The Perfect Stepmother

by King, Karen

  ‘I don’t know, sir. We’re exploring every avenue at the moment. Your daughter could have simply got over the wall somehow, wandered off and can’t find her way back.’

  ‘Maybe.’ Gareth ran his hand through his bedraggled hair. ‘But why would she? She’s not the sort of child to do something like that. I just hope that if someone has taken her…’ He gulped then carried on, ‘That they don’t hurt her.’

  Maria closed her eyes tight. She couldn’t bear it if anything happened to Emma. It would destroy Gareth too. He had already lost Ruth.

  I should never have agreed to marry him, she thought. I should have kept away. Now all I’ve done is put Emma in danger.

  She tried to calm herself down, to stop the erratic beating of her heart, to tell herself that this might have nothing to do with her, her past, but she knew deep down that it did. It was too much of a coincidence.

  ‘Please don’t hurt Emma,’ she whispered, her eyes shut tight. ‘Please keep her safe.’ Her mind went to the letters she had hastily shoved under their mattress. The writer hadn’t threatened to harm Emma; they were aimed at Maria. Even so, they could be connected. She couldn’t leave it much longer. She had to tell the police about them. And then her life would be forever shattered.

  I’ll leave it until tomorrow, she decided. If they haven’t found Emma by tomorrow, I’ll tell them everything.

  46

  Lily

  None of them slept that night. They all sat up, drinking coffee, pacing the floor, waiting for news. Wanting to be alone for a bit, Lily went up to Emma’s room, put on the light and sat on the empty bed with the pink duvet cover dotted with strawberries, the teddies and dolls lined up on top of the pillow. Emma should have been fast asleep in this bed, tucked up and safe with her family, clutching Twink. Instead she was goodness knows where, maybe with some sicko who had taken her from her garden.

  She picked up Twink, the glitter-splattered polar bear that Emma loved so much. She could smell her little sister’s scent on it. An image of Emma fast asleep in bed, her arm around the bear that was always tucked up next to her, flashed across her eyes. Where was Emma now? Was she scared? Hungry? Hurt? She didn’t dare think of what might be happening to her; she had to block the terrible images from her mind. She had to believe that Emma would be found soon, safe and sound. She nestled her head into the bear’s fur and let the tears fall down her cheeks.

  ‘Lily, love.’

  She hadn’t heard her dad come into the room but guessed, like her, he had come here to be close to Emma. She looked up, the tears still falling. ‘I just want her home, Dad. I just want her safe.’

  ‘I know, honey.’ His voice broke as he sat down on the bed beside her. The only other time she had seen her dad cry was when her mother had died. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. ‘Me and Seb are going out to look again. I need to be doing something – I feel useless just waiting for news. I know we’ve checked all the local area, and that the police said to leave it to them, but I can’t just sit here. I’ve got to try and find her.’

  Lily wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. ‘I’ll come too.’

  ‘I was hoping you’d stay here and keep Maria company. Someone has to be here in case— when,’ he corrected himself, ‘for when Emma comes home.’

  She didn’t want to stay with Maria; she wanted to go out and look for Emma. Although Maria looked distraught, Lily didn’t see how she could possibly be as upset as she and her dad were. Emma was their blood. And Seb, well, he had been a huge part of Emma’s life for years. He looked on her as a little sister. Whereas Maria had only been in the family five minutes. ‘I’d rather come with you.’ She sniffed. ‘I want to find Emma.’

  Her father nodded. ‘I can understand that.’

  So a few minutes later they all piled into Gareth’s car and set off, Lily in the passenger seat with Seb in the back. It was almost dawn now and as they drove through the silent streets, Lily peered intently out of the window, hoping to see a glimpse of her little sister.

  They drove around for hours, sometimes parking the car up and walking along the streets, which were now coming alive as people left for work, calling Emma’s name, handing out photos of her to anyone they saw. Lily knew it seemed hopeless – a child could be whisked away so quickly – but she also knew that they had to do whatever they could to find her little sister.

