To Love a Twin

Chapter 16: The Search Begins

After searching for nearly an hour, George and Arthur left the car in town and Apparated to the Burrow. They wanted to see if Kira had, somehow, gone back there on her own. Then, George and his parents Apparated to the police station, reappearing in the alley that separated it from a coffee shop. Entering the building, they saw the same officer sitting at the reception desk that had been there the night before. He was entertaining himself by tossing balls of wadded-up paper into the trash bin that he had set up several feet away. From the look of it, he missed many more shots than he made.

George made right for him. "I need to make a missing person report," he said. "My wife is missing."

At that moment, the door up the hall opened and Detective Townsend came out of his office with Miranda Hawkins.

"Mr. Weasley," said Miranda. "Is your wife here? I just came from seeing Mrs. Benning and--"

"Kira's missing," said George, interrupting. "We dropped her off at the store so she could buy her mum those stockings, and she disappeared." George looked at the detective. "You gonna try to pin this on her mother too? Something is going on here. Kira's father is killed and now Kira is missing. It seems to be too much of a coincidence to me."

Miranda turned toward Jack Townsend, victory in her eyes. "You know damned well that Mrs. Benning didn't have a drop of blood on her nightgown. Anyone might have walked into that shop and murdered Buford Benning, then gone upstairs and put the knife on his pillow while Mrs. Benning slept. She told me she was awakened by the sirens, sat up, and saw the knife on the pillow. She picked it up because she thought her husband was playing one of his sick little stunts, making sure she knew that he could kill her at any moment. They ran a butcher shop, Jack. She had no idea the blood was his. I demand that she be released immediately."

"Can we get back to Kira here? She's six months pregnant," said George. "For Merlin's sake, please. Something has to be done. She wouldn't just run off."

"Perkins, put out a bulletin," Jack said to the officer at the desk. "You know what the girl looks like. Mr. Weasley, Miss Hawkins, come with me."

Jack led them down the hall. At a large metal door, he stopped and ran his id card through a little slot on the wall. A green light flashed and he pushed open the door and stepped inside the holding area. "Bring Mrs. Benning back into interrogation room two," he snapped to the surprised guard who had just been nodding off at his desk.

Jack led them to a small room that held nothing but a table and four chairs. He and Miranda Hawkins were seated, but George paced nervously.

Soon the door opened, and Kira's mother came into the room. She looked in surprise at them.

"Mrs. Benning," said Jack, "we need you to tell us anything, anything at all that has seemed odd or different lately. If there is anyone at all, in either your past, or your husband's or even your daughter's who might be out to get you, we need to know."

"Madelaine," said Miranda, leaning forward. "Kira is missing. Something tells us that if we find her, that we'll also find your husband's killer."

"Kira? My Kira's missing? Oh my God. How? Since when?"

"Since a little after four," said George. "I dropped her off at that women's clothing store across from the library. I was going to pick her up at four-thirty. She told the shopkeeper in Krasner's that she was going to Threads n' Needles, but the owner of that store said she never came in. She simply vanished."

George was finding it hard to remain calm. He never should have left her alone. What the hell had he been thinking? He'd known damned well there was a killer on the loose. If only he'd have thought to put a trace charm on her. If he--no, not if--when he got her back, he'd never let her out of his sight again. He thought of the pain he'd been in after Fred had died. That was nothing compared to this. He'd lost Kira and their babies, Fred's babies. He'd failed everyone.

"Please, Mrs. Benning," said Jack. "You're the only member of your family left. Only you can help Kira now. There has to be someone who wished your family ill. Did you ever have a lover, did your husband cheat anyone, owe anyone money, did Kira have any boyfriends she spurned?

Madelaine Benning raked her fingers through her dull, graying hair. "No, no, no. Me have a lover? Look at me. Who the hell would want me? I lived in a perpetual state of fear. I'd never take the chance of taking a lover. Buford, when it came to his business, was obsessive. He ran it perfectly. He drank a lot, yes, but he still made sure all his ducks were in a row as far as the shop went. He never gambled, and we don't owe anyone any money. As for Kira, the only boy I ever knew about was him," she said, nodding toward George. "I knew she was sneaking out to see you. I even covered for her, so her father wouldn't find out. I so hoped you would take her away. She used to try to get between us, you know, when Buford went after me. I hated seeing her get hurt, but I had to act like I didn't care. He liked to destroy things I cared about. Once he believed I didn't care what he did to her, he pretty much left her alone." She fell silent, collapsing over the table, as if exhausted. She hadn't spoken that much in years.

