Chapter Two
*
16 HOURS MISSING
Martin sifted through the books stored in the overcrowded locker, sheets of paper occasionally falling out. Battered family photos were taped to the door along with pictures of a beach landscape from a magazine and a 1940's film star that he didn't recognise. He briefly glanced around the hallway, full of chattering students at break time, some nervously noticing his presence whilst others were too concerned in their own matters to worry about a missing student and a man looking through her locker.
Suddenly a girl, of about sixteen years of age he guessed, sidled up next to him and opening the adjoining locker next to Theadora Maxwell's. She was loudly chewing gum, her blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail and wearing what he could only imagine what the school cheerleading outfit. Deciding that amongst the American History textbooks and yellowing photos that he wouldn't find out why Thea disappeared, he turned to the girl standing next to him. "Excuse me, were you friends with Theadora Maxwell?" He asked and she turned to him with a derisive snort.
"*No-one*…" She emphasised , "Was friends with Thea…. Bookish if you know what I mean." She added as an afterthought.
"Did you notice anyone bullying Thea at school or did she seem overly upset at school?" Martin pressed.
The girl shook her head, "Uh, not really. Everyone thought she was pretty cool…sure, there was some jealousy that all the guys wanted to scre…*date* her…" The girl amended her language, "But no-one bullied her. Grace made sure of that."
"Grace is her sister?" Martin questioned and the girl nodded emphatically.
"Although, there was someone who was pretty close to Thea." She said gesturing towards the long windows of the corridor where outside a girl sat on the grass underneath a tree. "You should ask her. She's called Rae Jenkins. She and Thea had a *special* relationship." The girl said and gave him a quick look up and down appreciatively. "If I were a few years older…" She said before turning on her heel and shaking her hips.
Martin just shook his head. At even his young age, he probably could have fathered a sixteen year old like her. Walking out of the doors, checking for any sign of Vivienne who was grilling the teachers, he approached the tree from behind. "Excuse me? Are you Rae Jenkins?" He said to the back of Rae's head.
Rae wiped her eyes, Martin could see that clearly enough, and coughed slightly. "Who's asking?"
"FBI, Missing Persons Squad." He walked further round to the front of the tree where he noticed Rae's eyes were streaming.
"You're here about Thea, right?" She said tearfully, but trying to disguise her upset.
"Yes, ma'am." Martin said respectfully, aware of Rae's distress. "I was pointed in your direction by another student. She said you and Thea were quite close."
Rae looked up at him, continuing to wipe her eyes but to no avail. "Sorta." She answered vaguely. Her eyes were suspicious, wondering what he was going to ask her next. Martin crouched down to be on her eye-level.
"What kind of relationship did you have? Acquaintances? Friends? Best friends?" He threw the questions at her quickly, the words almost blending together into a garble. "Did you talk to her often? Did she have a boyfriend? Did she hate her parents?"
"I was in love with her!" Rae said, trying to stop the barrage of questions. "Is that what you wanted to hear? I was in love with her!" She said, covering her face with her hands.
Martin felt guilty, but almost pleased that he'd uncovered a part of Thea's life that could lead to her recovery, "Was she in love with you?" He asked, moving to sit next to her on the luscious green grass.
"We were dating….right before she went missing." Rae explained. "That night, before she disappeared, we planned to go to the movies and have a meal or something." She said, the tone of her voice illustrating that she was remembering a time when everything was so much easier. "She wouldn't have run away…" She mused tearfully and Martin handed her a tissue.
"Did Thea ever tell you that she was worried about a stalker maybe? Or that she'd been getting disturbing prank phone calls?" Martin asked, relaxing his attitude around Rae now he found out what her "special relationship" with Thea was. "Did she ever indicate to you that she was worried about someone following her?"
Rae shook her head emphatically, "Never. She'd never said anything like that to me." Rae insisted, "Have you talked to her sister, Grace? She might know something more."
"We're already questioning her at the moment." Martin informed her with a monotone voice. "So you can't think of any reason why Thea would run away?" Rae shook her head, "No-one at school been bothering her?"
"Well…" She said hesitantly, "I'm not sure if this means anything."
"Go on."
"A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Main Office to collect the register for my English class and there was this guy at the front desk. He was asking for Thea." She said, more and more details coming back to her. "He had a Russian accent…I remembered that so well 'cause we were watching some old Russian movies together the night before."
Martin got his pad out of his coat pocket, "Would you be able to give me a description of him?"
Rae nodded, "I could probably pick him out of a line-up," She said.
"So what happened after he asked for Thea?" Martin continued.
"Well he started to get really angry when the receptionist wouldn't tell him where she was. This guy kept saying his was a family friend but he was dressed really roughly and he only wanted to talk to Thea and not Grace." Rae explained. "I just stood in the background of the office until he disappeared."
"How long was he there?"
"A couple of minutes. The receptionist could probably give you a description too." Rae told him, turning to face Martin. "Do you think he could have something to do with her disappearance?"
"We're going to have to check with her parents…but he may be our strongest lead." Martin said, rising from the ground, and wiping off any remainders of grass stuck to him. Rae rose also, standing in front of him shyly.
"Can you keep in contact with me? Tell me what's going on?" She pleaded and Martin frowned uncertainly. "Anything would do."
"Maybe you should approach the Maxwells. I'm sure they'd appreciate you being there to help look after their youngest daughter." Martin suggested.
"Yeah." Rae said quietly.
"And if you think of anything else, then ring this number…" He handed her his card.
"Sure." She said smiling slightly, and Martin walked away down the school path and took out his cellphone and dialled Jacks number.
"Jack?" He spoke into his phone.
"Yeah?" The man spoke gruffly.
"I think we got our suspect."
*
Reviews welcome!
