The Back Road

by Abbott, Rachel

  What now?

  After making herself scarce the previous evening she had been hoping that this morning life would be back to normal.

  Everybody else had eaten breakfast and Ellie was clearing the dishes away. Max was on his way out of the door with the twins and on the face of it, everything seemed to be fine. He said he’d packed Jake’s and Ruby’s bikes into the boot of his car and was taking them off to a grassy place. Ruby wanted to ride without her stabilisers, apparently, and Ellie said she couldn’t bring herself to watch. She’d excused herself on the grounds that she would make Ruby nervous. Jake, on the other hand, said he would see how many times Ruby fell off before he decided whether his were coming off or staying on.

  Max left with a cheery wave, but Leo felt that it was a bit half-hearted. Obviously things hadn’t worked out quite as well as he’d hoped last night. She wished she knew what was really wrong. It wasn’t like her sister to behave like a jealous harpy. She sat down at the kitchen table.

  ‘What’s going on, Ellie? I know you have this idea that there’s something between Max and that PE teacher, but that’s not the only thing, is it? You’re so jumpy every time the phone rings, and you seem scared of your own shadow. Is it something to do with Friday night, because you still haven’t told me why you went out?’

  Ellie banged the dishes down on the worktop and the cutlery tumbled onto the floor. She muttered an expletive, but didn’t turn round to face Leo as she spoke.

  ‘Forget Friday night, Leo. I’ve told you – it was nothing.’

  ‘So why is it so important that Max doesn’t know, then?’ Leo asked.

  Ellie spun round.

  ‘Don’t you dare mention it to Max. It’s got nothing to do with you. Leave it.’

  She bent to pick up the knives and spoons and thrust them into the dishwasher basket.

  Leo wasn’t about to let this go.

  ‘What’s wrong with you two? This is so unlike the pair of you. You seem fixated on this Alannah woman, but what does Max have to say about it? Do you want me to have a word with him?’

  Ellie gripped the edge of the sink, and even from where Leo was sitting she could see her knuckles were white. Ellie’s back was rigid, and her voice, when she finally spoke, was tight – as if she were barely opening her mouth.

  ‘My marriage and my children are the most important things in my life, and nothing is going to ruin that. Nothing. I’m not going to end up like my mother. I’m not going to drive Max away like she drove our dad away. Whatever’s happening will pass. It has to. So speaking to Max is the very last thing that either of us should do. Do you understand, Leo?

  Ellie still hadn’t turned round, but Leo knew, for now at least, that she needed to steer the conversation away from Max.

  ‘Okay, okay – but don’t you think that perhaps you might be a bit less stressed if you gave up these delusions about our father, and focused on what really matters?’

  ‘Dad, Leo. He’s our dad - why can you never call him that?’ Ellie responded.

  ‘He stopped being my dad when I was ten years old. Father is a biological fact. The title “Dad” is a term of affection and it has to be earned.’

  ‘God, you sound priggish sometimes - do you know that?’ Ellie switched on the tap, and started to run water into the bowl as if to drown Leo’s voice.

  Okay, Leo thought. This was probably a bad idea, but she’d started now.

  ‘When are you going to stop pretending that he’s going to come back? It’s not healthy, you know. Not only is it impossible for me to understand why you believe it, I can’t even think why you would want it.’

  Ellie turned round and leant against the sink with her arms folded.

  ‘I want to know what happened to him. Is that so strange? One minute he was here, next he was gone. And never a word of explanation, nor a word of goodbye. If he’s alive, at least he’ll know where to find me.’

  ‘If he’d wanted to find you, it wouldn’t have been difficult - even before your mother died. Accept it, Ellie, for your own sanity. He’s gone.’ Leo was keeping her voice level. A shouting match would achieve nothing.

  ‘And you’re not the slightest bit upset about the fact, are you?’ Ellie asked, her mouth set in a tight line.

  ‘No.’ It was an honest answer.

