The Grandfather Paradox

[The Underworld]

A different type of story now, one I've been thinking about for some time now..........let's roll.............

Story Title: The Grandfather Paradox

Genre: Crime/Mystery/Fantasy

Setting: Dorrigo, NSW, Australia

Main Character(s): Chief Constable Brendan Walkers (53)
Officer Danny Hollars (28)

Time Period: 2 - 3 months in 2003

Storyline: Follows the amazing policework after an atrocity in the town.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prologue

Officer Danny Hollar of Dorrigo Police sat on the steps outside the police station, holding a lit cigarette in one hand and a coke in the other. He switched between then slowly but regularly. It wasn’t a lunch break, but there was nothing much else to do around Dorrigo.

Dorrigo is located about an hour inland of Coffs Harbour, in New South Wales, Australia. It’s on the famous Great Dividing Range, and the town’s population is about 1250. Yes, it’s a very small, isolated town with a very small police station – the focus of this story. But back to Officer Hollar.

He was still sitting there, gazing out into the skateboard park across the ‘road’. The main drag in Dorrigo was a bit like a disused bush road in outer Sydney, in that it was quite sandy and quite disused. A traffic jam in peak hour in Dorrigo could be defined as two cars waiting in line while a car pulls out of a carpark.

You could easily say Officer Hollar (let’s call him Danny) was bored of his job – of course it is very easy to get bored out in Dorrigo. Just then though, Chief Constable Brendan Walkers tapped loudly on the back-facing window of his office, and gestured for Danny to come inside.
‘Right Danny, let’s see a little more work now – in your office,’ instructed Chief Walkers.
‘What do you mean, “a little more work”?’ asked Danny.
‘I mean that I want you to go to your office and start making progress on your cases, and typing some documents, and….’ Chief Walkers was cut off.
‘I know what “a little more work” means, and I don’t get is exactly what I should be doing,’ remarked Danny, ‘Chief, nothing interesting ever happens around here. I can’t go and make progress on some cases, because there are none, I can’t go and type documents, because there’s nothing to type documents about. I moved up here to get away from the cities, and I joined what I thought would be the most important, exciting job in town – a cop. But I’ve been here four months already and the best we’ve got was that incident two weeks ago with the three seventeen year olds drinking alcohol – which is hardly a crime. I’m sick of it. I want something interesting to do!’

Constable Walkers thought about this for a while, and then slowly spoke again.

‘So what you’re saying is,’ began Constable Walkers, ‘Is that you want more crime. Obviously, we’re doing our job so well that there’s no crime anymore and you don’t like that. You’re not gonna be happy until half the town’s murdered and Osama bin Laden turns out to be working an underground drug market in the back of the convenience store up the road!’
‘I only wanted something to do. So I wouldn’t feel as if I’m spending my life wasting time. But I don’t think that’s going to happen,’ said Danny, gravely. He then reached to his shirt pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper which he placed firmly on Constable Walkers desk.
‘Here’s my notice,’ said Danny, ‘I’m moving back to Sydney.’

******

Constable Walkers didn’t bother Danny for the rest of the day. Danny quietly emptied his ‘office’, took a few cigarette breaks and finished off the shift with a long walk. Once he returned to the office about five o’clock, he tried to leave without even saying goodbye. He got out the door but was then quickly confronted by Constable Walkers.
‘So, when are you leaving?’ asked Constable Walkers. Danny then produced another piece of paper from that infamous shirt pocket. It was a flight ticket.
‘Tonight,’ replied Danny gingerly, and continued to walk off.

*****
Danny didn’t own all that much, so it wasn’t hard to pack up. He was making the final check of his small house on the ‘outskirts’ of Dorrigo, when the phone rang. Danny went to pick it up, not all that happy he’d been interrupted.

‘Danny, Danny, Danny,’ cried the voice on the phone. Whoever it was was truly sobbing their eyes out.
‘Danny it’s me, Constable Walkers.’
Danny was well and truly astonished.
‘What’s wrong Brendan?’ asked Danny.
‘Well,’ started Constable Walkers, ‘You’ve got that big case you wanted.’
==============================================

[dratinihaunter13]

ooh, nice start! i especially like the little add-in detail of drinking alcohol at 17 not really being a crime, lol. whatever this big case is, it must be kinda ugly, making Walkers cry and all. i've got some suspicions on that walkers character but perhaps i'm reading too far into this. in fact, that's usually the case >_<. oh well, it's fun to have impossible theories! a well-written start underworld, nice paragraphing and you seem to have a good handle on this writing style.

[mistysakura]

Whoa, something else from you.
This was great, nice style. I actually got into it, though I was listening to the theme from James Bond at the time. And that's saying something. I mean, peaceful town came through all that music. Hope the next chapter comes soon.

