THALIA
When a woman dressed in a black suit approached me on a train track, whilst I was holding a bottle of blue spray paint in my left hand and a face covered with paint, I didn't hesitate to say no to her proposition:
BE HER BRIDESMAID AT HER WE...
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This is the house my daughter has spent her life living in. Or half of it. I remember her telling me she got adopted several times but she'd always end up back at this place.
I flatten down my shirt and walk towards the front door.
I knock on the weak wood and the door just swings open by itself.
She's living here?!
I decide to shut the door and knock again, otherwise that would be kind of weird if someone in the house saw a random man wandering about.
I hold the door shut as I knock again.
I wait for about 10 seconds and then the door swings open. Not by itself this time.
A little girl is stood inside, hugging a tattered teddy bear to her chest. She peers up at me with wide eyes.
"Hello, is there an adult in?" I ask, crouching down closer to her level.
She shakes her head and... screams.
A boy comes stomping towards the girl and covers her mouth with her palm. "Sorry, she always does this." He rolls his eyes.
He carries the girl further into the house and then reappears and puts a hand on the top of the door. "How can I help? Are you lost?" He asks unbothered.
"I'm looking for my daughter. Thalia, she live here?"
He squints his eyes and turns to look up at the ceiling. "Uh, no Thalia living here."
He goes to shut the door but then immediately reopens it. "Unless... what does she look like?"
"Blue eye, brown hair, pretty tall - roughly 5'8 of 5'9."
It looks as if the clogs are turning in the boys brain. "Oh, yes. I know her. She's a pain in the arse. Told me her name was Samantha and then gave me a bunch of lip."
"Okay, but is she here?"
"No. I met her once, overheard something about her sleeping in Sadie's room. The little, screaming girl. But then I woke up and she was gone. Thank god." He laughs.
"Your lucky your a kid. Otherwise you'd be dead after talking about my daughter in that way."
The mood changes in an instance. The boy doesn't look so amused anymore. "Uh, sorry?"
"Do you know where she went?"
"Nah, I thought she made it sound like she was staying for good. Woke up and she was gone." He shrugs.
I bite the inside of my cheek and take a second to think. "You have an adult around?"
"Yeah, he's passed out. I can wake him up just give me the go go."
"Sure, go on."
"Okay, c'mon." The boy opens the door wider and I follow him further into the house.
He leads me into the kitchen and I'm met with quite a sight. A middle aged man passed out on a navy blue sofa. The boy grabs a plastic cup from a cupboard and fills it with water. He then makes his way back over to the man and splashes water all over him. The guy wakes up with a bored expression. "Not again..." he mutters.
"Jim, we got a guest." The boy nudges him.
"Oh, hello." He greets and attempts to sit upright. After a few attempts he finally gets there. "You wanting to adopt? Take Sadie, she's a real sweetie."
"No, I'm nof unfortunately. You know Thalia?"
He holds a knowing look in his eyes, "yes, I definitely know her. More than I'd like. That kid I've known for as long as she's been alive. She's been in and out of here as much as my alcohol addiction. She always come back. Poor girl. Until she didn't. Some woman adopted her. But... she came back much to my surprise. And then I woke up and she was gone. God knows where."
Something inside me churns. Just hearing this man talk about how much he knows my daughter... hurts? I can't believe I never ever knew I had another child. The guilt will haunt me for the rest of my life.
"She just... left?"
He hiccups, "yup. Boom, gone!"
"You have security footage?" As soon as I ask the question I mentally kick myself. Of course they don't have security cameras.
"Yes we have state of the art security cameras, let me go get the footage." The boy chimes in happily. And sarcastically. I offer him a bitter smile.
"Your funny," I deadpan.
"Well, Thankyou for the useful information." It wasn't all that useful but I'm not a dickhead all the time.
"Anytime, chief." The man called Jimmy, I think, says. He salutes me and then I make my way out of the house.
I grab my phone out of my pocket and dial one of my guys. "She's missing. Check the footage of any cameras located in Hackney." I send him a picture of Thalia and then tell him to update me as soon as he finds anything or lack of.
I hope to god nothing terrible has happened.
2 hours later...
"Boss, I found something."
I tell him to send over his finding immediately. I sit anxiously at my desk, waiting for the footage to come through.
When it does, I press play in an instant.
The footage is static and incredibly unclear, but I'm grateful it exists.
A few minutes in a van pulls up outside the care home, a guy jumps out and makes his way into the house breezily. There's nothing after that for quite a while...
But then there is.
His body makes its way back into the lens and he isn't alone. He's holding somebody, I can just about see the fact that there's a bag over their head.
