Schoolgirl Missing

by Sue Fortin

  ‘That explains a lot,’ replied Neve.

  ‘Poppy, you OK?’ Kit’s voice filled the boat. He knocked on the door and Neve heard the little creak of protest the old boat gave as the door opened. ‘Poppy?’

  The concerned tone in Kit’s voice instantly alerted Neve. She slipped out of bed, grabbing her hoody and pulling it over her head. She saw Kit disappearing up the steps to the cockpit, calling Poppy’s name.

  ‘Is she there?’ Neve asked, leaning on the handrail and looking up through the cabin door.

  ‘No! Fuck. Where is she?’ Kit clattered across the deck. ‘Poppy! Poppy!’

  Neve jammed her feet into her wellington boots and clambered up to the deck. By now, Kit had disembarked and was on the riverbank, still calling Poppy’s name. He turned back to Neve. ‘She’s gone!’

  Chapter 15

  ‘Wait, wait. Keep calm,’ said Neve. ‘Just have another look around. I’ll double-check the boat.’

  Neve dived downstairs and although she knew it was pointless – hiding on a small boat like this was near impossible – she went through the motions of double-checking. She grabbed her mobile and went up on deck just as Kit was jogging back down the riverbank to the mooring.

  Neve climbed over the edge of the boat and onto the grassy riverbank. ‘Definitely not on the boat,’ she said to Kit.

  ‘I can’t see her anywhere round here,’ said Kit, rubbing his temples and screwing up his eyes.

  ‘I’ll try her phone,’ said Neve, opening up her mobile. She called up Poppy’s number and waited for the call to connect. The sound of Poppy’s phone ringing sounded out from below deck. Neve darted down the steps and located the mobile on the table. ‘She hasn’t got her phone,’ she called across to Kit.

  ‘Shit.’ Kit climbed back on the boat and took the phone from Neve. ‘What’s her passcode. I need to check her messages.’

  ‘2602. Her date of birth,’ said Neve. She peered over Kit’s shoulder as he looked through the phone. There wasn’t much to look at. Poppy used her phone mostly for photographs and games, her contacts list running to a handful of people, Kit, Neve, her grandmother, Libby and her teacher. ‘Anything?’

  ‘Nothing.’ Kit pushed the phone into his pocket.

  ‘Shall I call the police?’ asked Neve.

  ‘No! Not yet. All we need is the police and social services getting involved again.’

  ‘I know, but it’s different this time,’ insisted Neve, as she moved further up the bank to get a better signal. ‘She’s not gone off after an argument or anything. Everything was fine last night. She’s disappeared, and we have no idea when she went. She could be in danger.’ Neve didn’t need to elaborate. She could see the unspoken fear written all over Kit’s face.

  ‘Shit. Call them,’ said Kit. ‘I’m going to have a look further down the road. Maybe she’s in the village?’ He looked at his watch. ‘It’s only eight-fifteen. Nowhere will be open on a Sunday at this time. Oh God, Neve.’

  Neve’s pyjama trousers were soaking wet from the morning dew on the riverbank. In her hurry to put on her boots, she hadn’t bothered to tuck the fly away trouser leg in the top. She held the phone to her ear waiting for the emergency service to answer.

  ‘My daughter is missing,’ she said urgently. ‘Police. I need the police.’

  In what seemed like a surreal few minutes, Neve relayed details of Poppy and her last known whereabouts to the police officer on the other end of the phone.

  ‘She’s a vulnerable teenager,’ said Neve. ‘She has learning difficulties. She doesn’t read social situations well and comes across as quite young for her age.’

  ‘We’ll get someone out to you right away,’ said the officer. ‘Stay where you are.’

  The line went dead. Neve did a 360 degree turn, looking once again for any sign of her daughter. She hadn’t bothered to explain the technicality of her relationship with Poppy to the police officer. She just needed to get them out here as quickly as possible. She needed them to search for Poppy. There wasn’t time to waste.

  With Willow tagging along, Neve walked up the bank and onto the road which lead down to the village. She held her hand to her eyes to shield the early morning sun. She couldn’t see Kit. He must have practically run down the road. Neve wondered if it had been wise to let him go off on his own. Perhaps she should have gone with him? But then there would be no one here to greet the police or to search the immediate area.

