Chapter Ten #2
“Aye, y’right,” Declan sighed. We gazed at one another, neither of us wanting to be the first to admit how bittersweet this moment was.
It was only as we rounded a corner, at the top of the hill that sloped down towards the compound that something caught my eye through the darkness.
My heart leapt into my throat, and I reached out to grab the sleeve of Declan’s shirt.
“Oi, is that blue lights?” I muttered, gesturing across the valley. We both stilled, staring at the blue lights of emergency vehicles flashing through the foliage.
“Shite, the filth?” Declan asked, scrubbing a hand down his face.
I shook my head, swallowing thickly. “Nah, looks bigger than that. An ambulance?”
Declan was off in an instant, and we jogged the short distance back to the camp. Whatever was going on down there was a big deal – traveller folks didn’t rely on the authorities for anything unless it was a matter of life and death.
Declan and I sprinted through the gates of the halting site, surprised to see everyone out of the caravans, gathered around the ambulance at the centre of the camp.
I spotted a familiar face – Fiadh. Ronan and Darragh weren’t with her and my stomach churned. I reached out, grabbing her attention.
“The feck is goin’ on?”
She seemed to startle, gazing up at me with wide eyes, shimmering with emotion. “I don’t know, like. I just got here meself. They’re sayin’ someone’s been stabbed.”
“Jaysus… Dec, I—” I turned, surprised when my mate was no longer behind me. I caught sight of him muscling his way through the crowds ahead. “Declan!” I shouted, but he either couldn’t hear me or didn’t want to.
“Everythin’ alright, now?” Fiadh asked quietly.
“I dunno, like,” I muttered, brows drawn. “Ronan and Darragh back at the caravan?”
Fiadh nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. “I was just on me way back from seein’ Florence when it all kicked off.”
My mouth was like sandpaper, but it brought me a modicum of relief to know Ronan was safe. “Who is it? Do we know?”
“A young girl from what I’d been hearin’, like.”
Fiadh had barely finished her sentence before I was pushing my way through folks, heading back towards Declan’s caravan but before I could get that far, I spotted him a way ahead.
He was ashen and sweaty, eyes dark with worry.
Declan was frightened, and that hit me like a tonne of bricks. Shite. Tess.
“Y’alright, lad?” My voice shook as I spoke.
“Nah. Where’s Tess? I can’t find her. She’s not back at my place and I—” Declan’s voice caught in his throat, and he ran a hand through my hair.
Something inside seemed to click into place, a calm focus washing over me. I always had been good in a crisis. I guessed it came hand in hand with a traumatic childhood – you got good at coping with fear.
“Feckin’ hell,” I muttered, mind running a million miles an hour. “A’right, has she got her wee trackin’ turned on? On her phone?”
Declan snatched his device from his pocket, tapping on the screen with shaking hands. He narrowed his eyes with confusion, looking up and gazing across the camp.
“Says she’s in the woods, like,” he said, voice low.
My heart sank, and yet I refused to acknowledge it. Digging deep and holding onto the vain hope that things may not be as bad as they seemed. This could all be some sort of misunderstanding.
“Maybe she’s hidin’ out, waitin’ f’ya?” I replied, grabbing Declan’s arm. “C’mon!”
We both legged it, following Declan’s phone as it led us to Tess. It was so dark, we could barely see where we were going, but Declan forged ahead like a man possessed, only slowing as we drew close to Tess’s pin.
“Tess?!” Declan roared, voice bouncing around the woodland.
I cupped my hands around my mouth before shouting. “Tess? It’s us – John-Francis and Declan. Where are ya?”
No answer came. I watched Declan, his face illuminated by his phone screen as he studied it.
“I don’t understand. Says she’s right here, like.”
“Lemme call her.” I dug my phone out of my pocket, and ignoring a few unanswered texts from Ronan, I navigated to Tess’s number.
He’d understand once I explained, I knew he would.
I raised my phone to my ear, holding my breath as it began to ring.
A dull vibration drew Declan’s attention, and he scanned the forest floor, quickly locating the bright screen amongst the leaf litter.
I hung up, leaving Declan staring at the phone in his hand, dumbfounded. There was a tense moment of silence, and I cleared my throat.
“Shite. Musta dropped from her pocket or somethin’,” I said, voice quiet.
