Solstice - The Goddess Awakens

Lola berated herself for sleeping in again as she bounded through the doors of the Ballyvalley News, colliding with Jane, and almost knocking the middle-aged woman over, sending the paper in her hands flying all over the reception area. Jane was head of advertising at the paper and had been an employee there for over thirty years. She was conservative in her dress sense, but Lola found her to be warm and approachable.

‘Goodness me, Lola, where’s the fire?’ gasped Jane, pressing her hand over her heart. ‘You scared me half to death!’

‘I’m so sorry, Jane,’ cringed Lola sheepishly. ‘I didn’t see you there. Let me pick those up for you.’

Lola scooped up the pages from the floor. Turning over one of the posters, she saw the striking face of Victoria Jones smiling back at her. Her dazzling white teeth, and perfectly styled long blonde hair, gave her the look of perfection.

‘The girl’s family asked us to put one of these up in the window and leave a few on the counter,’ explained Jane, as she returned behind her reception desk with Lola in tow. ‘Do you recognise her?’

Lola hadn’t really been concentrating on what Jane was saying, her eyes transfixed on the picture of the girl she had seen fleetingly at Alex Stein’s party.

‘The girl in the picture, Lola, do you recognise her?’ repeated Jane.

‘Sorry, Jane, I didn’t hear you there. No, No, I don’t,’ lied Lola.

‘My heart goes out to her family,’ continued Jane sympathetically. ‘I’m sure it’s every parent’s worst nightmare, wondering where she is, and if she’s okay. I’ve none of my own but I know I’d be distracted.’

‘Yeah I know, it’s awful,’ replied Lola, as she made her way into the back office still looking at the picture. Abbey and Sebastian were hard at work, both lifting their heads to greet Lola as she came in.

‘Afternoon, Lola,’ jibed Sebastian looking at his watch. ‘We weren’t expecting you back so soon, how have you been?’

‘I’m good thanks. I just need to get back to normal, you know, take my mind off things,’ replied Lola.

‘Well I’ve plenty of stuff here for you to work on,’ smiled Sebastian, as he gestured to the pile of paper on his desk.

‘Yeah, Lola, I’m glad you’re feeling better,’ added Abbey. ‘I’m working on a few things and could do with a bit of help, only if you don’t mind?’

Despite her instincts, Lola forced herself to be nice. She and Abbey hadn’t exactly got off on the right foot, but if she was going to be working with her all summer Lola was keen to put the past behind her and move on.

‘Sure, what are you working on?’ chirped Lola trying her best to be genial. She turned and switched on her computer.

‘Well I’ve got the police report on Arthur’s death, so I’m looking into that, and the disappearance of Victoria Jones. I don’t know if you’ve heard about it?’

Lola couldn’t believe how tactless Abbey was. Lola had no intention of working on anything to do with Arthur, she couldn’t face it. Lola had quite enough to digest for the moment. Being so close to him, she didn’t think it as a good idea anyway. She was grateful that Abbey wanted to involve her, so she didn’t want her to think she wasn’t interested in helping.

‘To be honest, Abbey, I don’t think it would be such a good idea for me to work on Arthur’s story, just because I’m so close to it. But I’ll certainly help with the other piece.’

‘Of course, Lola! I understand. Sorry, I wasn’t thinking,’ replied Abbey. Lola doubted that it was a mistake but smiled anyway. ‘Help with the Victoria Jones story would be great,’ continued Abbey. ‘I’ve a lot on this week.’

Abbey filled Lola in on the background detail to the story. Lola already knew a bit of the background, having actually seen her at the party, but she felt it would be best to keep that information to herself for the time being.

‘Where’s she from, Abbey?’ Lola wondered why the paper would be covering it, as she was sure that Victoria was not from Ballyvalley.

‘She’s actually from Blackskull, which is in our catchment area. Her family have been on the phone, and would like to do an interview for the paper.’

Lola had only ever been in Blackskull a few times – it was about seven miles outside of Ballyvalley. It was a tiny place, not even as big as a village, more of a townland. It was the last place on earth that she would expect someone as glamorous as Victoria Jones to call home. That explains the posters and the coverage, thought Lola.

First things first, Lola would make a few calls, starting with the police press office. It was doubtful whether they would give her any more information than what was already out there. Another girl had gone missing, and Lola was interested to know whether they considered the disappearances to be connected. It seemed more than a coincidence to her.

Lola was just about to dial the number for the press office, when Jane came into the back office, handing her a piece of paper with two numbers and a name neatly written on it.

‘I almost forgot about these, Lola. A man called in yesterday asking to speak to you. He said he was from Tennyson and Tennyson’s Solicitors. He left a number and asked that you call him back. The other call,’ said Jane, motioning to a note in Lola’s hand, ‘was from a girl. She called first thing this morning. She didn’t leave her name, but said it was urgent.’

Looking at the numbers, Lola could see that both had Belfast area codes. Thanking Jane, she lifted the receiver and dialled the first number. The call was answered after a few rings.

‘Hello, Tennyson and Tennyson, Daphne speaking. How can I help you?’

‘Hi, my name is Lola Paige. I received a call from your office yesterday?’

‘Do you know who called you, dear?’ enquired the chirpy voice.

‘I’m sorry I don’t,’ replied Lola.

‘One moment please. I’ll just put you on hold while I make some enquiries.’

