by Dan Scottow
‘Where’s your sister?’ she called to him. Peter looked back towards his mother, then down by his side where he thought Daisy was standing.
But she wasn’t there.
Peter shrugged and turned back towards his conversation.
‘Where is Daisy?’ Beth stormed up to Peter and stood in between him and the two girls.
Peter looked at his mother. The girls did too. ‘We’d best get off,’ Melissa said with a smirk on her face.
‘Yes, you best had,’ Beth said sternly, as they turned and walked away. Peter cringed.
‘She was right here, Mum, honest. She can’t be far away.’
‘You were supposed to be watching her!’
Peter scanned the crowds of people. What was Daisy wearing? He couldn’t even remember.
‘Daisy!’ Beth shouted. ‘Daisy, where are you?’
Peter thought she was overreacting, but nevertheless, he began calling out Daisy’s name too. People were looking, the panic in Beth’s voice causing a stir.
‘Excuse me…’ came a voice from behind Peter. He saw his mother spin round to face an elderly woman walking towards them, holding Daisy’s hand.
‘Daisy!’ Beth shouted. ‘Where the hell have you been?’ She snatched Daisy’s hand from the old lady.
‘She was looking in the window of the toy shop,’ the woman said.
‘Don’t you do that! What have I told you about wandering off? Don’t ever, ever wander away!’
Daisy looked scared. ‘I’m sorry, Mummy. The man said he wanted to show me something cool. I was only over there.’ Daisy pulled her hand away from Beth, turning and pointing towards the shops across the road.
‘What man?’ Beth demanded.
Peter watched dumbfounded as his mother shouted at his poor sister.
Daisy was fine. Peter couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about.
‘I don’t know,’ Daisy continued. ‘He said his name was Billy.’
The colour drained from Beth’s face.
‘He said that he knows you. He knew your name. That’s why I thought it would be okay.’
Peter frowned, guilty that this had happened while he was meant to be watching his sister. He didn’t recall seeing a man approach them, but admittedly his eyes had been on fixed on Melissa’s low-cut top.
He chided himself for not paying more attention to Daisy, but he hadn’t wanted her to tag along with him in the first place.
‘Daisy, what man? Where is he? Is he still here?’ Beth sounded calmer now, but Peter could tell she was still angry.
‘Daisy, where is the man?’
Daisy looked around, crying now.
‘He’s gone. He said he was your friend. I thought it was okay,’ she repeated.
Peter looked at his sister, noticing she was holding something.
‘Daisy, did the man give you that?’ Peter asked, an edge of concern in his voice now. It was a large, brightly coloured lollipop. Concentric circles in alternating colours, getting smaller into the middle.
Peter saw his mother’s gaze turn towards Daisy’s hand. Her eyes widened.
Peter watched in shock as his mother snatched the lollipop from Daisy. ‘Did the man give this to you?’ she asked, less stern, but deadly serious.
Daisy nodded.
‘Never take sweeties from strangers. I’ve told you that so many times. Never! Understand?’
Beth threw the confectionary down onto the pavement. It hit the ground and shattered into tiny splinters. People were gawping now, but she didn’t seem to care. Peter was mortified.
Daisy’s eyes filled with tears.
‘Mum, you’re scaring her! What the hell? It’s a lollipop… she didn’t eat it. It’s fine.’
‘Get in the car!’ Beth shouted.
Beth unlocked the Range Rover, opening the back door. Daisy crawled in, fastening her seat belt sheepishly, tears streaming over her cheeks. Peter climbed into the front. He tried not to look at the two girls he had been talking to, who now stood a few metres away staring at him with bemused expressions on their faces. They were whispering and laughing.
Beth pulled herself into the driver’s seat, slamming the door with a thud. The kind old lady was shaking her head.
Peter sat in silence as his mother started the engine and sped off towards home.
3
‘I still don’t understand why you haven’t called the police,’ Charlie grunted, standing in the doorway.
‘What would I tell them? That somebody gave our daughter a lollipop?’ Beth replied.
