In His Power (Beyond Darkness, #1) (4 page)

‘But she will speak to me.’ He smiled lightly. ‘I’m the one who will make this right. It was my park. No one shits in my park and gets away with it.’

Bradley studied him a moment.

‘What?’

‘You like her,’ he said as he pulled out the seat.

Victor was silent a moment and then spoke. ‘I do. There is something about her. I want to protect her. I have to, and I will make sure whoever took her baby, pays with their life.’

‘But what if she doesn’t like you back?’ He knew he was treading on rocky ground, but he also knew where he stood with him.

‘She will.’ He smiled. ‘She will.’ He was so confident about it.

‘She might not like what you do.’

He was silent. He pulled the folder from the side draw of the table and opened it. He pulled out the enlarged picture of London. He studied her a moment. Strange things happened within his body when he gazed at her photo. After a while, he pushed it over to Bradley. He studied it a moment.

‘She is beautiful.’ He had to admit it himself.

‘It’s not only that is it? There is something intriguing about her. I can’t say what, but if you just look at those lovely eyes.’

Bradley studied the photograph; he understood exactly what Victor was talking about.

‘It’s important we act as soon as possible.’

‘Yes, I’ll get in touch with our IT guy.’

‘Great. I know I’ll find her child. I just know it.’

‘I don’t doubt it.’ And he really didn’t. If there was one thing he knew about his boss, was that he always got what he wanted. The people, who had taken Paige, had no idea what was coming their way.

****

P
aige didn’t understand what was going on. The one minute she’d been asked to help a nice lady find her dog. The next moment she was driven away from the park and her mother. She sat in a cold and dirty place with just a bed with very thin covers. There were sounds of other children around, some were crying, others were screaming and some uttered random rumblings. At different times of the day, a tray of food would be shoved through a slot at the bottom of the door. It comprised of stale bread and a glass of water or milk if lucky. On good days, there was either pizza or fish fingers.

‘I want my mummy. When can I go back to my mummy?’ The beautiful child had asked while she’d been driven away. She hadn’t understood what had happened. ‘I want to go to my mummy.’

The nice lady, who had taken her hand, had suddenly become not so nice. She turned to the little girl who had the golden hair and the green eyes the clients wanted and said. ‘You’re with me now, stop asking the question.’

Paige had cried, and had asked to see her mummy over and over again, but the woman didn’t bat an eyelid. It was her job, she’d done this many times before, and she knew she’d won the jackpot with this one. The little girl, who sat beside her, ready to be transported to a location unknown, was a rare looking child.

‘I want my mummy!’ she’d screamed.

‘You’re with me now,’ the woman repeated. This had been a long search, but they’d finally found what they’d been looking for, and the little girl who sat beside her was a gold mine. She was the cash cow, the answer to a better life for all that were involved. ‘You’re with me now,’ Lucia had said again to Paige.

P
ortia walked into the hospital at ten that morning. It was decided that London was ready to go home even though she hadn’t said a word in two days. She looked at her daughter, her heart painful, mourning the loss of her granddaughter and the loss of her daughter. She felt so helpless she didn’t know what to do. London’s father, Malcolm had tried his best to help his daughter, but he too couldn’t get through to her. It had been a hard couple of days.

Detective Gates had paid a visit the day before, but he’d got no closer to solving the disappearance of Paige, and had doubted if they ever will.

‘Honey, I’ve come to take you home,’ said Portia.

London looked at her mother. She could see how the past few days had aged her. There were so many things she wanted to say, but she just couldn’t articulate the words. Her world was a whirlwind of emotions. There was a dry pit of emptiness deep down within her. Someone precious to her had been taken away, and she couldn’t deal with it.

‘Dads waiting for us outside in the car park,’ said Portia.

London gazed at her mother a moment. The woman seemed to be so strong, it was a quality she had always admired in her. She wondered how she could stay so cool and collected.

‘Honey.’ Portia took her daughters hand. ‘I know this is hard. It’s hard for me, but we’ve got to have faith.’