"All right then, let's think about customers," said Jack. He took a notepad from his inside jacket pocket and slapped it on the table, throwing a pen down with it. "Write down customers. Steady customers, recent ones, especially the ones who seemed odd in any way."

"Well, there's that seamstress from across the street," she began. "She liked to come in, especially the day after Buford made a big stink over something. I think she's just nosy, though. Sam, the baker from next door often came in early to buy meat for dinner. It's hard to say. I never helped out in the shop much. Kira did it, especially since she got out of high school. Since she's been gone, though, some mornings, Buford made me work the counter when he was too hung-over from being at the pub the night before. There's a Mrs. Boyden who comes in almost every day. She's quite elderly and she told me she liked to cook with fresh meat, didn't want to have to freeze anything. Oh, and the librarian, I forget his name. He uses crutches. He's been coming in quite a bit, sometimes early, sometimes at closing. He always buys one of something, like one chicken breast, or one beef patty. Nothing wrong with that, I guess. He's single."

Jack sighed in disgust. His suspect list consisted of a seamstress, a baker, a pensioner, and a disabled librarian. Not exactly denizens of Scotland Yard's Most Wanted List.

* * * * *

Kira stood in the dark at the barred door to the cell and shook it, screaming, the wound on her upper arm stinging. She vacillated between sheer terror and anger, calming herself just enough to try to think of a way out, and then returning to pure panic.

Once she and Nate had come down to the basement, he had rifled in his pocket. For the key to his office, Kira had thought. But, he'd suddenly pivoted on his crutches and grabbed her by the hair, pressing a small handgun to her head. He'd pushed her ahead of him and instructed her to be quiet and walk until they came to a place where a section of bookshelves was an angle from the thick basement wall. He'd prodded her into this old bomb shelter, poking the gun in her back.

When he had turned on the light, she had seen the cell at the other end, its barred door open, waiting. She'd realized he was going to lock her up. She tried to push back, grab his arm, but his gun had gone off, the bullet grazing her shoulder on its way to embedding itself in the ceiling. When she collapsed on the floor, he'd grabbed her by the hair and dragged her over to the cell, slamming the door and locking it with an ancient skeleton key that had hung on a hook on the wall.

While she'd lain on the floor, terrified, bleeding from the wound in her upper arm, he'd stood at the door, screaming at her for making him hurt her. Then, he'd turned and left her. She heard the clicking noise of his crutches as they faded in the distance. Then, after some time, he'd returned and told her to remove her sweater and sit with her back to the door so he could tend her wound. He had brought antiseptic and gauze to wrap her shoulder.

While he had dressed the wound, she'd tried pleading with him. "Please," she'd said, "I'm pregnant. I'm having twins. I need to see a doctor."

He merely put his hand between the bars and stroked her hair. He began saying that he was the only person she needed, how much he loved her and how he had prepared this place, he called it 'Shelter,' for her. He said that she would be safe here, that he would see to her every need. He had told her to give him the bloodied sweater and he'd dispose of it.

She had crawled over to the bed, pulled a blanket from it and wrapped it around her, to cover herself from his gaze. Then, she'd shoved the bloody sweater at him. "Bring me the package I dropped. I have other clothes in it," she'd said.

He went back out of the old shelter, gone to the door to his office, where she'd dropped it, and brought the bag back, shoving it through the metal bars.

She had cried and screamed at him, but he had merely said that she would come to be grateful in time, when she saw how carefully he would care for her.

She'd told him, again, that she was having two babies in three months. That he would have to let her out, get her to a hospital or she might die.

He had merely smiled and told her that he was reading books on how to deliver babies and he would care for her when the time came. Then, he'd take the babies and get rid of them. He had said that he wanted her to have no reminders of 'that boy.' Then he began rambling about having forgiven her for her for not saving herself for him and once the babies were gone and her body was beautiful again, she would finally be his lover. Then, he had smiled at her and left, turning off the light and wishing her a good night's sleep. She heard the door close and the dull thud the bookcase made as it settled back against the outer basement wall.

