The Child's Secret

by Amanda Brooke

  Pressing his forehead against the window to get a better view, Sam still couldn’t see Jasmine. ‘Let’s go down and find her.’

  Selina couldn’t keep up and by the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, Sam was rushing back in from the garden. He hurried past her and into Selina’s apartment only to reappear a moment later. He looked over at a side table by the front door which was where he had left Jasper’s leash that morning. ‘She’s gone – and she’s taken Jasper with her.’

  Selina released a whimper. ‘You have to find her, Sam. They really will lock me up and throw away the key if something happens to her now.’

  Sam handed Selina his mobile. ‘Phone the police,’ he said as he flung open the front door and literally ran into Anna.

  He grabbed her arm briefly to steady her. ‘Have you seen Jasmine?’ he demanded.

  She shook her head and might have been about to say something else but Sam didn’t give her the chance. His bare feet slapped against cold concrete as he rushed out onto the street, looking up and down the road but Jasmine was nowhere to be seen. He called Jasper but to no avail. Jasmine had gone.

  43

  Jasmine: Wednesday 7 October 2015

  Jasmine knew, deep down, that she ought to be worrying about where she was going next but she was so happy to see Jasper that she could think of nothing else, and besides, the Wishing Tree was watching over her; she could feel its branches reaching out, calling her to it.

  She had set off at a trot and was surprised how much better behaved the pup was than the last time she had taken him for a walk. Knowing it was only a matter of time before Selina and Sam realized she had gone missing again, Jasmine slipped down a side street so they wouldn’t be spotted so easily.

  Her adventures so far that day had taken her to Wales and back, and while she was glad to be returning to the ancient oak, she wasn’t so keen on being closer to home. Her dad would be furious by now, but if she regretted anything, it was worrying her mum so much. She hadn’t imagined she would cause so much trouble, especially for Selina, although in her own defence she hadn’t deliberately set out to mislead her, it just seemed to happen that way.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ Selina had asked the shrubbery that morning. ‘Shouldn’t you be on your way to school?’ After a protracted silence, she had added, ‘Don’t make me wrestle with a holly bush, Jasmine. Come out of there.’

  Reluctantly, Jasmine had left her hiding place. ‘You won’t tell anyone you saw me, will you?’

  ‘That depends on what you’re doing here.’ More silence had followed. ‘So, are you going to explain yourself?’

  There was something in the old lady’s face, something that made Jasmine believe she could trust her. ‘My mum’s leaving home,’ she had said, her lip quivering.

  ‘Oh, thank God for that!’

  ‘No!’ Jasmine had cried. ‘She’s leaving me behind and I don’t want to live with my dad!’ Her body had started to shake uncontrollably as she thought of life with her dad and everything that would entail. ‘I’m running away and you can’t make me go back. I’d rather die first!’

  Selina had rushed over to wrap the trembling girl in her arms, making escape all the more impossible. ‘I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to, Jasmine, I promise. I’d rather run away with you than hand you back to your dad.’

  Jasmine’s spirits had soared. ‘Can we? Can we run away together? I was going to go to Wales.’

  Selina had looked back towards the house as she considered their options. ‘I was planning on making myself scarce so spending the day at Pat’s caravan might not be a bad idea. She’s given me the spare key for emergencies.’

  ‘And this is an emergency, really it is!’

  ‘I suppose …’

  ‘Can we take Jasper too?’

  ‘It’s probably best not to,’ Selina had said, still looking at the house. ‘That would mean telling Sam, and I should think he’ll have other ideas about what to do.’ Before Jasmine had a chance to object, she had added, ‘He doesn’t think we should be interfering in your mum and dad’s affairs, Jasmine. If anyone were about to make you go home, it might just be Sam.’

  With a heavy heart, Jasmine had been forced to agree and if her spirits weren’t low enough, there was another problem looming.

  ‘We’ll stop off at a phone box on the way and let your mum know what’s happening,’ Selina said as they drove off.

  ‘No, please, Selina. She’ll make me stay. She won’t stand up to Dad, he’s too scary.’

