sunset summer

1

Charles Dickens, “Oliver twist” this was the book she had chosen to read this evening, a far cry from “war and Peace” which her college lecturer wanted an essay on by the following day but hay! When Sophie was feeling low, she loved “Oliver Twist” just reading about those orphans made her reassess her fortunes.

Sophie drummer was used to having time on her own. She should be, her mom was a school teacher and when she wasn’t working, planning lessons or in meetings she was out line dancing. Her dad was another matter, she was never really sure where he worked. She just knew he was away more than he was at home! Whenever she had asked, she got the same reply he gave to everyone, “I work for the government.” The whole alone thing wasn’t a problem, she was 17 and more than capable now. It was the thinking that being alone allowed her to do that was sometimes dangerous.

There was no-one home tonight, so, having grabbed a cheese sandwich Sophie decided to leave the house too. That house just made her feel lonely, the echo’s that every sound made just accentuated the emptiness.

She followed her usual route that evening. Walking slowly past the reef bar on the corner in case he was outside, he often was on a Tuesday after rugby practice. She had been eyeing carl from afar for around 4 years now. He was so cute, dark brown eyes and dimples when he smiled, she melted at the thought of him. He always had one of the cheerleading squad on his arm though. Still she could dream, couldn’t she?? She doubted that carl had even noticed her, she was the geek you know, never in the in crowd for anything.

He wasn’t there tonight! The rest of the team were. They were laughing and pushing one another around as usual. A couple of them glanced her way as she passed by on her way to the beach but they didn’t recognise her. Anyway, she wasn’t interested in the rest of the team.... there was just something way too sexy about carl.......mmmmmm.

The evening was warm, being September, the hot summer weather was ending and there was a chill in the breeze but still comfortable enough for the t-shirt and jeans that Sophie was wearing, that she always wore. Tonight, she carried her leather jacket, feeling it might be cold later. It was only 6.30 so there were still a lot of people coming home from work. Wandering slowly towards the beach she was not alone, but the other people were rushing past, going about their daily routine as if she didn’t exist. Most of the time she wished she didn’t.

Finally reaching the beach Sophie found her favourite spot. Just a little away from the pier there was a large rock. If Sophie climbed round this there was a crevice on the other side just big enough for her to squeeze into. She would often sit here, this had been her spot since she had found it when her dad had bought her to the beach when she was around 7. They had been playing hide and seek, she stumbled upon this rock and hid, it had taken her dad so long to find her she had fallen asleep and the tide had come in dangerously close. Oh, what a panic that had been! Since then the crevice in the rock had seemed to grow with her. She had always ‘just about’ been able to fit in there.

This was such a peaceful way to spend cold lonely evenings, the sound of the crowds above on the beach and the gentle splish splish of the waves as they caught the edge of the rock encompassing her. Engrossed in her book she must have been there hours when her mobile rang. The sharp sudden interruption made her jump.

Back in reality, she fumbled in her leather pocket for the ancient mobile. Checking the number, she saw that it was her classmate Kerry.

“hiya!”

“hi Kerry, what’s up?”

“just wondered what you were up to, I’ve put the war and peace essay to bed and fancied a beer. Outside the reef if you fancy it?”

“uh, huh, can do, I’m down the beach. Give me ten minutes Kel an I’ll be with ya!”

“oh, you down the beach! Great, stay where you are, we’ll join you!”

“we? Who’s we?”

“Tracey and a couple of the rugby lads are here, we were thinking about a bar-be-cue so you’re just the excuse I need to get these guys moving. We’ll be at the end of the pier in half an hour. Carl has his car so we’ll pop to Tesco’s for supplies!”

The phone went dead. Carl was coming! Oh my god, she was half asleep and a right mess! Standing up and wiping the sand from the places she could reach Sophie made her way towards the end of the pier. She knew exactly when Kerry had meant, they had met there loads of times before.

There was no-one there when Sophie got to the spot so she took some time to straighten her clothes and hair. she stashed Oliver twist in the pocket of her leather jacket. Charles dickens would definitely NOT be a cool accessory for an evening with the rugby crowd and she already had enough jibes off them!

Tucked under the end of the pier waiting Sophie realised that the tide had gone out quite a long way since she had arrived at the beach. The sun was low on the horizon casting a golden glow over the sea. It was difficult to tell now where the sea met the sky. The smells and sounds of dusk on the beach were amazing. ‘How many people actually took time to appreciate them?’ Sophie idly wondered as she stood there taking it all in.

