that matter, he wasn’t even someone who liked telling people his full name.

“What sort of business?”

“Business that is none of yours.” He kept his face shuttered and his voice oddly flat.

“Considering you’re on my crime scene I think that yes, it is my business to know just what you find so interesting about this place.” She tried to ignore the note of authority in her voice as she stood quickly, brushing grass off the front of her jacket. One corner of his mouth twitched up slightly as if in mild amusement and her gaze narrowed slightly.

“I see no badge on you, and you’re certainly not police. I don’t believe I have to answer to you.” Piper gritted her teeth at the smugness that just seeped into his words.

“I’m a private investigator, and I believe you have every right to answer a few of my questions. What brought you to this particular house?” She rested her hands on her hips as she glared up at him. He was almost a foot taller than her she guessed, her head coming level to almost the bottom of his chin.

“My work involves following Jasper, and unless you haven’t noticed already, he’s a bit out of your league. You know nothing about him or what he’s done, so it’ probably be best for you if you stepped back and let me handle this situation alone. I know about Jasper and I’m trained to handle him. Give me a few days and he’ll be gone before you know it.”

Piper repressed a shudder. There was something in the way he said ‘gone before you know it’ that made her know exactly what kind of ‘gone’ Wyatt meant. And it wasn’t just the left town type.

“And Jasper is the man with the scar?”

“Obviously, seeing as he was the only one in there besides the teen and you clearly know who he is.”

Piper clenched her teeth.

“A woman is dead in there. You could be a little more forthcoming with information you know.”

A twitch of a smile appeared on his lips, before it turned into more of a frown. “I hear sirens. The fire team are on their way, and the police as well I presume. I think it might be a good idea for you to stick around. I believe they’ll be here in about… two minutes?”

She glanced over her shoulder as she heard the siren in the distance. So distant in fact, that she’d never have heard them if she hadn’t been listening for them specifically.

“How did you hear-” She turned back around to ask Wyatt how he could have heard the sirens when even now, they were scarcely more than a whisper, but when she looked, he was gone. She looked right round her, and then scanned the garden slowly, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

He’d vanished. Just vanished. She’d turned around for only a few seconds but in that time he’d completely disappeared and was nowhere in sight. Impossible… she thought, I never even heard him move…

She closed her eyes and pressed her palms into them, suddenly very tired after the night’s events. She breathed in deep and rolled her shoulders, before running her fingers through her hair and wincing as her fingers caught in the knots. She worked them out carefully and grimaced at the amount of her hair that was still wrapped around her fingers, torn from her scalp in Jaden’s firm grip.

She remembered the teen and glanced back at the burning house. Had Jaden got out? Where was he now? Where was Jasper? She shuddered.

“Piper? Piper, are you here?” She turned back to face the opening in the hedge just as Ryan came tumbling through. “Bloody stupid bloody tree!” He ranted. The corners of Pipers lips twitched upwards.

Ryan Kernick was her boss slash adoptive father figure and she owed him her life. He was the one who had saved her after her years on the streets as a teen and took her in. He and his wife, Louise, had been like parents to her ever since. She was closer to Ryan than his wife, but that was mostly due to the fact that Ryan liked to keep one foot on the wild side of life, and his job gave him that.

From when he first took her in he had always made it a habit to take her along with him every few days when he went to work. At first she would spend the days looking through old case files and figuring out how it all fit together, but one day she was there when Ryan was in the middle of a big case, and he had asked her to help him sort through all the photographs and evidence he had found so far. It was whilst looking through a pile of photos that she noticed something in the background that proved a vital breakthrough in the case.

From then on Ryan always gave her a copy of everything he’d found claiming that fresh young eyes might see some of the important details an old pair of specs couldn’t pick up on. Daniel, who had worked there at the time, had joked on with them about the good points of having young blood in the building. She’d liked Daniel, even though she’d been wary of him at first. He had reminded her a lot of Chase but eventually she managed to push that aside and see him as the person he was, not as a person from her past. In fact, she’d rather taken a fancy to him in the end. It was a schoolgirl type crush that she’d clung to for years. Daniel knew about it but never mentioned it. Not out loud at lead. He did make a habit of embarrassing her when no one else, or just Ryan was there.

Daniel had been almost five years older than her, and had just turned 20 when they first met. He had been at her 18th birthday get together and they had ended up making out whilst under the influence of alcohol. The few weeks after that were slightly awkward between them, but by the time she’d turned 19 the two of them had been secretly seeing each other. Ryan had been very accepting of the pair, very supportive, but reminded the pair of them regularly to watch what they were doing.

When Daniel had turned up dead during the case he’d been working on Piper had been distraught. In the end she had gone after the mad man herself and shot a bullet between his eyes, letting anger cloud her judgement. Thankfully the press had never gotten hold of the story and Ryan had helped her deal with the feelings that came with killing a man, and also with her loss of a lover. Now it was only her and Ryan working for Langden Creek Investigations, and of that, she was glad.

She half smiled half grimaced at the memories that came flooding back to her. She blinked hard and mentally tried to force them back into their box and to the far back of her brain. The last thing she needed right now was to remember Daniel. Or Chase for that matter.

“Shit Piper you scared me then. What happened?” Ryan put his hand on her shoulder and looked her over, assessing her for any damage.

“I was following Anton Ryder’s son again and he led me here. I followed him in. There was someone else in there with him. There’s a dead woman in there too - in the bedroom that belonged to Leon Thackery.” She looked up at the burning house and watched as Firemen tramped up the front steps with their hoses in tow.

“Did you get ID on the woman?” Ryan crossed his arms and faced the house. The pair of them stood backs to the hedge, staring into the flames that leaped from the upstairs window.

“No. Jaden snuck up on me and dragged me into the other room before I got a chance. After that I was more concerned about getting away from the two of them to worry about who the woman was.”

“The two of them?” Ryan’s eyes followed a pair of officers as they walked up the steps towards the head of the fire crew.

“Jaden and Jasper.” Her voice was distant as she replied, gaze lost in the hypnotic blaze of the fire.

“Who’s Jasper?”He turned his head to look at her and frowned.

“Ask they mystery man at the window who decided to do a disappearing act about five minutes ago.” She couldn’t hold back the harsh bark of a laugh as she grimaced and stared ahead.

“Shit… start at the beginning. I want to know everything.”

So she told him. She recounted everything from finding Jaden on Chapel Street, to finding the body, to her ‘fight’ with Jasper, to Wyatt appearing outside. By time she had finished the fire was almost extinguished and the fire men were beginning to roll their hoses back in.

“What started the fire though?” he asked gaze thoughtful.

“I haven’t got a clue. I’d guess that it was Wyatt, but I could be wrong.” She looked around the small garden. She felt like she was being watched and didn’t like the feeling. She rubbed the back of her neck. “I’d love to know where he disappeared to though… one second he was there, and the next he was gone. It makes no sense.”

“I think we may need to do a little bit of investigating into who this guy is. What did he say his surname was?”

“He didn’t.” She looked up at him, “Officer Jones is on his way over. Perhaps now would be a good time for you to do a disappearing act of your own. Have you got any way of getting in there to look at the body?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Ryan placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder as he brushed past, heading for the front of the house. “Watch what you say to him.”

She watched his retreating back as he spoke to the officer on the door until he went inside, before turning to face Officer Jones as he approached.

“Ms Brooks,” he bowed his head acknowledgement.

“Officer Jones.” She looked him over. He still wore his usual superior expression and gave off a look of authority. His dark blue work clothes fit him snugly and were pulled tight across his rigid shoulders.

“Fancy meeting you here, on a night like this, Brooks. Care to explain exactly why you are here?” He kept his gaze focused squarely on hers.

She sighed, and told him the same story she had told Ryan, missing out the part about the man outside and window and toning some of it down a bit.

When she was finished he asked her, “Why didn’t you report the body immediately?”

“How could I? Was I supposed to ask Ryder to let me go because I had a very important phone call to make? Yeah, I’m seeing that working out just fine.” She couldn’t help the sarcasm that slipped into her words. What did he think she was? An idiot? Of cause she would have called in the cops if she’d had the chance. Jones narrowed his gaze.

“Fine. Where did the fire come from?” She sighed at the case of de já vu.

“I don’t know.”

He sniffed, then glanced up at the house again as the head of the fire team waved to him, indicating he wanted a word.

“Don’t go far. We’ll be in touch.”

With that he turned and headed over to the chief fireman and two others stood with frowns on their faces. She watched as the group talked animatedly, arms flying and fingers pointing, till Officer Jones was led inside by one of the men.

She looked around the garden and took in everything from the way the fire had left burnt charcoal patterns up the side of the building to the way a lone officer with a large beer belly contented himself with lurking in a darkened corner with a cup of coffee and, ironically, a doughnut.

A few minutes passed before Ryan re-emerged from inside the house. He had a scowl on his face and his brow was creased. He walked back over to where he’d left Piper and stopped just in front of her. He sighed.

“Let’s head back home. I’ll drop you off on the way.” He squeezed her shoulder as he passed and she turned to watch him as he walked towards the opening in the hedge. It was her turn for her brow to crease as she wondered what could have brought on this sudden change of attitude. It can’t have been from seeing that woman dead in there, she thought. Ryan had seen his fair share of dead bodies over his years. So what was bothering him so much?

Pulling her Jacket tighter around her she hurried out after him, catching up with him just as he reached his car. She got in and closed her door just seconds after he closed his. For a few minutes they just sat there staring straight ahead. Eventually he cleared his throat and started the engine.

They were halfway along Tipperman Road before Ryan spoke again.

“I knew her,” Was all he said, keeping his eyes on the road. Piper looked across at him.

“Who? The woman in bedroom of Charlton House?” Perhaps that meant it was someone she knew too… She’d met a lot of the people that Ryan had come to get to know over the years, as Ryan knew many that she knew. Of cause, that didn’t mean they didn’t have some friends of their own that the other didn’t know, just meant that those types of friends were less common, especially in Piper’s case.

“Her name was Kathryn Bronte. She’s a 24 year old mother of one. She used to go to, and organise, a lot of charity events here in Langden Creek. I’ve met her a few times when I’ve gone to various functions with Louise.”

“She organised charity events? Do you mean the woman from The Bronte Society that’s based over Ellsinton way?”

“The one and only.” She’d thought the name had sounded vaguely familiar but couldn’t quite figure out where from. Ryan continued, “Kathryn and Louise kept in touch quite a bit. Lou liked to help with the organising sometimes. You know what she’s like. It should be such fun tonight… telling her a friend of hers has wound up dead on a case should have easy. How often are we told to follow a teenager, and a body appears?"

The rest of the journey was made in silence. When they turned onto Piper’s street she looked across at Ryan again. He still sat with his back straight and his eyes on the road even though he knew this street like the back of his hand and could probably drive it blindfolded, just like she most likely could. He had his top lip pulled back between his teeth and he was worrying it excessively.

“Ryan…”

He glanced across at her before returning his gaze to the road again.

“You need a hand telling Louise? About Kathryn?” She lean over slightly and placed her hand on his leg, a reassuring touch that most likely did nothing to reassure him.

He stopped the car and looked down for a few seconds.

“Nah, I’ll manage. I guess it’s not telling her that’s the hard part, it’s her reaction which I’m worried about. The two of them have been meeting up a lot recently to organise the next function. They are genuinely friends.” He paused, “Go on, get yourself inside and get some rest. We’ve got two mystery guys and a wild teen to search up tomorrow. You need some sleep.”

“Only after a hot bath though.” She smiled at Ryan, and he smiled back. She was still chilled through to the bone even though the temperature had been turned up in the car. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Let me know if you need anything.”

She leant over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before climbing out. She stood and watched him as he drove of and gave him a quick wave as he zoomed off around the corner. Once he was out of sight she pulled her coat tighter around her again and crossed her arms across her chest as she walked up to her door. Once inside, she threw her coat over the back of a chair and kicked her shoes into a corner, not watching to see where they went. She made herself a hot toddy, making a mental note to herself to buy some more honey the next time she was out, and to get the other bottle of whiskey out of the cupboard.

She ran herself a hot bath and sighed contently as she sunk down into the bubbles. The heat of the water seemed to wash away all the worries of the day and ease her mind instantly. She slid down deeper into the bubbly mix and closed her eyes, letting all thought go as she began to drift towards sleep.

That night, sleep came easily. But it was disrupted by dreams of a man whose face she didn’t know, and a boy whose dreams continued to grow.

[NotAlice]

Chapter 4

Piper made it into work just shortly after 8. Her restless slumber had left her feeling drained and agitated, so while she longed to just curl up and go to sleep she found it very hard to sit still. She was constantly fidgeting in her seat as she sat, trying to hack in to police databases to do a search to find who Jasper was, and also who Wyatt was. While she was waiting for the results to come through, she loaded up the case file from the Thackery Murders and reread through it. She already knew most of it, but there were a few bits in there that she hadn’t been told. She looked up their histories and criminal records too, though she didn’t know if it would do her any good.

When she grew tired of waiting for the results to come through she pushed back from her desk and went to get a coffee from the machine. The warm liquid was thick and seemed to slide down her throat, making her grimace. Making up her mind, she turned to face Ryan who fixed at his screen with his eyes darting backwards and forwards as he skim read whatever file or document it was that he had open.

“I’m going to go talk to Kathryn Bronte’s parents. I want to see if there’s been anything going on in her life in these last few weeks which might have caused someone to want to kill her. Are you up for it or are you just going to stay here?” She walked back to her desk and grabbed her phone and car keys.

“I’m just going to stay. I think I’m getting close to finding something here, and my search should be done within the next five minutes or so.” Ryan leant back in his chair and picked up his coffee mug from before. He downed the remaining dregs and placed the mug back on the table. He curled his nose up slightly at the bitter taste.

Piper stopped to grab her jacket off the hook behind the door and shoved everything in the pockets before throwing it on. “Fair enough. I’ll be back in about an hour or so. Probably closer to two actually. I’ll let you know if something happens.” It was a good 25 minute drive over to where Marshal and Anita Bronte lived over at Serrian Avenue, a small suburban area on the far side of Langden Creek. Ryan waved his hand in a mock salute in his own way of saying goodbye to her as she left.

The wind hit her as soon as she stepped outside. Even through her coat she felt instantly chilled though to the bone. She hurried down the street to where she’d parked her car when she arrived earlier this morning. She swore softly when she saw how close the other cars were to hers. A blue ford had squeezed its way into the tiny space in front of her car, and a land rover had replaced the mini she had parked a foot in front of. There was no hope of getting her car out of there until one of the two vehicles moved, and she didn’t think that was going to be any time soon.

Piper stood there for a few more minutes pondering what to do next. She could go back in and ask Ryan for his car keys and borrow his car for a few hours. But that was only any good if Ryan wasn’t planning on going anywhere, or didn’t get called out somewhere on an emergency. No. She couldn’t use Ryan’s car.

Piper turned and headed towards the subway, a five minute walk from the office. Subway wasn’t certainly not her favourite way to travel, but it was her best option right now. The journey itself would actually be quicker than if she drove but that all depended on what time the next subway train came that would pass by Serrian Avenue.

When she got to the platform she was surprised to see there were so many people standing around waiting. There was everyone from lawyers with briefcases, to mothers with screaming babies, to gangs of yobs who stood around in tattered trainers and their hoods up and covering half of their faces. Closing her eyes she breathed in deeply. She’d never liked being in enclosed places. If she had to give it a name, she’d say she would actually say she was slightly claustrophobic.

She manoeuvred her way through the crowd till she had a clear view of the LED screen detailing subway times and locations. If the board was right then the next subway train should be due in about five minutes and was on a practically straight route to King Street, the nearest subway to where she needed to be.

When the subway stopped in the station six minutes later Piper was tugging at her collar trying to cool herself down a bit. Her shoulders were tensed as she was jostled around by the suddenly active crowd. She got swept away with them and only found herself in full control of her feet when she ended up pressed against a window near the back corner of the carriage she was in.

The good thing about where she ended up was the fact that when the subway started moving a slight breeze managed to get in through the gaps around the window, cooling her down against the uncomfortable press of bodies. She rubbed a hand across her forehead, wiping away beads of perspiration that had formed there. She was going to be having nightmares about this journey for weeks to come.

*** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Piper leant against the side of a closed store and rubbed her hands down her face. The day had been a nightmare. She’d missed her stop at Kings Street because of the amount of people who were crowded onto the subway. Getting through the press of bodies was like swimming against the tide in the middle of a storm. By the time she had got to the opposite side of the compartment the subway had already sped off. She got off at the next stop, and had had to walk back to King Street and Serrian Avenue. And by the time she got there, she could have driven over, talked to Kathryn Bronte’s parents, and be halfway back to the office. But no, she was walking down the far side of town, miles from home and the office, soaking wet because of the rain that had started bucketing down soon after she started walking.

Interviewing Marshal and Anita hadn’t gotten her very far. They hadn’t been able to tell her anything that might have been useful in her investigation. Apparently their daughter had been acting no differently than usual, though they were babysitting her daughter more than they usually did because she was so busy organising her next charity function.

Piper had been shocked to hear that Kathryn had a daughter, but Anita had filled her in on the details. Apparently Kathryn had a daughter who had just turned 6. She seemed a bit reluctant when she admitted that they didn’t know who the girls’ father was. The girl was stopping at a friend’s house last night and didn’t know her mother had been killed. Piper felt sorry for them having to explain something like that to a 6 year old. It wasn’t an easy thing to do. She sent a silent oath to the young girl that she’d do whatever she could to get the man who did this to her mother.

Now she was walking back towards the subway she was supposed to get off at before hoping to catch the next subway train that passed. She hoped like hell that it wouldn’t be as crowded as it was earlier. Oh God she hoped it wouldn’t be like it had been earlier. One trauma a day was more than enough for her.

She was in luck. There was only a small gathering of people down on the platform waiting for the subway to come, and she was in luck. The next train was due any minute now and would take her directly to the stop she got on at when she first made that terrible decision to not borrow Ryan’s car.

The journey was a much more comfortable one and she even managed to find a seat close to the door. She began to relax. Maybe subway wasn’t so bad after all so long as you caught it at the right time of day.

When the subway stopped at her station she was the only one who got off. Looking around she could see no one else on the platform either. She stood there for a few minutes, even after the train had sped away. Feelings of trepidation flooded her senses and a feeling of wrongness saturated the air. Glancing around she could see nothing out of place but she was sure there was something out there, even if she couldn’t see it.

She discretely checked that her gun was still under her coat and easy to get out before she took a final look around and headed for the stairs up onto the street. As she reached the bottom step she heard a noise behind her. She was torn between continuing up like she’d never heard it and hoping that if someone was down there they’d think she had mistaken it for something else, and turning around to confront whatever was lurking down there. In the end, her curiosity got the better of her and she turned, one foot on the first step, and let her eyes sweep through the darkness. She still couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

She moved back onto the platform and rested one hand on her gun, more for comfort than need. The sound had seemed to come from the corner furthest from the platform that was in an impenetrable darkness. Slowly, Piper made her ways over not daring to blink. The feeling of wrongness intensified as she got nearer, just as the darkness seemed to get denser. A click resounded behind her and she turned, pulling her gun from under her coat and holding it out at chest height.

Something hit her and her gun flew from her hands and skidded away into the darkness beyond the stairs. Her eyes widened and she fixed her gaze in front of her. Someone was obviously close, yet she couldn’t see anything except the platform, right up to where it dropped over the side to the rails. Confused, she swung her gun from side to side searching for any sign of movement. There was nothing.

The next blow came from behind and hit her squarely on the head. She dropped to her knees and brought her hands up, pressing her palms into her eyes to try and stop seeing the stars that seemed to float around in front of her, and to push away the darkness that was threatening to overwhelm her. Another blow to the back of her head had her falling face first to the floor. The last thing she remembered was a man’s voice, and the sound of flesh hitting flesh as a fight broke out around her.

*** *** *** *** *** ** *** ***

Wyatt grabbed the man by the throat and hoisted him off his feet. The man struggled and kicked as his hands grappled at the hands Wyatt kept firmly around his neck. He made strange choking noises that sounded oddly feminine. Wyatt looked at the hands that fought his and blinked at the sight of purple nail polish. A woman had attacked Piper?

Moving over to the wall he pressed the woman’s back against the wall and lowered her till her feet just say touched the floor. She was small, lithe. Her head barely came up to his shoulders while her dark hair fell loosely down the front of her hooded jacket. She wore all black and kept her hood up, a guise that was commonly used by people who didn’t want to be seen.

“Who are you?” Wyatt whispered in her ear, his voice low and threatening. The woman squealed and struggled harder. He pressed her back further against the wall and she whimpered. He asked again, “Who are you?”

“Amy. I’m Amy.” She blubbered, lifting her gaze to stare directly into his eyes. This wasn’t a woman, it was a girl. She couldn’t have been more than 16. Her green eyes were wide she looked straight into his cold, unfeeling eyes like a deer in the headlights of a fast moving car.

“Amy who?” He looked at her closer. Her skin was pallid and features drawn. She looked ill and he couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for her, yet he kept his grip firm and his eyes as cold as ever.

“Delany,” She pressed her eyes firmly closed, but Wyatt still saw the tears that were threatening to escape. Her voice broke, “Please, please let me go.”