‘She could have been abducted!’ Charlie slammed his fist against the door frame, making Beth jump in her seat. He rarely got angry.
Beth stood up from her armchair, ushering Charlie into the living room and closing the door.
‘Can you keep your voice down. I’ve not long got her calmed. We don’t want to set her off again.’ She sat on the sofa in front of the bay window and patted the cushion next to her. Charlie sat obediently, still holding his leather jacket and car keys. He felt pissed off but was also aware that Beth had had a scare, so he was trying to keep his cool.
‘Let’s put this in perspective. She wasn’t abducted. Somebody gave her a sweet and took her over the road to show her something in the window of the toy shop. And yes, that’s creepy, and definitely not okay for a stranger to do that. But in the grand scheme of things, he didn’t do anything illegal, and Daisy is fine. I upset her more with my meltdown. I had a scare and I overreacted.’ Beth’s voice, calm and matter of fact, bugged Charlie.
‘I don’t like it at all. And why the hell is she taking sweets and walking off with a stranger anyway? I hoped we’d brought our kids up to be much smarter than that.’ Charlie’s eyes, red and tired after a Saturday morning at work, bore into Beth’s, as he tried to make sense of the situation.
Beth ran her hands through her hair, holding them on the back of her head. ‘He said he knew me. He used my name. So Daisy assumed it would be okay. She’s six.’
Charlie stood up. ‘But that’s even freakier. Why would somebody say that? And how would he have known your name?’
‘I don’t have the answer to either of those questions, Charlie, I’m sorry.’
Beth put her hand on his inner thigh and stroked his leg. ‘The crucial thing is she is okay. She’s upstairs, and she’s fine.’
‘And you’re sure it’s not someone from work?’
Beth put her fingers against her temples, sighing. ‘One hundred per cent positive, Charlie. I don’t work with anyone called Billy. And anyway, why wouldn’t he have stuck around to speak to me? Rather than disappearing?’
‘I guess,’ Charlie mumbled. He walked to the door, opening it and leaning out into the hallway. ‘Daisy! Can you come down here a minute please?’ he shouted in the general direction of the stairs, his voice loud and authoritative. A few seconds later, they heard the sound of Daisy’s bare feet on the stair carpet. She came into the living room sheepishly. Her eyes were still red from crying. Charlie sat back down next to Beth on the sofa.
‘Sit down, love, will you?’ Charlie said softly, motioning towards the armchair with his head. Daisy crossed to the chair, plonking herself down.
‘Your mum told me what happened in town.’
Daisy looked down at her hands and started fidgeting. For a second Charlie was worried she would bawl.
‘It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re not in trouble. We just want to talk to you.’
‘Okay,’ Daisy replied quietly.
‘So you remember that your mummy lost her parents when she was young?’ Charlie asked.
‘Yes. In a fire.’ Daisy’s eyes darted towards Beth.
‘That’s right.’
Beth sat staring at Daisy. Charlie hated having to bring back the memories for Beth, but this was important.
‘And you know that Mummy doesn’t have anyone from her childhood, any friends or anything, who you wouldn’t recognise, right?’
Daisy looked at Beth fo
r reassurance. Beth smiled, nodding. Daisy nodded too.
‘Because she moved around a lot when she was little,’ Daisy said, more assured this time, well versed in the story of Beth’s upbringing.
Beth’s father had been in the army. Beth and her parents had never settled in one place. She didn’t remain in any school long enough to make any lasting friendships. She had been a very lonely child. Her parents were killed in a house fire when Beth was eighteen. When Charlie met her in the first year at university, she had still been grieving. She had been aloof with their peers and had struggled to bond with anyone. It took months for Charlie to get her to open up about her family. Charlie was one of the few people she told. Their friendship grew at a fast pace after she confided in him, and soon blossomed into a romance. They had been inseparable ever since. Beth had no friends. She didn’t form any other relationships. She was guarded and private, except with Charlie. He had once asked her why she didn’t have any friends. She looked sad a moment, and replied she had never learned how.
