Maggie
The doorbell rang and Maggie jumped up to answer it, as she always had in the time since David’s disappearance.
Maggie remembered the day clearly as if it was yesterday, not all that time ago.
David had been short with her for weeks, as if somehow he knew of her affair. And she had responded by goading him about his lounging about instead of getting out there to find a new contract. She’d known that he was unhappy with his work, and also that money was not really an issue, but her own guilt had to be vented, and so she had continued to goad him.
The affair was not really serious; she really did love David, but somehow that was not enough for her. Their life lacked excitement, it was dull, and for a short while her affair had excited her.
That particular day he had put his coat on, grabbed his camera, and was half way to the door before saying, "I'm off out."
She had responded by shouting, "Enjoy your country ramble dear," with as much sarcasm as she could muster.
Maggie bitterly regretted her words now, and missed him more that she would have ever thought possible.
She'd brooded all day about their situation, and when David had not returned by nightfall, she’d just assumed that he had gone to the pub, which had happened a great deal over the preceding weeks. So she had opened a bottle of wine, and only when it was completely empty had she gone to bed.
When she’d awoken the next morning and David was not there, she began to get worried. But that worry was more about where and who he had spent the night with, rather than genuine concern for him. David had not answered his mobile, and when she rang his friends, no one had seen him in days.
She called their local but they said that David hadn’t been in the night before, and it was only then that she had began to worry for David’s safety.
As a last resort, before calling the police, she called Tony, David’s son from his earlier marriage. Tony was twenty, and he and Maggie did not get on big time. There was nothing obvious that caused the friction between them, he could not blame her for his parents divorce, that had been ten years ago, long before she had come on the scene. They just plain did not see eye to eye about anything.
As soon as she’d explained, Tony had started to panic and demand that she phone the police; which was her next step anyway having exhausted everything else she could think of. Tony was at work and said he would get away as soon as he could.
The police had listened patiently, but said that they could not really do much at all until David had been missing for at least another few days, unless it could be shown that a crime had been committed. After all they said, she herself had told them that they, as a couple, were not in great shape, and so David could have just decided to go off on his own for a few days.
After that she had jumped into her car and driven to David's usual parking place. It was only a mile away and she had often goaded David about how lazy he was for taking the car when going for one of his walks.
Driving into the car park she had immediately spotted David’s car. It was the middle of the afternoon the day after she had last seen him. She was both relieved and worried – had he returned today, and if so where had he spent the night, or had his car been there over night?
Not knowing what else to do, she again phoned the police. The finding of the car seemed to invigorate the police, for less than fifteen minutes later, two officers arrived in a patrol car. They went through most of the same questions she had already answered in her earlier phone call, but at least they seemed to take her concerns more seriously. With her spare set of keys they searched David's car and she took the opportunity to phone Tony and update him; he had already left work and was on his way. Less than five minutes after the phone call he arrived.
A little while later more police drove into the car park, this time with a police dog, and the search began in earnest. They had asked her about his usual walks, and gotten his mobile number from her – they said that they would leave it ring continually in the hope of an answer, or them hearing his phone actually ringing. She and Tony were told to remain where they were, and an officer stayed with them to ensure they did exactly that.
Tony had quizzed her about their relationship, and she had told him it was fine; hell it was none of his business.
Minutes later their police babysitter received a radio call and moved away to take it. From then on things had moved very quickly – more police vehicles arrived and they kept coming. She had been frantic with worry and Tony was even worse, yet still the officer would not or could not tell them anything. Finally a group of detectives invited the two of them into one of their vehicles for an update.
They had found David's phone and camera in a clearing, and to one side, just in the woods, signs of a struggle and traces of blood had been found. They explained that a forensic team had been called in to examine the area.
The questioning went on for days, the search had lasted weeks, and the investigation was still officially open. It was David's blood, but other than his phone and camera nothing else was ever found.
The only good thing to come of it all, was that Tony now kept in touch. Almost every day he phoned or came to visit, and the previous distrust and resentment was now a thing of the past.
Unlike all the other times that the door bell had rung, this time two police officers were on the doorstep.
Maggie’s heart leapt and her hand went to her mouth before they could even announce why they had come. The constable was new to her, but the sergeant was Jane who had, unofficially, been assigned to the case from the very beginning. Jane had been a rock for Maggie and Tony, always upbeat and positive, never letting them believe the worse, even after all the time that had passed.
Jane, seeing the look on Maggie’s face, said, "Don’t worry, its good news! We think we've found him, he’s hurt but not critical…. Let’s go in the living room and sit down, shall we?" As she ushered Maggie into the living room and onto the couch, she called to the other officer over her shoulder, "Kitchens straight on, two teas no sugar… and whatever your having."
Sitting next to Maggie on the sofa Jane said, "Some officers are picking Tony up now and will bring him here… we'll all go to the hospital together. As I said, David is injured, and his injuries are quite serious… but don’t worry he will make a full recovery. There are however some things you need to know before you see him. Outwardly he seems to have changed a great deal... he looks quite different from the photographs you showed me. I'll go into more detail as soon as Tony arrives. But for now, tell me again, one more time, about the last few days before he went missing."
###
David
Slowly consciousness came back to me. I could hear noises and voices and, with a struggle, I managed to open my eyes a little. Wherever I was, it was bathed in blinding white light, and it was a moment before I was able to open my eyes wide enough to examine my surroundings.
I tried to rub my eyes to clear them, but something was holding my arms down. Moving my head to either side I could just make out that my arms were held against the bed frame by straps.
It was a bed though, and that in itself was a relief. A bed probably meant a hospital, and held down or not, there were much worse places I could be. I tried my legs, one was strapped down and the other was in plaster. I winced as pain shot through me as I tried to move it.
My movement must have attracted attention, because a man slowly moved into my field of view, and leaned over me. He was dressed in green coveralls, and so I assumed that he was either a doctor or a nurse. I guess that he must have seen the questions written on my face because he said, "You’re in hospital and I'm a doctor, Dr Peters. You were involved in a road accident, hit by a truck. You banged your head and broke a few bones, but don't worry, nothing too serious. You will make a full recovery… but it may take a little while."
He looked at me for what seemed a long time, and when I didn't respond, he asked, "Did you understand what I just said?"
I nodded my head slightly, and tried to ask why I was restrained, but what came out was garbled and almost unintelligible to me, let alone what it must have sounded like to him. I coughed, cleared my throat and began again, but the doctor motioned me to silence as he filled a beaker with water. I nodded my gratitude as he held my head up and helped me to sip from the beaker. Then, as he took the beaker away from my mouth, I motioned towards the straps holding me.
"You don't remember?" he asked, and when I just looked at him blankly, he continued, "Last night, when you were admitted, your injuries looked far worse than they actually are. Doesn’t really make any sense, but all our tests showed that there was a great deal of internal bleeding. We had to admit you to surgery, but you woke on the operating table… are you sure you don't remember any of this?"
I shook my head again, genuinely not remembering anything since the lights, the noise and the outline of the tower.
"As I said, you woke on the operating table. God knows how, there was enough anaesthetic in you to keep a bull out. You became very violent, and we had a hell of a time restraining you. It took five of us and a load more anaesthetic. But even then, you would not hold still until you had made it clear that you didn’t give consent to any form of surgery.
At first you seemed to be speaking in Spanish or perhaps it was Portuguese… I’m not really any good with languages. Anyway, whatever it was, you suddenly broke into English, strange accent, but it was English, and you got the message across.
In a strange way you did yourself some good coming around like that, because we had obviously got it wrong somehow… there was no need to operate after all. I confess I don’t understand for the life of me how we could have been so wrong. Anyway, we're looking into it…" He hesitated a moment almost as if he was unhappy with what he would say next. "The restraints are on for our protection. It seems you know how to look after yourself, and so they stay on until the police have spoken with you."
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Yet again he asked, "Did you understand everything I just said?"
This time I croaked, "Yes," as an answer and followed with, "Thank you."
He smiled, but a serious look came over his face as he said, "The police want to talk with you, two officers are waiting outside, and I do not doubt that, once word gets out, the place will be packed with reporters as well. You caused quite a stir when you went missing, but coming back like this is really going to cause a commotion. Anyway, it is my considered opinion that you still need to rest, so I'll put the police off for a while longer. Try and sleep a little if you can."
As he spoke my mind went into overdrive. They must know who I am, but how? I carried nothing that could identify me, how can they know?
My shock must have shown because he said, "An officer was here when you came in… she helped to restrain you. She was the one who recognised you. A little while ago she left to inform your family."
He frowned for a second, as if debating whether to continue. "Sorry… I really am getting ahead of myself, and probably saying much more than I should…” He sighed, took a deep breath, and said, "You should rest now Mr Ellis, before the police and your family come."
