by Pryke, Helen
‘For starters, I wish you’d stop calling me Charlie, I hate it.’
‘Okay. I can’t promise, but I’ll try.’ Jane smiled. ‘Now tell me your real wish.’
Charlotte pursed her lips, deep in thought, then laughed. ‘Did I ever tell you I wanted to be a mermaid when I was little?’ she began. ‘Mum even made me a fish tail out of an old blanket, I’d go to sleep in it every night.’ Her voice faltered.
‘Charlotte?’
‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘We’ve got to get out of here, no matter what. I want to go home.’
Jane grabbed her hand and squeezed it. ‘And we will. No matter what.’
41
As they hurtled down the motorway, Maggie drifted in and out of sleep. Andy drove in silence, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. She could hear the radio in the background, pop music playing, and Mike and Chloe chatting quietly behind her, with the occasional laugh that bordered on the edge of hysteria. She wished she could say something to reassure them, but she was so tired her body refused to cooperate. Instead, her eyes closed and exhaustion crashed over her once more.
When they nudged her awake, she saw rivulets of raindrops streaming down the windows. Outside the car it was cold and blustery, everything sodden and grey.
‘Welcome to sunny Leek,’ Andy said. ‘Bet you wish we’d stayed at home now.’ He pointed. ‘The café’s over there, the one where Ollie said he’d meet you. If you run, you shouldn’t get too wet. I’m going to see if I can find Kevin, then meet you back here in, say, an hour, an hour and a half. That should give you enough time.’
‘Why didn’t you phone him?’ Mike asked.
‘Because if he’s the kidnapper and he suspects something, he could just disappear again with the girls before I get there. This way, he hasn’t got a chance to run.’
‘Oh.’ Mike frowned. ‘I still think I should come with you, Maggie and Chloe can meet Ollie. What if you need help?’
‘I’d rather you stay here, Mike. We spoke about this, remember?’
Mike clenched his fists, but said nothing.
Maggie decided it was time to get moving. ‘Keep your phone on, Andy, in case we need you.’
‘Of course. Go and get a coffee, you look like you need it.’ He ducked as Maggie took a playful swipe at him.
‘Didn’t you manage to get some sleep?’ Mike unclicked his seatbelt.
‘A bit. Never enough.’ She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. ‘That was a quick drive, four hours. I thought it would take longer.’
‘Yeah, not bad for an old banger.’
‘Oi, less of that.’
‘I meant the car, obviously.’ Andy sniggered.
‘Obviously.’ Maggie glanced outside and shivered. ‘Right, are we ready then?’
They said goodbye to Andy, and she opened the passenger door. The wind gusted in around her, clearing away the last remnants of sleep. She stepped out into the full force of nature’s fury and clasped her coat more tightly around her as she followed the teenagers across the car park, head lowered.
* * *
Mike carried the tray of coffee mugs over to their table near a steamed-up window. The air in the café was hot and muggy, in stark contrast with the gale-force winds outside.
‘God, I needed this,’ he said. His hair was plastered to his head, and his clothes were starting to steam in the warmth of the café. Maggie guessed she and Chloe didn’t look any better.
‘It’s been quite a day,’ she agreed. ‘I hope you ordered some bacon butties, like I asked you.’
‘Of course. We could do with some comfort food,’ Mike said with a smile.
‘Whisky would be preferable right now,’ Maggie muttered. ‘Ollie isn’t here, hope he shows up after all this.’
‘We’re early, Mags. Relax. We told him six o’clock, seeing as we didn’t know how much traffic there’d be. Who’d have thought we’d get here so quickly?’
Maggie frowned. ‘I hope Andy didn’t pick up any speeding tickets.’
Mike grinned. ‘I think he kept to the speed limit, didn’t he, Chloe?’
‘More or less,’ Chloe said with a shrug, giggling as Maggie tutted. ‘Do you think Ollie will turn up?’ She looked around, twisting a ring on her middle finger. ‘And what about the psycho? He could be in here right now, and we wouldn’t know.’
‘Try to keep calm.’ Maggie understood Chloe’s nervousness; her stomach was churning at the thought of what lay ahead.
