Dead End High

Adam arrived at the Pungaru Police Station.

It was a small building where the local constabulary loitered when not enforcing the odd traffic law or sorting out a raving drunk on Friday night. Adam didn’t know who the local PCs were. He had seen one or two in passing, but that was all. He’d always been happy for it to stay that way.

Mrs Diamond, Brett’s mother, exited the station as he approached the entrance. She looked older than before. Adam was sure she had dark hair the other day when she gate crashed the school assembly, but it was a definite shade of grey now. He felt certain she had a few more wrinkles too. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked flustered. ’I’m so worried about him. They’re useless in there!’ She glared at Adam. ‘They still haven’t found my son. I don’t even think they’re looking very hard. I’m so worried about him.’ She hurried past him.

Adam watched her hurry away, racking his brains for an image of what she looked like last time he saw her, but nothing came. ‘Oh well… Guess I must have been wrong.’

Inside, the office appeared deserted. Nobody was on reception. He expected the place to be buzzing, but all was quiet, so he pressed a button at the reception desk and waited for a few moments. He blinked twice in quick succession when a uniformed Constable Clements came to the desk. Adam hadn’t expected to get the man he wanted right away and figured the constable would be out investigating the disappearances.

‘Ah, young Adam.’ Clements greeted him with a smile. ‘I was counting on you to pop by…’

‘I just saw Mrs Diamond on her way out. She’s really upset.’

‘Who?’

‘Brett Diamond’s mother.’

’Oh yeah, his mother… She didn’t see me. Must have been one of the others. I take it you have some information for me?’

‘Err, yeah.’ Adam glanced around for more signs of life. ‘Is it just you here now?’

‘At the moment, yes. The other officers are in an emergency meeting. They left me here on duty. That’s the way it is - give the cop from out of town the dirty work to do.’ He chuckled. ‘Now tell me, young Adam, how have things been going with Tania Casey?’

‘Well, I’m really worried, Constable. The more I find out about her, the more I think she’s involved in the disappearances. She’s got two men working with her now.’

‘I see… Does one of them have a monobrow?’

‘Yes.’

‘And the other’s sort of hunched over?’

‘Yes! You know about them?’

Constable Clements smirked. ‘Oh yeah, I know about them.’

‘One of them was at my house last night.’

The officer’s eyebrows rose. ‘Is that so?’

‘Yes and I listened in on them. I’m sure they’re after me. One of them is now claiming to be a teacher at school, just like Tania Casey. I tried to tell the principal about them, but I’m beginning to think he’s involved with them as well.’

Constable Clements drummed his fingers on the desk. He looked at Adam, thoughtfully.

Adam continued to speak, ‘Why aren’t the police out there, Constable? They don’t seem to be doing anything. One of my friends thinks you guys might not even care. That you guys are being paid to look the other way.’ He knew he was being bold by making such an accusation, but he had to see how the constable reacted. He had to know for sure, whether he could be trusted.

‘Adam, Adam, slow down a little there.’ He chuckled, but then his face turned serious. ‘Let me make one thing perfectly clear. The police are doing everything they can to sort this out. We’ve been to the Minnows house and had a good search of the place. We’ve visited families of the others like Brett Diamond. We’ve gone door to door questioning people. Just because you don’t see us out there doesn’t mean we’re not. For one thing, do you really think a whole lot of uniformed police wandering around is going to help? We have to be discrete if we want to catch these offenders. You have to trust us, Adam. We’re not on anyone’s payroll apart from the New Zealand Government’s.’ He winked.

Adam winced. ‘But the two men – Morgan and Don, they’re up to something. They’re after me!’

‘Calm down, Adam. I take it you managed to avoid contact with these men?’

‘So far. But now that one of them is at school…’

‘Take it easy. Yes, these men are known to us. However, we have no evidence linking them to any of the disappearances. But I must stress to you, that you must not trust these men. Neither them nor Tania Casey.’

Adam studied the serious expression on the constable’s face for a moment before speaking again, ‘They mentioned the name Hochstetler.’

