Chapter Four

Peter had arrived at Jack's place after receiving a frantic call from the young policeman, telling him that Martha was missing and he thought that Zoe might be responsible for it.

Jack handed Peter the note as soon as he had gotten inside. "It has to be Zoe, what other explanation could there be?" Jack asked.

"Are you sure Martha's missing?" Peter questioned.

"Yes. I rang Alf's, I rang Tasha & Robbie I even rang Leah's. No one has seen her. There is no sign of her anywhere," Jack answered, slightly annoyed at Peter's question.

"It's alright mate. I'm just going over everything," Peter said. "So Martha's missing. We know Zoe's been here. I think you're probably right the two are related."

"So what are we going to do about it?" Jack asked, grabbing his jacket, ready to head out.

"Hold on a minute, Jack. The last thing we need to do is run out of here half cocked. We'll get forensics to go over this place tomorrow, though I doubt they'll find anything," Peter told Jack trying to slow him down a bit.

The ironical thing about the situation wasn't lost on Peter. Throughout this investigation, it had been Peter getting worked up about finding Zoe before anything happened, and Jack, along with Tracey Thompson, the Detective from the city, calming him down. But now the tables were reversed, though he didn't blame the young constable.

"Tomorrow? We can't wait that long. We have to find Martha now!" Jack yelled at Peter.

"I know that you're scared Jack. But you need to calm down. There really there isn't a lot we can do tonight," Peter replied. "If I know Zoe, she's already long gone. And we can't afford to be going blind on this."

"So what are you suggesting?" Jack asked, trying to take Peter's advice.

"As impossible as this sounds, try and get some sleep," Peter replied, the notion sounding ridiculous even to him. "And then first thing in the morning we'll go over everything like a fine tooth comb. We'll talk to everyone to see where and when she was last seen, and see if there is any hint of where Zoe might have taken her."

"You really think I could get any sleep right now," Jack asked incredulously.

"I know it's hard, but it's what both of us need. I'm not going to pull you from the case, even though I should, because I know you need to be involved right now. But the last thing I need is for you to be suffering from sleep deprivation as well as an emotional involvement in this case," Peter explained. "So please take my advice and try and sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that Peter let himself out, leaving Jack alone in his house.

The Next Morning

Jack was in his kitchen, making himself a cup of coffee. Despite his best efforts, Jack had only managed to get an hour or two's sleep. He'd been so worried and wound up he just hadn't been able to.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. He walked over and answered it and found Rachel standing on the door step.

"Rachel. What are you doing here?" Jack asked.

"I'm looking for Kim, have you seen him?" enquired Rachel.

Jack couldn't hold back a yawn. "Not for a couple of days actually."

"No one seems to have. It's like he's disappeared off of the face of the earth," Rachel replied.

That got Jack's attention. "What do you mean no one's seen him?"

"Just what I said. The last place I can place him was at the gym the night before last. You know when he was working late," Rachel explained.

"You know you're right. I haven't seen him since before then. I guess I just assumed he was with you or something," Jack replied. "I mean, he's been really distant lately."

"That's okay. I wasn't really sure he was missing either at first. But someone should have seen or heard from him by now," Rachel said, clearly worried.

Then she looked at Jack properly for the first time since she had gotten there and realised how bad he looked. "No offence, Jack. But you aren't looking so hot right now, is everything alright?"

That comment didn't really surprise Jack, although he hadn't looked in a mirror yet. "Not really," was all he said.

Rachel frowned. "Jack, what's going on?"

Jack hesitated, not sure if he should say anything or not. But in the end he felt like he had too. "Martha's missing. And I think Zoe had something to do with it."

"Oh my God. How is that possible?" Rachel asked.

Jack sat down on the couch. "I'm not sure. But she wasn't here when I got home last night. And I couldn't find her anywhere. And I found a note with Zoe's catchphrase Tick Tock."

Rachel sat down next to him. "That's what the phone call last night was about?"

Jack nodded. Then his mind kicked back into gear. "And you said that Kim hasn't been seen by anyone in over 24 hours."

"That's right. Wait you don't think that Zoe's involved do you?" Rachel asked, getting scared.

"I'm not sure. But he did have a relationship with her," Jack replied, before realising he probably shouldn't be talking about this with Rachel. "Look I really don't know. But, either way can you keep this to yourself for the time being. I shouldn't have even said anything to you."

Rachel was stunned by the possibility that Zoe was involved. "Ah. Yeah, sure. But you will keep me informed won't you?"

"I'll try," Jack said as he stood up. "I better go get ready for work."

With that he went to get ready.

At the Beach House

Belle came down the stairs to the lounge room that morning, still in her pyjamas. She saw Irene in the kitchen who looked up when she heard Belle approaching.

"Hi, love. How are you this morning?" Irene asked compassionately. She knew what a hard time Belle was having.

Belle sat down in a stool next to the bench. "Okay, I guess."

"You planning to get dressed, and oh I don't know leave the house?" Irene enquired.

"And give the lynch mob a clear shot? I don't think so," Belle replied.

"You can't stay inside here forever you know. You have to go out sometime," Irene said.

"Why. I like it here," Belle replied, looking down at the bench. That's when she saw a familiar CD sitting on the bench. "Where did you find this?"

Irene looked over to see what Belle was referring too. "I was tidying up this morning and found that next to the stereo. I didn't recognise it so I left it out to ask you kids about it."

"It's Ric's," Belle told her. "I'd borrowed it from him before everything had happened. You know, I'd forgotten I even had it."

Irene looked at Belle who was staring sadly at the CD and her heart broke. "I'm sorry love."

"Why? Everything that's happened has been my fault. I've only got myself to blame," Belle said, still looking at the CD. "I guess I should take this back to him." Belle stood up to go get dressed.

"Love are you sure that's a good idea?" Irene asked, worriedly.

"The best thing would be if he can make a clean break. That means he should get all his stuff back as soon as possible," Belle explained. "Don't worry I'll be fine."

At the Caravan Park

Belle walked up to the door, with the CD in her hand, stealing herself for the possibly tough confrontation she had in front of her. She planned to just drop it off and leave without delaying things with chatter.

When she got to the door, she found it closed, which usually meant no one was home. But just in case they had just closed it for some other reason she decided to knock. When she did, the door creaked a bit. It had been slightly opened after all.

She pushed on the door and it opened completely. "Hello," she called out, walking slowly into the house. What she saw shocked her.

She was staring at a woman in front of the mantle piece, and the words Tick Tock sprayed on the wall. The place was trashed.

Eve stared at the young girl in shock, this wasn't supposed to happen. They both stared at each other for a few seconds. And then Eve, the first to react, lunged at Belle. She pounced on Belle, before she could react.

The last thing Belle remembered was falling to the floor and everything going black.