The Runaway

by Linda Huber

  This was so wrong on all levels, Nicola barely knew where to start objecting. ‘I agree London’s the most likely place, but how do we know she didn’t get the early train? Do you know for sure she didn’t leave last night? When was the last time you saw her?’

  His eyes slid away. ‘After dinner yesterday. She went upstairs to work. She was annoyed because I didn’t want her to go out to meet her friends, and I – I left her to it.’

  Nicola couldn’t tell if her tears were rage or despair. ‘On her birthday. Christ. I’m calling the police.’

  ‘No. We’ll go to them. There’ll be more chance of talking to someone senior. Come on.’

  Nicola seized Kelly’s mobile and followed as he strode downstairs. One minute it wasn’t serious enough to call the police, and the next they had to talk to ‘someone senior’. He must be feeling guilty about his role in Kelly’s disappearance, and so he bloody well should.

  She used the time in the car to call Sue, Jess’s mother, who didn’t pick up. Nicola left a message. This was like one of those dreams where you were trying to go somewhere and it was really, really urgent, but you kept getting stopped. She wiped a cold hand over her damp brow.

  A police sergeant who was too kind and fatherly to instil confidence took them into an interview room to talk. He questioned them closely, then fell silent, reading through his notes.

  ‘We’ll need a recent photo. We’ll alert colleagues in London, and we’ll check CCTV here. But if she was going to this concert it could be hard to spot her. There are several buses and extra trains going up, and a lot of people will be going in private cars too; she could have hitched a lift. Have you contacted everyone you can think of? All her friends?’

  ‘Not quite,’ said Ed. ‘We thought we should come here first.’

  Nicola shot him a look. ‘We moved here because some of her London friends were a bit unsavoury,’ she said bluntly. ‘Not the school friends, but there were others at a sports club – and I wouldn’t know how to contact them. Or her. She didn’t even take her phone. Or her laptop.’ Her voice broke, and she lifted a fist to her mouth, pressing on her lips until they hurt.

  The sergeant gathered his papers together. ‘She probably knew we’d be able to track her with her phone.’

  Nicola flinched. He wasn’t going to help them.

  The sergeant stood up. ‘I suggest we start with the measures I outlined, and you should get in touch with as many friends as you can, here and in London. By the sounds of things, she’s decided to go to Rock Home earlier than she told you.’

  ‘Isn’t there more you can do? She’s a child!’

  ‘Mrs Seaton, I do sympathise, but Kelly’s sixteen, and you said yourself she’s threatened more than once to go to London. Do you have that photo?’

  Nicola supplied a photo from her phone and left the police station, close to tears. What now? She couldn’t sit at home and wait, no matter what that sergeant said.

  She turned to Ed. ‘You go home. I’m going to the school to see who I can talk to there.’

  ‘I already spoke to the head teacher. He said they would let us know if anything happened.’

  ‘I want to talk to her class teachers, and to Amy and Beth. They might still be there. I’ll get a taxi home.’ She swung off, leaving him gaping after her. How could he be so uncaring? Their relationship was disintegrating and right now she didn’t care.

  Mr Gray, the head teacher, was concerned. ‘No sign of her yet? How worrying for you. I’ll see if any of her teachers are still here.’

  Nicola glanced at the clock on his office wall. It was only twenty to five. But this was GCSE time, and school routines were different.

  The head took his phone into the next room, and she could hear his voice but not what he was saying. A minute or two later a woman came in, and Nicola recognised Kelly’s biology teacher, a brisk woman around her own age.

  ‘You must be out of your mind with worry. Do you have any idea where she’s gone?’

  ‘We’re pretty sure she’ll have headed to London. I want to talk to Amy and Beth; I think they’re the ones she’s closest to.’

  ‘The girls have gone home, but we can phone their parents on your behalf, ask them to call you. Kelly was terribly on edge about her grandmother on Monday – how is she?’

  ‘Doing well. What did Kel say?’

