Finding Annie - Pt 2

Chapter 21

Tom dragged his hand through his long dark hair and swore for the umpteenth time since he'd gotten home. It was almost three am; he was rapidly losing hope. If Annie had checked into a hotel, then she would have called him definitely. There were no messages on the telephone when he got in from the station. He'd fielded a few calls from concerned friends, but none had come through from Annie. He had sat himself in front of Sky News watching the events of the day unfold before his eyes. Police had brought bodies out of the wreckage of the two commuter trains; he scanned each picture looking for a familiar shape beneath the white sheets. It was hell not knowing what had happened to Annie. The Police had said there were at least Fourteen people dead and many others injured in the explosions. How he was keeping himself together he didn't know.2

Ludwig had curled himself next to Tom on the sofa, opening his eyes every so often to check on him. He knew something was wrong. 3

Tom felt a fresh rush of tears to his eyes, and he blinked at them to keep them at bay. Even if Annie wasn't one of the those people under the sheets – she could be dying in hospital and he wouldn't know it. He reached for the telephone, ringing through on the helpline again. 4

“British Transport Police Helpline – to report someone missing please press 1, to enquire about a relative already reported missing please press 2.” Tom pressed 2 and waited. Almost five minutes later, a man answered.5

“British Transport Police, can I have your surname please.” Tom sighed, he'd already been through this seven times since he'd gotten home.6

“My wife is Annie Beeman, she would have been on the connecting train to Kings Cross. Do you have any information about her?” Tom waited holding his breath.7

“Mr Beeman, are you able to come into London? We may have found some of your wife's belongings and we need you to give us a positive identification. Also could you bring your Wife's hairbrush? It's just standard procedure in these cases.” Tom felt the tears overflow and roll down his cheeks.8

“Yes, where should I come?” The Policeman cleared his throat.9

“Kings Cross Police Station. Report to the main reception and one of the officers will assist you.” “Thank you.” Tom croaked. Sobs wracked his body as he slid to the living room carpet. Ludwig fled the room, disturbed by the noises coming from Tom's body. All hope was gone now – if the police wanted him to come and identify some of Annie's belongings then she had definitely been on the train. Tom picked himself up, slipping on his shoes and reaching for his car keys. There was nothing else for it; he had to know for sure.10

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * 11

Tom was shown into an office. On the table in front of him was a black handbag. It was burned in places, with a hole in the side. 12

“Can you take a look at the bag Mr Beeman and let us know if it belongs to your wife.” Tom sat down at the table, touching the bag with trembling hands. It looked like Annie's handbag, but it was a designer type and he was sure there were many people who owned a bag like this. He opened the bag and looked inside. There was a small bottle of MyQueen perfume with a crack in it, it made the bag smell like Annie. His fingers found a phone and he pulled it out. It was Annie's blackberry; with it's distinctive diamanté buttons. She'd bought it on a trip home to visit her parents in New York and had paid a fortune for it.13

“Yes.” Tom managed to whisper, trying to clear the lump growing in his throat. He turned on the phone, it's screen lighting up apart from some damage in the corner of the screen. It flashed up 120 missed calls. 32 Text Messages. The majority would have been from him, he thought lying the phone down on the table.14

“I'm sorry Mr Beeman. What did you say?” Tom coughed to clear his throat.15

“Yes, this is my wife's bag. Did you find it on one of the trains?” The Policeman shook his head. 16

“No it was found on the tracks a few metres from the wreckage. It's possible that the explosions blew it away from the train.” Tom nodded his fingers tracing across the screen on the phone.17

“Did you find my wife?” He asked his voice husky with emotion.18

“I can't answer that at the moment Mr Beeman, we simply don't know. Did you bring your wife's hairbrush?” Tom reached into the plastic bag in his pocket and pulled out the hairbrush. Traces of his wifes red hair clung to the bristles.19

“There are a number of bodies which will need DNA to identify them. This is just to rule out that one of them is your wife.” Tom nodded strangely comforted by the Policeman's candour.20

“Did any of the bodies have a red blouse on?” Tom asked. The Policeman smiled sadly.21

“I don't have that information Mr Beeman, I'm sorry.” The door opened and a woman stepped inside the room. She was blond, about thirty years old with a kind face. She looked at Tom and smiled the now familiar pitying smile.22

“Mr Beeman I'm Jane Minter. I'm from Victims Support. I've been sent to be your liaison between yourself and the Police at this very difficult time.” Tom nodded.23

“Will you be able to find out if my wife is one of the dead?” He asked not looking up at her.24

“Yes. I am here to offer you support in anyway I can. The DNA from your Wife's hairbrush will be tested immediately and we should know something in a few days.” Tom got to his feet.25

“I'd like to go and see where it happened.” He said simply. Jane nodded opening the door.26

“I'll drive you Mr Beeman. The area is cordoned off, but I know someone there who could let us close.” Tom finally trusted himself to look into Jane's eyes. They were blue-grey and brimming with pitying tears.27

“Thank you.” He followed Jane out of the room. The Policeman bagged up the hairbrush and wrote on the outside. It didn't get any easier for him. There was another Wife and Son in reception waiting for him; waiting to see if her husband was one of the dead. He sighed unhappily. He couldn't wait to get home and kiss his wife and children. Days like this made him wish he'd chosen a different profession.28

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *29

Jane wove her car through the early morning traffic. Tom sat in the passenger seat, his hand clasped in his lap. He could still smell his wifes perfume. It must have gotten on his hands from the cracked bottle in her bag. 30

“What do you know about what happened?” Tom asked finally. Jane took a deep breath.31

“Just what you know really.” Tom scowled.32

“Bullshit! You know what happened! My wife is probably dead down there, and I want to know what the fuck happened. Don't lie to me Jane.” Jane's face flushed and she pulled the car over to the side of the road.33

“You won't like what I have to say Mr Beeman, But I respect your right to know.” She cleared her throat.34

“At 6.30pm Friday night 2 Underground passenger trains passing close together half a mile from Kings Cross Station exploded. The first three carriages on both trains were obliterated and all the passengers riding in those carriages died instantly. Luckily there were few passengers in the front carriages. The death toll is probably nearer to thirty. The people in the other carriages are injured mostly by flying debris and shrapnel.” Tom held up his hand to stop her.35

“I'm sorry that's enough. I don't want to hear anymore” He felt tears burning his eyes. Jane nodded and started the car.36

“I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have been quite so blunt.” Tom shook his head.37

“No. Thank you for telling me the truth. Are there any people in the hospital's that haven't been identified yet?” Jane nodded.38

“Yes, I think so. To be honest with you Mr Beeman, it's all been a complete shock for the authorities. I mean it happening so soon after the last attack. It's only been 12 hours since it happened and we're still sorting through things. It's chaos.” Tom looked down at his hands.39

“Can you take me to the hospital? I want to make sure Annie isn't one of the injured before I start mourning for her.” Jane blew out a breath.40

“Ok. The hospital where the majority were taken is Guy's. I'll take you there now. I hope to God you're not disappointed.” Tom bit his lip, but didn't meet Jane's eyes. He wasn't ready to bury Annie yet – not until he was sure she was dead. 41