by Darren Young
‘Are you happy to pick up with our conversation from the other night?’
Danni looked at Sam, as if for approval, and nodded slowly.
‘OK,’ said Laura, and decided not to mention the email until the time was right.
The conversation was a little more stilted than it was on the phone. Laura wasn’t sure if it was Sam’s presence or that they were face to face, but Danni wasn’t as forthcoming as she had been, and Laura found herself digging deep into what she could recall from her reporter’s training, to coax the answers out. And even then it felt to her that Danni was holding something back.
Maybe it was also, Laura thought, because it all sounded a little far-fetched now they were talking about it in person, and she wondered if Danni felt the same. Sam seemed to echo those doubts with her silent hostility.
The initial conversation focused mainly on Danni’s father and the way he had shut himself off from her after the accident. Laura explored what had been said and asked Danni to recall the exact words if she could. The subject of the photographs came up, but Laura was quick to put that into perspective.
‘It does seem strange, but there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation,’ she said. ‘They could be mislaid, or lost, or maybe they just didn’t take any.’
‘Wouldn’t that be weird?’ said Sam, frowning and seizing an opportunity to disagree with Laura. ‘Not taking any pictures of your kid?’
‘It was a different time. No camera phones like now.’
Laura looked up at Sam, who stared back, making her feel a little intimidated. She quickly moved on to a new question. ‘What about the leaflet?’
Sam looked at Danni again.
‘It was in her address book. My dad acted as if it didn’t exist but I know what I saw. And why would my mum have it?’
Laura shrugged. That question had been bugging her too. Without it, the evidence was thin at best, but the leaflet added a layer of mystery that she couldn’t ignore. She’d driven more than two hundred miles because of it.
‘I don’t know. I just don’t want to get carried away.’
‘But what do you think?’
‘I think we should take it one step at a time. Can I take a photo of you on my phone?’
‘What for?’ said Sam.
‘With Danni’s agreement, I’d like a recent picture to show Jessica’s mum.’
Laura looked at Danni, who nodded. ‘OK, but I need to go to the loo first.’
Laura and Sam sat quietly as she left them at the table, and Laura pretended to write some additional notes on her pad, hoping that Danni would return quickly. To her relief, she did, and Laura could see she had merely tidied up her hair and make-up, so before she sat back down she took a close-up image of her face with the blank off-white wall behind her.
‘It would be good to get one of you when you were younger.’
Danni smiled and seemed more relaxed now. ‘My dad has them in a box, but I’ll get one.’
‘Will you go to live with him at his new place?’ Laura felt herself empathising with the girl. She couldn’t imagine losing her mother or having her father treat her like that, and it was hard not to feel sorry for someone who’d had to cope with both at the same time.
‘I suppose I’ll have to,’ said Danni, glancing at Sam.
‘What will that be like?’
‘No idea. But I’m out all day and he works in the evenings so I guess that’ll help.’
‘It won’t help your relationship.’
Danni shrugged. ‘It can’t get much worse.’
‘You must be glad to have Sam.’
It was intended as a way of bringing the other girl into the conversation and thawing some of the frostiness, but it didn’t work. Danni’s friend merely glared at her.
‘What about other friends? Family?’
Danni shook her head.
‘Boyfriends?’
‘Don’t go there.’
‘Why not?’
Sam was staring at Laura but she resisted looking back directly at her, keeping eye-contact with Danni instead.
‘There’s only been one, and we split up a few months ago.’
‘And he’s out of the picture now?’
Sam nodded but Laura saw Danni look down.
‘But?’
‘I slept with him. After the funeral.’
Sam looked at her but said nothing. Danni shrugged, embarrassed, her cheeks flushed.
‘You were grieving,’ Sam reminded her.
‘And now he keeps calling and texting.’
‘How is this relevant?’ Sam asked Laura.
‘It probably isn’t. I just like to get the full picture.’
Laura looked at Danni. She appeared to be drained too, as if she hadn’t been sleeping well, which was hardly surprising, Laura thought. She knew it was probably a good time to call a halt to the interview; she had quite a lot of background, and a photo, which she would show Sandra soon, although she wanted to check it against the pictures of Jessica first.
‘Can I just ask one more question?’ she asked. ‘It’s a bit random.’
Danni looked up and nodded.
‘Do you remember having a toy dog? With a pink sparkly lead?’
‘No, why?’ Danni said, shaking her head.
‘A witness who saw Jessica Preston said she was carrying a pink lead.’
‘Witness? I thought no one saw her,’ said Danni, and Laura felt Sam’s big brown eyes bore into her.
‘Maureen Upson.’
Danni and Sam looked at each other.
‘You know her?’
‘I’ve heard of her. I heard that she said she took Jessica,’ said Danni.
‘She says things when she’s drunk.’
‘How often is that?’ said Sam.
‘Enough for the police to discount her as a witness. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t see her.’
‘Doesn’t mean she did, either.’