  ‘It was more her manner. She wanted to check her phone in school time, which normally isn’t allowed, but of course in the circumstances I let her. She’s had a hard time settling in, as you know, though things have been much better since the, ah, rumpus in the playground.’

  ‘Rumpus in the playground?’ Nicola could only gape as Mrs Shipton told her what had happened. ‘Right… That would be the day I found her at the bus stop, all ready to–’ Nausea rose in Nicola’s gut. ‘Oh no. To go to London.’ In Kelly’s head, going to London wasn’t a biggie.

  Another teacher came in, wringing his hands but with nothing helpful to say, then Mr Gray reappeared and assured her he would get in touch with Beth’s and Amy’s parents. Nicola called a taxi and rose to go.

  Mrs Shipton walked outside with her. ‘I’ll make sure her classmates report anything they might think important. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help. I mean it – Nicola, isn’t it? I’m Deb.’

  Nicola shook hands dumbly, then got into the taxi. She sat all evening calling people in London, then spent the night tossing and turning and sweating in bed, Ed snoring beside her. Never, ever had she ever felt so alone.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Saturday, 27th June

  The house was silent as death after Nicola left for London. Ed paced up and down the living area, from the north window to the south one, back to the north… And everywhere he turned was dark. The worst, the absolute worst had happened. His Kelly…

  He’d never seen Nicola look like she had that morning when there was still no message from Kelly. Haggard didn’t come into it, and her eyes told him it was all his fault Kelly wasn’t up in her room right now. They’d called the police, and were told there was no sign of Kelly on CCTV. Ed reached out to Nic then, but she’d allowed nothing to comfort her. She had tried so hard to make this move work for them; she needed support and he’d given her nothing but grief. He slumped down on the sofa. Sit and wait for Kelly to get in touch, Ed… Wild and terrifying laughter welled up in his throat. What the shit was he doing?

  The doorbell was followed by Dorothy’s voice outside, and he leapt to his feet. He was not having her rushing over every five minutes with tea and sympathy. He grabbed his car key from the hall table and joined her outside.

  ‘No news. Nicola’s gone to London to see if she can find her at the concert, but it’s at Wembley, so she’ll have her work cut out.’ He moved towards the Land Rover, forcing her to follow on.

  ‘This is dreadful. Rob called – he wants to know if there’s anything he can do?’

  ‘Nicola might need help in London. The police are doing everything at this end. All we can do is wait.’

  She patted his arm, and it was all he could do not to jerk away. He didn’t deserve sympathy.

  ‘I’ll tell Rob to contact Nicola. And Ed – if there’s anything…’ Her voice died away.

  He nodded. ‘I’ll let you know.’

  He watched as she returned next door, then went back inside. What was he supposed to do now? He was stuck here alone with darkness falling in his head, and God knows if they’d ever be the happy family they’d once been. Because they had been happy. Happiness and Nicola had arrived in his life together the day he’d gone to an exhibition of seascapes at her gallery. She’d seen he was out of his depth and gathered him up. And if no one gathered him up now he was going to spin away.

  He went back to his place on the sofa and stared at the wall in front of him. His head was spinning and all the guilt in the world was pulling him down, down, and the demons were coming to get him. He could feel their strength and their fury. It was all his fault his fa
ult his fault…

  It was early afternoon before Nicola reached London. The roads weren’t as busy as she'd expected, but then most people who were going to Rock Home would be there already, considering it was an all-day event. She parked outside Sue’s home in south London, grabbed her phone to check she hadn’t missed anything coming in – she hadn’t – and hurried to the door. Sue opened it before she got there, and pulled Nicola inside.

  ‘No word yet? You must be worried sick. Ben’s gone to Wembley to look for her, but he texted it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.’

  Nicola hugged back. The two sets of parents had met because of the girls and truth to tell, they didn’t have much in common, but – they were still friends.

  She allowed Sue to usher her into the kitchen. ‘Is Jess–’

  ‘Upstairs. She admitted yesterday she and Kel were going to sneak away from Ben at the concert and do their own thing. You’d better talk to her yourself. Jess!’

