Nothing much ever happened in Glendale. The little town nestled on the western shore of beautiful Lake Preston where hundreds of holidaymakers spent their annual leave in peaceful solitude, far removed from the frantic rat race of the big city. Tourists and holidaymakers and the dollars they brought with them were the lifeblood of the town. They came back each summer to escape even for two weeks the stresses of the hectic city lifestyle. They came for that perfect holiday, for the fishing, the swimming and the mountain climbing or for just plain relaxation in ideal conditions, in lovely Glendale, where not much ever happened until something evil came amongst them.
When Jenny Boyd disappeared one evening after choir practice even sleepy Glendale takes notice. Nobody ever went missing in that peaceful place, until now. When the sixteen years old student who was also a member of the church choir had not returned home at her usual time her parents were not overly concerned at first but as the time elapsed and she still had not arrived and her concerned parents failed to locate her at any of her friends homes the police were called in. A search of her room gave no indication that she may have decided to run away from home, nothing was taken except the clothes she had walked out in and she had also forgotten to take her phone that evening. A check of her phone showed nothing out of the ordinary just the usual chit-chat between teens. A police action squad quickly initiated a search for the missing teenager
No sign of the girl was found that night and the next day also proved fruitless. State police were requested to assist the local cops and soldiers from nearby Deaken Army Camp were mobilized to comb the countryside and police divers checked Lake Preston. But that also proved unsuccessful. There was no sign of the girl…Jenny Boyd had vanished without a trace. There were no suspicious circumstances and no suspects and there was no reason for her to run away from home.
Detective Inspector Mark Woods and Detective Sergeant Victor King interviewed Jeffrey Thomas the choir-master who was the last person to see her as she left the church hall that evening but he was not able to give the police much help. He told them all he knew…as he locked the hall he saw her turn into Church Lane, the shortcut to the Clarkson Estate just a short distance away. He remembered seeing her before she disappeared from his view down the dimly lit laneway but he had no reason to believe there might be any danger there as it was her usual way home and the shortcut was used by many.
He was uncomfortable being questioned by police but was anxious to help in whatever way he could. He told police he felt responsible for all the members of his choir, they were all young people and he cared for their wellbeing.
Jeffery Thomas is a troubled young man. He has not been sleeping well since the death of his mother six months ago. Jeffrey had been her sole companion and carer as she had been confined to a wheelchair for many years after a stroke. She had depended on him for everything. Her untimely death due to her falling down the basement stairs has caused Jeffery much concern and anxiety. He has blamed himself for leaving her alone asleep in her chair whilst he went to the shops to pick up a few essentials. It was only for ten minutes or so but if he had taken her with him it wouldn’t have happened…it was his fault.
Now he feels responsible for keeping the choir ten minutes later than usual that evening…if they had finished on time, if he wasn’t such a perfectionist, if they were not in rehearsal for the Christmas play…all ifs, but would it have made any difference. Still he did feel some responsibility.
Then there is the recurring dream he has been experiencing every night since his mother passed away, he watches his as she tumbles down the steep steps to her death onto the hard-packed dirt of the basement floor. That dream causes him to wake-up drenched in a lather of sweat and unable to get back to sleep…that’s why he feels somewhat responsible for Jenny Boyd he imagines that something horrible befell the poor girl that evening.
‘Check-out the choirmaster again.’ DI Woods instructed DS King. ‘He was the last to see Jenny Boyd that night and he’s the only lead we’ve got. Get on to it Vic, but carefully we don’t want to upset someone who works for the church. He’s not a suspect …yet.’
Three nights later eighteen years old Angela Sutton a computer science student at the local technical college was waiting for a bus at 9.15 pm outside the school when she was grabbed from behind by a man who tried to drag her into the bushland behind the school. Angela had some self-defence knowledge and she knew what to do when attacked. Screaming loudly and using the defensive moves she had learned she managed to fight him off and he raced off into the bush. Angela was shaken but unhurt and had kept her cool in a situation that could have proved fatal. The only description she could give to the police was that he was tall and strong and fit looking, she had not seen his face and he wore a hoodie which masked his features. She imagined he must be aged 25 to 35 years old judging by the way he moved.
Glendale is on edge, one of its young citizens is missing and another has been attacked by some pervert intent on rape and perhaps murder. The once easy-going lifestyle of the peaceful town has been turned upside-down, the population of nearly three thousands have all been questioned without any worthwhile clues.
Everyone wants to help but it seems nobody knows anything…
‘Somebody out there knows, let’s get him.’ Di Woods encouraged his squad to greater efforts.
Joyce Cooke, barmaid at The Ship Hotel never reached home after finishing her evening shift at 11.30 p.m. on Friday night. Her car, with keys in the ignition was found several hours later parked in a side street. There was no sign of a struggle, like Jenny Boyd she too had vanished.