‘Sandra confirmed Jessica had a pink lead that day. So if she did see her, then Jessica was walking away from the sea not towards it and she might have been taken.’
‘Big assumption,’ said Sam, and Laura nodded.
‘I know. But I’m trying to get all the facts. Danni?’
‘I agree with Sam,’ she said, her voice colder. ‘And, if I’m accusing my dad of kidnapping me, I want to rely on a bit more than a woman who lied about it.’
Sam nodded and stared at Laura, barely hiding a sneer. Laura closed her notepad. It was definitely time to end the interview.
38 | Danni
‘What’s in this for you?’
They were putting their coats on and saying their goodbyes when Sam asked the question. Danni was about to tell her friend not to be rude when she realised she wanted to know too. She had been surprised at how young and inexperienced Laura was in comparison to the image she’d formed in her head after reading her news story. The article had really made her believe that Jessica Preston could be alive and that her disappearance could have been covered up, but their meeting had made her question it all.
‘I won’t deny it would be an incredible story if Jessica was found,’ said Laura.
‘You want the glory,’ said Sam.
Laura shrugged. ‘It’s my job. But I wouldn’t be here if I thought there was nothing worth looking into.’
‘Because of what that drunk said she saw?’
‘It’s just one witness. There’s a lot to go on and, after meeting Sandra, I think she deserves better. I think she deserves to know what really happened that day.’
‘So it’s the truth you’re after, not the glory?’
Laura looked at Sam challengingly. ‘Say what you like, but don’t we all want the truth here?’
‘And you think you can do better than the police?’ Sam challenged right back.
‘I’m just worried that the drowning theory is an easy one to settle on.’
Laura paid the bill and they stepped outside into the sun.
; ‘And what do you think now?’ Danni asked.
Laura shrugged. ‘I don’t honestly know. But you called me, remember? So you think things aren’t right. I just want to find out if the two things are connected.’
‘And then you’d go to the police?’ Sam asked.
‘Yes. But only if I was sure,’ Laura said, and looked at Danni. ‘If your dad knew you had contacted me, and that you thought you were Jessica, they’d be no going back even if there was nothing in it.’
Danni nodded.
‘So if I investigate, and there’s no connection, at least he’ll never have to know.’
‘And, if there is, you get your big story,’ said Sam.
‘I’ve never hidden that. But I have to be sure too, because it’s my career at stake if I’m wrong.’
‘So what next?’ said Danni.
‘Give me a week to do some digging,’ Laura said, ‘and then we’ll decide. I’ll send you an update in a couple of days. Until then, we keep it between us, right?’
She looked at Sam, whose eyes widened. Danni also shot her friend a glance.
‘OK.’
Laura left them at the café doors and began walking to her car. Danni had parked on the road directly outside the café.
‘What do you think?’ Danni asked Sam once they were alone.
‘There’s something about her I’m not keen on.’
‘You’d never tell.’
Sam sniffed. Danni smiled and opened her car door. Her phone beeped and she checked her text messages, shaking her head.
‘Euan?’ asked Sam.
Danni nodded. He wanted to meet her, and from the way it was worded you’d never know there was any problem between them. There was an earlier message she’d missed from her dad, too, telling her that a letter had arrived for her. She texted back, saying she’d drop by to collect it, and then she deleted Euan’s message.
As she drove back to the house, her phone beeped again.
‘Let me,’ said Sam, ready to type an angry response before calming down as she read it. ‘Oh – it’s your dad. He says he’ll be out but you know where the key is if you don’t have yours.’
Danni nodded and a few minutes later they pulled up on the driveway of her house and went inside to find an empty shell: plain walls and carpets with indentations where furniture had been once.
‘He hasn’t wasted much time.’
Danni was already scanning the space. The pile of boxes that she’d seen on her last visit had gone and just one sat in their place, a stiff cardboard box that had originally been used to package paper and was now full to the brim with a mixture of items: the TV remote, a scarf and gloves, and an opened packet of headache tablets. On the kitchen work surface, a letter with her name on it was propped against the wall next to the kettle, one of the few remaining items unboxed, and she put it into her handbag and walked over to the box.
‘Never realised it was this big,’ called Sam from the next room as she walked around on the wooden floorboards. Danni moved the items at the top of the box to the side until she could see what was underneath. It was a collection of things that her father had put to one side, or pulled from the other boxes, that were clearly intended for the new flat.
She looked for the silver photograph box in it but it wasn’t there.
Near the bottom, she could see a blue folder, creased and tatty, that had been overfilled until it was ready to burst. She reached down and lifted the flap and saw that it was filled with papers, some very official-looking, others still in their envelopes. She tried to lift her hand and make room to open the flap fully, but the items on top were too heavy.
At that moment she heard her father’s car pull on to the drive. She snatched her hand away from the box and stepped back into the middle of the room. As he walked in, she pulled the letter out of her bag and clutched it.
‘Morning,’ he said, as cheerful as she’d seen him for some considerable time. She declined his offer of a cup of tea.