  She yelled through to the hallway, and a moment later Jess trailed into the kitchen, long dark hair scraped back from her tearstained face.

  The girl’s eyes were wretched. Nicola put out a hand, then withdrew it as Jess sat down silently, not looking at Nicola after that first glance.

  Nicola leaned forward on her chair. ‘What – what had you arranged with Kelly, Jess? Did she have her own ticket? When did you think she’d arrive here?’

  ‘She had her ticket. She said if no one was driving her, she’d get the first train she could after her exam yesterday.’

  ‘What was the last you heard from her?’

  ‘We texted after school on her birthday.’

  ‘Nothing since?’

  A shake and a sniff. Nicola pressed a shaking fist to her mouth as the last hope was dashed. Kelly hadn’t contacted Jess.

  Sue was tapping her mobile. ‘Here’s Ben.’

  Nicola took the phone, and the sounds of distant music and happy people filled her ear. She could hardly hear Ben.

  ‘Nic – searching here’s impossible. There are thousands of kids.’

  ‘I’ll come anyway. I guess there’s police there?’

  ‘Yes. There’s a stand where you could talk to someone.’

  She wouldn’t get the car anywhere near Wembley today. Nicola clenched her fists. The train took over an hour, but it would still be the quickest way across the city.

  She’d never been to such a big event. Nicola stuck to Ben’s side as they fought their way through crowds of people milling around in the sunshine outside Wembley Stadium. The noise from inside was a constant background buzz with music and the odd cheer and yell from the crowd as an overtone. How Kelly would love this. Please, please let her be somewhere in there loving it right now.

  The police officer at the main entrance listened to her story and directed them to another officer inside, a woman this time. She checked a list on her iPad.

  ‘Yes, your local police sent in an alert. We’re watching out for all young kids alone in there, but you know, Mrs, um, Seaton, social media’s your best bet. There are probably dozens of youngsters who’ve sneaked off in there. The concert finishes at eleven and I’m sure Kelly will come home then expecting to have the riot act read at her.’

  It was no help at all. Would Kelly go to Jess’s? Or try to go straight home? Nicola turned to Ben, who was scowling into the distance. He pulled her to the side.

  ‘She’s right. Why don’t you go back to ours, and get Jess to help you have a look at all the social media sites the kids use? I’ll go back in for another look, but honestly, the chances of finding her in there…’

  Coming here had been nothing but a waste of time. Getting Jess to help her was a good idea, though. Nicola set her shoulders and started back to Sue’s, answering texts on the train. Deb Shipton had asked what she could do and so had Rob – knowing that people were concerned was comforting but also terrifying.

  The rest of the afternoon and evening were never-ending. They found nothing on social media, and according to Jess, Kelly hadn’t been on any of the sites since Thursday. Nicola called Ed, but there was nothing new in Cornwall. Ben arrived home at half eight, and Nicola steeled herself to wait, watching the hours pass on Sue’s elegant mantelpiece clock and trying to keep hysteria at bay. Kelly, love, come home. Eventually, she went to bed in Sue’s spare room and lay staring at the ceiling and listening to the sounds of London at night.

  Waking up in the strange bed – not that she’d slept more than ten minutes – was unreal, the same kind of feeling you had on waking up the morning after someone had died. Hell, no. It was only half past six but Nicola called Ed – he wouldn’t have slept either.

  His voice was ragged and hoarse. ‘What are you going to do?’

  Nicola rubbed her eyes. ‘I don’t know. I guess I’ll go back to the police, see what they say. Where is she, Ed?’

  Silence for a moment, then: ‘The police will help. London police are used to this kind of thing, I suppose.’

  He could be right, but it was no consolation.

  The police weren’t much consolation either, when she went there later that morning. The one place they could assure Nicola that Kelly wasn’t, was Wembley Stadium. The officer she spoke to took her fears seriously, but according to them it was too early to start a major search.

