KIMMY'S LIST

CHAPTER 5

Jax Higgins rolled his eyes as he snatched up his warbling desk phone.

‘Detective Sergeant Higgins…’ He said. His tone was curt.

It never failed. Whenever he tried to concentrate on reviewing his case notes, something, or someone invariably interrupted him, breaking his train of thought.

The call he received was from a uniform officer who had taken a missing person report at the police station front counter last week and wanted to discuss it with a detective.

Jax checked his watch then sighed. ’OK’. Come on up…What did you say your name was again…? Constable Nina Farley…OK. Thanks, Nina. See you shortly.’

Jax hung up the phone. His eyes passed over the extensive case file spread across his desk. It would all have to wait, again.

Within minutes of the phone call ending a young, fresh - faced police woman entered the bull pen. She caught Jax’s eye and moved towards him. Jax hadn’t met this member before today. He liked what he saw as he watched her approach. Her blonde hair, tightly pulled into a bun, accentuated her natural beauty.

‘Nina, I presume…?’ Jax said as she neared.

She smiled. ‘That’s right. Thanks for seeing me, Detective.’

‘Jax…We’re not that formal in here…’

‘Ok Jax…’

‘How long have you been at Oolong? I don’t think I’ve seen you around,’ he said. He knew very well he hadn’t seen her before. He would’ve remembered, if he had.

‘About two weeks now…’

Jax nodded his approval.

‘Nice…Well, welcome,’ he said. He gestured to the report she carried. ‘What do you have for me?’

Nina handed him the report. Jax read from it while she provided her narrative summary.

‘Mrs Cartwright there, reported her husband, Dale Cartwright, 36 years of age, missing last Monday…’

Jax checked the date on his watch. ‘Eight days…’ He mumbled.

‘Aha. Apparently he went away for the weekend on a bike ride…’

Jax’s eyebrows arched as he peered up from the report. ‘Bike ride for the weekend…?’

Nina nodded. ‘That’s right. He is a mountain bike fanatic, apparently. He camps out and goes on these cross - country mountain bike rides over the weekend.’

‘On his own?’

‘Usually, yeah.’

‘Where did he go mountain bike riding on this occasion?’

‘His wife thinks he was somewhere in the Otterways. She says he puts on a backpack with his tent etc, and rides his bike to Lion Head. He usually gets supplies from the supermarket there.

‘And he is still missing…?’ Jax said as a question.

‘Correct. But the reason I wanted to bring this to your attention is because, two days ago someone found an abandoned mountain bike on a bush track between Airey’s Innlet and Fairhaven and handed it into the Angelsea Police Station.’

‘How’d you hear about that….?’

‘My friend works at Angelsea. I told her about this bloke…’ She flicked a finger at the report.

‘And she mentioned the mountain bike.’

‘Do we know what bike this bloke rode…’

‘I rang Mrs Cartwright this morning and from what she described, it certainly sounds like the same bike…’

Jax rubbed his chin stubble in contemplation.

‘Ok, Leave it with me.

‘I’ll get the Angelsea boys to do a search of the immediate area where the bike was located.

Failing that, we’ll have to arrange a more extensive search.’

‘Ok, thanks Detect…Ah, Jax,’ Nina said, followed by a beaming smile that illuminated her face.

Jax watched Nina make her way out of the office. He dropped the report onto his files. His eyes shifted to his whiteboard and the five faces staring back at him from the ten by eight photographs.

He couldn’t help but wonder if Dale Cartwright’s photograph would be number six.

Kimmy sat up in bed with a frozen expression as she glanced around the room. This time her breathing was normal. Her pulse rate was calm. She checked her phone. The display glowed 4:35AM against the darkness. Her eyes dropped to Boyd, fast asleep beside her.

In the two weeks since they attended the Molly Williamson medium seminar, Kimmy had experienced uninterrupted sleep. She started to believe she was cured. Tonight however, something changed.

As she woke from her slumber, Kimmy tried to rationalise what just happened. She wasn’t frightened as she sat up in bed, recalling her dream. If anything, she was surprised. She had to share it with Boyd.

Kimmy gently nudged her Husband’s shoulder. ‘Hun…’ she said quietly.

Boyd’s eyes opened. He startled and sat up quickly. ‘What’s wrong?’ Are you alright?’ he mumbled. He rubbed an eye.

‘I’m fine …really. I just had another visitor in my dreams…’

Boyd’s shoulders slumped. He regarded Kimmy. ‘Is everything Ok…?’

Kimmy nodded. She pulled the covers over her lap. ‘No. I’m good actually. It was really weird.’

Boyd leaned on an elbow. ‘Weird … You mean, weirder than any other of these sort of visits…?’

‘Yes.’

‘Ok. How so…?’

‘In my dream, I woke up to a woman standing by my bed looking down at me…’

‘OK. Sounds familiar. Which woman this time?’

‘No. I haven’t seen this one before. She was about mid - twenties. Red hair and really pale skin. The weird thing was… I wasn’t scared when I saw her. I found myself talking to her. I think it was a dream. It’s hard to tell because it was so real.’

‘You actually talked to this…this dead woman?’

‘I did.’ Kimmy shook a puzzled head. ‘I did. I actually spoke to her.’

‘This is some messed up shit, Kimmy. What ah … what did she say to you?’

‘When I first saw her standing there, I felt calm. I asked her if she wanted something from me. I asked if she needed my help. She said, yes.’

Boyd’s jaw dropped. ‘Are you sure you’re OK?’

‘Yes. I’m good. This woman asked me to help try and find her. I asked her where she thought she was. She said she didn’t know but it was cold and wet.’

Boyd’s assessing glare monitored Kimmy as she continued.

‘She told me she has a lot of pain in her back and her chest hurts. Her shirt…’ Kimmy rubbed a hand across her chest, ‘was all bloodied….’

‘Are you saying these dead people feel pain…?’

‘I don’t know …They must. She said she is in a paddock somewhere, it’s cold and wet and she wants me to help find her…so her family knows where she is.’

‘How the hell can you do that, Kim..? How can you possibly find someone you saw in a dream?’

‘I don’t know. I woke up after that, so I am a little taken aback at the moment.’

Boyd’s eyebrows arched. ‘You’re taken aback…’ He rubbed a hand through his hair. ‘You’re talking like you are considering this… Like, like this was something real, not a dream…’

‘I don’t think it was a dream. You know how in dreams you can’t see people’s faces, your mind just tells you it is them. Well, I could see her face. I’ve never met her before, but I could make out all her features. She had these bright green eyes…’

Boyd slipped his legs out of bed. He sat on the side leaning on his elbows. He had to be concerned about this wife after what he just heard.

After several minutes of contemplation, he glanced over his shoulder at Kimmy. His eyebrows plunged when he saw her nestled back under the covers and fast asleep.

With a slow shake of his head, he killed the light and tried to do the same.

*********

TO BE CONTINUED