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‘Do you know if she was invited?’
‘I don’t know. I’ll ask.’ I text the mother then call Ava again. ‘She isn’t back, is she?’
‘Sorry, Auntie Fran.’
I hang up and pace between the bookcase and the world map. ‘Rose Godfrey gets the bus. Did she get it today? Did Jenna get it with her?’
Mr Whitlow nods. ‘I’ve already reached out to the bus company. They’re trying to get hold of the driver.’ He starts clicking on his computer again.
‘Can we check CCTV?’ I ask.
He nods again. ‘Once security have finished searching, they’ll get to it.’
I scratch my neck and rifle through my memory. ‘Security – that’s just one man, isn’t it?’
Mr Whitlow coughs. ‘Yes, it is. One man with specialist training.’
I can feel my lips flattening. ‘I need to do something. I can’t just—’ I hold up my hands, gesturing at the walls of the room, which feels like a prison.
‘I think the best thing you can do is track down your parents,’ he says.
I hurry down the school hall and call my father three times, then Jenna, Rose and Lydia. No answers. I almost trip down the front steps and forget to unlock my car before pulling at the door.
I slide into the thick heat, telling myself to stay positive.
Maybe Lydia fetched them early to go to a gig. But Rose went to drama, and Jenna didn’t. Is it likely they left school together? Maybe they met up after.
No one knows where my daughter is.
Unless someone knows where my daughter is.
The fountain has been turned off and my thoughts are too loud.
What am I supposed to do?
I call Dan again, but he doesn’t pick up. I leave a message. ‘Dan, I…’
I think my old nemesis has abducted our daughter.
But that sounds crazy. And I don’t think that, do I? Not really.
‘I’ve just been to PES. No one has seen Jenna since lunch. She didn’t go to her rehearsal. I’m starting to get worried. Call me.’
I drop the phone in the passenger seat and wonder if I should’ve explained about Georgia, because… a teenager skived off and is late home – what’s the big deal? He’s not going to understand how worried he should be.
But then I’d have to tell him everything.
Rose is the key. If she won’t pick up, I’ll go to her home. That’s probably where Jenna is anyway.
I pull out of the driveway and into the lane, thinking of scenarios that could explain all this: Jenna dropped her phone in the toilet (again). Jenna had a secret doctor’s appointment – for what? A pain, a lump, the pill? Jenna forgot to tell me she was going to Rose’s after school and they’re screaming along to some music.
When Rose told Georgia that Jenna had gone home ill, was Rose covering for Jenna, or was it the truth? Had Jenna felt ill and somehow not made it home?
Or had Georgia lied to Mr Whitlow about even asking Rose? Had she done something to Jenna at lunch and then worked the rest of the day like nothing had happened?
No. Rose was covering. Jenna skived off at lunch because she was feeling down and…
She was feeling down, wasn’t she?