‘Never heard of him.’ The constable’s expression didn’t change. ‘What did they say about him?’

‘Just that they were worried he might show up. Like he was some kind of threat to them.’

‘Well, with a name like that, I’m not surprised!’ Clements smiled. ‘But don’t you worry. I’ll keep my ears open for that name. There’s no reason to suspect he’s anyone we need to worry about. Are you sure they haven’t tried to talk to you and told you some really wild things?’

‘Like what?’

‘If you need to ask me that, then they haven’t. Adam, you must tread very carefully with these people. I wish I could explain why, but trust me, right now I can’t. But you need to trust me on this. Do you trust me, Adam?’

‘I guess so.’ The constable seemed sincere enough. It just bothered Adam that he wouldn’t share what he knew. But he realised that would be inappropriate if the police were investigating them.

‘I want you to come to me if they tell you anything you find disturbing or unbelievable. Can you do that?’

‘Of course. But what are you going to do, Constable? I’m scared. What if they overpower me and take me away somewhere? I’m sure I’m next on their list. One of those guys talked like he wanted to come in and get me. I’m positive they’re responsible for the disappearances.’

‘Relax. I will see to it personally that no harm befalls you. I will make sure someone is watching your house in case anyone returns there. But I don’t believe you have anything to worry about at this stage.’

Adam stared at the officer bewildered. How could he be so indifferent? ‘Aren’t you going to at least bring them in for questioning?’

‘Yes. I will. But you needn’t worry about that. You leave this up to the police to deal with, alright?’

Adam relaxed a little. It seemed that Constable Clements was going to take action after all. But even so, Adam couldn’t help but worry that maybe he wasn’t doing all he could.

‘Trust us, Adam,’ the constable continued. ‘We have our methods. And although what you are telling me is disturbing, there is still no real proof that they are responsible for the disappearances.’

Adam left the police station, feeling unsatisfied and unsafe. He still intended to go to Opanake to investigate Miss Crazy. He couldn’t wait around for the police to further their investigations, he needed answers.

He hadn’t gone far along the street when a man came hurrying towards him, panting profusely. ‘Adam Braddock. I need to talk to you.’

‘Mr Bryce.’

The former principal looked haggard. His hair was a mess and like Mrs Diamond, he seemed older than before. His face was pallid and his hair grey. Breathing heavily, he stepped up to Adam and laid his hand on his shoulder. ‘Son,’ he puffed. ‘You’re a good lad, Adam, I know you are. You have to help me.’

‘Why? What’s the matter?’

‘It’s Venables. He’s well and truly duped me. He’s destroyed my life. I’m finished because of him.’

Adam did feel some compassion for him, but the old man looked at any moment like he might whip out a knife and attack. For all Adam knew Mr Vennie was right and Mr Bryce was “as crazy as a loon”. ‘There’s nothing I can do Mr Bryce. I can’t…’

‘You can help me, Adam. You know Mr Venables. You know he’s up to no good. You can help me prove that he’s a rogue who set me up to get my job.’

‘How do I know? What makes you think I know anything?’ Adam took a step back, staring at the former principal’s bulging eyes. ‘Mr Vennie’s ok. Why would you think I don’t trust him?’

’You know he’s up to no good. I know you know. We can work together on this. We can bring him down, but I need your help.’

Adam just wanted to be rid of Mr Bryce now. ‘That’s crazy. He’s a cool principal. I have nothing against him. He’s doing a great job since you’ve been gone. If you’re innocent, then how can they prove you’re not?’

‘The justice system is screwed, Adam! This man is dangerous. He set up all the evidence to take me down. He wanted my job, don’t you realise that?’

‘Why would he go to that much trouble just to become principal of Pungaru High?’

‘Oh, Adam, are you that naïve? You know full well why he’s set himself up as principal here. It’s all part of his despicable plan. He wants to take over this town. Adam, he wants to take over this world!’

‘You’re nuts!’

