Schoolgirl Missing

by Sue Fortin

  ‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ he protested.

  ‘Don’t lie! Of course, you did. That’s exactly what you meant.’

  Kit gave a shake of his head. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you.’

  Neve was hurt. More than he could imagine. ‘Whose fault is it, that I’m not a parent?’ Neve shouted at him. ‘Certainly not my fault. You’re the one who doesn’t want any more children. You’re the one who refuses to let me have a baby of my own.’

  ‘And for good reason!’ He shouted back at Neve. Kit hardly ever shouted. It was not in his nature to lose control so much.

  In a strange way, it made Neve feel powerful. She had the ability to evoke that much emotion from him. It was a new sensation for her and she had to admit, in some perverse way, she quite liked it.

  Kit slumped onto the sofa, his head in his hands, his elbows propped on his knees. He was muttering sorry again. Over and over. ‘Neve, I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. I’m so sorry. I don’t mean it. I love you. I need you.’

  ‘Don’t push me away,’ she said softly, coming over to sit beside him.

  ‘I just want Poppy home.’

  ‘So do I,’ said Neve. It was true, she did want Poppy home, but she felt a shifting of control between them and she didn’t want to compromise that just yet.

  Later that night, when they were in bed, side by side, their hands entwined in each other’s, Neve tried to find some order in her jumble of thoughts. It was hard to keep up with Kit’s mood-swings. She knew he was suffering, deeply suffering. She was trying to comfort him, but it was almost as if by giving into his raw emotions, he then had to make up for the exposure and over-compensate by going the other way.

  Kit’s breathing changed as he slipped into sleep. Neve looked over at him in the light of the bedside lamp. At least he was resting and for a moment the strain had lifted from his face. A small vibration on the bedside table took her attention away from Kit. Neve looked at her phone.

  Am thinking of you. Xx

  Neve smiled at the message, acknowledging the flicker of warmth that rose in her heart but also the drop that followed. She deleted the message without replying.

  Chapter 19

  Day three of Poppy being missing and Neve awoke to an empty bed. Unsurprisingly, neither one of them was sleeping, simply getting by on an hour here and an hour there. Neve reached for her phone and checked Twitter for any news of Poppy. Prior to this she didn’t have any form of social media and had set up a Twitter account under a fake name. The original post now had over four hundred retweets. Neve scrolled down the replies.

  Julie Kay @JulesK68

  We are praying for Poppy’s safe return. #schoolgirlmissing

  Bev Markham @Bevvers

  Have shared. Hope you find her safe and well #findPoppy #schoolgirlmissing

  FelixChelseaBlood @ChelseaBloodBoy

  Every parent’s worst nightmare. #schoolgirlmissing #missing

  Jimmy Logan @LogansRun

  Is this the kid from the special school. Parents should look after her better

  Julie Kay @JulesK68

  Replying to @LogansRun

  She is 14. You can’t keep a teenager under lock and key.

  Jimmy Logan @LogansRun

  Replying to @JulesK68

  But the kids got special needs. I stand by what I said. Parents fault.

  Julie Kay @JulesK68

  Replying to @LogansRun

  I hope this never happens to you or anyone you care about.

  Sara James @Saraaaaaaaa-no-h

  Replying to @LogansRun @JulesK8

  Jumping in here. Kids with special needs still have rights like any other teenager. #equalrights #schoolgirlmissing

  Terry Hadwell @Tel_1955

  Replying to @LogansRun @JulesK8 @Saraaaaaaaa-no-h

  It’s just the dad who is the parent. His wife is stepmum. She collapsed at the press conference. Bit over the top if you ask me.

  Sara James @Saraaaaaaaa-no-h

  Replying to @Tel_1955 @LogansRun @JulesK8

  She adopted Poppy so is her mother. You don’t have to be birth mother to be a proper mother. #schoolgirlmissing

  Jimmy Logan @LogansRun

  Replying to @Tel_1955 @JulesK8 @Saraaaaaaaa-no-h

  Crocodile tears? Dad seemed very calm. Shifty looking.

  Terry Hadwell @Tel_1955

  Replying to @LogansRun @JulesK8 @Saraaaaaaaa-no-h

  Wouldn’t be the first time. More likely to be someone the victim knows than a stranger.

