Reported Missing: A gripping psychological thriller with a breath-taking twist

by Sarah Wray

  ‘You need to leave,’ she hisses at me and then shouts to Paige again. ‘I’m coming over, Paige. Just stay there – I’ve got something to show you.’

  ‘Nah, mate. I’m piss wet through. You can show me in there.’

  Suddenly, the torch beam swings round like a lighthouse, into the bush. It is right in my face.

  ‘What the fuck is she doing here?’ Paige says, digging her teeth into her bottom lip.

  ‘Paige! How long have you been out there?’ Kat looks at Paige, startled, panic flickering behind her eyes.

  ‘Long enough.’ It’s impossible to tell if Paige is bluffing.

  No one says anything.

  ‘We’re just talking, aren’t we?’ I explain.

  ‘What did you tell her?’ Paige says to Kat. ‘Why are you talking to her?’

  ‘I didn’t say anything, I promise,’ Kat says.

  My heart feels like it’s stopped.

  ‘Alright, pervert’s wife. How are you?’

  The spite in Paige’s voice makes up my mind. ‘I am his wife, yes. But we both know the rest isn’t true, don’t we?’

  ‘What the fuck have you said, Kat?’ Paige’s eyes are narrowed.

  I need to get away from here and think. I stand up, my eye on the part of the entrance she isn’t blocking. I make a sudden gesture to indicate one way, but actually turn the other and at the same time manage to hit the torch from her hand. In the confusion, I am able to bolt ahead. ‘Kat, just go,’ I shout after me.

  ‘Don’t, Paige. Just leave it. Please,’ I hear Kat saying behind me, our voices overlapping.

  It’s raining harder now, falling into my eyes, blurring my view. I run as fast as I possibly can, sliding every now and then on the muddy grass. I don’t know where I am, exactly. Unsure if the next step will land me on firm ground or plunge me into the furious river. I can’t hear anything except the water and my own breathing. I stop and sneak a look back. Kat is running with me but there’s no sign of Paige. I have to stop to breathe. My chest is painful and I am gulping in solid air. Kat comes up alongside me.

  ‘Don’t stop. Don’t stop now. You can’t wait here. We have to get away.’

  ‘She’s not following us. Just give me a minute. I’m twice your age, remember?’ I look back and there’s still no sign of Paige. But it feels that she could appear out of the blackness any second.

  ‘It’s not just Paige – we seriously have to get away from here right now. Paige is hard but they’ll kill you. Seriously.’

  ‘Who? What are you talking about?’

  She’s already running on ahead of me now. So I start again, losing my footing on the mud, something twanging painfully in my thigh. I reach the path where the football field is again. Kat is nowhere to be seen. I look back and Paige is gaining on me. I need to get back to the caravan or to the police station, call Detective Fisher on the way. One last push. My legs feel jelly-like and numb underneath me, and I am out into the road again, taking large strides.

  But suddenly I am disorientated by white light – headlights from a car. It’s blinding me, I can’t see around it. A door slams and I hear shouting as a hand reaches from behind, covers my mouth.

  Something explodes against my temple.

  Thirty-Six

  Thursday, 19 November

  When my eyes open, I am going up a narrow stairway, backwards. Someone is pulling me by my arms, fingers digging into my armpits, my feet dragging underneath me. The walls are peeling woodchip; I hear a TV blaring somewhere. I think of Mum’s place. But we are not there. My legs are limp, lifeless, scraping up the steps. There’s an acrid smell too. Everything is swimming again; going black.

  When I wake next, I am sinking into what feels like a spring-less armchair, a soft velour covering. I am aware of chatter and shapes around me. A number of people in the room. I keep my eyes closed and try to make sense of the echoey voices, praying it’s a bad dream. That I am back at the caravan… that the dream began much earlier, before I saw Kat’s face in the window. The pain in my head now tells me that isn’t the case.

  ‘So what are we going to do with her then? I don’t know what the fuck you brought her here for.’

  ‘Keep your voice down, will you.’

  It hurts when I swallow and I am trying to restrain myself from gagging – there’s a bitter, metallic taste in my mouth. So much so that I think they must be able to hear the gulp each time. Men’s voices. I realise they are ones I have heard before. Daz and Ashy.

  ‘I just don’t understand why you’ve brought her here?’