With the roar of the river at our backs, we remained stock still. Declan’s anguish was rolling off him in waves, and I waited patiently beside him as he wrestled with what to do next.
He’d been silent one moment, then yelling into the night the next. I was on pins, my whole body buzzing with adrenaline.
“We’ll find her, lad,” I murmured. “Y’go t’ Tess’s house. Maybe she’s gone there? I’ll head back t’ the camp and keep searchin’. I’ll ask about, see if anyone’s seen her and I’ll give ya a bell if I turn anythin’ up, aye?”
Declan didn’t respond, his eyes darting around the woodland, crazed like a wild animal. He was spiralling and I needed to get a handle on this before he did something he’d regret. I grasped his arm, forcing Declan to turn to look at me.
I stared at him. “We’ll find her, Dec.”
Though I saw a flicker of hesitation in his eyes, Declan relaxed a modicum.
“A’right,” he sighed. “I’ll head t’ Tess’s. Y’be ringin’ me if ya hear anythin’, now?”
“F’sure. Same t’ yourself, aye?”
Without another word, Declan turned and disappeared into the woodland, heading for the main road on the other side. I turned the opposite way, heading back towards the camp. As soon as I was out from the wilds, I grabbed my phone and pulled up Ronan’s messages.
RONAN: Something big going on at camp. Are ya gonna be out much longer?
RONAN: Ya need to get back here. I’ll tell ya more when I see ya.
RONAN: Missed Call.
Shite, he was probably worrying about me. I dialled his number, holding my phone to my ear and I fought my way through the bushes and back into the camp. It had barely finished its second ring when Ronan picked up.
“Y’alright? Where are ya?”
“Aye, I’m fine. Same can’t be said f’Declan’s Tess, mind. She’s missin’. Please tell me ya’ve seen her?”
“Nah, but I know why she’s disappeared, like,” Ronan replied. Something about the timbre of his voice had my palms growing sweaty.
“I’m almost back at y’place. Tell me in a minute.
” I hung up before he could reply, jogging the last hundred metres.
I arrived just in time to see Ronan hopping down from inside his caravan.
Darragh and Fiadh stood in the doorway for a moment, casting me sympathetic expressions before closing the door and allowing Ronan and I some privacy.
“What the feck is goin’ on, like?” I asked, pushing my hair from my eyes.
“It’s bad, fella,” Ronan replied, his brows drawn. “They’re sayin’ Tess killed a girl – that wee geebag y’know, Pearl was it?”
My stomach turned over and scrubbed a hand down my face. “Feck, y’serious?”
Ronan nodded. “There was a fight in the shower block, blood feckin’ everywhere. The ambulance took Pearl away, but God…” He trailed off with a sigh. “It wasn’t lookin’ good, now.”
Jaysus. We’d all known Pearl wasn’t best impressed with Tess for moving in on Declan, but this? This was too far. I knew what Pearl was like – she’d started that fight, I’d put money on it, but it looked like Tess had finished it. Who’d have known the wee buffer girl had it in her?
“No one’s seen Tess?” I asked.
Ronan shook his head.
“I’m sorry t’ drag ya inta this, but I need y’help,” I said, grabbing him by the nape. “Can y’give me a wee hand goin’ ‘bout the camp? Someone musta seen her, like.”
“Aye, I’ll help where I can.”
Without thinking, I closed the distance between us and kissed him firmly. Ronan immediately tensed up and shoved me away.
“Jaysus, what ya playin’ at?” he snapped, though I could tell he wasn’t really upset with me. “Anyone coulda seen ya, like.”
I shrugged with a sad smile. “More important things t’ worry ‘bout, now.”
“Let me tell Ma what’s goin’ on an’ I’ll be right wi’ ya, okay?”
I simply nodded, checking my phone whilst Ronan yanked open the door and shouted inside. Darragh was up on his feet immediately.
“Y’need another pair o’ hands, like?” he asked and gratitude flooded me.
“Aye, that would be grand. Thanks, fella.”
All three of us headed into the night, Darragh peeling off first to chat with a group of older people who were all talking amongst themselves.
The ambulance was gone now, and yet I made a beeline straight to the women’s toilet block. Ronan was right behind me, though he remained quiet.