“Not until you tell me why you’re here and why you attacked that woman. Who are you working for?” He loosened his grip on her throat and lowered her until her feet were more firmly on the floor.

“He just appeared. I don’t know who he was. He offered me money to be here, to do it. He said that he’d give me enough so I could find somewhere to stay. Said he knew how it felt to be me and he wanted to help just so long as I did him a favour first.” Wyatt had no doubt she was telling the truth, but he wasn’t about to let her go just yet.

“What did he look like?” His voice was quiet, but the teen still heard him.

“Tall, dark hair, and a scar on his face. I’m sorry I don’t remember much. Please, let me go.” What did Jasper want with a street kid?

He let go, and the girl collapsed to the floor taking in deep shuddering breaths and trying to get a grip on herself for a few seconds before she scrambled off to the stairs, and out into the night. When she was gone Wyatt turned his attention back to Piper, who was beginning to stir.
 

[NotAlice]

(From here on some of the true crazyness starts. In the next few posts, someone tell me exactly how many times they tell each other about the daughter xD)

Chapter 5

Piper awoke to the sound of footsteps running up what sounded like stairs. She lay still for a few seconds trying to remember where she was and what had happened. Just as the memories came within arm’s reach a hand was placed on her shoulder and she jumped, rolling quickly and kicking upwards. Her kick was weak, but if the loud ‘oomph’ she heard was anything to go by, there’d still been enough force behind her blow to cause some discomfort. She opened her eyes before sitting up quickly. She scrunched her eyes closed again as a little drummer boy beat his melodies inside her head. She winced. She forced her eyes open again and looked around.

“What the hell was that for?”

Piper jumped at the voice. She gave herself a mental kick start to get her brain in gear. She shouldn’t have been shocked at hearing the voice, she already knew there was someone else here with her. She looked in the direction that the voice had come from and blinked. Wyatt stood before her with an annoyed look on his face. Oops, she thought.

“What are you doing here?” She asked cringing at the sound of obvious curiosity in her voice. Her curiosity had already gotten her in trouble once today.

“Why are you letting yourself be beat up by a teenage girl who could quite possibly rival you for size?” The corners of his lips twitched, “We can keep up this game of answering a question with a question if you like or start actually giving answers. Your choice.”

Piper glared at him as she pushed to her feet. How could he blame her? He was doing no better!

“My choice? You could have easily made that your choice and actually answered my question just then. So how about you answer it now? Why are you here?”

Wyatt raised an eyebrow and had a look of well controlled humour on his face. Her gaze narrowed even further.

“Answer me,” She growled. His control slipped slightly and he smiled. Pipers’ heart skipped a beat as she watched him. She took in the way his dark hair fell across his face and the way his dark eyes seemed to shine with amusement. His dark jeans clung to his long, athletic legs and his jacket accentuated the width of his broad shoulders.

She remembered that she was annoyed with him and turned sharply and walked over to the bottom of the stairs. She paused on the bottom step and thought back to when she was attacked. They hit me and I dropped my gun… it went past the stairs… She back tracked and went to look for her gun. It was so dark in this corner that she couldn’t make out her own hand a metre in front of her face.

She pulled her phone from her pocket and flipped it open, using the light from the screen to penetrate the dense darkness. She crouched down and held her phone close to the floor and scanned it around. She couldn’t see her gun anywhere.

“I don’t suppose you’re looking for this?” Wyatt’s voice still held a touch of humour and she had to grit her teeth not to make some witty comment that she would undoubtedly regret later. She stood and turned.

He held her gun looped over one finger. He swung it lightly from side to side so the barrel glinted in the small beam of light that seemed to come from somewhere outside of the station. Piper walked back over and took it from him.

“Thanks.” Her voice was dry.

All hints of humour fled from his face as he looked at her.

“I told you to leave this case to me. You don’t know what you’re dealing with here. It’s too dangerous.” His voice was low and his eyes stared directly into hers and left her transfixed.

“This is my case, and I intend to see it through. It is you who should learn to stay away.” His sad smile made her heart beat faster. It almost seemed to leap out of her chest when he brought up one hand and dragged his fingers lightly over her cheek.

“This case isn’t what you think it is. These people are not who you think they are.”

“Then tell me who they are. Then at least that gets rid of the problem of me not knowing.” His fingers had stopped on her neck and they both spoke quietly, their voices hardly more than a whisper.

“I can’t do that, I’m sorry. You really must leave this case alone,”

“No,”

“You’re meddling with things you know nothing about. This is far too dangerous for you,”

“I don’t care. Danger comes with my job,”

“This is danger on a whole new level. This is something you don’t understand,”

“It’s still part of my job to deal with it. You’re not getting me off this case this easily,”

“Doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying,”

Why they were still whispering she didn’t know. But she did know she was getting increasingly harder to not reach out and strangle him, even though part of her just wanted to reach out and kiss him. What the hell am I thinking? She shook her head and moved backwards away from him.

“Try as you like. I’m not going anywhere,” She spoke at normal volume and stared straight at him for a few seconds. Pocketing her gun which she still held she turned and walked to the steps out of the station for the second time. This time she was half way up before she stopped, when his voice came again.

“If something happens to you, then don’t say I didn’t warn you, Piper.” She took a deep breath.

“Is that a threat?”

“Just a warning.”

Piper bowed her head to him as she rolled her eyes then turned and walked out into the night.

*** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Piper flounced into the office, slamming the door closed harder than necessary, and flopped down into her chair and sighed.

“That bad?” Ryan asked.

She looked across at him. He looked tired, with dark rings around his eyes that made him look older than he really was.

“Worse,” She let her head flop back over the back of the chair and stared at the ceiling. Ryan sighed and stood up.

“What happened?” He walked over to the coffee machine and grabbed two cups. Filling them both and placing one on Piper’s desk. He sat on the edge and sipped his coffee waiting for her account of her day.

“I’ll assume you noticed my car was stuck outside and I’ll also assume you realized I decided to not ask you for your car keys and went my own way there. I’ll then assume you figured out that my idea to use the subway at midday was a spur of the moment decision which I now regret. I’ll also assume you figured out that I missed my stop and had to walk to Serrian Avenue,” She paused, “I’ll assume you’ve figured out by now that my day didn’t go so well, nor did it end well…”

Ryan raised his eyebrows and placed his mug down on her desk. “So I’m to assume then, that you got there and found out nothing new that you didn’t already know before. But I am curious as to why it took so long for you to get back.”

"Did you know Kathryn had a daughter?” She kicked off her shoes and wriggled out of her jacket before she picked up her coffee. It was fresher that the one she’d had this morning, and hotter too. Ryan had obviously drank a lot of coffee today for it to need a refill while she’d been out.

“A daughter? She never mentioned one.” Ryan blinked a few times.

“Yeah a six year old. She doesn’t know about her mother, she stopped at a friend’s house last night,”

“Kathryn has never mentioned a daughter before, not even to Louise. Who’s the father?” Ryan picked up his mug again and drained it.

“They don’t know. A fact the Anita isn’t too happy about telling anyone. The girl’s just gone 6.”

Ryan stood up and walked back to his desk, dropping his mug next to the machine on his way. He sat down and began typing something into his computer.

“What are searching for?” Piper asked. She remembered her searches she’d started that morning and clicked the button to load her computer out of sleep mode.

“I’m looking to see what Kathryn was doing 6 years ago and whether anything changed in her regular routines.” His eyes darted across the screen for a few seconds. “Here, she left town for a year, came back around this time six years ago. She resumed her usual routine of organising the large annual Bronte Functions but she stopped attending the smaller events organised by other charities. It’s only in the last few years she’s stared going to them again. That sounds about right for a nursing mother doesn’t it? But even on her records here it has nothing about a child. No hospital records… no school records. Nothing.”

Piper frowned. “There’s got to be something. Not even a record of the girls’ legal documents?”

“Nothing.” Ryan looked across at her. “There is absolutely nothing here. Perhaps we need to have another little talk with the grandparents.”

“Tomorrow. And we’re driving. I refuse point blank to get the subway there again. I’m going to be having nightmares as it is,” She paused, “Did I tell you I saw Wyatt again? On the platform when I got back.”

“No. What did he say?” Ryan made himself another coffee.

“He chased away the teen that attacked me, and then left with the same warning as he did yesterday to leave this case because it’s too dangerous and nothing is what we think. I told him I intended to see this case through to the end and nothing he said was going to stop me.” She remembered the way he had stood so close with his hand on her neck, the way his warm hands had felt on her skin… She blinked away the images and gulped down the rest of her coffee, the hot liquid burning her throat.

“A teen attacked you?” Ryan sounded incredulous.

“The platform was dark and she attacked from behind. Wyatt never mentioned her name, if he even bothered to find out at all.” She frowned, remembering the way the girl seemed to always be one step ahead of her, never seen, always just one step out of sight. “I’m going to check whether my searches I started this morning have finished.”

“What were you searching?” Ryan never looked up from his screen.

“Wyatt and Jasper. I want to know who they are. I put in details in the search and I’m going to look at what results it brought back. With a bit of luck they’ll be in there somewhere.”

Ryan nodded, and Piper turned back to her computer screen. A message flashed up saying that both searches were finished. She clicked on the search on Wyatt first. It brought up a selection of 40 pictures to look through. The search on Jasper brought up 38. She sighed and settled herself down comfortably in her chair. This might take a while…

[NotAlice]

(This is where it really would make sense if italics were included xD )

Chapter 6


Piper was confused. She’d spent an hour looking through all the results that she had dragged up on Wyatt and Jasper and surprisingly had found some that looked promising. That was until she opened the full files and read through the dates of birth that were printed on the files. Or more to that, the dates of death.

She’d scrolled through the pages from her search for Jasper first and had come across two that looked just like him except one didn’t have the scar. When she put them next to each other there were very few differences between them. They both had the same cold, silver eyes and matching high cheek bones. She opened the first file and looked through the details that had been provided.

Name: Jasper Finn
Date of Birth: 12/04/1952
Nationality: American
Date of Death: 27/09/1981

According to the first profile he had been dead for the past 23 years, and the second, the one where he had the scar, confused her even more.

Name: Jasper Findley
Date of Birth: 12/04/1970
Nationality: American
Date of Death: Missing! Date of Death unknown

That looks just like him, she thought. She was curious why the two profiles were so familiar in so many ways. The day and month of birth, the similarities in the names, the photographs on the front… they were all so similar.

The search on Wyatt had turned out similarly as well. She had found several results that matched, though some of them she knew she should have just skipped past straight away. She printed out all of the results and laid them on the desk in front of her in order. She had seven results in total. Two of them were so old that they didn’t have photographs only artist impressions and three were in black and white. Only two of them looked reasonably modern though one of them was taken in the 80’s.

Using the profiles Piper laid them all out in order of age and looked at the details inside.

Wyatt Hunter – Born February 11th
Wyatt Huntt - Born February 11th
Wyatt Hunte - Born February 11th
Wyatt Hunton - Born February 11th
Wyatt Hunting - Born February 11th
Wyatt Huntman – Born February 11th
Wyatt Hunt - Born February 11th

7 identical first names, 7 very similar second names, 7 identical birthdays with 7 damn near identical photographs attached.

The most recent one, Wyatt Hunt, was still alive according to his records, and the photo attached was the Wyatt she knew right down to the small scar that was just faintly visible through is left eyebrow. She’d never taken much notice of it in person, but seeing it on paper like this is seemed to jump straight to the front of her mind.

“What’s all that?” Piper glanced up sharply. Ryan stood next to her again with two cups of coffee in his hands. God he was a star.

“Results on Wyatt. There’s a pattern here that I really don’t understand.”

He put both cups down on the desk and leant over. His brow scrunched as he read through the profiles she had just spent so much time pondering over.

“That’s not possible…” His eyes went wide. “How can that…”

“I think I need to have another little word with our mystery guy. He always seems to find me, so I guess if I wandered around aimlessly for a while he’d appear eventually.”

Ryan looked down at her, “Be careful out there. We don’t know what we’re dealing with yet.”

“I’ve got a phone and I’ve got a gun. What else do I need?” She smiled reassuringly up at him and he returned it. He stood straight and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “The results on Jasper had a… similar effect. Two results that matched but clashed if you know what I mean. I’m going to go hit the streets before it gets too late.” She stood up and grabbed her coat and shoes.

“It’s already after 11.”

She glanced up at the clock on the wall. She never realised it was that late. She thought it would be about 9 at the latest. She frowned. It’s amazing how time flies when you’re having fun, her mind voice sounded sarcastic. She had to admit, looking through 78 profiles to find the one she needed was not her idea of fun.

“I think I’ll grab something to eat on the way.” She stomach growled at the mention of food, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and that had only been a few bites of toast. She’d had no appetite this morning so most of her toast had ended up in the bin. She supposed it was just from everything that happened the night before.

“Be careful,” Ryan said as she headed toward the door. She turned and smiles at him as she left. The very thought of food made her feel better.

She passed her car when she got outside and was glad to see that both the cars were gone. It’s a nice night, she thought, and walking provides more chance for me to come across mystery guy.

She smiled to herself and skipped on past her car. She’d treat herself to a meal over at Vinnie’s tonight. She was sure she deserved a nice meal for once.

*** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Wyatt smiled when he heard Pipers thoughts as he watched her skip from her building and up the street. From his place on the roof of the building next to hers he had a clear view of her right until she turned left at the end of the street.

So she was looking for him was she? To what did she owe him this pleasure? He had two choices now. The first was to meet her on the street and find out exactly why she was looking for him, and the other was he stayed close but out of sight, listening in for her unguarded thoughts to find out exactly what she wanted him for. In the end curiosity got the better of him, much like Piper’s had won over her before.

Wyatt moved over to the other side of the building and looked to see where Piper was. He could see her coming along past the paper shop and walked across to where the ladder was that would take him down off the roof. If she was on her way to Vinnie’s then she’d pass straight along the top of the road, following the route she was taking now. That meant he could walk up this street and act as if he was heading in that direction to start with. No reason to make her think otherwise, he thought, just make her think today is her lucky day.

He smiled as he walked up the road. He reached the top and turned left, acting like he never saw her as she reached the kerb. He felt the corners of his lips twitch up as he heard her footsteps short behind him, but frowned when he heard them resume their rhythm. She’d turned left down the street he’d just some up from. Goddamn her.

*** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Piper stopped in her tracks as she saw the body move out of the shadows in front of her. She’d been so busy off in her own dazed little world that she never noticed that there was someone coming up the side street until they were right in front of her.

She watched as the light of the street lamp illuminated his face and stopped dead in her tracks. After the last two days she’d recognise that body anywhere. Wyatt…

Without thinking she turned quickly and headed down the side street he had just some up from. She cursed herself mentally. The one man she was out to find and the minute she sees him she turns and runs in the opposite direction. I didn’t run, I simply walked. She didn’t convince herself very well.

She sighed and pulled her coat around her shoulders against the cool night air that bit at every single bit of exposed skin. She wasn’t as happy any more, and all she wanted to do was go home and go to bed. What was Wyatt doing out this late anyway? I was expecting him to be, wasn’t I? He is part of the reason I’m out here in the first place.

She took the back route around to Vinnie’s and made it there a few minutes later than she would have if she’d took the front route. As she made her way over to the door a movement to her right caught her eye and she looked over. Wyatt was still heading this way. Perhaps he was already heading this way. He’s not stalking me. Stop being to over imaginative!

Shaking her head, she breathed in deeply and walked over to the entrance on Vinnie’s. As she pushed open the door a wave of heat rushed out to greet her. She sighed contentedly and let the door swing shut behind her. Warmth. As much as she loved the office the heating in there just wasn’t up to standard, and the atmosphere I Vinnie’s was usually much more lively than that of the office. Especially without Daniel…

She blinked quickly and battled old memories of Daniel back into their box in the back of her mind. Looking around she spotted an empty table in the back corner. Considering it was so late at night, the diner was surprisingly full.

She sat down and the small two seat table and hung her coat over the back of her chair. She picked up the menu and pretended to look through it even though she already knew exactly what she wanted. It was more just a distraction until one of the waitressing staff came over to take her order.

“If this seat taken?” A voice asked from beside her. She sighed and lowered the menu.

“Why do you ask?” She turned to face Wyatt and looking him over. He wore black combats and a leather jacket. The first words that came to mind were ‘Wow! Give me a piece of this man any day,’ She was sure she saw a faint smile on his lips but it vanished before she got a chance to know for sure. She shook herself mentally. There’s no way he knows that I’m thinking inside my head. I’m being ridiculous. His lips twitched again.

“Well seeing as there’s no other tables available and you’re sitting alone, perhaps I’d like to offer you some company.” He bowed slightly, and she raised her eyebrows at his gentlemanly act. It was hard to believe this was the same man that had left her with warnings just a few hours ago.

“You can join me, if you’re willing to answer a few question,” She paused for effect, “Mr hunt,”

His reaction was priceless. His eyes went wide and his mouth opened in a silent ‘O’. He stood up straight and looked at her curiously.

“Hunt, you say? Where is your evidence?”

“Sit down, and I’ll explain.” They’d gone back to sounding like they were reading lines as they spoke, like when they were back in the subway station just without the whispers.

Wyatt smoothed out an imaginary crease in his jacked and sat down on the seat across from her. He leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out in front of him, brushing hers as he did. She fought hard not to move her legs away… or closer for that matter.

“Take it away, Ms Brooks,” He said, his voice all silky ease and charm, “Lead this interrogation, and question your suspect.”

His voice was low and he seemed to watch her from under his dark lashes. Piper’s heart leapt to her throat as the way he spoke almost flirtingly with her, sounding more and more like an actor reciting his lines.

Oh boy, she though, this could be fun.

[NotAlice]

Chapter 7

They sat for a few minutes, just looking at each other. Piper was trying to get a grip on herself, while Wyatt just looked as relaxed as ever, his deep blue eyes fixed intently on hers. After a few minutes Wyatt picked up a menu from on the table and flicked through it, adverting his gaze her. She let out the breath she didn’t know she had been holding and picked up the menu she had been looking at before.

“Hello there and welcome to Vinnie’s Place, how may I help you?” Piper looked up at the blonde waitress. She was young, maybe 19. She had almost white blonde hair pulled back into a neat bun and a dazzling smile that had Piper smiling back at her.

“I’ll have the Calzone pizza and chips please.” Piper smiled at the young waitress.

“Would you like a drink with that Miss?” The girls smile never faded and Piper had to admit she was amazed that she could be so happy at so late at night.

“I’ll have a Pepsi, thanks.” The girl smiled and wrote her order down.

“Anything for you sir?” She turned her attention to Wyatt and held her pen poised over her notepad.

“A red wine will be fine, thank you.” He gave the blonde a quick smile and placed his menu back into the holder at the side of the table.

The young woman’s smile stretched even further as she nodded politely and bopped off back to the door to the kitchen. Piper couldn’t help but smile at her retreating back.

“How did you find out my name? I don’t recall ever telling you it.” Wyatt stretched his arms along the back of his chair and relaxed. Piper looked across at him.

“I searched on the database in the office. For you and for Jasper. I got some rather surprising results back. I don’t suppose you’d like to explain them at all would you?” She sat up in her chair and rested her arms on the edge of the table. He mimicked her actions and leant over the table towards her. She had to resist the urge to move back again.

“What exactly did your results show?”

“Perhaps that would be something easier to show you than describe to you.” She watched him carefully, waiting for any sign that he knew what she was talking about.

“Perhaps,” One side of his mouth turned up slightly and Pipers heart did a funny sort of flip flop. “Am I right to assume you have these search results back in your office?”

She gave him a half smile, “You’d be assuming right.”

“And at what time does your office close tonight?” He cocked his head to one side and studied her.

“It closes when we decide that it closes.” She glanced up sharply and saw the young waitress heading their way, their drinks in one hand and her food in the other. She leaned back in her chair. “Perhaps you can stop round when you leave here. Unless of cause you’re busy that is.”

The young waitress stopped next to their table and placed her food down in front of her and their drinks down too.

“Red wine for you sir and a Pepsi for you miss?” She smiled at each of them in turn. “Hope you enjoy your meal, just give me a shout if you need anything.”

They muttered their thank you’s as she hopped off to the next table and asked for the order of an elderly couple who had just come in. Piper looked across at the others in the diner and smiled slightly as her eye caught on a man who appeared to be in his late teens to early twenties. His eyes seemed glued to the waitress as she flounced around the room. His mouth hung open slightly and Piper could be sure he was going to start drooling. He followed her intently with his eyes.

Turning her attention back to her meal in front of her she breathed in deeply through her nose, sighing at the delicious scent of the pizza before her. She picked up the first piece eagerly and sighed contentedly when she took her first bite. I really need to eat proper meals throughout the day, she thought to herself.

“You must be hungry.” She looked up to see Wyatt leaning back in his chair, a humoured smile on his face and looking as relaxed as ever. “I’ve never seen someone look so glad to taste food in a long time.”

“I skipped breakfast,” She kicked herself mentally at her lame excuse and took another bite of pizza.

“You skipped lunch and dinner too?” He sounded slightly incredulous.

“Yeah, I was a bit busy riding that dreaded subway and getting attacked in dark corners to worry too much about food. I’ve drank plenty coffee though so I don’t need food that much.”

“Food is important.” Was all he said.

“Says the man who’s settled with a red wine and nothing more?” She raised an eyebrow.

