Pretty Little Things

by T. M. E. Walsh

  CHAPTER 36

  CHARLOTTE

  Elle knew something was wrong when Jade’s mother rang asking if we’d seen Jade and when was the last time we had heard from her.

  I think I knew then, too, because it just wasn’t like her to leave and not have her mobile on. I was conscious of Elle’s reaction, further agonising over it all via social media. Speculation can be bad for the mind.

  ‘You don’t have to go into school today,’ I say.

  Elle’s sitting at the kitchen table, her eyes red-rimmed from her obvious lack of sleep and from crying.

  ‘Kenzie’s coming over,’ she says as she plays with her cereal, pushing it around the bowl with her spoon. ‘We’re going to walk to school together.’

  ‘Oh no you’re not. I’m giving you a lift in, and I’ll pick you up,’ Iain says as he comes into the room.

  We both look up at him and see his face is serious. ‘I’ll get my keys and we can leave as soon as Kenzie’s here.’

  I’m a little shocked by his tone, as well as his offer. ‘Haven’t you got jobs on this morning?’ I say.

  ‘They’re local – Bronze Mead. I’ll go straight from the school run.’

  ‘Let me take the girls,’ I say. ‘You can’t let a client down.’

  ‘And you can’t let Harry down again, Char.’

  I can tell by his face he’s not happy with me. If only he knew there was more to this . . .

  ‘He’ll understand if I’m a bit late.’

  Iain shakes his head. ‘No.’ He looks at Elle. ‘Get your things together. I want to be ready to leave as soon as Kenzie’s here.’

  I see the look of protest in Elle’s eyes but she doesn’t voice anything.

  ‘Let her stay off today,’ I say. ‘It doesn’t feel right.’

  ‘We carry on as usual,’ Iain says.

  Elle skulks past and heads upstairs to get her things.

  ‘It feels wrong,’ I say, when she’s out of earshot. ‘You know as well as I do that it’s not looking good for Jade.’

  He slips his coat on, and grabs his keys from the worktop. ‘We have to try and keep this whole situation as normal as possible for Elle’s sake, but we’re setting some boundaries.’

  I frown. This is a side to Iain not seen very often.

  ‘She’s to come straight home from school, no hanging out with friends.’

  ‘So, I’ll pick her up. I know Kenzie’s mum can’t – she’s working shifts this week – so I’ll take time off. Needs must.’

  He looks at me.

  ‘Savannah’s doing it.’

  I pause.

  ‘She’s got today off work,’ he adds.

  ‘Savannah? How do you know she’s got the day off?’

  ‘She told me last night and I called her this morning and she said she’d be happy to help out.’

  I place my hands on my hips, a little affronted, I don’t mind admitting. ‘I’m capable of picking up Elle myself.’

  ‘But Savannah’s going to, so you needn’t get worked up about it. Can’t have you letting Elle down again, can we? Can’t have you forgetting her.’

  There’s a steely edge to his voice and I don’t like it.

  ‘Why don’t you just ask Savannah to move right on in, you think she’s such a good replacement?’ As soon as the words leave my mouth I feel stupid, juvenile, but I can’t help it.

  I’m not having Savannah trying to replace me, inserting herself into our lives as if picking up the slack from me.

  Iain looks at me now with a mix of shock and then pity.

  ‘You’re really going to go there, Char? Have you any idea how idiotic that sounded?’

  I can’t answer him. We stand there, just staring at each other in silence, neither one of us prepared to admit defeat.

  We hear the hum of Elle’s voice then. She must be talking on her phone. The layout upstairs means that her bedroom is almost directly over the kitchen. Voices carry in this house. She probably heard us, heard me. I’m a little embarrassed.

  ‘Savannah’s your friend,’ he says when the silence gets too much. ‘She’s not trying to replace you as a mother.’

  Really? I think.

  ‘I know that,’ is what I say, although I don’t believe it.

  He stares at me, like he doesn’t believe me either.

  ‘I’m going to see if Elle’s OK.’

  Iain follows me from the kitchen, places his hand on my shoulder. ‘Tell Elle that Savannah’s picking her up.’

