The hours seemed to pass by in a blur of blue flashing lights and white
ceiling tiles. Sarah was vaguely aware of the rough feel of a hospital
blanket under her fingers but her mind was unable to process anything that
was happening to her. Her thoughts tumbled about her mind as the events of
the evening replayed again and again. What could I have done? She thought
desperately to herself, almost frantically as she thought back to. to.
The laughter. Oh god. How could she have forgotten that laughter? The way it rises up and washes over you like it's trying to tear your mind into pieces. But still. something was wrong. Something hadn't played out the way it was meant to. where was He? Why didn't he appear? Why hadn't he shown up to gloat? Why hadn't she had a chance to challenge him again? Why hadn't.
Sarah's mind seemed to click into reality too suddenly as she realised why he hadn't appeared. "It's because I won the last time."
It was the moment after she had spoken that she remembered she didn't want to say anything aloud. But it was too late as the conversation around her had abruptly died and now they were all staring at her in silence. The Tomlinsons, the doctors at the hospital, the policemen.
Ah shit. Sarah dropped her head into her arms and closed her eyes tightly. This is not happening! This cannot be happening! Not again. Not to me. Not to. but it wasn't happening to her was it? It was happening to Chris.
"Ms Williams?"
Sarah looked up at the man who had just spoken. Emotionless grey eyes met hers as held up his badge for her to see. "Detective Tremaine. Are you feeling well enough to answer our questions?" He flipped the badge back into his suit jacket and sat down on a plastic chair by the side of her bed. Bed? Why am I in a hospital bed? Guess I was more out of it than I thought. Sarah looked warily at the man beside her. His face was tanned and smooth, but little lines at the edges of his eyes gave away his age. Mid to late thirties and judging from his expression used to extracting confessions and statements from people who don't want to talk.
Without waiting for an answer the detective grabbed a notebook from another pocket and flipped it open. "Mr and Mrs Tomlinson have already given me your basic details and explained that you've been a regular babysitter for some years now." he looked up from his notes and stared at her. "Would you like to tell me what happened this evening?"
Sarah felt her stomach flip as any blood left in her face drained from it. Unconsciously her fingers tightened round the blankets on the bed, turning her knuckles white. "I." she said before her voice trailed away and she swallowed hard trying to put her thoughts into some sort of order that made sense.
As if sensing her distress, the other policemen in the room started to shepherd out Chris's parents out of the room, to give Sarah and the detective some privacy. As they passed by the bed, Mrs Tomlinson broke free of her police escort to grab Sarah's hand.
"Sarah," she said her eyes glistening as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. "Tell him everything. We don't blame you. We know you love Chris as much as."
She broke off as a sob forced its way out of her throat and allowed herself to be herded out of the room. Sarah stared at the door that closed behind their backs, the urgency and aching need in Chris's mothers voice causing the sinking feeling to grow stronger. It seemed to become too much for her as the tears that had been pricking at the back of her eyes spilled forth. "Oh god."
The tears spilling down her face brought the enormity of what had happened to her. How could she have been so stupid? Why did she have to tell Chris that stupid story? How could she have forgotten how powerful Jareth was? Didn't she learn anything the last time?
Sarah was startled out of her recrimination by something soft being pressed into her hand. Looking down she saw a tissue. Smiling slightly she murmured her thanks and wiped her face, before turning back to the man seated by her, his eyes slightly softened with some emotion.
"Take your time Ms Williams. Start from the beginning."
The beginning? Sarah thought to herself. That's the one thing I can't do. How do you explain about a fairytale villain who steals children? Without ending up locked up in some ward and getting injections from well meaning but ignorant psychiatric nurses? Answer.you can't.
Sarah took a deep breath to compose herself. "I arrived to look after Chris. We were upstairs, getting him ready for bed. I'd asked him about the story he wanted to hear." Her voice faltered as she remembered his response.
//I want the one about Jareth.the one you told last night.//
She shook her head, as though trying to physically force the memory from her mind. Her gaze fell on the crumpled tissue on her hands, which her shaking fingers were steadily tearing to shreds. "We were trying to decide when we heard a crash from downstairs. I told Chris to stay in bed while I went to look.it seemed as though somethi.someone had come in through the French windows. I looked up to see Chris had followed and told him to back to his room.and then.I was in Chris's room and I.I."
Sarah stared down at the pieces of torn tissue in her lap. "I let go." She whispered.