By the way, does this mean you've given up on TTWIW? I'm still reading that, you know, even thoguh I can't be bothered to reply.

[The Underworld]

Gavin: Theories on Walkers? I'd be interested to hear!

MS: James Bond! Cool! I'm into James Bond at the moment, dunno why - Die Another Day was the second Bond film I ever saw and all of a sudden I wanted to see them all. Goldfinger was the best ehy! Glad your reading.

Imagine a James Bond fic! Hmm, maybe.....................

Here's a little more Grandfather Paradox (should be a new episode every Friday night, Aussie EST)


Chapter One – Panic in Peaceland

‘My daughter Amanda’s missing,’ bawled Constable Walkers, grabbing another large bundle of tissues and shoving them up his nose. You could stuff a horse with the amount of tissues he went through that night.

‘I left the station right after you did,’ began Constable Walkers, ‘I got back home five minutes later and Amanda was there. She was leaving to go out with her boyfriend like she usually does. She always gets home about eight o’clock – Amanda’s not one of those all night girls. At ten o’clock I rang you.’

‘It gets worse,’ he continued, with another traditional ball of tissues, ‘They left this note.’

Danny took the note from Walker’s hand, spread it out on the table, and slipped on his glasses. At first he thought it was blank, then he noticed it was just another tissue ball.

“She will lie there till I claim her, and then she will leave forever.”

Sure was cryptic.

‘Well go!’ exclaimed Constable Walkers, like Danny had done something wrong, ‘Go find the bastard, and find her body, before I……………’ – he pulled out his handgun, pointed it at himself, and pretended to strike the trigger.

‘There’s a chance she may not be dead,’ said Danny, trying to be reassuring. Then he saw the look on Constable Walkers’ face, and realised he was talking to a professional policeman.

A chance! Not really.

***********

Danny called up Officer Harvey Marker, his partner, and told him to race down to the station ASAP. There was terror and sadness in the air – but also a scent of excitement. So far, in Danny’s mind at least, this was most adrenalin inducing thing that had happened since he’d been in Dorrigo!

They worked all through the night. First things first, Constable Walkers looked through the house, through his daughter’s belongings. Anything that might give a clue or two. Danny and Harvey searched the town centre, every square metre of it. Didn’t take long. They even searched the residential section of Dorrigo, knowing almost certainly that they were looking for a body and possibly something bizarre.

Nothing was found.

So now it was clear – either Amanda was taken out of Dorrigo, buried, or dumped out in the bush.

The bush that spanned for hundreds of kilometres around.

It was going to be a long, hard case, that was known – but what wasn’t known was what was waiting for them at the end.
=============================================

[Count von Dark]

Great style, and cool plot set out. But the length is a bit short, and can be extended a little more. Go on, I'm anxious to see what happens next.;)

[The Underworld]

Count von Dark: Thanks for Reading! Length has always been a bit of a problem for me - I like to go for lots of shorts rather than a few longs - keeps the ideas coming and separated.

The next update will be Friday as usual. Chapter 2's not quite written yet.

[The Underworld]

A bit late, sorry.................

Chapter Two – That’s Our Job

‘LAST NIGHT, MRS LIEMAN,’ shouted Officer Danny Hollar. It wasn’t in his nature to shout, but sometimes townspeople drove him mad.
‘You were in a fight?’ inquired Mrs Lieman, Constable Walker’s neighbour.
‘LAST NIGHT!’ repeated Danny, shocked that someone could be so deaf. Clearly this wasn’t going anywhere, she wouldn’t have heard anything suspicious unless there had been a volcanic nuclear explosion in her backyard, and even then you’d be hard pressed to get something out of her.

Danny and partner Officer Harvey Mark slammed the door shut of house 7 on Mulberry St, Dorrigo.
‘Let’s face it Harvey,’ said Danny impatiently, ‘we’re living in a town of 1000 people. It’s anyone saw or heard anything unusual unless the kidnapping or murder happened on the roundabout in the very centre of town. Even then!’
‘But also, it’s such a small, quiet place – anything unusual happens and people will be onto it like that!’ said Harvey, slamming the boot of the car on the last word.
‘No, no, I can almost picture it. Somewhere out of the way, dark, quiet. She must’ve been alone, we haven’t had any other reports in. The creek, maybe,’ suggested Danny.
‘Whoever did it, wherever they did it, there aren’t that many possibilities in a town like this,’ said Harvey.
‘There’s not that much hope, either,’ added Danny.

********

The pair drove a few minutes down to the Dorrigo Showground, located on the other side of the creek.