  Finally, they went back home to find Maria asleep in the chair. Lily felt a surge of anger that her stepmother could sleep when Emma was missing, but a few minutes after sinking onto the sofa they all fell asleep, exhausted from all the trauma of Emma’s disappearance.

  They awoke a couple of hours later when the police returned. The CCTV and ANPR cameras had shown nothing, but tests on the wall had revealed scuff marks from Emma’s shoes, two footprints together, as if Emma had put her feet on the wall to support her as someone had pulled her up. They were going to search the woods at the back of the field again and wanted the family to do an appeal on TV later that day. Emma’s disappearance was now officially being treated as a child abduction.

  47

  Lily

  Someone has taken my little sister. The words kept going round and round in her mind. They had all been stunned when the police had told them they were treating the case as a child abduction. Dad had groaned in despair, sinking his head in his hands as he tried to compose himself; Maria had almost fainted while Lily had clung on to Seb for support, her mind refusing to take it all in. Eventually, Lily and Seb had then gone home for a shower and change of clothes and now she was sitting on her bed, drying her hair, an empty hollow in her stomach. Emma had been kidnapped and she had no idea what to do.

  Maria had been so certain that Emma had been taken right from the beginning, Lily remembered. Was it just because of that strange woman or because of something else? The doubts about Maria that Lily had tried to quash were now flooding back into her mind. She suddenly remembered how Maria had promised at the wedding that she would do anything in her power to keep Gareth and Emma from harm. Lily had thought at the time that it had seemed such a strange thing to say; it was as if Maria had known that they might be in danger. She recalled how overprotective Maria was of Emma, always frightened that something was going to happen to her, how she tried to avoid publicity or drawing attention to herself.

  Does she have something to hide? Did that woman recognise her?

  Or is she hiding from someone and now they’ve tracked her down?

  Lily thought back to the photo that she’d seen hidden in Maria’s drawer. The one Joe had recognised as the Lawsons, who’d run the corner shop at the top of his street in Birmingham. What did he say the man’s name was? Edward. He couldn’t remember the wife’s name. She switched off the hair dryer, picked up her phone and slid to the photo, zooming in on it. Joe was right: she could see the likeness between the woman and Maria. Was it a photo of her parents or grandparents when they were younger? But Joe had said the couple had no children, so it couldn’t be them. Maybe they were Maria’s aunt and uncle?

  She pulled up a search bar, typed in ‘Edward Lawson’ and a page of results came up: an MP, estate agent, photographer. There were hundreds of Edward Lawsons. If only she knew the address. Seb must know, she realised. She finished drying her hair and went into the kitchen, where Seb was making a coffee.

  ‘I’ve just messaged your dad and we’re going out on another search in a bit,’ he said. ‘The hours are ticking by. We’ve got to find Emma.’

  ‘I’ll come with you, but first I want to do a bit of online searching. Can you remember the name of the street where Joe lived? I want to see if I can find out anything about that couple who ran the corner shop. Maria had their photo hidden away for a reason.’ She fetched her laptop from the lounge, placed it on the kitchen table and fired it up.

  Seb frowned. ‘I’m not sure.’ Lines creased his forehead as he tried to think. Then he nodded. ‘Bewton Street.’ He passed her a coffee. ‘Look, I kno
w you’ve always been suspicious of Maria, but how can you think that she has anything to do with this? Anyone can see that she is just as devasted as the rest of us. She loves Emma.’

  ‘I know she does, but what if someone has a grudge against Maria and has taken Emma as revenge?’ Lily did an internet search for ‘Edward Lawson, Bewton Street’, adding a date period between ten and twenty-five years ago. There it was: a photo of the corner shop, and the man in the photo on her phone. She quickly scanned the page, basic information about Edward and his wife Diane, the dates they ran the shop – just a couple of years, as Joe had said. She sighed. Well, that wasn’t much help. She scanned the other searches on the screen, scrolling down, trying to find something that might fit.

