A/N: So yesterday I accidentally posted a chapter of Stockholm as chapter 9 of this, my bad, I'm on new medication to help my migraines and I'm a bit of a zombie at the moment. Sorry for the confusion! Thought I'd better get this chapter finished and posted by way of apology! It also should have gone up last night, but I fell asleep without posting it -_-;
"There's nothing out here Naomi." Emily sighed; they had been walking up and down the canal for almost an hour. Whilst ghosts didn't get tired they did get bored. After her breakdown in her room Naomi had clammed up and she had barely said a word since they had left the house. She had convinced herself that the other girl's death was her fault. Regardless of whatever Emily said to her.
It was finally light outside and the waterfront was starting to become a little more populated with early morning joggers and dog walkers passing by the girls every now and then. Naomi slumped on to one of the benches close by and glared out across the still waters of the canal. "There has to be something." She let out a heavy sigh.
"It's been six days Naomi, the police would have found anything worth finding."
"Well they haven't found you, have they?" Emily might have taken her words as flirting if she hadn't been scowling when she said them. "Sorry." She saw the flash of hurt across Emily's face and let out another sigh.
"That's all I seem to say to you isn't it?"
"It's ok." Emily found herself once again trying to comfort the other girl. Her natural instinct to protect the people she cared about taking over.
"No. It isn't. You're dead Emily. You're dead and I can't find you." Her eyes settled on the murky water again. Her body shivered involuntarily as she thought of how cold the water had been the night she had fallen in. Not for the first time she wondered whether Emily's body was lying at the bottom of the canal, dumped like a piece of trash amongst the shopping trolleys and discarded tires that undoubtedly littered the bed of the canal. She hoped Emily hadn't drowned in there. It was the closest Naomi had ever come to her own death and she would not wish it on her worst enemy.
Silently she got to her feet and walked down to the edge. Emily called out for her to be careful as she leant down and dipped her hand in to the water. She closed her eyes, letting her other senses take over as she searched the water for signs of a body. If there was a body in the canal she would feel its pull. The cold water lapping at her arm harboured nothing more sinister than pollution. There was no body. "Fuck." Naomi cursed as she pulled her hand back and dried it on her jeans.
"I wouldn't recommend a swim." Naomi's head shot up as she heard a familiar voice calling out to her. Detective Blunt was dressed in her usual pants suit with her trench coat on top. She took a seat on the bench Naomi had just vacated and waited for the blonde to do the same. Dragging her feet Naomi made her way over to the bench and perched on the end furthest away from the detective.
"I've already had one thanks."
"Really, when was that then?" The detective smiled that sickly sweet smile at her, as though they were two friends exchanging pleasantries. Her eyes were a different matter though. They were narrowed and taking in Naomi's every movement. "See I have witnesses that say they saw a young woman soaking wet in the early hours of Saturday morning. They said she was coming from the direction of the canal. Now at first I thought this might have been Emily, but they said she was blonde. You're blonde Miss Campbell."
Naomi could hear the unspoken accusation in her voice and she didn't like it one bit. "I was drunk. I fell in the canal." She answered truthfully, leaving out the part about how she got back out.
"So around the time Emily Fitch went missing you fell in the canal? Interesting. Was Emily with you? Did she fall in as well? Hmm? Was there some sort of altercation between you and Miss Fitch? I know she had a thing for you-"
"Just shut the fuck up!" Naomi snapped. She could see Emily going red out of the corner of her eye and she didn't appreciate the accusation that she'd played any part in her death. "I would never hurt her! I didn't even know how she felt about me until Cook told me! So why don't you stop wasting your time on me and find out what happened to Emily?"
"We're conducting our enquiries." Blunt chose to ignore her outburst, seemingly unfazed at having a teenager swear at her. She glanced around their surroundings, checking who was about before adding with a sigh, "In all honesty Naomi we're not getting anywhere. Emily doesn't seem the type to run away, and besides her phone we've not found a trace of her since leaving the club on Friday night. Someone spotting you that night was all we had to go on. I was going to be knocking on your door in a few hours…what are you doing out here at this time of day anyway?"
"Couldn't sleep." The younger girl answered honestly. Her attention was drawn away as she caught sight of Emily standing behind the detective. She looked completely shattered by Blunt's admission that they were getting nowhere. "I can't stop thinking about her. Do you…do you think she might be dead?"
Naomi tried not to give too much away as she probed Blunt for answers. The Detective took a moment to weigh up her answer, obviously torn between being professional and being honest. She was a no-nonsense kind of woman and eventually answered her truthfully. "I think Emily would have been in touch with her family if she was capable of doing so." Naomi nodded, accepting the other woman's answer. "People don't just go missing Naomi. We'll find something sooner or later."