  Neve thought back to last night, trying to recall the chain of events. Her mind was racing through the timeline, but her memory was jumbled and she couldn’t quite get everything to fit together. She could feel panic setting in and every time she thought of Poppy, the image of another child kept pushing to the fore. Jasmine. Her brother’s daughter. She was three years old, standing on the beach, holding Neve’s hand as they jumped the waves.

  ‘One, two, three … jump!’ Neve could hear herself saying as she watched the delight on Jasmine’s face. Jasmine’s chubby little hand pushed her hair from her face as her long curls were lifted by the sea breeze.

  They squealed in delight at both their success and their failure. The water splashing their legs and clothing. It had been an impromptu trip to the seaside, a decision Neve had made on the spur of the moment. It had all been with the best intentions. Neve would have never knowingly put her niece at risk.

  Her empty stomach lurched and for a moment she thought she was going to be sick, as she was propelled back to the present. She needed to concentrate. It was Poppy who mattered now. She just hoped that the police wouldn’t automatically blame her for Poppy’s disappearance.

  Neve dialled Kit’s number and within a couple of rings, his panting voice answered. ‘Have you found her?’

  ‘No. I haven’t,’ said Neve. She could hear the panic mixed with anger in Kit’s voice. Poppy disappearing was outside his control. Not something Kit would like.

  ‘I’m at a shop now. It’s open,’ said Kit. More panting. Neve could hear Kit ask in the shop if they had seen Poppy.

  ‘She’s five foot four,’ he was saying. ‘With long dark hair. It’s tied back in a ponytail.’ He went on to describe the jacket she had with her. ‘Have you seen her? Has she been in the shop? Walked past? Has someone, anyone, mentioned her?’ He was rattling the questions off in quick succession. ‘If you do see her or anyone says they have seen her, please call the police. Or my number. Here’s my business card. Please.’

  ‘Any luck?’ she asked needlessly.

  ‘No. Nothing. I’m going to try the pub now,’ said Kit, his breathing coming hard down the phone. ‘Maybe not. It’s shut.’

  ‘I’ve looked all around the mooring site and there’s no sign of her,’ said Neve. ‘The police are sending someone out.’

  ‘Did you tell them about Poppy? How she’s not like a normal fourteen-year-old?’

  ‘Yes. They didn’t seem too bothered at first. Thought she might have just done a normal teenage thing and wandered off. You know, bored of being on the boat but once I explained, they were more interested.’

  ‘They better be,’ snapped Kit. ‘Oh, Jesus, Neve, where the hell is she?’

  ‘Keep calm. She can’t have gone far, surely.’

  ‘You say that, but we’ve no idea when she disappeared. My head is killing me. I can’t seem to remember much about last night at all,’ said Kit, blowing hard now. ‘Look, I’m just going to check around the village. Bus shelter. Church. Playing field. Ring me when the police get there.’

  ‘Someone will have seen her,’ said Neve, trying to offer words of comfort. ‘She’ll turn up. I’m sure.’

  ‘Don’t say something you can’t possibly know is true,’ said Kit. ‘We’ve no idea what’s happened to her. For all we know she could have gone off with someone.’

  After ending the call, Neve took a long deep breath. She needed to stay calm. The police were on their way and once they were here, it was up to her to convince them to take Poppy’s disappearance seriously.


  Less than five minutes later, the blue flashing lights of a police car came around the corner, bumping over the loose gravel track which ran down to the river bank.

  ‘Mrs Masters?’ said the female officer as she climbed out of the car.

  ‘That’s right,’ said Neve, stroking Willow’s ears, more for something to do with her fidgety hands than anything else. ‘I made the call about my daughter going missing.’ She took out her phone from her pocket. ‘My husband is in the village looking for her. I’m just going to ring him to let him know you’re here.’

  The next few hours seemed to both drag and speed by. The police wanted to ask what seemed like endless questions about Poppy. What was she wearing, when was she last seen, when did they realise Poppy was missing, did she have her passport, any money or need any medication? Kit had become frustrated at times and once had even raised his voice to the police officer when she had inferred that Poppy would probably turn up, like she had before.