  ‘Let me worry about that.’

  And that was when an idea had struck her. Jasmine’s phone had been in her backpack and Selina was easily convinced that it worked. At first, Jasmine had tried to explain that her mum wasn’t answering the phone, but the trick hadn’t lasted long. Selina had been worried that the reason Laura wasn’t answering the phone was she had already realized her daughter was missing and was out looking for her so Jasmine got her phone to make a beeping noise then held it to Selina’s ear, convincing her she was leaving her mum a voicemail message.

  ‘Now don’t be mad at me, Laura,’ Selina had started, ‘but Jasmine is with me. You might already have worked out that she’s run away, and while I had nothing to do with that, I can’t bring her back. The poor child is terrified and she says she’d rather die than be left at home with Finn. I don’t know what’s happening there, but according to Jasmine you are still leaving him. Well, I hope you are because you’re not getting Jasmine back unless you’re prepared to follow through with your plans this time. Leave him, Laura, and get yourself to Pat’s caravan as quick as you can. We’ll be waiting.’

  And if it hadn’t been for that stupid radio report they would still be in Wales. That morning Selina had almost convinced Jasmine that she would be able to persuade her mum to run away too, but not now, not with the police hunting them down. Being forced to come home had been the worst feeling ever and Jasmine had been inconsolable, but at some point she had realized that perhaps she was going back for a reason. The Wishing Tree was still working its magic and all Jasmine had to do was bide her time before making another bid for freedom; this time with Jasper. That time had come and she was determined not to get caught again. Lifting up her hood to cover her face, she kept moving.

  Sam rushed back into the house and ran up the stairs two at a time. He was in his bedroom, struggling to lace up his old work boots with shaking hands, when Anna appeared. ‘You knew where she was all this time?’ she asked him angrily.

  ‘I haven’t got time for this, Anna,’ Sam replied with a growl.

  ‘What is wrong with people?’ she said, then let out a sigh. ‘At least she’s safe now, I suppose.’

  There was something in Anna’s voice that was crying out for attention but Sam didn’t have the time or the inclination to worry about anyone except Jasmine. ‘She won’t be safe until she’s back in her mother’s arms.’

  ‘Not her father’s, then.’ It wasn’t really a question.

  It was only when Sam stood up that he had the chance to look at Anna properly, if only because she was blocking his exit. Tears had carried a river of mascara down her face, almost washing away the concealer she had applied to cover up an angry bruise around her left eye. She looked utterly bereft, more so when Sam tried to get past her. When she leapt into his arms, she clung on tightly.

  ‘Please, Anna, I have to find Jasmine.’

  She began sobbing loudly. ‘You should have talked to me about your daughter, Sam, instead of doing something crazy like this.’ When Sam tried to pull away, she grabbed his arm. ‘I know I don’t deserve your sympathy. I know I shouldn’t have got involved with Finn, but he could be a good laugh in the right mood – and he gave me the kind of attention that would turn any girl’s head,’ she added, not yet so distraught that she couldn’t manage to give Sam a cutting glance. ‘And yes, he could get angry, but I thought he was a tortured soul and all he needed was the right woman to help him sort himself out. Stup
id cow that I am, I thought that could be me.’

  ‘Until he started knocking you about,’ surmised Sam as he forcibly peeled her hands from him and pushed her away.

  Anna cradled the injured side of her face. ‘My parents have been staying at their villa for a few weeks so Finn and I were spending more and more time together. When he told me Laura wanted a divorce, I suggested we might set up home together. I was really excited and I thought he was too. But I knew something was wrong last night when he stayed over because he refused to talk about any plans for us.’

  Sam was making no show at listening to her as he headed out through the apartment with Anna in hot pursuit.

  ‘I went round today to offer my support and I was there when Laura stormed off to the police station to defend you. Finn wasn’t just furious, he was – he was jealous,’ she said as she followed Sam down the stairs. ‘I confronted him about it and when he had a go at me, well, I’m not Laura and I gave as good as I got. I didn’t think … The police were only outside and he didn’t care, he just didn’t care.’