  She looked up as a text pinged in. ‘Can you get that for me, Seb?’

  Seb reached for her phone. ‘It’s your dad. The police are searching the river at the back of the woods today. Oh God, Lil.’

  Tears welled in her eyes as the enormity of that action sank in. ‘Oh, Emma. Please be safe. Please be safe.’

  ‘Get off the perishing computer, Lil, and come and help us search for your little sister!’ Seb exploded. ‘You’ve got to stop this obsession you have with Maria. If she knew anything, she would tell the police.’

  He’s right, Emma thought, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Maria had told the police about that woman giving Emma the doll, hadn’t she?

  ‘I’m coming.’ She went to shut down the screen when a paragraph caught her eyes. ‘Stefanie Lawson, daughter of Edward and Diane Lawson.’ It was a newspaper article. Slowly she clicked on the link.

  ‘Lily!’ Seb shouted, annoyed.

  ‘Seb. Look at this.’ Lily’s eyes were still on the screen, her voice little more than a whisper. ‘I was right about Maria hiding something from her past but I never thought it was something as awful as this.’

  48

  Maria

  ‘We’re treating it as a child abduction.’ It was what Maria had dreaded as soon as she had realised that Emma was missing. Had she brought this on them? Had someone taken Emma because they wanted to force Maria to tell Gareth about her past? Or, heaven forbid, in retaliation for what had happened to Alicia, some kind of cruel revenge? She couldn’t keep silent any longer. She had to do what she could to save Emma. Which meant telling them about the letters. And her past. She should have told Gareth about it before they got married. Or better still, never married him. She should have known that her past would come back to haunt her, that she would never be able to get away from it. She definitely should have told him when she received the first letter. The police would want to know why she hadn’t mentioned it as soon as Emma had gone missing, when she had told them about the strange woman. The fear that had held her back would make her look guilty.

  She couldn’t think about that now though. She shouldn’t be thinking about herself at all. She had to be honest, if there was any chance it might help Emma be found, even if it meant destroying herself in the process.

  She’d confess everything now, as soon as Gareth came out of the shower, then they’d tell the police together. She’d paid the price, served her time, and it had been an accident. She hadn’t meant to harm anyone. She knew once she told Gareth it would be the end of her marriage, but really it had been doomed from the start. Alicia’s death was an accident, but it was still her fault. She didn’t deserve to be happy. If she hadn’t selfishly seized the chance of happiness that Gareth had offered her, then Emma might still be here, safe with her family. An image of Emma’s sweet little face flashed across her mind. Where was she now? How was she? She would be so scared, wondering what was going to happen to her. Oh please, God, don’t let any harm come to Emma.

  Then another thought shot into her mind: what if the kidnapper had taken Emma to keep her safe, because they were scared Maria would harm her as they believed she had harmed Alicia? She hoped that was the reason because that would mean Emma was being cared for, and once Maria confessed, the little girl would be released.

  Gareth’s phone started to ring. She went into the lounge to answer it, wondering if it was the police. The ringing stopped before she could answer then a text message pinged in from Lily.

  Dad. Don’t let Maria go anywhere. She isn’t who she says she is. Her real name is Stefanie Lawson and she killed a little girl years ago. I think she’s connected to Emma’s disappearance.

  Maria’s legs gave way under her and she had to grab on to the table for support. This was it. The end of the road for her.

  Suddenly a new strength flooded her body. She wasn’t going to sit around, waiting for the police to arrive and arrest her, because once they knew about Maria’s past they would certainly have her down as a suspect. Then she would be hauled down to the police station to be questioned and she wouldn’t be able to help Emma. And she might be the only one who could save the little girl if she had been taken because of what Maria had done all those years ago.

  She wished she could go up and get the letters from under the mattress but she couldn’t risk it. She had to get out now, while she still could. She grabbed her handbag and hurried out of the front door before Gareth came out of the shower.

  As she got in her car and started it up, she saw Lily and Seb coming around the corner. Lily pointed at Maria, waving at her to stop, and they both started to run as Maria edged off the drive.