“At half eleven at night?” He responded. He has a point…

She didn’t bother to reply, just tucked into her pizza and drank her Pepsi. Wyatt seemed content to just sip his wine as she ate. When she finished she wiped her mouth on the edge of a napkin and swallowed the last mouthful of her drink.

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a few more minutes before the blonde waitress came over to them again. She smiled at them as she picked up her plate and their two glasses, and asked them if there was anything else they wanted. When they told her no she smiled again and bounced off towards the kitchen to get their bill.

Piper looked across at Wyatt who had hardly moved from his position he had taken before. He looked back at her but didn’t speak, neither of them willing to be the first to break the silence between them. The waitress came back and gave them their bill.

“Hang on,” Piper turned to hunt through her pocket for her purse. She found it but when she pulled it out and looked back up the Wyatt was already handing over the money.

“I’ll be right back with our change sir.” She beamed as she turned to go back to the kitchen.

“Keep the change for yourself,” he looked at the name badge on her uniform, “Natalie,”

Her jaw dropped slightly but Wyatt raised his hand before she had time to say anything. He insisted, and eventually she gave in and smiled again, before thanking him and skipping back off to the kitchen.

“Here,” Piper held out the money that her pizza and Pepsi had cost to Wyatt and he just raised his eyebrows. “Take it.”

“Why?”

“Because, I believe in paying people back as soon as possible, rather than leaving it to a later date. Or not getting into situations where I owe people at all.” She still held the money out in front of her.

“You don’t owe me anything Piper. It’s not like I can’t afford to by a lady her lunch. Especially when it’s one who hasn’t eaten all day.” He smiled and lent on the table.

“Are you trying to say that I can’t afford it? Or are you saying I must live in poverty if I can’t even afford to feed myself?”

Wyatt sighed. “I’m saying neither. What I’m saying is that I’m more than happy to spent a bit of money on a woman, whether that be on a meal or something else. I’m am in no way insinuating that you can’t pay for your own food nor am I saying you like in poverty.” His gaze skittered down her body, and seemed to see through the solid wood of the table. She felt her brain turn to mush as he brought his gaze back up to her eyes. “No one could ever accuse you of living in poverty.”

Piper’s heart did a silly little summersault again and she coughed to stop herself from visibly sinking into her seat in contentment. What is it with this guy and making me feel all weird? He’s here on business, I’m on business, that’s all. She took a deep breath.

“Speaking of business, didn’t you have some search results you wanted to show me?” Wyatt gave a half smile again and stood up. Piper followed, but pause with one hand on the back of her chair. We weren’t talking about business work. I mentioned it in my head… and he’s not in my head it’s not possible.

Piper lead the way outside and gasped slightly as the cold night air hit her. The contrast between the two heating conditions came as a shock and she scrunched her shoulders. She heard Wyatt chuckle behind her.

“It’s not that cold out here,” he rested his hand on her lower back and guided her away from the door so the man behind him could get out.

“It is after you’ve been in there for a while,”

He smiled, “Not really.”

Piper led the way back around to her office and opened the door. She stepped inside quickly and held it open till Wyatt passed. She pointed the way through the small door across from the main door and they went inside.

Ryan looked up as they entered and he glanced over Wyatt before looking across to Piper. He asked a silent question in his eyes and she nodded. He stood up.

“Ryan Kernick,” He extended his hand out to Wyatt, who shook it firmly.

“Wyatt Hunt, as I’m sure you already know,”

Ryan chuckled and a ghost of a smile appeared on Wyatt’s face. Piper closed the door behind her and headed over to her desk. She flipped open all of the profiles she had got on Wyatt off the database and laid them open on her desk, facing the centre of the room. She positioned them so that she picture and the name and date of birth were all showing before she turned back round to face the two men who were still standing where she’d left them and making idle small talk.

She cleared her throat just as the talk turned to cars and both men stopped, turning towards her. He caught Ryan’s gaze and understanding sparked in his eyes. He stepped out from behind his desk and guided Wyatt over to where she stood. She watched Wyatt’s face carefully as he neared and waited for his reaction to seeing what she had on the desk in front of him.

She saw his eyes widen slightly and his mouth drop into a silent ‘o’. His shoulders tensed slightly and she was sure she saw the corners of his lips pull together slightly. She looked up at Ryan and gave him the barest hint of a nod. He nodded back.

“Anything you’d like to tell us Mr Hunt?” His voice was low and void of emotions, his usual voice he took on when questioning someone. He stayed slightly behind Wyatt and in line with the door. It was a technique they’d perfected long ago. One in front and one behind, one blocking the nearest exit and the other consuming the space in which they stood. It hardly ever failed them.

Wyatt straightened his back and his face turned oddly neutral. Cold even. He kept his gaze on hers even as he answered Ryan’s question.

“I don’t know what you want me to answer to. Perhaps you should make that a little bit clearer.”

Piper’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly and she gave him a cold smile.

“Well let me explain,” She picked up the printouts from on her desk and flicked through them, “Wyatt Hunter, born February 11th. Wyatt Huntt, Born February 11th. Wyatt Hunte, Born February. 11th. Wyatt Hunton, Born February 11th. Wyatt Hunting, Born February 11th. Wyatt Huntman, Born February 11th. Wyatt Hunt, Born February 11th. Is it just me or is there a bit of a pattern forming here?”

His eyes seemed to bore holes through hers but she stood her ground and stared back just as fiercely.

“And look at the photo’s that come with them too. That would be a mighty coincidence if so many people looked so exactly the same with such similar names and matching dates of birth.”

“And what if it all is just a coincidence?” He stared at her and she refused to buckle under the weight of it.

“We both know that’s not true, so why don’t you give us the true version of the story and cut the crap.”

Wyatt’s smile was bitter sweet and Piper felt her heart beat just that little bit faster. Ryan was looking at her, and waiting for his reply.

“Sorry,” he said, “I’ve got places to be, and a murderer to catch.”

He stepped backwards and turned, breaking their eye contact.

“We found similar results on the search for Jasper. Care to explain those?” He stopped abruptly and turned. “Jasper Finn born 12th April 1932, died 27th September 1961. Jasper Findley born 12th April 1970, date of death unknown. Missing.”

“What are you?” Ryan asked, scrunching his face slightly as he tried to figure out how all the pieces fit together. “Some kind of thing that rebirths? The human phoenix?”

Piper couldn’t help but laugh quietly to herself. She grinned then said “Or a vampire,”

She stopped grinning and her face blanked. She stared at a mark on the wall across from her and her eyebrows scrunched together slightly. That almost makes sense, she thought to herself, except from the part that vampires aren’t real…. Are they?

She looked back up at Wyatt who was in the middle of the room now. A flicker of something sparked in his eyes and he gave Piper a grin that was almost a grimace.

“Or are they?” He asked. He held her gaze for a few more seconds before turning sharply and leaving the room.

[NotAlice]

(Here's a long one)

Chapter 8


Piper screamed and sat up straight, her hands planted firmly on either side of her and sweat running down her face. She took a few deep shuddering breaths before rubbing her eyes and glancing at the clock. 04:53 it read. She groaned and flung of the covers. There was no point trying to sleep again now.

She made her way into the kitchen and made herself a coffee then sat down at the small table. She clasped her hands firmly around her cup, even as the heat burnt her hands. Staring down into the swirling hot liquid in front of her she thought back to the nightmare that had woken her.

She had been standing in the middle of Vinnie’s place, and it had been deserted and abandoned. Most of the windows had been smashed and the door hung loose on its hinges, a thick dust coating every surface. A noise behind her had caused her to turn sharply and she found herself staring into the face of Wyatt. His eyes were red and blood shot and his lips stained with blood. His face was pallid and his skin was pulled taut against his high cheek bones. Piper screamed and reeled back, only to hit something solid behind her. Turning, she found herself in the grasps of Jasper and his bloodshot eyes stared hungrily into hers, holding the promise of a death long and painful.

She tried to run, only to find Wyatt directly behind her, and sofas on either side of her. She panicked and looked around her, finding herself in the study of Charlton House with hundreds on faceless figures stood, fire burning around them as they laughed, drinking the sweetness of her fear. Hands grasped at her and she struggled against them, flailing helplessly as she tried to escape the inhuman grasps of her captors.

She’d woke screaming as a set of elongated teeth came towards her neck, the tips just about to puncture her skin as she’d sat up. She struggled to tell herself it was just a dream, but truth was, she didn’t even know what was right and what was real anymore.

Questions still invaded her mind and beat about inside her skull. How had Wyatt responded to something she’d said inside her head? She paused suddenly and thought back to when she had first seen him through the window when she was in Charlton House. He’s spoken to her then, told her to get out. But it was all in my head… she groaned and put her head in her hands. None of this made sense. How could someone be able to read minds? How could they have a conversation with someone inside their minds? Was it actually possible, for vampires to exist?

Taking a sip of coffee her plan came to mind. Next time I see him I’ll ‘project’ my thoughts to him and see if he answers and how. Perhaps if I do it sneakily? Like if I start talking normally for a while and then just suddenly change to telepathically…

With her plan set, she gulped down a few more mouthfuls of coffee and headed to the bathroom for a long cold shower. She couldn’t wait to get her day started now.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Just as Piper walked in through the first set of doors at the office she heard the phone ring on the opposite side of the doors in front of her. She opened the second door into their main office area just as Ryan picked up. She made her way over to her desk and turned on her computer, lounging back in her chair while she waited for it to load.

“She’s what?” Ryan said into the phone, “How come you didn’t report this yesterday? ... I see…”

Piper’s curiosity got the better of her and she stood up. She went over to the coffee machine and poured them both a cup of coffee and listened to the next part of Ryan’s conversation.

“We’ll need to know what she looks like. Will you be able to email us a photo of her?” He paused for a few seconds before telling the person on the other end of the phone his work email address. Who’s gone missing now? Piper wondered.

She walked over and placed his coffee on the desk in front of him and sat on the edge. He looked up at her and nodded his thanks before responding to the conversation on the phone again.

“Yes of cause, no problem. We’ll make it our main priority. Have you contacted the police with this yet? … Ah, alright. It would probably be a good idea to get them involved- … Yes, yes I see that-” the person on the other end of the phone cut him short again, “Yes. Just send us the email then and we’ll see what we can do… Yes. I’ll let you know when we have anything… Goodbye.”

He put the receiver down and sighed, rubbing his eyes and stretching back in his chair.

“Who’s missing?” Piper asked.

“Jayla Bronte. Kathryn’s daughter. Apparently she never made it to her friend’s house the other night. They didn’t call in with it yesterday because they wanted to wait and see if she’d come home on her own first.” He rolled his eyes, “I mean, seriously. It’s your just-been-murdered daughter’s six year old daughter. Why would you not be concerned at all if she didn’t make it to her friend’s house the night your daughter died? And who in their right mind would choose to ‘wait in case she came home herself?’”

Piper shook her head and stood up. “They’re fools. She could be anywhere by now… anything could have happened to her.”

“They’re emailing a photo of her over for us. They don’t want police involved though.” He picked up his coffee and held it in both hands.

“Why not?” She walked over to her desk and put her coffee down. She glanced around at the screen, then typed her password in upside down.

“Because the girl isn’t in the systems. Her birth was never registered.” He took a long mouthful of his coffee and lent back in his chair.

“Ah…” Piper mimicked his actions, taking a swig of her coffee too. Poor kid. What life is she going to have if she’s not even on any systems? She shook her head slowly and stared into the swirling liquid in her cup.

“How did she get into school if she’d not on the records?”

“She’s home schooled I think.” Ryan frowned.

“Then where’s the friend from? The one whose house she was supposed to be staying at?” Something flashed up on her screen and she went round to the right side of her desk and sat down.

“Kathryn did charity work. Quite a few of the things she did were based on children. Perhaps she’s taken her daughter with her a few times?”

“When no one, not even Louise, knows she has a daughter? How would she fake that?”

“Well perhaps she just needed a babysitter and she left her with a friend who does know about the girl. Or maybe someone else brought her daughter in and just told people she was theirs. That keeps Kathryn’s cover.” He tapped at his keyboard for a few seconds. “Come over here. I’ve got the file with the girl’s photo on.”

Piper went back across to his desk and looked at the picture of the girl on the screen. She was cute. She had big, round, green eyes with long blonde hair that came to almost her waist. She had two little dimples on either side of her face when she was smiling, and her smile reminded Piper of the waitress in Vinnie’s. It was bright and happy and brought a smile to her own face. An image flashed in her mind, of this child alone somewhere, snatched off the streets and left to cower in a dark corner. Her blonde hair a mess and her bright eyes filled with fear as tears fell freely down her cheeks.

The image changed and suddenly Piper found herself picturing a girl very similar to Jayla. Only this one cowered with tears flowing a river down her face. Her hair was mattered and her clothes and hands covered with blood. A scratch ran down the side of her face and her eyes blue eyes held signs of a deep pain and never ending fear. It was an image that had haunted her dreams for years, ever since she had been found there, sitting in the corner of her parents’ bedroom staring at their unmoving corpses on the floor, after giving up on telling them to wake up.

“Piper?” She snapped out of her gaze as Ryan said her name. She blinked hard then smiled at him. He asked, “What were you thinking about?

She sighed. She knew he’d ask, just was just holding to the hope that he didn’t. “I just got an image flash of her alone somewhere…”

“And then you saw yourself in the bedroom?” He reached over and placed his hand on top of hers.

“Yeah,” She cast her eyes down and worried her bottom lip between her teeth. Ryan squeezed her hand and she looked up again after a few seconds. “I’m alright. What’s our plan of action involving Jayla? How do we work this?”

“I have no idea,” He frowned, “Perhaps we should start by going to the place that she was last seen, which would be at the end of the street where her friend lives.”

She nodded and stood up and Ryan followed. “Does she live near King Street or Serrian Avenue?”

“Next street round from Serrian. It can’t be missed apparently.”They headed to the door.

*** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Piper and Ryan spent a few hours scouting the streets around where Jayla was meant to be going, gradually moving out to cover the land around. They’d given up on looking through the streets and asking the neighbours if they’d heard or seen anything and eventually headed towards the small play park not far from where they were. On the far side of it was a wooded area with a stream through the middle. They split up and headed out to search the woods for any sign of people passing through, anything out of place, and any signs of a struggle.

Their search had proved a waste of time and in the end they admitted to themselves that they weren’t going to find anything around there. Next stop: Vinnie’s Diner to pick up lunch.

When they’d got back and had found somewhere to park Ryan headed around to Vinnie’s to grab some food to take back to the office and Piper had headed straight inside. It was only on the way back that she had remembered the flashing message on her screen that she’d been distracted from. She’d told Ryan that she needed to check something and she’d see him when he got back.

What she didn’t expect to find though, was a certain dark haired man standing by her desk when she arrived. How did he get in here?

“What are you doing?” She asked, stopping just inside the doors and observing him as he looked at something on her desk. He wore jeans and a shirt today, looking smart yet casual, and every bit as sexy as he had every other time she’d seen him over the last few days.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” He looked up at her and gave her a half smile and her pulse quickened slightly. He picked up a paperweight that was on her desk and looked at it closely. “It’s pretty.”

She gave an almost laugh and walked over to him, taking the paperweight out of his hands and placing it back on her desk. “It’s also very precious and I’d rather keep it in one piece.”

Wyatt raised an eyebrow. “You think I’m going to break something of yours?”

“I’m not saying that, just saying that I’d rather it didn’t happen because it is a possibility.” She walked around her desk and sat down.

She clicked at her mouse a few times to get it to load up again and sat back in her chair while it did.

“I take it never received my email this morning?” Wyatt crossed his arms across his chest and stood by the window and alternated his gaze between her and the alley outside.

“We got called out. That’s what I’ve come back to check.” She clicked on the new email button and waited for it to load. She could see Wyatt watching her out of the corner of her eye. When it loaded she scanned through it quickly.

Piper,

I received news from the people I work for last night that a black van with fake number plates was seen along near King Street two nights ago. They say that they snatched a young girl off the street corner of Serrian Avenue and put her in the back of the van. There were two men there both wearing all black with their faces covered. When they heard my report of the dead woman you found inside Charlton House they did their own investigation into who she was. They’ve managed to link the missing girl with the dead woman and it’s my assignment to find her.

I know this links in well with your case, and I’m sure you’ll be getting a call from the grandparents soon anyway. If you like, I can meet you this afternoon and we’ll trade information on the missing girl. Two is always better than one in case such as this which are of such importance. If you’re free late let me know.

I look forward to seeing you again.

Wyatt

She reread through it a few time. ‘The people I work for?’ she frowned, how do they know all this? How did they know it was fake plate? How come they didn’t follow up on the van themselves? … Why didn’t he tell me this last night rather than waiting till today?

“Because I didn’t find out till today,” She looked up sharply. He was still watching her and caught her gaze when she looked up.

“How do you keep doing that?” She asked.

“Doing what?” He looked out towards the window again and smiled. Doing this?

How do you do it? Well this was certainly easier than tricking him as she had originally planned to do.

Telepathy.

How? Why? She frowned and looked down at the table in front of her.

It’s part of what I am… who I am. She looked up at him again just in time to see the reflection of his grimace in the window.

“And what exactly is that?” She switched back to voice, wondering whether he’d notice. He didn’t. Or if he did he showed no sign of it.

You already know.

“No I don’t.”

“You figured it out last night.” He looked back at her, his dark obsidian eyes staring into her green ones, almost challenging her to say what she thought. She kept her gaze oddly neutral as she stared back at him.

Vampire.

His smile was almost a grimace again and she dragged her bottom lip through her teeth. He walked over to her and placed his hands on her desk, leaning over towards her. She was sat with her chair pulled quite close to the table, and she had to resist the urge to move back.

“Are you scared?” He kept his gaze locked on hers and she couldn’t dare her eyes away from his.

“No,” She placed her arms on the edge of the desk and leant towards him to pre her point. She couldn’t deny she was curious, sceptical. How could vampires be real? How could this man in front of her right now be one of the blood sucks that she’d read about in so many stories.

“You surprise me, Piper.”

She smiled. “How can you be a vampire? I don’t understand...”

“Just as you can be a human. Just as a wolf can be a wolf, a demon a demon.” He gave her a twisted smile. “So, what do you say to we trade some information? Two eyes are better than one.”

“Ryan is looking into this also,” She grinned.

“Well three eyes are better than two,” He gave her a cheeky smile and she glanced back at her screen.

“You said you had information,” She quickly changed the subject, “What do you know?”

It was at that moment that Ryan decided to appear. He stopped just inside the door, looking from Piper to Wyatt and back again. Wyatt stood up straight and Piper leaned back in her chair, frowning.

“What’s going on?” Ryan placed the bag of food down on his desk.

“Wyatt has information on the missing girl I believe he wants to share.” She caught his eye meaningfully and he looked back.

“I believe what I said was I wanted to trade information, not just tell you what I know and leave. This is my investigation.” He crossed his arms again, his expression neutral.

Ryan raised an eyebrow, “This is our investigation. Marshal and Anita contacted us. So I don’t know what’s made you think this case has anything to do with you.”

“Perhaps the fact that I’ve been searching for Jasper longer than you’ve been alive? The people I work for have told me to find this child, and I intend to see her found.” His phone chose that minute to ring, and he turned back to the window as he answered it.

Ryan pulled the food out of the bag on his desk and gave hers to her. He went back and sat down at his desk and started to tuck in. Piper could see his eyes watching Wyatt though, as he listened in to his conversation. She left her food untouched and just sat listening to Wyatt’s low voice as he talked to the person on the other end of the line.

“Where at?... Yes I remember it… The same van? You’re sure?... What’s it doing there? The docks are miles away… Was Jeremy in that area beforehand?... Yes… Yes… I’ll head that way now Angelyna… Yes. Goodbye. I’ll keep you informed.”

Piper was up and on her feet before he’d even hung up the phone. She left her food abandoned where it was and grabbed her coat. She grabbed her things and started stuffing them in random pockets and saw Ryan trying to grab a few more bites of lunch as he grabbed his things.

She turned just as Ryan threw his lunch wrapper in the bit and started round his desk. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned quickly.

“What are you doing?” Wyatt asked. He kept his hand in place as he looked down at her. She found herself unable to look away from his dark blue eyes and the swirling patterns that seemed at flow around the blueness. His pupils seemed dilated, and his face more tense than usual.

“Going to the docks, what does it look like?”

“No, this was my call out-”

“No! You came here asking for a trade of information about this case, therefore why should we tell you anything if all you’re going to do is run off on your own and do it your own way?”

He opened his mouth as if he was going to talk but closed it again a few times, but eventually settled for licking his bottom lip before pressing it between his bottom teeth and upper lip.

“Come on,” Ryan opened the door. “Take both cars. I’ll go in mine. Wyatt, go with Piper.”

She watched his retreating back and turned back to face Wyatt. They stood just looking into each other’s eyes from a few seconds before he blinked slow and hard, and brushed past her out of the door. She rolled her eyes slightly and spun, locking the doors on her way out.

Wyatt was standing next to her car when she got out, and he climbed straight in when she clicked the unlock button. They drove in silence for a few minutes before either of them spoke. Not surprisingly, it was Piper who broke the silence between them.

She had been watching him as she drove, noticing the way his hands seemed clenched at his sides and his face looked drawn.

