Now You See Her

Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

‘I know you've only seen her in the store, but how would you describe Reece Norman?’

Bianca waited until she’d clicked the seatbelt buckle into place before she answered.

‘I felt sorry for her and the girls, if I'm honest with you,’ she began. ‘I don't like to use the p-word, but if you pushed me, I'd say they looked poor.’

‘That's the impression I'm getting so far. Is there a father on the scene or is she on her own with the kids?’

‘I saw her with some guy a couple of months ago, but I haven't seen him around recently. She seems to keep herself to herself. The kids are nice—you never hear her screaming at them or anything like that. And there's something really different about them…’

She paused a moment.

‘What?’ Cory probed.

‘The kids never asked for stuff in the store. I used to see the other children rushing straight for the candy, demanding that their parents buy this or that for them. I never saw that with Reece's kids, or I didn't ever notice it if they did. They seemed to understand that they couldn't have stuff. It was sad, really, like they'd had that expectation knocked out of them so young.’

‘I need to call home.’ Cory changed the subject, glancing at the clock on the dash. ‘Will you excuse me one moment? I must check in with my own son before we head over to the school.’

‘Sure,’ Bianca said. ‘I'd better let my mom know where I am. I may be eighteen now, but that doesn't stop her worrying.’

Cory stepped out of the car to make his call, not yet ready to let Bianca into the details of his personal life. He called the number at the top of his contacts, one with a hashtag added to make sure it always rose to the top. It used to be labeled with the name of his wife—Nadia—but it had become less painful to edit the entry in his phone to display the name of his son, Zach.

He always felt trepidation when he listened to the dial tone, not because he didn't want to talk to his son, but because he felt an impending sense of crisis with his wife. It was like the faraway drums in a Tarzan movie, a distant beat that never resulted in good news.

‘Hey, Cory, nice of you to call.’

He was on the defensive already. He'd only wanted to check in on his son.

‘Hi, Nadia, I hope it's not a bad time?’

‘It's never a good time for you to call, Cory. I'm busy, what do you want?’

Cory couldn't quite put his finger on when things had started to go off in the marriage. One minute they'd been a tight little family unit, and the next they seemed to be arguing all the time and were now separated. It didn't help that Nadia had been promoted in her law firm. Sure, the money was very useful, but the stress it placed her under didn't appear to suit her. She started to take it out on Cory, telling him if he was more ambitious, she wouldn't have to work such long hours. But Cory's passion was in providing local news; he had no aspirations to move any distance away from Shallow Falls.

‘I'm happy to take Zach more regularly, if that will help?’ he ventured.

There was an ominous silence from Nadia. Cory figured they’d been doing okay for money before she took the promotion, and Nadia had seemed much happier before she took on the burden of management. He didn't really know why she'd accepted the offer in the first place. Though if he was really honest with himself, he did know the reason. Her parents. As a successful judge, Nadia's father had leaned on her since she was a teenager. Her career in the law was a foregone conclusion. Pressure like that was hard to resist, and it had broken up their marriage.

Cory didn't want a fight. He never wanted to fight—he'd rather they were a family again. So he didn't rise to the bait, but asked to speak to Zach instead. He was the one remarkable thing to have come out of their marriage; even if they didn't succeed in patching things up, he'd always be proud of the child that they created together.

‘Hi, Zach, how's it going?’

‘Hi, Dad, can I see you again soon? I miss you.’

It broke his heart to hear those words coming from the mouth of a five-year-old. He was one year older than Poppy Norman. A chill moved through his body as he realized for the first time what Reece Norman must be experiencing. Even if Poppy had just wandered off somewhere, and was perfectly safe, Reece must be out of her mind with panic.

‘I'll be around after soccer practice this week and we'll go out for pizza. Or would you prefer a burger?’

His relationship with his child was parceled out like portions of a meal, never too much and always too little. An hour here, a half-day there. Why was Nadia being so difficult? He was reluctant to set up a formal arrangement, which might mean him losing out on the precious time they already had together. Cory was still hoping they'd sort it out and get the marriage back on track.