"Why did you go back into Chris's room Ms Williams?"
The detective's voice cut through the fog that was hovering around her and she stared blankly at the man before her.
"I went because."
because he was about to say the words!
//I wish the goblins.//
he was going to say the words! He was going to.
Sarah blinked and looked back down at her hands. "I don't know."
Detective Tremaine made a noise to himself and jotted something down on his pad. "Did you see what took Chris?"
The goblins took him! He said the words and they came.and.oh god it was so dark.and all I could hear was the laughter.their laughter as they came.and then.then something touched me and I let go.I let go.I let go of Chris.
I let them take him.
Sarah looked the detective in the eye and felt the lie slip out her lips. "No. I didn't see anything."
The detective stared at her holding her gaze for what seemed like hours. Somewhere a clock was ticking, its beats echoing round the room. Finally he looked back into his book and scribbled something else before snapping the book shut.
"That'll be all for now Ms Williams. The doctors think you may have concussion or be in shock so I'll let you rest for now." Detective Tremaine rose to his feet and smoothed down his jacket, his hands pausing over one of his pockets. Slowly he reached in and withdrew an envelope. "Your belongings are back in your bag but we found this on a sideboard."
He passed the letter over to her, watching her expression. "I may be back to ask you more questions in the future."
Detective Tremaine paused for a moment as though he was going to add something else, but seemed to decide against it and walked out the room. Sarah let out the breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding and looked down at the envelope in her hands.
Her blood ran cold as she stared at the letter.
Lady Sarah
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Jareth lounged idly on his throne, lazily spinning a crystal on one of his fingers. He'd only recently used it to check in on his current guest. The ghost of a smile flickered at the edges of his mouth as he remembered Chris's attempted escape. It seemed as though Sarah's determination was catching. A pity that.
He stopped the thought immediately. He couldn't allow himself to think things like that. There was so much riding on the outcome of this game.
Jareth frowned and raised up the crystal, seeing that the blonde eight year old was now in the same room as the others. He watched with mild interest as Chris made his way over to one of the younger children who was crying and wrapped his arms around them.
"Not losing your nerve are you Jareth?"
The rich tenor voice startled him out of his revelry and he quickly gestured the crystal away before rising slowly to greet the fae who stood in the doorway.
"Of course not Eoiran. You out of everyone should know I never loose my nerve."
Eoiran moved towards the Goblin King. Long wavy brown hair fell to broad shoulders, clothed in deep green cloth. His brown eyes sparkled in a face that reflected the ethereal beauty of his kind. Laughter bubbled out of his throat and chimed around the walls of the throne room. "May I remind you that I no longer play you at cards for precisely that reason?"
Jareth smiled at his friend and dipped in an ironic bow. As he rose he saw the humour in Eoiran's face had faded as troubled brown eyes searched his.
"Are you sure about this Jareth?"
Jareth felt a mocking smile twist his features, and he turned away from his friend and draped himself back on the throne.
"You know as well as I do Eoiran that it is pointless to fight against fate. Destiny has a powerful sway over our kind."
Eoiran sighed, as though repeating an oft heard argument.
"True Jareth.but there must be other."
Jareth cut off the end of Eoiran's sentence with a sharp stare and his voice was harsh as he spoke.
"Do not finish my friend. You know that for me there are no other choices as you would put it. This is a game which must be played until its conclusion."
Eoiran gazed at his friend, concern washing his features. The silence between them hung heavy in the air until the younger fae sighed and bowed his head.
"Jareth, you will always be my friend and as such I will attempt to dissuade you from your course of action no more."
Jareth nodded and his features calmed as he conjured up another crystal and begun to spin it through his fingers.
"Then we shall consider the matter settled Eoiran."
Eoiran studied the crystal flying between his friends fingers for a moment then reached out and took it, having grown impatient.
"In which case, may I suggest you accompany me to dinner as I'm starving and anxious to talk of lighter matters."
Jareth laughed and rose with a glint in his eye. "Done."
With that, the two fae strode out of the room, both men a picture in beauty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Sarah didn't know how long she sat there, staring at the letter in her hands as though it would bite her. She knew who it was from, knew it was from Him, but she couldn't bring herself to open it. Because she knew that by opening it she was accepting what was happening. Accepting that Chris had been taken. Accepting that this was all some cruel new game of Jareth's. Accepting her role in it all.
And she didn't want to accept it.