“What’s wrong?” She asked. He looked over at her quickly.

“I haven’t eaten, and the sunlight is still at an uncomfortable level.”

“So, what vampire myths are actually true?” Piper had to admit she was honestly curious on this one. It wasn’t like it was everyday a girl met someone who claimed to be a vampire.

“Doorways for one. Holy water for another. Silver. Wood… Sunlight.” He had a humoured look on his face.

“Doorways? How did you get into the office then?”

He didn’t try to repress his smile at her question. “Your office is classed as pubic property, meaning I can enter it. However Charlton House was private property so I could not enter.”

Piper thought about it for a few seconds before asking another question. “What about sunlight?”

“Fledglings can’t go out it in at all. The slightest glimmer of it can burn them to ash. The older the vampire the more resistance they have to the sun. I can’t go out between 11 and 2, and depending on the weather depends on whether that time varies.”

“So how did you get to the office? You were there before 2.”

“The cloud cover. It allowed me to be out in the sunlight for a limited amount of time. The clouds have cleared a bit now so I’ll likely have sunburn. Uncomfortable but survivable.” He looked out of the passenger’s side window.

“And silver?” She asked. She kept glancing across at him as she drove. His hands had relaxed slightly but he still looked tense.

“Can kill if not removed immediately. Silver and wood wounds heal at a human pace, while other wounds can heal over night or in a day or two. We form resistance to both the older we get. Wooden stakes can kill. Contact with wood in general can cause blisters and burns.”

“And holy water?” Piper’s head was spinning from all this new information.

“Is useful on fledglings especially. It can burn and temporarily blind. It’s good to have on you. It’s effective against black magic and demonic entities as well as vampires.” Humour flashed in his eyes as he saw her shake her head and breathe out slowly.

“Demons and witchcraft? Werewolves? This day gets better every minute.” She bit at her lip for a few seconds before asking, “What about garlic? Does that affect you? Mirrors?”

“Well I have a reflection and garlic is just an annoying smell but it certainly causes no side effects.” He paused and smiled, “Ask it. I know you’re just dying to.”

She smiled despite herself and asked what she knew he was on about. “What do you eat?”

The ghost of his smile as still on his lips as he looked her straight in the eye and answered telepathically. Blood.

*** *** *** *** *** *** ***

When they arrived at the docks Ryan had already parked up in a small car park just around the corner from the docks. They caught up with him quickly. He looked at Piper first and held her gaze before giving Wyatt a piercing look.

“Where did they see the van?” he asked.

“It pulled up near a boat called the Lady Kelley. Two men appeared to be loading a series heavy crate onto the deck. They’ve been backwards and forwards a few times collecting crates but it only takes them about 10 minutes to get wherever they go to and back.” He walked past Ryan to the edge of the building they were behind and looked across at the various ships in the dock. There must have been at least 40 to 50 ships here in this vast expanse on sea.

Do you know roughly where the Lady Kelley is docked at? Piper asked silently. She moved up alongside him and looked out over the lines of ships that filled the dock.

No. He looked up and down the row of ships for a few seconds and said, “I suggest we split up. Two go one way and one goes the other.”

“I’ll take the left and you two take the right. Piper, call me if you find it.” Ryan walked out past them and headed down, and turned left.

“Come on,” Piper followed after Ryan and glanced back to check Wyatt was following. They walked along to the right, reading the names on the side of each ship on the way.

“It would have been much quicker if the two of you went together.” She looked up at him but he was staring at the nearest ship.

“He doesn’t trust you. And you most likely would have gone off and got the girl yourself. You wouldn’t have told us you found the ship till afterwards.”

“Wrong, most ships are classed as private property. I couldn’t board anyway.”

“Then what was the point of the person on the phone telling you to come here? So you could stand there and tell them ‘please don’t take that little girl anywhere’? ” Piper rolled her eyes and kept walking and reading.

Wyatt didn’t respond just continued walking, his expression shuttered. They walked in silence for a few minutes with their gazes glued to the stern of each ship. Name after name flashed before them: The Belladonna Rose, The Midsummer, Aphrodite’s, Iris Lakey, Madam la Pandora, Phoebe Sweet, Hawkens…the list was endless.

Something caught Pipers eye and she sped up. She could just make out the swirled golden with the letters ‘lley’ on and she was sure it was the ship they were looking for. The nearer she got the more she could see of the name. She could hear Wyatt quickening his pace behind her to keep up as she pulled out her phone to call Ryan. He answered on the first ring.

“Lady Kelley in sight. Start heading this way,” She heard his gruff reply and hung up. She kept walking until she was right in front of the ship. The Lady Kelley it read. The gold paint was starting to peel slightly and some of it was slightly faded. But the ship itself was an absolute beauty. It was hard to believe that something this beautiful could be hiding such a dark secret on board.

There was no black van in sight Piper was relieved to see, but she could see the tracks on the dock of where it had been. They must have to get more boxes, she thought to herself.

“In that case you’ll be best getting on now and having a scout around before they come back.” Wyatt walked past her and looked the ship from the other side. “Here, climb on over this part.”

Piper walked over and looked up. “Give me a boost up then,”

With a bit of help from Wyatt, she found herself standing on the deck of the boat. She couldn’t see any crates, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t any. Does this mean you can’t get on here? She asked.

No, but I think I can get on the one next to us. It’s a cruiser I think. I can watch from on there.

Piper headed across to the cabin and pulled a glove out of her jacket pocket and put it on. Her other hand she kept around her gun, just under her jacket. Can you… hear heart beats? Or is that just a myth?

She opened the door slowly with her gloved hand, pausing and listening for any sound from within. When she heard nothing she edged in further, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness.

No, it’s not a myth. There’s a very feint heartbeat coming from below. Can you see anything that looks like a hatch? You need to find the way down inside.

She looked around and frowned. I think so. She made her way over to where the corner of a mat lay scrunched up. She pulled it back carefully and graced the outline of the hatch with her fingers. There was a large brass pull ring that was cold to touch. She pulled it back slowly and winced as it squeaked loudly.

An amused chuckle ran through her thoughts. Tread carefully down there. Let me know what you see.

She pulled out the small penlight that she had in her pocket and shone it down. It was quite a wide opening, and ladders running down both sides. She sat on the edge and carefully lowered hers self down so her feet were on the rungs of the ladder on her side. She kept her elbows bent as she stepped forward and placed one foot on the opposite ladder. She grasped hold of it with one hand then moved her other foot over. She managed to snag the corner of mat and pull it over, not bothering to shut the hatch. If anyone took a quick glance in they would see nothing out of place. They’d have to be looking carefully to notice the hatch was open underneath.

She started down slowly and held her penlight firmly between her teeth. Her head was down as she checked that the rungs were all in place on the ladder. When she reached the bottom she stepped off and used her penlight to scan through the darkness beyond. I see boxes. Lots of boxes.

She walked over to nearest and bent to examine it carefully. She placed her fingers under the bend and pulled. It came up easily and she looked inside. There were what looked like lots of mugs wrapped in bubble wrap. She eased the lid back down and moved on to look in another box. She looked a couple of crates but in all of them all she found was china and antiques.

Head towards the very back. The heartbeat seems to be coming from there. She wondered what Wyatt was doing on the other boat. She imagined his pacing along, listening to her footsteps as she moved.

Piper made her was over to the back of the ship and looked bent to open the first crate. It wouldn’t budge. It doesn’t open… you think this could be it?

All the crates with chinaware in had opened easily, she found it hard to believe they’d leave just one sealed. She dug through her pocket to see what she had that could help her get the crate open. She found her keys and decided to give it a shot. She wedged them into the crack and wriggled them. When she heard a small pop she moved her key over to the other side and did it again. She repeated this a few more times until the top came loose.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Slowly, she lifted the lid and shone her light down.

There, in the crate, her eyes closed and her skin pale and dirt covered, was Jayla Bronte.

[NotAlice]

Chapter 9


I found her! Piper felt at the small girls’ neck. Her skin was cold, but her pulse was still there. Her blonde hair hung limp and lifeless, her full lips tinged with a hint of blue. She lay curled up in the small space. He knees faced to one side, her hips to the side but her back flat on the bottom. One hand was next to her head and the other lay flat on her stomach.

Can you get her out? The black van is on its way back. Ryan is heading your way now.

Her heart clenched in her chest. If they found her…

She put her arm behind Jayla’s neck and shoulders and raised her up slightly. She didn’t react, just stayed limp in Piper’s arms. Piper placed her other arm behind her knees and very gently raised her out. She rested her on her knee and quickly closed the top of the crate over again. She lifted Jayla again and struggled to her feet.

She carried Jayla over to the bottom of the ladder and paused. How was she supposed to carry her up a ladder?

Piper took a deep breath. Wyatt? How do I get her up?

Ryan is on his way.

She hoped he hurried. She grasped the sides of the ladder with both hands and very carefully tried to step up to the rung. She shimmied her hands up even further and took another step, and another. She’d only gone about a third of the way up when she started to slow down. Her arms were aching with holding the weight of Jayla in front of her.

“Piper?” She looked up and saw Ryan at the top of the hatch. He shone his torch down and she flinched at the brightness of it.

“Help, I can’t hold her much longer,” her voice sounded strained as she struggled to keep her arms locked in place. Ryan swore softly and swung himself down onto the ladder opposite her. When he reached her he put one foot on the side of the rung above where her feet were. He wrapped his arm around Jayla’s torso and Piper helped him keep his balance as he lifted her frail body over his shoulder. He nodded to her and began to climb one handed. Piper flexed her arms quickly to get some feeling back in them and hurried up the rest of the rungs.

She climbed out at the top and knelt, waiting till he reached the top. Ryan steadied himself over the two ladders and together they lifted Jayla out.

Hurry, Wyatt’s voice sounded urgent. They’ll be coming round the corner in about 30 seconds. You need to get out of there now.

Piper flung her arms around Jayla again and half ran with her out side. She tried to keep low as she entered the deck. Her eyes started to water with the sudden intensity of the sun.

“Quickly, bring her to the edge.” Wyatt said, standing leaning over the edge of the ship next to the one she was on. She hurried over to where he stood and let him take Jayla from her. When he had a hold of her he leaped back quickly to find his balance. “Jump,”

She glanced back to see Ryan close the door of the cabin silently and hurry towards her. She took a few steps back and ran towards the edge. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly as her feet left the ground. Time seemed to stand still and her heart clenched at the thought of not making it across. What if she was seen?

Arms wrapped around her shoulders and a voice whispered in her ear, “Shh, you’re here. You made it.”

She felt herself shaking and her knees gave way. The arms around her only lost their grip for a few seconds before they pulled tight around her again and she felt her back pressed against a muscular chest. She stayed there for a few minutes till her breathing had begun to return to normal. Thank you.

“We need to move or we’ll be seen,” Wyatt whispered, not letting her go. “Stay low to the deck and crawl over the cabin and get behind the far side. I’ll grab the child, don’t worry.”

He released her and moved across to Jayla. She grabbed at Ryan’s sleeve and dragged him along with her as she crawled towards the cabin where Wyatt had said to go. She could hear voices from the men who were boarding the Lady Kelley and it only stirred her to move faster.

She crouched around the side of the cabin and saw Wyatt pick up Jayla. She tried to wave to him to get lower down because one of the two men was on the deck of the other ship but he wasn’t looking at her. She bit her lip. If they saw him…

Wyatt’s figure blurred and came flying towards her. She gasped sharply and brought her hands up to cover her mouth. He stopped in front of her and lay Jayla down carefully. Piper moved towards the girl, and Wyatt moved to where she had just been and stood, peering around the corner watching the two men on the opposite ship.

She felt Jayla’s skin and pulled her hand away quickly when she felt how cold she was. She quickly pulled her jacket off and wrapped it around her small, fragile body.

“They shouldn’t take too long to do whatever it is they’re doing. I suggest when we get out of here as soon as possible. She needs warmth, and you need to get in touch with the grandparents to say she’s been found.”

Piper snorted softly. What this child needed was a visit to the hospital, and she’d be damned if she didn’t take her just because the grandparents didn’t want anyone to know about her. The child had a right to get the help she needed. And if that help she could only get from the hospital then go to the hospital she would.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

The journey to the hospital had been uneventful. Ryan had agreed that making sure Jayla was okay was first priority over what the grandparents wanted, and Wyatt agreed to drive there, so Piper could stay with Jayla in the back. She had started to stir halfway there but had fallen back into sleep. She looked so young. Piper sat in the back seat opposite to where Wyatt was with Jayla’s head on her lap. She stroked the young girls’ hair out of her face and tried to put some warmth into her. The journey had been made mostly in silence, apart from the odd ‘can you turn the temperature up a bit?’ and ‘turn it back down a bit.’

When they got to the hospital Wyatt carried Jayla whilst Piper explained the basics of the situation to the woman behind the desk. They had been taken through to a small ward and asked to wait for a few minutes until the appropriate nurse came. Wyatt laid Jayla on the bed and stood just off to the side. Piper sat down next to her on the bed and held her hand. She looked to small against the vast whiteness of the bad. She looks like an angel, she thought. The light reflected off her blonde hair and her skin seemed to get a bit more colour in it. She looked peaceful, and if it wasn’t for the dirty and grime covering her, she would look completely normal. Like she was sleeping.

She’s like a china doll. She glanced over at Wyatt. He stood motionless, watching the young girl as she lay in a bed that towered around her.

“Hello there. I’m Anne.” Piper and Wyatt looked around to see a nurse enter the room. She was short and had red-ish hair. Wrinkles lined her chubby face and her eyes held a smile that showed the smile on her face was genuine. She gave off a motherly feeling and Piper felt herself relax a little, knowing that this woman would do everything she could for the child that lay on the bad. “Not this much be the little cherub I was told about. Oh, she’s such a sweetie isn’t she? Now, what happened love?”

The question was directed at Piper, and she happily responded, telling this nurse the same story she told the secretary on the desk when she first came in. The smile faded from the nurse’s face and Piper knew exactly what she was thinking. How can someone do something like that to a child who has done no wrong?

“Well, let’s see.” She walked over to the bed. Piper stood up and moved away. “Oh no love you’re fine where you are. Let’s see. Has she woken up yet since you’ve been with her?”

“No. She began to stir slightly in the car on the way but she never fully became conscious.” Piper moved around and stood next to Wyatt. He looked down at her and she looked up at him. She held his gaze for a few seconds before turning back to the nurse.

“I don’t think she has any physical injuries. I’m going to wash her off and get all this mud off her, and then I can have a proper check. I think the most we’ll find here are a few bruises. Most of the damage for this little sweetheart is going to be psychological.” Anne walked over and opened a little cupboard under a small sink at the back of the room. She took out a metal bowl and a bag of cotton wool. She squirted some antiseptic liquid into the bowl and turned the water on and left the bowl to fill up.

“If what’s happened to her isn’t traumatic enough finding out her mother has been murdered sure will be.” Piper muttered.

Anne turned quickly and stared open eyed. “Her mother’s dead?”

“Yes, she was killed the night that Jayla went missing two nights ago. She doesn’t know yet.” Piper bit her lip as her gaze when back to the small, innocent girl on the bed. Her heart went out to her completely. She knew exactly how it was. She had only been about Jayla’s age when her parents were murdered. She had spent two days sitting in that room, staring at their unmoving corpses on the floor and begging them to wake up. She had watched as their skin got paler and colder, as death took its toll on them. She stared into her mother’s eyes that stared coldly out at her the scars of her fear forever staring out at her.

Her dad’s face had been scrunched, the pain of the last moments of his life etched onto his face. His mouth had hung open in a silent scream and his eyes had been squeezed shut, even in death. His scream of pain was not only a result of the knife that was being stabbed into his back, but the pain of seeing his wife’s excruciating pain as she screamed from the knife that had been plunged down at her again and again and again, deep into her stomach. Run, he’d yelled. Run fast! Hide.

She had run and hid, locking herself in the walk in wardrobe where all her parent’s clothes were kept. She had stared out at the events that were unfolding in front of her, the screams of her parents echoing throughout the darkness. She had sat, curled up in the corner by the door staring out her hands pressed tightly over her mouth to stop her screaming out in a fear of her own. She had bit down so hard on her hand that the scars could still be seen even now.

When the three men who had murdered her parents had finally stopped stabbing their knives into every bit of flesh they could find they left, not bothering to look for her. They had run from the house and she had heard their car as they drove away. She had stayed in the wardrobe for a few hours after that, openly crying, trying in vain to tear her gaze away from the sight that beheld her outside this little piece of safety.

After her tears had begun to ebb and she had stopped shaking she had cautiously opened the door, walking over to where her mother lay unmoving. Mommy? She’d said. Mommy, mommy wake up… I’m scared mommy. When her mother hadn’t responded to her she’d begun to cry harder. Wake up mommy! She’d knelt by her mother, shaking her, begging her to wake. She had hugged her tight, crying I love you mommy! Mommy please!

She’d crawled over to her father and tried the same with him, begging him to wake up. Daddy please mommy won’t wake up. Help her daddy… please. She had stared at her dad and she sat back on her knees, her tears streaming down her face as her breath came in ragged gasps. She didn’t understand. Why wouldn’t they wake up! Didn’t they know she as scared? Why wouldn’t they wake up and hug her? She needed a hug; she needed to know everything was ok.

She had fallen asleep on the floor between them, curled up in a ball in their blood. Why was there so much blood? She had cried herself to sleep that night, telling herself that everything was going to be ok when she woke up.

But it hadn’t been ok. She had woken to find the blood still on the floor, staining her clothes and drying on her skin. Her parent’s skin had been cold and they still wouldn’t wake. Her tears fell instantly, and they never stopped. That marked the way of the day, crying and begging, and the day after. It was on the second day she was found by the police, and it only made her cry more.

[NotAlice]

(As you might have guessed, you just need to guess at where the italics should be =P )
((Adding italics. Might acciently miss some though.))


Chapter 10

Wyatt placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up quickly, startled. She had been so lost in her memories that she had completely lost track of her surroundings and what was going on. She blinked a few times to clear her head and looked around her. Anne was sitting on the side of the bed, gently easing Jayla’s torn and mud covered clothes off her, murmuring sweet nothings to her.

Wyatt squeezed her shoulder gently and she looked back up at him again. There was understanding in his eyes, and hers went wide.

I’m sorry, he said, you were projecting rather loudly, it was hard to not miss.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, turning her attention solely to what the nurse was doing.

It’s ok... she bit her lip again and crossed her arms across her chest, shuddering slightly at a cold only she could feel. I’ve never told anyone what happened that night, not even Ryan. Not in much detail anyway... It’s weird that someone else knows about it.

The hand on her shoulder squeezed softly again and slid over to her other shoulder. He pulled her gently to him and gave her a one armed hug. She closed her eyes tightly to block the tears that were trying to break free and rested her head on his shoulder for a few seconds while she tried to sort her head out. She mentally pushed the memories to the back of her brain and locked them up with chains and padlocks. She saw Wyatt’s bittersweet smile and looked down. She wondered what that just looked like to him, her battling down the inner demons of her past.

They stood in silence as they watched the nurse work. Jayla lay in just her knickers and a small vest top on the bed, her eyes still closed and her face peaceful. Anne worked carefully, dipping balls of cotton wool into her bowl of water and gently cleansing the grime from Jayla’s body. Slowly, her face became clean, and Anne moved down to work on her neck. She still looked so fragile as she lay there.

Like a china doll. Wyatt repeated what he’d said earlier and Piper nodded. He gave a final squeeze on her shoulder and slowly dropped him arm back down to his side. She suddenly felt cold again and she sighed softly.

When the nurse had finished cleaning Jayla back and front, she carefully looked her over. She still muttered sweet nothings to her. When she had finished the nurse tucked her gently under the covers and clipped something onto the end of her finger. It linked up to a machine which she turned on. She fiddled on with some dials for a few seconds until the beep of the machine was faintly more than a whisper. Anne attached a drip into the back of her hand, and then walked over to them.

“She has a few bumps and bruises and she’s dehydrated. I’ve put her on a drip to get some fluids back into her but the best we can do is just let her sleep for now.”

Piper returned the nurses’ smile as Wyatt replied, “What will you do when she wakes up?”

“We’ll make her feel comfortable and safe, and if necessary we’ll let a councillor talk to her about what she’s seen and been through. Our first priority will be to make sure she feels like she is safe here.” The nurse smiled and turned to look across at Jayla, “I’ll need you to fill in a few forms before you leave. Just to say who you are, who she is, and that you consent to us using the necessary treatments on her and allowing her to talk to a councillor if she needs to. We’ll also need contact details so we can get in touch if anything happens.”

“Of cause,” Wyatt nodded.

“What do you advise we do about the grandparents? They didn’t want the police or anyone involved in this because they know it will bring up questions to why her birth was never registered.” Piper looked up at Wyatt, “Do you think they’d try and take her out of here if they knew where she was?”

Wyatt frowned and looked across at Jayla for a few seconds. “It’s possible.”

“Perhaps then you should keep it to yourselves for now, just till we know the little sweetheart will be fine, as I’m sure she will be.” Anne paused, “We really should get police and social services involved since this girl birth wasn’t registered.”

It was Piper’s turn to frown. “Wait until she wakes up and see what she has to say. Ask her about her grandparents too. Wait till she’s sorted her head out a bit before you get them involved. I do agree that someone needs to be told.”