  ‘I would go home, Mrs Seaton – odds-on you’ll get there shortly after she does. She probably spent the night at Paddington and got the first train back.’

  It wasn’t impossible… Nicola came to a decision. There was nothing new on social media, and given that Kelly didn’t have her phone, there wasn’t going to be. She would drive home, hoping with all her heart that her girl was on her way to St Ives too. And then – and then they would see.

  Open your eyes, open your eyes. A feeble whisper from her brain, but it took every bit of strength Kelly possessed to make her eyelids flutter. It was dark. Black dark. Her head was pounding, swirling, and she couldn’t stop it. What had happened? She couldn’t think straight. Just breathe, Kel.

  Waves of nausea surged through her, and she lay panting. Her stomach – no, please, she couldn’t be sick in the dark. Or – had she gone blind? Panic intensified the nausea, and her hands fluttered out to the side, her fingers spreading over the side of something firm but soft. A mattress. Was she in hospital? She must be. Oh God. Hot tears slid down her cheeks. Go back to sleep, Kel, it’s a nightmare; it must be.

  Faint light was penetrating the dimness when she jerked awake again. Her heartbeat was pounding through her head; it hurt so much. Kelly rubbed cold fingers on her brow, then rose up on one elbow, but her head spun and she flopped down again. This was no hospital, the mattress was on the floor in a room that was too dark to see the walls. Someone must have left her here. Terror rolled through her and she moaned aloud. Were they going to come back and– she rolled on her side and retched until her stomach muscles were burning, but nothing came up except sour saliva. How had she got here?

  A memory flashed. School. She’d been at school, and it was her birthday. Was that yesterday? Or longer ago? She couldn’t remember, and darkness was seeping back into her head.

  Slivers of sunlight were glinting high on the wall opposite when she next woke, and Kelly lay still, panting back the nausea. She squinted at the window. It was covered, but thin tracks of light around the edges allowed her to make out the room. Apart from the mattress, it was empty. There was a closed door near the mattress and a dark space on the opposite wall. Another door? Faint light was slanting in through a round shape in the other corner, and Kelly blinked at it – an old fan or something. She strained her ears, but all was quiet, so whoever’d put her here wasn’t anywhere nearby. Could she get out?

  She rolled onto all fours and crawled across to the closed door, feeling her way, whimpering as the nausea returned and the headache tripled. Kneeling, she pulled at the handle, but nothing happened. Locked. Try the other door. More crawling, but she couldn’t stand up; her legs were weaker th
an the time she’d had flu. The floor was cold, concrete or something, like in a garage.

  Her body was aching by the time she reached the – yes, it was a door and it was open, and whatever was through there, it was darker than this place. Pitch black, in fact. Kelly took as deep a breath as she could without throwing up, and pulled herself to her feet, holding onto the door frame until she got her balance. She stepped into the other room, her fingers brushing against something inside the doorway and oh God, the relief – a light switch. One click and the smaller room was poorly illuminated by a single light bulb dangling from the ceiling.

  It was a toilet, with an ancient cistern high on the wall, and a tiny cracked basin. She turned the tap, and a cold trickle came. Kelly leaned over and drank, then sank to the floor again and crawled back to the mattress. When had she ever felt this bad?

  Mum, Mummy, please come.

  Chapter Twenty

  Monday, 29th June

  And still there was nothing. For the fourth time that day, Nicola ran up to the top of Coast Road and stared towards town, hoping against hope that a bedraggled little figure would be walking homewards. Or even better, that the bus would disgorge Kelly and they could salvage something from this mess. There was the bus… but no Kelly.

  Nicola’s phone buzzed, and Deb Shipton’s voice spoke in her ear.

  ‘Anything? Lord, where is she? I’ve been talking to some of the kids at school. No one’s heard anything, but they want to put out some posts on social media to alert people that Kelly’s missing.’

  The word shook Nicola to the core. Missing. This had gone beyond skiving off to a concert. Kelly was missing.