  ‘Why do you always pretend to be so fucking calm and reasonable? Do you know how irritating it is? Never let it be said that you could show any emotion.’ She turned back to the sink and began slamming pots about again. It wasn’t like Ellie to swear. Leo knew she should have left it. But then she’d been doing that all week.

  ‘Look, I know how much he hurt you. I was there, remember? I promise you, I’m going to try to find out what happened to him, but I’m not sure it’s such a good idea. I think it’s time to let it go. Get on with your life and sort out whatever else it is that’s bothering you at the moment.’

  She looked at her sister. It was amazing how much somebody’s posture could tell you about their thoughts. Ellie finally turned round, and the anger in her eyes shocked Leo.

  ‘Stop telling me what to think, will you? It may surprise you to know that just at this moment our father, as you prefer to call him, is the last thing on my mind. I’ve got far bigger and better things to worry about.’ Ellie’s laugh was devoid of humour. ‘And I know you’ve always thought that wanting answers is a complete aberration on my part - but actually, what’s that phrase “Physician, heal thyself”? I may have some issues and I may seem irrational to you, but what about you? You can’t even stand to be touched.’

  Leo felt a stinging behind her eyes. Shit. She couldn’t cry. She never cried.

  Ellie gave a small gasp, and bit her bottom lip. Her shoulders sagged, all anger spent.

  ‘Oh Leo, I’m so sorry. That was a dreadful thing to say. I know it’s not your fault and I’m truly sorry. There’s nothing I’d like to do more than come over there and give you a big hug now, but I know it’s not what you want.’

  Just this once, Leo thought, I think I might like that. But she couldn’t say so, because then she really would cry.

  They had talked about her apparent lack of emotion so many times, even when they were children. Especially when they were children, but never like this. Mainly Ellie understood. But sometimes she wanted, and no doubt needed, more. Leo wished she could offer it and right now she wished she could accept it too.

  Slipping back behind the safe mask of rationality, Leo steered the conversation back to Ellie.

  ‘Ellie, come and sit down. I’ll make us both a cup of coffee, and you need to talk to me. I mean properly. Not just a fleeting remark as you walk out of the door. I promise you I won’t say a word to Max, but I can tell there’s something very much the matter, because I’ve never seen you like this.’

  Leo placed both hands on the table and pushed herself up from her seat. She walked across to the coffee machine, but Ellie had turned back to the sink, and was standing with hunched shoulders. She didn’t utter a word. On her way to the fridge for the milk, Leo stood behind her sister. She lifted her hands towards Ellie, and then let them drop to her sides. She paused for a moment, and then lifted them again and gently touched Ellie’s upper arms, giving them both a brief rub.

  ‘Come on, Ellie. Whatever it is, we can talk it through.’

  Leo let her arms drop and carried on towards the fridge. Ellie glanced over her shoulder, looking at Leo in surprise. But before she could say anything, the peal of the doorbell interrupted any opportunity they had to talk.

  ‘Who the bloody hell is that at nine in the morning? Do you think you could go please, Leo? I need a moment.’

  She made her way to the front door, and was surprised to see Tom standing there. She quickly tried to pull herself together and shake off the lingering pain of Ellie’s words.

  ‘Good morning,’ she said. ‘What brings you out so early? I was going to call round later and thank you for dinner. The food was seriously good, Tom. But now you’ve beate
n me to it.’

  Leo pulled the door open wider to let him in. She had enjoyed herself the previous evening. Tom was good company, and he’d kept her entertained with exaggerated accounts of some of his more bizarre experiences as a policeman.

  He stepped in through the open front door.

  ‘I was thinking about our conversation last night,’ Tom said. ‘I thought it might be a good idea to have a word with Max and Ellie about the security here. I’m a bit worried that somebody was able to come and go so easily - even if they didn’t take anything. Are they in?’

  Feeling a trace of untypical disappointment that Tom wasn’t here to see her, Leo showed him through to the kitchen.

  ‘Max is out with the twins at the moment, but Ellie’s here. Can I make you a cup of coffee? We were about to have some.’