‘Like what you’ve done with the place, Mr E.’ Sam came back in and Thomas smiled and greeted her. He nodded towards the letter in Danni’s hand.
‘Anything interesting?’
‘Just trying to sell me something.’
They said their goodbyes and went out to the car. Danni wasn’t sure if her father had believed her about the letter but she knew her friend hadn’t.
‘What is it really?’ Sam asked after closing her door.
‘It’s about the job.’
‘What about it?’
‘They want me to start in a month.’
Danni clenched her teeth and grinned, and Sam leaned across to hug her. ‘That’s great, Dan. Congrats.’
Danni went through the motions but wasn’t sure if congratulations were in order; she hadn’t expected to get the job so hadn’t thought there would be a decision to make. She turned the key in the ignition and did a three-point turn in the road to head back towards Sam’s. As she moved forward, out of the corner of her eye she saw a figure try to move out of sight – a male, over six foot and dressed in a dark hoodie and even darker jeans. He had been standing to the side of the gate and hadn’t expected her to turn the car around.
‘Is that Euan?’ Sam asked her. Danni knew it was but didn’t answer. The tall figure tried to walk away with his back to them. ‘Is he following you?’
‘Leave it, Sam.’
Her friend was already unbuckling her seatbelt.
‘No way. I’m sorting this once and for all.’
39 | Laura
It was early evening when Laura pulled on to the drive, completely exhausted and despondent at the way the meeting had ended; she was glad to have the house to herself for the evening. Her parents were at a fundraiser at the hospital that wouldn’t finish until around midnight, and she planned to be in bed much earlier than that, but it gave her time to eat, run herself a bath and collect her thoughts without having to talk to them – and without putting her mother in the difficult position of having to lie about her whereabouts. As she lay in the bath, she wondered how she’d cope in Danni’s predicament, if her mother were no longer around, and decided she was just glad she didn’t have to.
When she got out, she sent Danni a text to thank her for her time, and to test the water now that she’d had time to reflect on their meeting. She was surprised to get a reply almost immediately, and a friendly one at that.
Hi Laura pleased to meet u 2. hope u had a good journey back. sorry if I was a little off today looking forward to talking to you again Danni
Laura read the text a second time as she lay on her bed. It felt as though it was from the real Danni, without Sam’s influence. She spontaneously called her.
Danni answered on the third ring, and was warmer and more talkative than she had been earlier that day. Laura listened as she told her about her father, the box, and the incident with Euan.
‘Are you worried about him?’
‘He’s just a bit intense. He’d followed us from the café.’
‘That’s creepy.’
‘Sam sorted it. He asked her who you were.’
‘Should I be worried?’
‘About Euan?’
‘About what Sam said.’
Danni laughed and Laura laughed with her. ‘She didn’t like me, did she?’
‘She’s looking out for me, that’s all. You shouldn’t worry about either of them.’
‘What did Sam do?’
‘Tell him to stop.’
‘And will he?’
‘She has a way with words.’
Danni shared a little background on her and Sam’s friendship and how protective she had always been. Laura wished that, in hindsight, the two of them had been alone when they’d met, because it was much easier talking to her like this.
‘I did have something else I wanted to ask you about,’ she said.
‘Go on.’
‘We didn’t really talk about your mother.’
There was a silence.
> ‘You don’t have to,’ Laura told her.
‘I want to, but it’s just—’
‘We can leave it.’
‘No. Carry on,’ said Danni.
‘You said when we first talked that she wanted to tell you something.’
‘I think she did.’
‘How come?’
‘She seemed to be building up to it. Little things – it’s hard to explain, but I knew her and how she approached things.’
‘Why didn’t you ask her? It sounds like you were close.’
‘We were. But … ’
Laura waited rather than push her.
‘I think my dad might have stopped her.’
‘Would she have let him?’ Laura asked.
‘He could – can – be quite domineering at times. I think he persuaded her to keep quiet. That was the impression I got when I overheard them, anyway.’
‘And she died soon after that?’
It went quiet.
‘Danni?’
‘You think they’re connected?’
‘I’m just asking,’ said Laura defensively.
‘No, you’re saying it might not have been an accident!’ ‘You told me she went off the road.’
‘So?’
‘Yet you said she was a good driver and knew the roads well. Could someone else possibly have been involved?’
‘This is insane.’
More silence. Laura was worried she had lost her again.
‘Did you question it at the time?’ she asked.
‘It was really bad weather. The police and coroner both said she must have lost control and couldn’t stop in time.’
‘But if she was a good driver she’d have been going slowly, wouldn’t she? I read the coroner’s report on the internet. She hit three crash barriers and went through the third. Why not stop after hitting the first one?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘I’m just saying, if there was another car on the road, then maybe … ’
‘This is ridiculous.’
‘Can we rule it out completely?’
Silence. Laura waited.
‘We can rule out my dad,’ Danni said. ‘He was with me in the house.’
‘Look, I’m not saying it wasn’t an accident. I ju—’