  ‘Paige here called me, didn’t you, babe? She’s loyal, she tells me what I need to know. You want to get yourself a drink, darlin’? Pass me one too.’

  There’s the sound of a can being caught and the hiss of the ring pull.

  My eyes want to open, take everything in, but I will them to stay closed. I can learn more if they think I am still passed out.

  ‘Oi, you, Twinkle Toes. I hear you’ve been shooting your mouth off. What have you been saying?’

  ‘Nothing! I ain’t said nothin’. She was asking me questions and stuff. But I didn’t tell her anything. She don’t know nothing.’ It’s Kat.

  ‘Paige? Darlin’, that isn’t what you said about your little friend on the phone. Now you wouldn’t lie to me, would you?’ Ashy says.

  ‘Ow, that hurts. Please don’t.’ It’s Paige’s voice.

  ‘You rang me. Why did you ring me and tell me Kat had been shooting her mouth off?’

  Paige is whimpering. ‘I’m sorry, Kat. I heard you talking. I panicked.’

  ‘Oi!’ It’s Ashy. ‘You talk to me when I am talking to you, not her, right?’

  ‘Ow! My hair, you bastard.’

  ‘So what did she say? What did you hear little miss goody two shoes here say?’

  ‘I didn’t hear her say nothing about you. I swear.’

  Kat tries to cut in.

  Ashy’s head whips round. ‘Shut it, you! Paige is talking.’

  ‘I went up to get Kat, like you said. She weren’t answering her phone and I knew where she’d be so I went to see her, like you told me, to talk to her. I heard her crying and saying she was sorry. It was her fault.’

  ‘I didn’t say anything about you, Ashy, I wouldn’t.’ Kat’s voice is pleading. A sharp crack sound. Someone has been slapped. Kat. She sucks the air in between her teeth.

  ‘Don’t say my name, you stupid bitch! Well, there’s nothing to say about me, is there? It was you that pushed Kayleigh in. I weren’t even there, was I?’

  ‘We didn’t push her!’

  ‘Whatever, love. I told Paige to have a word with her, get her in line. She was getting sloppy, tearful. She didn’t want to do it no more.’

  He mimicks a girl crying.

  ‘I told Paigey that Kayleigh was after lover boy over here and she went off like clockwork. I said to give her a scare; I didn’t tell you to fucking kill her.’

  The men in the room laugh. How many are there?

  ‘I thought we were just going to see her, see if she was OK. It wasn’t supposed to go like that.’ Kat sniffles.

  ‘Like I told you… Good luck convincing the police of that. Heh! You came round here for help and I gave it to you. And this is what I get? This bitch has been sniffing around for weeks because of you two.’

  The atmosphere in the room has changed.

  ‘Now listen. Your little friend Kayleigh thought she was too good to keep coming round here. So I told Paige to get her in line. And Paige was jealous because she thought her boyfriend fancied Kayleigh, so she pushed her in. What do you think is going to happen to you? Little Paigey don’t muck about.’

  ‘Fuck off,’ says Paige.

  ‘Do you really think he wants to go out with you, Paige? That you’re the only one he’s seeing? You don’t get it, do you, you lot? You’re replaceable. All of you. He’s keeping you sweet because you’re working for me. It’s the only reason he was seeing you in the first place – I needed
someone the police wouldn’t twig onto to shift some gear for me. And all the pervy old junkies love buying off little Paige, don’t they? Well, not so little, eh, chunk?’

  Paige snivels.

  ‘And you, the Little Mermaid. You think you’re too good for us, don’t you? So you better remember the fate of your little pal. She took an early bath, didn’t she?’

  ‘I fucking hate you,’ Kat hisses.

  ‘You won’t be saying that later on, lovey. You’ll be screaming my name if you’re not careful.’

  More sniggering.

  ‘I helped you out and I told you not to make any trouble for me, didn’t I? I’ve been nothing but good to you. Given you drinks and money, somewhere to hang out. And your ungrateful little friend, Kayleigh. I’ve protected you. But you couldn’t keep your mouth shut.’

  ‘I’m not surprised she didn’t want to come round here anymore.’ Kat sounds like her teeth are clenched when she’s speaking. ‘You’re disgusting. She didn’t want to be involved with you and neither do I. Maybe she is better off where she is, rather than having you lording it over her.’

