Part of the Silence

Jack was waiting for Abbie’s call.

“I’m still at her house. Apparently, Charlotte’s gone. Rick doesn’t know where. All he could say was that this man had come to the house. He’d upset Charlotte and threatened Rick. ‘A big guy,’ was how he described him.”

“I was thinking the same thing. Rick’s surfing. I thought I’d wait until he’s finished. Try to have a proper conversation with him.”

“I saw Evie a little while ago. She couldn’t really tell me anything new.” Jack paused. “The mention of Xander’s name really disturbed her, but she couldn’t say why—”

But Abbie interrupted him. “Jack, I have to go. I think Rick’s just come back. I’ll call you when I leave here.”

Just as Jack got home, Sara Evans called him again.

“Forensics wants to talk to you or Abbie. They’ve found something in the third grave.” She hesitated. “Jack, they’ve found human remains.”

“I’ll go over there.” He was already turning his car around. “If I park near Evie’s house, can you get them to send someone to meet me? I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

It took another eight minutes, by which time a familiar uniformed policeman was standing there, waiting for him. Jack felt a flicker of unease. It was Miller.

He got out of his car. “Dan. Thanks for coming. Which way?”

“I’ll show you.”

Jack thought he knew where they were going. They’d been walking for a good ten minutes when he started to get an odd feeling. It was his gut. Something wasn’t right.

“How long before we get there?” he asked.

“Not much farther.”

The feeling in his gut intensified. He’d spoken to Sara just ten minutes before he’d arrived here. It would have taken Sara another minute or two to contact the team in the woods, then however long for someone to walk back down to the road to meet him. Yet Miller had been standing there, cool as a cucumber. He hadn’t rushed.

It didn’t add up. He didn’t know where Miller was taking him, but he was almost certain it wasn’t to the graves. Glancing around, Jack noticed a dense area of bushes a few yards away. After letting Miller get ahead of him, he picked his moment and ran as quietly as he could.

Jack didn’t think he was going to make it to the bushes without being seen. Then he was there, flinging himself down, half expecting Miller to have followed him. But instead Miller was standing there, talking on his phone. Jack had no idea to whom.

Jack needed to find out what was going on. But it wasn’t over yet. To the side of Miller, he could see a familiar looming shape. It was Xander Pascoe; he was sure of it. Then he heard him arguing with Miller. He strained his ears to listen but was too far away to make out what they were saying.

Slowly, having no idea where he was going, he crept away, until the crack of a twig underfoot gave him away. Without turning to see if they were following him, he broke into a run, trying to work out where he was. Even so, he could hear them catching up.

Then he heard another familiar voice close by.

It was Abbie. Sara must have told her where he’d gone.

“Jack? Are you there?”

He needed to find her before Miller and Pascoe did. Following her voice, he ran faster. Then, up ahead, through the trees, he saw her.

Relief filled him. “We have to get out of here.” Jack was so out of breath, talking was painful.

“Why? What’s happened?”

“I was on my way to the graves. We were right about Miller. He’s with Xander. They were following me. Abbie, come on.... We need to keep moving. . . .” He grabbed her hand, pulled her after him.

The path narrowed, and he jogged ahead of her, glancing over his shoulder to make sure she was keeping up. Then they hit a wider path. Suddenly, Jack knew where he was, but Abbie was falling behind. He heard the crashing sounds of the two men not far behind them.

“The graves are this way.” His voice was low.

The thought of more police not far away gave them the impetus to keep going as Jack turned off the main path again. Up ahead they could see the familiar police tape, behind which forensics was at work.

Jack stopped. “Thank God.”

Abbie couldn’t speak. They both knew that here, surrounded by other police officers, they were safe enough. Once either of them was alone again, Xander would be waiting for them.

“Look.” Jack hesitated. “This is building to something.”

Getting out her phone, Abbie nodded. “I’m worried about Evie. She called me earlier. She told me there’s something that doesn’t make sense to her. She wasn’t talking about her lack of memory. It was something someone had said to her that didn’t ring true.”

She called the police station. “Sara? I’m with Jack. We need backup down here.” She looked at Jack. “Yes, we’re at the graves. Miller’s with Pascoe. We need to arrest them.”

She turned back to Jack. “Even if we hold them for twenty-four hours, it’ll buy us time.” But time for what? To find Charlotte? For Evie to remember something else that might not be reliable?

He nodded. “You should stay here and wait for backup. Then someone needs to go to the Pascoes’ farm.”

“I’ll go. What about you? Where are you going?”

“To Evie’s. I don’t trust Pascoe.”

“Be careful, Jack.”

He should wait, Jack knew that. But there were lives at risk, and when you couldn’t trust your fellow officers, it wasn’t your usual investigation.

Whatever was going on, Jack would bet his life that Xander Pascoe was behind it.