  Julie Kay @JulesK68

  Replying to @LogansRun Terry Hadwell @Tel_1955 @Saraaaaaaaa-no-h

  Stop speculating. You’re diverting attention from finding Poppy. #schoolgirlmissing #findPoppy

  Neve closed the app. She’d read enough. She didn’t need people like LogansRun spouting righteous tweets when they knew nothing about what was really going on.

  Neve went downstairs where Kit was already in the living room occupying his usual spot by the front window, with a coffee cup in one hand and his mobile in the other with Facebook open.

  ‘Any news?’ asked Neve, nodding towards the phone.

  ‘No. Lots of shares and good wishes,’ said Kit. ‘But nothing. No one has seen her. It’s like she’s disappeared off the face of the earth.’ His face crumpled and he looked away out of the window. ‘Do you think today will be the day?’

  ‘I hope so. All we can do is hope.’

  ‘I’ll never take anything for granted again,’ said Kit. ‘All this has made me realise how precious you and Poppy are to me,’ he continued. ‘I’ve been a shit husband of late and a crap father. I’ve been bogged down with work, fixated on making and breaking deals. I lost sight of what’s important to me.’

  ‘We’re all guilty of that,’ Neve said.

  He turned to her. ‘No. You’re not. It’s me. I have been an inconsiderate and selfish man and if nothing else comes of this God-awful situation, I promise you, I will be a changed man.’ He looked at her intently. ‘From now on, I will always put yours and Poppy’s needs ahead of mine. Whatever they are.’

  For a moment Neve wanted to believe him. He looked so sincere and his words were so full of passion – of hope and despair, all at the same time. And perhaps, in that moment, Kit really believed it too. Neve wasn’t so sure that would be the case when Poppy was found. Would he still want to make her happy, to put her needs first? It would be a big turnaround for Kit and she wasn’t sure if he could see it through. She wanted to believe him, she truly did, but there was an element of doubt.

  ‘I mean it,’ Kit spoke as if reading her mind. ‘I’d give anything to have Poppy back. Anything. I’ll do whatever it takes when she’s home, I’ll do whatever it takes to make us happy again.’

  ‘Anything?’ Neve ventured. She looked into his eyes. He must know what she was asking. She didn’t push the point. It wasn’t the time and she lowered her gaze. Maybe deep down in her heart she knew he was not quite ready to commit to another child. Nearly, but not quite. She couldn’t help wondering what would have to happen to make him change his mind.

  ‘Oh, shit,’ said Kit, looking out of the window. ‘It’s Sally. I wish she didn’t have to come and sit round here all day with us. I feel I’m being watched all the time. Like I’m being scrutinised.’

  ‘I know what you mean, but she’s just doing her job,’ said Neve, going across the hallway. ‘Maybe she’ll have news.’

  ‘Oh, and look who else is here. DCI Pearson.’

  ‘Good morning,’ said Neve, opening the door wide and stepping aside. ‘Come in.’

  Greetings over with, DCI Pearson stood in the living room, flanked by Sally. ‘I’m afraid I haven’t got any news on Poppy’s whereabouts. We’ve had a couple of sightings that we’re following up.’

  ‘Sightings?’ said Kit. ‘Where? By who?’

  ‘In Little Bury, where you moored up, a taxi driver thought he saw two teenage girls walking along the road to Lower Bury. One matching Poppy’s description
.’

  ‘Two girls?’ said Neve. ‘You think Poppy went off with someone?’

  ‘We’re looking into all possibilities. Did she know anyone in the village? Anyone from school maybe?’

  Neve exchanged a blank look with Kit. ‘Not as far as we are aware,’ she said. ‘Not from Lower Bury. She goes to school at St Joseph’s.’

  ‘We’re checking with the school anyway and I have two officers going door-to-door in the village. It could be a case of mistaken identity.’

  ‘You said there were two sightings?’ said Kit.

  ‘Yes, the other was in town in the suburbs. Hostead area. Again, two people, one of them a teenager, walking along Meridian Street.’

  ‘The same girls?’ asked Neve.

  ‘Again, we’re not sure.’

  ‘For fuck’s sake,’ said Kit. ‘Have you got officers down there looking for her?’

