A villain(?) of Nick's is this fic's inspiration...but I put it up for quite awhile (well over a year) so I could get to know the fandom, and also, so I could get to know Wales personally before continuing. I've finally done both (though lol of course still nervous about actually writing in the fandom) and Nick says I am no longer allowed to procrastinate. Out of excuses, I am!
This is written in traditional mystery format (i.e., beginning with...well, read on and see) as I love mysteries, and this is how I want to do this. Thanks for encouraging this, Sang!
A villain(?) of Nick's is this fic's inspiration...but I put it up for quite awhile (well over a year) so I could get to know the fandom, and also, so I could get to know Wales personally before continuing. I've finally done both (though lol of course still nervous about actually writing in the fandom) and Nick says I am no longer allowed to procrastinate. Out of excuses, I am!
This is written in traditional mystery format (i.e., beginning with...well, read on and see) as I love mysteries, and this is how I want to do this. Thanks for encouraging this, Sang!
Prologue
The swath of land had been stripped bare decades ago. Scarred, nearly destroyed, the earth penetrated by coal mining shafts long disused, it was a place that had seldom been traveled in recent years. A place where, whenever death found its way past the fence barriers, the living failed to realize its arrival.
This area of Merthyr Tydfil had seen better days, and, some said, was best left alone and forgotten. But others had different plans. A decision had been made to reclaim the uninhabitable land, and restore the mines to their previous working states. Merthyr Tydfil would be an even better place to live and work if that could be believed.
Given the town, with its carcasses of abandoned buildings and high crime, was considered the most wretched place to live in all of Wales it wasn't difficult to create visions of a rosy future weary residents would welcome. Never mind the coal dust that opencast mining would produce. Never mind what was truly best for the struggling community. Only a handful understood what a resurgence in production would mean to them, their children, their lungs. No one listened.
All of these things were on the young woman's mind whilst out walking her flatmate's shepherd early that morning. A series of torrential rainstorms over the past week had made their usual trail impassable, and he'd nearly driven them both mad with the need to get out of the house, run, and explore. She didn't blame him. She felt the same and had happily volunteered to take him on a long walk.
She'd moved to Merthyr Tydfil two months before, when she'd accepted the public relations job with Miller Ardent. She'd already come to regret that decision, hated the lies she had to constantly tell, despised the half-dead industrial town itself. Andy had been right, not that she'd admit it--the money wasn't worth it, not knowing what she knew now. To be cooped up by rain for more than a week with nothing but too much work and a guilt-ridden conscience nearly had her unhinged.
So when the dog had put his nose to the ground, and pushed through the rusted gate that cordoned off the road to the mines, she didn't think to correct him. She followed gladly, laughing even as she broke into a trot, letting his lead out, her wellies squishing in the mud.
There were few trees here, just endless bare earth, a borderless rocky pathway that dipped and turned toward an abandoned mine shaft. Soon enough it would be buzzing with activity, but now only birds and rats managed to thrive. She had to be careful not to stumble in her hurry after the dog as he bounded forward with sudden urgency. A rat, she figured. When he pulled up, jerking to the side with a shocked yelp, she stumbled, clutching the dog to save herself from crashing to the muddy ground.
"What's wrong with you? I could've broke my neck." She pulled the leash tight and yanked. "Come on." Then, hackles raised and his never-still tail held frozen, Caddock started to bark.
She glanced to where she thought Caddock had seen whatever it was that had frightened him. Nothing. The shepherd growled, his fur standing up in a ruff around his shoulders. He bounded a few steps forward then stopped. She didn't know him well, but she'd never heard him like this. That made her uneasy. His growl didn't stop; it intensified. The back of her neck prickled, she wished she hadn't come here. She tried to shake off her fear, but now that she was aware of it, she knew it would not leave until she got herself and Caddock back home.
She wanted to get home. Not to her flat here, but home to Cardiff. Let Andy be all smug, she no longer cared.
"Come here boy." She tried to pull the leash in but she had to go to him--he wouldn't budge, dug his paws into the earth. "Caddock," she said, gritting her teeth and pulling on him, "Now."
Caddock barked again, and this time, didn't stop. She reached for her mobile. Took a few steps forward, the emptiness around her making her stomach clench. They were vulnerable, very much alone. She should never have left their usual path. She should never have come here. There were always rumors of people gone missing and they all came back to her now. A little boy snatched from his mother's arms, two girls walking home from the grocer, never reaching their destination. A teenager out partying all night who never came home.
They were just rumors though. She knew that. But rumors had to start for a reason. And, right now, she was Miller Ardent and not exactly the most popular person in town. The warnings Andy had given her jumped into her mind, that there might be, would be, some people who regarded her as the enemy just because of her employer. Badly enough to want to scare her though?
Andy would say yes.
