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Authors: Simon Gould
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else. I had no clue how to proceed from here, but there must be a reason we were here, that’s assuming Ferguson was right about the code. What was it we were missing?
Out of the corner of the eye, something did catch my attention, and on first glance I dismissed it but then a thought crossed my mind. I said nothing but calmly traversed the room to a dressing table, processing my initial thought. Oh God, if I was right this was well and truly fucked up.
Taking several moments to clarify my train of thought, and play out the consequences of my next move in my head, I knew I had no option but to ask. The more I thought about it, the more I thought I was right.
‘Laura’, my voice was quiet and unassuming, ‘who is that in the photo with you?’ I gestured to a glossy 4x6, set in a tasteful black frame. The only picture that adorned the dressing table, in fact. I asked the question, but deep down I already knew part of the answer.
‘Oh that?’ Laura smiled, ‘Me and my daughter Stella’, she was obviously a very proud parent. ‘It was taken last year on holiday on her eighteenth birthday. It’s lovely don’t you think?’
A quick glance at Charlie confirmed that I didn’t need to spell out what I was thinking for him.
‘And where is Stella now, Laura?’ I hated to ask. If I was right her whole world would come crashing down in a few minutes.
‘Oh, she’ll be in college by now. She’s a good girl, really dedicated. She never misses a day. She’s had excellent grades all year too’.
‘Does she go to a local college?’ I continued to gently probe for information, wanting to prolong what I suspected was the inevitable for just a few seconds more.
‘Yes, she goes to the Los Angeles Community College’, she was still smiling. ‘It’s a really great program they have there, you know’.
Charlie slipped out of the room, and I knew that he going to verify whether Stella was actually in college or not. It almost felt like we were going through the motions though. I already had a gut feeling that we had just identified the girl we were currently trying to save from The Chemist, right when we were supposed to.
I too excused myself from the bedroom, I had to know if I was right on this call, and if I was, I was still unsure exactly how to proceed.
Charlie was on his cell, and from the roll of his eyes, I could tell he was on hold. ‘Should know in a couple minutes, man. I’ve had a black and white in the neighbourhood pull a code 10-20’.
The couple of minutes of dead-time, whilst we verified whether or not Stella Edwards was at her college, gave me the opportunity to play out the positives and negatives of what I should tell her mother.
Sensing I was in two minds, Charlie helped me sway the right way, as he often did. ‘Hey man, if it was me, I’d want to know’.
‘Yeah I know’, I nodded. ‘How do you…’
Charlie raised a finger, cutting me off. He was no longer on hold.
‘You sure?’ his expression remained grim, ‘I mean, you have checked and double checked, right?’
‘She’s not there’, he said, shaking his head, ‘and hasn’t been there all morning. She never made the roll call’.
‘Goddamn it!’ I couldn’t help myself, despite fully expecting that confirmation.
‘What we gonna do man?’
I just shrugged my shoulders. ‘We’re going to tell Laura that we think her daughter has been kidnapped by The Chemist, and that she has less than twenty hours to live’. I realised that that approach might have seemed clinical and heartless, but I reckoned that was the best way to get Laura Edwards to focus and help us with her part of The Game. I hoped to God she came through, for us and for Stella.
18
Last week
Without exception, every member of the Animi left the Aon centre with a decidedly more uneasy feeling in the pits of their stomachs than when they had arrived, going onto their next appointments with a newly acquired sense of
Out of the corner of the eye, something did catch my attention, and on first glance I dismissed it but then a thought crossed my mind. I said nothing but calmly traversed the room to a dressing table, processing my initial thought. Oh God, if I was right this was well and truly fucked up.
Taking several moments to clarify my train of thought, and play out the consequences of my next move in my head, I knew I had no option but to ask. The more I thought about it, the more I thought I was right.
‘Laura’, my voice was quiet and unassuming, ‘who is that in the photo with you?’ I gestured to a glossy 4x6, set in a tasteful black frame. The only picture that adorned the dressing table, in fact. I asked the question, but deep down I already knew part of the answer.
‘Oh that?’ Laura smiled, ‘Me and my daughter Stella’, she was obviously a very proud parent. ‘It was taken last year on holiday on her eighteenth birthday. It’s lovely don’t you think?’
A quick glance at Charlie confirmed that I didn’t need to spell out what I was thinking for him.
‘And where is Stella now, Laura?’ I hated to ask. If I was right her whole world would come crashing down in a few minutes.
‘Oh, she’ll be in college by now. She’s a good girl, really dedicated. She never misses a day. She’s had excellent grades all year too’.
‘Does she go to a local college?’ I continued to gently probe for information, wanting to prolong what I suspected was the inevitable for just a few seconds more.
‘Yes, she goes to the Los Angeles Community College’, she was still smiling. ‘It’s a really great program they have there, you know’.
Charlie slipped out of the room, and I knew that he going to verify whether Stella was actually in college or not. It almost felt like we were going through the motions though. I already had a gut feeling that we had just identified the girl we were currently trying to save from The Chemist, right when we were supposed to.
I too excused myself from the bedroom, I had to know if I was right on this call, and if I was, I was still unsure exactly how to proceed.
Charlie was on his cell, and from the roll of his eyes, I could tell he was on hold. ‘Should know in a couple minutes, man. I’ve had a black and white in the neighbourhood pull a code 10-20’.
The couple of minutes of dead-time, whilst we verified whether or not Stella Edwards was at her college, gave me the opportunity to play out the positives and negatives of what I should tell her mother.
Sensing I was in two minds, Charlie helped me sway the right way, as he often did. ‘Hey man, if it was me, I’d want to know’.
‘Yeah I know’, I nodded. ‘How do you…’
Charlie raised a finger, cutting me off. He was no longer on hold.
‘You sure?’ his expression remained grim, ‘I mean, you have checked and double checked, right?’
‘She’s not there’, he said, shaking his head, ‘and hasn’t been there all morning. She never made the roll call’.
‘Goddamn it!’ I couldn’t help myself, despite fully expecting that confirmation.
‘What we gonna do man?’
I just shrugged my shoulders. ‘We’re going to tell Laura that we think her daughter has been kidnapped by The Chemist, and that she has less than twenty hours to live’. I realised that that approach might have seemed clinical and heartless, but I reckoned that was the best way to get Laura Edwards to focus and help us with her part of The Game. I hoped to God she came through, for us and for Stella.
18
Last week
Without exception, every member of the Animi left the Aon centre with a decidedly more uneasy feeling in the pits of their stomachs than when they had arrived, going onto their next appointments with a newly acquired sense of
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