  I can’t look at him right now. I nod and head up the stairs. As I approach the top, I hear Elle talking in a rushed whisper. I catch ‘. . . always arguing . . . I just don’t want to be here listening . . . fucked up . . . Mum’s always saying that . . . maybe Jade had the right idea and just went . . . I know the feeling.’

  I stand outside her room, staying as quiet as I can. I’m not sure what I’m hearing. I lean a bit closer to the door and the floorboard creaks.

  Shit.

  ‘Mum?’ Elle says.

  I ease back a few steps across the landing and say, ‘Yes?’ and then I walk to her room and hope it looks like I wasn’t just listening and was in fact only just coming up the stairs.

  I push her bedroom door open.

  I see her mobile in her hand.

  Fears of when she took off before circle inside my head, a barrage of hushed voices, secret phone calls and texts. Money missing . . .

  Elle gives me an odd look and I realise I’m staring at her. ‘Come on, or you’ll be late,’ I say. I look at her mobile again.

  ‘That was Kenz,’ Elle says. ‘She’ll be here in five.’

  CHAPTER 37

  CHARLOTTE

  I call John.

  I know I shouldn’t but I have no one else right now. I tell him about how Iain doesn’t want me picking Elle up. I get so distraught that he insists he’s going to come straight over.

  I didn’t try to dissuade him.

  He sits next to me now on the sofa and I cry for several minutes. He hands me tissues and just lets me get it all out of my system.

  ‘Everything’s just going to shit,’ I say. ‘I’m losing my daughter, my husband and my best friend.’ I gulp in a mouthful of air. ‘And I’ve not told Iain about my job.’

  John looks up then. ‘What’s happened to your job?’

  I’m sobbing, so it’s hard to get my words out. ‘Harry sacked me.’

  ‘What?! When? What for?’

  ‘The day after I found Bryony.’ I cry into a fresh tissue.

  John lets his head fall into his hands. ‘Shit. This is complete shit, Charlotte. How can he be so callous?’

  ‘I was taking too much time off work.’ I sniff.

  ‘Hardly justifies this, though. You had good reason to be away from work.’

  ‘He accused me of being rude to customers and poor attitude too . . .’

  He pauses, then takes my hand. ‘Is there any truth in that?’

  I wrench my hand away. ‘I can’t believe you have to ask me that!’

  He takes my hand again. ‘You’re right. Sorry, Charlotte, I just . . . I can’t understand any of this. Did you tell him he was mistaken?’

  ‘Yeah, for all the good it did me. I have no idea what he means. I might have spoken back to him a few times, but you know what Harry’s like. It’s hard to bite your tongue sometimes.’

  He nods. ‘What are you going to do?’

  I shrug.

  ‘You have to tell Iain at some point, before he hears it from someone else.’

  ‘I can’t.’

  ‘Charlotte,’ he says and draws me close to him, his arm heavy around my shoulders. ‘I don’t like Iain, that’s no secret, but he does need to know about this.’

  I shake my head. ‘I can’t, it’ll make things worse.’

  ‘It’ll be worse still if you don’t tell him.’

  I cry fresh waves of tears and he squeezes me hard against him. I feel his head rest against the top of mine.

  I shudd
er with tiredness and feel myself drift into a comfortable nothing.

  *

  I come to and I’m in bed. I run my hands over my body and find I’m still fully clothed. The room is dark, the curtains drawn.

  I see the outline of a man sat on the bed next to me.

  It’s John.

  ‘I’ve brought you more water,’ he says and points to the glass on my bedside cabinet. ‘I won’t tell Iain,’ he says. ‘About what you said. About your job. Just promise you won’t keep secrets like that from me?’

  I just want to sleep but his hand is on my thigh, and it’s like his hand burns my skin through the duvet cover.

  ‘You’re going to be fine, Charlotte,’ he says.

  His voice sounds far off.

  ‘You must rest. When you wake up again you’ll feel better. Things will work out for you.’

  My eyelids feel heavy. I close my eyes again.

  ‘Elle…’ The word escapes my lips, involuntarily.

  John is silent, motionless for what feels like an age before I feel him lean forward, the bed dipping under his weight.