  ‘We have, Mr Masters. As we speak, they’re also going door-to-door and handing out leaflets in the area of Meridian Street. It’s mostly residential down there but one or two of the small shops have CCTV, so we’re checking that too.’

  ‘It’s just taking so long. I don’t know how she can manage out there on her own,’ said Kit. ‘Is everything, and I mean absolutely everything, being done to find her? If it’s money, we can pay. We have savings. I’ll get a loan, remortgage the house, anything …’

  ‘Mr Masters, Kit, please be assured we are piling every resource into finding your daughter. I promise you. Every lead is being followed up and then followed up again.’ Pearson gave Neve a sympathetic smile which she thought was meant to be reassuring.

  ‘Have you found anything on her laptop?’ Neve asked. ‘Anything that might say where she’s gone or what she’s doing?’

  Pearson shook his head. ‘No. I’m sorry, nothing there.’

  ‘We kept a close eye on her when she was on her laptop,’ said Kit. ‘She is too vulnerable to be allowed on social media.’

  ‘There’s nothing there. You don’t have to worry about that,’ said the DCI. ‘There is something else. We’ve tracked down the man you saw with your daughter earlier in the week. It’s Lee Farnham. He’s a support worker at The Forum.’

  Neve’s heart gave an extra thump at this piece of news. She wondered how far into the past the DCI would dig. The police wouldn’t necessarily be looking for the connection but there was always the chance they’d find it. She flicked a glance at Kit.

  ‘Bloody knew it! Had to be someone from The Forum. Have you spoken to him?’ Kit asked.

  ‘When there’s something to report back, we’ll let you know.’

  Kit shook his head in frustration. ‘Why is everything taking so long!’

  Neve got the feeling that Pearson was here for another reason as, basically, other than identifying Lee Farnham, he had nothing to tell them. No solid leads or information, just a couple of possible sightings.

  ‘Would you like a coffee or a tea?’ Neve asked, as a way of testing whether he wanted to hang around or whether this was merely a PR exercise.

  ‘That would be nice. Thank you,’ said Pearson. ‘Coffee. White. Two sugars. I’ll give you a hand actually.’

  ‘Won’t be a minute,’ said Neve, leaving the room with Pearson following.

  ‘Actually, there is something I wanted to quickly ask you while you’re on your own,’ said Pearson, perching on the bar stool. ‘It’s about Jake Rees.’

  ‘My art therapy teacher?’ Neve maintained eye contact but felt herself blink several times as she tried to push aside her feelings of guilt.

  ‘Yes. That’s right.’

  ‘What do you want to know?’

  Pearson glanced back towards the door. ‘I’ll get straight to the point and please don’t be offended, but I have to ask these questions for the purpose of my enquiry.’

  Neve continued to prepare the coffee. ‘Go ahead.’

  ‘Can you tell me about your relationship with Jake?’

  Neve balked at the question. She’d been expecting the DCI to say he’d made the connection between her and Lee. As for Jake, it was a friendship, that’s all, just a close friendship. Thinking of having an affair with someone, wasn’t the same as actually doing it.

  ‘Jake? There’s nothing to tell. He’s my art tutor, that’s all. Why?’

  ‘We’re just trying to build up a picture of all the people who know Poppy and how they relate to Poppy and Poppy’s family. When I spoke to Mr Rees earlier, call it intuition from doing this job far too long, but I got the distinct feeling Mr Rees thinks a lot of you. I don’t mean to be rude, but I have to ask these things.’

  ‘Jake and I are very good friends,’ said Neve, resting against the worktop. ‘He’s helped me a lot.’

  ‘With art therapy?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And what, may I ask, is the therapy in relation to?’

  ‘Well, I’d sooner you didn’t ask actually but, if you must know, it’s to do with the estranged relationship I have with my family. It’s complicated.’

  ‘Estranged from your family?’

  He said it in a tone that was asking Neve to elaborate. She had absolutely no intention of obliging. Instead, she settled for something far less dramatic than the truth. ‘My parents divorced, and I didn’t see my father for a long time. And then it was just the once before my mother died. I have issues over abandonment.’

