Chapter 24 (Flashback)

The Retribution

Chapter 24

Young Marvin Hacking decided to go for a stroll around the woods, to clear his thoughts and make sense of the recent goings on, a 10 year old boy going missing; a rich boy. It was most likely to be kidnappers, wanting the family to cough up. Marvin's stomach turned whenever he thought of that possibility, but it couldn't have been because they would have sent a ransom note or made a phone call. He hoped and prayed to high heaven that whoever had him were treating him right, because the thought of it being any other way overwhelmed Marvin with foul horror.

It was going on 12 noon, and Marvin reckoned he should head back to work. Vernon would wrap his knuckles if there was any sign of screwing around, especially after detectives Cowan and Finley's performance yesterday. Just then, something bright red caught his eye from the ground at a glance, so he walked over to it and knelt down. He carefully brushed away the old debris and leaves with his fingers to get a proper look, when he saw that it was a torn, grubby piece of material - and resembled something of a bow tie. "Holy s**t!" he gasped loudly.

.

Natalie was sitting in the front living room, when she heard Victor shouting from outside, near the front gates. She wondered for a moment, before getting up and making her way to the front door, opening it and seeing a drunken Paul; Victor's dreadful brother being driven down their huge, gravelled pathway in a hire car.

"Natalie!" he yelled. He paid the driver then stumbled out of the vehicle and ran towards her.

Victor saw this and ran to stop him, as he knew that Natalie wouldn't appreciate the gesture, plus he didn't quite trust him not to be inappropriate.

"He was my nephew."

"Shut up, Paul. He's not dead," Victor growled.

"Victor, don't be like that!"

"I hate Victor. It's Vic or Ash...right?"

"OK." Paul then added, as they headed inside, "No ransom note, I heard. that's rough. You know what that means, don't cha?"

"Enlighten us," Natalie replied sarcastically, as they headed into the living room.

"It's one of those freaks got him."

"Circus gone on the rampage?" Natalie joked, but Victor knew exactly what he meant and shot them both a look.

Paul continued anyway. "You know...One of those sex beasts that like little boys."

Victor saw red and pinned him against the wall by his shirt and snarled, "Shut your mouth before I shut it for ya!"

"Come on, Vic. I'm only tellin' it like it is..."

"Well Nat doesn't like your analogy, and neither do I," he replied, letting go of his brother.

"He's got a point," Natalie supplied.

"No, sweetie, we know who got Michael." Victor then added quietly, "Well, at least we think we do."

"You gotta be kidding," Paul replied. "And you ain't smashed their skull open already?!"

"You mustn't go s**t slinging, ya hear? We think it could have been Mary Shaw."

Natalie shot her husband a look, telling him to be quiet, and that he's said too much.

Paul gaped his mouth. "It's a b***h?! Even more reason to go and smash some skull!"

"You b*****d!" Natalie yelled angrily. She couldn't believe what a woman hating thug he was.

Just then, he laughed. "Wait a minute...Mary Shaw the ventriloquist?"

Victor looked uneasy. "Er...yeah. She lives around here." He knew he should stop digging, but felt the need to open up to his brother.

"I'm gonna smash her head in. I don't care how old she is!"

Natalie suspected Mary Shaw, only slightly and felt she could agree a little with Paul, but this didn't feel like the way to go about it.

.

Marvin was standing in front of Vernon's desk, informing his boss of his find.

"We gotta get the rest of he team and the forensics, right away!"

"Yes sir," Marvin replied, before rushing off.

.

Police officers cordoned off the area where the bow tie was found. They stood guard around, whilst a couple of a forensics briefly took photographs of the bow tie on the ground, before carefully picking it up and placing it into a paper evidence bag.

.

Vernon Francis called Robert into the police station as soon as he had heard all.

Robert stood in front of Vernon's desk like a school-boy, receiving a grilling.

"Kidnapping's what they say. No ransom note, no leads. Nothing."

"I'm on it," Robert said casually, misreading the point.

"It means it's 100 to 1 chance he's dead, you a*s hat! While you were screwing around on the job, sky-ving with your bit of p***y, that boy was lying dead, or being murdered!" Vernon snapped.

"I'm on it. Oh... should we start looking for a body?" Robert was curious to know whether they were to start looking for the boy's body, by which point.

"I guess so," Vernon sighed.

.

Paul was strolling along, noticing that Mary Shaw was already under police protection, as 2 officers were walking close to her and keeping their eyes peeled.

"Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!" he chanted from the other side of the road.

.

By around 4, the boys parents had been informed of the find.

"I'm gonna kill that evil old witch." Victor was even more angry, as he paced his living room.

"No, sweetie, don't," Natalie calmly replied, standing up to try and sooth her husbands temper.

"Our Mikey's dead..." He paused for a brief moment, then became emotional.