  I feel his lips on my cheek. He kisses me softly.

  ‘I’ll see myself out . . .’

  I hear him leave.

  I’m so exhausted that, in this moment, I don’t care what happens to me. I let everything fade to black.

  CHAPTER 38

  ANON

  It’s after lunch when I head out. I’m not really out for anything in particular, just a drive. I’m off duty, so to speak, otherwise I would’ve taken the van, but I really can’t risk that right now.

  Things have become more heated and I can’t be too careful.

  I head down the Linkway and when I come off at the roundabout I drive on past the secondary school.

  Harold Green.

  I catch a glimpse of an empty playground through the railing as I slow the car. I see overflowing bins after the lunchtime rush. I see the football goalposts, the net half-hanging off.

  I drive on and take the turning too sharply down a narrow country lane. I scuff the wheel on the front passenger’s side but my annoyance gives way at what I see coming up ahead.

  Well, fuck me.

  What the hell are they doing out of school?

  OK, I have seconds to decide what I do now.

  I slow the car because they haven’t seen me yet and I need to think. An opportunity has presented itself and I can’t decide if it’s worth risking now or if I should just wait, as I had always intended to do.

  One is there in front of me, the one I want. The other? She’s a bonus, I guess.

  The devil in me says do it now. Do it now before the chance is gone. You might not get another opportunity like this.

  I’m in the car, though. That’s a risk.

  I stare ahead.

  It’s a risk that I now have to take because they’ve just looked behind them. They’ve seen me and they recognise the car.

  They stop walking and I slow the car down until I stop beside them.

  CHAPTER 39

  ‘Guv,’ Alex said from his desk, eyes fixed to his computer screen. ‘I think I may have something.’

  Madeleine walked over to his desk.

  ‘I think I’ve found the van,’ he said and clicked on some footage. ‘This is from a traffic cam on the road that leads to Jade’s school.’

  They both watched the van on the screen.

  ‘Keep watching, because it comes back around three minutes later.’ He wound the footage on a fraction. ‘There.’

  ‘It’s gone full circle,’ Madeleine said. ‘It could be waiting for Jade to come out of the school.’ She squinted at the screen. ‘Can you make out that number plate?’

  ‘Just about.’

  ‘Send it to Image Enhancement, see if they can clean it up?’

  ‘I think that’s a KM at the end,’ Alex said. ‘Charis? Can you PNC a vehicle?’

  Charis took the scrap of paper from him.

  ‘Do we see the van anywhere else?’ Madeleine said.

  ‘Yeah, it appears briefly, turning the corner from the Linkway at half-three.’ He slowed the footage down a fraction.

  Madeleine stared at the screen. ‘I can’t see the driver at this angle but we have to assume in all likelihood that Jade is in the van. Charis,’ she said, looking over her shoulder, ‘how we getting on with the plates?’

  Charis twisted around from her chair, shaking her head. ‘No match.’

  ‘Fake plates?’ Alex said.

  ‘Right,’ Madeleine said. ‘Find me that van again, Alex. It must’ve been caught elsewhere on CCTV, from shops in the area or office buildings. Put in an appeal to the media for any dashcam footage, CCTV, traffic cams. What about witnesses on the school run? Do they remember the van? Issue stills of it to the press.’

  Charis sighed in frustration. ‘How many white vans out there?’

  ‘Yes,’ Madeleine said, and pointed at the screen, ‘but there’s a dent just above the rear wheel arch on the driver’s side. That might be enough to jog someone’s memory.’

  CHAPTER 40

  CHARLOTTE

  I woke up about a minute ago, to a pain in my arms and back. I must have lain awkwardly in bed. My head feels thick and groggy. I’m disorientated. I remember John was here but he’s gone now.

  My hands itch and, bringing them out from under the covers, I see where I must’ve clawed my own skin. I see where the skin is dry and cracked.

  I know it’s stress and the pressure I’m putting on myself.

  I roll over onto my back and stare at the clock on the wall, struggle to focus.

  It says 15.50.

  I’ve been asleep all this time?

  I look at the clock again.

  15.51.

  And then it dawns on me.

  Elle’s school finished at 15.15.