Charlie looked at his wife, then back towards his daughter. ‘So if anyone you don’t recognise tries to speak to you, if they tell you they are a friend of Mummy or Daddy, and you don’t know who they are, then you don’t talk to them, okay?’
Daisy nodded again.
‘You don’t talk to them. You don’t take anything from them. You don’t go anywhere with them. Not even if they tell you it’s okay. Do you understand, darling?’ Charlie whispered. Daisy’s head bobbed up and down slowly. ‘I need you to tell me you understand what I’m saying.’
‘Yes. I understand, Daddy,’ Daisy breathed.
‘Good girl. Now come here.’ Charlie opened up his arms for a hug. Daisy stood up, unsure at first, but crossed the room for a cuddle. He enveloped her, kissing her on the top of her head, then ruffled her hair with his left hand.
‘Okay. That’s it. Off you go and play.’
Daisy didn’t need telling twice and ran back up the stairs.
‘Do you think this has something to do with that note?’ Charlie asked when he was sure Daisy couldn’t hear them.
Beth shook her head.
‘I wouldn’t have thought so.’
‘I don’t understand who it could have been,’ Charlie said.
‘No. I don’t either. Can we drop this please? We’re going around in circles now and not achieving anything, apart from giving me a headache. We’ll need to keep a closer eye on her from now on.’
Charlie frowned, but something about Beth’s tone told him to leave it there. He stood up, taking his jacket to the hall cupboard. He heard the front door opening and turned to see Beth slipping through it with Cooper at her heels.
‘Where are you going, Beth?’ he shouted after her.
‘Taking the dog for a walk.’
The door slammed shut behind her. Gravel crunched as she walked down the driveway, away from the house.
4
July 1985, Perry Barr, Birmingham, England.
Kitty Briscoe skulked along the path. It hadn’t been dark for long, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be in trouble when she got home. She smoothed her hands down the front of her yellow dress, trying to rub some deep crimson marks away, but it was no use. The stains weren’t going anywhere.
Kieran gave her a sideways glance. She looked in his direction, and his eyes darted from her.
‘What?’ she shouted.
Kieran continued walking along the dusty path but didn’t reply.
‘What, Kieran? Stop watching me like that!’
Kieran turned to her, his face serious, eyes dark.
‘We’re agreed, right? We won’t say anything to anyone. Not a word.’
‘Agreed,’ Kitty replied. She walked on, but Kieran grabbed her wrist.
‘Ouch! Let go, you’re hurting me!’ she cried.
The older boy held her in a vice-like grip. Her flesh went pale beneath his fingers.
‘Kitty. This is important. We could get in a lot of trouble. We need to make sure we say the same thing.’
Kieran was eleven, and Kitty realised that he knew things. Things that she didn’t understand yet.
‘We agreed, okay. I won’t tell.’
‘Promise?’
‘Promise.’
They resumed their journey, Kieran a few paces in front. Now and then he would peek over his shoulder. Each time he looked, Kitty stared straight back at him. Her expression blank.
They walked for a few minutes in silence. The sound of their small feet dragging through the dry soil and gravel, the only noise. Kitty couldn’t bear it.
She held the skirt of her dress in her tiny hands, twisting the lacy hem between them. The stains appeared almost black in the moonlight.
Her eyes flicked to the blood on Kieran’s bare arms, and she shivered.
She eventually spoke, more to break the silence than for any other reason.
‘Kieran?’ she whispered.
‘What?’ Kieran didn’t turn around. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his shorts and continued along the path.
‘It’s not very far. Billy will find his way home, won’t he?’
Kieran couldn’t tell if it was a statement or a question. It was one of the small social nuances that he sometimes struggled with.
‘Course he will. Like you said. It ain’t that far, is it.’
Kitty skipped a few steps to catch up with Kieran. She took his hand in her own. Kieran looked down at her and smiled.