As he turned to leave I asked, as calmly as I could, "What date is it? I've lost all track of time."
"Its Friday the 7th of December,” he answered, still strolling toward the door.
Almost before he finished I blurted out, “What year?”
He stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to face me. The look on his face had turned to one of professional concern at my question, but he answered anyway. "Don’t worry, confusion and some memory loss is to be expected when you’ve taken a knock to the head as you have. It's 2012, the year is 2012. Rest now, it will all come back to you." And with that he walked away.
Was I going mad? I had thought that I was during those first few months after I was taken – everything had been so terrifyingly different to my everyday life, so alien. But I had gotten over that notion in time, after the beatings, and the horrors I saw and did, continued and became part of my everyday life. Yet how could I have lived through that and on into what came after, spent over ten years there, only to return and be told that I had been away just a year. It was not possible, the two could not both be true ... could they?
I needed to think. Slowly I calmed myself, forced myself to relax, and then began to review everything Jain and I had ever learned of Travelling. Next I would replay the exact words the woman, who had named herself Carthia, had used.
###
Maggie
Jane held the car door open for Tony and Maggie to get out. During the journey to the hospital none of them had really spoken. Jane had tried to make small talk, leaning back from the front seat, but she soon gave up, and so they had driven the rest of the way in silence.
Maggie followed Jane past the hospital main reception with Tony in their wake. Jane had told them that David was in a private room just off ward eleven. Maggie was glad Jane was with them because she knew that, in the state she was in, she would never have been able to find the room.
A doctor stopped them at a nurses station just before the room, and took Jane to one side. Maggie heard the Doctor say something about questioning, and from that she assumed that other police officers were in with David. Minutes later, Jane returned and took them to a waiting area where she explained that her colleagues were talking with David but would not be much longer.
Maggie began to protest, but Tony put his hand on hers and said, "Maggie, we’ve waited a long, long time for this day. A few minutes more won't kill us. Jane has been really good to us both, so let’s just be patient and wait a little longer."
They sat in silence for a while, and then the same doctor beckoned to Jane from the door, and she left to speak with him. Maggie’s mind was still reeling at what Jane had told them earlier, and she had wanted to ask Tony what he thought, but could not bring herself to speak of the situation in front of Jane. As Tony said, Jane had been good to both of them, and Maggie had shared almost all her inner thoughts with Jane over the months after David disappeared – she had even told Jane of her affair. But now that David was back, it was different somehow, something had changed in her, and even though she could not explain it, she just did not want to talk with Jane about her feelings.
This was the first time Maggie had been alone with Tony since Jane had rung the doorbell, but before she could voice her questions, Tony broke the silence with a torrent questions of his own, all those that had been whirling around her head during the journey to the hospital.
"What do you think Maggie? What happened to Dad? Where's he been all this time? And what are these knives and weapons Jane talked about?"
Ever since Jane had explained about David, Maggie had been going over and over what she’d said. Tony's questions set her off again.
***
Jane had told them about David's accident, how he had been knocked down by a truck, and how she happened to be at the hospital questioning an overdose patient when security had called for assistance in the operating theatre.
She had helped to subdue a man, and had described how violent he had been, even when under aesthetic and about to undergo surgery. At the time she thought the man looked familiar, but could not place him. Jane was not the type to leave questions unanswered, so she had spoken to the doctors to find out what they knew of the him.
Once she found out that he had been in a traffic accident, she called in to find out who had been assigned to the case. It turned out that the other officer was a friend as well as a colleague, and had been questioning the truck driver at the station. He arrived at the hospital soon after Jane completed the call, and had been happy for her to assist in going through the man's personal effects.
That, she said, was when things had started to get really weird. His clothes were very strange, something that would be more appropriate to a medieval fancy dress, and certainly not what you would have expected to wear in the middle of winter. Yet they had obviously been worn, well worn, and so not at all what anyone would hire for a costume party.
Then one of the ambulance men had come in with a cloth covered bundle. Sheepishly he explained how they had been taken off the victim as they treated him in the ambulance, and had been put to one side. They’d had another call-out immediately upon offloading the victim, and had forgotten about them until they returned to the hospital at the end of their shift.
Jane unwrapped the bundle and had been amazed to find that, amongst other things, it contained knives, four in all. The knives were all the same she said, about eight inches long with slim narrow blades that were razor sharp. The really strange thing was that they were completely black – the handle, the blades themselves and even the wickedly sharp edges; it was as if the metal itself was black. They were the most evil looking knives she had ever seen, she said.
