“Carter? Is everything alright? This is a l
ot of calls in one day!”
“No, everything isn’t okay, Lee. I’m in a mess and I fucked up badly.”
“Okay, shit.” He sounds worried, which makes it even worse. “What’s happened?”
“I went to the police, I spoke to them, I made a statement. Then when I came out, I called Raelyn. But… but something happened. I don’t know what, it just went all wrong, I couldn’t tell what… she just hung up quickly and I couldn’t get hold of her afterwards. But now I’m here, where she was when she was on the phone with me, and she’s gone. Her cell phone is all smashed up and she’s gone. They have her, Lee, I just know it.”
“Who has her? Do you know who has her?”
“Them. The gang. The killer, I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I don’t have any evidence, but I just know it. It was them, it has to be.”
“Okay, Carter, you need to calm down. Being all panicked right now isn’t helping is it?” I shake my head. I know he can’t see my face but I don’t trust myself to speak. “I will have a look into it and see what I can find.”
“You will? Oh, thank you, Lee. I don’t know what I’d do without you. And what should I do?”
Whatever he tells me, I’m really going to follow it. He was right the first time around and I didn’t take it in.
“Well, you’ve been to the police now, they know about this. I would suggest that you go again. Tell them how much danger Raelyn is potentially in. It might be difficult to get them to listen because it’s only just happened, but you need to do what you can.” He sighs loudly, frustration rolling off his tongue in droves. “If this is going the way it seems like it might be, you need all the help that you can get!”
“Okay, go to the police and report this,” I repeat. “I can do that. Then what?”
“Then wait. Either the cops will tell you what to do, or I will.”
“Wait.” That part will kill me. But if Lee has said it then that’s what I need to do. “Okay.”
“We will sort this, Carter. You don’t need to worry. It will be okay.”
But I can’t focus on those words. All that I can really think about is him saying “If this is going the way it seems like it might be, you need all the help that you can get!” That doesn’t sound good. It makes the bloody image of her injured face come flooding back to me. I don’t know how I’m going to survive.
“Okay, Lee. Thank you. I will speak to you soon.”
I hang up and take off again, this time heading back to the car. I need to drive right back to where I was only moments before. Hopefully, Officer Brady will still be there so I can save a whole lot of time.
I drive rapidly at the speed of light and am soon there. I burst back into the reception area, and demand to speak to Officer Brady. Who unfortunately isn’t there. And everyone I speak to isn’t really interested in me and my story. I keep hearing that I need to wait for forty-eight hours before I can report a missing person.
“I’m not reporting a missing person!” I yell loudly. “I’m reporting a crime here.”
“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to calm down,” says the woman in a suit in front of me. “I understand what you’re saying to me, but we don’t have any evidence right now that this is a crime.”
“That’s what I need you to find out!” I throw my hands in the air in frustration. “And what’s this?”
I slide the cell phone towards her. She doesn’t look at it with the shock I was expecting her to. Instead she takes it from me and nods. “Okay, thank you. I will get this examined. See if we can find out who it belongs to.”
“It belongs to Raelyn!”
“That’s what we’re going to find out, yes.” She smiles thinly at me.
“It is; I’m telling you this belongs to her. I know it. And she’s in danger.”
“Right. Sir.” She rises to her feet. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave. I have taken a record of your report and as I have promised I will look in to it. I need you to wait until further contact from us.”
“I can’t just wait. Not when I’m not sure that you’re going to do anything.”