Somehow, Kira had to make him realize what he'd done. In his insanity, his recurrent theme was his desire to keep her safe, to give her shelter. Maybe if she convinced him that she was safe, was in love with her husband, that she could never love anyone who took her babies away from her, maybe he'd let her go. She stumbled over to the bed that stood at one end of the small room and lay down on it, but sleep would not come. She broke down and cried until she could do no more than lay, helpless, feeling impotent and hopeless, her fists punching the bed in the pitch black room.

* * * * *

Jack Townsend's face, with its stubbly shadow of beard and bleary eyes, betrayed the fact that he had not gone home the night before. Ottery St. Catchpole was a sleepy little town. Sure, it seemed to have more than its share of oddballs, the Weasley Family among them, but his job seldom entailed more than the occasional robbery or missing cow from the many nearby farms. This was why he'd left the London Police Force. He'd burned out, losing his belief in the basic goodness of humanity and three wives in the process.

Miranda Hawkins had wanted Madelaine Benning released immediately. But, if someone was targeting her family, there was no way he was going to release the last Benning, leaving her vulnerable to whomever had killed her husband, attempted to frame her for the crime, and taken her daughter. For now, she was going to stay in that cell for her own protection. It was better for the killer to believe that he'd gotten away with it, that they still suspected the wife. He might get cocky and slip up.

The first thing he needed to do was get to the library when it opened. He wanted to get flyers with Kira Benning's picture on them out as soon as possible. He needed to blanket the entire county with them, get the story on the news. Oddly enough, neither Madelaine Benning nor the Weasley family had photos of the girl.

Mrs. Benning had said that they had never even owned a camera and even if they had, there weren't enough moments of happiness they'd felt a need to record. George Weasley had said that he and Kira had married so quickly, privately, that they hadn't any photographer present and it just wasn't anything they had thought about yet. The library collected all the yearbooks from the high school. Kira's photo would be in the one from the previous year.

There was a knock on his office door. He looked up to see Luke Watkins pop his head in. Watkins was a good cop, but Jack had always suspected that his heart wasn't really in the job. At the end of the day, Luke clocked out and went home. He lived in town, in a little bungalow with his wife and kids. They were another of those families, like the Weasleys, that seemed to spurn the mainstream. His wife educated the children at home until it came time for high school. They then sent them to some school up north. It was difficult to pin Luke down on anything regarding his private life. He sidestepped most questions with vague answers and a quick change of subject. He never attended any of the police social functions either, always claiming to be too busy. Well, there was nothing wrong with maintaining one's privacy, Jack figured. Watkins had good instincts. The moment he had arrested Madelaine Benning, he had told Jack that he didn't think she'd done it.

"Have you been here all night?" he asked. "What happened? Has there been any news in the Benning murder?"

"Luke," said Jack, "come in. Her daughter, Kira Weasley, went missing last night. The husband and father-in-law dropped her off at Krasner's women's clothing store. They came to pick her up a half hour later and she was gone."

Luke immediately became concerned. "She's pregnant," he said.

"I know, Luke. I want every available officer out there this morning, canvassing every business on that street. I want to find out who was on that street yesterday between four and four-thirty. I'll stop in the library and get the yearbook so we can get a photo of her circulated. The library closes at four on Fridays. Maybe the staff saw something as they were leaving. I'll question them while I'm there. And the husband is bringing in something of Kira's for the dogs. A team of officers with bloodhounds will be coming in from Exeter later this morning. I called them last night."

Luke nodded and left the office. He walked down the hall to the male officers' toilets. He saw that someone was in one of the stalls, so he waited, washing his hands and pretending to straighten his uniform in front of the mirror until the other man left. He had to get to the Ministry. The Minister of Magic held the affairs of his former cohorts in the Order of the Phoenix close to his heart. He would want to have his own people on the case. Kira Weasley may not be a witch, but she had become one of their own. Also, George Weasley was now the Wizarding world's largest employer, second to the Ministry itself. He was, by now, the wealthiest wizard in England. This would be a high profile case.