  ‘How can you say that?’ Kit had demanded, jumping to his feet. ‘You have no idea if she’s safe or not. You certainly can’t assume just because she was OK last time that she will be this time.’

  PC Crossley had back-tracked rapidly, assuring Kit they were treating Poppy’s disappearance seriously. ‘I assure you, Mr Masters, finding your daughter is our highest priority. We have officers on the ground looking for her already and they’ve just brought the police helicopter in.’

  ‘Why is it all taking so long?’ demanded Kit.

  ‘We’re doing everything we can. Unfortunately, the helicopter was already tied up with something else in Hampshire. But it’s free now so we’ve got it. We’ve also got officers knocking on doors of anyone local that is known to us.’

  ‘Paedophiles, you mean,’ said Kit. ‘It’s all right, you don’t have to dress it up. I know exactly what that means.’

  Crossley moved the conversation on. ‘Do you have Poppy’s hairbrush or toothbrush we could have, please?’

  Neve could see Kit wince as if taking a physical blow. ‘Her hairbrush …’ he began.

  ‘Or toothbrush,’ said Crossley.

  ‘For DNA to identify her,’ said Kit, becoming agitated. ‘That’s what you want it for, isn’t it?’

  Crossley looked at Kit and then at Neve. ‘It’s routine,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘I’ll get you her hairbrush,’ said Neve, standing up and going through to Poppy’s cabin and reappearing with the purple paddle style brush. ‘It was on the floor, she always brushes her hair before she goes to sleep.’

  ‘Fifty times,’ said Kit, his voice cracking as he spoke. ‘She always brushes it fifty times. Once in the morning and once in the evening.’

  Neve passed the brush to Crossley and resumed her position next to Kit. She squeezed his hand while addressing the police officer. ‘Is there anything we can do? Help with the search, maybe?’

  ‘No, we’d rather you let us do the searching. If needs be, we’ll be going door-to-door with a picture. Once you’re home, we’ll ask for an up to date photograph of Poppy.’ Crossley wrote a few more notes in her pocketbook before looking back up. ‘One of my colleagues has spoken to the publican in the village and he’s open now and said you’re more than welcome to wait in there. He’ll give you a hot drink and something to eat. He said there’s a private room at the back you can use.’

  ‘That’s very kind of him,’ said Neve.

  ‘I don’t think I can stomach anything,’ said Kit. ‘I need to be out there looking for her. I can’t just sit happily in a pub while my daughter is missing.’

  ‘No one is expecting you to, sir,’ said Crossley. ‘And I know you feel you should be helping with the search, but it’s better for us if you stay here, just in case she turns up.’

  Neve thought that Crossley probably meant in case something horrible had happened to Poppy and either of them found her. She shuddered involuntarily at the thought, dismissing the disturbing image from her mind.

  ‘The police officer is right,’ she said, gently. ‘Let’s go down to the pub.’

  ‘The boat. I’m not leaving the boat,’ he said.

  Neve was aware that Kit was starting to sound a little irrational, and who could blame him really? Everything was totally out of his control now. Even down to looking for his daughter, which he was being told he couldn’t do. Kit didn’t like taking orders from anyone. However, Neve noticed a vulnerability about him now, something she had never seen in him before. Even when he had spoken about his first wife dying, he had been strong and resilient. But now, there were cracks showing in his tough exterior that Neve didn’t even know existed.

  ‘Just for a little while,’ she said, coaxing him rather like she would Poppy. It felt strange having Kit lean on her, not just for moral support but for physical support too.

  He nodded. ‘OK, but just for an hour.’

  ‘We’re going to check over the boat again,’ said Crossley. ‘Can I just go back over a couple of points first?’

  ‘Of course,’ said Neve, aware of Kit’s impatient sigh.

  ‘It won’t take a minute,’ said Crossley, nodding towards Kit. ‘Now, Mrs Masters, you say you were the last one to bed.’

  ‘That’s right,’ replied Neve.

  ‘And you’re certain you locked the cabin door from the inside?’

  Neve hesitated. ‘I think I did. I can’t honestly remember but I’m pretty certain.’