Lola was enjoying the soft music filtering through the telephone until it was interrupted by a man’s voice. The well-spoken voice was deep and gravely, Lola guessed the gentleman to be elderly.

‘Miss Paige?’

‘Yes hello, how are you? What can I do for you?’

‘I’m very well. Thank you for getting back to me. My name is Felix Tennyson and I am Arthur Delphian’s solicitor. I am also the executor of his will.’

‘Oh right, how can I help you, Mr Tennyson?’ asked Lola struggling to understand why he was interested in speaking to her.

‘Well, Arthur has left an envelope here for you, and he specifically wanted you to pick it up at our office. There are a few other matters I would like to discuss with you as well, but I would prefer to do that in person, if you don’t mind?’

‘No. Not at all! You’re in Belfast I take it? When would be a good time?’

‘Yes, we are in Belfast. Our offices are situated just off Waring Street. Are you familiar with the city?’

‘Yes, I know Waring Street,’ repeated Lola. ‘When would suit you, Mr Tennyson?’

‘Would you be able to make it tonight, say around six-thirty? It’s quite urgent, Lola,’ he added. Lola repeated the time to make sure she had heard him correctly.

‘Okay, I’ll see you at six-thirty then,’ confirmed Lola.

For a moment she had thought he had hung up, as there was a soft click at the other end, but Felix Tennyson said goodbye and put down the receiver. She wondered how much more intrigue she would have to handle. She set about calling the second number, which was answered after only three short rings.

The shaky voice of a young girl answered, ‘Hello, Mystic Moone.’ There was urgency in the answer. Lola could tell that the girl was clearly upset about something.

‘Hi, my name is Lola Paige, I.....’, but before Lola could finish the girl on the other end of the line interrupted.

‘Oh, Lola,’ said the voice with a deep sigh. ‘Thank God. Thank you for calling me back. My name is Aibgrene Moone, you don’t know me, but you may have met my mother.’

Lola didn’t quite catch her first name, all she could make out was that it began with A, but she could tell it was a Gaelic name. However, she immediately recognised her surname, Moone. It was the same as Celeste’s, and Lola remembered her saying that she had a daughter.

‘Is your mum called Celeste?’ asked Lola, making sure she hadn’t made a mistake.

‘Yes. Yes!’

‘I met your mother yesterday. Is she okay? Is everything alright?’ questioned Lola, she had a feeling that it wasn’t, but waited for Aibgrene to explain.

‘I’m so sorry for calling you, but you’re the only person I can trust,’ said Aibgrene, knowing how crazy she sounded calling a girl that she had only ever met in a dream. But she was desperate and Lola was the only lead she had. Lola’s name was the only name her mother had spoken when she appeared at the foot of her bed in a haze the night before.

‘Find Lola Paige,’ Celeste had said. Then in her mind’s eye Aibgrene remembered seeing a copy of the Ballyvalley News.

Lola still hadn’t replied, Aibgrene thought for a moment that Lola might have hung up. ‘Hello, Hello?’

‘I’m still here,’ answered Lola. ‘How did you find me?’

‘It’s a long story and I’m not sure how secure this line is, Lola. When did you last see my mother?’

Aibgrene listened intently as Lola told her about the events of the day before, skirting around the confidential parts. She guessed that Aibgrene probably knew more about the Order than she did.

‘Cyril?’ repeated Aibgrene. ‘I’ve never heard my mum talking about anyone called Cyril before. You say she knew him?’

‘Well she seemed to,’ replied Lola, knowing that he was not to be trusted. She wanted to say this to Aibgrene, but the time didn’t feel right. The poor girl sounded sick with worry, and Lola didn’t want to further compound her anguish.

‘I have to go to Belfast tonight, why don’t we meet up so we can talk properly?’ suggested Lola. ‘In the meantime keep trying your mum’s mobile phone and call everyone she knows.’

Aibgrene knew there was no point in calling her mother’s phone again – she would not be answering anytime soon. All she knew was that her mother was alive. Last night’s vision was proof of that. Aibgrene knew that her mother could travel on the astral plain, but she could only do this if she was alive. Her captors must not have realised this yet, and she prayed that they would never discover it. But now was not the time to explain this to Lola.

‘Okay, I’ll do that,’ she said flatly. ‘Where would you like to meet, Lola?’

‘Well, I’ll be on Waring Street, are you anywhere near there?’

‘Our shop, Mystic Moone is just around the corner, we live just above it. I’m in the shop now, so I’ll meet you here at about 7.30pm, is that okay?’ asked Aibgrene.

Lola agreed to the time and gave her mobile number to Aibgrene in case she needed to contact her. Hanging up the phone, Lola dedicated herself to her work again. The rest of the day flew by as she researched the Victoria Jones story, placing calls to the police press office and the former Miss Northern Ireland’s friends and family.

As always, she was waiting on the press office getting back to her, and she knew that this would probably take a while. Scanning the social networking sites, Lola started to build a profile on the missing girl. Not only was she beautiful, she was also very popular and according to her academic record, very smart as well. Coming from a wealthy background, she seemed to have everything going for her.

There was something in Lola’s gut that told her that it was unlikely that Victoria had run away, or thrown herself off the nearest cliff. All evidence seemed to point towards foul play. Glancing at the clock, Lola was pleasantly surprised to see that it was home time. Closing down her computer, she lifted her bag and headed for the door and the short walk home.