Luke Watkins took a step, turning away from the mirror. With a pop, he vanished, reappearing a moment later in the Ministry of Magic. The door in front of him had a silver plate on it. It said 'Office of the Minister.' He opened the door and walked inside.

Sara Cross, Shacklebolt's secretary, looked up. When she saw it was Luke, she smiled. "Oh, glad you could make it. The rest of your fellow Aurors are inside. They're having their weekly meeting."

Luke opened the door to the Minister's office and walked in. Merkel was reporting on a problem that had happened in Wales the previous Wednesday. It seemed that a bachelorette party for a young, soon-to-be married witch had gotten out of hand. She and the bridesmaids had gone into a Muggle bar where male dancers were featured and had bewitched them into giving a private performance. Merkel was talking about the incident very seriously, not noticing that the rest of them, including Kingsley Shacklebolt, were finding it difficult to keep from laughing.

"Were any of the Muggle dancers injured?" asked Kingsley.

"No, so Sam and I obliviated them and issued citations to the witches involved. They will, most likely, face fines."

"Good. So, that's it?" asked Kingsley. For the moment, the wizarding world was fairly quiet. So many families had lost loved ones during the recent dark times; they were hunkering down, licking their wounds. Although they had supported his efforts to round up and extinguish the races of Dementors, Giants, and Acromantula, he had taken some heat in not going after all the werewolves.

But Kingsley had argued that not all had joined forces with Tom Riddle. As a compromise, he had opened Remus Lupin Centers around the country. During each full moon, Healers were present to provide Wolfsbane Potion and a safe, secure place for them to stay during that time of the month.

Werewolves who willingly utilized the Remus Lupin Centers were offered financial incentives to help combat the poverty that resulted from the fear, mistrust, and employment discrimination they faced. Kingsley had deliberated long nd hard about what to do about the Dementors, Acromantula and Giants. The thought of exterminating entire species was terrible, but at the end of the day, all of them possessed human reason and cunning. All sentient creatures had to be held responsible for their intellectual choices. They had chosen to align themselves with the forces of evil. They were not going to get another chance to band together with any new Dark Wizards that may come along.

"Minister Shacklebolt," said Luke. "I left my post at the Ottery St. Catchpole Police force to bring news of a new problem." He saw that he had everyone's attention. "It concerns the Weasley Family. George Weasley's wife is missing. She is a Muggle, expecting twins at the end of January. Just two days ago, her father was murdered, and his wife was arrested for that crime. I used my powers of Legilimency and remain convinced the wife is innocent. My superior on the police force has come to concur. But, with how high profile the Weasley family has become, their service during the dark times, the prominence of George Weasley in our business community, I thought..."

"Is there any hint these crimes came from any of our people?" asked Kingsley.

"No magic was used in the death of her father. I had the Improper Use of Magic Office do a sweep. But as for the abduction, it's impossible to say. We don't know, exactly, where she was taken."

"Bloody Hell," blurted out Sam Jorkins. "We know them, Merkel and I. We were responsible for getting them married. They invited us to the Grand Opening of their new store a few weeks back. Remember? We saw you there, Minister. She's a nice girl, for a Muggle. George Weasley must be out of his mind with worry. I remember when my Aunt Bertha went missing. It was terrible, the not knowing."

"We have to be on top of this," said Kingsley. "Merkel, Sam, you know the girl. So does Harry. I want the three of you in Ottery St. Catchpole with Luke. Luke, you keep your ear out for anything the Muggles might find out and report back to Merkel. If it was one of us, then it was probably for profit, in which case George will get a ransom owl soon. If it was a Muggle, then just assist however you can. We can go places, after all, where the Muggle police cannot. I don't care if the four of you have to search every building in that town. Find her. When the Daily Prophet gets wind of this, they'll be on it like vultures. Harry, I'm sending you because I know how close you are to the Weasleys. Don't let it cloud your judgment."

"I won't, Minister," said Harry, who would have gone regardless.