Anne nodded and guided them out of the room to the desk just inside the doors. She gave them two forms and asked them to fill in each one. After that, the nurse left with a smile to go check on her other patients and Piper and Wyatt left, driving in silence back into town.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Piper drove on autopilot. She wasn’t thinking, just doing. She drove around the block a few times to find somewhere to park and headed inside the office, Wyatt close behind her. Ryan wasn’t there when they went in, and the silence between them stretched on.

She sat down at her computer and loaded it up. She spent a few minutes checking through her emails and deleting most of the junk. Just out of curiosity she decided to do a search in the internet about children’s rights. She found herself skimming down until she found the part she was most interested in.

Article 7 (Registration, name, nationality, care): All children have the right to a legally registered name, officially recognised by the government. Children have the right to a nationality (to belong to a country).Children also have the right to know and, as far as possible, to be cared for by their parents.

“What’s that?”Wyatt asked. He was standing on the opposite site of her desk and looking around at the screen.

“It’s a list of children’s rights. I was just curious about what it had to say about children being registered.” She read out what it said and he nodded.

“I suppose those electronic boxes have their uses sometimes.” He lifted his eyes brows quickly before turning and looking at one of the large posters they had on the wall of the office.

“Electronic boxes?” Piper couldn’t help but laugh, “So you’re still living in the dark ages then?”

“No, the dark ages weren’t the most pleasant of ages to live in.” He looked over at her with a boyish smile on his face and she laughed. She heard his chuckle. “I just don’t see the point of them. What’s wrong with a good old book?”

“Books are slow. And you can’t always get what you need from inside a book.” She was still grinning.

“Then you shouldn’t get it at all then. Books are better. Those boxes are just some crazy crackpot invention that is taking the importance out of a good book.”

Piper raised an eyebrow, “Why are you scared of computers?”

“I’m not scared of them.”

“Well what about them bothers you so much?” She leant forward and rested her arms on the desk. His answer was not one she expected.

“The smell.” He kept his back to her as he continued to stare at the posters on the opposite wall.

She laughed, “Computers don’t smell.”

“Exactly.” He turned to look at her, leaning on Ryan’s desk. “Our sense of smell is important. It can bring back memories, make connections between two things. Books smell old, musky. That is a smell that is associated with learning and knowledge. You don’t get that with computers, so how can you use that lack of smell to stimulate your brain into absorbing the information. Smell is important.”

Piper just shook her head, humoured. “That’s crazy. You don’t need a smell to learn something.”

“It helps, really.” He coughed slightly and changed the subject. “Did you see this message Ryan left on his desk?”

Piper’s brows pulled together slightly and she stood up quickly. She walked towards Wyatt just as he picked up the small sticky not that Ryan had left on his desk. She took at from him and read through it quickly.

Piper, just got a call that there’s been another body found. They think it’s linked to the body you found in Charlton House the other night. I’m heading that way now to check it out. Call me for the address if I’m not back. Ryan

She pulled out her phone quickly and dialled Ryan’s number. He answered on the third ring.

“Ryan Kernick speaking,”

“Ryan, its Piper.” She flipped the small piece of paper over between her fingers.

“Piper thank god. I was wondering when you’d call.”

“Sorry, we took a while getting out of the hospital.” She didn’t bother to mention the fact she’d missed his note when she came in. “Where are you?”

“You know where Cherry Lane is? A few blocks from Kenning Road?”

Kenning Road… how could she forget? Images of standing on the corner near the old shop and waiting for Daniel coming down the road to meet her flooded her memories. Kenning Road had been where Daniel had been living since he moved out of his parent’s house, and where she’d often met him when they had first started going out. Later it was where she spent many of her evenings, and many of her nights. She’d only been there twice since he’d died, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to go again.

“Yeah, I know where you mean.”

“It’s the large house on the end where the Carneys lived. In there.”

The Carney’s had been a sweet old couple that had lived their whole lives in Langdon Creek, and were known by all, and loved by many. They didn’t have enemies. A couple of years ago Mary Carney had died of pancreatic cancer. Her funeral had been a big one as most of the town had been there. It had been a nice day. The sun had been shining and the flowers bright. Her husband Frank had died just a few month later of a stroke, which most people in Langden Creek believed was brought on by the heartbreak of losing his wife.

The couple had had no kids, and in their will they asked that their house be passed on to a friend of theirs who they had both known since they were children. The local authorities in Langden Creek had spent ages trying to track down the person in question, years in fact. In the end they found out that she’d been involved in a car accident and had died, but by that time the Carneys had been dead two years, and the house had been taken over by the local wildlife. Most people still remembered and respected the beloved Carneys and their house was left in peace.

“We’ll be there soon,” She told him and hung up.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

They arrived at Cherry Lane twenty minutes later. Ryan was standing outside with Officer Jones and they both looked up as Piper and Wyatt got out of the car. As they walked over to where the two men stood she looked up at the house. The arch over the gate way was tangled with vines that seemed to stretch out to everyone that passed. The garden was a jungle worse than the one outside Charlton House with weeds and flowers battling for space against the mangle of tree roots and over grown hedges. The house itself was covered in ivy right the way up and past the roof. The upstairs windows were intact but the downstairs one she could see had been smashed and a long branch had pressed its way into the room beyond. The front door was open as police officers walked in and out with bags and cameras.

“Not hard to imagine how they might have got in unseen is it?” Wyatt asked quietly from beside her.

“No. Not hard at all.” She cast the house a final look, before stopping in front of Ryan and Jones and giving them her full attention.

 

[NotAlice]

Chapter 11


Officer Jones looked straight at Wyatt and looked him up and down, assessing him. “Who are you?”

“Wyatt Hunt,” He politely extended his hand for Jones to shake, which he did cautiously.

“He’s from out of town. He’s here assisting us on our investigation.” Piper said quickly before Wyatt got himself on Jones’s suspicious list. Go with it, she told Wyatt.

It’s pretty much true anyways isn’t it? His amusement seemed to fill her senses and her hear skipped a beat. God, conversing telepathically felt so good… so intimate. The amusement seemed to increase tenfold and she tried to mentally wrap herself away in a big smothering blanket to hide her embarrassment at her thought. The material seemed to be pulled gently from her like silk and pool in a liquid pool by her feet. Hands seemed to caress her mentally as the image of Wyatt appeared in her thoughts. She gasped and he smiled. The hands continued to caress her face and neck and she relaxed into his touch. He seemed to be everywhere around her, filling every sense.

Intimate? He asked.

Even more so, she gasped, loving the sensation but fearing it at the same time.

There’s no reason to be scared, Piper. His hands ran lazily through her hair, every little movement echoing through her mind making her heart beat faster and her breathing to quicken.

“Ms Brooks are you listening to me?” She snapped back to reality ran her hands through her hair and released the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.

“Sorry, Jones. I’m listening.”

Officer Jones humph’d and turned towards the house. “Very well. This way then.”

She followed after him, ignoring Ryan’s questioning gaze before he turned to catch up. She did not want to explain what just happened.

Perhaps you need to concentrate on reality, Wyatt said, placing his hand on her lower back and guiding her after Jones.

Perhaps you shouldn’t distract me so, she replied, noting that her telepathic voice seemed to sound flirty and fun.

Flirty and fun is good.

She pulled the metaphorical sheets over herself again and concentrated on walking. Wyatt’s soft laughter filled her head again.

How come you hear every little thing that I think? I only hear what you want me to hear.

I’m the one who knows about, and can control my abilities, you’re just discovering yours. He voice went quieter, sexier, I can help you with that if you like.

She inhaled deeply and tried to concentrate on keeping her feet walking in a straight line and she tried to think how to respond. Without meaning it, her telepathic voice suddenly matched his.

And what exactly would that entail? Her awareness of him in her mind suddenly flared full volume and she stumbled.

We’ll have to wait and see now wont we? His mind seemed to wrap around hers, a feeling so intimate that it practically blew her away. His hands balanced on her hips as he guided her into the house.

They followed the two men up the stairs and along the landing. Piper put her full attention into walking in a straight line, rather that thinking of the man so close behind her. It was hard. Even with the distance between them his scent still seemed to fill her senses and surround her.

They were lead into a bedroom at the back of the house. At first it seemed like nothing was wrong. That was until you started to notice the subtle things that looked out of place. The way the bed covers lay twisted, a cup lay on its side on the bed side table, drawers closed hap-hazardously like they’d been searched.

Ryan stood to the side as Piper moved further into the room. The bed was in the middle of the room with a small table on either side. She moved further along to look down the other side of the bed and it was as she moved closer that she started to see the signs that there was something out of the ordinary going on. A dark pool of thick liquid seeped down the end of the bed.

She looked around and closed her eyes briefly. A woman lay on the floor, her body in much the same state as that of Kathryn Bronte when she saw her. One arm was stretched out above her head and a look of fear seemed etched onto her features. Her clothes her torn, and blood seemed to have ooze out from her stomach. Her dark hair was matted with blood, her eyes staring in frozen terror.

“Who is she?” Piper asked. Wyatt stepped up next to her and looked down and the body on the floor. She saw his nostrils flare and looked up at him. You still haven’t eaten have you?

No.

“ID in her top pocket said Laura Hearst. Our records say she’s a kindergarten teacher with a five year old daughter. She’s not married and lives on Kenning Road, a few blocks from here.” Piper’s heart clenched in her chest as Jones gave her the run down.

“Has someone been to her house?”

“Of course. We’re just trying to track down the daughter at the minute, just to know she’s safe. Hearst has no known relatives living here.”

Piper’s gaze shot to Ryan’s and he stared back, his mouth drawn tight and his muscled tense. Jones seemed to sense the silent communication between the two of them.

“What do you know?” He narrowed his gaze and looked between the two of them.

“Kathryn Bronte had a daughter who had just turned six. She’s currently in the hospital. We found her in a crate on one of the ships in the dock.” Her gaze never left Ryan’s. She knew it was necessary to tell Jones about Jayla, even if it went against what Marshal and Anita wanted.

“Why weren’t police informed of this straight away?” His eyes went even narrower.

“Because Marshal and Anita Bronte asked that you not be told. Jayla isn’t registered. I don’t think they want the hassle of having to answer for their daughters’ choice in not having her registered. They aren’t exactly proud of the fact that their daughter was sleeping around. The father is unknown.”

She took a final glance down at the body on the floor in front of her and turned away. She stood just in front of Ryan and Jones and Wyatt stayed near the body.

“Well that changes things doesn’t it? Two dead women and two missing children. We’ll make finding the girl our foremost priority.” He pulled out his walkie talkie and said something into it. “You’ll be searching too no doubt?”

“Of cause. You have a picture of the girl on you?” Piper rolled her shoulders to wake herself up a bit.

“Yes, here,” Jones pulled a photo out of his pot pocket and handed it to her. On it was a picture of a young girl with big, round, brown eyes and a dazzling smile. She had long dark hair that looked at lot like her mothers and her skin held a light tan. Piper smiled. “Her name is Poppy.”

Poppy… It suited her. Piper held the photo out to Ryan but he just shook his head and patted his jacket pocked. She turned around and showed it to Wyatt, who had came and stood behind her again. He took it from her and looked at it.

“We’ll look into,” She said. Jones nodded and turned and left the room. Ryan looked at her and gave her a half smile before nodding slightly and following Jones out of the room. Piper turned to face Wyatt.

I guess we’d better start searching, she said.

I guess we should. Where would you like to start?

I was hoping you’d be able to answer that. She smiled.

Well how about at her house? There may be clues inside that can help us find her. He placed his hand on her elbow and gently steered her out of the room and down the stairs.

That sounds good.

On the way out she shouted over to Ryan to tell him where they were going. He shouted the address back and she thanked him quickly. On the walk over to Kenning Road they didn’t talk much, just the odd comment about something or other out and about.

As they got closer to Kenning Road her feet started to slow down and her pulse started to speed up.

What’s wrong? Wyatt looked down at her.

This is where Daniel lived… Kenning Road…

Daniel? He placed his hand on her back again and steered them around the next corner.

He was my lover and my best friend who worked at the office before I started working there. He was killed on his case a few years ago. Images of her and Daniel flooded through her thoughts again and she sighed. She still missed him, even now when so many years had passed.

I’m sorry, Wyatt said. He slid his hand around to her waist and pulled her to him. She relaxed into him.

It’s alright. I’m just not looking forward to going back to this street. I’ve only been twice since he died- once on the night he died and on the day of his funeral. I’ve never been anywhere near this area since then. It’s… strange being back.

Which house did he live in?

The one next to the one we’re going to… She closed her eyes briefly as she remembered the woman who used to live in that house. She had often seen them entering his house at night, or leaving in the morning. She’d been lovely, always giving them a wink but never spreading the gossip that the two of them were together. She could only imagine what would have happened to her reputation if it had got out.

Her gaze went straight to house 27 as they turned into the top of Kenning Road and her steps faltered. It looked exactly the same as she remembered it, and she could almost force herself to believe that she would walk to that house and Daniels’ bright face would smile at her from the front window as it had on so many occasions. Almost.

Piper? She snapped back to reality at Wyatt’s voice and walked forward. She took in a deep breath and released it slowly as she kept her feet moving in front of her, her eyes fixed on that one house.

She stopped at the house before it and sighed. She closed her eyes and remembered the first time she had come here. She had only been 17 at the time. Daniel had left his case file at home when he’d rushed out to the office that morning, and they’d swung by his house on the way to visit the people who had hired them. He had pulled up right outside and smiled over at her and suggested she come inside with him as he wasn’t too sure where he’d left it and he could be a while. She’d gone cautiously inside and had stood in the front room while he’d run upstairs to search. When he came back down she was facing the window, looking out. He had snuck up behind her a tickled her sides, which led to a game of chase and a pillow fight. They had both looked rather sheepish when they had to explain to Ryan why he’d got a call asking where they were from a rather annoyed local.

Arms wrapped gently around her waist and Wyatt leaned over her shoulder to watch her face. She felt comfortable in his arms, safe, relaxed. She sighed and leant her head back on his chest and listened for his heartbeat. In the few minutes they stood there like that for she only counted seven beats. Your heartbeat is really slow…

I know. It speeds up if I run or do some kind of strenuous activity… or in times of pleasure, his voice seemed to purr, a low rumble that bounced around inside her head and made her dizzy. A deep, sexy chuckle spun around her and she fought to keep herself on her feet. The arms wrapped around her waist kept her securely in place.

You do this on purpose.

Do what? He smiled and rested his chin gently on her shoulder as he watched her.

Make me lose concentration like this. She opened her eyes and looked at him. Their eyes met, and she found herself transfixed, staring into that open blueness, a clear ocean, with battling storm. He still hadn’t eaten and it was beginning to ware on him. Being out in the sun so early in the day wouldn’t have helped him at all. She didn’t look away and nor did he. Time seemed to pass them by in a blur. She found herself getting lost in the deep blue of his eyes, recalling the old phrase; eyes are the windows to the soul. It seemed true here. She could see the turmoil in him as he battled to keep him hunger firmly in check, his anger, presumably at whoever was killing women and stealing their daughters, kept firmly at bay.

Oh God what was happening to her? This man seemed to be turning her to mush just by looking at her. Just with a few simple words her heart was racing and her thoughts dizzy and full of only him. The last time she had been like this was with Chase when she was 14 and she’d been out on the streets. Of cause, that was more due to her desperate hope that she could be loved, if only she believed they loved her too. Chase had never loved her. She’d only ever been a tool to him. She had been blinded by the protection he offered and hadn’t looked past the obvious. If he acted like he cared and told her he loved her then that was all she had needed- the lie to hide behind.

Of cause she had started to see his true feelings towards her when he involved her in so many of his foolish ‘games’. She’d never wanted to be involved in robbing the bank, or breaking into the jewellery store but she had because she had feared losing Chase if she angered him. She’d been so foolish when she was young. She knew that now. In fact she known it from the minute he told her to shoot, to just kill the officer whilst she had the chance.

That officer had been Ryan.

[NotAlice]

Chapter 12


Wyatt kept his eyes on the woman in front of him. She was beautiful. Her ash blonde hair fell in soft waves across her shoulders and her pale skin was luminous in the light from the street lamps. Her bright eyes held a suppressed spark that always seemed to flicker when she thought of the people from her past. He was still trying to figure it out.

He didn’t know how he felt about her, she was fascinating to him. He wanted to get to know her but at the same time he wanted to keep his distance from her. This odd attraction to her worried him. Besides, he was here to work, not play.

He took in the way that her head rested against his chest, and her neck lay exposed. He felt his teeth elongate and he clamped down hard before his vampire surges got the better of him. He should have eaten last night to keep his hunger at bay. It was beginning to reach a dangerous level now, and having this exotic, sensual woman in front of him, her throat bare and her pulse racing, was desperately challenging his control. He’d need to feed soon. Very soon.

He pushed away those thoughts and concentrated on the house in front of him. He couldn’t help but skim over Piper’s thoughts as he did. She was thinking about someone. Someone else who played a significant part in her past, before Daniel. It amazed him when he thought of all the things she’d been through that he knew of, about her parents being murdered, her lover being killed, and now her thoughts seemed to suggest that this someone else who she loved had tried to make her kill someone against her wishes. She’d lived on the streets… It seemed hard to believe.

We should get moving. The voice broke into his thoughts and he jumped slightly. It seemed that Piper wasn’t the only one who was having problems concentrating right now.

Yes, we should. How do you want to work this? He wrapped his arm tighter around her waist without knowing it, only noticing when she gave a small, contented sigh and lent into him. Images of her filled his mind, of her in his arms every day, a dream come true. He could easily picture himself with her tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, and all the days after that, and just that thought sent feeling of trepidation running through him. This wasn’t right. He’d only known her for a few days, only really talked to her today. He shouldn’t be feeling like this at all. He was here to catch Jasper and kill him, not to work on improving his love life. Not like that would ever happen of cause. He was a lone wolf. He kept to himself most of the time, occasionally meeting up with Angelyna for a chat and a drink, but good friends were few and far between for him. He had contacts, and work partners, and necessary information sources, but he never took that next step into becoming friends with anyone. He liked his solitary life, and preferred to keep it that way. The less known about him in the world the better for him.

I think we should just look around and see if we can see anything. Look for notes and addresses, calendars, etcetera. There has to be something in there…

She sighed again and lifted her head. He relaxed his grip and slid round so his hands were just resting gently on her hips. She looked around at him and smiled before gently manoeuvring her way out of his grip and opening the gate in front of her. She walked slowly up the steps and he followed a few steps behind her. She seemed different all of a sudden, almost sad. He remembered all the thoughts that had crossed her mind in the last few minutes. He didn’t blame her for feeling a bit down.

When Piper reached the top step she turned the handle slowly, waiting till it clicked open before pushing it open. He watched her and she moved and the way she seemed to walk into the house with a flawless grace that would make the average woman green with envy. She just seemed to float on the air and glide forward with ease. She had a confidence about her that he knew she wasn’t feeling.

Upstairs or downstairs? She asked him.

I’ll take down stairs. You’re a woman, you know where a woman might keep important things hidden in a bedroom. I’d look under the pillows and in the sock draw and then run out of ideas. He smiled as he sensed her humour. He walked up behind her and stopped just in front of her as she turned around. She jumped slightly at his closeness but relaxed again quickly enough. He put his hands on her waist and turned them around so he was standing her she had been standing, and she where he had. He smiled at her and she smiled back, a humoured glint in her eyes and she shook her head and turned to go up the stairs.

He watched her until she was out of sight, and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He didn’t know what it was about her, but something about her was making it incredibly hard for him to keep his hands off of her.

He looked at what rooms he had around him. There was what looked to be a kitchen straight ahead of him, and a living room area to his left. He went to check the kitchen first.

It was one of those fairly modern kitchens, really spacey but with a lot of stuff crammed in. The benches were littered with everything from old post, to magazines, to cookery books. There were glasses that hadn’t been put back in cupboards and a box of kids chew sweets. A toy doll lay next to the sink. A child definitely lived in this house, and one who was much loved. He started shuffling through the papers on the bench nearest to where he was.

There want much to be found among the piles of bank statements and shopping receipts. He looked on the front of the fridge where some people usually stuck important notes on. There was nothing of interest, just a few cards with hair dressers appointments and school letters. There was nothing in any of the drawers or cupboards either.

Making his way into the living room area the first thing that caught his eye was what looked to be a piece of paper sticking out from under the sofa. He observed it carefully as he walked over. It seemed to be quite a thick paper with some kind of coloured picture on it and black writing. He crouched down in front of the sofa and gently pulled out the paper and un-scrunched it. It was a sheet from a calendar, this month’s in fact.

What is it? He looked over his shoulder and saw only the room behind him. He listened carefully for Piper’s footsteps. She was still upstairs.

He heard a soft laugh in his mind. I think I must be getting the hang of this. I heard you thinking about it. What have you found?

He smiled. It’s a sheet from a calendar for this month. It looks normal. Hair dressers, dentist, birthdays, work meetings… pretty basic stuff.

So there’s nothing written on there saying ‘day I die and my daughter is taken’? Damn, what an inconvenience. There’s nothing helpful up here, just kids toys and a few books lying around. I don’t think we’re going to find anything useful.

