Charley (13 page)

‘You’ll never really help anyone by joining the police,’ he had smiled. ‘It’s a thankless task.’

But I wanted to prove him wrong. I wanted to be able to help Kerry Underwood and not the man who had hurt her. That was the difference between me and my father. But in my desire to prove my father wrong, I had hurt someone very special and quite possibly put her in danger. Whether Charley really could see what had happened to Kerry Underwood or not – that’s not what made her special. It wasn’t why I felt a connection with her. I wasn’t the only one who had something to prove to their father.

With Charley at the forefront of my mind, I pulled my mobile phone from my coat pocket. The screen flickered again so I bashed it against the dashboard.

‘Charley,’ I sighed, thumbing through my contact list in search of her number. My thumb hovered over it. Her name and number stared up at me. Taking a deep breath, I placed the phone back on the dashboard. I didn’t want to add to the hurt I’d already caused … but I needed to know if she was okay.

If Charley was to be believed, there was a murderer at large and I had left her all alone. I took the phone from the dashboard again.

For God’s sake, Tom, grow some balls
, I heard my father whisper as if sitting on the back seat.

And however much the memory of his voice got my back up, he was right – I needed to grow some and fast. I had left Charley alone out here where a murderer was killing young girls. What sort of cop would do a thing like that? Not a good one.

I pressed Charley’s number with my thumb.

‘The person you are calling is unable to answer …’

Charley was either in a dead patch or … I started up the engine. The clock on the dashboard read 15:47. It was beginning to get dark. Flipping on the headlights, I sped back towards the road and away from the cliffs. I needed to find her – make sure she was safe. But where to start? Most of the roads out here were nothing more than a winding maze.

Trace the route she would have taken from the dirt track and then follow it back into town, I told myself. Charley would be just fine, and once I knew she was safe, and I had taken her home, I would still have enough time to go back to the railway line and the dilapidated house and look for some clues the old fashioned way. Kerry’s phone still hadn’t been found. Charley had said the man who had taken Kerry had thrown it into some nearby bushes …

I had to try and forget what Charley had told me and get on with some good old-fashioned police work, but I knew in my heart I couldn’t. With the last of the wintery daylight fading fast, I raced back in the direction I had last seen Charley. I drove the desolate and winding roads, my fingers gripping the steering wheel. I leant forward in my seat and scanned the road for any sign of her. The daylight was fading with each passing moment. I drove around and around, peering left and right into the gloom.

Could she have reached home already? I doubted it.

It was like she had vanished. My heart started to race. I licked
my tongue of dry lips. How could I have been so stupid – so cruel to someone I’d promised to help? What if Charley had gone back to that ruined building? What if she had stumbled across … what if? I saw Charley peering out at me from beneath the wheels of a train … her eyes blank …

I shook my head, desperate to rid my mind of that hideous image then realised I was back near the dirt track that led down to the railway tracks.

Killing the engine, I climbed from my car. It was almost full dark now, so I took a torch from the boot and switched it on. A thin beam of light cut through the night. A train thundered past in the distance. Pulling the collar of my coat up, I set off in the direction of the track.

I hadn’t gone very far, when I heard the sound of a girl scream in the distance. I stopped dead. Whoever is was, they sounded terrified. The scream came again and I raced through the dark towards it.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to give special thanks my wife, Lynda, and three sons, Joseph, Thomas and Zachary, for putting up with me. I would also like to thank Barry Cunningham for being the first publisher to take a chance on me, and Imogen Copper for all her advice and help. Both of you have brought out the very best in
Flashes
. Thank you. Thanks to my agent Peter Buckman for signing me on that cold snowy day in March and for telling me to go away and write a gripping mystery for young adults. I hope I’ve done that with
Flashes
.

Although
Flashes
was the first of my books to be signed by a publisher I had been self-publishing my stories on the internet since 2011. During that time I have sold 300,000 books and none of that would have been possible without the army of loyal fans who follow my stories and tell all their friends and family about them. So I am truly grateful to the following fans who have encouraged me: Lisa Ammari, Jennifer Martin-Green, Carles Barrios, Shanna Benedict, Carolyn Johnson Pinard, Caroline Barker, Amanda Golder, Sarah Lane, Rose Lennart, Spandana Nallamilli, Louise Chapman, James Hodson, Marsha Meadows, Rose Freeman, Toni Francis, Lindy Roberts, Zoey Burns, Roz Hilditch, Kara Cheney, Erica Paddock, Stacey Szita, Gemma Dahren, Michelle Wilton, Paul Collins Bullet, Shereen Baldwin, Courtney Jackson, Noreen Mc Cartan-Doran, Trish Diehm, Cassie Sansom, Michelle Brearley, Conny CH, Shelley Mckelvey, Cathy Douglas, Tina Altman, Shelbey Proudfoot, Teresa Walsh, Jackie McLeish, Heidi Madgwick, Claire White, Kellie Micallef, Maureen Harn, Rachel Micallef, Nereid Gwilliams, Tricia McDaniel, Jen Rosenkrans Montgomery, Wendy Wiegert, Robbie Parker, Joanne Lonsdale, Michelle Hayman, Sue McGarvie, Lieann Stonebank, Abbey Pearson, Jessica Claire, Jennifer Goehl, Maria Vargas, Stacey
Tucker, Michelle Thornton, Kathy Howrey Brand, Holly Harper, Sarah Isherwood-Smith, Kiera Hayles, Savannah Harrop, Amber Mundwiller, Kathleen Guardado, MaryAnn Brittingham, Laura Wootton, Lois Li, Tara Taggart, Andreia Lopes, Kimberly Mayberry, Helen Louise Ellis, Ruth Morgan, Tina Langford, Melissa Wright, Rebecca Holloway, Cally Munn, Rachel Roddy, Sabrina Christine Quarantillo, Tina Altman, MaryAnn Brittingham, Amanda Duke Ne Carlin, Krystale Willis, Etta Mellett, Julie Garner Shaw, Lindy Roberts, Shellie Hedge, Sam McMullen, Jackie McLeish, Jen Clachrie, Amanda Anderson, Jaime-Leigh Wilton, Jordan Wilton, Jemma Wood, Barbara Grubb, Heidi Madgwick, April Harvey, Lisa Kresco-Churchey, Samantha O’Rourke, Jade Sutherland, Stephen Gibson, Kay Donley, Beata Janik, Warren Bixby, Helen Websdale, Fiona Nelson, Gemma Rushton, Kristen Heyl, Michelle Thornton, Nikki Espiritu, Jenn Waterman, Nikki Ayres, Gayle Morell, Nichola Dickson, MaryAnn Brittingham, Lee Creed, Wayne Millard, Jenna N. Waller, Jolene Saunders, Patricia Lavery, Ally Esmonde, Julie-Anne Hope, Hannah Landsburgh, Kayleigh Morgan Griffiths, Clare O’Neil, Bernice Thomas, Abbie Robertson and Marilyn Waters.

Thank you all so much.

Hugs,

Tim
XX

Text © Tim O’Rourke 2014

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