‘You have to believe me, Venables is evil. He’s a psychopath. He may appear nice on the outside, but underneath he’s a megalomaniac! You must realise that, surely?’

‘No. I don’t.’ Adam itched to get moving and was willing to say anything to get Mr Bryce off his back. Even if Mr Vennie was responsible for the disappearances, Adam doubted he was trying to take over the world. ‘He may be a little strange, but that’s just ludicrous. Why Pungaru? This is just a little hick country town in the middle of nowhere. Why here?’

‘He has to start small! He starts from here and then expands to other towns. He’s like a cancer, Adam. If we don’t get him now, next thing you know he’ll have spread throughout the country!’

‘Sorry, Mr Bryce. I think you need some serious help. There’s nothing I can do for you, that’s not my field.’

Adam crossed the road leaving Mr Bryce standing there exasperated. ‘Please Adam, don’t go! You have to help me!’

But Adam ignored him and kept on walking…

Adam reached the gates of his house, relieved to be home. It was all getting to be too much for him. Things were complicated enough with Miss Crazy and her two henchmen stalking him, but to have a demented former high school teacher chasing him too? Adam gave a deep sigh.

‘Hello there, Adam,’ a male voice called to him from further down the path. This time it was Mr Buford; the fish-and-chip man.

Adam didn’t mind talking to him. ‘Oh, hi, Mr Buford. How’s things?’

‘Not bad, not bad at all. But you know, Adam, it’s probably not a good idea to be loitering around out on the streets at the moment. Better head home eh?’

‘This is my new place, Mr Buford,’ Adam said proudly.

‘Oh yeah,’ Mr Buford looked up, ‘The Donaldson house. You certainly have done well for yourself, haven’t you?’

‘Sure have.’

‘Well, you take care now, alright? I don’t want to hear that you’ve gone missing. What with all the disappearances lately.’

‘I will, Mr Buford.’

Adam went inside. His parents weren’t home, so he settled himself in the family lounge to watch TV, but it seemed all that was on was repeats or just shows he wasn’t interested in, so he watched a DVD instead.

It was then that he noticed his journal sitting on the coffee table. Strange… he was sure he had put it away last night. Had his parents been snooping and forgot to return it to its hiding place? Or had he just left it there absent-mindedly the night before?

He couldn’t imagine his parents wanting to invade his privacy, so chose the second option. He flicked through it to make sure it was all in order. It was, so he put it away and returned to the television to watch his movie. The surround sound was up so loud that he nearly didn’t hear the knock at the door. Adam paused his movie, hurried out of the room, and opened the front door.

It was Miss Crazy.

Adam recoiled. ‘Wh… what are you doing here?’ He peered over her shoulder, expecting to see Morgan Grimes or the man they called Don leap out at him, but there was nobody around except for Miss Crazy.

‘I was just passing by and wanted to see if you were ok,’ she said in a gentle tone.

‘Why?’ He glanced again to make sure she was alone.

‘Well, it’s just that you’ve been acting a little strange at school. I just wanted to see that everything was alright.’

Adam held his tongue, thinking he wasn’t the only one.

‘Are your parents in?’ she asked, stretching to see into the house.

‘No, they haven’t got home yet.’

‘That’s too bad. I would really like to talk to them.’

‘Everything’s fine.’ Adam faced her eye to eye. ‘Why don’t you just leave me alone?’

‘Adam, there is no need to hide things from me. I’m you’re teacher. I’m only interested in your wellbeing.’

’What about the wellbeing of every other kid in this town? Why aren’t you worried about them, huh? Adam scowled, no longer feeling the need to be polite. ‘All of us are in danger of being abducted. Why don’t you go check on someone else?’

’What do you mean abducted?’

‘Oh come on! You know damn well what I mean.’

‘No, I don’t. What makes you think anyone has been abducted?’ She looked at him with wide eyes; almost a hypnotic manner.

For a moment Adam felt like he was being drawn in, mesmerised, but then he came to his senses and shook his head. ‘So, what? Kids are just disappearing into thin air?’