Suddenly there was a lot of noise from above, car doors slamming, people chattering, footsteps. Sophie guessed her impromptu party had arrived.

“Soph!” shouted Tracey,

“got food, beer and music! Should be a good night after all!” as the whole group ran towards Sophie, she could see there was about twelve of them. Carl was at the back carrying most of the stuff, it may be getting dark but Sophie recognised that figure anywhere.

The lads all had their tops off and looked like they’d spent the summer doing nothing but topping up their tans and working on their six packs. Kerry was wearing a black dress that barely covered anything, but that was Kerry all over! Tracey on the other hand had a 1980’s space invaders t-shirt on that looked like it had been pulled from the bottom of the ironing pile and a pair of white denim hot pants that looked about three sizes too small. If she ran too much Sophie was sure those hot pants would split at the seams!

Carl put the beers he was carrying down and dug a hole in the sand for the bar-be-cue. Rod put it in the hole and lit it with his zippo, the smell of lighter fluid and smoke soon filled the air. While this was happening one of the other lads had set up his I pod by one of the piers legs. He had some good tunes, flicking through the menu until he found what he wanted to play. Iron maiden would start, then there would be a dance track, then well Sophie didn’t have a clue what that was but it sounded old. Finally, he found some 80s tracks and settled with those. At least Tracey was happy!

The smoke soon died down from the bar-be cue and the burgers were sizzling, ooh Sophie loved that smell! She had a bottle of lager in one hand and a hot dog in the other and was leaning against one of the pier legs wondering exactly how an evening alone had suddenly turned into a student party on the beach when she suddenly felt an arm around her waist.

She turned to see it belonged to one of the rugby guys she didn’t know. He was off his head. Surely that wasn’t just the beer? She didn’t know. But as he leaned in as if to kiss her, she slipped free of his grasp and wandered off alone.

That just about summed up sophies life. All the way through school she was the one the guys turned to when all else had failed. Or when they had been dumped. Or well, if they just wanted sex. Sophie had quickly seen this and learned to duck out of the situation. A couple of snogs, a grope at the bottom of the games field but otherwise Sophie had escaped much attention.

Wandering away alone her head filled with these thoughts and the beer Sophie again began to feel sorry for herself. She could hear Kerry and Tracey giggling back there somewhere with the lads. Loving the attention, begging for more, leading the guys on for all that they were worth. She was jealous. It took a guy to be desperate and off his head to bother with her!

Somewhere in her reflections she had missed the sound of footsteps behind her and gave a start when carl suddenly appeared by her side,

“are you ok? I saw mike try it on back there,”

“yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry about me, go back to the party,” why, oh why did she have to say that? She could be sobbing in his strong arms now. Damn, she’d missed that cue well and truly!

“look, mike is a bit of an idiot, he’s on all sorts to build himself up, and he thinks he’s irresistible!”

“didn’t show,”

“I just wanted to make sure you were ok. You just wandered off. Will you come back to the party with me?”

“uh, uh, well, I was just going to go home, I’m pretty tired,” she just did not know what to say around this guy. What a good impression she was giving him. ‘he must think I’m a right dork,’ she thought to herself.

“ok, I have my car, I’ll drive you, it’s getting pretty cold anyway”

At this he put his strong arm around her waist and steered her towards the top of the beach and the pier car park. ‘wow’ she thought, and was lost in her own world for a bit.

Then she suddenly realised that carl was talking to her again,

“Sophie, Sophie, you sure you’re ok?”

“uh, yea, sorry was daydreaming, I shouldn’t have had that last beer!”

Carl opened the passenger door of his shiny red Volkswagen golf and Sophie climbed in. He walked around and sat in the driver’s seat. He fumbled in the pocket of his shorts for the keys and inserted them in the ignition. But he didn’t start the car.

He sat there just looking at Sophie, taking in her tanned skin, blue eyes and long flowing auburn hair. He liked what he saw, liked it a lot. Sophie felt uncomfortable sat there under the gaze of these deep, dark brown eyes and squirmed. He leaned forward and gently kissed her on the forehead.

She turned her face to his, he cupped her head in his hands and slowly pulled her towards him. Their lips met and Sophie just melted inside. It felt like she had waited a lifetime for this very moment! He was so gentle and yet so strong. She soon realised that her hands were wandering up and down his bare chest and he seemed to like it!