‘Everything will be okay,’ Kitty said in a matter-of-fact way that made her sound much older than her seven years.
5
Taking a mug from the cupboard, Charlie spooned two heaps of instant coffee into the bottom. Flicking the switch on the kettle, he heard a cough behind him, turning to find Peter skulking in the doorway.
‘I’m sorry about Daisy, Dad. Honestly, I only took my eyes off of her for like a minute or two, she literally disappeared.’
Charlie rolled his eyes at Peter’s use of the word. He once told his parents he was literally boiling. Charlie had replied that he hoped not, getting a laugh from Beth. It had been lost on their son.
‘She was right next to me,’ Peter continued. ‘These girls from school came over to say hi and I only took my eyes off her briefly, but I thought she was standing beside me.’
The kettle clicked to a boil, and Charlie poured his drink, sliding onto one of the bar stools at the island unit.
‘Pete, it’s fine. It’s not your fault, mate. We don’t blame you at all. But remember, when you’re responsible for a child, you can’t take your eyes off them for a second. A guy I work with took his toddler to the park, glanced down at his phone quickly to read a text message from his Mrs. When he looked back up, the kid had fallen in the duck pond. Almost drowned. He’s never really got over it.’
Charlie held a mug up to his son, offering him a drink. Peter shook his head and ran his hand through his messy brown mane, making Charlie wish he still had all his hair.
‘Is Mum all right?’ Peter asked, sitting down opposite his father at the island.
‘She’s a bit shaken, that’s all.’
‘Yeah, I know. But… how she reacted… Dad, the way she flipped out. It wasn’t normal. Totally over the top. I’ve never seen her like that before. She was manic. A different person. Like that time we were in town a few years ago and that news crew filmed us. She went mental because the cameraman hadn’t asked her permission first. Remember that?’
Charlie nodded as he recalled the day.
‘Like that…’ Peter continued, ‘But literally a million times worse. I wondered if there was… something going on with her.’
Charlie frowned. His wife was usually quite a calm person. He often marvelled at her ability to remain composed in a crisis. When Peter had fallen off a climbing frame when he was three, and split his forehead open, Beth had been like a machine. She sprang into action without panicking, while Charlie had been useless, the sight of all the blood making h
im feel a little faint. He looked at the pale scar on Peter’s brow, shaking his head.
‘I don’t think so. She hasn’t said anything to me. I’m sure she was just scared for Daisy. You won’t realise this yet, but when you have kids of your own, there is nothing quite like the fear when you think harm has come to them. It’s… awful.’
‘You’re not getting divorced, then?’
Charlie laughed. ‘Of course not! Why would you say that?’
‘Russell’s mum and dad got divorced and his mum went a bit psycho while it was all going on.’
‘No, we are definitely not getting a divorce.’
Peter nodded, then paused for a second. ‘It freaked me out. Not only what happened to Daisy, but Mum. She was really scary. Her eyes were wild. She looked ready to kill someone.’
‘I’ll keep an eye on her, but don’t you worry yourself about it too much.’
The sound of the doorbell ended the conversation, as Peter sprang up from his stool. ‘That’ll be Zoe,’ he said, hurrying out to welcome her. Charlie watched with a smile on his face as his son greeted his girlfriend. The pair started their usual hugging and kissing, as if they hadn’t seen each other for days, rather than hours. They walked down the hallway holding hands and Zoe smiled, waving at Charlie as they stood in the kitchen door. Her long ginger curls in a loose plait hanging down over her shoulder. She wore a short green sundress, and white trainers.
‘Hey, Mr Carter,’ she said, polite as ever. As she smiled, her freckles seemed to dance around her cheeks.
‘Hi, Zoe, how are you?’ Charlie asked.
‘Yeah, I’m okay, thanks.’
Peter pulled her by the hand, dragging her up the stairs.
‘See you later,’ Charlie said as they made their way up to Peter’s bedroom. ‘Pete. Door open!’ he shouted towards their backs.
‘I know,’ Peter replied, his voice laced with sarcasm.