  With his heart pounding, Sam stopped at the foot of the stairs to catch his breath. Selina had remained in the hallway, clutching the mobile phone. ‘Have you phoned the police?’ he asked, already suspecting the answer.

  ‘Can’t we find her first?’

  ‘No, Selina,’ he said losing patience as he looked from his landlady to his ex-girlfriend. ‘Can the two of you stop thinking of yourselves for once and help me find Jasmine!’ There was real terror in Sam’s voice that appeared to come out of nowhere but it had been lurking there for six whole years. ‘Anna, make sure she phones the police. Tell them Jasmine has Jasper with her so she’ll be easier to spot.’

  As Sam rushed outside, he considered only briefly taking the car. He didn’t want the sound of an engine drowning out the dog’s bark when he called to Jasper, so now all he needed to do was decide which direction to take. He tried to put himself in Jasmine’s shoes. Who would she run to now? He glanced back over his shoulder to see Anna and Selina at the door. ‘Tell them to go to the Wishing Tree,’ he yelled before sprinting off.

  Although the street lights weren’t yet on, it was growing dark by the time Jasmine reached Menlove Avenue. Through the gloom she spied the red sandstone wall that marked the entrance to the park directly opposite. She could see very little of the actual park itself because her view was obstructed by huge trees running along the thirty-foot wide central reservation that was a miniature park in itself.

  Rather than attempt to weave between the steady stream of traffic coming from both directions, Jasmine turned left and headed towards the pedestrian crossing. She knew she couldn’t take risks and she needed to stay calm, although Jasper was another matter entirely. He had sniffed the air and picked up the unmistakeable scent of damp, decaying leaves and sodden grass that were the park’s hallmarks and he began straining on his leash.

  ‘Come on, we’re nearly there,’ Jasmine told him as the green man flashed into life.

  The dog pulled harder and this time Jasmine didn’t attempt to hold him back. They both ran across the road and turned back on themselves towards the entrance. The dog was faster than Jasmine and she giggled as she tried to press the release button on the leash so it could extend and give Jasper more leeway, but it was jiggling in her hand and she couldn’t engage the button.

  ‘Jasmine!’

  Jasper came to a stop almost as quickly as the girl. It might not have been his name, but the pup recognized the voice. His ears flapped as he moved his head from side to side and tried to work out where the sound had come from. It took him a while to realize Sam was standing on the opposite side of the road. Two carriageways, a central reservation and a wall of trees, not to mention the speeding cars, all separated the dog from his master.

  Oblivious to the dangers, Jasper was ready to dart across the road, but Jasmine gripped the plastic handle of the leash as tightly as she could. ‘No, Jasper!’

  The little girl stared at Sam, neither of them knowing which way to turn next. She could try to disappear into the park, but Sam knew the place far better than she did and he was a pretty good runner for an old man. And even if he didn’t catch her, they would send out police helicopters with beams of light that would track her in no time at all.

  As she stood frozen in indecision, a hand clamped around her shoulder and gave her a start.

  ‘Where the hell have you been?’ Finn roared.

  Jasmine looked up into her dad’s face in terror. His eyes were bulging and there was a scratch running down one of his cheeks. There was also the smell of beer on his breath. She tried to pull back but her dad’s grip was painfully tight.

  ‘I – I was just – just …’ Her mouth was dry and the words choked the breath out of her, but eventually she managed to say, ‘I was just taking Jasper for a walk.’

  ‘Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused? Your mum’s gone crazy with worry. Crazy! I’ve had to get all the lads from the pub to help with the search because the police are hopeless. I told them he would be involved,’ Finn said, releasing his grip on his daughter to jab an accusing finger in Sam’s direction.

  Jasmine’s reaction time was faster than her dad’s and the moment he let go, she turned and ran back the way she had come, away from her dad and away from Sam. Unfortunately, Jasper didn’t have the same escape plan in mind. As she tugged one way, he pulled in the other – so hard that the leash was yanked from her hand.