After the first time, she'd had dreams every night. Dreams in which it all ended differently. Dreams in which she fell victim to one of the traps that had been laid for her. Dreams in which her friends had not been there to help. Dreams where she'd gotten lost, hurt, tired and worn. Dreams where she had accepted Jareth's offer.
She knew that was why this was happening. Because she'd refused. She'd turned him down and won back Toby. She'd defeated him and his labyrinth. By some miracle she'd made it to the end in one piece.
She didn't know if she could do it again.
Her fifteen year old self had been able to push aside any doubts because at the age of fifteen you know that if you try, you'll win. At fifteen you know that. Just like you know that the world is fair fundamentally, that good triumphs over evil, that nothing is impossible. That you are immortal and evil things cannot touch you. Sarah had guessed long ago that it was this self belief more than anything else that had got her through the labyrinth. That had allowed her to defeat the Goblin King and return home victorious. Believe in yourself and you can accomplish anything.
The problem was that by the age of twenty-one, self belief is not something that can be found readily. Too much time in the real world, with her fellow man had hacked away at her self belief until Sarah had become the recluse she was today. Whereas before she had hidden away in her fantasy worlds because they contained the excitement she felt the real world lacked, now she hid in books and plays to block out the reality around her. A reality where people swore, cheated, lied, used others and got away with it. Because the world wasn't fair. Because more often than not, good doesn't triumph over evil. Because some things are impossible. And without her self belief there weren't a whole lot of points in Sarah's favour.
With trembling hands she turned the envelope over and broke the wax seal on the back. Slowly she pulled out the thick sheet of parchment inside and smoothed it open. The words seemed to glare up at her, written in a flowing hand. Black on white.
It is with deep regret that I convey my apologies for my absence this evening. Unfortunately there were other, more pressing matters for me to deal with. Be assured however, that I will endeavour to correct this rudeness with all due haste. I am most anxious for our reunion and look forward to the time when we can meet again, face to face.
Yours,
J~
Sarah stared at the paper as the tears from earlier pricked at the back of her eyes. With a cry of rage she screwed it up and flung it away. She wanted that hateful piece of paper far away from her.
No. That wasn't what she wanted.
She wanted Chris back and her life as it was. Sarah collapsed back onto her pillows and cried into the soft cushions beneath her for all the things she'd never have.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
She awoke the next morning feeling exhausted and tired from the dreamless uneasy sleep she had fallen into. As she blinked away the remnants of the thoughts that had haunted her through the night, she saw that detective Tremaine was again seated next to the bed, his face expressionless and remote as he watched her.
"Good morning Ms Williams. The doctors have allowed me in to ask a few more questions of you. Are you feeling up to it?"
Sarah sat up and tried to ignore the ominous feeling that was growing in the pit of her stomach. Meeting the detective's eyes briefly she nodded shakily and tried to stop her hands from shaking.
"I hope the sleep has refreshed your memory Ms Williams as there are a few matters that need to be cleared up. Firstly Mrs Tomlinson has said in her statement that when she arrived at the scene of the incident you made several random statements. Could you please explain what you meant when you referred to 'words' that had been said?"
Sarah stared speechless at the man in front of her, feeling the colour drain out of her face. She'd forgotten that she'd mentioned the words. How could she explain without sounding like she was insane? Or worse, had asked for Chris to be kidnapped?
Detective Tremaine stared at her unblinking as he probed further. "What were the 'words'? Did you converse with the kidnapper?"
Sarah dumbly shook her head and opened her mouth but no sound came out. She didn't know what to say.what could she say?
"Who was the 'he' that you mentioned? You stated to Mrs Tomlinson that 'he' couldn't take him. Are you saying that you saw the kidnapper?"
Sarah shook her head. "No." she whispered. "I didn't see anyone."
The detective leaned closer, his eyes flashing in a way that scared Sarah. "Then why did you state that the kidnapper was male?"
Sarah just stared at the detective. ".I.I"
Tremaine pressed further. "You also said that this was because you won the last time. What last time?"
Sarah shook her head. "I don't remember."
Tremaine's eyes flashed again as he put the notebook back into his pocket and leaned in closet. "Well I suggest you remember and remember quickly Ms Williams. Because this isn't an isolated incident."
Startled Sarah felt her eyes widen as the detectives voice lowered to a harsh whisper. "We have over eight snatching with identical details at the precinct. And I have a feeling I'm looking at the key to solving them all."
