Chapter Text
You never know just how fast your life can change in a few minutes.
Jamie Reynolds wasn’t found for another hour. His mother had been the one who found him on the floor, unresponsive and in a pool of his own blood. She hadn’t even realised that Nat and Connor weren’t anywhere, even though their keys were left behind.
Daniel da Silva and Soraya Bouzidi were the first on scene along with the ambulance. Neighbours stared in horror as Jamie was escorted out of the building in a stretcher, his parents hastily following behind. What happened in their small town this time?
“Mrs. Reynolds, we can assure you that your son will be fine,” Daniel da Silva assured as Jamie was being loaded into the ambulance. “Do you mind staying behind to answer my questions?”
“No! My son was attacked just now! I need to be by his side!” Joanna pushed Daniel away, remembering how cruel he’d been when Jamie had gone missing last year. “And don’t call me Mrs. Reynolds! It’s Joanna!”
“Okay, Joanna, I’m sorry, but we just need to get a clearer picture on what happened. You are classified as a witness as you had found him. If you do, we’ll be able to get to the bottom of this quicker.”
Joanna scoffed. “Yeah, because I’ll trust your useless department after what’s happened recently. DI Hawkins should be fired!”
Daniel took in a deep breath. He had his own feelings towards his supervisor, but he had to remain professional.
“Joanna, I understand your gripes with recent events, but arguing with me will not bring your son any justice.”
Joanna didn’t respond. Daniel understood her; he too would be frustrated if his wife or child had been attacked like Jamie was. Heck, he would be furious if this happened to Nat, who he hadn’t spoken to recently.
“What do you even want?” Joanna asked, her head in her hands. She’d been through a lot with losing Pip, who was like a daughter to her after she saved Jamie. If only someone had been there to save her.
“Can you come with me to the station? I promise it won’t be too long and you can leave at any time.”
Begrudgingly, Joanna left with Daniel, assuring her husband that she wouldn’t be too long.
~~~~
Transcript of Interview with Joanna Reynolds
Date: 22/03/19
Duration: 20 minutes
Location: Thames Valley Police Station
Conducted by Daniel da Silva
DDS: This is Daniel da Silva interviewing Joanna Reynolds. The time is 1:30pm on Friday the 22nd of March. This is a voluntary interview, and you are free to leave at any time, do you understand?”
JR: I understand.
DDS: Can you state your full name, please?
JR: Joanna Reynolds.
DDS: Can you confirm your date of birth, please?
JR: 28th May 1966.
DDS: Thank you. What is your relationship to the victim?
JR: I’m his mother. Jamie is my eldest son. I also have a daughter Zoe, who is currently away at university in Newcastle. My youngest is my son Connor. He is currently studying at a local university.
DDS: Very well. I understand that Jamie had moved out of your residence not too long ago. Has he ever mentioned not getting along with any neighbours?
JR: No, not at all. Jamie is a very sweet boy. All the mothers used to point that out. From what he told me, he got along with the neighbours at his complex. Ever since last year, he has stayed out of trouble and doesn’t give into peer pressure as he used to. I guess you could say that getting kidnapped by Stanley Forbes changed his view on life. I suppose your sister would’ve told you that.
DDS: I see. How about any previous enemies?
JR: I mean, there is Luke Eaton. Initially, he didn’t take the breakup with Nat lightly according to Jamie. I don’t think he’d do this though.
DDS: Why do you believe that Mrs. Rey—I mean, Joanna?
JR: He left Little Kilton after Pip’s death. By then he was over Nat and had moved on. He even made amends with Jamie about the loan he took out from him when he was getting catfished.
DDS: I see. Joanna, when was the last time you contacted Jamie?
JR: This morning. I called him to ask how he was doing, and if he could get my son Connor to call me.
DDS: Why would you ask Jamie to have Connor call you?
JR: Connor rarely speaks to me after he moved out. He moved in with Jamie and your sister a few weeks after Pip died. I couldn’t blame him, though; our house hasn’t been the same since she died.
DDS: Right, and when was the last time you contacted Connor?
JR: Two weeks ago.
DDS: Had he mentioned any weird behaviour happening to you?
JR: No. We spoke about how he was settling in at his brother’s flat, how he was getting on with his coursework. He struggles with opening about anything that might be affecting him. I think he only confides in his boyfriend. Jamie did tell me that he was planning on moving out with him a couple days ago.
DDS: Who may Connor’s boyfriend be?
JR: Zach Chen. He used to live here in town until last year. It was quite a surprise when he came out to us, but I’m very proud of him. Sorry, but how is this relevant to finding out what happened to Jamie?
DDS: Joanna, I’m just trying to get a clearer picture on Jamie’s lifestyle. It seems like he lived a normal life and didn’t cause problems.
JR: Of course he didn’t. I already said that he didn’t cause any more problems after what happened last year.
DDS: I understand. Why did you go to his house today?
JR: I wanted to check in on him. His plans had been cancelled so he was planning on staying home today. I had even brought him some homemade cookies that he could share with Nat and Connor. If only I had been there sooner...
DDS: I see. Are you certain that Jamie never mentioned anything out of the ordinary to you in the past few days?
JR: Nothing I can recall. Jamie seemed perfectly fine. Are you going to find out who did this? I should really call Connor. He wasn’t answering his phone after I found Jamie. I didn’t see him at the complex either.
DDS: You haven’t seen Connor at all today?
JR: No. I tried calling him after I called police in case he was out with Zach. His phone went to voicemail, but something was different.
DDS: What do you mean?
JR: It went straight to voicemail. Usually, it rings out.
DDS: Normally, that points to his phone being dead. Does Connor have an older phone model?
