(aka Bike) Part 1169 by Angharad Copyright © 2010 Angharad
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The police came quite quickly after my emotional call. A patrol car arrived in minutes followed by another with a higher ranking officer on board. A WPC led me off to my car while the police talked with Simon.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find her,” soothed the young police woman.
“We rowed last night because she was late coming home, and we parted on less than good terms this morning. She didn’t even stop for breakfast.” I explained to my new best friend.
“How old is she?”
“Nearly sixteen.”
“Is she a mature sixteen, or still a kid?”
“A bit of both.”
“Okay, would you like to describe her for me?”
I saw Julie in mind’s eye and burst into tears. Suddenly everything was drowned out by the sound of a tractor flying overhead and bright lights shining all about the area.
“They’ve got the chopper out, if she’s nearby, they’ll find her.”
“What in the dark?”
“They’ve got thermal imaging, they can even find someone who’s unconscious or...” she paused.
“Or dead,” I continued for her. “That’s what you were going to say, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sorry–I wasn’t thinking.” Through my bleary tear filled eyes I saw her blush, the light from the helicopter shining through the windscreen of my car as it swept the area.
“D’you think she’s dead?” I asked ready to burst into tears again.
“No, it’s early days yet.”
There was a knock on the car door and a young copper wearing a reflective jacket popped his head into the car through the open door. “We haven’t found her yet. It looks like the scooter has had some sort of impact. We’ve got someone checking with the hospitals to see if anyone has been admitted with injuries that look like an RTA, are there any distinguishing features?”
“She’s sixteen, dark hair, about five foot five and eight and half stone I think. Her name is Julie Kemp and she’s–” I paused, was it appropriate to disclose her secret?
“And she’s what, Mrs Cameron?”
“She’s–she’s transgendered.” I covered my face with my hand.
“Yeah, so?” stated the copper in a matter of fact manner which almost made me want to kiss him. “No big deal these days–unless it’s a factor in her disappearance. She’s not likely to have changed back is she–I mean, we’re not looking for a boy are we?”
“No, I don’t think so, she’d rather die than...”I burst into tears again.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find her, loads of teens go missing every day.”
“Do they leave behind their pride and joy?” I asked referring to her scooter.
“Um–I don’t really know, I’m just a dumb traffic cop really,” he shrugged.
“You don’t sound dumb to me.”
“Why thank you, Mrs Cameron.” He said and was about to close the door, when his colleague who’d been staring at me for a while made a deduction of her own.
“It’s Lady Cameron, isn’t it–the dormouse lady?
I nodded and sniffed.
“See he’s not so clever, Missus indeed.”
“Told you I was just a traffic cop, I’d better get back to the search.” He left us.
“Tell me about her, I don’t know anything about transgender women,” confessed my young companion, who looked about twelve but was probably about twenty.
“She’s been seen by a psychiatrist several times who diagnosed or confirmed the diagnosis. I found her unconscious on pile of rubbish about a year ago.”
“What?”
“She looked like a hooker, in over knee stiletto boots and micro mini. She’d been beaten up by a copper who thought she was older than she was and also thought she was a natural girl.”
“And you just took her in–like a stray kitten?”
“In short yes, she’d run away from home, her parents were anti anything they didn’t understand and they gave her a rough time. In fact they kidnapped her after I’d been given custody of her. We managed to rescue her.”
“Who’s we?”
“The police, while I mounted a distraction.”
“You did what?”
“I climbed in a window and distracted her dad so the police could break down the door and rescue both of us.”
“Rescue both of you?”
“He was threatening to kill her and presumably me as well, especially after I kicked him.”
“You kicked him?” she sounded like a parrot or very poor counsellor.
“Yes, it made him drop the knife, although he managed to cut her a bit before I got to him.”
“Are you always this crazy–climbing in through windows to deal with unknown dangers?”
“I felt responsible for her–I was her foster mother–I mean, I couldn’t let anything happen to her could I?”
“Sounds a bit above and beyond the call of duty for the average foster parent; let alone a foster mum.”
“So, I take my duties seriously.”
“Obviously–what d’you think has happened to her?”
“I don’t know, Simon suggested we come looking for her and as we were driving up along here I felt really sick so he stopped the car and I chucked up in the hedge. I don’t know why, but I started walking back down the road and I saw the scooter. Then I called you.”
“If you’ll pardon me saying this, but it sounds a bit suspicious to my police mind how you found the scooter.”
“I know, but that’s what happened. Surely you don’t think I harmed her, do you?”
“I don’t know, I hope not, but others will ask awkward questions about how you found her.”
“She went missing once before and I managed to tune into her and found her.”
“So why didn’t you do that this time?”
“I tried, all I got was this place and the scooter.”
“That’s a very strange story.”
“So, strange things happen to me–if you check my file, I’m sure there is one at your headquarters, you’ll see that for yourself.”
“I’m beginning to think I know some of those things–Russian mafia come to mind.”
“That’s me.”
“Wow, you’re a legend in your own lifetime in the annals of the Hampshire Constabulary. They tend to say that anyone who gets involved with you ends up either injured or loses their job.”
“Not everyone, some actually prosper. When’s the baby due?”
“March wh–how d’you know about my baby? I only did the test yesterday.”
“I dunno, I suppose I guessed, but it was the same with the scooter.”
“What you knew it would be there?”
“Not quite, once we’d stopped the car, I just had a feeling of dread and there it was.”
“You’re seriously weird, d’you know that?” She opened the car door and walked out into the rain. A few minutes later, Simon came into the car, he was soaking wet despite being loaned a police jacket.
“Aren’t you cold?” I asked him and he nodded.
The young traffic policeman came back and told us we could go home, someone would let us know if they found anything and they’d be out to speak with us tomorrow morning anyway.
Feeling very despondent, I started up the car and drove us home. Simon sat and shivered and I wanted him to hold me in his big strong arms and tell me everything would be alright, instead I thought I saw a few tears run down his cheek. This did not feel at all good.
Comments
Bike pt 1169
The mystery deepens and Cathy's legend grows. Hope Julie is OK.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
Well here goes Cathy again,
Well here goes Cathy again, more "new" coppers to deal with as if she doesn't have enough on her plate right now. The "I'm only a traffic cop" seems to a rather straight forward and caring person. He did not seem to be put off by Julie's gender situation at all. He took it in stride and actually confirmed to Cathy that he is an accepting type police officer and I feel sure that Cathy will not place him into the usual grouping of "Plods". I do hope that Julie is found safe, even if possibly banged up abit from the scooter accident (if it was an accident). Jan
Julie
I know life's a bitch, but please don't make me sad.
Portia
Portia
You big tease!
There we were, last night, all on tenterhooks, wondering what had happened to Julie.
Now here we are, tonight, all on tenterhooks, still wondering what has happened to Julie.
But it certainly sounds as though Hampshire Police are taking this a little more seriously than usual - pulling out all the stops, and after initial disbelief over Cathy's "feelings", they started to recall some of her entries in their hall of fame. Perhaps someone's remembered their past encounters with her, and decided it's more than their job's worth to not do everything within their power to help Cathy and find Julie.
One thing does seem likely - if they haven't found her yet, she must have been alive and fairly mobile when she dismounted the scooter, otherwise they would have found her fairly quickly.
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
or she's been kidnapped
Devastating if she's been kidnapped and abused again.
Strange that Cathy's radar isn't
working. And very worrisome.
It could be
that Julies Scooter had been stolen, In which case we would have one very upset girl, And maybe some different problems...It is quite possible If her Scooter has been Stolen, She may well have decided to walk home.....After all if she is still angry with Cathy, Would her pride allow her to phone one up her mother asking for a lift?
Kirri
How many times have we seen it?
Thanks A+B: nice to see you delivering a master-class for all the would-be and budding authors out there on how to write a cliffhanger, and then ramp up the tension.
That no sign seems to have been found of Julie tends to suggest several possibilities. Firstly, she wasn't seriously injured, has lost her cell phone and is making her way home or running away again. Secondly, that the 'accident' was in fact an attack, and she's been abducted. Strange that Cathy can't seem to sense anything about Julie on this occasion.
Prolonged Suspense
Bike Resources
Bike Resources
Or...
...perhaps something much more mundane.
Scenario: Julie has a brush with a lorry, falls off her scooter, which runs down the embankment by itself into the ditch. Miraculously, she's only slightly injured. Already feeling persecuted and unloved, Julie is afraid of letting Cathy and Simon know that she's wrecked the scooter. So, she calls one of her skeevy suitors to come collect her. So, while her adoptive family is worried sick, and the local constabulary is freezing, out searching for her body in the cold rain, Julie is nursing her wounds in the apartment of a lot-less-young-than-her "gentleman" who poses an entirely different kind of danger.
Tears?
Seens like our Simon has a heart after all, Despite his manly bluster.
Hope she is found soon and in good health.
Keep up the good work
poppykin
Seriously?
Seriously weird? Those words might accurately describe Cathy, at least some of the time... But then, they've been applied to me as well... And, I'm not half so cute (but I do have a cute spouse)!
Interesting, what's happening. I do kinda wonder what happened... So, Julie got run off the road, by the sister of some English Lord and she took Julie to her house. Amazing thing, she's Julie's size, so to get the wet clothing taken care of she loans Julie some clothing. As they head out, the meet her brother. Sound familiar? Oh, you want to know why Julie doesn't call? She's afraid Cathy's pissed, and her phone's broken from getting soaked and she can't remember the phone number and... She is a teen...
Anne
If she was bumped off the road
she is likely in the hospital. If she had no ID on her it could take a while.