  Another crack. Kat screams again before whimpering.

  ‘Don’t forget I know where both you girls live. And I’ve told you before, I will pay your families a friendly visit if you step out of line. Kat and her lovely little sister. Your old mum, Paigey.’

  ‘Ashy, man, what are we going to do with her? We can sort these two out later.’

  I think it’s Daz.

  ‘Fuckssake! Maybe she should go the same way as little Kayleigh. Nobody will think anything of it. She thought her husband did bad things to innocent little Kayleigh, and she couldn’t handle it, so she decided to join her in the water. Boo hoo.’

  ‘Ashy, I don’t know man – that’s pretty... I mean this is getting out of hand.’

  ‘What do you suggest then, genius?’

  ‘I don’t know. I guess we have to. I…’

  ‘Harris, you need to bring the car round the back. Me and Daz will stay here with these three.’

  ‘What about…?’

  ‘We’ll worry about these two little slags later. Right?’

  I have to open my eyes now. And think of a way out, fast. The room blurs in and out of focus. My breathing is quick and shallow.

  ‘Oh, hello there. Glad you could join us.’ Ashy waves his hand in front of my eyes.

  ‘Look, I won’t say anything, I promise.’ I know it’s pointless. ‘Kat told me it was an accident. They didn’t mean to do it. I won’t say anything.’

  I try to meet Kat’s eye; give her an encouraging look. Calm her down. Her crying is making Ashy more angry.

  ‘Nice try, love, but I don’t believe you. I don’t believe any of you. She told me she hadn’t said anything at all. You tell me you won’t pass it on. You’re all lying bitches, all of you.’

  Ashy gets his phone out and brings something up, wafting it under my nose. It takes a few seconds for my eyes to focus. It’s the pictures of me outside the pool, the ones that Paige took. He zooms in, removing my head. Rubs his fingers on the screen where my breasts are, between my legs.

  ‘Might stick these online. Probably a market for them when you’re gone, given what people are saying about your husband. There’s some sick fuckers out there.’

  His grin reveals wet, yellow teeth.

  Paige is guzzling a tall can of cheap lager down in one. He looks at her for a while, his lip curling up.

  ‘Daz, why don’t you pay Paige’s mammy a visit. Paige here has a little part-time job she’s not told Mammy and Daddy about. Don’t you, babe?’

  ‘I’ll tell them the drugs are yours. The police would know you made me do it.’

  ‘Made you do it?’ Ashy lets out a laugh. ‘Paige, babe – who do people buy the gear off? Who do they give their money to, all these little druggies. It ain’t me. What would your mum think?’

  I look to Kat and Paige. Kat is sobbing. Paige hovers at the back, refusing to look up, her shoulders hunched up. Behind her on a kitchen counter, dirty crockery is stacked up, empty milk bottles, takeaway cartons.

  ‘You want shit, don’t you – phones and watches. Shitty trinkets.’ Ashy goes over to Paige and grabs her, yanking up her sleeve to show the pink watch, the crystals sparkling. ‘You have to earn it like everybody else.’

  He drops Paige’s arm and she rubs at her wrist.

  ‘Mikey, go round to the garage and get some rope,’ Ashy says, looking at me. ‘Something we can wrap her in, yeah? Harris, you go with him, bring your car round.’

  ‘Why have we gotta use my car?’ Harris says under his breath.

  ‘Because I fucking said so, right?’

  They both go past me, trying to avoid eye contact.

  Paige tries to stop one of them at the door, but he pushes her aside and she staggers, almost falling over. It’s the younger lad who was working in the takeaway on Jeannie’s night out.

  ‘God, you’re pathetic,’ Ashy says to her. ‘Do you really think he is bothered about you? Have you listened to a word I said? I don’t know how he even pretends.’ He shakes his head, laughing to himself. ‘Eurgh. You sit round here shovelling chips into your gob. You’re a means to an end.’

  I look around the room. It’s strewn with pizza boxes, cans, half-rolled cigarettes. There’s a smell of strong marijuana.

  I am scanning the room for something, a way to get out. I readjust myself in my seat, feeling my pocket for my phone, but it isn’t there. I must have dropped my bag when we were running, or when they grabbed me. Someone might find it in the street, hand it in at the police station. They’d surely realise something had happened, look for me.