The ambulance man said that the knives had been on the victim, one on each of his forearms, one on his shin just above his ankle and one on his back immediately below his neck. He had never seen anything like it, he said. The knives had not been in sheaths, not strapped to the man in any way; they had been stuck to his body, somehow attached to his flesh, almost as if glued.
Jane had also found a thick leather belt with numerous pouches, and a heavy leather purse in the bundle. The purse contained coins, strange coins she said, of a type she had never seen before; she swore that most of the coins were solid gold. Jane had then examined the belt, and on opening the pouches, found they contained all sorts of things – small vials containing liquids or powders, and small sharp objects whose use she could not even guess at. But she found nothing at all that would give any indication as to who the man was. No wallet or any form of identification had been found anywhere on his person or in his effects. She said it had been getting stranger by the minute, but she was positive that she should know who the man was.
She had recognised him as soon as she walked into the operating theatre, but just could not put a name to him.
So Jane had examined the belt again, emptying out all the pouches. And that was when she had found it. A small slit in the top side of the thick leather belt, only an inch or so long, but definitely purposely made, and with something inside, a piece of paper she thought. With a tweezers she had carefully removed the paper.
It was a small, really well worn, and faded photograph, of the type you take in a photo booth. The photograph she had recognised immediately despite how faded it was. It was of Maggie, and from that, she said, she knew without doubt that the man she had helped subdue earlier was David.
He had changed considerably in the year he'd been missing, but there was no doubt in her mind who he was – he was David Ellis.
***
Tony's tone of voice brought Maggie out of her reverie.
"Are you even listening to me?" he asked, and with a note of annoyance continued, "This is the first chance we've had to talk, they'll take us in to see Dad soon, and I’d like to talk this through before they do. I don't understand most of what Jane said, especially the bits about the weapons and the charges that could be brought against Dad for carrying them."
It was obvious that Tony was as confused as she was, and that going over it together would not really gain either of them anything. Taking Tony’s hand in hers Maggie said, "I really don’t understand either Tony. I've gone over and over it in my mind, and none of it makes any sense. All I can suggest is that we wait and see what your father has to say. I think he’s the only one who can shed any light on this."
Tony was silent for a moment, and then he slowly nodded his agreement. Maggie smiled a weak smile, and gripped Tony’s hand tightly, as she sat there silently waiting for David to be returned to them and put their lives back together again.
Jane returned a short while later and they both jumped up, but to Maggie’s annoyance, Jane motioned for them to sit back down again. "The other officers have finished talking to David and you'll be able to speak with him shortly, but first there are a few things you need to know."
Maggie stiffened and felt the colour drain from her face, but Jane quickly added, "Don't worry nothing has happened, David is fine. It's just that he told my colleagues that he does not remember anything at all since leaving home on the day he disappeared."
Maggie gasped, and Tony’s hand tightened around hers – she hadn’t even known he held her hand still. She opened her mouth to speak but Jane hurried quickly on.
"Don't forget he has been involved in an accident, and taken quite a blow to his head. Doctor Peter's said that some form of memory loss is quite understandable given what David's gone through." Then she hesitated, obviously wanting to say more.
"What?" Maggie and Tony blurted in unison.
"The Doctor also said that he was very surprised that David cannot remember anything at all from the last year. He said that often the minutes or even hours before and immediately after, such an injury can be vague or even none existent, but that to lose all memory for such a prolonged period is very unusual. He thinks that if David really does not remember, then some trauma other than this accident is the cause. There's more… the other officers are not sure that they believe David either. They think that he does remember; maybe not everything, but they think that he is hiding something, and so they want to speak with him again later… but for now they would like your help.
"Our help!” Maggie shouted, her temper rising at the thought of yet another delay. “What the hell can we do? We haven’t seen him in almost a year and… I want to see him right now. No more delays, we want to see him right now!"
Jane held her hands up in front of herself in a calming gesture, as she said, "Okay, I'll take you to him now. I just wanted you to be aware of what my colleagues think. You can make your own judgement as to whether he is hiding anything or not. All I ask is that you listen to what David has to say very carefully. Read between the lines, and if you think he's not telling the whole story push him for more. I'm sure it's nothing, but we need to know… if only to make sure he is not charged for having those weapons with him."
And with that Jane turned and walked towards David's room.