He looked up and Piper appeared in the doorway. He walked back over to her and couldn’t help but smile when she yawned. What time did you get up this morning?

At 5:00. I had a nightmare… he saw her muscles tense slightly before she shook her head slightly and mentally shook herself.

No wonder you’re tired then. He looked her over, when was the last time you ate?

He watched her as she thought about it. She was cute when she was confused. He smiled.

Last night in the restaurant I think.

Last night? God, he was surprise she hadn’t passed out due to malnutrition already. He remembered how she’d left her lunch from Vinnie’s on her desk earlier, but why not eat on the way? Or have breakfast? He frowned as he looked at her. You should eat. He lifted his hand and ran his fingers through her hair, his eyes transfixed on the way it seemed to shimmer when the light caught it. Perhaps our next stop from here should be somewhere that involves food?

Perhaps, though I must admit I’m rather tired and sleep sounds much more appealing than food does right now.

You need both. Food first followed by sleep. You’ll make yourself ill if you don’t eat regularly.

You can’t talk. She gave him a cheeky grin over her shoulder and headed towards the front door. He followed her out and but stood in the doorway, watching her as she walked slowly down the front steps with her gaze once again caught on the house next door. He gently prodded at her thoughts to see what memory she was caught up in this time.

She was thinking of her and Daniel again as he expected. They were standing on the top step, his arms wrapped firmly around her waist and hers looped easily around the back of his neck. She smiled as he whispered something to her and leaned up and kissed him slowly. Her grip around his neck tightened and he pulled her closer until she was flushed against him. Behind them, lights flashed in the front window, as a thin coating of snow fell around them. Christmas.

He pulled back from her mind as she sighed and carried on down the steps. “I don’t think we’re going to get much more from here. I’m heading back around to the Carney house to talk to Ryan. Are you coming?” She stopped at the bottom and looked back up at him. It was strange hearing her talking our loud again.

“Yes, I’m coming,” He quickly closed the door and followed her down.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Piper kept her head down as she walked back along Kenning Road and all the way back along to Cherry Lane. She imagined a massive brick wall surrounding her thoughts though she didn’t know if it would actually work. She knew there must be a way to shield your mind against psychic intrusion but she had no idea exactly how to do it. For now, she hoped that an imaginary brick wall would be enough.

As she walked she thought about all that had happened that day. It didn’t feel like it was only today they had found Jayla, so much had happened since then. And now another girl had been taken? This was just great - two dead mothers and two missing daughters. There must be a connection between the two, she just hoped they found it fast.

And what of Wyatt? The way he’d been acting since they were in the hospital… well, it was hard to believe it was just yesterday that he’d been standing in front of her in the subway station, telling her so coldly to back off and leave this case alone. What had changed? Why, in a matter of hours, had he gone from telling her to back off, to emailing her asking to share information, to being here with her now, pretty much a part of their team. She bit her lip. Three of them working together… it reminded her of when Daniel was alive.

She took a deep breath and once again battle the memories of Daniel back into their box at the back of her mind. It was harder that it had been the last time, as she’d been thinking of him so much as she stood outside his house. She fought hard and finally managed to bolt and padlock the box closed, and added an extra few chains and dead weights for good measure.

What did she even feel for Wyatt? She’d only known him a matter of days yet already her pulse was racing at just the mention of his name. It’s just lust, she told herself. Nothing more than simple lust. It’s allowed. He’s a good looking guy and I’m female. I’m allowed to act like a woman every once in a while…

She mentally made her imaginary wall taller and thicker, just in case. As they turned onto Cherry Lane a thought struck Piper randomly.

“Wyatt?” She asked, glancing over her shoulder to look at him. He looked to be deep in thought so she said it again, “Wyatt?”

He looked at her briefly and made a hmm sound. He seemed to be staring at something ahead of them and paying little attention to what was going on around him. His response to her seemed to be purely automatic. She sighed softly and kept on walking. She saw no reason to disturb his thought. He was almost like a sleep walker, and she knew better than to disturb one of those.

She kept on walking towards the gathering of cars at the end of the street. She could see Ryan’s car at the far side and the state medical examiners car too. There were still several police cars parked outside too. There were a few officers out here keeping back the crowd of curious onlookers that had gathered out front, many of which were in dressing gowns and slippers. There was everyone from mothers and their children to teens still in their trackies to workmen who looked too tired to get out of their dirty work clothes.

Wyatt placed his hand on her shoulder and she turned to look back quickly. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong,”

“You said my name. Twice. What do you want to talk about?” He was looking closely at her, his head cocked to one side and his eyes in a half closed state. His mouth hung open slightly and he looked… gorgeous.

Piper took a deep breath and looked down. “I just got a random thought. It’s nothing important.” She went to move forwards again but a pair of hands grabbed her around her waist and kept her in place. Wyatt leant over till he was whispering into her ear.

“I don’t care. Tell me.” The fingers splayed out across her hips and stomach moved in tantalizingly slow circles and making her want to melt back into this man and stay in his arms forever. This was silly of cause. They were both here to work, and this was only lust between them, nothing more.

“I was just wondering how come you sent me that email earlier if you hate computers so much.” She felt silly just for voicing her thought out loud.

“I may not like them, but I’m not completely computer illiterate. I know what I need to know about them and I can use them where necessary.”

“So you do admit they are a useful source for information?” She grinned at him and moved out of his grip, heading towards the house at the end of the street. The pair of them were grinning like idiots.

“I never said that-”

The friendly banter continued on right up until they were inside the house and climbing the stairs to where one of the officers who was just coming out of the house as they were going in said Ryan and officer Jones were. When they fell into the room laughing Ryan and Jones looked up at them, both with their eyebrows raised and identical looks on their faces.

Piper and Wyatt looked from the two men’s faces in front of them and looked at each other simultaneously, and burst out laughing once more. Piper’s knees gave way below her and she collapsed to the floor, tears flooding down her face. Wyatt managed to stay on his feet but bent over, one hand on the wall for support.

After a few minutes the laughing passed and Piper just knelt there trying to catch her breath. Slowly she looked up and caught Ryan’s gaze. His face was a mixture of contempt and curiosity, but in his eyes she saw a spark. The same spark she usually saw in his eyes whenever he saw her happy. It had always been there. The first time she had seen it was when she had been holding the gun to his forehead with Chase standing behind her saying do it, do it now. She had stared directly into Ryan’s eyes then and saw fear, but as well as that, understanding. He understood that she didn’t want to do this, that she was only doing it because she was being told to. When she saw that understanding in his eyes, that knowledge that she wasn’t seen as muck in the eyes of everyone but the gang she lived with, she saw hope in her future. She didn’t want to stay on the streets. She hadn’t wanted to be on the streets at all but she’d had the choice of that or stay in the grips of her abusive aunt and uncle.

With that spark of hope in sight, Piper had relaxed slightly, the tension easing from her shoulders. She could hear Chase behind her saying yes, yes go on. Do it. She smiled at Ryan and it was then that she first saw that spark in his eyes that she’d come to love and need so much. With that first spark etched forever in her memory she’s turned, holding the gun out towards Chase and causing his face to blanch. She heard a click behind her and saw Ryan with his gun out. Run, he had told her, but stay where I can find you. She had turned to look over her shoulder at him, and it was in that second that a shot rang out across the silence. Sending a bullet straight through Chase’s forehead. She had screamed like she had never screamed before as blood covered her and she dropped the gun. Chase was dying! She might hate him for what he’d been making her do, but she still loved him all the same. She ‘d collapsed to her knees with her hands pressed firmly over her mouth to muffle her screams as she watch the light fade from his eyes and his head fall limply to one side. Dead.

Ryan had knelt behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her reaction had been instant, turning into him and crying like she’d never cried before since that night her parents had been killed. She has cried for what felt like hours and he shushed and rocked her gently until she calmed down. Police had swarmed around them but she had been oblivious to them. All she could see was Chase’s face in her mind that split second before the bullet hit. That single moment of realization when you know that this is it, and there is nowhere to escape.

Ryan had that look in his eyes now and she knew that while he may be disapproving of her time and place for this little outburst he was secretly pleased to see her happy again. It wasn’t very often she laughed like that. She carefully got to her feet using the wall for support and her eyes straight ahead. She didn’t dare look at Wyatt right now because she knew she’d likely end up on the floor again.

“Are we quite finished?” Officer Jones asked, giving them his most disapproving glare. Piper nodded and tried to keep a straight face. “Did you find anything new at the house?”

“Nothing that your officers wouldn’t have picked up on already.” She looked around the room wondering why they were here.

Ryan must have seen her confused expression because he quickly answered her unasked question. “There’s a trail of blood down the hall from the room the body is in to here. We’re looking to see if there are any signs of a struggle.”

Piper looked at the ground. A trail of blood? More like one drop every few meters. She was secretly thankful that there hadn’t been any more blood than that or she would likely have ended up in it when she collapsed laughing. That argument was so not over.

“There’s nothing here we’ve seen so far so where the blood trail has come from we don’t know.” Jones turned and walked further into the room, assessing it.

“Has someone taken samples to send to analysis? It might not be the victims’ blood.” Piper moved further into the room after Jones and looked around.

“Of cause they have. We should have answers by lunch tomorrow and no later.”

“Good… Are there any signs of the child being here at all?” Piper walked past Jones and looked around. The room was similar to the other one where the body had been found. There was a bed in the middle against the side wall and a matching pair of oak wardrobes against the back wall. The one on the right caught her eye and she moved closer to it.

What is it? Wyatt asked her.

I don’t know yet. She took out her mini pen light and shone it onto the dark handle. Something reflected off it and she touched it lightly with the end of one finger. “Blood.”

She used the light from the pen light to skim over the floor just below where the handle was and followed the small trail of blood from point to point till they reached the door. She pulled out a glove from her pocket and carefully opened the wardrobe to peer inside. It was empty apart from a few broken hangers and some cobwebs. She flashed the light around inside as she started to close the door but stopped.

Pushing the door open again she crouched down. She aimed the light into the back corner again and watched as the light reflected off something fine and golden. It was a single strand of hair. She pulled it out carefully with her gloved hand and held it.

“What colour hair does Poppy have?” She asked.

“Blonde. Why?” Jones moved up behind her and looked over her shoulder. “Shit. Blonde hair?”

“A single strand.” She bit her lip. “Why would they do that? Where would they take her…”

Jones shouted a name and she could hear footsteps coming along the hall. A dark haired head appeared around the door. Jones told the officer to bag the strand of hair and get it straight to the labs. “Tell them to make it first priority and to compare it to the victims.”

”Yes sir,” The officer came into the room and carefully took the small blonde strand of hair from Piper and put it in a bag and sealed it shut. Officer Jones excused himself to make a phone call and Ryan turned to look at Piper.

“It’s late. You should rest. There’s nothing else we can do till tomorrow anyway.”

“What if they’ve taken her to the docks like they did with Jayla?” She didn’t want to stop looking yet.

“The Lady Kelley left the docks before we did. I doubt she’d be back already.” Piper looked to Wyatt again. “I’ll head over and look, but you really should rest.”

“How will you get there?”

I’ll run.

[NotAlice]

(Looong again)

Chapter 13


Piper woke late the next morning. She had crawled into bed and lay, tossing and turning into the small hours of the morning before sleep finally took hold. She’d fallen into a deep sleep full of endless dreams and nightmares. None of them seemed to follow on from one another, but she knew they’d all happened over the course of the night. She seemed to have relived every crime scene, every step from the last three days, even before she had found the first body. How had this all stared from a teenager?

“I want to know what my son is up to!” Anton insisted. “He’s out there and he’s up to something. He’s up to no good. His mother might believe otherwise but I know that something is going on.”

“We’ll look into it Mr Ryder. One of us will be at the park tonight and we’ll watch where he goes from there. If he goes anywhere, or meets any one, we’ll let you know.”

“Good. I will not have my son destroy the family reputation all because of some no good nonsense that he should be playing no part in.” He turned and paced the floor for a few seconds before turning to them again. “Everything. Every little detail. If he meets a friend, a girl, a mass serial killer or whatever I don’t care. I want to know everything. I want daily reports.”

“That can be seen to Sir, just know that we likely won’t get results straight away.”

“I don’t care. Just see it done.” He turned and walked from the office, leaving both Piper and Ryan slightly stunned.

Daily reports… well Anton Ryder was going to be one unhappy customer. They hadn’t reported back to him since the morning of the murder. Though they had had rather a lot on their mind since then, but if they didn’t report to him soon they’d likely find him coming down to the office and hammering on the door demanding answers. And that wouldn’t be a good thing.

How was Jaden involved? How did he come across someone like jasper? Who was Jasper? Was what she found in her search results of any importance? Was he like Wyatt? Another vampire? It made sense that he was, but how did you recognise a vampire apart from anyone else? Any one human?

“So, what vampire myths are actually true?” She asked.

“Doorways for one. Holy water for another. Silver. Wood… Sunlight.”

“Doorways? How did you get into the office then?”

“Your office is classed as pubic property, meaning I can enter it. However Charlton House was private property so I could not enter.”

“What about sunlight?”

“Fledglings can’t go out it in at all. The slightest glimmer of it can burn them to ash. The older the vampire the more resistance they have to the sun. I can’t go out between 11 and 2, and depending on the weather depends on whether that time varies.”

“So how did you get to the office? You were there before 2.”

“The cloud cover. It allowed me to be out in the sunlight for a limited amount of time. The clouds have cleared a bit now so I’ll likely have sunburn. Uncomfortable but survivable.”

“And silver?” She asked.

“Can kill if not removed immediately. Silver and wood wounds heal at a human pace, while other wounds can heal over night or in a day or two. We form resistance to both the older we get. Wooden stakes can kill. Contact with wood in general can cause blisters and burns.”

“And holy water?”

“Is useful on fledglings especially. It can burn and temporarily blind. It’s good to have on you. It’s effective against black magic and demonic entities as well as vampires.”

“Demons and witchcraft? Werewolves? This day gets better every minute. What about garlic? Does that affect you? Mirrors?”

“Well I have a reflection and garlic is just an annoying smell but it certainly causes no side effects. Ask it. I know you’re just dying to.”

“What do you eat?”

“Blood.”

She dreamt of the conversation they had had in the car on the way to the docks. It was hard to believe that had only been mere hours before. They’d been so unsure around each other, so tense and so untrusting. That had all changed, and so quickly.

There was no way to recognise a vampire out of a crowd from what Wyatt had told her. Apart from the fact that you didn’t see them much in the day time as they fit in in pretty much every way.

Fledglings? The newly turned… The ones that couldn’t go out in the sun at all... Were some bits of fiction right? Were the newly turned those bloody crazed monsters that you read about in stories? The pale skinned, blood covered, frenzy driven creatures of the night who would kill a loved one if it meant food? Or perhaps their only problem was the sunlight. Perhaps even from rebirth they could control their blood urges, but that just didn’t sound right. She’d need to remember to ask Wyatt that one tomorrow.

A new dream struck her and she lost her trail of thoughts. She back in the sub way station…

She made her way across the subway station with one hand resting on her gun. She had heard the sound coming from the corner that seemed darkest and slowly made her way over. Something felt wrong and the darkness seemed to get thicker around her. She heard a click and turned.

Something hit her and her gun flew from her hands. There was someone there but she couldn’t see them, whoever they were. She was confused. She searched for movement, but there was none.

The next blow came from behind and hit her squarely on the back of the head and she had dropped to her knees. A final blow, and darkness consumed her, taking her into the void and erasing her consciousness. Next thing she remembered was Wyatt standing above her and the sound of someone fleeing.

She never did ask Wyatt who it was that attacked her. She had completely forgotten about it. Her head didn’t even feel like it had taken several blows. But who was it who had attacked her, and how had they kept out of sight to easily? Why hadn’t Wyatt told her about it afterwards? Then again, he had been rather intent on keeping her off the investigation. But what had happened to change that? So many questions, and so few answers.

Thoughts and dreams like this spun and wove through her head all night, and it was no wonder she woke up feeling as tired as she had been when she first went to bed. When she first woke up she just groaned and pulled the covers up over her head. She really could not be bothered to get up. She hadn’t had much sleep over the last few days and all these dreams really weren’t helping her much either. In the end it was her stomach that got her out of bed.

When she’d first got home that night she’d poured herself a glass of wine and had a nice long soak in the bath. When she’d finished she collapsed on her bed, too tired to get up again for food, which could easily wait until morning. Even as she’d watched the minutes tick past on the clock next to her bed she had still managed to convince herself to stay still, and that moving around would just delay sleep even longer.

She clambered out of bed and dragged her feet across the floor. The first thing she did when she reached the kitchen was make a coffee. Even now she thought food could wait. As she waited for the water to boil she started out of the window. It was raining again, and the sky was a miserable grey colour. It looked like a storm was heading in the direction of Langden Creek. What a lovely day to go missing child hunting in.

She’d sleepily guzzled down a cup and a half of coffee before she grabbed a few biscuits and an apple from the cupboards. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she had actually been, and grabbed herself another apple that she ate when she headed back to the bathroom to get washed.

Getting washed had woken her up a considerable amount and it was only when she was more awake and alert that she bothered to look at the time. 11:47. Ooh shit, she thought. She rummaged around in her coat pocket, which she had thrown hap-hazardously into the corner last night, and found her phone. She had two missed called and a text from Ryan. She had a voicemail message left too. He’d obviously been wondering where she was.

She threw her phone onto the bed and quickly grabbed some clothes and chucked them on. When she was sorted she grabbed her stuff and ran down to the car. She threw everything onto the back seat and one handedly put her hands free on. She called Ryan as she put the car into reverse and sped off down the street.

“Kernick speaking,” Ryan said in way of answering.

“Ryan, it’s me.”

“Thank God! Where’ve you been?”

Piper winced, “I slept in late. I’m on my way now.”

“Good. I’ve been wondering whether the monster under your bed had got a hold of you or something,” Piper rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but smile.

“I’ll be there in 5, Boss.” They said their good bye’s and signed off, and Piper concentrated on driving.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Piper arrived in the office just shortly after 12:15. She’d got caught behind a traffic accident and had to wait while the cops redirected traffic slowly around through the back streets. From what she could see as she peered down the road there had been a two car accident and one was turned over, stretched sideways across the road. The other appeared to have spun off sideways during the accident and had hit the side of the nearest building. She couldn’t help but wince slightly as she observed the damage. If one thing was for sure it was the fact that that driver must have one hell of a headache from that impact… that was if he had actually survived.

Ryan looked up at her as she entered the office and raised an eyebrow. She explained about the car accident and he nodded, returning his gaze to the screen. Piper picked up his empty coffee cup as she passed and went and refilled it, making one for herself it the process. She placed his back on his desk and went to hers, switching on her computer before leaning back in her chair.

She wrapped her hands firmly around her coffee and closed her eyes, letting the heat warm her fingers and the luscious smell of fresh coffee fill her senses. Heaven.

When her computer had loaded up Piper typed in her passwords and checked her emails etcetera. There was nothing new. She sighed and concentrated on drinking her coffee. What should she do with her afternoon? What time would Wyatt suddenly appear out of nowhere to rejoin their investigation? She looked to the window. It was still gloomy outside, so he might be able to get out earlier than yesterday…

She could have laughed out loud when a few minutes later there came a knock at the door. Ryan’s gaze shot up. He quickly stood up and went to answer it. A smile touched Pipers mouth and she shook her head slowly in amusement when the familiar voice of Wyatt could be heard coming from just beyond the door.

She smiled at him as he came in and he smiled back at her, another of his smiles that had her heart skipping a beat. He stopped just inside the room and said nothing until Ryan was back seated at his desk.

“Any luck last night at the docks?” She asked and she tried to discretely look him over. He wore dark jeans that clung to his legs and his skin tight turtle neck sweater that seemed to cling to his broad shoulders and ridged chest almost indecently. His dark hair fell across his eyes slightly, eyes which stared back at her with a blue intensity that had her pulse racing. He was altogether a damn fine sight to look at.

“Nothing new. The Lady Kelley was nowhere in sight and none of the warehouses around held signs of life. I looked again this morning. I don’t think we’re going to find the girl there.” He kept his gaze on hers as he stood in front of Ryan’s desk.

Piper sighed. “Where do we start from today then? It’s not like we have much to go on, even if those results come back from the labs.”

“True. Perhaps there will be more clues out on the streets.” The look on Wyatt’s face told he wasn’t convinced of his own theory. Have you eaten this morning? He asked.

Yes. “Well, I’m thinking of popping round Ryder’s house this afternoon. Otherwise we’ll end up with one pissed off customer who hasn’t been getting his daily updates.”

Ryan grinned. “Damn, and here I was thinking we were doing it on purpose.”

Piper smiled. “I don’t know about you but I don’t think a pissed off Ryder is something we need on our hands right now.” She shut down her computer and chucked some of the junk on her desk into the top draw before making sure she had everything she needed in her pockets.

“That’s the truth if ever I heard it.”

“Who’s Ryder?” Wyatt asked, keeping the conversation flowing. Ryan explained.

Piper pulled out her gun and checked it. She was a few bullets short. She thought back to when the last time she fired her gun was and frowned. Opening the bottom draw she scrapped around for her spare case of bullets. It was empty. Damn it. She closed the draw over and frowned again. A hint of humour touched her mind and she looked up to see Wyatt looking at her while Ryan was talking to him and showing him something on his computer.