The town is now in a state of shock…the people are scared and terrified, their doors locked and bolted and only the bravest will venture out after dark. Where once was carefree freedom and innocence is now a fortress of terror. Two disappearances in as many weeks have shaken the little town where nothing really bad had ever happened before. The residents cry out for help, but there are no answers to their prayers. The police still have no bodies and no suspects. Only a handful of guests were in The Ship Hotel at closing time on the night Joyce Cooke disappeared and all could account for their movements, most were small groups of holidaymakers and were residents in the hotel.
One local man who did pop in for a beer just before closing time was Jeffery Thomas. He did so every night in the vain hope that a few drinks before bedtime would help him find some peace and hopefully a night free from the night terrors that were causing him so much angst.
Inspector Woods has called a crisis meeting of his officers. After three weeks of exhaustive detective work they are no closer to finding any trace of the missing girls alive or dead. They have no suspects but Jeffery Thomas was connected with at least two of the girls. He was the last to see Jenny Boyd the night she went missing and he was drinking in The Ship Hotel at closing time the night Joyce Cooke disappeared. ‘Have you been keeping an eye on him, Vic.’ he asked DS King.
‘Yes, I have, but like everyone else he just gets on with his business and he has helped in every way and answered all our questions, but he did get jumpy when I asked him about his mothers’ death.’ DS King answered.
‘Oh he did…Did he?’ the inspector
‘I think he feels guilty about something and maybe we should check on her death as well. It’s all we have to go on.’
Three red flags indicating where the disappearances and the attack had occurred were stuck on a large map of the township as DI. Woods pointed out the crucial points to his troops. ‘What we have is The Ship Hotel car park, across the street we have the technical school bus stop and just around the corner is the church…which leads us back to Jeffery Thomas. I think it’s time we had another talk with the choir-master and take a look inside of his house and especially the basement.’
Jeffery Thomas had no problem in talking to the police again but he was reluctant to let them into his house and he was concerned that they considered him a suspect.
‘It’s just routine at this stage.’ DI. Woods assured him. ‘You are the only person to have a connection with at least two of the missing girls and we do need to eliminate you from our enquiries so we must explore every lead, no matter how small. You do understand don’t you, Mr. Thomas, but if you prefer we can have this chat down at the police station.’
‘No! I don’t want to go with you to the cop station but I do want to help you catch whoever is responsible, come in if you must but I don’t know what else you want of me, I have already told you everything I know?’
‘Thank you…will you tell us again what happened the night Jenny Boyd disappeared maybe there is something you remember that you haven’t told us before?’ DI. Woods coaxed.
‘It was about 8.15pm as I was locking the church hall door I saw Jenny turn into Church Lane the shortcut to her home only a short distance away and that was the last time I saw her.’
‘Are you sure it was 8.15…how can you be so certain, maybe it was earlier or much later?’
‘We were rehearsing for the Christmas play and should have finished at 8 o’clock but we were running ten minutes late that night because I wanted to get something important worked out. If we had finished at the usual time she might still be here, I feel responsible and so sad she was a lovely young lady and a fine singer.’
‘What did you do after you had locked the church hall that night?’
I went home and cooked a late meal. I had a can of beer in the fridge, which I drank whilst I watched television for about an hour. I went out for a short walk as usual, had a beer in The Crown Hotel, I left there around 10.15 and I was in bed by 11 pm.’
‘So you were alone all that evening, you didn’t have any visitors?’
‘I was alone, as I‘ve explained to you already, I’m alone every night since my mother died.’
‘You don’t have a girlfriend do you Mr. Thomas?’
‘No I don’t…I’m still trying to get over mother’s death, we were very close, I didn’t have time for girlfriends then, Inspector.’
‘Tell me, Mr. Thomas did you know Angela Sutton?’
‘I didn’t …I don’t know anything about her, only what I have read in the papers.’
‘The night Joyce Cooke went missing you went to the hotel just before closing time, is that right?’ The inspector asked.
‘Yes I did! I haven’t been sleeping very well since my mother’s death and Jenny Boyd’s disappearance has upset me a lot so I now take a walk to the hotel for a couple of beers before retiring …I find it easier to get to sleep after I have done that…that’s why I was there that night and every night since.’ Jeffery explained.
‘Did you talk to Joyce Cooke that night? Did you arrange to meet her outside and did you see her after she had finished her shift…Mr. Thomas?’
‘Yes I did talk to the lady that night, there was nobody else to talk to in there, the place was practically empty and no I didn’t see her after I left the hotel, I went straight home… alone.’
‘But nobody saw you go home, did they Jeffery?’ The DI insisted. ‘Tell us about your mothers’ death, it was an accident wasn’t it? Tell us what happened.’
Jeffery Thomas looked decidedly uncomfortable when asked to describe his mother’s death, his face reddened and he mopped perspiration from his forehead with a white handkerchief and in a voice that was almost a whisper he told of shock in discovering her body at the bottom of the basement steps. ‘I only left her for a short time, fifteen minutes at most, the basement door was unlocked and she must have…look I don’t want to talk about it, it’s too painful and it was my fault for leaving her alone and for not keeping that door locked…It was my fault I shouldn’t have left her.’
The inspector noticed the door to the basement was bolted and padlocked now.
‘What about your father Jeffery, where is he?’
‘He left when I was about twelve years old, he just walked out and never came back…we didn’t miss him because he was a drunk. He was drinking all the time, he was often violent and he bashed us regularly. We were glad to see the back of him and we were better off without him. Jeffery explained with teary eyes.
‘Did you notice how edgy he got when I mentioned his mother’s death and that story about his father sounds a bit iffy …I think there’s a problem there Vic, it’s time to get ourselves a search warrant. We must see what’s in the basement and I wonder why that door is padlocked when he is the only one at home.’
‘Yes! He was in a bit of a panic, I thought he was going to burst into tears he was so emotional. I reckon he is hiding some dark secrets.’ D.S King agreed.
‘Vic go chat to his neighbours maybe they can give us some idea what occurred in that house many years ago, especially regarding the father and why he would leave home and never come back?’
Jeffery Thomas’s nightmare is more vivid than ever… He sees his past, he sees his drunken father and the beatings and abuse he inflicted on mother and son. The kicks and punches and the wanton sexual attacks the youngster had witnessed all too often. Jeffery felt nothing but hatred for the bully as he drove the carving knife deep into his evil heart…the bastard would never abuse them again. They buried him in the basement where he has lain forgotten for more than twenty years until his dear mother had become senile and a danger to them both. She had to go too…before she blabbed to some nosy parker. He had loved his mother dearly, but she had to go. Now the police are asking questions, soon they will be into his house and down in the basement where they will find answers. Jeffery Thomas can see his future unfolding and he knows what must be done. They must not take him alive…he is in control.
‘I got some good info from one of the neighbours’ DS King informed his boss’ Mr Brown has lived next door to the Thomas family for more than 50 years and he can tell what a strange mob they really are. The dad was a hopeless drunk who made life hell for young Jeff and his mother, he was a terrible person and upset not only his family but most of the neighbours as well. He abused everyone when under the influence and people crossed the street just to keep out of his way. When he left home the neighbours did not bother to ask about him they were just glad to see the back of him. Jeffery was domineered his whole life by his near-crazy mother and she controlled everything he did, since her stroke he was her virtual slave. He had a strange upbringing, he is a good singer and musician but never had a chance, but don’t be fooled by his quiet demeanour he has a nasty temper just like his drunken father.’
Next day armed with a search warrant the police seek out Jeffery Thomas but he is not at home the house is locked and his car is in the garage. His neighbours on either side tell police that they have not seen him since the previous day when he had talked to the police, but one neighbour reckons that is not unusual as Jeffery Thomas has a history of going missing, he has done so many times in the past, sometime he’s not seen for many days. The police gain entry and turnover the house but find nothing of an incriminating nature. When they dig-up the hard-packed dirt floor of the basement the skeleton of what appears to be that of a tall well-built male is unearthed from a shallow grave, all indications are that it had been there for a long time, probably for twenty years or more. No recent activity was evident in the basement but where was Jeffery Thomas?
‘He’s gone into hiding, now where would a loner like him hole up?’ D.I Woods asked no-one in particular…anyone got any ideas?’
‘He spends a lot of time in the church; remember he is the choir-master.’ D.S King reminded his boss. ‘Maybe that’s where he’s hiding.’
‘You’re right Vic! Well let’s get over there, come on you lot we can’t do anything else here, forensics will sort this lot out.’
Father Tim Holden the parish priest was helpful to the police in allowing a full-scale search of the church premises including the crypt and it was there they found Jeffery Thomas lying in a pool of his own blood, the carving-knife lodged deep between his ribs into his heart. He was quite dead…the blood-stained note explained everything.
He had stabbed to death his drunken father twenty years ago. And he had caused his mothers death by pushing her down the steps into the basement. He had never meant to harm the girls… he was not to blame.
Something made him do it…the bad dreams …the voices…telling him.
‘He was an evil man.’ Father Holden said as he administered The Last Rites. ‘He’s damned for all time, and I thought he was a fine young man.’
‘He was a weirdo and a maniac.’ Inspector Woods said and he took the easy way out. No doubt we will find the results of his foul deeds down here. Now it’s over…the people can relax again.’
‘Thank God!’ Father Holden replied as he sprinkled holy water to all corners of the crypt.