  No way was she stopping. This was her one and only chance to get away and find out who had taken Emma.

  She pushed her foot down on the accelerator and shot past them.

  49

  Stefanie

  Twenty-two years ago

  ‘I’m so sorry to ask you to do this on Easter Sunday, Stefanie,’ Anthony said, his arm around his wife’s shoulder. ‘It’s a bad heart attack, I’m afraid, and Sarah is desperate to be with her father.’

  ‘It’s no problem,’ Stefanie told them. She had no plans for today. Chris was spending the day with his family too; they’d planned on meeting up tomorrow for the afternoon. She was looking forward to it. She couldn’t believe that someone as handsome and sophisticated as Chris had fallen for her. The only problem was he was married, with a young son, but Chris had said he and Amy had grown apart, didn’t even sleep together, and had promised he would leave them soon, then he and Stefanie could be together. It’s what she wanted more than anything.

  ‘They’re playing upstairs,’ Sarah said, her eyes red and puffy. ‘I haven’t told them much, just that Grandad is ill in hospital and we have to go and visit him. I’m praying that Dad will pull through. That I won’t have to tell them any bad news.’ She sniffed and pulled a tissue out of her jeans pocket.

  ‘I’m so sorry. I’m sure he will be all right. So many people survive heart attacks now.’ Even to Stefanie’s own ears the words sounded empty, but she didn’t know what else to say. ‘Don’t worry about Alicia and Simon. They’ll be fine with me. Take as long as you need.’

  She’d looked after Alicia and Simon many times over the last few years, earning extra money through school then college. They were like the kid brother and sister she had never had, being an only child. They were never any trouble, usually content to watch a film or play games. As soon as Sarah and Anthony had left she went upstairs to check on them both; they were sitting on the bed in Simon’s room watching a Disney film.

  ‘Are you two okay?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes!’ they chorused.

  ‘Give me a shout if you need anything,’ she told them. ‘I’ll just be downstairs. Maybe we can all play a game of Twister together when the film has finished?’

  ‘Yes!’ Alicia’s eyes sparkled. She was only five and had just learnt to play Twister – it was her favourite game.

  Seven-year-old Simon was a bit more laid-back. ‘If you want,’ he agreed but Stefanie knew that he would join in eagerly once she got the game out.

  * * *

  She played three games with them, engineering it so that Alicia won one of the games, knowing
that the little girl would be upset otherwise. Then she tucked Alicia into bed with her favourite rag doll and read her a story. Simon insisted he was too big for a story but always scrambled into Alicia’s bed to listen to one.

  ‘Can we have one more story? Please?’ Alicia begged when Stefanie had finished reading.

  ‘A very short one.’ Stefanie picked up the Mr Tickle book and started reading that; both children always enjoyed it. Especially when she gave them both a tickle every time Mr Tickle tickled someone.

  Finally, Simon went back to his own bed and they both settled down to sleep.

  Stefanie crept downstairs to get herself a snack. The Wrights always told her that she could help herself to anything she wanted, and they had well-stocked cupboards – but she never took advantage. They were good friends of her parents and she would never do anything to disrespect them.

  Anthony phoned as she went into the kitchen. ‘Stef, Sarah’s father is still in critical condition and we may have to stay overnight. Would you mind staying over to look after the kids? You can sleep in our room. Sarah said she changed the sheets only yesterday but there are fresh ones in the airing cupboard if you want to change them again.’

  ‘Of course I will. Take as long as you need,’ Stefanie told him. ‘Give my love to Sarah.’

  She poured herself a Coke, filled a bowl up with crisps and went into the lounge to watch TV. She’d just switched on a romcom when a text came in. She looked at it with excitement when she saw it was from Chris:

  I can get away for a bit. Can you meet up?

  She groaned at the bad timing. She was so desperate to see Chris and knew that it must have taken a bit of an effort to get away from his family on Easter Sunday. She replied back impulsively: