Chapter 2

I paced back and forth in the room, thinking hard about what to do. Should I just stay away from all that and let the police handle it or should I act on my curiosity? I mean, that guy looked ready to kill me and I'm seriously not ready to die. I'm just 23! I've got my whole life ahead of me. I want to go to college, have friends, marry a nice man, have a beautiful family, take care of my mum and so many other things. I can't do that if I'm dead huh.

What would I gain anyway? They don't appear in pictures and I don't want people to start calling me crazy. It's bad enough that I'm poor and avoided like a plague. Besides, it would be better to ju-

The heavy banging on my door jolted me out of my thoughts. Holy shit! Who could it be? That strange big guy who wanted to kill me? Chief Garrison?

It couldn't be my mum because she has the keys. It couldn't be Mr. Pugsley either. I hope. Since I didn't answer, the person banged the door harder, rattling the hinges. I quickly grabbed the closest thing beside me which was a small lamp mum had bought two weeks ago. It was the cheapest we could buy and sure it'll be hard to replace but I have to protect myself first.

"Alexandra I know you're in there!" The voice boomed.

Shit. I would recognize Chief Garrison's voice even if my ears were stuffed full with cotton. Why does he have to be so loud? Now the nosy neighbours will have something to talk about.

"Open this door now or I'll break it myself!"

"What do you want!?" I shouted, putting the lamp back in its place. Good thing I wouldn't need it.

"We need to talk! Now open this goddamn door!"

"Not until you tell me what I've done wrong!"

There's no way I'm letting him in. It must be because of the train. Did I do something that somehow hinders their Investigation or does he just want to kill me?

"Just open the door and we'll talk" he said, his voice now normal but still irritated. Why does he get so angry? I mean, everyone gets angry at times but he's always angry. As if he knows no other emotion.

"You still have to tell me why" I insisted.

I heard him sigh and I smiled to myself. Maybe things will get done my way.

"It's about your mum Alexa. It's very serious" he said and my heart suddenly leapt up to my throat. I felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped on me. Why would he be bringing news about my mother? Did something bad happen?

I rushed to the door, unlocked it and yanked it open. Chief Garrison pushed his large frame in and sat on the only couch we had. It was a small couch but big enough for someone his size. I closed the door and marched to his front, arms folded on my chest. I tried to mask my fear but judging by the way he looked at me with pity, I could tell that I wasn't doing a very good job.

"You should sit down" he said, breaking the silence.

I didn't even hesitate. My butt made immediate contact with the cold cemented floor but that didn't matter right now. What mattered was my mum.

"When last did you see her?" He asked.

"Is she missing?"

"Just answer the question kid"

"Yesterday afternoon. I bought her lunch at the hospital and she told me she would not be back until tonight. There was too much work to do" I answered.

He nodded then went silent. Why isn't he telling me what's wrong? I'm freaking out here and he's just quiet.

"What happened to her?" I asked. "Is she sick? Did someone hurt her?"

He shook his head.

Ugh. "I need answers chief".

He sighed then raised his head and looked me in the eyes.

"Alexa, your mother boarded the evening train to the next town to get medical supplies. She was supposed to be back this afternoon".

He didn't say anymore. He didn't need to. This means my mother was supposed to be in that train. The empty train. I could feel my heart squeeze as my breath came out short and fast. She's missing. My mother's missing. I gripped my shirt tight just as my eyesight began to blur. Strong rough hands gripped by arms and shook me hard.

"Don't you dare pass out kid" Chief Garrison barked in my ear and that seemed to pull me back. Then he did something that was so out of his character. He hugged me. He pushed my face into his chest and wrapped those beefy arms around me then held me tight.

"We'll find her okay. I promise you"

He smelled of stale cigarettes and some kind of vanilla body spray. My body began to tremble as hot tears pooled in my eyes. "No you won't. You don't care".

His arms went even tighter.

"I do care Alexa. I care more than you know" he replied but how can I believe him? He's the most uncaring man I know. All he loves is booze, cigarettes and sleep. He cares for nothing else. How can I trust someone like that?

"You promised the citizens of Richeville that you'll find the missing people. It's been two weeks with no concrete information. How can I trust you to find my mother?" The tears now flowed freely, wetting his uniform.

He broke the hug, putting a small distance between us before he uttered the words I never imagined I'd hear in my entire life.

"Because I'm in love with her"

"What?" I whispered. Maybe I didn't hear him right.

"Because I fucking love her you idiot! I'm in love with your mother and she's in love with me too. You get that now?!"

Oh shit shit shit. No way. My mother and Chief Garrison? How?

I gazed at him. He's not bad looking though. His dark brown hair was done in a crew cut and he had that kind of moustache which was twisted at the end on both sides. Long lashes over hooded eyes and thin lips. The body of a wrestler with a slightly big stomach but that's the effect of alcohol and donuts. If he weren't so cold and cruel to people, he'd have half the single women of Richeville begging to marry him.

"How long?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"How long have you two been together?"

He coughed. "A year and 11 months"

I gasped, shocked. "And I didn't know?!"

"We didn't know how you'd react! I promised not to say anything because she said she'll tell you herself".

"Well clearly, I had no fucking idea" I scoffed.

"Watch your tone kid" he growled and I decided to stick to good language. I know he won't hesitate to hit me even though he's in love with my mother.

Holy shit! A year and 11 months! This means they'll get married. I'll be Alexandra Garrison?

I paled. Shit!

"Alexa I'm sorry we kept this from you but right now, that's not what we should think about. We need to find her" he said.

My mind immediately flew back to the three strangers I met earlier. I'm pretty sure they had something to do with this but will he believe me if I tell him that? I absolutely have no proof. The picture I took is completely useless and to be honest, I'm scared as fuck to go back there alone. Who knows what they might do to me.

I'm just an average girl of average height and looks. Just like my mum, I have wavy shoulder length dark brown hair which is as thick as a bush. Equally thick brows and long eyelashes framing my light brown almond shaped eyes. I also got her pretty small pink plump lips and pale skin.

I got my father's physique though. Tall, slim and lanky with as little curves as possible. My front is as flat as a table and my behind, well Mr. Pugsley said it's sexy. The old fart. Looks like he isn't getting any juicy story from me. Maybe I should take my pictures to his rival company.

"...listening to me?" I heard Chief Garrison say, cutting off my thoughts.

I blinked, then gave him a smile. He sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Do you have anything to eat or drink?" He stood up and walked towards our mini fridge by the corner.

I snickered. "Oh yeah, by all means Chief. Help yourself to half a bottle of water and a sachet of ketchup".

Growling, he yanked open the door, took the bottle of water and walked back, plopping on the couch.

"I'm slowly running out of my mind here" he said, twisting the cap open then drinking the water in one huge gulp.

"If I tell you what I saw in that train, you'll call me crazy" I said, still contemplating on whether to tell him or not.

"Look kid, people all over Richeville have been disappearing. Now, a whole train of passengers disappeared without a trace. I'm sure whatever you throw at me cannot be worse".

Well, if he says so then okay. And that's how I spent the next 30 minutes recounting everything that happened earlier. 30 minutes because Chief Garrison clearly can't listen without interrupting.