The Most Unlikely Source

A girl goes missing in a small village.

                                  The Most Unlikely Source

A girl had gone missing.  Apparently, she had left her home early that morning, the parents not being aware of this.  At only six years of age, some thought it was too young to be wandering the streets alone.  Frequently she would be seen strolling around the town, which angered many.  Her parents didn’t work, and spent too much of their time watching television and consuming fatty food.  Social-services had been involved in the past, and nothing ever came of it.

Eyewitness accounts said they saw the girl walking alone down Soundon road.  This was on the outskirts of town.  Why she was in this particular area was uncertain?

A thorough investigation was taking place.  

The odd rumour from the locals would say that her parents had murdered her, and buried the body in one of the many surrounding fields.

It was a very sad affair, which had shocked a peaceful rural community.

Penton Reel was the name of the town, and being fifteen miles from the city of Norwich, it was in the middle of nowhere.

Four days had gone by, still no sign of her.  It was not looking good.  The girl had vanished on the 24th of February, it was now the 28th.

The policeman headed towards the superior’s office, which was down the end of the corridor.

“Hey, how’s the search going?” asked a voice from one of the little offices on the left.

He turned, and recognised the person instantly.  “Hello, Mandy.  It’s going badly, I’m afraid,” he replied solemnly.

Mandy was a pretty looking female, with red hair which reached the middle of her back.  She hadn’t been in the force that long, at the age of twenty five she was still very inexperienced.

“Oh, that’s such a shame.  I hope someone finds her soon.  To think she is out there all alone, it fills me with such sadness,” said she a little upset.

The policeman whose name was Jack, approached the desk she sat behind.  “It’s been nearly five days now, and with the weather, the chance of surviving in these conditions.  I’m afraid it’s not looking at all optimistic,” he answered.

Mandy half rose from her chair, and gazed into his eyes, “Come on, Jack, get me involved.”

He had expected this, and sighed, “It’s good that you want to get your hands dirty, and get more involved, but you have been assigned to other cases.  I don’t think a word from me about this would necessarily help you.”

She was not going to give up, and asked him again in a softer tone, “Please, Jack.  Look, I’ll strike a deal with you, if you can have a word with Stephen and get me involved with the investigation, I will pay you in kind.”

Jack laughed, and saw that she was serious, said, “You really want it, don’t you.  Okay, because it’s you, I’ll see what I can do, but I am a married man, dear Mandy.”

A slight smile appeared on her face, and she sat back down.

He gave her a cheeky wink, then left the small office.

The man in charge expected him, and he was already running late.

The meeting had not gone well.  Jack stood outside of the police headquarters.  On the top of his head and face he felt spots of cold rain.  He hurried to the car and got in. 

He sat for sometime, not ready to go home.  The disappearance had caused a lot of problems in the usually tranquil town.  There was uproar from the residents that the police were not doing enough, which was untrue.  Today, alone, he was up at first light, and it had been a long one.  On a usual day, petty crimes and the odd shoplifting offence would be the worse to put up with. 

Ever since the girl had vanished, into, it seemed like, thin air, frustration of not finding her was getting him down.  All of his colleagues felt the same, as the expressions on their faces told the story.  There was an unsettled atmosphere everywhere, just like a dark cloud that would not lift.

A tap was heard.  He turned and wound the window down.  By his car stood Fred, a fellow policeman.

“It’s not going well, mate,” said Fred.  “The chance of finding her now, is bloody slim.”

Jack did not want to admit it to himself, the chance of seeing her again after such a lengthy period, was unheard of.  In most cases resembling this, the child would be found in the first twenty four hours.

“If she’s still alive, I hope she’s safe,” said Jack.

He had this dreadful feeling she was no longer alive.  He had been in the police force for too many years, and over this time he had learnt a lot.  He could tell Fred believed the same, and could see it in his eyes.

“See you tomorrow, mate,” said Fred.

“Yeah, see you.”

The rain fell hard.  Jack closed the window, and started his journey home.

He drove through the town centre.  To his left he saw some children, up the road they ran heading towards the playing field.  He stopped the car at the traffic lights, and tapped the steering wheel.  To his right in one of the narrow footpaths he saw a man of overly big size.  It was the missing girl’s father.  He observed him for some time, and his heart went out to him.  Jack felt emotional, and needed to look away.  

The lights changed.

He pulled the car up just outside his house.  Through the living room window Jack saw his wife.  She had a worried look on her face.  He acknowledged her and she smiled back.

He opened the door and stepped into the warm hallway.  He removed his shoes and placed them on a mat.  Then made his way to the living room to greet his wife.  When he entered she was still by the window, her back to him.

He could tell something was wrong, and asked her, “Are you okay, darling?”

She did not answer.

He tried again, “ What’s wrong, Jenny, please tell me?”

She turned and faced him, and quietly said, “I’m scared to go out, and I’ll tell you why.  Everyone in this town is blaming the police for that girl going missing.”

He loved his wife and hated the fact that she was suffering like this.  “So, what happened, did someone say something to you?”

She looked down, and said, “It happened in the supermarket while I was picking up some items.  I don’t know who she was, but she shouted at me.  She kept saying stuff about you, and the police in general.  I’m sorry, Jack, but it scared me very much.  Everyone was staring and all I remember doing was running out of the shop.”