As he turned and walked away Sarah closed her eyes and made a fervent wish to wake up from whatever nightmare it was that she was currently experiencing. As she suspected though, the reality continued around her.
The laughter. Oh god. How could she have forgotten that laughter? The way it rises up and washes over you like it's trying to tear your mind into pieces. But still. something was wrong. Something hadn't played out the way it was meant to. where was He? Why didn't he appear? Why hadn't he shown up to gloat? Why hadn't she had a chance to challenge him again? Why hadn't.
Sarah's mind seemed to click into reality too suddenly as she realised why he hadn't appeared. "It's because I won the last time."
It was the moment after she had spoken that she remembered she didn't want to say anything aloud. But it was too late as the conversation around her had abruptly died and now they were all staring at her in silence. The Tomlinsons, the doctors at the hospital, the policemen.
Ah shit. Sarah dropped her head into her arms and closed her eyes tightly. This is not happening! This cannot be happening! Not again. Not to me. Not to. but it wasn't happening to her was it? It was happening to Chris.
"Ms Williams?"
Sarah looked up at the man who had just spoken. Emotionless grey eyes met hers as held up his badge for her to see. "Detective Tremaine. Are you feeling well enough to answer our questions?" He flipped the badge back into his suit jacket and sat down on a plastic chair by the side of her bed. Bed? Why am I in a hospital bed? Guess I was more out of it than I thought. Sarah looked warily at the man beside her. His face was tanned and smooth, but little lines at the edges of his eyes gave away his age. Mid to late thirties and judging from his expression used to extracting confessions and statements from people who don't want to talk.
Without waiting for an answer the detective grabbed a notebook from another pocket and flipped it open. "Mr and Mrs Tomlinson have already given me your basic details and explained that you've been a regular babysitter for some years now." he looked up from his notes and stared at her. "Would you like to tell me what happened this evening?"
Sarah felt her stomach flip as any blood left in her face drained from it. Unconsciously her fingers tightened round the blankets on the bed, turning her knuckles white. "I." she said before her voice trailed away and she swallowed hard trying to put her thoughts into some sort of order that made sense.
As if sensing her distress, the other policemen in the room started to shepherd out Chris's parents out of the room, to give Sarah and the detective some privacy. As they passed by the bed, Mrs Tomlinson broke free of her police escort to grab Sarah's hand.
"Sarah," she said her eyes glistening as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. "Tell him everything. We don't blame you. We know you love Chris as much as."
She broke off as a sob forced its way out of her throat and allowed herself to be herded out of the room. Sarah stared at the door that closed behind their backs, the urgency and aching need in Chris's mothers voice causing the sinking feeling to grow stronger. It seemed to become too much for her as the tears that had been pricking at the back of her eyes spilled forth. "Oh god."
The tears spilling down her face brought the enormity of what had happened to her. How could she have been so stupid? Why did she have to tell Chris that stupid story? How could she have forgotten how powerful Jareth was? Didn't she learn anything the last time?
Sarah was startled out of her recrimination by something soft being pressed into her hand. Looking down she saw a tissue. Smiling slightly she murmured her thanks and wiped her face, before turning back to the man seated by her, his eyes slightly softened with some emotion.
"Take your time Ms Williams. Start from the beginning."
The beginning? Sarah thought to herself. That's the one thing I can't do. How do you explain about a fairytale villain who steals children? Without ending up locked up in some ward and getting injections from well meaning but ignorant psychiatric nurses? Answer.you can't.
Sarah took a deep breath to compose herself. "I arrived to look after Chris. We were upstairs, getting him ready for bed. I'd asked him about the story he wanted to hear." Her voice faltered as she remembered his response.
//I want the one about Jareth.the one you told last night.//
She shook her head, as though trying to physically force the memory from her mind. Her gaze fell on the crumpled tissue on her hands, which her shaking fingers were steadily tearing to shreds. "We were trying to decide when we heard a crash from downstairs. I told Chris to stay in bed while I went to look.it seemed as though somethi.someone had come in through the French windows. I looked up to see Chris had followed and told him to back to his room.and then.I was in Chris's room and I.I."
Sarah stared down at the pieces of torn tissue in her lap. "I let go." She whispered.
"Why did you go back into Chris's room Ms Williams?"
The detective's voice cut through the fog that was hovering around her and she stared blankly at the man before her.
"I went because."
because he was about to say the words!