  ‘That sounds good, as long as I’m not in the way,’ Tom said as they walked through to the kitchen. ‘Hi, Ellie. I hope you don’t mind me dropping round like this, but I wanted to have a chat with you about your belief that somebody was in your house on Sunday.’

  Ellie looked at Leo, and frowned.

  ‘Everybody thinks it was my imagination, Tom. Max believes I’m getting a bit neurotic, and Leo didn’t seem too worried.’

  Tom gave Leo a questioning look.

  ‘Ah,’ she said. ‘Sorry, Ellie, but I did wonder if you might be right. I didn’t want to make a huge fuss because I thought it would spook you as it was probably a one-off. You’ve got enough to worry about. It seems as if somebody had been looking at files on my laptop, and Max said it wasn’t him.’

  Ellie’s former fury had returned, and Leo could have kicked herself. Fortunately, Ellie contained her anger in front of Tom, and Leo thought this might be a good time to escape.

  ‘Look, if you don’t need me I’ll make the coffee and then make myself scarce, if that’s okay. I’ve got a few things I need to do this morning. I’ll take that cardigan back to Mimi too, while I’m out.’

  Leo offered a weak smile to her sister, poured the milk into the coffees, and made the swiftest exit possible.

  * * *

  Ellie didn’t want to have this conversation. She’d already worked out who must have been in the house, and she wanted the subject dropped. She wished she’d never mentioned it.

  None of that was Tom’s fault, of course. He was genuinely trying to help. He asked her for more details about Sunday, but her replies were practically monosyllabic, and in the end he obviously decided that he wasn’t going to make much progress with her.

  It was with some relief that Tom finally changed the subject.

  ‘Are you still nursing Abbie Campbell?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, and there’s been a change for the better. Did you know? They’re taking her off the ventilator - possibly even today. She responded to some external stimulus tests yesterday, so I’m hoping that we’ll see more improvement soon. Poor mite.’ Ellie looked pensive. ‘There was something that I wanted to ask you, Tom. I wouldn’t mention it to anybody else but as you are, or rather were, a policeman, I thought it might be okay.’

  ‘I might not be working at the moment, but it doesn’t make any difference to my discretion. What’s worrying you?’

  Ellie pushed her empty coffee cup away. There was something about Tom that seemed solid and reliable, but she felt there was more to him than that. Even on Saturday when he was relaxed and chatting, she had noticed a hint of sadness in those eyes and she wondered what had put it there.

  ‘Abbie’s legs and feet when she came in. They were covered in nettle stings, and her feet were cut to shreds. Nobody has mentioned how it happened, but surely it must be relevant? I don’t know why nothing has been said. And I was looking at her X-rays the other day, and both her arms have been broken at some stage. I asked the doctor about it, and he said they were very old injuries, and it was nothing for me to worry about. What do you think?’

  ‘I knew about the nettle stings and the cut feet. The police have been keeping that to themselves until they work out what happened. The most likely theory is that Abbie escaped from wherever she was being held. We know that she came from the woods - we’ve found some traces - and there are plenty of nettles there. But her T-shirt had been rubbed in cow dung, so she must have come from the fields across the road. I’ve been speaking to my mate, Steve, who is working on the case. He said the trouble is that there are so many properties that back onto the fields, and they have no idea which direction she would have come from, or how far she ran. Anyway announcements are going out on the news today - I think they’ve already started - to see if anybody can help at all with the enquiry.’

  Ellie was relieved that this wasn’t being ignored. But the woods!

  She had all but forgotten the memories that had plagued her on Sunday. Should she tell Tom what happened there all those years ago? She had promised Fiona she would never tell a living soul, and surely it could have no relevance today? It was all so very long ago. Too many secrets and lies, she thought dejectedly. Fortunately, Tom hadn’t noticed that her attention had wandered.

  ‘As far as the broken bones go,’ Tom said, ‘they may or may not have any bearing on this case. The police will have looked into it, you know, so if you’re wondering about the parents they’ll have checked when the bones were broken and what was said at the time.’

  Ellie was appalled.