  ‘You want a drink, love? You could probably do with one.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Paige, get her a drink. Something strong.’

  ‘I don’t want anything.’

  Paige picks up a tall, dirty glass and fills it quarter way with cheap vodka and the rest of the way with coke. It’s a light, clear brown colour. She takes a sip of it and twists her face. She brings it over to me and I make eye contact with her, trying to plead with her to do something. But what could she do? Her face doesn’t change but she holds my gaze for a second.

  ‘Drink it. Paige here has gone to the trouble of making it for you.’

  ‘I don’t want anything.’

  ‘Paige, make her drink it. You’ll be glad of it, love. I’m trying to be nice.’

  ‘Ashy. Come on. Let’s have a drink, eh?’

  It’s Paige. She is forcing her voice to sound soothing.

  ‘Leave it, Paige. Not now babe, yeah?’

  Kat and I both jolt when he grabs Paige. He has her by the hair and her neck is locked, head to the side to try and stop the pain from the pulling. The violence of his action is all the more jarring because he’s speaking so calmly.

  ‘We could go through to the other room for a bit,’ Paige says.

  My stomach rolls over.

  ‘Sloppy seconds from my nephew? Piss off – I’m not that desperate. I’ve got proper women, thanks.’

  He releases Paige, and she stumbles back.

  I pretend to take a drink from the glass but I just let it wet my upper lip.

  I try to catch Kat’s attention but she won’t look up. Her fingers are folded into her lap, shoulders bunched up, head turned in. She is fidgeting with her hands, scratching at the back of them. There are red lines criss-crossed up her forearms. Some are faded. Others look like fresh, angry welts. She notices me looking and pulls her sleeves back over her fists.

  Then I see it; my bag is on the table behind her. No one found it; no one is coming.

  I try to placate him, buy some time. ‘Look, Ashy, you need to calm down. Please just calm down. I honestly won’t say anything. I don’t want to get Kat and Paige into trouble. I know they didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Not me or Kayleigh.’

  He’s coming towards me now. I try to get out of the chair but it’s too low; I can’t pull myself up.
His face swims in front of me. He grabs me by the chin. I flinch but he tightens his grip.

  ‘They ain’t as sweet and innocent as you think, love. Paige sells drugs to anyone who’ll have them. She doesn’t care and she doesn’t mind taking her share of the cut. Little Kat here won’t sell them yet, but she keeps them at her house. She knows what will happen if she doesn’t. And they both don’t mind coming round here, drinking every night, getting stuff for free.’

  ‘She only does it because you make her and threaten us.’ Kat bunches straight up again as soon as she has spoken.

  Ashy doesn’t say anything for a while. Dread is coursing through me, waiting for what he’ll do next. But then he just laughs.

  ‘You don’t get a free lunch, love. You’ve had all sorts from me. I sorted you out; helped you cover it up when you mad bitches murdered your mate. What’s in it for me? You fucking owe me. Don’t they, Daz?’

  ‘Yeah, mate.’ Daz has slumped into the chair next to me now. He’s drinking too.

  ‘We didn’t murder her,’ Kat mumbles, but she doesn’t look up this time.

  ‘Whatever. You fucking owe me.’

  Daz tips his head at me. ‘So we seriously gonna do this with her?’ His eyes tilt up at Ashy.

  ‘Got any better ideas?’ Ashy looks to me. ‘You probably don’t mind, do you? You’ve probably had enough of all this anyway. We’d be doing you a favour, what with your husband fucking off and everything.’ He laughs to himself, like he’s made a great joke.

  ‘Actually, come to think of it, you can take these two with you, Daz, in your car. I’m sick of them thinking everyone else is going to do everything for them. Take them with you, get them to do it – they’ve had practice – then they definitely won’t say anything. Will you, girlies?’

  ‘Get us another drink, Paige,’ Ashy says without turning round.

  I listen for the click and fizz but there’s nothing.

  ‘Oi! I’m talking to you.’ His expression changes.

  I follow his gaze. She isn’t there; Paige isn’t there.

  ‘Where the fuck is that little bitch?’

  The door to the stairway is still open. Daz runs over to it. ‘She ain’t there, mate.’