Missing [ST]

Forty Six

When the remaining four adults saw a collapsed Steven being held upright by Joe, they stopped in a heartbreak of horror.

Leah was holding Liv in her arms, but was now keeping her away from the sight of her unmoving father. Joey, Brad, and Tom were silent, forced to listen to Joe's voice break over the distance, and the impatience and desperation for help was becoming unbearable.

No one knew where Will was.

When the sirens did wail, people were everywhere in a matter of seconds. Uniformed officers and paramedics rushed from one end to another, and the sheer noise made it impossible to focus.

Shouts, directional instructions and walkie talkies filled the echoey space, and even with Leah's dodgy hearing in her left ear, it was far too much. It was no wonder Liv was growing restless and had started to whimper again.

But, Leah managed to engage with three familiar voices, and she turned around just in time to see Brad, Joey, and Tom split up and put into handcuffs. Their terrified, scruffy faces glanced at her, but they were escorted back the way they came before she could put a step forward to stop it.

Dark green uniforms of paramedics wheeled a crash trolley down the dreaded aisle, and then a crying Joe was ushered away by further officers to have his fate sealed with handcuffs.

Left to right, Leah's eyes didn't catch a break. She was shushing Liv the best she could, holding her close to soothe the discomfort, but she didn't know what to do. She didn't have kids. She didn't have that experience of parenthood. She was just a girl herself.

"Miss Devereaux, my name is Detective Chief Inspector Alisson Parker and I need you to come with me."

A dark skinned female, not in a uniform, stepped up. She had a grey overcoat covering a white blouse, and smart black trousers with heeled boots. Her dreadlocks were tied up on top of her head to bring out sharp cheekbones, and her overall appearance indicated she was probably the head of the investigation.

"Are you arresting them?" Leah asked, trailing worried eyes to the retreating figures hidden by police. She looked back at the serious female, readjusting Liv's weight on her side. "Is Steven-is he-"

"I'm afraid I cannot disclose any information at this point in time."

"Why not?" Leah argued, peeved by the lack of clarity.

"Miss Devereaux if you do not cooperate, I will have to arrest you, and I do not want to do that."

Judging by her tone, she wasn't lying, and Leah knew for her sake it was best to stay on the good side of the police. She already figured she would have a lot of dumb questions to look forward to, on top of serious family matters to sort out, and picking a fight with the law was not her best bet.

"Fine," she conceded, pushing past the upsetting thoughts of the future.

"You should have your wounds looked at before you come down to the station. Would that be alright?"

Leah fell reluctantly into stride with the DCI, having forgotten about her minor injuries. She was too busy thinking about the guys to worry about herself.

"I'm working with Agent Darlow. I can assure you that these are all precautionary measures. You have to understand that," DCI Parker explained, offering some sort of a helpful answer.

Leah didn't respond. She just held Liv close, although she was feeling the strain in her arms and would have to put her down at some point.

Police tape went up when they walked by. Armed officers guarded exits, and white suited forensics teams with cameras placed yellow numbered cones around the scene and squatted down to take images.

It was a crime drama in real life, and Leah starred as one of the main characters.

They made it outside in silence, exiting through the same point of entry that was now the shape of a door from the work of bolt cutters.

Leah squinted at the low sun.

Amongst the police cars and vans, there was a rapid response vehicle with the boot open, and a bulky first aid kit was being tampered by a gloved medic. Presumably, her destination for a check-up.

"And I'm going to need to take the little one from you," DCI Parker said.

Suddenly feeling protective, Leah pressed a hand to Liv's back.

"Where are you taking her?"

"To the station with us. She'll be with professional childcare workers, so you don't need to worry about her."

But Leah would. Liv was the remaining string of Steven that she had left. If they took her away, she'd be caught in a tangle of worry because she hadn't been able to see him. With no answers, she had to assume he was in the back of an ambulance and on his way to the closest hospital.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" Leah told Liv, gently peeling the arms from her neck. The blue eyes she found were sleepy and still puffy from crying. She looked in need of a good nap and lots of cuddles.

Reluctantly, Leah handed the child over to DCI Parker, who softened for Liv's sake, and then from there, she watched them leave for another group of people.

Her stomach dropped. This wasn't right.

"Leah?"

She turned in the breeze to a new voice.

"Yeah?"

"Can I take a look at your face?"

Hesitating, Leah touched the back of her head and then slowly freed the loose tie from her hair that was practically down anyway.

She didn't really have a choice.

"Yeah, sure," she agreed, walking over and taking a seat on the blanket.

The female medic introduced herself kindly, but Leah wasn't listening. She was cleaned up, barely flinching when the alcohol swab touched her brow, and the adhesive stitches were stuck in place.

She was warned about concussion to which she almost laughed at, but decided to keep her previous head injury to herself until details were required. After that, she was asked if there was pain anywhere else, a pupil response check, and blah blah blah.

Her ear was cleaned and wrapped up with a bandage around the top half, and she vaguely registered something about expecting some tinnitus for a couple of days. Essentially, she was absolutely fine, which she already knew, and it was the guys that needed the attention, wherever they were now.

Leah offered her thanks when she was free to go, but she was swiftly reacquainted with DCI Parker who was waiting to make her appearance known.

"I'm not allowed to see them, am I?" Leah guessed monotonously, guided into the back of a police car.

"I'm just doing my job," was the textbook response. "I'm sorry."

The door was shut on her by the constable who joined her in the back. The front seats were filled, and the radios crackled with new instructions.

Staring out her window, Leah was drawn into silence. She felt lost, the reflection of vivid blue lights fluttering in her pointless vision, and even as the vehicle peeled away from the terrors, it did nothing to soothe her racing mind.

It was going to be a long night at the station.

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