Her Missing Daughter: A Gripping Psychological Thriller

by D. S. Butler

  “When I go back, I’ll tell Sienna what I know.”

  He pushed himself around on the bench to face me. “You can’t do that.”

  “I have to.”

  “If you tell her, she’ll only be more upset. How could you? You were Nicole’s friend. Why would you make things even harder for her daughter after everything she’s been through?”

  “So you think it’s better for Sienna to live in fear because a strange man’s been following her?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Of course not. You could make up some excuse, say it was all a misunderstanding.”

  “You mean lie to her.”

  He rubbed his hand over his face and gave an exasperated sigh. “You’d be doing her a kindness.”

  More like I’d be doing him a kindness. I didn’t bother to answer.

  “Well, at least assure me you won’t tell the police about my relationship with Nicole…” He trailed off and looked into the distance.

  I followed his line of sight and saw two plain-clothed police officers walking towards us. I recognised Lizzie, but even if I hadn’t, the detectives would have been easy to spot. On this glorious warm day, they wore suits and matching serious expressions.

  “Well, thank you very much,” he spat sarcastically. “This will ruin me. I hope you’re satisfied.”

  It wasn’t me who’d called the police but I didn’t bother to tell him that. Zach or Sienna must’ve called Lizzie.

  When the detectives stopped in front of the bench, Lizzie dismissed me with a nod. “Thanks, Abbie. We’ll take it from here.”

  I stood up, trying to ignore the hostility in Professor Ross’s glare. If looks could kill…

  I walked away, heading back to Yew Tree House. I had to talk to Sienna. Whatever Professor Ross said, she had a right to know the truth about the man who’d been following her.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  On the walk back to Yew Tree House, I called Steve. I was going to have to explain the situation to Sienna and tell her Eric Ross was her father, and I didn’t want to do that without Steve’s input. He was shocked when I told him what had happened. Nicole had fed him the same story she told me – Sienna was the result of a one-night stand she’d had at university and she’d never known Sienna’s father’s name.

  I clamped the phone to my ear as crows cawed in the trees above me. “If you’d prefer to be the one to tell her, it can wait until you get home.”

  He sighed heavily. “I’ll be home tonight, but I don’t think she’s going to wait that long for answers. You know Sienna…”

  “And you’re happy for me to tell her everything?”

  “I think it’s for the best. Even before Nicole’s death, Sienna had been moody and acting up. She’d run off twice. I should have guessed there was more to it, rather than dismissing it as teenage mood swings. I should have been more understanding.”

  “I’ll speak to her and then maybe you can have a chat when you get home.”

  “I should be home by nine. I wish I didn’t have to be here, but things are crazy at work at the moment.”

  “Anything I can help with?”

  “You’re doing enough, Abbie. I appreciate the time you’re spending with Sienna. I love the kid, but I’m not great at dealing with teenagers. I always seem to say the wrong thing.”

  “I’m not sure I’m much better. Sienna wasn’t talking to me last night because I’d told her aunt something she didn’t want her to know. Which reminds me… Should I contact Marilyn and Janet?”

  Steve gave another sigh, and I imagined him putting his head in his hands. “I suppose they should be told. Although, I imagine Marilyn will have kittens when she finds out.”

  I was almost at Yew Tree House so I told Steve I’d contact Janet and Marilyn and would see him later.

  When I let myself back into the house, Zach and Sienna rushed into the hall to meet me. I kicked off my shoes and leaned down to pet Charlie.

  “I was so worried,” Sienna said. “What happened?”

  “We have a lot to talk about,” I said. “Let’s go into the kitchen and have a cup of tea.”

  I straightened up and followed Zach and Sienna into the kitchen.

  “I’ll make the tea,” Zach said, lifting the kettle and carrying it over to the sink.

  I sat down at the kitchen table. Charlie settled by my feet, and Sienna sat opposite me.

