she could see, very stocky and obviously very strong.
“I’m Inspector McGrawl and this is Inspector Bradley.” The man turned the light briefly to his left, illuminating what had been a taller shadow, and for an instant she saw a younger face nod at her, a slimmer man with a goatee beard and straight black hair tied back into a ponytail. Then the light was shone back on her and she squinted in the glare.
“We’re investigating a couple of disappearances. A male youth and a woman. The youth was last seen here. Now do you mind telling us who you are and what you are doing here?”
Alex felt relief suddenly overcome her shock, and she stopped struggling.
“I’m Alex Carpenter. I met my brother here earlier. He went off onto the cliffs in the storm and I don’t know what’s happened to him. This is our aunt’s house but she just died, I was getting my rucksack and then I heard noises upstairs and ran out.”
The man whistled softly as he flicked off the flashlight. In the moonlight she saw him nod to the other man who walked quickly across the garden and disappeared into the house. Alex felt a pull on her shoulder and found herself being propelled down the steps of Aunt Gwen’s front garden and down into the dark, narrow street in front.
Now hidden from view from the house the man switched on the flashlight again and pulled out some photographs from inside his jacket pocket showing one to Alex. With a shock she saw a picture of Paul staring back at her.
“Do you know this person?” said the Inspector gruffly.
Alex looked up at him wide-eyed. She had taken the picture herself about a month ago, before Paul had left to come down to Cornwall.
“Yes, it’s my brother Paul. I don’t know where he is now. How did you get...?”
“And this one?” he said dismissively as he placed another picture above the one of Paul, a grainy image showing a woman in her early twenties, her body facing away from the camera but looking back over her shoulder. She was slim looking with an attractive face and long curly hair, and was smiling.
“No, I’ve no idea who she is,” said Alex.
The man made a clicking sound with his tongue before placing another picture on top. Alex swallowed convulsively to hide her shock, for the face staring back at her was of the man who she had seen in her vision, the warrior with the orange hair whom Gwen had told her to wait for, the one named Falk. The picture must have been taken in a police station as there was a side view and front view with a row of numbers being held by his chest. He was staring impassively at the camera.
“Well,” said the detective. “Do you know him?”
Alex looked up into the cold eyes and some instinct made her lie. She had to figure out what this meant herself.
“No, I’ve never seen him in my life.”
He stared at her for a long moment and then with a low grunt placed the photographs back in his jacket and turned the flashlight off, becoming just a shadow in the narrow street. Alex felt suddenly uncomfortable as she tried to catch up with her thoughts but found that her headache was returning, making it more difficult to think.
“Why are you looking for my brother? He’s only been gone what, an hour?” She paused wondering if that was right, for it seemed so much had happened.
“As far as we are concerned he’s been missing for a few days. Your father filed a report,” replied the detective.
“But I spoke to him yesterday, he didn’t say anything,” said Alex her mind spinning.
The man shrugged.
“Who are the other people, in the pictures?” she asked.
“The girl is missing too and we think there is a link,” replied McGrawl, his voice a disembodied sound in the dark. “The man is known to us and is, for reasons I cannot divulge, someone we want to speak to.”
Alex swallowed.
“Is he dangerous?” she asked.
“Yes,” McGrawl said simply.
Alex was quiet for a moment as she digested this information and tried to reconcile it with what she had seen in the wood with Gwen, whether it was real or not. All she did know was that something was happening to her brother and she had to know he was okay.
“Will you help me look for him, for Paul?” she asked.
At that moment they heard someone approach and the other Detective,