Luke, Harry, Sam, and Merkel stood and Disapparated, Luke heading back to the Ottery St. Catchpole Police Station. Merkel, Sam, and Harry Apparated in the front yard of the Burrow just as Molly Weasley was opening the front door to check to see if Arthur and George were returning from town, where they had gone to provide the Muggle police with something of Kira's. It was for the bloodhounds, Arthur had told her. Molly shuddered at the implications of that. If the bloodhounds found her, she'd most likely be dead. She and Harry gave each other a big hug, and she ushered them all inside.

"Any news?" asked Harry.

Molly, her eyes red from a sleepless night of tears and worry, said, "No, Harry. Arthur stayed home from work. He and George have gone into town to take in something she's worn for the Muggle bloodhounds to track. Who would do such a thing? She's pregnant. What kind of person would do this to a pregnant girl? Today...today is her birthday, you know. Her nineteenth."

Merkel recapped what the Minister had said, explaining they were there to investigate whether or not there was a wizard connection to the disappearance. Soon, they heard the sound of Apparitions in the yard. The door opened to admit Arthur and George.

Merkel immediately began questioning George, asking if any suspicious people had been hanging around their place on Diagon Alley. When he explained the possibility that it might be a wizard looking for a ransom payoff, George felt relief. "Well, that'd be good then, right? They wouldn't have to hurt her because they could modify her memory so she wouldn't be able to say who they were. I'd just pay it and they'd let her go."

Immediately, George began to plan for the security precautions he'd put in place when he got her back. Their new house would have Anti-Apparition spells on the entire property; he'd hire House-Elves to protect her and the children; he'd place a trace on them as well, so they could never go anywhere he couldn't find them.

"Now, another possibility I came up with," said Merkel. "You're a newlywed. Is it possible that you left some other girl, whether witch or Muggle, feeling spurned?"

"No, not at all," said George. But, all of a sudden, a picture came to mind, of Verity, standing in the store, the look of shock and hurt in her eyes as he had introduced Kira as his wife. Could she have been plotting against Kira all this time? "Well, maybe, but no, I really don't think so," he said.

"What?" prodded Merkel. "We have to follow any suspicion, no matter how unlikely."

George explained about Verity, telling them that he really doubted it because she had seemed to get over her disappointment quickly. He told them that he and Ron had temporarily placed her in charge of the Hogsmeade store, and she was staying at the Three Broomsticks.

Merkel looked at Sam. "You check her out, Sam. But be subtle. She may be innocent."

Sam nodded and immediately Disapparated to Hogsmeade to seek out the young witch.

* * * * *

Jack Townsend parked his car in front of the library, by the 'no parking' sign. One of the perks of being a cop, he thought. He saw several police cars on the street, their occupants canvassing the shopkeepers in their businesses. He sprinted up the stairs and entered the library. It was nearly empty. The two middle-aged women working the circulation desk smiled and softly wished him a good morning as he passed.

Nathan was irritated. He had stopped at the local McDonalds to bring Kira breakfast but she had thrown it at him, calling him crazy, spewing filthy words that shocked and appalled Nathan. That boy must have taught her those words. His mother would never have used such language. Kira had behaved loudly and coarsely. Now he had to punish her.

He realized that he had made a mistake with her the previous night. He had tipped his hand by telling her how much he adored her. He would let her sit, all alone, in the dark and go hungry for a day, he'd decided. By tomorrow, she would be much more cooperative. She had water, and if she kept resisting, he could turn that off too, then the heat. Nathan giggled aloud. He could even disallow her to have any clothing. She would certainly realize how vulnerable she was if she had to spend her life naked. She had to realize that she was completely dependent upon him, that she would die without him.

When he brought her food the next day, he would lay down the rules. He would not abide any more of her verbal abuse. She would miss a meal for every single name she called him, for every time she disobeyed him or was less than...polite. She would lose her other privileges too.

Nathan was so lost in his thoughts of Kira that he did not even notice the man standing in front of him until he'd said, "Excuse me."

Nathan jumped. "Yes, I'm sorry, how can I help you?"

Jack took his badge from his pocket and showed it to the librarian. "I need one of the high school yearbooks for police business," he said. "Also, I want to ask you and your staff some questions relating to the disappearance of Kira Weasley."

"Disappearance? Kira Weasley?" he asked, suddenly nervous.

"You might know her as Kira Benning, the daughter of the butcher who was murdered up the street two days ago. She's married now."