  “The man’s name is Eric Ross,” I said.

  Sienna twisted a lock of hair around her finger and glanced at Zach. “I don’t know who that is. Do you know him?”

  “He was your mum’s biochemistry lecturer.”

  Sienna looked even more confused.

  Just tell her.

  I was making it worse by stretching it out like this. It was hard, though. I wanted to deliver the news in a way that wouldn’t cause any pain.

  “He’s your father, Sienna.”

  Sienna’s jaw dropped open, and Zach dropped a teaspoon on the kitchen counter.

  “Are you sure? So why was he following me?”

  Because he is a coward too worried about his own career to risk contacting you like a normal person.

  Of course, I didn’t actually say what I was thinking. Instead, I said, “He has another family and he’s worried about how they might react.”

  Sienna’s eyes widened. “Do you mean I’ve got brothers and sisters?”

  “Yes, I suppose so. I don’t know anything about his other children.”

  “So why didn’t Mum tell me this?”

  “According to Eric Ross, your mother sent him a letter, telling him you wanted to know your biological father.”

  “She didn’t tell me she’d sent a letter.”

  Nicole would have done anything in her power to protect Sienna from getting hurt. If Professor Ross refused to meet Sienna, Nicole would have wanted to protect her daughter from the pain of rejection.

  “Maybe she was waiting to get things set up before telling you,” Zach said as the kettle came to a boil.

  “She told me she didn’t know my father’s name. She said it was a one night fling… She lied to me.”

  “She told everybody that story,” I said. “I think she was trying to protect you.”

  Sienna shook her head. “She lied. Did she tell you the truth? How do I know you’re not lying now?”

  “What would I gain from lying to you? I know this is a shock but you don’t have to do anything now.”

  Sienna stared down at the table and a large tear rolled down her cheek.

  It was hard to watch. Her emotions were in turmoil. She was angry with her mother for keeping secrets, but at the same time, she was feeling guilty for being angry.

  I reached out and placed a hand over hers. “It’s a lot to take in. If you’re interested, we could look him up on the Internet and find out a bit about him, or if you prefer, we won’t mention it again until you’re ready.”

  She was quiet for a long time before finally raising her head. “Okay, let’s look him up.”

  All three of us took our tea upstairs to Sienna’s bedroom. She sat cross-legged on the bed and opened her laptop. I perched on the end of the bed, and Zach stood behind us.

  Sienna typed ‘Professor Eric Ross’ into a search engine and then clicked on the link for images. The screen filled with images of four different men. I guessed Eric Ross wasn’t an unusual name among professors.

  “That’s him,” Zach said, leaning forward to point him out.

  He was right. The photo must have been taken a few years ago. The professor’s hair was thicker and he didn’t have quite so many lines.

  What had Nicole seen in him? Had there been a relationship between them, or was it a one time thing? I tried to remember if Nicole had been acting strangely, or been more secretive than usual during our last term at university. But I came up blank. Either their relationship had been over very quickly, or I was a terrible person, who didn’t pay enough attention to my friends.

  Sienna clicked on th
e picture and then the link below it, which redirected us to his research page. We weren’t really interested in his research grants, so I suggested Sienna look him up on Facebook or LinkedIn.

  There were even more Eric Ross’s on Facebook, and it took us some time to scroll through the list to find the profile we were looking for.

  Sienna’s fingers were shaking above the keyboard. “That’s him, right?”

  She turned to me, her eyebrows raised.

  I nodded, surprised he had a Facebook profile, but then I supposed almost everyone did these days.

  She clicked on his profile and muttered, “This feels really weird.”

  “There, it lists his family: Charlotte Ross and Malcolm Ross are his children. They’re your half brother and sister,” Zach said.

  Sienna’s eyes widened and she pushed back from the laptop. “Do you think they know about me?”

  “I don’t think they do,” I said. “Remember, you don’t have to do this now if it’s too overwhelming.”

  I wasn’t going to push Sienna into anything but I had to admit I was curious to see if there was a family resemblance.

  For a while, Sienna did nothing but stare at the screen. I took a sip of my tea. The man whose profile we were viewing looked very ordinary. He certainly didn’t appear to be a killer. But appearances could be deceptive. He hadn’t wanted the truth to come out about Sienna’s paternity. Just how far was he willing to go to protect his secret?

  There was a knock on Sienna’s bedroom door and all three of us jumped. Hot tea splashed on the leg of my jeans.

  My heart was in my throat as I turned round, but I let out a sigh of relief when I saw Angie in the doorway.

  Sienna gave a nervous giggle. “I forgot you were here, Angie.”

  “I wondered where everyone was, then I heard your voices. What are you all doing up here?”

  As much as I liked Angie, this was Sienna’s personal life, and so I didn’t volunteer any information. But Sienna was happy to tell Angie what had just happened.

  The older woman pressed her hand against her chest and blinked in surprise. “Well, that’s a turn up for the books,” she said when Sienna had finished telling the story. “What a silly man following you about like that, and you said he was a professor.”

  I smiled. Angie made a very good point.

  “I know,” Sienna said. “He really scared me, especially after everything with Mum.”

  “Are you going to keep in touch?” Angie asked.

  Sienna bit her lip. “I don’t know yet. I haven’t decided.”

  “Is that him?” Angie asked, squinting at the screen and leaning forward.

  Sienna angled the screen so she could see better. “Yes.”

  Angie clicked her fingers. “It’s all falling into place now. I wondered what he was doing sniffing around here.”

  “He’s been hanging around the house?” I asked, surprised that he would have gone that far.

  “He came to see Nicole a couple of weeks ago.”

  My grip tightened around my cup. “He came to see Nicole? Are you sure?”

  She nodded confidently. “Yes, he’d just arrived as I was leaving for the day.”

  I was starting to get a very bad feeling about this. I’d asked Professor Ross specifically if he’d seen Nicole before she died, and he’d said no.

  He said he hadn’t spoken to Nicole since receiving her letter, but that wasn’t true.

  So why had he lied?

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  I contacted DC Lizzie Camden straight away to let her know that Eric Ross had visited Nicole shortly before she’d died. If he’d lied to me, I wasn’t sure he’d be completely honest with the police.

  After Lizzie had assured me, they would get to the bottom of Eric Ross’s lies, I decided to phone Janet and Marilyn.

  Sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, I set my mobile phone down beside my mug and stared at it, trying to psych myself up. There was no point putting it off.

  Sienna was in her bedroom, and Angie was vacuuming upstairs somewhere, I could hear the low drone of the vacuum above me.

  I sipped my coffee and called Marilyn first, thinking that would be easier, but before I got to the crux of the conversation, I heard Janet in the background, loudly insisting her mother hand over the phone.

  “What’s happened now?” she snapped.

  I rubbed my forehead, trying to ward off the tension headache I always seemed to get when talking to Nicole’s sister. “As I was just explaining to your mother, we’ve found out who’s been following Sienna. It’s a man called Eric Ross.”

  “And you’ve reported him to the police? Do they think he was involved in Nicole’s murder?”

  “The police came to the park and they’ve been talking to him.”

  “The park? What’s the park got to do with it?”

  I closed my eyes. If she would just let me get a word in edgeways, I might be able to explain.

  “It’s a long story, but Sienna was at the park with Zach, and they spotted the man who’d been following her. She called me, and I got there as quickly as I could.…”

  “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “I am calling you, Janet.”

  “Actually, you were calling my mother. When did this happen?”

  “Not long ago. I…”

  “You should have called me immediately. You know Mum is under a great deal of stress.”

  “Look, Janet, I need you to be quiet and just listen for a minute. There’s something I’ve got to tell you.”

  “Well, go on. I’m not stopping you.”