‘Friday night, teenager, where else would you go?’ said Harvey.
‘Down a dark alley to meet a potential killer?’ suggested Danny.
‘Stop complicating things. I sincerely doubt it was a suicide, and I sincerely doubt there was an organised meeting. She would have told Brendan,’ replied Harvey, ‘Oh and by the way you’re about to hit a pole.’

Danny quickly adjusted his line of walk. They reached the gates, and were greeted by the showground manager, Ross.
‘Morning Ross!’ said Harvey, shaking hands.
‘Yes morning, morning,’ interrupted Danny. ‘Listen, we’re investigating a kidnapping and murder, and…..’ then it wad Danny’s turn to get interrupted.
‘A murder!’ exclaimed Ross, laughing, ‘A murder in Dorrigo! You sure you weren’t out on the town last night!’
‘Nobody gets drunk in Dorrigo,’ replied Danny, sternly, ‘especially police officers. Now listen, did you see or hear anything suspicious last night? Screams perhaps? Who visited the showground last night?’
‘We were closed last night,’ answered Ross, abruptly, ‘I went out to Coffs [Harbour]’
‘Well, OK then, thanks for your time,’ said Danny, walking off.
‘Cya later,’ Harvey called out.



‘Ooooh, he’s suspicious,’ said Danny, as soon as they got in the car.
‘Oh come on Dan!’ said Harvey, ‘haven’t you ever been to the showground? Ross is always cheerful like that.’
‘Well no, I haven’t been to the showground, I’ve only been here four months,’ said Danny.
‘Oh, that’s no excuse! You could do everything in Dorrigo, along with a full time job in less than a week!’ said Harvey, ‘I think you’re turning into a Chief Constable Walkers!’
‘I am not, now let’s get going. I actually wanna speak to Brendan.’



From the outside of 5 Mulberry Street, you could tell there was sorrow inside. Like it was under a small patch of black cloud. There was music coming from inside.
‘I guess that’s why they call it the blues,
Time on my hands
Could be time spent with you’ – they heard inside the house.

‘Elton John, Chief?’ said Danny, surprised, before he even entered the living room. Harvey was ahead of him, and just that second came running out of the living room.
‘It’s awful,’ said Harvey, ‘Quickly.’

Danny hurried in. It truly was awful. There were at least ten wine bottles lying on the floor, and beer cans left, right and centre. Like the aftermath of a big 21st birthday party, except this time there’d been only one member.

Danny picked up an empty chardonnay bottle, and walked up to Constable Walkers, asleep on the couch. Danny threw the bottle at the window. Both the window and the bottle broke with an ear-shattering smash, which didn’t seem to phase Danny. But Constable Walkers sat up with a jolt, still muttering from what obviously had been a night-terror.
‘Brendan, what’s going on?’ shouted Danny, like he was a sergeant in the army.
‘No Amanda, don’t go, don’t go………………come back…………………’ muttered Brendan.
Danny slapped Constable Walkers hard on the face.
‘Wake up, stand up, pull yourself together,’ ordered Danny, then turned to Harvey, ‘search the place.’
‘HAVE YOU GOT HIM?’ yelled Constable Walkers, so suddenly you would think he had turrets syndrome, ‘YOU BASTARD HARRY.’
‘Who’s Harry?’ asked Danny.
‘IS HE IN JAIL YET?’ screamed Constable Walkers.
‘No, WHO IS HE?’
‘Boyfriend……Amanda………bastard he was………I WANNA KILL HIM!’

Presently, Harvey came back.
‘Nothing unusual happened here last night except a whole lot of drinking, and the consequent reactions in the bathroom,’ reported Harvey.
‘Right. Brendan’s ravings just got somewhere interesting,’ said Danny, ‘Remember when he said that Amanda went out with her boyfriend on Friday nights. Well now he’s going on about this boyfriend “Harry”. I suggest we go immediately.’

Upon walking along the corridor to the door, they found the way blocked by Constable Walkers. It was their first chance to look at him properly. In just one night, he’d truly gone to the dogs.
‘WHERE IS HE,’ barked Constable Walkers, ‘WHY HAVEN’T YOU GOT HIM YET? WHAT DO I PAY YOU FOR?’
‘Jesus Chief, it hasn’t been a day yet!’ laughed Harvey.
Danny rolled his eyes and gestured to move away. But then Constable Walkers burst into tears,
‘Oh I’m sorry boys,’ he cried, ‘Oh I’m sorry. Just try your best. Try to get the bastard.’

Danny turned around and walked back up the pathway.

‘Don’t worry Brendan,’ he said, patting him on the back, ‘We’ll find them. That’s our job.’
========================================