He pulled away and apologised,

“I don’t know what came over me, I just couldn’t resist!”

“mm mm, please don’t apologise, I enjoyed it”

“uh, well, uh, my turn to be embarrassed, uh, can I take you for a drink sometime?”

“that’d be good!” at that he started the engine, Sophie was in a dream world now. Mmmmm. She never dreamed that would ever happen.

They were outside her house far too soon. Carl said,

“can I pick you up tomorrow, about, um, 8?”

“great, yea, see you then” At that Sophie climbed out of the car, avoiding eye contact as that would make her want to kiss him again and her mother was watching from the living room window! Carl was gone well before she got to the front door. It was only then that she realised she had left her prized leather jacket down on the beach. It was probably a good job then that her mother was home as she didn’t have her keys anyway.

2

As soon as she opened the door,

“SOPHIE ...... come here!” came her mother’s dulcet tones from the living room. She walked in to see her mother on the sofa with a glass of red wine. “and where have you been, it’s eleven o’clock!”

“what do you care!!!” shouted Sophie as she slammed the living room door and stamped up the stairs making as much noise as she possibly could. Sophie locked herself in her room. She didn’t have her mobile so she couldn’t even ring Kerry and ask about her jacket, she would just have to see her at college tomorrow.

As Sophie was lying in bed, head full of thoughts about what she and carl could be doing right now she heard her mother crying in the other bedroom. She supposed that was her fault too! Should she go and comfort her, maybe apologise?

Probably the best thing to do if she wanted any peace! Sophie climbed slowly out of bed and wrapped her dressing gown tightly around herself. She crossed the landing as quietly as possible and stood outside her parents’ bedroom listening, sure enough she could still hear muffled sobs coming from in there.

Pausing, undecided as to whether interrupting was a good idea. After a minute or so the sobs could still be heard from inside so Sophie steeled herself and tapped gently on the door, waited, then pushed it open slowly.

She was really not prepared for what she saw. The contents of the wardrobe and drawers were all over the floor and the many pictures were all face down. This room was usually immaculate so what exactly had happened? Had they had a row? This can’t all be because I was late, surely?

“mum, mum, are you ok?” she gently asked ask she shook her mother firmly by the shoulder.

Turning on the bed her mother revealed her face. It was tearstained and had make-up running down it, she was still sobbing uncontrollably,

“mum, mum, what’s the matter? Who’s died?”

“oh, for god’s sake Sophie, no-one has died, now leave me alone!”

“not until you tell me what the matter is, you can’t be this upset because I came in half an hour late surely!”

“don’t be bloody stupid!”

“then tell me what’s the matter,” Sophie said as she sat on the edge of her parents’ bed with her arm around her mother.

Finally, through her tears sophies mother gently told her that her dad had left, he had gone to work as normal three days ago and had rung her at school today and quite frankly just told her that he would not be coming back!

“Apparently, he has been offered a job in Germany and doesn’t want to travel or ask us to move there with him so he is going alone!” well this was how she explained it to Sophie,

“he doesn’t love me anymore, it’s not you Soph, it’s me!” at that began a new outburst of tears. All Sophie could do was hold her, what could she say, she barely knew her dad anyway, he’d worked away for pretty much most of her life. The only fond memories she had were occasional Christmases when he made the effort not to work and that time on the beach when she was only 7 years old. She was pretty numb in fact but thought she could understand how her mother felt. After all she had spent her whole life being the bottom of the pile herself hadn’t, she?

Her mother had to go to work tomorrow and she had to hand the damn war and peace essay in. Yes, the one she hadn’t even started! Despite this Sophie gently cajoled her mother into taking a walk down to the beach. Just listening to the sounds of nature would surely calm anyone. Besides, they could both have a day off tomorrow, it was Friday anyway, and it would give her a wild chance to find her lost jacket.

They arrived at their destination and Sophie retrieved her leather jacket from under the pier just before the tide got hold it. She had had the forethought to grab a couple of bottles of wine from the rack in the garage before they left the house so now, they sat on the edge of the pier in the moonlight drinking from these with her mother still sobbing uncontrollably.

A cloud moved across the moon casting an eerie shadow on the world below. It was quite a haunting picture, Sophie almost expected a witch to fly across on her broomstick. With her arm gently around her mother Sophie silently drank the wine a little at a loss for what to say. Still she seemed to have stopped crying so she surely must be feeling a little better.