‘I didn’t say that... perhaps...’ Her voice trailed off and she stared over his head to the ceiling beyond him.

‘You know damn well they’re being abducted,’ Adam declared. Whether he was being wise or not, he didn’t know, but he wanted her to know he was on to her.

Her eyes snapped back to him and her brow furrowed. ‘What are you saying?’

‘Come on, Miss Casey. You turn up in town. You and those two male friends of yours and suddenly kids start disappearing? And not just kids, entire families! What happened to the Minnows, Miss Casey? What happened to the Collins?’

She gazed at him with a blank expression. Adam couldn’t help but think she was a good actor - playing it dumb, when she knew darn well he was right. She finally replied, ‘The Collins? I was looking after their house for them. Is there anything wrong with that?’

‘Where are they then? Where’s Dora Collins?’

Miss Casey stared at him, giving him that unblinking stare. ‘I don’t know...’

He felt like he was being drawn back into her again, so turned his eyes away. ‘She just disappeared one day. I went to her place and saw you and your two goons hanging out there.’ He knew he was walking a thin line. He wondered wildly what she might do, but he wasn’t about to back down.

Miss Casey’s eyes narrowed a little. ‘Look... her parents, they were taken away by the police.’

’What?’ He stared at her incredulously.

‘It’s possible they thought her parents might be responsible for their daughter’s disappearance. Or maybe they’re keeping them under police protection. I don’t know, they wouldn’t tell me, but the Collins wanted me to look after their place while they were gone.’

It did sound plausible to Adam and she seemed to be appealing to him as if confused by it herself, but then Adam remembered Constable Clements’ warnings. He couldn’t believe anything she told him. ‘What about the Minnows?’

‘The Minnows? Well I know there is one on the school roll, but I don’t have any clue what happened to him or his family.’ Her eyes widened again and she stared directly at him. ‘Look, Adam, I don’t know who you think I am, but I’m not a child abductor. These disappearances we’re talking about, I had absolutely nothing to do with.’

‘What about your two buddies?’

‘They’re good, honest men.’ She lowered her eyelids again. ‘Look, Adam, I think it would be best if I come back when your parents are here.’

Adam didn’t like the idea of her talking to his parents any better. No doubt, she would try to convince them she was innocent. Of course, they would believe everything she said.

‘When are they due back?’ she asked.

‘I’m not sure.’

‘Well I’ll come back tomorrow, perhaps after dinner. I really would like to see them.’

‘No! You don’t need to see them. Just leave us alone.’ With that, he shut the door in her face then locked it. He started the movie, but didn’t stay to watch. He double-checked all the windows, making sure they were locked and kept guard to see if anyone was lurking. Every little noise spurred him to investigate. He even went as far as hiding a kitchen knife in each of the rooms he was most likely to be in. If anyone was going to break in to abduct him, he would be ready.

Dinnertime came and went, but his parents had not returned. He fried up some eggs and rang their cell phone again, getting the same message:

’This phone is either switched off or outside the coverage area. Please try again later.’

At 10pm, he did another security check of the house.

‘Mum and Dad, will you ring or something?’ he said to himself, turning on the TV to watch one of his favourite Sci-Fi shows. It was a repeat, but he didn’t mind. ‘I need you guys. I hope you’re alright.’

He tried to concentrate on the show, but couldn’t. He was too worried about his parents and how he would not be able to cope if they weren’t around. Worst of all, he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to them.

‘Did Miss Crazy get to you?’ he asked aloud, knowing it futile to ask such questions, but unable to stop himself. ’Are you even still alive?’

He set the alarms in the house and went to bed, hoping to get some sleep, but his missing parents continued to weigh on his mind.

‘Damn it, I can’t keep sitting around, doing nothing!’ He sat up in bed. Tomorrow he was not going to school. He had to find out what had happened to his parents and his school mates. He had to find out who Miss Crazy was, once and for all.

He had to go to Opanake.