  I sit bolt upright.

  Savannah should’ve been back with Elle by now.

  I scramble out of bed and run out onto the landing. I take the stairs two at a time, almost falling over my own feet.

  There is no car on the drive.

  I rake my hands back through my hair and try to calm down.

  Maybe I’m overreacting, not giving them enough time to get back, but it doesn’t take this long to get back to the house, even taking the school-run traffic into account.

  I have my mobile in my hand, thumb poised over the screen on Savannah’s number. I’ll give it another five minutes, then I’m calling her.

  I wouldn’t have this gut-wrenching ache inside me if I’d picked Elle up myself.

  I remember lying back on the bed, John kissing my cheek.

  I touch my skin and feel mixed emotions. I shouldn’t have let him do that. I feel uncomfortable. I should never have asked him to come over.

  I go to the kitchen and my legs ache.

  There’s a bitter taste in my mouth.

  I remember John giving me water. I remember I woke up and drank some of it then . . . then nothing until now.

  I catch my reflection in the kitchen window. My hair is all over the place and, when I touch my face, I feel that the foundation around my scar is gloopy.

  My phone rings and I practically jump out of my skin. I think it’ll be Savannah but a quick glance reveals it’s Iain.

  ‘Is Elle with you?’ I ask as soon as I hit answer.

  Iain pauses. Static fills the line. ‘Savannah’s picking her up, remember?’

  ‘She’s not back yet.’

  I hear some rustling and assume he must be checking his watch. ‘Give her time,’ he says. ‘School traffic can be a nightmare.’

  ‘Never so bad it’s this late.’ I have an afterthought. ‘Maybe I should call Elle.’

  ‘Char, she’s fine, and anyway, that’s not why I’m calling. I’ve just stopped to get some cash out. Did you get your pay this month?’

  I blink hard, once, twice.

  ‘I should have,’ I say, feeling deceitful.

  ‘Well, it’s not show
ing in the joint account. Didn’t he give you your wage slip earlier?’

  I pause, and remember Iain thinks I’ve been in work.

  ‘I guess he forgot.’

  ‘You need to check with Harry, Char. The mortgage payment’s due.’

  ‘Sure, when Elle’s back I’ll call him.’

  ‘You know what, I can drop into the shop,’ Iain says. ‘My last job is in Kennington anyway. I’ll pass the shop on my way home.’

  That’s all I need.

  ‘No, I’ll call him.’

  ‘Make sure it’s done today.’

  I hear a car on the drive. ‘Gotta go, I think Elle’s back.’

  Finally.

  I hang up and rush to the front door.

  I see the 4 x 4 on the drive. I see Savannah, a flash of her blonde hair and designer boots as she jumps out of the car. She’s left the engine running.

  I don’t see Elle.

  Savannah looks at me, her eyes wide and cheeks flushed. ‘Is Elle here?’ she says, clearly out of breath.

  Has she been running?

  ‘What?’ I say. ‘No, of course she’s not. You’re supposed to be picking her up . . .’

  Oh, please no . . .

  I know something awful is happening to this family and there’s nothing I can do to stop it snowballing out of control.

  ‘Savannah,’ I say, voice choking on the tears that are starting to well up inside me. ‘Where’s Elle?’

  She shakes her head. ‘She didn’t show for her last lesson after lunch. She was there for afternoon registration but . . . I . . . I ran down the road but couldn’t see her or Kenzie. I’ve tried Elle’s phone.’

  I step from the doorway, bare feet onto the gravel, and I don’t care if it cuts into my feet. ‘Where is she?’

  ‘Charlotte, I . . . I don’t know.’

  ‘You must know!’

  ‘She wasn’t at the gate. I went into the school, but they haven’t seen her since afternoon registration. The head teacher said she was going to be ringing you after school because she thought Elle had skived off.’

  I lose it.

  I run at her.

  ‘Char, I—’

  I shove her hard. She stumbles back, nearly losing her footing.

  ‘Where is she?!’

  Savannah looks back at me open-mouthed.

  ‘Where is she?’ I say, the fight leaving me as my legs give way, buckling underneath what feels like a dead weight.