Jack came closer, and placed a hand on her left shoulder.  He kissed her tenderly on the forehead.  “I’m so sorry, darling.  It’s only an idea, why don’t you stay with your mother for a few days?  When all of this blows over, as it will eventually, promise you'll come back to me, as I’ll be waiting with open arms.”

Jenny seemed a little startled by this.  “I’m not leaving you.  You need me in this crisis.”

“If it happens again, though, next time there will not be a choice.  The last thing I need on top of everything else is to worry about you.”

“I promise, I’ll go to my mum’s if it happens again.”

“Thank you, sweetheart,” he said softly.  He kissed her on the lips.

It was the 4th of March, and the stormy conditions of the last few days had thankfully passed.

Jack drove reluctantly to work.

Today was the big meeting, involving every rank.  It was about the missing girl.

Jack knew there was nothing else they could do.  They had searched everywhere, interviewed several people during the investigation.

In the big office at work there was many photographs of her.  He hated looking at the pictures.  Not knowing her fate upset him.

By 1 o clock that afternoon a decision had been made.  To everyone’s disappointment the search was being called off.  

When Jack left for lunch, the photos had been taken down and put into an A4 envelope.

He met Fred in the cafeteria

“I can‘t believe it, mate,” said Jack, as he sat down.  “I wonder what happened to her?”

Fred looked about him and scratched the top of his head, before he replied, “No one knows, mate.  It‘s like she just vanished into thin air, not leaving a single trace.”

“The parents must be going through hell,” said Jack.

Fred got up from his seat, an angry expression on his face.  “Don’t you get it, mate.  Everybody knows they’re rubbish parents.  Just think if your mum and dad were like that, not giving a s**t about you.”

Jack peered up at him, and with a single nod, half agreed.

Fred sat back down and carried on with his meal.

Weeks passed, and then months.  Overtime, people forgot.  The parents of the child moved away a year and a half of her going missing.  

Three years after that fateful day a new investigation was started.  After three months it was dropped, down to lack of evidence and eye-witness accounts which yet again, came to nothing.

Five years had now gone by, and the town was back to normality.  In the month of July the local reverend died unexpectedly from a heart attack.  Being the age of fifty two, it was shocking news.  The community paid their respects.  At his funeral many people came.

Some weeks after this, something unforeseen occurred.

Jack was at home when he received the call.

“What do you mean?” he said, not quite believing it.

“Just come down the station,” Fred ordered, “and all will be explained.”

He entered the station and hurried up the stairs.  If the news was correct, the case from five years ago was close to being solved.

“A tramp you say, where is he now?” Jack asked.

“In the interrogation room.  He’s shitting his pants, mate.  He looks petrified.”

“Well, at least we will know what happened to her now.”

“I know what you mean,” answered Fred.  “I’ve never known a case like it.”

Both watched as the tramp was being questioned.  An hour was all it took.

Jack and Fred left the room satisfied.

“It’s shocking, mate,” Fred said, as he took a gulp of fizzy coke.

He couldn’t help himself, he needed to be sure that what he had just heard, was correct.  “I’m sorry, Fred.  Let me get this straight in my head.”

“I’ll explain it to you again, mate, all right,” Fred said.  “The tramp saw the girl making her way down the road, and wanting to help her, he ventured out of the forest.  While she played, she didn’t see the car.  Well, as you know, the car hit her, and from the vehicle reverend David appeared.  The tramp saying the man looked very agitated.  And as he put the body in the boot of his car he noticed our friend, and threatened him with the murder of the child, if he ever breathed a word of what had just occurred.”

“So, it was an accident?” Jack said, still finding it hard to believe what he’d just heard.

“Well, this morning, we had a search warrant for the church.  Unbeknown to even his wife, for the last five years he has been writing a diary all about the guilt which is eating him up inside.  It also says he buried the girl in the graveyard, away from the other gravestones, out of respect for what he had done.”

“Why didn’t he just confess at the time?” Jack asked, still unsure of this answer.

“I’m not sure.”

Some minutes later, it became clear.

It said that after the accident he panicked, and realising he had consumed half a bottle of gin the night previous, and knowing he was over the limit, he acted on what seemed a good idea at the time.

“So, the fear of going to prison, led him to conceal the body,” said Fred.

“Sounds like it.”

A few days later, Jack decided to visit the graveyard to see it for himself.  Once he was there, he felt a strange feeling well up inside.  Away from the other graves it stood near the cobbled wall.  

Engraved in the stone, it read:

                               FOR MY BIGGEST SIN I AM SORRY.

                      MAY THE BONES OF THIS CHILD FOREVER REST IN PEACE.

                                      The End

Reviews

[Marie]

A very well written story; you did a good job tying it up: the ministers death and then the shocking truth.
I proofread this and found only one obvius error:

When all of this blows over, as it will eventually, promise your(you'll) come back to me, as I’ll be waiting with open arms.”

[Enid Blake]

This is a really good story, filled with mystery from beginning right to the end when you provide the answers. I enjoyed it!

[steve]

Thank you very much. I entered this into a competition on here, and came 4th.

[Michael X]

this is what good story writing is all about, from the first sentence
I grasped the voice as being a detective, which shows just how well conceived the idea has been executed, the realism and plot has
conviction and draws the reader in with continuous interest,
thoroughly enjoyable read, thank you.