The Key (9 page)

Considering her options, Carly pondered on what to do next.

Maybe I should call in at the radio station
. J
ust say
I was passing. I could do some fishing about to
find out exactly what the media does know. On second thoughts
, I
better not risk it. I need to stay quiet until they charge Vincent Halliday
with the murder of Trac
e
y Dawn Jackson
.

She concluded,
o
nly after a suspect
is
charged with murder would more details be released
.
I
t
h
as
to be
another waiting game.
Let’s hope it
doesn’t
take too long
.

Relaxing on the sofa for the first time in a long while, Carly had time to reflect on the past few days. It had been scary, exciting, and exhausting
all at the same time
, but although a million emotions were going through her
mind,
she knew she’d do it all again. In fact, she was coming to the conclusion that it would soon be time to make some very drastic changes about the direction her life was heading in.

It was only after going over in her mind
about
the moment she opened the attaché
case, that
she remembered the other items in the case. There was no mention of items such as ribbons, rings or bracelets being missing from Tracey Dawn Jackson. Why would other female items be with the locket? Was Vincent Halliday some sort of weirdo with a fetish for hoarding girl’s stuff, or was he something even more sinister?

Questions rattled through Carly’s
mind
, and
it would be a good ten hours later before she got the answers to her questions
.

It was
late into the evening when Carly saw the beginning of the news item about Tracey Dawn Jackson.
I
t went on for some considerable time about the disappearance of Tracey, the years of searching for her, and the eventual discovery of her buried body.

Then
came
a
shocking twist.

It wasn’t Vincent Halliday that had been charged with the murder of Tracey Dawn Jackson, it was Scott.
And on top of that revelation, there
were
even
more
victims
. Carly sat watching in amazement as the newscaster read
out the story.

“Scott Halliday tonight confessed to the murder of Tracey Dawn Jackson when police confronted him after a locket belonging to Tracey was discovered last night. A source told us that along with the locket, several items belonging to a female or females
unknown
were also found.
”

“
Halliday
also confessed to killing
other
young women, but taunted police that they would have to ‘do what they were paid to do’. When asked to elaborate
,
Halliday is quoted as saying, ‘You should earn your money for a change. You only found t
he stuff because some nosy busy-
body couldn’t mind
her own
business. You want to know who the ribbons and jewelry belongs to,
but
why should I help you? You figure it out
yourself
’.
”

“
When asked why he killed Tracey, our source told us
that
the clearly deranged Halliday
replied
, ‘She shouldn’t have laughed at me; she’s not laughing now though
,
is she? It’s her fault
that I killed her
’.
”

“
We can now go live to
Harvest Spring Junction, where Chief Nick Handsen is
about to hold
a press conference.”

The TV screen went blank for a few seconds,
then a
room filled with microphones, cameras, and members of the press
came into view
. The sound of muttering voices and clicking cameras was
soon
brought to a sudden halt by the voice of a police spokesman.

“Good evening, ladies and gentleman. In a moment you will hear a statement from Chief Handsen. We would ask that you kindly remain silent until Chief Handsen has finished his statement. You will have ample opportunity to ask specific questions after the statement.”

Chief Hansen coughed
to clear
his throat, and
then
began
to read
his carefully worded statement.

“Scott Halliday was tonight charged with the murder of Tracey Dawn Jackson after confessing to her murder. Further enquiries into additional charges are ongoing. He will be held overnight and appear in court tomorrow morning.”

The statement was short, and a baying press was eager to get more details.

“Ted Summers,
123TV
. Did Halliday say why he killed Tracey, Chief? Is it true that the motif was jealousy?”

“M
r.
Halliday claims that he had asked Miss Jackson out on a date, on the day that she disappeared. He claims that she refused, and
she
taunted him about preferring his brother.”

“Vicky Taylor,
Radio Today
. Did the key found next to the body belong to either Miss Jackson or Scott Halliday?”

“No. The key did not belong to either Miss Jackson or Mister Halliday.”

Th
at
answer prompted a sea of voices to shout out
all
at the same time. The
questions
became
unintelligible,
but one strong male voice
near the front did stand
stood out
from the crowd.

“Chief, Chief.
If the key did not belong to the victim or the perpetrator, do you know who it d
id
belong to
? An
d why was
the key
found next to the body. Is a third party involved?”

“To our knowledge there was no other party involved in the murder of Tracey Dawn Jackson. M
r. Scott
Halliday stated that he deliberately planted the key. The locker key belonged to his brother Vincent Halliday, and Scott
had
intended to throw suspicion on his brother when the body was found.”

“Is it true Chief, that Halliday accused you of being incompetent in not finding the body sooner?
And
why
exactly
was the body not discovered until now?”

Chief Summers was now losing his patience and his cheeks reddened as he became visibly angry.

“Yes madam
. Mr.
Halliday did make certain accusations towards the police in general. As for why the body was not discovered until now; the body was found in a secluded area. It probably would have remained undiscovered
if a
m
etal detecting enthusiast
had
not picked up a signal from the key. The key, I might add, that the murderer planted in order to incriminate his brother
.
”

“
Benson, Daily News.
How close are you to tracing the owners of the other personal items found, and do you
believe
Halliday’s
claims
about killing more women
are genuine?”

“We are still trying to trace the owners of the other items, but you have to understand that we have to reopen missing person’s cases dating back over thirty years. These things take time. As for whether his claims are genuine or not, well I can
confirm that we are treating his claims very seriously indeed. That’s all.”

As the disgruntled Chief Handsen left the room, his spokesman made all the usual noises about keeping the media
fully
informed.
The screen switched back to the TV station newsreader in the studio.

Carly started pacing the floor
like an expectant father
as she continued to watch the broadcast. It didn’t feel real, and she was finding it hard to take it all in.
Holy cow, I don’t believe it. How couldn’t I tell it was him? Good job I didn’t confront him with the attaché case and Tracey’s locket. He’d probably have killed me too
!

It was late
and
Carly was exhausted, but being so disturbed by these latest events she didn’t think she’d manage to sleep.

Maybe I should use
my
CD to
help me to
get off to sleep. On second thoughts
,
I’ve had enough adventures for one day
!
Think I’ll settle for a cup of hot chocolate instead
.

Carly wandered wearily
in
to the kitchen.
These past few days have been very eventful
, she thought,
but
who knows what lies in store for me in the future …

..
ooOoo
..

If you enjoyed this book, I’d really appreciate it if you would take a few moments to leave a review on Amazon >>
Review “The Key: Dream Traveler
In
Tim
e”

..
ooOoo
..

Whilst it is not necessary to read the first book in the
Dream Traveler
In
Time
series, you may wish to do so for background and completeness.

The Gift: Dream Traveler
In
Time (Episode 1)

It features
Carly
Moore a perpetual insomniac and independent woman, who
works
in a small town radio station, where nothing much normally happens.

When a mystery man offers a cure for her insomnia, little does she know that it will change her life
forever.
And the lives of others.

After this chance meeting, this very ordinary thirty something woman is gifted the ability to do extraordinary things, travel through time, and change events through the medium of her dreams.

Carly
Moore becomes the “Dream Traveler
In
Time”.

Drama, excitement, intrigue, mystery, suspense, humor, and emotion combine to tell the story of how simple changes to the past can have such far reaching consequences.

Episode 1 - The Gift – where dreams become reality.

Please tell your friends about my books.

To stay up to date about my new book releases, and to have your say about what sort of story you’d like to read next, please visit my blog >>
http://SarahMayPalmer.com

Thank you,

Sarah May Palmer