"I hope so." Emily mumbled quietly, even though Blunt couldn't hear her. "I just wish I could remember something useful!"
"You will." The words slipped out before Naomi could stop them. "I mean you have to find something." She quickly added, pretending she was addressing the detective, not the ghost lingering behind her.
Blunt didn't pick up on her uneasy behaviour. She pulled a card out of her pocket and handed it over to the blonde. It had her name and number printed on it. "If you think of anything that can help." Naomi took the card from her and pocketed it. Feeling her cigarettes in her pocket she pulled out the pack and lit one up. She offered one to Blunt who politely refused.
"My kids would kill me. I quit four years ago…do you need a lift somewhere?" She indicated her car that was parked by the roadside. It wasn't far from where Rebecca's mother had been killed. Naomi shook her head.
"I'm good thanks…Detective? Why were you down here?" Naomi stopped the older woman in her tracks as she made to go towards her car. Blunt offered her a half-hearted smile in response.
"Checking I hadn't missed anything."
"I can't fucking believe it!" Emily snapped as soon as Blunt had got in her car and driven away. Her face was red with anger. "They don't have a fucking clue! I'm lying dead somewhere and they're chasing their tails!"
"I'll find you Emily. I promise." Naomi's voice was low yet certain. There was a fierce determination in her eyes that gave the other girl a spark of hope, and also made something in her stomach flutter. How long had she wanted Naomi Campbell to look at her like that? Like she was everything in her world.
Naomi flicked her cigarette away and got to her feet, the moment apparently over. "Come on, I need to get ready for college. I've got a free afternoon so we'll work on finding Christopher May." The possibility that the dead little girl by the canal had witnessed Emily's death was a far-fetched one, but it was all they had to go on. Finding her brother was the key to getting her to talk.
"I can't believe I'm dead and I still have to go to school." Emily huffed, though her mood was considerably lighter than it had been moments earlier.
"You could stay with mum?" Naomi suggested, careful to keep her voice low as they passed a group of joggers. She had learnt early on in life that talking to people that no one else could see was a sure fire way for people to consider you nuts. "I'll only be a few hours at college. I can probably skip the lesson before lunch." Emily reluctantly agreed to stay home with Gina. Naomi looked a little relieved, though she tried to hide it. Emily didn't take it personally. She decided Naomi probably needed some space. Having the ghost of a girl, who apparently had a secret crush on you, following you around every minute of the day wouldn't have been easy on anyone and the usually solitary blonde was no exception.
After days of having Emily stuck to her side like a Siamese twin it was nice to get some alone time. Naomi almost considered skipping her classes all together as she approached the college and the overwhelming emotion of the student body washed over. The air was filled with anxiety about tests and the general teenage angst that went with college. It was soaking in to Naomi like poison, slowly turning her mood until she was ready to give up on college all together. Then the mood changed. There was a sudden rush of energy and excitement for the approaching weekend. James Cook appeared out of nowhere and scooped Naomi up in to a bear hug.
"Alright Blondie?"
"Cook! Get off me!" She snapped, though there was a smile tugging at her lips. Cook's mood was infectious, washing over her and cleansing her of the negativity of the rest of the school.
"Fuck me Naoms, you're smiling. I better go tell that copper." He teased as he ruffled her hair. Naomi shoved him away, rolling her eyes at him.
"What's got you in such a good mood?"
"You know that little brunette at reception?" He winked at her as he made vile thrusting motions with his hips.
"Eugh, you're such a pig." She sneered at him, but was at least glad to see he was in a better mood. The last thing she wanted to do was fight with her best friend. Something struck her as they started walking to class and she slowed her pace a little. Cook instantly copied her, knowing she needed to talk to him.
"Emily." She faltered after the first word, unsure what she really wanted to ask. It was her first chance to talk to him without the girl in question hanging around. "When did she tell you she liked me?" Cook shrugged at her, his body language suddenly becoming defensive as he shoved his hands in his pockets. He looked torn between answering her and protecting Emily.
"Last year sometime."
"Last year? Fucking hell Cook, you could have told me!"
How long had Emily been crushing on her without her knowing? "What would you have done Blondie?" He stared at her as if he could see right through her. He probably could. "You'd do what you always do when someone takes an interest, you'd be a bitch and you'd run away." There was a flash of hurt in his voice that was like a slap to the face for her.
"Cook." She tried to put her hand on his arm but he shrugged away. "You know I love you like a brother."
The night Cook had made a pass at her last year had rocked Naomi to her core. He had always flirted with anything with a pair of legs, but she had never thought he was serious. "I'm a big boy Naomi, I can take it. Ems, she's a sweet kid, she could cope with you ignoring her…but I don't think she ever told you how she feels, because she couldn't take you looking at her the way you're looking at me now. Like you fucking pity me." He shoved his hood up and stormed off in to the crowd, ignoring Naomi's shouts of protest.