‘I don't really mind, Dad, I'm just looking forward to seeing you again. I miss you.’

Cory felt his eyes welling up with tears. He hated what they were putting their son through. If he'd told Nadia not to take the promotion, would that have made a difference?

‘Zach, your meal is ready. Finish the call, please.’

Nadia's voice could be heard calling from the kitchen. He could picture it in every detail. After all, it had been their house before the separation. The large, metallic fridge from which he'd collect a chilled beer after work. The Bosch dishwasher which held all the plates from their family meals. The granite worktop he didn't really like, but which he'd agreed to have fitted because Nadia loved it so much. All bought with help from her parents. No wonder Nadia felt so imprisoned by her own family.

‘Sorry, Dad, I've gotta go.’ Zach said. ‘Love you, Dad, see you soon.’

‘Bye, Zach. I love you, too.’

The call ended. Less than one minute speaking to his own son, the time like a priceless gift, one to be stored away in a secure box and coveted for the rest of his life. He wiped his right eye to remove a tear and got back into the car.

‘I'm all good,’ Bianca said, ‘No problems about when I get home. Are you okay?’

Cory sniffed and wiped his eye again.

‘Sure, just an allergic reaction,’ he replied. ‘Nothing to worry about.’

He fastened his seat belt, placed his hand on the key which he'd left in the ignition, then pressed the start button. There was silence. He tried again.

‘Sorry, Bianca. I need a spare part, but I haven't had time to pick it up yet. It shouldn't be a problem, but I'll need to lift the hood and give the starter motor a tap with a wrench.’

He bent to release the hood and got out. After some fiddling in the engine compartment, he shouted through the window at Bianca.

‘Can you turn the key?’

She leaned over and did as he asked, and the car fired into life. Cory released the hood from its support and shut it firmly, then climbed back into the car.

‘Sorry about that. I've been meaning to get over to the junkyard to see if Kelsey Baker has the part I need. I don't think it's anything serious, but I don't want to buy one new if I can avoid it—they're very expensive. Do you drive?’

‘I passed my test, but I can't afford a car yet. Sometimes I get to drive Mom's car, but I'm a long way from having my own. It's why I worked in the store, to pay off my lessons.’

Cory was relieved that the car was now cooperating. If he didn't get the part replaced quickly, it might start causing problems with the job.

Shallow Falls Elementary School was just a short distance away. It was clear when they arrived that something very serious was happening. For a start, they couldn't park anywhere near the school gate, and the surrounding streets were jammed with police vehicles and other cars.

There was no sign of any TV crews, which suggested this was still a local story. Chief Tarrant and his team clearly believed this was lost child territory, rather than a missing child.

Cory parked as close as he could get to the school, locked up, and led Bianca to the main entrance. Police tape had been used to create four areas within the playground. Deputy Freddie Cabera was clearly the officer in charge, coordinating events and making sure everybody knew what they were doing.

‘Hey, Freddie, how's it going?’ Cory asked, shaking Cabera's hand warmly. The two men had a good working relationship.

‘This is Bianca Williams—she's just started working with me as an intern. What can I report?’

‘We're just about to organize the officers and volunteers into search parties,’ Cabera began.

‘There's been no search yet?’ Cory questioned.

‘That’s right. We've had officers working the streets, but they haven’t come up with anything. Confidentially, we're on the verge of saying she's missing—we'll know that in the next hour. Can you get something out on the paper's social media channels, Cory? We need people down here—the more the better. I want us to scour every inch of this town to find the child.’

‘Can you confirm the name of the child yet?’ Cory asked. ‘Is it Poppy Norman?’

‘How'd you know that? I just confirmed that information two minutes ago to the chief.’

Cory gave Bianca a small smile; she looked rightly pleased with herself.

‘I know you need to get reporting the story,’ Cabera continued, ‘but we could do with all hands on deck here. Would you and Bianca be willing to join the search parties?’

‘No problem,’ said Cory. ‘I'll get the word out on social media, file the name of the missing child, and we'll be happy to help you find her.’