JR: No, I bought him a new model for Christmas. The battery is very sufficient and lasts all day.
DDS: And you’re certain that it wouldn’t run out?
JR: I called him right before 12pm. Jamie told me that he left just before 10am. A phone shouldn’t die during that timeframe. I’m not too good with technology myself, but I even know that a brand-new phone shouldn’t die that quickly.
DDS: Okay. Did you attempt to contact Zach?
JR: I don’t have his number. I did call his parents, who said that Zach was out with Connor. I just assumed that Connor was avoiding me again. That’s not good, is it?
DDS: Joanna, please calm down.
JR: How can I calm down when my eldest got stabbed and my youngest isn’t answering me? I should’ve known something was wrong when Connor’s phone went straight to voicemail!
DDS: Joanna, I can assure you that we’ll find out what happened.
JR: How can you be so calm? You have a sister yourself Daniel. Have you even spoken to her today? Her boyfriend got attacked at the flat they live in. Have you considered telling her about what went down?
DDS: Joanna, I can’t speak to my sister right now because I’m interviewing you.
JR: I would like to leave, please. I need to be with my son now. Maybe you could do the same for your sister.
DDS: Very well then. You’re free to go Joanna. Interview terminated 1:50pm.
~~~~
Three knocks sounded at the front door, but Ravi didn’t bother answering. He was still upset after what had happened between him and Cara. He didn’t want to hide anything from her; he just didn’t want her to feel guilty like he did for Pip’s death.
His phone started ringing, yet he still ignored it. He was an expert at ignorance after Pip’s death. Connor probably rivalled him, but he hadn’t spoken to Connor in a while.
Then, just as everything had gone quiet again, banging sounded at the kitchen window. Ravi jumped at the sound before he turned around, groaning loudly when he saw the source: Zach Chen. He must’ve been behind the knocking at the front door and the call. What could be so urgent that he couldn’t leave? All Ravi wanted was to be alone.
Sighing, Ravi opened the window. He noticed how scared Zach seemed – a far cry from his usual cheery expression.
“What do you want Zach?” Ravi asked.
“Have you seen Connor?”
Had he seen Connor? Was that seriously it? That didn’t seem like an emergency to Ravi.
“No?” Ravi said. “Why?”
“You haven’t heard?”
What? What was Zach talking about? He hadn’t heard anything since he had fought with Cara.
“Uh... no?” Ravi was sensing something was wrong; truly wrong, given how panicked Zach seemed. “Zach, what’s wrong?”
Zach took in a deep breath, speaking the words that Ravi never wanted to hear.
“Jamie was found stabbed in his flat by his mum. He’s barely clinging onto life, Ravi.” Zach then took in another deep breath; he wasn’t done and that scared Ravi. “They can’t find Connor or Nat either.”
“What do you mean?” Ravi asked.
“They’re gone,” Zach said, a tear streaming down his face. “There’s no sign of them anywhere. I tried calling Connor, but it went directly to voicemail. Something’s happened Ravi, and I think it could be connected to Pip and Lauren.”
It was.
Ravi knew it was. Nothing that happened in this town was a coincidence. He’d learnt that the hard way with losing Pip. But something just didn’t add up – why did they take Connor? Something must’ve made them take Connor if they were trying to kidnap Nat. Maybe that would explain why Jamie had been stabbed.
One thing was for certain, though – they needed to act quickly, or else the DT killer may get away again.
“Come inside Zach. I’ll unlock the front door for you.”
“What are you going to do?” Zach asked.
“I’m going to call Cara, Naomi and Steph to come here as well. I... have a lot of explaining to do.”
Zach didn’t question any further. Ravi was grateful, although he now had to face his unsolved grief, even if he feared it.
~~~~
Something was wrong.
Connor knew it when he woke up. He felt tired and cold; so cold that he was shivering, even though he was wearing his coat. He was struggling to breathe as well, as something was covering his mouth. He could feel his hands and feet tightly pressed together, held by duct tape.
He tried to scream, but the tape that covered his mouth prevented him from doing so. He tried to move his hands so he could grab his pounding head, but they were tied behind his back.
Panic slowly set in as he tried to look around, his vision still blurry. He tried remembering what had happened prior to being knocked out, even if it hurt his head.
He remembered coming back to Jamie’s flat after going out with Zach.
He remembered feeling joyous over something related to Pip and Lauren.
Then he saw Jamie... he was lying on the floor, not moving even when he had called for him.
He then approached him, worried for his older brother. He was so naive back then; he didn’t know what was to come.
He saw the stab wound on his brother’s chest and was then attacked from behind. He had tried fighting but the attacker was much stronger than he was. He should’ve taken self-defence classes like his parents had asked but he was just so stupid. He truly believed that nothing would happen to him; that everything was a coincidence.
He’d learnt now that nothing in Little Kilton was a coincidence. Every secret in the town was connected in some secret, fucked up way, and it just wasn’t fair.
“Look who just woke up...” He knew that voice; it was the same person who attacked him, but he also knew who owned that voice. He’d seen them all the time on the news back in 2012.
He tried moving backwards from the figure but was abruptly met with the pole he was tied to. He tried screaming but the tape prevented him from doing so. Was he going to die? And where was Nat?
The figure in front of him wickedly grinned. It reminded Connor of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. Maybe he was dreaming like Alice was... but, yet again, this felt far too real to be a dream. Why couldn’t it have been a dream?
The figure’s hand patted his cheek, and Connor felt so repulsed by their presence.
They then leaned in close to him, their lips pressed close to his ear.
“Nobody is going to find you Connor; I’m certain of it.”
It was Jason Bell.