  Pearson nodded and for the time being seemed content to leave it there. Outwardly, Neve tried to maintain a composed front, but inwardly, she could feel her stomach squirming as if it was a pot full of eels.

  ‘The coffee’s ready. Do you want to take yours through?’ said Neve, passing Pearson his cup.

  Neve watched him cross the hall and go into the living room before following with a coffee for Kit. As she crossed the hall, the letterbox gave a small rattle and three envelopes fell onto the mat. Neve put the cup on the hall table and picked up the letters, flicking through them as she did so. Two looked like household bills but the other was handwritten with a stamp in the corner, addressed to Kit. She peered at the postmark and as she made out the words, her heart almost leapt out of her throat. She didn’t have time to think it through properly, but quickly folded the white envelope in half and shoved it into her back pocket. Trying to remain calm, Neve retrieved the cup of coffee from the table and with the other letters in her other hand, joined Kit and the police officers in the living room.

  ‘Anything exciting?’ asked Sally, nodding towards the brown envelopes in Neve’s hand.

  ‘No. Just bills.’

  Neve could hear Kit questioning Pearson again on what the next phase of the search would be. He seemed determined to join in the search party, telling Pearson that he was not sitting around doing nothing. Neve sighed inwardly – poor Kit. It was becoming something of a mantra.

  She listened as the DCI patiently went over the plan of action again and made a very persuasive argument for Kit not being involved in the search for Poppy. Finally, Kit agreed.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘It’s the not knowing. It’s killing me.’

  ‘Perfectly understandable,’ said Pearson. ‘But as I say, you’re best off at home, in case you’re needed for anything. That way, we can get hold of you quickly.’

  After seeing Pearson out, Neve left Kit and Sally in the living room and went upstairs, shutting the bedroom door behind her.

  Taking the letter from her pocket, she examined the seal, wondering if there was a way she could open it secretly. Maybe steaming it open? It worked in the movies. The sound of the door opening and Kit walking in, made Neve jump. She tried to stuff the letter back in her pocket.

  ‘Don’t bother,’ said Kit, nodding towards Neve’s hand. ‘Want to share with me?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Oh, come on, Neve. I saw you through the crack of the door, picking those letters up and slipping one into your pocket.’

  Neve felt herself go red. She held out the letter to her husband.

&nb
sp; Kit inspected the front of the envelope and then sliding his finger under the flap, opened the letter. He extracted a single sheet of paper and read it.

  ‘What the …?’

  Chapter 20

  ‘What is it?’ asked Neve, although something told her she wasn’t going to like the answer.

  Kit thrust the letter to her. ‘You’d better read it.’

  In bold black letters, printed from a computer, she read the message.

  Saw you and your wife on TV.

  Your daughter is missing, huh?

  Maybe you should look a bit closer to home.

  They say history has a habit of repeating itself.

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘I’ve no idea.’ Kit took the letter back. ‘Look a bit closer to home. History repeating itself. It’s obviously to do with Poppy. It’s like someone knows what’s happened to her.’

  ‘Why would someone do that?’ said Neve, noticing the tremor in her own voice. ‘Is this some sort of sick joke?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Kit. ‘We need to show this to Sally.’

  ‘Do you think that’s a good idea?’

  ‘Of course it is, why wouldn’t it be?’

  ‘I’m just thinking what if it’s some nutter who saw us on the TV?’ Neve placed a hand on her husband’s arm. ‘That’s why I didn’t want to do the press conference. I read somewhere that it causes more problems than it solves. That it attracts psychos.’

  ‘You think this is from some lunatic?’

  ‘I don’t know but what if the police do look closer to home? The police might think we’re involved with Poppy’s disappearance.’ Neve could hardly disguise the desperation in her voice. History repeating itself. Look closer to home. Those words were definitely aimed at her.

  ‘No, wait. You’re looking at it all wrong. Why the hell would the police think we’re involved?’

  ‘Because, like you said, they always suspect those closest to the missing person. I looked it up online afterwards. The police are advised to think of a missing person as an indicator that something isn’t right at home,’ said Neve, in hushed tones. ‘Why do you think Sally has been here with us most of the time? It’s not to relay any information, she knows nothing and if there was something to tell, the DCI would tell us. No, she’s here to spy on us.’