Willis Palace

The below-mentioned event is not a story but a letter from James B. Rayne, a decorated secret service officer of England to his wife Emma.

James is currently working on a 40-day-long assignment in Congo.

Something very unusual happened with James during his 2nd week but it still wasn’t worth mentioning since, in his line of work, things have to be more than illegal to even be borderline strange.

He writes this letter, the night before his flight back home.

Willis palace,
Arthur Street,
County hall,
Nottingham.

Hi, Emma,

I’m writing this letter because I think I’m losing my mind. I can’t share this with anyone else apart from you. The only other friends I have are from work and I’m certain they will not keep this a secret and will deem me unfit for my assignment. You must be worrying about what made me put down this letter. Do follow my words carefully my love for it may seem implausible at times.

While it had only been 10 days, things were moving smoothly. I had my curated routine and nothing seemed odd. It’s not too crowded here even during peak hours. I drive my car without much traffic and the surprise occurrence of a pedestrian crossing the flow is rare.

On the evening of 1st April, I had wrapped up my work on time and had just gotten in my car when a boy approached me. The boy had this steady demeanour about him which made me not jump out of my seat noticing a white lad in Congo. I got the feeling that he wanted me to say something first, so I inquired about his name.

He told me his name was William and he too was from England. I asked him what he aspired from me and the answer he gave should have made me ignore him. But destiny had some other plans. He told me, he knows about a gruesome murder and he seeks my help. This is the point which will haunt me for the rest of my life. At first, I thought he is just a kid pulling a prank on me so I didn’t invalidate his request. The desperation in him was real. It would have been a mortal sin to not listen to what he had to say. I asked him more questions. Questions like, who has been murdered? How does he know about it? Why is he seeking my help?

His replies were extremely precise and he never flinched. Emma, he never flinched. My interest was only getting stronger. Everything he said, seemed completely plausible and yet so rare. He told me, a boy named Aron Willis from Nottingham was abducted and trafficked to Africa. The boy was resilient and he had to pay the price of his resistance. He also knew the exact location where Aron’s body was buried. All of these made me filled with anxiety. A little boy confiding in me about things which even adults refrain from discussing. I had to discern the amount of truth behind his words.

Even if the child was just pulling a prank, God wants us to attend to every soul on this earth. I inquired about the time of the kidnapping and then the murder to which he merely replied, “It’s been some time”. He recognized I was from Nottingham and hence he sought my aid. I was immersed in his mystery so I asked him to navigate me to the place where this boy was buried.

He told me the location and it was about 2 hours from our current place. The drive was long, so while driving, I engaged with him in a friendly conversation. This was my attempt to comprehend more about this boy who introduced himself as William. The conversation went something like this. “So you’re also from Nottingham. Tell me the odds on that ah! I recently moved to this beautiful palace near the county hall. Willis palace. Mesmerizing place. Got it for my wife. She likes quiet neighbourhoods. Ever been to that side of the country?” To all this, he replied, “Drive faster”.

When we had reached the place of his mentioning, he made me pull suddenly and pointed to an abandoned garage. “There. Right in the middle of that garage.”, said the boy. I asked him to stay inside but he refused. Since it was abandoned and there was no sign of any human nearby, I gave in to his request. He accompanied me and we started digging using some of the tools which were already there. The boy was furious. Almost a maniac when it came to digging. Like he thought he was about to save a soul instead of setting it free. The hysteria was contagious and as a result, I dug like a maniac too. It wasn’t long till we actually hit something which wasn’t dirt or rock. An actual carcass was lying in front of us. It was of a child no older than a 6-year-old. And then I heard a police siren going around the lane. I had expected it. Someone informing the authorities about a suspicious vehicle parked in front of an abandoned garage, that reeks of something shady. I told the boy to sit in the car and not talk with anyone until my further instructions.

The police entered within a minute or two and the site of me holding a shovel and a child’s carcass in front weren’t painting a good picture. Before they formulate any more conspiracy theories, I showed them my badge and informed them about my current purpose for visit. They made their call and while they were doing that, I rang Ellie, she is my colleague and a master at data search. I told her to go through any report which had been lodged regarding the disappearance of a 6-year-old named Aron Willis and mail me all the details. It didn’t take the officers much time to confirm my identity and let me go. While they confiscated the carcass, I walked towards my car when suddenly my phone buzzed.

Within all the detail, there was a monochrome photograph of Aron Willis. It looked suspiciously similar to William.

To be honest, I had expected the boy to not be there but I was wrong. There he was. Sitting in the front seat, completely indifferent to the fact that we both had just dug up the carcass of a 6-year-old, his supposed friend. By this time, I was marginally afraid of this kid. I placed myself quietly at the driver’s end and showed him the picture. Asked him to confirm whether it was of Aron Willis’s or not. He stared at the picture like he wasn’t accustomed to mobile phones. It took him a good half of a minute before he confirmed. I was packed with irrational thoughts. I finally told him that he had a striking resemblance to Aron to which he said something for which I wasn’t prepared. He told me Aron Willis was his younger brother. And then I made my gravest mistake my love. I was so stunned, I didn’t ask him any further questions. I wanted to know but his eyes didn’t allow me.

He asked me to pull near a trailer and thanked me for helping him. Still at the epitome of indifference. At this point, I just wanted to get away from this kid. I tipped my hat and drove as fast as possible. I was panting by the time I reached home. I wanted to forget about this evening. I drank straight up and tried to put myself in a state of deep sleep and after 2 bottles, I was ultimately successful.

28 days later, all things had almost diminished from my mind until I got a call from one of the officers who had confiscated the carcass. He revealed something which has forced me to write this letter to you, my love. His revelation has made me question my whole understanding of that night’s situation. Oh, my love, forgive me if my words don’t seem sane to you now but I promise you, Emma, this is what had happened. The officer had told me after testing their forensics team found out the time of death was around the 1980s. They told me Aron Willis was killed 40 years ago. After this shattering news, I went through the mail which Ellie had sent that night. The details which I had ignored were glittering in front of me in all its horror.

Aron Willis, a resident of Willis Palace was abducted on the night of 1st April 1981 from his yard. He was living with his father, grandmother and his elder brother William Willis. William was killed in a road accident a year later and his father sold the palace to a church which remained unpossessed until James B. Rayne moved in.