//I wish the goblins.//
he was going to say the words! He was going to.
Sarah blinked and looked back down at her hands. "I don't know."
Detective Tremaine made a noise to himself and jotted something down on his pad. "Did you see what took Chris?"
The goblins took him! He said the words and they came.and.oh god it was so dark.and all I could hear was the laughter.their laughter as they came.and then.then something touched me and I let go.I let go.I let go of Chris.
I let them take him.
Sarah looked the detective in the eye and felt the lie slip out her lips. "No. I didn't see anything."
The detective stared at her holding her gaze for what seemed like hours. Somewhere a clock was ticking, its beats echoing round the room. Finally he looked back into his book and scribbled something else before snapping the book shut.
"That'll be all for now Ms Williams. The doctors think you may have concussion or be in shock so I'll let you rest for now." Detective Tremaine rose to his feet and smoothed down his jacket, his hands pausing over one of his pockets. Slowly he reached in and withdrew an envelope. "Your belongings are back in your bag but we found this on a sideboard."
He passed the letter over to her, watching her expression. "I may be back to ask you more questions in the future."
Detective Tremaine paused for a moment as though he was going to add something else, but seemed to decide against it and walked out the room. Sarah let out the breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding and looked down at the envelope in her hands.
Her blood ran cold as she stared at the letter.
Lady Sarah
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Jareth lounged idly on his throne, lazily spinning a crystal on one of his fingers. He'd only recently used it to check in on his current guest. The ghost of a smile flickered at the edges of his mouth as he remembered Chris's attempted escape. It seemed as though Sarah's determination was catching. A pity that.
He stopped the thought immediately. He couldn't allow himself to think things like that. There was so much riding on the outcome of this game.
Jareth frowned and raised up the crystal, seeing that the blonde eight year old was now in the same room as the others. He watched with mild interest as Chris made his way over to one of the younger children who was crying and wrapped his arms around them.
"Not losing your nerve are you Jareth?"
The rich tenor voice startled him out of his revelry and he quickly gestured the crystal away before rising slowly to greet the fae who stood in the doorway.
"Of course not Eoiran. You out of everyone should know I never loose my nerve."
Eoiran moved towards the Goblin King. Long wavy brown hair fell to broad shoulders, clothed in deep green cloth. His brown eyes sparkled in a face that reflected the ethereal beauty of his kind. Laughter bubbled out of his throat and chimed around the walls of the throne room. "May I remind you that I no longer play you at cards for precisely that reason?"
Jareth smiled at his friend and dipped in an ironic bow. As he rose he saw the humour in Eoiran's face had faded as troubled brown eyes searched his.
"Are you sure about this Jareth?"
Jareth felt a mocking smile twist his features, and he turned away from his friend and draped himself back on the throne.
"You know as well as I do Eoiran that it is pointless to fight against fate. Destiny has a powerful sway over our kind."
Eoiran sighed, as though repeating an oft heard argument.
"True Jareth.but there must be other."
Jareth cut off the end of Eoiran's sentence with a sharp stare and his voice was harsh as he spoke.
"Do not finish my friend. You know that for me there are no other choices as you would put it. This is a game which must be played until its conclusion."
Eoiran gazed at his friend, concern washing his features. The silence between them hung heavy in the air until the younger fae sighed and bowed his head.
"Jareth, you will always be my friend and as such I will attempt to dissuade you from your course of action no more."
Jareth nodded and his features calmed as he conjured up another crystal and begun to spin it through his fingers.
"Then we shall consider the matter settled Eoiran."
Eoiran studied the crystal flying between his friends fingers for a moment then reached out and took it, having grown impatient.
"In which case, may I suggest you accompany me to dinner as I'm starving and anxious to talk of lighter matters."
Jareth laughed and rose with a glint in his eye. "Done."
With that, the two fae strode out of the room, both men a picture in beauty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Sarah didn't know how long she sat there, staring at the letter in her hands as though it would bite her. She knew who it was from, knew it was from Him, but she couldn't bring herself to open it. Because she knew that by opening it she was accepting what was happening. Accepting that Chris had been taken. Accepting that this was all some cruel new game of Jareth's. Accepting her role in it all.
And she didn't want to accept it.
After the first time, she'd had dreams every night. Dreams in which it all ended differently. Dreams in which she fell victim to one of the traps that had been laid for her. Dreams in which her friends had not been there to help. Dreams where she'd gotten lost, hurt, tired and worn. Dreams where she had accepted Jareth's offer.