  “I recognised the man at the park. He’s a biochemistry lecturer, who taught me and Nicole when we were at university.”

  “So he knew Nicole?”

  I hesitated. “He’s Sienna’s father, Janet.”

  “Christ. Are you sure?”

  “Yes, he admitted it to me, and Nicole had sent him a letter shortly before she died, telling him Sienna was interested in meeting her biological father.”

  There was silence on the other end of the phone. For once, Janet was speechless.

  “I know this must be a shock.”

  “You’re not kidding. Look, I’m with Mum now, but I can drop her off and be with you in ten minutes.”

  “That’s really not necessary…”

  Janet grunted. “I think it is.”

  I opened my mouth to try to persuade her not to come but she’d hung up.

  As good as her word, Janet was at Yew Tree House within ten minutes. I opened the door and she pushed past me.

  “Where’s Sienna?”

  “Upstairs. She is feeling a bit fragile. Why don’t you come through to the kitchen and I’ll make a cup of tea?”

  “You can make some tea if you like. I’m going to talk to my niece.”

  She kicked off her heels and then marched upstairs. I wondered if I should follow but decided to give them some privacy. Janet already felt I was sticking my nose where it didn’t belong.

  I’d had too much tea and coffee and didn’t need any more caffeine. Although I’d had a late breakfast, it was now way past lunchtime, and I was feeling hungry. After examining the contents of the fridge, I decided to fix some sandwiches for lunch.

  Sienna should eat something and maybe sharing a meal with her aunt could ease Janet’s temper. I needed to go grocery shopping at some point, but there was sliced turkey, tomatoes and a cucumber in the fridge. That would do for lunch.

  As I buttered the bread, I heard the vacuum stop. I’d finished the sandwiches and was arranging them on a large plate when I heard Janet yelling. I rolled my eyes. So much for treating Sienna with kid gloves.

  Their voices were raised but muffled, and I couldn’t work out what they were saying. It was just as well. I shouldn’t be eavesdropping.

  Angie entered the kitchen, with a tin of old-fashioned, beeswax polish under her arm and a yellow duster clutched in her hand.

  “I’ve made some s
andwiches if you’d like some,” I said and put the platter down on the table together with some smaller plates.

  “Thanks, lovey. But I’ve already had lunch.”

  “Do you think it’s safe to go up there and offer them some lunch?” I asked, raising my eyes to the ceiling.

  Angie pulled a face. “I wouldn’t. They’re going at it hammer and tongs up there.”

  I thought Angie was probably right so I sat down at the kitchen table and helped myself to a sandwich.

  I’d just taken a bite when Sienna stormed into the kitchen. “She just won’t listen.”

  Before I could agree, Janet followed Sienna into the kitchen. “I’ve decided I’d better stay here. Sienna needs a responsible adult around, and if Steve’s away…”

  I shook my head quickly. “You don’t have to do that. Steve is back tonight.”

  Janet’s eyes narrowed. “Oh?”

  I let out a sigh of relief. Crisis averted. Thank goodness. I didn’t think I could stand a night under the same roof as Janet. “I’ve made some sandwiches. You’re welcome to join me.”

  Janet and Sienna both sat down at the table and helped themselves to a sandwich, while watching each other warily. Zach edged into the room. I guessed he’d been laying low and I couldn’t blame him.

  We’d just polished off the last of the sandwiches when the doorbell rang. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be good news. When nobody else moved, I pushed my plate away and went to answer the door.

  I took a quick peep through the spy hole and saw Toby Walsh standing on the doorstep, looking even more pissed off than the last time he’d visited.

  Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and smiled. “Toby, nice to see you. Is everything okay?”

  “No, it’s not.” He walked inside without an invitation, but at least he didn’t barge me out of the way like Janet had done.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, keeping my tone light. I didn’t really want a rundown of his business problems right now. I had more important things on my mind, but it seemed only polite to ask.