"Fuck!" Naomi had thought Cook had grown out of his crush on her. Even Effy had assured her he was fine, but his little display told her otherwise. It seemed Naomi Campbell had a knack for pissing off the people who cared about her most. She knew her mother would certainly agree.
She was about to give up on classes all together when she caught sight of Effy making her way over to her, parting the crowds in the hall with her presence alone. "Hey." She had a small thin lipped smile on her lips, nothing like the usual smirk she wore. "How are you?"
"Fine." Naomi shrugged, not used to small talk with the other girl. Effy Stonem wasn't one to waste words. "You?"
Effy seemed to consider the question for a few moments before shrugging her slender shoulders. "I'm worried about Katie. And Emily of course. She might not really be my girlfriend but I do care about her."
"It must have been hard, pretending to be with Ems, but really being with Katie." Naomi sympathised, not sure she could have lived such a double life no matter how much she loved someone.
"It wasn't too bad. I got to date twins." Effy smirked, a spark of her usual self shining through. "Emily had it the hardest. She couldn't wait to get away from Bristol. Away from Katie…She loves her, she just needs to get out from under her shadow, you know?" Naomi nodded. It saddened her that Emily's death had managed to do just that. She was the centre of attention for a change, but for all the wrong reasons.
"Katie thinks she's dead." Effy continued, she looked pained to admit it. "She felt like she was near her the other night, like her spirit or something…I'd think she was just grieving, but I felt it too. A few times actually. Do you believe in that stuff? Life after death and all that bollocks?"
"No." Naomi's answer was a little sharp, but Effy didn't comment on it. She shrugged, accepting the usually cynical blonde's answer. She felt guilty for shooting Effy down, knowing what she did. It was possible Effy and Katie had both felt Emily's presence, but neither of them were 'gifted'. For them to be able to feel her meant Emily was burning a lot of energy. It usually took ghosts years to get to that kind of level of interacting with the world around them. Emily was something of an enigma. She was capable of invading Naomi's dreams and haunting her sister, yet she couldn't see other ghosts and her memories of her death weren't getting any clearer. It was like she'd skipped the basics of being a spirit and just gone straight to the advanced stuff. "Do you think Emily's dead?"
"I think she would never put Katie through this if she had a choice." Effy answered in the quietest voice Naomi had ever heard. "And if Katie thinks she's dead…" She trailed off, not bothering to finish off her sentence. They both knew where she was going with it anyway. Effy caught sight of Katie and Panda going in to their form class. Katie cast a sneer in Naomi's direction. Effy let out a deep sigh as she shook her head. "It'll kill Katie when they do find her."
After Effy had followed Katie and the others in to class Naomi hung back, debating whether or not to skip the rest of the day. Her decision was made for her as Sophia appeared out of nowhere. "Hi Naomi!" The other girl grinned madly at her.
"Sophia. Hi." The blonde replied with a little less enthusiasm. "Look I've got to get to registration-"
"Do you want to go for a drink tonight?" Sophia interrupted, her confidence and smile wavering as Naomi sighed.
"I'm sorry I've got plans-"
"Looking for Emily again?" Sophia's tone was sharp and shrill. "The police don't seem to be getting anywhere, why would you?" Naomi was done with niceties. She was sick of being hounded by the other girl.
"Look Sophia, just leave me alone ok?"
"Ok." Naomi made to walk away, but the other girl's calm response stopped her in her tracks. Sophia didn't do cool, calm and collected. The last time Naomi had refused to speak to her she had made a scene in the middle of the canteen until Naomi had dragged her out and spent an hour trying to calm her down. There was a small smile playing on her lips. "I guess you don't want to hear what I know about Emily then."
"What?" Naomi growled out, her hand clamping on to Sophia's wrist as the other girl tried to walk away. "What do you know about Emily?"
"She looked good Friday night. Effy's a lucky girl...Or she would be if Emily were really her girlfriend." She smirked at Naomi's wide eyed glare.
"How do you know about that?"
Sophia placed her hand over Naomi's and prised it away from her arm as her other hand cupped the blonde's cheek. It took all of Naomi's will power not to pull away in disgust. "Come meet me after cadets tonight. We'll go for a drink. Chat about us; and Emily." Sophia was grinning again as Naomi reluctantly agreed with a nod of her head.
"I'll be there at nine." She grumbled as she pulled her hand away from the other girl's grip and shifted her bag on her shoulder. "To talk about Emily." She added, trying to keep the bitchiness out of her voice. She didn't know whether Sophia was telling the truth or just trying to lure her on a date with her, but considering they had next to nothing to go on she had to take the chance Sophia was telling the truth. If a date with the devil was the only way to help Emily then she'd take it. She owed her that much at least.