She looked around her, straining to return to the normalcy she'd felt moments before. She hit her flatmate's number, covered her bare ear with her other hand and turned away from the barking dog.
"Answer answer answer. Damn it," she said when Aeron's voice mail clicked on. She'd forgotten Aeron had mentioned some meeting this morning. Caddock's barking settled to a low growl. He pressed hard against her, his gaze not moving from whatever he stared at. "Hey, call me as soon as you get this. I'm at one of the closed sites and your dog's acting really weird."
She snapped the mobile shut, thought about calling her boss but he'd just be upset with her for walking this way in the first place. She didn't know what to say anyway. My flatmate's dog's barking, and I'm scared? Caddock whined, then as she was reaching out to reassure him he bolted, ripping the leash from her grip.
"Caddock!" she yelled, running after him, her feet slipping on the damp ground. The dog ignored her, barking furiously as he ran over a slight hill. Panic ripped through her. "Caddock!" she screamed now as she followed him. She crested the rise, still running, one foot hooking on something in the road. With a cry she went flying, her mobile knocked from her hand, a black and brown flash of Caddock mere feet from where she hit the muddy ground with a thud. Breath knocked out of her she gasped as she rolled to a stop. The cold muddy ground snatched away at her warmth.
She lay still, arms flung out, the leash centimeters from her fingers. She snagged it. She sucked in great mouthfuls of air as she slowly sat up, realizing only then the air had turned putrid, a sweet stench wrapping itself around her, coating her mouth and throat.
Caddock's hysterical barking, the smell of death spurred her to get up. She stood on shaky feet, and stared in confusion, her horror growing as the insidious truth of what she'd tripped on sunk in. It was an object, large, about as long as she was tall, wrapped over and over with some sort of plastic wrapping. She took a step forward, drawn to understand what she was looking at, her mind warring against what stared sightlessly back at her through the endless wrapping.
The words hung over Andy's shoulders as he trudged toward his , his uniform slung in its bag over his shoulder. It'd drizzled off and on most of the afternoon which, of course, he'd spent mostly inside. Every step he took landed in a puddle, soaking his socks and the legs of his jeans. Head down, eyes straight ahead, he should've easily avoided those puddles but the last thing on P.C. Andy Davidson's mind was the state of his clothes.
He felt a fool. No, he was a fool. Free hand stuffed in his pocket, cap pulled over his eyes, he passed a small group of his mates just off duty. He wished he'd taken another route.
"Andy! How'd it go then? Come have a pint with us--"
Without raising his head he waved the friendly overture aside. The last thing he wanted was commiseration for his most recent failure. After all, what could they say? This wasn't the first time he'd been passed over. Not even the second.
Oh no, surely he'd set a new record for most non-promotions one bloke could have. His third. Third! He hadn't known that was even possible, until he'd managed it himself. He didn't understand how it was possible though. He'd tried so hard to show them, to show everyone, that he wasn't going to be one of those tossers who never did more than hand out parking tickets.
And yet, here he was, a P.C. yesterday, a P.C. today, and now, a P.C. tomorrow as well.
Andy reached his car, yanking open the door. He slid inside, taking his cap off and putting it on the seat beside him, the brim facing front. He started the car, but didn't throw it in reverse. He didn't feel like moving. The front windshield, still splotched by the earlier rain, made the world outside a blurry mess. Much like he felt inside.
The words haunted him. Not the 'maybe next time' ones, but the others. His mind felt all jumbled--in frustration, he slammed his hands on the wheel, angrily flicked on the wipers to scour the windshield. The world jumped into focus, but not so easily in his mind. What was he, a failure? No. He did take his work seriously. He did care. He did want to do more with his life than get up every morning, pull on his uniform, walk around all day twirling his baton and walking through a district that seldom saw worse than an occasional theft, a minor bumper bender, the occasional lost kid or granny.
But it had been decided he wasn't ready for more. That P.C. Wilson, who'd been with the department only a year, had already proven that she was the more than ready to take the next step. It wasn't his fault she'd been the one to figure out who was the mastermind to the telly theft ring. It wasn't his fault that nothing ever happened on his beat that would let him prove himself.
The Inspector had told him to stop waiting, and make it happen. How, he wanted to know. A bloke didn't just get up in the mornings and decide he was just the man to save the world that day. Nevermind even Elen had done just that herself. Still rankled she hadn't listened to him.
Andy threw the car in reverse, backing out without really looking. He threw the car into gear and left the car park, passing a group of his fellow coppers. He watched them in the rearview mirror as he passed, shaking his head--one of them was Wilson.
"Congrats," he muttered, watching her. His anger resurfaced, but he immediately felt guilty about it. It wasn't her fault either. She was good, really. Like his former partner Gwen, always in the right place at the right time with always the right thing to say or do.
He glanced at himself in the mirror, frowning. "You're jealous, you stupid sod. Admit it." What to do about it though? That was the problem. He had no idea.