She knew that was why this was happening. Because she'd refused. She'd turned him down and won back Toby. She'd defeated him and his labyrinth. By some miracle she'd made it to the end in one piece.
She didn't know if she could do it again.
Her fifteen year old self had been able to push aside any doubts because at the age of fifteen you know that if you try, you'll win. At fifteen you know that. Just like you know that the world is fair fundamentally, that good triumphs over evil, that nothing is impossible. That you are immortal and evil things cannot touch you. Sarah had guessed long ago that it was this self belief more than anything else that had got her through the labyrinth. That had allowed her to defeat the Goblin King and return home victorious. Believe in yourself and you can accomplish anything.
The problem was that by the age of twenty-one, self belief is not something that can be found readily. Too much time in the real world, with her fellow man had hacked away at her self belief until Sarah had become the recluse she was today. Whereas before she had hidden away in her fantasy worlds because they contained the excitement she felt the real world lacked, now she hid in books and plays to block out the reality around her. A reality where people swore, cheated, lied, used others and got away with it. Because the world wasn't fair. Because more often than not, good doesn't triumph over evil. Because some things are impossible. And without her self belief there weren't a whole lot of points in Sarah's favour.
With trembling hands she turned the envelope over and broke the wax seal on the back. Slowly she pulled out the thick sheet of parchment inside and smoothed it open. The words seemed to glare up at her, written in a flowing hand. Black on white.
It is with deep regret that I convey my apologies for my absence this evening. Unfortunately there were other, more pressing matters for me to deal with. Be assured however, that I will endeavour to correct this rudeness with all due haste. I am most anxious for our reunion and look forward to the time when we can meet again, face to face.
Yours,
J~
Sarah stared at the paper as the tears from earlier pricked at the back of her eyes. With a cry of rage she screwed it up and flung it away. She wanted that hateful piece of paper far away from her.
No. That wasn't what she wanted.
She wanted Chris back and her life as it was. Sarah collapsed back onto her pillows and cried into the soft cushions beneath her for all the things she'd never have.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
She awoke the next morning feeling exhausted and tired from the dreamless uneasy sleep she had fallen into. As she blinked away the remnants of the thoughts that had haunted her through the night, she saw that detective Tremaine was again seated next to the bed, his face expressionless and remote as he watched her.
"Good morning Ms Williams. The doctors have allowed me in to ask a few more questions of you. Are you feeling up to it?"
Sarah sat up and tried to ignore the ominous feeling that was growing in the pit of her stomach. Meeting the detective's eyes briefly she nodded shakily and tried to stop her hands from shaking.
"I hope the sleep has refreshed your memory Ms Williams as there are a few matters that need to be cleared up. Firstly Mrs Tomlinson has said in her statement that when she arrived at the scene of the incident you made several random statements. Could you please explain what you meant when you referred to 'words' that had been said?"
Sarah stared speechless at the man in front of her, feeling the colour drain out of her face. She'd forgotten that she'd mentioned the words. How could she explain without sounding like she was insane? Or worse, had asked for Chris to be kidnapped?
Detective Tremaine stared at her unblinking as he probed further. "What were the 'words'? Did you converse with the kidnapper?"
Sarah dumbly shook her head and opened her mouth but no sound came out. She didn't know what to say.what could she say?
"Who was the 'he' that you mentioned? You stated to Mrs Tomlinson that 'he' couldn't take him. Are you saying that you saw the kidnapper?"
Sarah shook her head. "No." she whispered. "I didn't see anyone."
The detective leaned closer, his eyes flashing in a way that scared Sarah. "Then why did you state that the kidnapper was male?"
Sarah just stared at the detective. ".I.I"
Tremaine pressed further. "You also said that this was because you won the last time. What last time?"
Sarah shook her head. "I don't remember."
Tremaine's eyes flashed again as he put the notebook back into his pocket and leaned in closet. "Well I suggest you remember and remember quickly Ms Williams. Because this isn't an isolated incident."
Startled Sarah felt her eyes widen as the detectives voice lowered to a harsh whisper. "We have over eight snatching with identical details at the precinct. And I have a feeling I'm looking at the key to solving them all."
As he turned and walked away Sarah closed her eyes and made a fervent wish to wake up from whatever nightmare it was that she was currently experiencing. As she suspected though, the reality continued around her.