*
16 HOURS MISSING
Martin sifted through the books stored in the overcrowded locker, sheets of paper occasionally falling out. Battered family photos were taped to the door along with pictures of a beach landscape from a magazine and a 1940's film star that he didn't recognise. He briefly glanced around the hallway, full of chattering students at break time, some nervously noticing his presence whilst others were too concerned in their own matters to worry about a missing student and a man looking through her locker.
Suddenly a girl, of about sixteen years of age he guessed, sidled up next to him and opening the adjoining locker next to Theadora Maxwell's. She was loudly chewing gum, her blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail and wearing what he could only imagine what the school cheerleading outfit. Deciding that amongst the American History textbooks and yellowing photos that he wouldn't find out why Thea disappeared, he turned to the girl standing next to him. "Excuse me, were you friends with Theadora Maxwell?" He asked and she turned to him with a derisive snort.
"*No-one*…" She emphasised , "Was friends with Thea…. Bookish if you know what I mean." She added as an afterthought.
"Did you notice anyone bullying Thea at school or did she seem overly upset at school?" Martin pressed.
The girl shook her head, "Uh, not really. Everyone thought she was pretty cool…sure, there was some jealousy that all the guys wanted to scre…*date* her…" The girl amended her language, "But no-one bullied her. Grace made sure of that."
"Grace is her sister?" Martin questioned and the girl nodded emphatically.
"Although, there was someone who was pretty close to Thea." She said gesturing towards the long windows of the corridor where outside a girl sat on the grass underneath a tree. "You should ask her. She's called Rae Jenkins. She and Thea had a *special* relationship." The girl said and gave him a quick look up and down appreciatively. "If I were a few years older…" She said before turning on her heel and shaking her hips.
Martin just shook his head. At even his young age, he probably could have fathered a sixteen year old like her. Walking out of the doors, checking for any sign of Vivienne who was grilling the teachers, he approached the tree from behind. "Excuse me? Are you Rae Jenkins?" He said to the back of Rae's head.
Rae wiped her eyes, Martin could see that clearly enough, and coughed slightly. "Who's asking?"
"FBI, Missing Persons Squad." He walked further round to the front of the tree where he noticed Rae's eyes were streaming.
"You're here about Thea, right?" She said tearfully, but trying to disguise her upset.
"Yes, ma'am." Martin said respectfully, aware of Rae's distress. "I was pointed in your direction by another student. She said you and Thea were quite close."
Rae looked up at him, continuing to wipe her eyes but to no avail. "Sorta." She answered vaguely. Her eyes were suspicious, wondering what he was going to ask her next. Martin crouched down to be on her eye-level.
"What kind of relationship did you have? Acquaintances? Friends? Best friends?" He threw the questions at her quickly, the words almost blending together into a garble. "Did you talk to her often? Did she have a boyfriend? Did she hate her parents?"
"I was in love with her!" Rae said, trying to stop the barrage of questions. "Is that what you wanted to hear? I was in love with her!" She said, covering her face with her hands.
Martin felt guilty, but almost pleased that he'd uncovered a part of Thea's life that could lead to her recovery, "Was she in love with you?" He asked, moving to sit next to her on the luscious green grass.
"We were dating….right before she went missing." Rae explained. "That night, before she disappeared, we planned to go to the movies and have a meal or something." She said, the tone of her voice illustrating that she was remembering a time when everything was so much easier. "She wouldn't have run away…" She mused tearfully and Martin handed her a tissue.
"Did Thea ever tell you that she was worried about a stalker maybe? Or that she'd been getting disturbing prank phone calls?" Martin asked, relaxing his attitude around Rae now he found out what her "special relationship" with Thea was. "Did she ever indicate to you that she was worried about someone following her?"
Rae shook her head emphatically, "Never. She'd never said anything like that to me." Rae insisted, "Have you talked to her sister, Grace? She might know something more."
"We're already questioning her at the moment." Martin informed her with a monotone voice. "So you can't think of any reason why Thea would run away?" Rae shook her head, "No-one at school been bothering her?"
"Well…" She said hesitantly, "I'm not sure if this means anything."
"Go on."
"A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Main Office to collect the register for my English class and there was this guy at the front desk. He was asking for Thea." She said, more and more details coming back to her. "He had a Russian accent…I remembered that so well 'cause we were watching some old Russian movies together the night before."
Martin got his pad out of his coat pocket, "Would you be able to give me a description of him?"
Rae nodded, "I could probably pick him out of a line-up," She said.
"So what happened after he asked for Thea?" Martin continued.
"Well he started to get really angry when the receptionist wouldn't tell him where she was. This guy kept saying his was a family friend but he was dressed really roughly and he only wanted to talk to Thea and not Grace." Rae explained. "I just stood in the background of the office until he disappeared."
"How long was he there?"
"A couple of minutes. The receptionist could probably give you a description too." Rae told him, turning to face Martin. "Do you think he could have something to do with her disappearance?"
"We're going to have to check with her parents…but he may be our strongest lead." Martin said, rising from the ground, and wiping off any remainders of grass stuck to him. Rae rose also, standing in front of him shyly.
"Can you keep in contact with me? Tell me what's going on?" She pleaded and Martin frowned uncertainly. "Anything would do."
"Maybe you should approach the Maxwells. I'm sure they'd appreciate you being there to help look after their youngest daughter." Martin suggested.
"Yeah." Rae said quietly.
"And if you think of anything else, then ring this number…" He handed her his card.
"Sure." She said smiling slightly, and Martin walked away down the school path and took out his cellphone and dialled Jacks number.
"Jack?" He spoke into his phone.
"Yeah?" The man spoke gruffly.
"I think we got our suspect."
*
Reviews welcome!