  ‘God, no! I’m sorry, I wasn’t suggesting anything about the parents. Kath and Brian are amazing and it’s clear how much they love Abbie. I knew I shouldn’t have mentioned it.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Ellie. It’s right to ask questions - but it will have been covered, I can assure you.’

  At that moment, one smiley and one not so smiley face appeared at the glass doors to the garden. Max followed behind, pushing one bike with, and one bike without stabilisers. Ruby was grinning from ear to ear, while Jake looked defiant. She didn’t need to ask what had happened. Her cautious son had obviously decided he wasn’t yet ready to take the risk.

  Dumping the bikes on the lawn, Max opened the door and shooed the children inside. They ran over to their mum, both clamouring for her attention. She listened with wide open eyes as they each told their version of the morning’s events - adding the occasional “wow” and “how brave” or “how sensible” as the occasion warranted. She grabbed them both, one in each arm, and gave them a huge hug. They were the best.

  ‘Right, you two,’ Max said. ‘You can watch half an hour of a DVD, and then we’re doing something else. Ruby - you get to watch for being brave, and Jake you get to watch for being honest. Ah ah - NOT in my media room, thank you very much. In the playroom. Scoot!’

  Max pulled out a chair and sat down.

  ‘Tom - how are you? Do you fancy another coffee, because I desperately need one - mainly on the basis that it’s a bit early for a beer.’

  Ellie could see Tom looking at her to assess his welcome. She didn’t think she could cope with half an hour alone with Max just now, so she tried her best to give Tom an encouraging smile, and he took the hint.

  ‘Thanks, Max. That would be great, if I’m not taking up too much of your time.’

  ‘I have a half hour reprieve, mate - and I plan to enjoy it. The joys of school holidays. Normally we plan loads of family trips, but with Ellie working this week I’ve drawn the short straw.’ It was clear from Max’s grin that this wasn’t an issue for him. ‘What are you two nattering about, anyway?’

  ‘Abbie Campbell,’ Ellie said.

  ‘God, yes - that’s terrible about the Facebook stuff isn’t it? Ellie told me. It sounds like she was stalked.’

  ‘Sadly it looks as if you’re right - Abbie was targeted for some reason,’ Tom said.

  ‘Why did this person have all the fake friends, though?’ Ellie asked.

  ‘Anybody with no friends would be a bit suspicious, so they make up a number of phoney identities, and all friend each other. He’ll probably have approached other girls - real ones - too. Whoever this
abductor is, he’ll most likely have targeted people of a similar age with a low number of friends - the ones that might be desperate.’

  Max was shaking his head as he brought over the cups of coffee and sat down at the table.

  ‘So somebody has cold-bloodedly planned this - to befriend Abbie. But why? It doesn’t make any sense. Were any of the other kids in the network targeted, do you know? The real ones, I mean.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Tom said. ‘It looks as if it was focused on Abbie - but she may just have been the first target. People reveal so much stuff about themselves nowadays - everywhere they’ve been, or worse still, where they’re going. It’s a gift to criminals. Imagine a young girl who’s missed the last bus? She posts something about it as she sets off to walk home - forgetting that she’s previously posted where she was going that evening – even down to the specific location. Sorry to say it, but even if she hasn’t been daft enough to mention the bus number, she’s easy pickings for anybody who’s been watching her.’

  ‘Is it really that dangerous?’ Ellie asked. She wasn’t much of a social networker herself, but lots of her friends were.

  ‘It can be if you’re not careful,’ Tom answered. ‘A woman was murdered because she changed her status on Facebook from married to single. It appears her husband wasn’t too impressed. But even if you’re careful yourself, a real stalker will contact your friends and get to know them, and get them to reveal private stuff about you.’

  ‘Why can’t they catch them, then? Surely things can be tracked back through the internet?’

  ‘In theory, but there are techniques people can use to make it difficult as far as this sort of crime is concerned. There are ways of rerouting communications round the world several times to make it very hard to trace back. Hopefully this guy isn’t so savvy and might have given something away.’