She stood up and walked over to the desk that had been left reasonably untouched in the corner of the room down from hers. She bit her lip softy and kept a close eye on the box of memories that she’d added extra chains and padlocks to last night in case any decided to escape. The last thing she needed was more memories of Daniel to distract her. It was only his desk for God’s sake! Well, only his desk where he’d been sitting the first time she ever saw him. Only his desk where he’d sat her and shown her the tricks of how to hack into the police systems to find information when she was sixteen and still just visiting with Ryan every few days. Only his desk where he’d seduced her and kissed her so many times in the dead of night when only the two of them remained in the office… God damn it! She stuffed the leaked memories back into their box and glared at it.

She shook her head to clear it and carefully moved around to the middle draw where Daniel has kept quite a large stack of spare bullets. Whenever she ran out of her own she would take a few from Daniels draw, but always return them later when she got more of her own. She didn’t know why. It wasn’t really like he needed them anymore. Just like he didn’t need his desk left in place with all his belongings left on it, but they did. Piper and Ryan. Neither of them had ever even thought about moving Daniels desk because it just seemed so unnatural to do so. Daniel had always been there in all the years that she had been there and he’d been there since Ryan first started the business a few years before then. Neither of them had known the office without Daniel and his desk, so neither of them were inclined to remove it even without him there.

Piper often wondered how the two of them had come to meet in the first place. She knew Daniel had always lived around here but she didn’t know how he’d met Ryan. She knew neither Ryan nor Louise knew his parents and they also lived on opposite sides of Langden Creek. It was a question that neither of them had ever been inclined to answer even when she’d asked nicely. Maybe she should try asking Ryan again. It had been a few years now since Daniel had died, perhaps the secret had died along with him. What was she doing? Thinking of something like that.

She closed the draw quickly and stood up. Her gaze snagged on the photos that were still on his desk. There were six in total. One of him and his family, one with him and Ryan when she had still been with Chase, one of just him on his own when he was still a teen, the other three were of the two of them. The first was one that Ryan had took one new year when Daniel had gone to a party at Ryan’s and he’d had a few drinks. It was the first New Year she’d had with them and she had only just started to open up and trust Daniel. The second was the two at her 18th birthday, and the last was one that Ryan had taken without them knowing. It was just before Christmas the year they’d got together. It had been snowing and the two of them were having a snowball fight. Ryan had seized the moment and snapped a photo that he only showed them a few weeks later after he’d had it printed and framed a few times. They looked happy, both smiling and carefree and it was a photo she loved.

Smiling slightly she turned away and went to sort the rest of her stuff out. “Who’s coming with me?” she asked turning to face the two men with an eyebrow raised.

“Well I’m going to call Officer Jones and get some answers, so count me out.” Ryan said without looking up from the screen.

“I’ll come. I’m sure you’ll enjoy some company.” The way Wyatt said it suggested an underlying message and she couldn’t help but notice the way her pulse seemed to speed up a little. What was the underlying message? Most likely he just wanted to nag her about eating properly again. She nodded, and headed towards the door.

She could hear the two men muttering something to eat other but she didn’t bother to listen what they were saying. She was nearing her car when she heard Wyatt’s footsteps behind her. She looked over at him as she opened the car door. He smiled and climbed in next to her. To her surprise, the journey was a silent one.

When they arrived at the home of Anton Ryder and his wife, Piper made sure to park a few doors down. There were lots of cars parked on this street but they all seemed to be evenly placed, and she somehow felt of out place ruining the pattern.

They walked back down to the front of the house still in silence. Not a word had passed between them whether out loud or telepathically. On that thought, she was still rather curious as to how the telepathy worked between them. Piper looked up at the house in front of her. This was one of the more expensive areas in Langden Creek, and she probably couldn’t even afford to rent a bathroom in a place like this, never mind own a house. The house was one of the oldest on the street, build about 200 years ago. Of cause many renovations had been made to all the old houses in this area to make them more stable such as new roofs and some of the brick work repaired, though the houses still gave off that old look, and felt aged and well used.

The houses around here were mostly all two story with an attic turned-extra-bedroom at the top. The cupboards in these places were usually bigger than her whole living room, which to be honest, wasn’t very big. The front lawns all along the street were perfectly manicured with not a blade out of place. Many held magnificent statues or elegant water features. The house in front of her held both. In the centre of the large garden there was a mid-sized pond. On an island in the centre there stood a water feature, of a pair of dolphins intertwined in some elegant dance. They shot water a few feet in the air before in fell back down landing gracefully on what looked like two matching lily pad shaped structures. The water hit them and cascaded off like a spoon that had been held under a powerful tap. A small wooden bridge crossed over the pond from the side nearest to the house. A small set containing a table and two chairs stood next to the statue. Wow, Piper thought to herself, imagine sitting there on a warm summers night with a bottle of red wine and a romantic meal… a few candles placed around… she didn’t expect the reply that came after.

I never pictured you as a girl who liked soppy romance and candle light, Piper. I seem to learn something new about you every day. She felt hands touch her waist lightly and she looked over her shoulder at him. He was looking down at her, his eyes in a droopy state that would have made him look half asleep to anyone at a distance, but up close, the look was heart melting. She couldn’t tear her eyes from his face as his gaze seemed to roam over her body slowly, taking her in. She breathed in deeply and locked her knees. This man was having some serious effects on her.

That’s not all too surprising considering we’ve known each other only a few days. Her voice seemed to sound low and raspy as she somehow managed to get the words out. Wyatt raised an eyebrow and gave her a half smile. She could feel his humour through her mind and she looked away. She could feel her cheeks going red so concentrated on the house in front of her.

Come on. Let’s get this over with. She stepped away from his warm hands and opened the gate. Perhaps it would have been a good idea to call Anton Ryder first and see whether he was ok with them turning up on his doorstep, especially considering he hadn’t told his wife, or at least not as far as they knew. She shrugged it off and moved through the gate and started up the few steps beyond it. What did it matter? They’d probably already pissed him off by not giving him his daily updates, one more thing on the list probably wouldn’t make much difference.

At the top she rang the bell, before stepping down onto the step below and turning to view the garden from this view point. Looking down on the pond and water feature from on the steps was even more amazing. The angle of the dolphins was spectacular and the light seemed to hit the water just right. She could see movement in the crystal depths of the water. There were fish of all sizes swimming happily together, and plenty of space for them to live. It must be easy being a fish, she thought. Amusement swam around her again but she didn’t have time to react before the front door opened. She looked up sharply.

“Mr Ryder,” Piper watched his expression carefully.

“Ms Brook,” He nodded to her, “How did you know my wife would be out at this time?”

“We didn’t.”

Anton huffed and crossed his arms across his chest. “Who’s this?” He asked, nodding his head in Wyatt’s direction.

“Wyatt Hunt,” Wyatt extended his hand to the older man, who took it warily. “I’m assisting on the current investigation.”

Ryder’s eyebrows rose, almost vanishing into his hair line. “Why do you an extra body involved to follow a sixteen year old boy? It can’t be that hard of a task. I am curious to exactly where my son is right now. He hasn’t been home for a few days now. He claims he’s staying over at a friend’s.”

“This is a whole lot more than just following a teenage boy now, Mr Ryder.” His attention turned back to Piper. “Three nights ago your son led us to a crime scene. Perhaps you heard it in the news, the death of Kathryn Bronte?”

Ryder’s face went pale. “My son is no murderer.”

“We’re not saying he murdered her, we’re just saying he led us there. There was another man there. It would appear that your son is taking order from him.”

“Was it Jaden that led you to that murder yesterday afternoon?” He rested one arm up against the door frame. He was gripping the wooden frame so tight near the top that his knuckles were white.

“No, but we believe it was done by the same person that killed Bronte. We’re currently still investigating.”

“Have you seen him since?” Ryder seemed to be getting paler by the minute.

“No, not recently, but we’re keeping a look out for him.” She kept her eye contact with Ryder even though she bit down on the inside of her lip.

“We have seen him since,” Her gaze shit to Wyatt. “He was one of the two we saw at the docks yesterday.”

She closed her eyes briefly. He hadn’t bothered to share that piece of information with her. Perhaps he thought she already knew; that it had been obvious.

“What was he doing at the docks?” Ryder shook his head. He looked as if he was having trouble absorbing all this new information. Piper didn’t blame him. She’d be shocked too if she was told her kid was involved in a murder.

Wyatt answered. “Bronte had a daughter who went missing the night she was murdered. She was found yesterday in a crate in the bottom of a small cargo ship called the Lady Kelley. Your son was one of the two who were seen loading crates onto the ship. Whether he knew the contents of all the crates is unknown. Perhaps he was just following orders.”

Ryder was quite for several minutes, just staring across at the water feature on his lawn. Piper looked across at Wyatt who just gave her a smile that was probably supposed to be reassuring. “What should I do?” He asked eventually.

“There’s not much you can do to be honest. I’d actually suggest you don’t mention anything to your son if he comes home. Try to act normal about things.” She watched as Ryder nodded slowly, his eyes still on the water, thinking.

“Please, catch the man who’s controlling him so I can get my son back in one piece.”

“We’ll do what we can.”

Ryder nodded again and looked between the two of them. With a final nod he stepped back and began to close the door. “Let me know what happens.”

Piper nodded, and the door closed the rest of the way. Sighing, she turned and headed back down the steps. In some ways that conversation had gone better than expected, in others it had gone worse. She had expected him to be annoyed that they hadn’t given him all the updates he wanted, he expected his temper and his threats. She hadn’t expected to see him deflate like he had. His son must mean a lot more to him than she’d originally thought. It was strange to see a man of such high esteem appear too small and lost, so completely out of control. They needed to find this killer, and fast.

Piper made her way back to the car and climbed in in silence, with Wyatt only seconds behind her. She started the engine but didn’t pull out.

“Are you alright?” Wyatt asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She put the car into gear and checked the road around them. “Where to now?”

Piper watched as he thought for a few minutes. A ghost of a grimace appeared on his face. “You know where all the old slums are just off the edge of town?”

“Near to the fisherman’s district?” Her eyebrows knitted together slightly. What could there possibly be there apart from… warehouses.

“Yes, warehouses. And also near to a small shipping dock that is known for its illegal activity.”

“Good point. If they figured out that we found them at the other dock they’d know not to go there again.” She thought for a moment. “Best shot will probably be going down to see what boats are in the docks. It’d be too easy to hope the Lady Kelley will be there.”

“Perhaps,” Wyatt frowned and leaned back in the seat. He crossed his arms over his chest and started out the front window at nothing in particular.

“Who was the other man that was at the docks yesterday? Apart from Jaden?”

“I don’t know. It wasn’t someone I’ve come across before. All I know is that it was definitely a male and he was about teens to mid twenties. I can’t tell you any more than that.”

It was Piper’s turn to frown now. Who else was getting involved? Why hadn’t they come across him already? Sighing at the number of unanswered questions there were she put the car in second and pulled out.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Piper parked behind a small play park that was separated from the Fisherman’s District by a small gathering of trees. The pair took a short cut through them rather than going along the marked path a few yards down from where they’d stopped. It was more discrete that way, and allowed them to stay out of sight while they scanned the area in front of them. There were no signs of life around here, and only the feint smell of salt and sea water filled the air.

She looked at Wyatt. Is there anyone out there?

Not that I can see, but there do seem to be a few feint heartbeats. It could always just be rats.

She curled her nose up at the thought of coming across any rats out here. Mice she could live with. Rats? She shuddered.

Where do we start?

Down by the water’s edge, she looked up at him to see a ghost of a smile on his lips. She smiled slightly too and looked at him closely. His hair still fell messily over one eye, his skin holding the slight hint of a tan. In a very masculine way, he was beautiful. She made sure her defensive wall was up in around her thoughts, even though she didn’t know if it made much difference yet.

His hand touched her lower back lightly and heat flared. His hand was just resting, not pushing her on. She walked carefully out of the trees and headed down between the closest two warehouses. It was only a couple of minutes walk before she could see the sea, but it was a few minutes more walk before she reached the last warehouse and got a clear view right across the small dock. It certainly was small, not even a fifth of the size of the one they were at yesterday. It was empty too, no ships in sight unless you looked very carefully out across the horizon where a small fishing vessel could be seen getting jostled around by the waves.

She looked at the sky. It wasn’t raining, but it was looking increasingly stormy. Dark clouds lay thick and low, restless. The wind was picking up and the few gulls that could be seen out across the ocean were having problems flying in one direction. She looked back at the little boat in the distance. She was glad she wasn’t there in weather like this.

Let’s look around.

Good idea.

[NotAlice]

Chapter 14 Part 1

It was just past 4 when the two of them finally gave up on searching the docks and declaring it a dead lead. There was nothing there to suggest that there had been a young girl here, or signs of anyone other than fishermen. Most of the warehouses were filled with ropes and nets, and the types of things usually seen on boats and fishing vessels. Some of the warehouses held canoes and kayaks and other water sport equipment, but most were just a few odds and ends thrown here there and everywhere. The heartbeats Wyatt had heard had turned out to be fish hung up and left to die. She guessed they might belong to the fishermen who were currently out at sea seeing as they were the closest people the two had seen around here. There had been a rat, but thankfully it had been dead when they found it.

Sighing, Piper leant against the side of the final warehouse and closed her eyes. Her legs hurt, her back hurt, and her eyes hurt. She had sat down since she got here and all this bending and searching wasn’t doing her back any good. She’d also managed do bang her knee a few times in the same place, which would undoubtedly be another bruise to add to the myriad she had already gathered over the last few days. She’d discovered a fair few bruises in places she didn’t think it was possible to get bruises in. It was only since she’d discovered them that they seemed to hurt. When she didn’t know about them she hardly felt them. Now she was wishing she didn’t look.

“Now what? We’ve looked in every goddamned warehouse in this place and there isn’t a single thing that points towards a child being here. There’s nowhere else to look.” She opened one eye and looked at Wyatt. He was standing a few feet away from her and looking out across the area around them. She got a feeling that he was seeing more than just the obvious. “What do we do now?”

“I’d suggest calling Ryan to see if he has any new leads or information.” He looked at her.

“What are you going to do?”

“I think I’ll talk to Angelyna and see if she’s heard anything. She was the one who told me about the black van at the docks.” He half frowned.

“Who is she? Angelyna?” That was the second time she’d heard him mention that name now but never with enough extra information for her to be able to figure out exactly who she was. Perhaps a friend? Girlfriend even?

“She’s the woman I work with.” He paused, “For. The woman I work for.”

Piper raised an eyebrow.

“She’s the one in charge of the organization. I just helped her start it. I guess you’d say I’m the assistant director for lack of better words.” He looked at her, watching for her reaction she presumed. Piper just raised her eyebrows again and kept her gaze on his. She tried to keep her concentration and not loose herself in the blueness of his eyes.

“So what is the assistant director of some kind of secret organization doing working with a pair of small town private investigators in a place like Langden Creek?” How willing will he be to share information? She wondered. He seemed like the sort of person who was good at playing his cards close to his chest, but perhaps he was also a player very good at knowing when to hit and when to stick.

“Following Jasper just the same as I have been for the last 200 years almost. If there’s someone around who can offer extra services and can share information then what reason have I got not to accept? Jasper is killing again, and he needs to be stopped. Soon.”

200 years? Oh my..., her eyes widened slightly at the thought. She knew he was a vampire and about vampires being immortal, but she’d never stopped to think about just how old Wyatt may actually be. It shouldn’t be such a shock to me that he’s older than 200. I saw all the results that came through from the search I did. But 200 was a lot of years…

I might have been searching for Jasper for the past 200 years that doesn’t mean that that’s how old I am. A sly smile spread across his face and once again her heart skipped a beat.

So how old are you exactly? She gave him a sly smile of her own. At least he was being talkative which was more than she could say for some people.

His smile stretched as she looked in the direction of the sea. Now that would be telling wouldn’t it?

Perhaps not so talkative after all. She wondered if she should try get a bit more out of him about this woman and the organization he worked for. She didn’t see anything stopping her and thought what the hell. There was no reason not to try to get some more extra information about this mystery man.

“So, why do you need to call her? How will she know anything about Poppy?”

Because she has her people all over the place. Jonathon was here yesterday. That’s how she knew about the van at the dock. I believe Michelle and Gareth were here the day before that. We all do our own thing, and half of the time we cross paths without even knowing the other is there. Some of our cases can talk us half way across the world and back in less than a week and that’s just how it is. We go where we need to go, that’s just the way we work. He didn’t even seem to notice her change from telepathic to out loud. Piper’s eyebrows pulled together slightly as she watched him. He seemed to be concentrating… listening for something.

What sort of things do you do for your work?

I’d suppose it could be considered very similar to what you do. Of course, what I do is more to do with the supernatural side of life as to your standard everyday things.

Of course now our two worlds seem to have over lapped, she said. She couldn’t hold back her curiosity anymore and asked, what can you hear?

He looked back at her quickly. Apart from two men on the fishing boat arguing whether to come back into shore yet, and the sounds of a group of gulls devouring a meal? There’s someone on the other side of these trees who’s breathing heavily. It sounds like someone we came across a few days ago but I’d need to get closer to know for sure.

She looked across at the tree line but she couldn’t see anything, not that she expected too from here. We should go look. Had he really heard the men on that boat talking? It was hard to believe that it was possible to hear something so far away.

He nodded and moved away. She followed, keeping close behind him, her own ears strained trying to catch the faintest hint of a noise. They went back through the trees again rather than going along the path, which was a good thing, and meant that they could stay out of sight.

From the tree line Piper could see the figure of a young girl sitting in the park on one of the small swings. She was panting and out of breath, her face red and her eyes swollen almost as if she had been running and crying at the same time. Something about her looked familiar to Piper but she couldn’t put a name to her. She had a feeling that she’d come across her a long time ago.

Amy.

She looked up at Wyatt. What?

That girl. It’s Amy. He didn’t look down at her just kept his eyes on the teen. A frown has starting to form too.

Amy… She looked at her closely. Her dark hair and vivid green eyes made her pasty skin stand out, making her appear paler than she was. She small and lithe, her frail limbs no more than skin and bone. Amy… Amy Delany?

Yes. You know her? Wyatt looked at her briefly but quickly returned his watch to the teen.

I investigated her case a few years ago. Her parents knew Daniel somehow and went to him for help after a family argument when she suddenly stopped returning home at night. Daniel was already on an important case at the time so he gave me it. She’d been having problems at home her whole life and had decided enough was enough, and that argument was the last straw. She didn’t want to go back or stay with other relatives… wouldn’t go to the kid’s shelter either.

Why not?

She said it was her own choice to be out on the streets and she wasn’t going to weigh someone else down with her problems. She said she’d been saving up money for years so she could afford to buy food. All the evidence she gave proved that she was more than able to look after herself, and there was nothing I could do to make her do any differently anyway. She watched the teen for a few minutes. It had been a few years since she’d seen her and it appeared that time hadn’t been so kind on her. She’d lost loads of weight and her clothes were torn and muddy. At least she’d lived, which is more than what could be said for some of the teens who lived on the streets these days. They weren’t just at risk from law breaking strangers, but from themselves. Many street kids formed gangs and groups, which is what she had done herself. She’d been a part of Chase’s gang. The street gangs gave teens then feeling of family and offered some safety, and often a place to stay. Many found old buildings that hadn’t been used in years and took refuge there, creating their own small communities among their safe haven. Their main threat was other gangs, usually over territory, possessions, and power. A gang didn’t like it if another gang was gaining power in the area because it meant that they’d get all the contacts, and the credit. The main threat to teens that lived alone were the gangs too, especially if they feared that person was making a name for themselves. Of cause, there was always fact that it was easier to prey on the week, and one teen against a whole gang didn’t have much of a chance, no matter how strong and determined they were.

Well it would appear she’s run out of money now since she’s doing jobs for strangers, no questions asked.

Piper looked at him. How would you know that?

Because she was the one who attacked you in the subway station the other day. She said that he offered her enough money to find a place to stay so long as she did him a favour first. She didn’t asked questions when she was told to be there at that time. Apparently the offer of money was too great.

Jasper?

Yes. She described him.

What was Jasper doing with a girl like Amy? What did he want from her? He already had Jaden obeying his every command. She looked closer at the young girl again. She could only be fifteen or sixteen now. She’d been eleven when she was first on the streets, and very mature for her age at that time. She still looked really young though, especially now with tears rolling silently down her face.

Amy wiped her eyes and stood quickly. She wrapped her arms across her chest and bent her head down. Even from here Piper could see her as she breathed in deep gulps of air as she tried to calm herself. Piper felt sympathy for her. What had Jasper made her do now? And for what price?

Come on, we’ll follow her and see where she leads us, Wyatt said. He looked straight ahead, his shoulders tense and his back straight. His dark eyes fixed intently on Amy and his expression neutral. The word gorgeous sprung to Piper’s mind.

You think she might lead us back to Jasper? It was a long shot. If anything, she looked like she’d lead them further looking at the state she was in right now.

I think she’ll either lead us to him or to Poppy. I think Jasper is more likely to let Amy look after a five year old than Jaden. She’s one the move. Come on.