"Oh, yes, of course," said Nathan. "Terrible business, that. You say the girl is missing?"

"Yes, she disappeared right across the street yesterday, around four-thirty. The library closed at four. Did you happen to notice her? Her mother says that she made this library a frequent stop. Anything you might have seen, noticed. Even any vehicles you'd seen on the street yesterday would be extremely helpful. She is pregnant, with twins, rather large. She'd be hard to miss."

"I did notice a car, a dark blue car, drop off a girl in front of Krasner's at about closing time. I was busy with closing and securing the building. It might have been Kira. It generally takes my staff about five to ten minutes to shut down the computers and turn on the security system."

"Security system? Do you have video surveillance?"

"No, just an alarm," said Nathan.

"What time did you actually leave the library?

"I left about 4:15 to 4:20."

"Did anyone ever bother her when she came in the library?"

"No, she was always alone. Last year, she came in with some boy a couple times. He had red hair."

"That would be her husband," Jack said.

"Are you sure that her husband isn't involved? I read somewhere once that the husband is always the most likely suspect in cases like these. A woman is more likely to be killed while pregnant than at any other time."

"Mr. Weasley has a strong alibi, witnesses who can account for his whereabouts. I think you've been reading too many of your true crime books, Mr. Lockslip."

Nathan flushed. "You're probably right. Well, if you'd like, I'll get your yearbook. You're welcome to speak with my staff."

Nate deliberately maneuvered his crutches with great difficulty, wanting the detective to think he did not have the physical capacity to be guilty of these crimes. He retrieved the yearbook from the shelf and returned. He handed it to the detective, wanting him to just leave. Nate could feel himself sweating.

Jack looked down at the yearbook. "One last question, Mr. Lockslip. Am I correct in my assumption that you had very little personal contact with Kira Weasley?"

Nate smiled. "I barely know her. At least not more than any of the kids who come in here. I used to help her locate materials for homework assignments, recommended a few books now and then."

"Do you know exactly what year all the kids who use this library graduate, Mr. Lockslip?"

Nathan blinked. "Excuse me?"

"If you didn't know her well, how did you know which yearbook to give me? I'd never specified which year I wanted."

"Well, she hasn't asked any homework related questions for well over a year. I'd just assumed she had graduated with last year's class.

Jack took his card from his pocket and put it on the desk. "If you think of anything else, call me."

"I...I will," said Nathan.

After questioning the rest of the library employees and learning nothing, Jack left the library and walked outside. He spied Luke and walked up to him. "Anything?" he asked.

Luke took out his notebook. "Mrs. Krasner, in the ladies dress shop showed me the register tape from yesterday. It is time-stamped 4:19. She said that Kira told her that she needed to buy something at Threads n' Needles before it closed. So, that corroborates George Weasley's story. Both stores close at 4:30 on Fridays. The Weasleys showed up at 4:25 and waited a few minutes before George went looking for her in the store. The bloodhound team from Exeter has arrived. Their van is parked up the street. There are three officers and dogs."

"It's time to bring them on, I guess."

Luke turned and motioned to the van. The officers got out and walked around the rear where they opened the cargo doors. Soon, three men were being led up the street by the dogs, who seemed thrilled to be let out of the van. Jack walked over to his car and removed the sweater that George Weasley had given him earlier that day from its plastic bag. It was light blue with a large pink letter K on it. He remembered that Kira had worn it to the police station Thursday night. They held the sweater in front of the dogs' snouts.

The dogs began rooting around the entrance of the clothing store. They headed toward the curb, as if to cross the street toward the library. Then, suddenly, halfway across the street, the lead dog looked up the street toward the butcher shop and took off running. The other dogs followed, howling. They led the officers to the driveway behind the shop and began jumping on one of the trash cans, knocking it over in their exuberance. One of the dog's handlers bent and removed a pencil from his pocket. He used it to lift up something.

"Detective Townsend," he said. "Here!"

Jack came over. It was the sweater Kira Weasley had been wearing at the butcher shop the day before when she had gathered clothing for her mother's arraignment. A hole was on the left shoulder, at the top of the arm. There was a second hole about an inch behind. The entire upper left quadrant of the sweater was encrusted with dried blood.