Suddenly, her mother announced she was going back to the house. Her plan was to bag all of her husband’s belongings and leave them on the front lawn for him to collect as she didn’t ever want him setting foot back in the house. ‘my god,’ thought Sophie, ‘what on earth will the neighbours think!’ then she silently chastised herself. Her mother’s whole world had just fallen apart around her ears and all she could think was what other people would think of them!

She helped her mother empty her dads’ wardrobe into bin liners and then decided to leave her to it and try and get some sleep. Even if she wasn’t going to college tomorrow, well, today! She did have a date that evening with the man of her dreams. She most definitely could not afford to be up all night. No amount of makeup would ever cover the bags under her eyes if she did.

Sophie woke to the sound of her alarm on her I phone. She rolled over and checked the time, it was only 6.30am. she’d only had about three hours sleep by this time. Turning the alarm off Sophie rolled herself up in her duvet and settled down for some more beauty sleep.... mm mm carl’s tanned, toned body filled her final waking thoughts.... sweet dreams!

When Sophie final roused herself from this slumber it was midday! Hurriedly throwing some half decent clothes on from her floordrobe she made her way downstairs in search of some strong coffee. Her mother was no-where to be seen, but the huge pile of bin liners on the front lawn blocked the view to the driveway, so Sophie could not see if she had gone out in the car. Fumbling in the cupboard she found herself a mug and began making a very strong mug of coffee. There were no thoughts of food yet as her head was pounding like a bass drum due to the mixture of red wine and lager from last night... all of which seemed a vague and distant memory.

Right. Number one coffee was finished. Half-awake now Sophie located the cupboard where the painkillers were kept and took a few, gotta try and shift this hangover somehow! Another coffee and a bacon sandwich should do the trick....

somehow, she managed to trip over the dog on the way to the fridge, it was only an Alsatian, not the smallest dog! Anyway, quick fuss and he was ok, but bending down made her head feel like it was about to explode!!! Back to the bacon sizzling in the pan. Sophie wandered into the living room, sarnie in one hand, coffee in the other only to see her mom fast asleep on the leather reclining sofa in front of the t.v.

not wanting to wake her mother she took her breakfast/brunch to her room. Once she had finished it, she almost felt human again. Time for a shower.

3

Showered and dressed Sophie sat in front of her dressing table brushing her hair when the dog started howling. She made her way downstairs to see what was up with the damn animal. Why wasn’t he packed for her dad to collect anyway, after all it was his dog?

When Sophie reached the hallway, she noticed that the front door was wide open and the dog was sat on the mat just inside whimpering for all that he was worth. A quick glance around told her that, once again all was not well in her world. Dads car was in the driveway with the engine running but there was no obvious sign of either mother or father.

With nothing on her feet Sophie made her way outside to see her dads’ stuff still strewn all across the front lawn. There was a huge dent in the bonnet of the car that she did not remember, but then she never really saw it! The driver’s door was wide open, the engine was running and the boot was open.

Very, very, slowly Sophie made her way around the silver BMW with fear clutching violently at the very pit of her stomach. All of a sudden, her hangover forgotten Sophie screamed for all her life was worth!

Her dad was slumped under the back of the car covered in his own blood. His throat had been cut, it looked like a scene from a horror movie. Sophie was just beginning to grasp what her eyes were trying to tell her when one of the neighbours came running over. Looking into his eyes the tears began, silently at first, then huge racking sobs that shook her whole body.

Just what was she looking at? Her father was dead, that was for sure, but who? What happened? Why? When? How?

The only conclusion that sophies confused brain could come to was that her angry mother had had a lot to do with it, it appeared to be the only answer. After all, where was she? Suddenly all that Sophie could see were blue flashing lights and uniforms. She was being huddled back towards the house and everyone seemed to be talking at once. Her mother was there, wrapping her up in a blanket as she shook and screamed, at least she thought that was her screaming but the noise all seemed so far away. Was it all a dream? She would surely wake up in a minute!

Nope, reality, absolute reality. The ambulance took her dad, they were not allowed in there. Her mum rustled her into the mini on the street and silently drove towards the local emergency unit….

