Fear Of Darkness
A serial novel by Joe Lake.
(So far: Julie Jones and her husband have come from Sydney to park their Winnebago at Cooee beach. They have an encounter with a woman in Burnie Park. Later her husband has an accident. The ambulance and police come and a shot gun goes off. The husband is taken to hospital and when Julie visits him she finds he has disappeared; so has the van when she returns to Cooee. When she goes to the police station, they don’t believe her.)
Julie sat on the bench in the police station’s waiting room when a mobile phone, not hers, lying on the bench, plays a jingle. She looks at it, then picks it up. “Yes?”
A man’s voice says, “Julie Jones?”
“Yes.”
“You have lost a husband?”
“Yes.”
“He’s with us. He’s safe. He owes us $5m. in gambling debts. We know that he has won $10m. over the last two months and we also know that he has hidden it but he won’t tell us where. You find the money and then you’ll find your husband.” There was a click and the phone cut off.
Julie pointed to the woman officer behind the counter in the station and then to the phone. She was too shocked to say anything.
The officer raised her head questioningly.
“That’s it, someone just rang on this phone which is not mine and they said they have my husband and that he owes them a lot of money.”
“I’d better ring detectives. Wait there a minute and don’t touch that phone any further.” She lifted up her phone and had a mumbled conversation with someone. “A detective will see you in a moment,” the policewoman said.
Julie put her right hand to her chin and rubbed it thoughtfully while her left arm clenched the right side of her waist.
A few moments later a man in a suit and tie appeared. “You’re Julie Jones? You have some difficulties as to having your van misplaced and you can’t find your husband and someone wants money from you?”
“That’s correct. I just had a phone call...”
“Come with me,” said the officer. “I have an office upstairs.” He went through a door at the rear of the station and up some stairs.
Julie followed him.
The detective held a glass door open for her and pointed to a comfortable chair opposite his office desk. “Now tell me first of all your full name and address. I’ll type it into the computer.” He had a lap top on his desk.
Julie told him her name and her husband’s, where they came from and that they were on holidays. She also told him about the phone call where the caller wanted $5m., or else...
“Did you know that your husband owed money?”
“No.”
(To be continued next month.)
