Spoiler
A/N: Hi everyone! So, here's the first chapter. I've also made a group, Little Macey for people who like groups... (:
Thank you in advance for any reviews! Especially mean ones. You're all stars.
Thank you in advance for any reviews! Especially mean ones. You're all stars.
1. Duty Calls
Brr, brr, brr. Brr, brr, brr.
David woke to the harsh buzzing of his mobile phone as it vibrated on the bedside table. Curled up beside him, his wife, Claire, began to stir. David blinked blearily, trying to make out the shape of the bedside table in the dark grey light.
Brr, brr, brr. Brr, brr, brr.
Claire was awake now. He heard her groan and pull the warm covers away from him so she could bury her head underneath them. Forcing himself into a sitting position, he reached out to grope for his phone.
“David Lawson,” he croaked into his mobile once he’d found it.
“Morning beautiful.” David scowled at the sound of Greg’s chirpy voice. He cast a glance at the glowing numbers on his alarm clock.
3:35 A.M.
He didn’t even try to hide his irritation as he growled into the phone, “Don’t you know what time it is?”
“Time you got down to the office,” Greg replied smoothly. “I can already promise you one hell of a case.”
“Can’t it wait until a more reasonable hour?” he asked as he saw Claire throw the covers away from her face. She lifted herself up onto one arm and glared at him. Even though it was too dark to see her clearly, he knew her eyes were burning with annoyance.
“It’s a big case, Dave. You’d really regret leaving this one for even a second.”
He lifted a hand and rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up a little. Finally, with a sigh, he said, “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” As he felt Claire force herself into a sitting position, he added, “And this had better be good, Greg.”
“It will be,” Greg promised as David punched the disconnect button.
“You’re going?” Claire said. He could sense her frowning at him in the dark. “It’s half three in the morning.”
With another sigh, he reached for the lamp and clicked it on. Claire was awake enough now that she wouldn’t mind the harsh light stinging her eyes. If he’d done that while she was trying to get back to sleep, he would’ve got a pillow slammed into his face.
“I don’t know why you hire Greg when he can’t even manage on his own.” She was staring at him, eyebrows raised incredulously. Her dark blonde hair was wild and clumps stuck out in odd angles. Purple shadows stretched under her eyes and the creases of her pillow were etched across her cheek.
He stifled a yawn as he forced himself to clamber out of his bed. Immediately goosebumps sprung up as the cold air blew across his bare skin. He crossed over to the wardrobe and began to pull out some clothes. Finally, he replied, “Greg’s good at it. He’s open-minded and a fast learner. That’s all he needs to be for this job.”
“He needs to know when your actual working hours are. You don’t start until nine. Nine. Like most working people.” She tugged the duvet back over herself and added bitterly, “I wish you were actually home for once.”
David’s only response was the sudden tightening of his lips. He finished dressing and walked out of the room, heading for the study to collect his documents for work, without even trying to argue with her. Unsaid words swirled around in the bedroom, and the cold that grew in the air was no longer caused by the chill of a January morning.
* * *
“...No leads in the case of six-year-old Hannah Morgan, now missing for eight days. So far the police have made no arrests and have confirmed that they are now treating this as a murder investigation. With us now is-”
David turned off his car, letting the crackling radio fade to silence. For a moment he just sat there, listening to the clicking of the car’s engine as it cooled off. He turned his head to stare out of the driver’s window at the three-story building across the road. The greenish yellow glow from a streetlight illuminated the white sign bolted to the front gate.
Holloway House.
David heaved a sigh and tilted his head back to lean against the headrest. He lifted a hand to his chin and read the graffiti sprawled underneath the black letters.
Home of the Ghostbusters.
“Little buggers,” he muttered under his breath.
* * *
Their office was located on the third floor. Since the lift looked as though it couldn’t even support the weight of a scrawny rat, David took the stairs every time. By the time he reached his and Greg’s office, the pungent smell of urine lingered in his nostrils and his legs shook from the effort of climbing the stairs. He paused outside the office, allowing himself a moment or two to catch his breath and compose himself.
Greg looked up from his ancient computer as David strode into the room. Twenty-two going on seventeen, Greg brought a tireless energy and enthusiasm to the job. In the darkest cases it was his humour and determined cheeriness which kept David from grabbing his car keys and driving as far as possible from the everlasting night of his life.
Greg flashed his trademark grin, showing so many teeth he looked like he was practising for a toothpaste ad. “Yo.” He wheeled his chair over to where David was standing, crossing the small, cluttered room in seconds. “Hope I didn’t disturb any sweet dreams you were having.”
“No, I slept like a log.” As he set his briefcase down on his desk, David searched for any documents Greg might be holding or any that lay open on his desk. It seemed every folder from all the cases they’d ever taken lay scattered on Greg’s desk; David couldn’t see if he was compiling a new one or not. “So, what case did you want to talk about? I hope you didn’t mean the graffiti outside.”
That familiar grin broke out on Greg’s face again. “You saw that?”
“It was hard to miss.”
“Ha. Whoever it was sure is a funny one. That’s probably the wittiest we’ve ever had.”
“God help us,” David added under his breath. He checked his watch. “I’m still not due to wake up for another four hours. Why did you call?”
Greg’s grin grew and he pushed his chair back across the room to his desk. David marvelled at his energy when the sun wasn’t even due to rise for hours yet. Greg pushed a bunch of papers off a blue folder. They slid off the desk and to the floor.
“I’ll pick ‘em up in a moment!” he reassured David without pausing his frantic search.
Moments later he turned and wheeled back to David, clutching the blue folder. “You are going to love this.” Greg chuckled as he handed it to him. David took it and checked the name on the front.
Hannah Morgan.
He frowned, sure that it sounded familiar.
“When I rung you, I’d just gotten off the phone to the mother. Hannah Morgan is the missing six-year-old on the news,” Greg explained. “You know, the high profile case? Did you hear they think she’s dead?” David opened his mouth to reply, but Greg cut across him. “Anyway, Mrs. Morgan wants us to see if we can dig up anything more.”
“Hannah Morgan… The girl missing for eight days?” David thought of the new-bulletin on the radio not ten minutes ago and felt a chill of dread roll through him.
Greg beamed at him, not seeing the spark of anxiety in David’s eyes. “You see? You have heard of her! Mrs. Morgan wants to see you as soon as possible, but I thought you might want to research it a little more? I told her I’d let you know and ring her back when you’d decided if you wanted to take the case or not.” Greg tilted his head to one side as he looked up at David. “What do you think?”
David opened his mouth, searching for the right words. His stomach churned as though he’d just swallowed a bucket load of snakes. “I, ah… fail to see how a missing person case could require our services…”
“Well, that voodoo stuff you practise might come in handy.”
“For the hundredth time, it’s-”
“I know, I know. It’s not voodoo. Sorry.”
David glanced down at the folder in his hands. He opened it and a picture dropped to the floor. As he bent to pick it up, he saw it was a photograph of a small, smiling girl. She was squinting in the bright sunlight, one hand pushing her blonde hair from her face as she looked up at the camera. A dusting of brown freckles covered her nose and cheeks, and around her neck hung an askew necklace with the letter ‘H’ dangling from it.
‘H’ for Hannah.
“You could just talk to her parents,” Greg suggested gently. “Give them some hope.”
“So it can be taken away from them?” he forced himself to look away from the picture.
Greg’s scowl looked strange on his face; David wasn’t used to seeing him frown. “Is there something wrong? Something you’re not telling me?”
“It’s an important case,” David hedged.
“You don’t sound interested at all.”
“It’s just that… I… Well…”
Greg narrowed his eyes, but his voice was light as he said, “Don’t tell me you suffer from stage-fright. The paparazzi won’t hound you as much as you think.”
David sighed and turned away. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling sluggish and tired. “This is the first case you’ve brought to my attention that has so much…” He struggled for the right word.
“Publicity?” Greg suggested.
“Expectation.” David looked down at the photo he was holding. “This isn’t an old woman refusing to leave her house after she has died. This isn’t a mad man saying his neighbour has sent evil spirits to hound him. This is a little girl… missing… maybe even dead. There’s nothing supernatural about this case. There’s only a desperate mother searching for someone who can bring her daughter back.”
Greg didn’t say anything for a second, but then he smirked. “That’s what you think. You should hear what Mrs. Morgan thinks happened to her daughter.”
David locked his eyes on Greg. Taking the bait, he said, “Go on.”
“Mrs. Morgan tucked her daughter up for bed at half seven. Before she goes to bed too, she locks all the doors and windows. She said something about being robbed last year.” Greg shrugged dismissively. “In the middle of the night, she and Mr. Morgan are woken up by Hannah’s screams. When they barge into her room, there’s nothing left but her crumpled bedspread. Mrs. Morgan told me that, afterward, they checked all the windows and doors – they were still locked.” Greg lifted his chin and met David’s eye. “Hannah had just vanished into thin air.”
I was supposed to read and review it the day I read the update in the club page but I was sleepy back then. And the exams week were so soon. Anyway...