Those few minutes driving felt like hours…. The radio was on but it was a sport show the DJ was just rambling on and on Sophie took no notice, her mom was silent and shaking so much Sophie thought perhaps she shouldn’t drive….

They got to the hospital. Walked in a daze towards reception. As they approached a female police officer approached and ushered them off into a side room. One look told Sophie that what she thought she had seen had been true!

Who? When? Why? How? Soo many questions. None of them asked or answered.

The police officer introduced herself as wpc waring. She gently explained that sophies dad had died. They had tried to save him in the ambulance but he’d lost a lot of blood.

Somehow now they were all clutching cups of coffee and tissues. No idea where they appeared from but reassured by them Sophie sipped hers between sobs. Her mom’s arm was draped across her shoulders, occasionally squeezing.

Suddenly a fourth person entered the room. A tall man with glasses and a bald head. He was wearing an attempt at a suit but the arms looked too short. Sophie heard him say he was dc Tomway. He sat quietly in a chair opposite for a few minutes. Staring at the floor, watching them, listening obviously feeling more than a little awkward.

Suddenly dc Tomway stood up and looked sophies mom in the eye,

“there is evidence of a domestic incident at the house, an altercation between you and your husband. Can you explain what happened Mrs booth?”

Through sobs Sophie heard her mother reply,

“he left us, his job was more important, he left, walked away, was off to Germany…”

“there were lots of personal items around the crime scene when we arrived, would you like to explain a little about these…”

“We argued!! He was leaving us for his job….Walking away from our life…. I threw his stuff out… Was all on the drive, he wasn’t there, no-one was there… How am I expected to feel. My life was over for HIS job!!”

She sounded more upset than angry but Sophie could hear the bitterness through the sobs and tears. If she could would the police? What would they make of it… lets face it she thought her mom might have….. STOP IT!! Stop thinking like that.. they argued. Normal. They shouted. Normal. He was walking away. Also normal. How many of sophies mates parents were still together? 1 maybe 2! Yeah all normal stuff, apart from the minor fact they had a dead body in their family now…. You have to admit that is NOT normal.. so Not normal. Will I wake up in a minute and this is a bad dream? Will things be alright? How will they fix this? The policeman was still questioning her mom about everything but sophie drifted off into her own world. Sat on the beach, smell of sand, sea, barbeque, leather. Strong arms around her. Miles away from the cold hard benches she and her mom were sat on in the police station right now…..

“WAIT!!”

She heard her mom shout and jumped back to cold hard reality…….

“you can’t really think I did this! Seriously? Kill my husband? Carve him up like a piece of meat? Me! I love that man. We had a fight, shouting, he walked away, why would I do that? Why would I make sure we couldn’t fix things?”

The police quietly put handcuffs on her mom and took her away. Sophie really was alone now. Alone with her thoughts, her grief and her imagination……

The police woman gave sophie a lift to her nans. The house was a crime scene. No one was allowed there. All her stuff was there. Her phone. Argh! Everything was off limits.

Her nan just hugged her and made her tea and food. Supposed to make her feel better. All she wanted to do was sit on her bed at home with familiar smells and sounds and cry….. both parents gone in less than a day. Just why????

4

The next morning arrived. This was no nightmare dream this was reality now. Sophie had to find out what had happened. No one would expect her at school anyway. No one would miss her….. she wandered the streets fighting back tears and trying to reign in her imagination. Not easy right now…..

She found herself outside her house. There was blue and white police tape all around the front garden and one of those big yellow “serious incident took place here” signs appealing for information. No car though. Did the police take it? Sophie was sure it was there when they left…. The dent, huge dent. In the bonnet. The drive had blood dried all over it, there was no bags of dads stuff though… this was just surreal. Blood but nothing else no signs that anything was strange at all, well apart from the tape. Where were the police?

Sophie hopelessly tried the front door. It was locked, well it would be! Downtrodden she wandered towards the garage door. This was ever so slightly open. The police can’t have checked it! No one in sight she pushed the door up a little further and crawled underneath. Once inside the garage she pushed it back to where it was. Safe and inside. Back home. Sophie wandered through the garage and found the door wide open to the kitchen. She walked into the kitchen, the kettle was boiling? Huh? Slowly walking around she notice a bag under the table. Someone was here. In her house. But who? A policeman? Would she be arrested for being in her own house? Was this even allowed? Grrr so many questions. Sophie opened the door to the living room and someone jumped up from the sofa!