[NotAlice]

Chapter 14 Part 2

Piper stepped out from the trees and tall grass she was standing behind and walked cautiously across to the first gate into the park area. Amy was just disappearing around the far corner that led onto a small street. Wyatt placed his hand gently on her lower back and she sped up, reaching the corner just in time to see Amy disappear up a side street. If she continued on the route Piper thought she was going she’d end up over on Warf Crescent, a neighbourhood known for the richer people of Langden Creek who wanted a nice few of the sea. It might not be the richest and most elegant place, and it certainly wasn’t home to any millionaires, but she probably couldn’t even afford to rent a bathroom in a place like that, never mind own property there. It was certainly not the type of place that you’d expect to see a street teen go to, especially not in the day light. Well, what was supposed to be daylight at least. It wasn’t as if they’d had very night weather at all today. The darkness of the clouds suggested that the first rain would come before tonight, and that it would fall thick and heavy.

The two walked in silence as they tailed Amy. Wyatt kept his ears sharp and his eyes close on the girl in front of him. Piper couldn’t help but cast backward glances every few minutes, just to check that they weren’t being followed. All she saw was a small back cat as it dove into the bushes of a house just down the road.

They followed Amy along the streets for about fifteen minutes. The further they followed her, the surer Piper was that they were going to Warf Crescent, so it was no surprise to her when she turned onto the street. Wyatt’s eyebrows rose slightly when he saw the rows of houses in front of him and Piper laughed quietly. The houses on this street made the Ryder’s house look like a bungalow in comparison. The houses around here varied in size from ones about the same as the one they’d been at earlier to one that were almost three times the size. The work that had gone into these houses was spectacular, and the decorative features in and around the large gardens made the water feature in Anton Ryder’s front garden look like a garden store sales purchase.

Something in Wyatt’s expression suggested he wasn’t entirely impressed by the houses surrounding him and Piper was curious why. These houses were damn expensive and the best there was in Langden Creek. Sure they weren’t as good as some of the house you got in other parts of the state but they were damn fine houses all the same. You don’t look impressed, she said, grinning.

It’s not what I expected to see. I didn’t realize you got neighbourhoods like this around Langden Creek. Interesting to say the least.

That doesn’t explain that look you have. You look like you’re not impressed with Langden Creeks finest. She glanced him at him, her grin widening. He returned it, but turned back quickly to watch Amy as she made her way along the street towards one of the smaller houses.

Well I won’t deny I’ve seen better houses that theses… much better to be honest with you. The general layout of it doesn’t appeal to me either. When you live in houses like these ones you expect your privacy. The way these houses are placed doesn’t offer much in the way of privacy. They’re too close together, too many in once place. Most neighbourhoods with houses like these have at least one house worth of space between them. Like, imagine taking out every other house and that would be the minimum amount of space between them.

You seem to know an awful lot about the subject Wyatt. Anyone would think you spent a lot of time in places like this. She tried to keep the questioning tone out of her voice as she said it but it still sounded like she was prying.

That may well be because I do. When I’m not working that is. She looked up at him sharply and opened her mouth as if to say something but the words never made it out and she stood there with her mouth open like a gormless goldfish. What was he saying?

What are you saying?

I’m saying it’s hard to live for as long as I have and not have gained small fortune, especially since vampires don’t need to by food etcetera, it all starts to add up after a few years. It allows you to experience the finer things in life. Or in my case, unlife.

Wow, she was lost for words. He’d basically just admitted to being filthy dirty rich. Must be nice to live in a place like this.

A smile twitched on his lips. I don’t like in a place like this. I’ve already stated my views on this neighbourhood.

She shook her head slowly, taking it all in. This place was the best in Langden Creek, and really, the only place with housing like this for a long way. Piper had lived in Langden Creek her entire life, and this neighbourhood had always been something of an amazement to her. She’d never visited anywhere else that had housing like this so these were the best houses she’d ever seen. Even now after twenty six years they still amazed her. She knew there was better out there but she never really thought about it much. To her, nothing beat these houses, and to think that Wyatt thought of the as the worst of the best?

Amy’s just gone up those steps to that house over there, any idea who lives there? He looked at her. She felt like there was a lot more in the look that just him wondering if she knew the house. He was wondering what she thought of him now she knew he had money.

She looked at the house in question and saw the front door close over slowly. She squinted, and just managed to see the name of the house. The Lea. She looked at it for a few minutes trying to figure out why it sounded so familiar. The Lea… Captain Craggton’s house?

Whose?

Captain Craggton, the officer in charge of Langdon Creek State Police. He’s on holiday with his wife and three kids right now… Her eyebrows pulled together slightly. Do you think they knew that somehow and that’s why they chose to come here? It seems a bit risky though – using the top mans house for something like this…

Wyatt walked forward, his eyes never leaving the house. Piper followed a few steps behind. Who was in there? Who would they find? Jasper? Jaden? Poppy? Or was Amy alone?

They slowed down as they neared the house and looked around. Wyatt’s gaze was still focused mainly on the house, his head was cocked to one side, listening. Piper looked at the surrounding houses. There were no cars on this street, all were kept safely on driveways or in garages. The windows showed no signs of life and many of the binds were drawn. There was nothing around to suggest any one could see them, and Piper couldn’t decide whether that was a good thing or not.

She looked back to where Wyatt had been and started. He’d moved. He was halfway up the front steps with his eyes staring at the curtained window. Wyatt?

Come on.

Is it safe? She looked at the house. Feelings of trepidation began to seep through her senses and she frowned. Something felt wrong about the house but she couldn’t decide what. Perhaps it was just the thought of going into Captain Craggton’s house whilst he wasn’t there. Or perhaps it was just the thought of going into one of the houses on this street in general.

She hurried up the steps to join him, unclipping her gun as she went so it would be easy to get a hold of it if she needed it. Wyatt looked back at her and held her gaze for a few seconds before moving forward again. When he reached the door he twisted the handle slowly. She door opened with a click that seemed to echo throughout the sudden silence of the street. Pushing the door open he peered through and looked inside. Nothing was moving, but the sound of quiet sobbing could be heard from somewhere deep within the house.

Piper moved up to the door and looked inside, listening carefully. Who did the crying belong to? It belong to a girl, that much she was sure of, but it was hard to try and figure out just what age the girl who was crying was. She sounded quite young, but that could be Amy or Poppy. Both would sound young. She focused on the soft sobbing trying to pick out some details. It sounded older that Poppy, but younger than Amy, but then, she didn’t know what either of them sounded like. It had been years since she’d last heard Amy’s voice.

There are two heart beats coming from inside. One’s Amy and I think the other one might be Poppy. It sounds like a child’s heartbeat.

Which one is crying?

… both.

Both of the girls were crying? It didn’t really make sense. It made sense that Poppy might be crying, especially since she was only five and in a place she didn’t know, but it didn’t make sense that Amy should be crying too. She was here willingly, not as a child snatched from her mother by strangers. So why was she crying? She had looked upset when she’d been sitting in the park but it still made no sense. Or perhaps she’d just realized that Jasper was using her to get what he wanted. He didn’t seem the type who would let someone go so easily. Perhaps Amy had realized that Jasper had control over her and she had no choice but to do as he asked.

Wyatt gaze caught Piper’s and he motioned forward and held up three fingers. She watched as the counted them down and passed through the door quickly. She kept close to the wall of the small hallway and Wyatt did the same on the opposite side. When they neared the first doorway he signalled for her to stop. She stepped along so she was next to the door and peered around cautiously. She looked back at Wyatt and shook her head. Empty.

He motioned her to move to the next door and they moved quickly down towards it. Piper couldn’t help but flinch at how loud her footsteps sounded and how silently Wyatt was when he walked. Maybe that was another vampire myth that wasn’t such a myth after all.

The further down the hallway they got the louder the sound of crying became. It was only then that Piper could start to pick up the sounds of two people crying. One was softer whilst the other was more raspy, as if the person who it belonged to was short of breath.

The pair stopped just outside the door again and Piper peered around. At the far side of the room a young girl with dark hair sat in the corner. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around so tight that she was gripping her opposite elbows. Big brown eyes stared at a large portrait on the adjacent wall. Tears fell harshly down her pale cheeks, merging with the blood that welled up from a selection of scratches down her face and making her look like she was crying tears of blood. She rocked herself as stared unseeing at the world around her. Poppy.

And there’s Amy too. Piper looked to where Wyatt was looking. Somehow a sense of direction had come to her when he’d said Amy was there, like she was picking up his exact thoughts, his exact point of view.

Amy was sat against the far wall just watching the young girl cry. Tears fell down her own face, slower and more silent. She wasn’t sobbing or rocking, just simply sitting, letting the tears flow free. Her back was against the far wall and her head was leaned back. She looked…fed up? Unwilling? Reluctant?

What is she supposed to be doing? Piper thought, more to herself than to Wyatt. The pieces weren’t fitting together.

Jaden’s just left and she’s supposed to be watching her until nightfall then taking the girl to the Fisherman’s District where a boat will collect her.

Piper looked up at him sharply and gave him a curious look. How do you know that?

Telepathy. I can read her thoughts quite easily. Piper didn’t respond. If he could read Amy’s thoughts then surely that meant he could read hers. And if he could read hers, had he? Would he? Were any of her secrets actually secrets anymore? I haven’t read you mind Piper. I haven’t climbed your wall shield either, or opened any of your neatly organized boxes. I can see them , I know they’re there, but I respect your right to privacy. I’ve only ever skimmed your surface thoughts, which is what you’re thinking at the time. If you like, I can show you how to create a proper shield around your thoughts. It might not keep everyone out but it’ll stop many, though you’re half way to creating a fine shield yourself. The problem is that walls are too easy to climb.

Her eyebrows rose. What he said made sense but she was still completely lost off. But perhaps it was an offer she might have to catch up later. Since stepping into Charlton house for the first time and facing Jasper, the feeling that she’d stepped into an alternate universe with no way back was growing stronger. She was part of this world now, and it wasn’t willing to let her go just yet. Being able to block her mind from psychic intrusion may well come in handy in the future. If you don’t use walls what do you use?

A lot of other things. Nets for example, and webs, and thick, glue like substances. I’ll explain it more later when we get the girl out of here. Any way in particular you want to do this?

What way was there to do this? They needed to find a way to get Poppy out but Amy would pose a problem. What they should do about Amy she had no idea. How did they know that she wasn’t going to lash out and kill them? Although the tear stained teen in front of them didn’t look like she was about to lash out at anything. How would she react? Attack? Run? Tell Jasper? How did they know Jasper didn’t already have a hold on her? That he wasn’t somehow tapped into her thoughts and seeing through her eyes whenever he pleased, or linked directly to her mind and controlling her? It would explain the look of reluctance in her eyes and why she was still here. If she was being controlled she would have to choice over her actions, but that wouldn’t mean she couldn’t still be reluctant, still hate what she was being made to do.

If luck was with them Amy might let them take Poppy just so she wouldn’t have to take to girl to the docks tonight. Amy may have been on the streets for the past few years but that didn’t mean that family was one thing she dreamed of. Yet, if Jasper was as controlling over her as he seemed to be then wouldn’t that mean Amy would do everything she could to keep the girl with her, even if just to save her own neck?

Piper pinched the top of her nose and closed her eyes. There were too many possibilities to consider. Their best option right now was to go in there and just see how Amy reacted to seeing them. She told Wyatt as much and he nodded, advising her to take out her gun. If anything would stop the girl it was the sight of a gun pointed directly at her forehead. The trick had worked a hundred times over for Piper, and she wasn’t about to stop using it now. Besides, she felt safer knowing she had a gun in her hands.

Once again Wyatt counted down from three on his fingers. As he lowered the last finger Piper swung around the door and into the room, her gun raised at chest height and pointed straight in Amy’s direction. “L.C Investigations, stay right where you are.”

Amy jumped and looked at the two of them, her eyes wide with shock and a hint of fear. She pressed her hands firmly against the floor but made no effort to get up. Her eyes jumped between Piper, Wyatt, and the barrel of the gun. She pause, her eyes on Wyatt. After a few seconds her eyes seemed to widen further in dawning realization and she almost seemed to slink back further into the wall, like she was trying to become one with it.

“Please,” Her voice was raspy. She paused and licked her lips, “Please, I’m only doing what I’ve been told to do.”

“Which was what exactly?”

“Watch the girl so he could go back to him. So he could do what was needed to do. He needed someone to stay here, with her…” She talked fast, desperate.

“Who needed to do something for who?” Although she had a damn good idea of who Amy meant she wanted to be sure.

“Jaden. He needed to do something for the man. For Jasper. I was told to come here instead and do what Jaden was supposed to be doing, but Jasper now needs him to do something else.” She didn’t hesitate in answering Piper, so perhaps she’d been right and Amy had realized that one favour was not just one favour, but more like a lifelong promise of the hell to come.

“How did the girl get here? Why is she hurt?” She couldn’t help the touch of bitterness that seeped into her voice.

“I don’t know. He organized it, and Jaden did it. This is the first time I’ve been here. I swear,”

“Piper, go get Poppy and see if she’d ok. I’ll watch this one.” His voice was cold and unfeeling, reminding her of the Wyatt she had seen first, the Wyatt who had been intent on getting her off the investigation. She much preferred the Wyatt that she knew now. Even though she’d only known him for a few days he seemed to have opened up a lot to her, and she knew it was the same vice versa. She’d opened up to him quite a bit in the last few days too. He knew things about her past – granted she hadn’t meant for him to find out – that no one other than her and Ryan knew, and some of what Louise knew. She played her own cards very close to her chest. She didn’t like to open up to anyone or let anyone in. She felt like a curse. All the people she had loved in her life had ended up dead, and she couldn’t help feeling somewhat responsible. She was just so thankful that nothing had happened to Ryan yet, and hopefully it never would. Hopefully fate wasn’t so much of a bitch that she’d take the one person left in this world that Piper truly cared about, the one person she couldn’t imagine ever living without.

She took a deep breath and nodded, putting her gun back before walking over to where the small girl sat. She still rocked gently and clutched her knees to her chest. Her eyes were still on the portrait on the wall, as if she was oblivious to the conversation that had been going on around her.

She knelt down in front of Poppy and said her name gently. She didn’t respond, so Piper placed her hand carefully on her knee. The rocking stopped almost instantly and she said her name again. A few seconds passed before Poppy looked away from the wall to look at Piper. She just stared straight at her, not blinking, not talking. But the looking her eyes said it all. It was almost a plea for help, a hope that perhaps she was the one who would get her out of here.

Seeing the look in the young girls eyes Piper slid both of her hands over the girls and grasped them gently. Poppy’s finger came away from her elbows and they grasped Piper’s hands back. Her grip was small but strong, and as soon as she had a hold of Piper’s hands and saw safety she gasped, flinging herself onto her and grabbing tight. Her deep sobs came harder and faster and Piper wrapped her arms around her, rubbing Poppy’s back in small comforting circles until she calmed down a little. She could hear Amy babbling something behind her, and Wyatt’s cold reply but she didn’t focus on their words, lending all her attention to the child crying in her arms.

When the deep sobs had slowed to hiccups and silent tears Piper stopped rubbing her back. She ran her over the top of her head and down her dark hair. Poppy raised head slightly but didn’t loosen her grip around Piper’s waist. She ran her thumb under the graze on Poppy’s cheek lightly, pulling her fingers back as she flinched. “Are you ok?” She asked her.

Poppy nodded and put her head back on Piper’s shoulder and sighing. She looked across to where Wyatt was standing, still talking to Amy. “Are you here to save me?” Poppy whispered, her voice cracked and raspy. Her wide brown eyes still stared out at the room around her, taking it all in. First stop, water, Piper decided. Poppy looked dehydrated and sounded in desperate need of a drink. She watched the small child lick her lips trying to give them some moisture.

“Yes, we are.” She hugged Poppy to her. It was dangerous getting so close to the girl like this. Ryan had always told her not to get close to a victim, especially not a young one, because it always seemed to have a way of blinding your judgement. It most cases, he was right. But right now Piper just didn’t care. She girl needed some comfort and she was the only one available to give it.

What’s going to happen with Amy? Piper asked Wyatt. She watched his back as he stood with his arms crossed across his chest and most of his weight placed on his left leg. He stood still, his eyes fixed on Amy who sat on the floor with her head in her hands. Piper could hear her quiet cries.

What is there that can happen? We either leave her here and risk her running back to Jasper and spilling or secrets, or possibly being killed because she let Poppy get away. Or, we find somewhere else she can go where she will be safe from Jasper and no one else will be at risk. I don’t know what things are like around here, but I think perhaps the hospital will be the safest place for both of these girls right now. Poppy will need looked at like Jayla and I think that Amy may be ill. She doesn’t sound too healthy and her heart beat is irregular.

I’ll talk to her. “Amy?” She waited until the teen looked up at her and tried to not think about the red rimmed tear filled eyes as she continued, “We want you to come with us. We can get you away from Jasper’s grasp and get a roof over your head for a few nights but you have to work with us on this. Ok?”

“Where will you take me?” Even from this distance she could see a spark of hope in her eyes. It was a feeling she could relate to. She’d been in Amy’s position before and knew what it was like, knew what it felt like to see that brief glimpse of hope that someone, somehow might be able to help you, even just for a little while.

“For now we’re going to the hospital. We need Poppy looked at first and we’ll check up on the first girl whilst we’re there.” She aimed that second part at Wyatt but saw Amy’s eyes go wide.

“The first girl?”

“The first woman who was killed had a daughter not much older than Poppy. She was found on a boat at the docks you’re supposed to be taking this one too later tonight.”

“Oh my God…” Amy didn’t seem to notice that Piper had just mentioned something that she’d never said out loud. Her reaction said it all however, Amy was just a follower, a slave to Jasper. She didn’t know anything that was happening just did what she was told.

“We need to get moving now. Can you get up?” Amy nodded and struggled to her feet, swaying uneasily on the spot for a few seconds. Piper gently pried Poppy’s fingers out from around her and stood up. She picked Poppy up and the small girl wrapped her arms tightly around Piper’s neck, burying her head in her shoulder.

Wyatt looked at her and she nodded. He placed his hand on Amy’s arm to steady her as she passed, swaying. She’d only taken a few steps but already she looked like she was about to pass out on her feet. What was wrong with her?

Wyatt guided her carefully out of the room and down the hallways and out into the storm. The dark clouds that had been hovering over them earlier had opened sometime in the last ten minutes or so whilst they’d been inside the house, and was now bucketing it down. Piper grimaced and gently eased Poppy down until she was standing on the floor. The girl looked up at her with her brown eyes and Piper smiled at her.

She quickly unzipped her coat and put in around Poppy and re zipped it. It was miles too big for her but at least it would keep her a little bit dryer until they got back to the car. A little bit warmer too. Piper lifted her up again and pulled the hood up on the jacket around Poppy. The small child wrapped her arms around Piper’s neck again and buried her head in her shoulder. The coat hung down so only her toes poked out of the bottom and the hood fell loosely over her head. Piper returned the girls tight grip and moved out into the storm.

She passed Wyatt on the steps and let him close the door behind them. There were still no signs of life in the street but it didn’t surprise her any more, not with the rain. Amy stood at the bottom of the steps already soaked through. She shivered in the cold and wrapped her arms around her. Wyatt placed a hand on Piper’s back and helped guide her down the steps before placing his own jacket around her shoulders. She gave him a curious look as he passed her but he didn’t look back at her, just took a light grip on Amy’s arm to steady her.

The walk back to the car had been an uneventful one. All they could do was keep their heads down against the battering the wind and rain was giving them and force their way forward. The journey seemed to take twice as long on the way back because of the wind they had against them, and the fact that Poppy was starting to slow Piper down, and Amy kept tripping and stumbling.

Wyatt looked back at Piper and gave her a look. She shrugged. Something was wrong with Amy that wasn’t so evident before. When they’d been following her earlier she had been fine, walking straight and upright. Something had happened between her entering that house and them entering it and Piper wanted to find out what.

When they reached the car they stopped. Who’s driving? Wyatt asked.

You can. I’ll stay in the back with Poppy. Put Amy in the front seat. My keys are in the side pocket of my coat. I think it’s on the side nearest to you.

Wyatt walked over and fished around in her pocket for a few seconds before pulling out her keys. Before he turned back around her gently lifted the side of the hood that covered Poppy’s face. She’s asleep.

Piper smiled despite herself and looked down at the small bundle in her arms. What must it have been like for her this past day? Did she know about what happened to her mother? Oh God, did she see it happen? If the hair in the wardrobe really did belong to her then how much of her mother’s murder would she have been able to see through the gaps in the doors? She wrapped gripped Poppy tighter and bit her lip. She knew what it was like to see loved ones die and it wasn’t something she wished upon anyone else, especially not someone as young as Poppy. Even she had been older that her when she’d seen her own parents murdered. But was it not better that she was younger? That perhaps she wouldn’t fully realize what had happened to her mother, that she’d not truly understand that her mother was dead and not coming back. But she was only 5. How was she meant to survive without her mother? Piper just hoped that the police could track down some relatives of her quickly. She couldn’t stand the thought of her ending up in an orphanage, just another forgotten child. At least Jayla had her grandparents to go back to when she got out of hospital. As far as they knew, Poppy had no one.

When Wyatt had opened the car doors she carefully climbed in the back seats and lay Poppy across the seats so that her head was in her lap. Wyatt helped Amy into the front before climbing in himself. He started the engine and they cruised away easily.