  ‘And, Mr Masters, you’re certain it was unlocked when you got up this morning?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘There’s no sign of a forced entry, in fact, no damage whatsoever to the lock or door, so we must assume that it was opened from the inside,’ said Crossley. ‘Or it wasn’t locked at all.’ She looked again at Neve.

  ‘I’m really sorry, I can’t say for certain,’ said Neve. She glanced over at Kit to seek reassurance that she shouldn’t feel guilty, that he didn’t blame her for Poppy being missing.

  ‘You were the sober one, you must remember locking it,’ said Kit, flinging his hands in the air.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ was all Neve could think of to say.

  ‘OK. If you do remember, it’s important you let us know,’ said Crossley. ‘Now, do you have that list of friends and family?’

  Neve passed over a sheet of paper. It only had Cheryl, Kit’s mother, the school and Heather and Libby’s names. ‘She doesn’t have many friends outside of school,’ said Neve.

  ‘I don’t want you calling my mother out of the blue,’ said Kit.

  ‘No, of course not. Why don’t you phone her from the pub?’ said Crossley. ‘Just one thing before you go. Has Poppy got a mobile phone or a laptop?’

  ‘She does have a phone,’ said Kit. He pulled it from his pocket. ‘It was on the table where she left it last night.’

  ‘Do you mind if we have a look through it?’ asked Crossley. ‘Just in case.’

  ‘I’ve already done that,’ said Kit but nevertheless he passed the mobile over. ‘She hasn’t really got anyone to text. You won’t find anything of any use.’

  Crossley took the phone. ‘Laptop?’

  ‘Not here. Back at home,’ said Neve. ‘It’s in her bedroom.’

  ‘OK. We will want to have a look at that too when we take you home,’ said Crossley.

  ‘Come on, Kit,’ said Neve. ‘Let’s go down to the pub. Just for an hour and then …’ She looked at Crossley.

  ‘And then, once we’ve done another thorough check of the boat and immediate area, we can arrange for you to be taken home,’ she said.

  ‘Just for an hour,’ said Neve reassuringly.

  Kit grunted his reluctant consent. Neve couldn’t help noting how the balance of power had shifted. How she was the one in charge and making the decisions. It was an empowering thought and she could feel herself stand taller.

  ‘Wait!’ said Kit, stopping in his tracks. He turned to the police officer. ‘The other day, when Poppy went off, I found her talking to some bloke.’

 
; Crossley took out her pocketbook. ‘Do you know who he was?’

  ‘No. I hadn’t seen him before, but he was a scruffy looking sort of bloke.’ Kit went on to describe the man.

  ‘And neither of you know who this could be?’

  ‘Not at all,’ said Kit. ‘But you need to ask at The Forum. There’s all kinds there. I wouldn’t be surprised if this bloke is something to do with it.’

  ‘OK, I’ll get this description circulated and ask around, see if we can find out who he is.’ Crossley looked up at Neve. ‘And you don’t know who he is either?’

  ‘No. No idea whatsoever.’ Neve was surprised at how easily the words came out, but when she thought about it, it wasn’t the first time she’d lied to the police where Ashley Farnham was concerned.

  Chapter 16

  Kit allowed Neve to take him back into the village where he had been just a couple of hours earlier. He was sure everyone was looking at him, judging him. Wondering what sort of father allowed his own daughter to disappear in the still of the night.

  ‘I think this is a bad idea,’ he said, as Neve pushed open the door to The Fox & Hounds.

  ‘Don’t start all that again,’ interrupted Neve. The command in her voice startled him, but at the same time comforted him. He wasn’t used to this feeling of total and utter helplessness. He was used to making decisions and getting things done. He was a man of action. Doing nothing did not come naturally to him.

  ‘Let the police do things their way. They know what’s best,’ she was saying.

  ‘Hello. Kit and Neve, is it?’ said the barman. ‘Brian Johnson. Guvnor here.’ He extended a hand to which Kit found himself automatically shaking. He gave a nod and Brian continued. ‘I’m sorry to hear about your daughter. I’m sure the police will find her soon.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Kit. He really didn’t want to get into a discussion with the pub landlord about the police search. It wasn’t like they were discussing the latest football results or the weather. Conversations that could be picked up and put down in any pub in any part of the country. No, this was his daughter, they were talking about. Far too precious for flippant, banal platitudes.