Sophie screamed and shouted! How dare he sit watching tv in her house when she wasn’t allowed! How dare he sit relaxing on her sofa when her dad was dead! The bloke just stood staring, open mouthed at sophies explosion. When she calmed down she realised he had made tea. 2 mugs sat on the coffee table steaming.

Amidst her jumbled thoughts of panic, grief and anger sophie had not processed the fact that there were no police officers. She also failed to recognise the person now standing in front of her. It was Carl!

“Carl!! Carl, Carl, what are you doing here?”

“Sophie, I’m working, I work security when I can. This job came up, I recognised the address and thought I could help!”

“Help! Help? How is sitting around watching MY tv helping, how is wandering around MY house helping?”

“I just have to make sure no one comes poking around Soph!”

“you didn’t do too well at that either did you?” sophie said slamming her hands onto her hips in a gesture of both anger and defiance.

“soph, calm down, I made you tea. Come on sit down. I’m trying to help here!”

Begrudgingly sophie took the still steaming mug of sweet tea and sat at the kitchen table. She stared into space trying to process everything that had happened lately. Security guard in her house. Her dad dead. Her mom arrested. The arguments. The wine. The sex. The beach. It was all jumbled together and playing like some childhood film through her head right now.

Carl stood quietly behind her. His hand was on her shoulder in a gesture of support. He’d thought he might be able to help when he read the job and realised what had happened. Now, faced with this girl, he was at a loss, what to do, what to say, why was she here, how did she get in?

He’d been enrolled in the local ta since he was a small boy. Now a part time paid soldier he had requests like this when there was a major security issue. He had not understood exactly why this was a major security issue but he’d accepted because of this girl, she was the entire reason he was here. He had an overwhelming urge to protect her. To hold her, to help her.

The last time he’d got called was when prince harry came to the area for a visit to the local childrens hospital. He’d been one of the part time soldiers stationed outside the hospital. How, just how did sophies family compare to that. He failed to understand this at all!

After his quiet contemplation carl realised that sophie was sobbing into her tea. Instinctively he put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. God he hoped she didn’t think he was coming on to her!

“sophie, sophie, what happened?”

“I just don’t know!”

“one minute mom and dad are arguing, the next, he’s gone, walked away!”

“hmmm”

“then he looked like he’d been run over by his own car! Dead! Dead! Dead! Out there on his own driveway” sophie waved at the window in pure exasperation!

“why are you here anyway, what happened to the police?”

“I really don’t know sophie, I just don’t have a clue! I wish I knew what to say to you, I really do!”

He held her close and just let her sob. That’s what she needed right now.

5

Carl started thinking, why was he stationed here? She went to his school, this was his neighbourhood, nothing of national security here surely? He’d have to ask his sergent, couldn’t tell him he knew sophie that might change his answers. But he had to be prepared, prepared for sophies questions. Did she know something he didn’t though?

Holding her as she sobbed carl could not believe that this quiet family house could be a security risk. It was a police thing surely? She was right, why was he here?

He hugged her tightly as she continued to silently sob for the world she had just had completely tipped upside down. He glanced at the clock, shit! His relief would be here in 15 minutes, shit! He had to get sophie out of here, for her own good. If he was going to find anything out no one must even suspect that he knew her, to be honest he’d lose the post if there was anyone else here too!

Gently he pulled away from the embrace feeling heartless but knowing it was for the best for everyone. He cupped sophies face in his hands so they were eye to eye. Quietly he said.

“my shift finished soon, fancy a walk on the beach and a chat?”

“I need to go, I can’t stand it here, a part of me wants to curl up in y own bed and sleep forever but most of me wants nothing to do with this house and the horrible pictures in my head!”

Carl completely understood, gently he began packing hos bag and arranged to meet sophie by the ice cream hut on he promenade in around half an hour. He encouraged her to walk and wait for him hoping it would help her clear her head.

Sophie walked out of the house the way she came in. suddenly that house felt cold and empty. Just work. Carl locked up the garage as he should have done last night, no one would know, would they?

Just in time his relief was due in 5 minutes. He sat and waited. Waited and watched the clock. That 5 minutes was forever, he just wanted to help sophie…….

How was he going to do that when he had no information either. Nothing was making sense right now. Why? Who? How? More importantly why was this so special? Why were the army involved? And where were the police? Surely this was a murder investigation, the police should still be crawling……….