A waitress bustled over holding two plates and balancing a third on her arm. ‘Three bacon butties?’
‘Thanks,’ Maggie said.
A group of children, most of them no older than ten or eleven, burst out laughing a couple of tables along, cheering at something one had said, his face bright red with embarrassment. Maggie glanced over and wondered if Ollie was one of them. She guessed they’d find out soon enough.
Mike took an enormous bite of his bacon buttie, and groaned in ecstasy. ‘Ooh, that’s good.’
‘You pig, Mike,’ Chloe said, laughing. She bit into her own and soon they were all eating in silence, savouring every mouthful.
Mike wiped his mouth with a paper serviette and leaned back in his chair, satisfied. ‘Now we just need Ollie to show up. What do we do if he doesn’t?’
‘Wait for Andy to come and get us, then go back out in that.’ Maggie pointed at the rain pouring down outside. ‘And start searching by ourselves.’
A boy burst through the café door, flinching as it crashed against a chair with a bang. He started to take off his coat, spraying drops of water everywhere.
Mike grimaced. ‘That’ll be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Hope it doesn’t come to that.’ He stretched out his arms, then apologised as the boy bumped into him. ‘Oops, sorry, mate.’
‘That’s okay.’ Flustered, he stood a moment, scanning the room.
‘Do you think we’ll find them, Mags?’ Chloe asked, her face earnest. ‘Are they really here?’
‘I hope so,’ Maggie replied. ‘We’re running out of time.’
The boy turned to them. ‘Are you Maggie Turner?’ He bit his lip. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt…’
‘Ollie?’ Maggie stood and held out her hand. ‘This is Mike and Chloe, the girls are their sisters. Thank you for coming. Why don’t you sit down and tell us what you know?’
The boy’s face reddened as he shook her hand and sat down, his cheeks flushed against his pale skin. His ginger hair stood up in spikes, glistening with raindrops, and a smattering of freckles covered his nose. He glanced over at the group of children Maggie had noticed earlier, watching curiously from their table.
‘They don’t know I called you,’ he mumbled. ‘But I had to, I didn’t know what else to do. Stacey’ – he jerked his head towards an older girl dressed in black, a silver lip ring visible against her black lipstick – ‘says it’s a wind-up, and we’ll just get into trouble. But she wasn’t there, she didn’t see their faces. They seemed terrified. I tried telling my parents, but they just laughed and said it was a good story.’
Maggie leaned forwards, her hands clasped together. ‘Please, we need to know if it’s them.’
‘Doug, Kayleigh, come over here,’ he called, beckoning to the group. Two of them slouched their way across the crowded room, hands in pockets, and stood behind Ollie.
Maggie took a deep breath. ‘Okay, this is really important. We’re looking for two girls, Jane and Charlotte, who were abducted four years ago. They could be in danger. Mike, Chloe, show them the photos.’
The teenagers took out their mobile phones and silently showed them photos of their sisters.
‘They’re older now, but do you think these could be the girls you saw?’ Maggie asked, holding her breath as she waited for their answer.
Ollie took the phones and stared at the screens. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. His friends leaned over and stared too.
‘That’s them.’ Kayleigh swayed slightly and grab
bed onto the back of Mike’s chair.
Ollie nodded, his hands trembling as he gave back the phones. ‘Oh, God, it really is them,’ he whispered.
42
Andy pulled in opposite Kevin’s house and turned the car off. The radio cut out abruptly, leaving behind a silence broken only by the rain drumming on the roof. He could see a light was on in the house, and a car parked on the drive; at least his journey hadn’t been for nothing.
He grabbed his hat from the glove compartment, lifted his coat collar to cover his neck, and got out of the car. In the ten seconds it took him to sprint across the road to the front door, he was drenched. Water streamed off his coat and pooled around his feet as he huddled beneath the porch. His hat had been worse than useless, his hair was soaking wet. He took it off and wrung it out, then shoved it in his coat pocket.
A young woman dressed in a grey tracksuit and fluffy white slippers answered the door. ‘Yes?’ She peered out into the murky gloom.
‘Oh, hi.’ Andy swept his hand through his hair, sending droplets spraying everywhere. ‘Sorry. I’m looking for Kevin Bourne, a friend gave me this address.’
‘Come in, you’re getting soaked. I’ll just go and get him.’
Andy wiped his feet on the doormat, then stepped inside the house and closed the front door. He rubbed his hands on his trousers to dry them off a bit, then looked around as he waited. The hallway was tastefully decorated with a thick cream carpet, the walls covered in a silver-and-aubergine striped wallpaper. It didn’t seem the type of place you’d leave in a hurry, after spending so much time and money decorating.
A short, stocky man with black shoulder-length hair came towards him, a wary expression on his face. ‘Can I help you?’
Andy held out his hand. ‘Hi, Kevin? Andy Marshall. Pleased to meet you.’
‘Do I know you? Amanda said you were a friend.’ He took a step back, and Andy lowered his outstretched hand.
‘Actually, I said a friend put me in touch. I work for The Southern Recorder, you may have seen our article about Jane Simmons and Charlotte Hodgson yesterday.’
‘And what would that have to do with me?’ He stood, shoulders hunched, and glared at Andy.
‘You were working at the school the time they disappeared…’
‘And I collaborated willingly with the police, who didn’t consider me a suspect. Your point is?’
‘I saw the selfies you took with some of the female students on your Facebook profile. That doesn’t seem appropriate behaviour for a teacher.’ Andy folded his arms across his chest. ‘And then there’s the fact that you left the school shortly after Charlotte was abducted, and disappeared off all social media a while after that.’
‘You’re accusing me?’ Kevin gave a harsh laugh. ‘That’s rich. The police didn’t even take me in for questioning, and now some hack comes to my house, throwing around accusations. I’d be careful if I were you, mate.’
‘Well, mate,’ Andy replied with a thin smile, ‘I know for certain that you were pretty nasty to Joe, the caretaker at the school. Anyone who can tell a disabled person it would’ve been better they’d never been born is someone to keep an eye on, in my book.’
Kevin stepped forward, his face close to Andy’s. ‘That fucking retard deserved everything he got, snitching on me to the headmistress,’ he snarled. ‘I was new to the job, I just wanted to get on with the students so they wouldn’t give me any trouble in class, and he goes around casting suspicion that I’m molesting the girls.’
‘Were you?’ Andy stood his ground, unflinching.
‘Of course not. What do you think I am?’ He snorted, a disgusted expression on his face. ‘But after the girls were abducted, the headmistress terminated my contract. I’d only been there a few weeks, substituting the sick teachers, and the little shit got me fired because “it was best for the school’s reputation, considering recent events”. It took me a year to get another teaching job.’
‘Is that why you went off social media?’
‘I thought it best, in the circumstances.’
‘What about the days the girls were abducted? Were you at the school?’
‘Seriously?’ Kevin snapped. ‘You’re asking me to justify my whereabouts? I already told you, the police didn’t even consider me a suspect.’
Andy swiped his phone and held it out to Kevin. ‘So, you won’t mind telling me about this photo then.’
Kevin snatched the phone and peered at the screen. ‘It’s a selfie I took, so what?’
‘See the house there?’ Andy pointed. ‘We have evidence that the girls were held in the cellar of that house after they were abducted. Now, do you want to tell me what you were doing there?’
Kevin turned white, two red spots appearing on his cheeks. He shoved the phone back at Andy. ‘Drugs,’ he hissed.
‘What?’ Andy put the phone in his pocket.
‘You heard. There was a dealer down on the estate, I used to go on a Friday night and get some stuff to last me the week. Satisfied?’
Andy raised his eyebrows. ‘You took drugs while teaching kids?’
‘It was a bad time for me, my mum was in hospital and… Why the hell am I telling you this? I think you should leave.’
‘Just answer my other question, then I’ll go. What were you doing on the days the girls were abducted?’
Kevin glared at him, then turned and stormed off down the hall, gesturing to Andy to stay where he was. There came the sounds of muffled voices from the lounge, and drawers slamming shut. He came back, waving a sheet of paper in Andy’s face.
‘Two days before the first one was abducted, my mum died. Her funeral was on the day the other one disappeared. Does that answer your question?’
* * *
Andy barged through the door of the café, almost bumping into a customer standing nearby. The man jerked, as if he’d had an electric shock.
‘Watch where you’re going,’ he grumbled.
‘Sorry, did I hurt you?’ Andy asked, searching the room for Maggie, Mike and Chloe. He put a hand on the man’s arm.
‘No, you’re okay,’ he muttered.
Andy was about to apologise again, but spied Maggie at a nearby table with a group of kids and hurried over.
‘It’s not Kevin,’ he said, panting as he sat down with them.
‘What?’ Maggie looked startled.
He took a couple of deep breaths, then tried again. ‘I’ve just got back from Kevin’s place. He lives there with his girlfriend, and the day Charlotte was abducted he was at his mum’s funeral.’ He drank some water from the glass Chloe handed him. ‘The guy’s a dick, that’s for sure, but he’s not the kidnapper. Did you have any luck?’
Maggie nodded. ‘Ollie has given us the address of the place where he saw the girls. We were about to call you.’
‘So what are we waiting for?’ Andy said. They all stood up with a scraping of chairs. ‘Let’s go and talk to James Sorensen.’
They left the café, chattering excitedly. Nobody took any notice of the irate customer Andy had bumped into earlier glaring at them, fists clenched by his sides.
43
Shit! Shit, shit, shit! How the fuck did they find me, and why now? Now I’ll need to do it quicker than I wanted. Thank goodness I prepared everything, but I wanted to take it more slowly, enjoy it this time, seeing as it’ll be the last. There won’t be any more need for purification after this, we’ll all be together again, cleansed, pure, innocent as the day we were born. The fire will see to that.
Mother’s voice is hissing in my ear, telling me to hurry, hurry back to my little girls, before it’s too late, before they take them away from me. No! I thump my fist against the door frame and people turn to stare. Do I scare them? I hope so. I want to scare everyone, I want to take them all back to the farmhouse and purify them with the fire.
Only the fire can save you, I want to shout, only the flames can take you away from your miserable existences and carry you to a better place. But I remain quiet,
I mustn’t bring attention to myself, otherwise they’ll stop me from getting back to Jane and Charlotte. The girls need me – who else is going to cleanse and purify them?
I let the anger and fear surge through my body, giving me the clarity to know what to do next. I let Maggie go, the rear lights of the car winking through the rain. She is nothing, nobody. She won’t be able to stop me… or the fire. Nothing can quell the fire, not the weather and definitely not an interfering woman. As Mother knows. My heart starts thumping wildly as I step out into the rain and go back to my car. To my future. With my little girls.
44
The bedroom door slammed open and he stood there, his hands gripping the door frame. Jane noticed the knuckles on his right hand were covered in blood. The girls’ laughter died away as they stared in shock.
‘You’re at it again, aren’t you?’ he spat, his face contorted with rage. His hair was plastered to his face and water dripped onto the floor. He thumped the wall, and they cowered on the bed.
‘W-what?’ Charlotte said in a shrill voice. Jane reached out and held her hand, fear coursing through her body.
‘Don’t think I don’t know.’ He took two steps forward, looming over them. ‘Plotting against me, cutting me out of things, whispering behind my back. Just like before. Well, I put an end to it last time, didn’t I?’ He shouted the last words, and they shrank back in terror. ‘Disgusting little whores, like Mother. You’re rotten inside, just like she says. Pretending we’re one happy family, when really you want to give your bodies to everyone, like she did.’
‘We’re not…’ Jane began, then shrieked as he grabbed Charlotte’s hair in his fist and hauled her up off the bed. She yelled in pain.
‘Do as I tell you, don’t make me do something bad,’ he said, still clutching Charlotte’s hair. He turned his head to the side, as if listening to someone speak. ‘No, Mother, don’t say that.’ He groaned. ‘I can’t… I won’t throw her again, not if she’s good this time. Stop it!’