  The plastic handle clattered along the ground as the dog bolted across the road. He might have reached the central reservation, but he had to change direction when the driver of a speeding red car in the outside lane almost hit him.

  At the sound of horns blaring and screeching brakes, Jasper came to a juddering halt, as did the traffic, which gave Jasmine the chance to lunge towards the trailing leash. The driver of the red car shouted some expletives out of his window, aiming them at Finn who responded with some choice words of his own while Jasmine pulled the dog back onto the pavement and safety.

  ‘You stupid cow!’ screamed Finn as he grabbed her again. ‘You should have just let the mutt go. If it gets knocked down it’s its own stupid fault!’

  Jasmine began to cry. The knot in her stomach she had felt that morning had returned, twisting so tightly that it made her heart and chest hurt. Her dream of escaping was in tatters and she was going to have to live with the consequences of her actions for a very long time. Her whole life was going to be one long, miserable mess and she wished she was dead. She wished she had been the one to jump in front of the car and that the driver hadn’t slammed on his brakes.

  Sam watched from the opposite side of the road and it was as if he had fallen into his worst nightmare. He hadn’t been there with Ruby on what would be her last trip home from school, but he had relived that moment so often in the early days that it had formed a false memory in his mind that was as real to him as any other. There was a part of him that was there now, back in Edinburgh. There was a part of him that had never left.

  They had lived only a short distance from Ruby’s high school and it was Sam who had insisted that she was old enough and sensible enough to get herself to and from school. There was one main road to cross which had a pedestrian crossing, albeit one that was at the opposite end of the road to where Ruby needed to cross, but they had told her in no uncertain terms that she had to use it, even if it did add an extra five minutes to her journey. It hadn’t mattered that Sam never bothered to use it himself. Not then.

  And while those thoughts came to the fore, he was forced to watch helplessly as a new nightmare unfolded. Jasmine had been on his side of the road when he had first spotted her in the distance and he had run at full pelt to catch her up. He had prayed she would use the crossing while his mind conjured up that false memory of a white van with a smashed windscreen and his daughter’s blood blooming across the tarmac.

  In her dark jacket, with the hood pulled up, he had lost sight of Jasm
ine for a while. When the traffic came to a stop, logic told him it was the traffic signals and not the scene of an accident, but his mind wouldn’t release him from his fears until he spotted her again on the other side of the road. A sigh of relief exploded from his lungs and he had to put his hands on trembling knees before he could regain composure. When he straightened up again, he was so focused on calling out to her that he didn’t notice Finn until he was at Jasmine’s side.

  Even in the fading light, Sam could see that Finn was seething with anger. Had Laura finally had the courage to throw him out? If she had, who would Finn blame for the dissolution of his marriage? Fear stabbed at Sam’s heart while Finn pointed an accusing finger towards him. And that was when all hell had broken loose.

  There had always been that question in Sam’s mind. What would have happened if he had been there shadowing Ruby as Kirsten had at first suggested? They had chauffeured their daughter in her first year at high school, or, to be more precise, Sam had because he worked relatively flexible hours. He enjoyed that time alone with his daughter, just the two of them talking about their day, complaining about too much work, or people who didn’t work as hard as they did. But Sam had reared enough fledglings in his time to know that there came a point when a parent had to let their child go, not that he intended to do that for many years to come, but he wanted Ruby to experience a little independence. It would be good for her.

  Taking a couple of steps towards the kerb, Sam knew he wouldn’t get to Jasmine in time. As he waited for a break in the traffic, on the other side there was the screech of brakes and Jasper came to a trembling stop, giving Jasmine a chance to catch hold of him again.

  The little girl was safe for now, even though it looked as if her dad was reading her the riot act. Not caring what Finn might think of the intrusion, Sam had to reach them, but he refused to dart across the road in full view of Jasmine so made his way towards the pedestrian crossing. He kept looking back over his shoulder to see what Finn and Jasmine were doing and had just reached the crossing when he saw Finn raise his hand to his daughter. Sam couldn’t believe his eyes. Finn slapped Jasmine and she stumbled back.