London gazed at her mother.
Faith? Faith in what?
The words circulated her brain, but never surfaced.

‘Our church is praying for the return of Paige. I’m hopeful that God will make a way,’ she said.

Anger and bitterness seeped through every part of London’s body. Where was God when her daughter was taken from her? She wanted to lash out, but the pain kept her bound.

‘I know this is hard for you, honey. I know that you feel like the Lord has failed you, but I know he hasn’t. I’ll be strong for both of us.’

It won’t bring my daughter back!
She wanted to say, but the words only stayed in her mind.

‘Come on love, let’s get you home.’ She held out her hand as if London was a little girl.

She took a moment, but soon, London webbed her arm around her mothers arm, and allowed her to lead the way. Portia smiled and patted her daughter’s hand.

‘It will be okay honey. We can go to your house, pick up some clothes and you can spend some time with us.’

London wanted to resist, but the words wouldn’t form, they wouldn’t release. She was terrified, so frightened to step into her own house. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to step onto the front drive.

‘We’ll take care of you, don’t you worry,’ she said as they walked.

Portia dealt with the release forms and within minutes they were heading towards the car park. Suddenly, London stopped.

‘Honey, what’s the matter?’

The reality of the atmosphere hit her. She stood outside, the cold wind against her face. The feeling triggered the memories of that day. She wanted to run, she wanted to hide! She wanted to hurt herself, she wanted to hit up against a tree, she wanted to do anything to make the internal pain go away, but it was impossible. The reality was staring her right in the face. Her beautiful daughter was gone, and there was a possibility she might never see her again. The realisation hit her! She couldn’t bear it.

‘Sweetheart?’

London walked again until they got to the car. Malcolm stepped out and opened the back door for his daughter to get in.

‘Are you okay darling?’ he asked knowing she wasn’t, but he didn’t know what else to say. It pained him dearly that his only granddaughter had gone missing. ‘It’s okay, we’re here for you,’ he said then finally shut the door. He looked at his wife feeling helpless, she felt the exact same way too.

‘The Lord will make a way,’ she said.

Malcolm nodded even though he didn’t have the same amount of faith as she did. They drove in silence. It was a hard drive to make, and each mile brought trepidation. London wanted to jump out of the car and run away, but she knew that wouldn’t solve anything. From time to time, Portia sneaked a peak at the back seat just to make sure she was ok. She wasn’t, how could she be. Her daughter was somewhere in this big wide world, and she had no idea what to do about it.

The car finally stopped outside London’s house. She gazed at the bottle green door. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t go inside and not expect to see Paige. Her parents turned to her and waited. Malcolm looked at his wife, but she kept her gaze on London.

‘Sweetie, we can get some clothes for you and you can come back to ours if you can’t do this.’

London was silent, but shook her head. She wanted to ask for a little more time, but the words still refused to pass her lips.

‘Okay, whenever you’re ready, sweetheart.’

Ten minutes later, London pulled on the latch to the car and opened the door. She stepped out slowly. Her head felt a little light, but she took bold steps towards the front door. Portia followed behind. London put her head to the door and shut her eyes. She didn’t want to go in, but she knew she had to.

‘Sweetie, you don’t have to do this.’

London shut her eyes; her head still against the door and bit her lip. Her throat felt restricted by the grief, and at one point she thought she might faint. But after a few moments, London felt strong enough to step inside. She fumbled for the keys in her bag. She let out a sigh, and then opened the door. She stood frozen in the door way like a stranger. Her eyes wandered down the passage, towards the kitchen. She thought she could hear Paige’s voice coming from the kitchen, but she knew it was all in her head.

She stepped into the house, and headed for the kitchen. The plates lay in the sink still unwashed from the morning of the incident. She stood in the middle of the room and stared at the empty bowl Paige, had used to eat that morning. Her heart broke into tiny little pieces, her body heated all over and within seconds she fell to the floor.

‘Oh honey.’ Portia was too late to help her. ‘I’m so sorry.’ She joined her on the kitchen floor and took her into her arms.

She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to do anything than the silence that had arrested her body. But nothing came. They stayed in that position until Malcolm entered the house to find out what was going on.

‘Just give me a minute, honey.’ Portia stood up and took Malcolm by the arm, and led him to the living-room, so they could talk privately. ‘I think I will stay with her. Why don’t you go on home, come back later this evening for tea. Also bring me a change of clothes,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to push her to do anything she isn’t ready for.’

‘Yes, of course.’ He took Portia into his arms. ‘I just wish I could do more to help.’

‘You are love, you’re here with us. Your presence is what we need’

‘I love you.’ He kissed her forehead.

She walked him to the door, shut the door behind him, and headed back for the kitchen. But when she got there, London was gone.

‘London?’ she panicked. ‘London?’

London had gone upstairs while her parents spoke. She slowly opened the door to Paige’s room. It hit her as she looked at the tiny bed and the small clothes scattered across the floor. She’d always told Paige to pick up after herself, but it hadn’t stuck. How insignificant that was at that moment. She didn’t care about that, all she wanted was her baby back in her arms.

She gazed at the little light blue cardigan Paige had begged for while they’d been out shopping one afternoon. London dropped to her knees and picked up the soft fabric. She lifted it up and admired it, and then brought it close to her nose. She breathed in the soft scent that was once Paige. She shut her eyes and tried to imagine Paige in her arms.

‘Oh honey.’ Portia stood by the door.

London’s shoulders shook, and soon her whole body followed suit. The tears fell, but there was no sound. Portia was quick to take her into her arms again. Together they cried. They cried for Paige, and hoped that their tears would somehow bring her home. Portia prayed that it would.

****

T
he jeep stood with the door opened, and Victor flicked away the cigarette and got into the car. Behind him, Bradley got in too, and the driver shut the door. Instructions were given, and soon they were on their way to make a difference. Victor knew that what he was about to do, was a long shot. He’d never felt this drawn to a woman, and for once in his life, he felt the need to do some good.

He’d discussed the plan over with Bradley, and they’d come up with a few ideas. All that was needed now was to convince London of the plans. Victor hoped he could keep the police off his back. There was nothing more distracting than them snooping around his territory. He knew for a fact that Detective Gates would be more than happy to take him down at the same time. He’d been trying to do it for years. But the drug and murder claims never stuck, and Victor had more influence over the police force than Detective Gates, but the detective was still determined to take him down. He knew that one day he would.

The jeep stopped outside London’s home. Bradley looked at his boss, and Victor nodded.

‘Did you know he was here?’ asked Victor.

‘No.’

‘Okay then.’ He took a moment to think. ‘We’ll just wait. I think it’s best.’

‘I agree.’ Bradley watched the house just like his boss.

London sat in the living-room listening to Detective Gates as he tried to explain what the next move was. But as the hours ticked by, she was loosing more and more hope. She wanted to believe him, she wanted to believe that the police were doing everything they could, but she also knew they had many other crimes to deal with.

‘I assure you, we’re doing everything in our power to find these people and bring them to justice.’ He gazed at London, and still couldn’t get over how beautiful she was. He wanted nothing more than to bring her little girl home.

‘We’re grateful for your help, detective. I’m sure you’re doing everything you can,’ said Portia.

She looked over at London, who said nothing. She wanted to thank him, but she couldn’t. She wanted to ask what they would do next, but the words wouldn’t form. She wanted to say something, scream, but still it wasn’t meant to be.

Detective Gates looked over at London and waited. There had been quite a few times he thought she’d say something, but it never happened. He noticed it in her expression. It was as if she were struggling to say something, but each time her lips moved, no words departed from them. He nodded, acknowledged that he understood. He stood up, and said his goodbyes, and Portia walked him to the door.

‘I will be in touch.’

‘Thank you.’ She shut the door behind him, and went straight back to London. ‘Sweetheart, let’s take this as good news. Let’s keep believing that somehow, something will happen. I have faith it will.’ She placed her hand over London’s.