She was in no mood for sitting through her classes so she waited for Sophia to walk away before she slipped out of the nearest exit and made a bee line for the bus stop. She sat on the top deck with her head resting against the window as she tried to think about what she would do next. There was very little chance she would track down Christopher May within twelve hours, so she was going to have to meet Sophia to find out what she knew.
When she walked through her front door she was already in a foul mood without her mother starting. "College finish early did it love?"
"My life. My education." She growled as she chucked her book bag down on the kitchen table. "Where's Emily?" Gina made a show of looking inside the teapot she had in her hands.
"Well she's not in there. That's me stumped."
"For fucks sake mum, I'm not in the mood, ok? Fucking Cook's gone off on one again, I've had DS fucking Blunt on my case about Emily and I've landed myself with a date with the fucking looney tune that's stalking me. So, where is Emily?"
"Right here." Emily piped up from the door. "Who are you going on a date with?"
"It doesn't matter." Naomi sighed. She wasn't in the mood to repeat herself. "We need to find this Christopher May. Mum, any suggestions? You've done this shit before."
"What about the journalist who covered the story?" Gina supplied. "Maybe they'd know what happened to the boy?"
"Mum, you're a genius." Naomi finally cracked a smile and even gave Gina a brief hug. "I did my work experience in school at the Bristol Post. I'll see if Sarah White's still there, she can help me track down whoever covered the May deaths."
"I'm coming too." Emily insisted as Naomi made to head back out the door. The blonde didn't object, Emily could be useful to her when they got to the newspaper office if she needed someone as a lookout.
The Bristol Post was one of the smaller newspapers in the city, with its offices upstairs in a building in the city centre. The receptionist looked barely older than Naomi, and more interested in her nails than visitors arriving at the desk.
"Excuse me; I'm here to see Sarah White." The bimbo behind the desk didn't even bother to look up.
"Have you got an appointment?" She asked in a nasally voice that grated on the blonde's last nerve.
"I'm a friend of hers, can you tell her I'm here please?"
"If you don't have an appointment-"
"Listen you peroxide bitch, I need to see Sarah White now, so just fucking call her ok?"
"Naomi Campbell. I see you still have a silver tongue." Before the receptionist could even open her mouth to object a smooth silky voice interrupted her. Sarah White was a successful journalist in her early thirties. Her thick black locks hung in loose curls around her shoulders and her olive skin identified her Italian origins. She pulled Naomi in to a hug, keeping an arm around her shoulders as she led her briskly past the receptionist's desk. "So, to what do I owe this pleasure Campbell?"
"I'm looking for a man-"
"Never thought I'd hear you say that Naomi." Sarah chuckled as she led her past the desks in the middle of the floor and in to an office at the back. She was doing well for herself. "And here I thought you'd come to buy me that drink you'd promised me." She winked, catching Emily's attention. Naomi blushed, aware Emily was staring between the two of them. Naomi had had something of a crush on the older journalist when she had been a wide eyed fifteen year old on work placement.
She laughed Sarah's teasing off, knowing the other woman was happily married. "I read about a story from Nineteen Seventy Four, a little girl drowned in the canal, her mother died at the same time in a hit and run. There was a little boy with her, her son; I'm trying to find out what happened to him. Someone here covered the story."
"Seventy four? Not many journos still knocking about from back then. Write down the details and your e-mail and I'll see what I can dig up."
"Thanks Sarah, I really appreciate this. It's a thing for school." She lied, hoping Sarah's curiosity wouldn't pose too many problems for her.
"No problem kiddo. Give me a few days…oh and try not to verbally abuse the temp at reception on the way out."
"I don't suppose there's any chance I could use one of your computers? See what I can dig up for myself?" Naomi pleaded, hoping she wasn't pushing her luck with the other woman. Sarah rolled her eyes as she wrote something down on a post it note and thrust it in Naomi's hand.
"That'll log you on to any of the terminals in the office. I think there's a spare computer on desk three. Don't get yourself in any trouble now."
Naomi gave a mock salute as she rushed out of the office and found her way to desk three. "She seems…nice." Emily commented as she perched on the end of the desk, her little legs dangling above the ground. There was a teasing smile on her lips.
"I was fifteen ok?" Naomi snapped, not feeling up to defending her adolescent crush on the older woman. "Now can I get on with finding this guy?"
"Of course." Emily shrugged. "Better get cracking, big date tonight."
"Fuck off Fitch." Naomi mumbled under her breath, aware the journalist on the next desk was throwing her funny looks. She was not looking forward to spending an evening with Sophia. Emily was going to owe her big time.
