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Jeremy brings coffees, teas and sodas from the cafeteria, passing them around. To be honest, I could do with a bottle of vodka. “I wonder how their reunion is going,” I whisper to Max. “Must be pretty emotional.”
He inhales deeply. “Yeah. My parents needed this badly. They were worried they’d go to their graves none the wiser about her fate.”
Reaching for his forearm, I squeeze gently, transferring whatever I can in the gesture. I imagine when you’re parents those kinds of thoughts surface.
I type out a message to Tilly.Good news. They’ve found Sabine. Ben is with her now x
Ben and Barbara have been gone for twenty minutes when Barbara returns. She beams at Nils before falling into his embrace. “She’s well, considering. She’s in bed, resting. There are no major injuries,” she adds, her voice full of emotion. “She wants to see you, Nils, Max.” Max was already on his feet when Barbara returned, and he looks ready to fly through the door towards her room. “And she wants to meet you too, Ava. Ben’s been filling her in. I hope, oh . . . I realise that might not have been very considerate of him, but well, she asked how we found her, and he told her. I’m sorry.”
“Please don’t worry. It’s fine.”
Grateful, she smiles. “Well, she wants to see you as well.”
“I want to meet her,” I say.
“Dad, why don’t you go in first, then we’ll follow in about five minutes.”
Nils heads off, while Jeremy offers Barbara something to drink.
“Did the police find Luca?” I ask Jeremy.
“I don’t think so. He’s not been seen. They’re staking out his house.”
Luca was identified as Luca Russo from a small town north-east of Amsterdam. Apparently, the letters I had seen on a town sign related to dyke in Dutch, of which there are many, and many towns and villages in the Netherlands are named after dykes.
Dijk. To me, it sounds like the worddaywith akon the end:dayk.
Max’s phone pings. He shares, “Ellis has landed. He’s en route.”
I get to meet all the siblings today, and while I might’ve rejoiced at that before, now I just feel like a spare part.
“I’m going to pop to the loo,” I say to Max.
“I’ll come with you.”
Feeling vulnerable, I’m reassured by his presence. From my handbag, I retrieve my sunnies. While I feel silly wearing them inside a hospital on Christmas Eve, I do feel protected. If grey-eyed girls fetch a good price around here, I don’t want to be snatched again.
I put them on, tugging my coat around my body a little more tightly as we head down the corridor.
“Meet you here,” Max says. “I’ll only need a minute.”
I nod and enter the ladies’ toilets. I wee, then wash my hands, staring at myself in the mirror.
The haunting voice that accompanies me has been especially loud today. Over the past fortnight, I’ve been able to dial it down, but it’s up to maximum volume. I don’t know if it’s alerting me to something else, or if it’s happy, singing non-stop now that Sabine is safe.
After I wash my face, I put on a touch of lipstick before pinching my cheeks to bring some colour to my wan-looking face.
When I exit, Max is waiting for me. His expression, so soft and tired and handsome despite it all, has me wanting to comfort him. To comfort myself. But I hold back because he’s not forgiven. But then strong arms wrap around me, and I’m unsure how to respond.
“I love you,” he says fiercely. “So much. Please tell me we’re okay.”
Not wishing to upset the balance of this happy day, I tell him, “We’re okay.” The lie doesn’t feel good, but he’s hardly been truthful.
His arms tighten, his lips brush across my cheek.
When we head to Sabine’s room, Max exchanges a few words with the police officers guarding the door and then we’re allowed in. Sabine is sitting up in bed, looking tired and traumatised and thin. Ben holds her hand, a smile aimed our way as we draw near. Nils offers me his seat.
Carefully, Max folds his arms around his sister. There are more tears, theirs and mine, and a few sardonic comments meant to lighten the mood. But there is also a raft of sweet words from Max, apologetic words, but sentiments that are endearing and loving and my heart shatters at the raw emotion.