As I came to a halt, taking in the scene before me, I felt the blood drain from my face and a cold sweat break out over my brow. Shite, Ronan hadn’t been exaggerating…
There was blood everywhere, and though police were doing their best to hold back the crowd, I could see past them and into the locker room. It was a sea of crimson, and I ripped my eyes away, suddenly nauseous.
I spotted some of Pearl’s mates a short distance away, huddled together beneath foil blankets, crying whilst the police attempted to speak with them.
“Come on, clear off,” a police officer shouted to the crowd, attempting to get people to disperse. “Let us do our job, please.”
Ronan touched my forearm, and I snapped back to reality, glancing down at him. He jerked his head in a silent request for me to follow, and I trailed obediently behind. Just as we passed by Pearl’s friends, I heard one of them shout.
“That’s what happens when ya befriend feckin’ buffers!” I met her eye as she glared at me. “They stab ya in the back!”
She hadn’t addressed me by name, and yet I knew she was talking to me when she’d said that. The police officer glanced over his shoulder at us and Ronan expertly steered us away from the chaos.
“Jaysus,” I muttered. “She did it. She really did it, like.”
“Aye, lookin’ like it,” Ronan replied.
I grabbed my phone, my hands shaking a little as I navigated to Declan’s number. Ronan and I came to a halt, hiding in the shadows behind one of the caravans as I listened to the ringing tone. Just as I began to wonder if Declan was going to answer, he picked up.
“Dec, it’s bad,” I said. “Tess is the one who did all that t’ Pearl. There’s feckin’ blood everywhere. I don’t even—”
Declan remained silent, though I could hear his ragged breaths on the other end of the line.
“She’s not here, lad. I dunno where she’s—”
“Her car is gone,” Declan suddenly interjected, his voice eerily calm.
I sucked in a breath. “Shite. Y’want me t’ get the van? Maybe we could—”
A bitter laugh came in response that sent a shiver down my spine. “What’s the feckin’ use, like? We gonna hunt the length an’ breadth of the country, now?”
“Dec?” I felt my hand gripping my phone. This wasn’t good. I’d never heard my mate sounding like this.
“She didn’t run t’ me. If she’s in trouble, she knows she should always run t’ me…” Declan muttered, almost mindlessly.
My legs moved of their own accord, and I strode off towards my van. Ronan practically jogged to keep up with me.
“Stay there, now. I’m comin’ t’ get ya. We’ll go f’a wee drive. It can’t hurt, aye?”
“Nah,” Declan sighed. “Nah. It’s over.”
“Feck, Declan. Y’can’t just be givin’ up now?” I snapped.
There was a long pause, and just as I began to wonder if he had hung up on me, he spoke. I stopped beside my van, holding my breath.
“Nah, not givin’ up. Tess is mine. She belongs ta me. I will find her… But I’m gonna make her wish I hadn’t.”
“Dec, I—”
This time Declan did hang up. I pulled my phone from my ear, staring at it for a moment.
“What’s goin’ on?” Ronan asked.
“Jaysus, I don’t—” My voice cracked and in an instant Ronan dragged me into a hug.
I shuddered, closing my eyes as I buried my face in him, embracing him so tightly I wasn’t sure how he was able to draw a breath.
God, it was so good to have him here. I wondered how I would have coped otherwise. It didn’t bear thinking about.
Eventually, Ronan pushed against me, and I let him slip from my arms. He gazed up at me with a fiery determination.
“So, what’s next, like? Where’s Declan? Let’s go grab him, talk him down a wee bit an’ make a plan.”
I smiled and for the second time in one night, kissed Ronan without sparing a thought to who might see us. It was brief, but I hoped it conveyed just how grateful I was to have him here with me.
We didn’t speak. I just snatched my keys from my pocket and climbed inside the van whilst Ronan jogged to the passenger side and joined me.
The engine roared to life, and we headed out onto the road.
I wasn’t sure where Tess’s house was and with Declan refusing to answer his phone, I wasn’t likely to find out, but I would drive around Appleby all damn night until I found him.
I needed to know he was safe, and he wasn’t about to do something fucking stupid.
Declan was not in his right mind, and he needed me now more than ever. I hadn’t let him down before and that wasn’t about to change. I’d ensure it.