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rosecarmine
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-28 07:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-28 09:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-28 08:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-28 09:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-28 08:09 pm (UTC)But I will pay for a Starbucks coffee
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-28 09:24 pm (UTC)Well, the most important thing of all will be there waiting...you.
And I'll go for a Starbucks. And a BAGEL! OR Currywurst! Okay maybe that can wait. lol.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-28 08:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-28 09:25 pm (UTC)tick tick tick...
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-29 12:00 pm (UTC)I'm really thrilled for the both of you. Honest.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-29 04:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-30 03:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-01 12:27 am (UTC)Thanks bunches and stayed tuned here at my lj as I am sure to write lots of dorky posts. THIS vacation I MEAN IT!
(just like I still mean to write all about our SF trip, riiigghhhttt!!!)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-12 08:17 pm (UTC)This is written in traditional mystery format (i.e., beginning with...well, read on and see) as I love mysteries, and this is how I want to do this. Thanks for encouraging this, Sang!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-12 08:21 pm (UTC)This is written in traditional mystery format (i.e., beginning with...well, read on and see) as I love mysteries, and this is how I want to do this. Thanks for encouraging this, Sang!
The swath of land had been stripped bare decades ago. Scarred, nearly destroyed, the earth penetrated by coal mining shafts long disused, it was a place that had seldom been traveled in recent years. A place where, whenever death found its way past the fence barriers, the living failed to realize its arrival.
This area of Merthyr Tydfil had seen better days, and, some said, was best left alone and forgotten. But others had different plans. A decision had been made to reclaim the uninhabitable land, and restore the mines to their previous working states. Merthyr Tydfil would be an even better place to live and work if that could be believed.
Given the town, with its carcasses of abandoned buildings and high crime, was considered the most wretched place to live in all of Wales it wasn't difficult to create visions of a rosy future weary residents would welcome. Never mind the coal dust that opencast mining would produce. Never mind what was truly best for the struggling community. Only a handful understood what a resurgence in production would mean to them, their children, their lungs. No one listened.
All of these things were on the young woman's mind whilst out walking her flatmate's shepherd early that morning. A series of torrential rainstorms over the past week had made their usual trail impassable, and he'd nearly driven them both mad with the need to get out of the house, run, and explore. She didn't blame him. She felt the same and had happily volunteered to take him on a long walk.
She'd moved to Merthyr Tydfil two months before, when she'd accepted the public relations job with Miller Ardent. She'd already come to regret that decision, hated the lies she had to constantly tell, despised the half-dead industrial town itself. Andy had been right, not that she'd admit it--the money wasn't worth it, not knowing what she knew now. To be cooped up by rain for more than a week with nothing but too much work and a guilt-ridden conscience nearly had her unhinged.
So when the dog had put his nose to the ground, and pushed through the rusted gate that cordoned off the road to the mines, she didn't think to correct him. She followed gladly, laughing even as she broke into a trot, letting his lead out, her wellies squishing in the mud.
There were few trees here, just endless bare earth, a borderless rocky pathway that dipped and turned toward an abandoned mine shaft. Soon enough it would be buzzing with activity, but now only birds and rats managed to thrive. She had to be careful not to stumble in her hurry after the dog as he bounded forward with sudden urgency. A rat, she figured. When he pulled up, jerking to the side with a shocked yelp, she stumbled, clutching the dog to save herself from crashing to the muddy ground.
"What's wrong with you? I could've broke my neck." She pulled the leash tight and yanked. "Come on." Then, hackles raised and his never-still tail held frozen, Caddock started to bark.
Not a rat then.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-12 08:21 pm (UTC)She wanted to get home. Not to her flat here, but home to Cardiff. Let Andy be all smug, she no longer cared.
"Come here boy." She tried to pull the leash in but she had to go to him--he wouldn't budge, dug his paws into the earth. "Caddock," she said, gritting her teeth and pulling on him, "Now."
Caddock barked again, and this time, didn't stop. She reached for her mobile. Took a few steps forward, the emptiness around her making her stomach clench. They were vulnerable, very much alone. She should never have left their usual path. She should never have come here. There were always rumors of people gone missing and they all came back to her now. A little boy snatched from his mother's arms, two girls walking home from the grocer, never reaching their destination. A teenager out partying all night who never came home.
They were just rumors though. She knew that. But rumors had to start for a reason. And, right now, she was Miller Ardent and not exactly the most popular person in town. The warnings Andy had given her jumped into her mind, that there might be, would be, some people who regarded her as the enemy just because of her employer. Badly enough to want to scare her though?
Andy would say yes.
She looked around her, straining to return to the normalcy she'd felt moments before. She hit her flatmate's number, covered her bare ear with her other hand and turned away from the barking dog.
"Answer answer answer. Damn it," she said when Aeron's voice mail clicked on. She'd forgotten Aeron had mentioned some meeting this morning. Caddock's barking settled to a low growl. He pressed hard against her, his gaze not moving from whatever he stared at. "Hey, call me as soon as you get this. I'm at one of the closed sites and your dog's acting really weird."
She snapped the mobile shut, thought about calling her boss but he'd just be upset with her for walking this way in the first place. She didn't know what to say anyway. My flatmate's dog's barking, and I'm scared? Caddock whined, then as she was reaching out to reassure him he bolted, ripping the leash from her grip.
"Caddock!" she yelled, running after him, her feet slipping on the damp ground. The dog ignored her, barking furiously as he ran over a slight hill. Panic ripped through her. "Caddock!" she screamed now as she followed him. She crested the rise, still running, one foot hooking on something in the road. With a cry she went flying, her mobile knocked from her hand, a black and brown flash of Caddock mere feet from where she hit the muddy ground with a thud. Breath knocked out of her she gasped as she rolled to a stop. The cold muddy ground snatched away at her warmth.
She lay still, arms flung out, the leash centimeters from her fingers. She snagged it. She sucked in great mouthfuls of air as she slowly sat up, realizing only then the air had turned putrid, a sweet stench wrapping itself around her, coating her mouth and throat.
Caddock's hysterical barking, the smell of death spurred her to get up. She stood on shaky feet, and stared in confusion, her horror growing as the insidious truth of what she'd tripped on sunk in. It was an object, large, about as long as she was tall, wrapped over and over with some sort of plastic wrapping. She took a step forward, drawn to understand what she was looking at, her mind warring against what stared sightlessly back at her through the endless wrapping.
The remnants of a face.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-12 08:22 pm (UTC)I'm sorry, Andy. Try again. Maybe next time…
The words hung over Andy's shoulders as he trudged toward his , his uniform slung in its bag over his shoulder. It'd drizzled off and on most of the afternoon which, of course, he'd spent mostly inside. Every step he took landed in a puddle, soaking his socks and the legs of his jeans. Head down, eyes straight ahead, he should've easily avoided those puddles but the last thing on P.C. Andy Davidson's mind was the state of his clothes.
He felt a fool. No, he was a fool. Free hand stuffed in his pocket, cap pulled over his eyes, he passed a small group of his mates just off duty. He wished he'd taken another route.
"Andy! How'd it go then? Come have a pint with us--"
Without raising his head he waved the friendly overture aside. The last thing he wanted was commiseration for his most recent failure. After all, what could they say? This wasn't the first time he'd been passed over. Not even the second.
Oh no, surely he'd set a new record for most non-promotions one bloke could have. His third. Third! He hadn't known that was even possible, until he'd managed it himself. He didn't understand how it was possible though. He'd tried so hard to show them, to show everyone, that he wasn't going to be one of those tossers who never did more than hand out parking tickets.
And yet, here he was, a P.C. yesterday, a P.C. today, and now, a P.C. tomorrow as well.
Andy reached his car, yanking open the door. He slid inside, taking his cap off and putting it on the seat beside him, the brim facing front. He started the car, but didn't throw it in reverse. He didn't feel like moving. The front windshield, still splotched by the earlier rain, made the world outside a blurry mess. Much like he felt inside.
The words haunted him. Not the 'maybe next time' ones, but the others. His mind felt all jumbled--in frustration, he slammed his hands on the wheel, angrily flicked on the wipers to scour the windshield. The world jumped into focus, but not so easily in his mind. What was he, a failure? No. He did take his work seriously. He did care. He did want to do more with his life than get up every morning, pull on his uniform, walk around all day twirling his baton and walking through a district that seldom saw worse than an occasional theft, a minor bumper bender, the occasional lost kid or granny.
But it had been decided he wasn't ready for more. That P.C. Wilson, who'd been with the department only a year, had already proven that she was the more than ready to take the next step. It wasn't his fault she'd been the one to figure out who was the mastermind to the telly theft ring. It wasn't his fault that nothing ever happened on his beat that would let him prove himself.
The Inspector had told him to stop waiting, and make it happen. How, he wanted to know. A bloke didn't just get up in the mornings and decide he was just the man to save the world that day. Nevermind even Elen had done just that herself. Still rankled she hadn't listened to him.
Andy threw the car in reverse, backing out without really looking. He threw the car into gear and left the car park, passing a group of his fellow coppers. He watched them in the rearview mirror as he passed, shaking his head--one of them was Wilson.
"Congrats," he muttered, watching her. His anger resurfaced, but he immediately felt guilty about it. It wasn't her fault either. She was good, really. Like his former partner Gwen, always in the right place at the right time with always the right thing to say or do.
He glanced at himself in the mirror, frowning. "You're jealous, you stupid sod. Admit it." What to do about it though? That was the problem. He had no idea.