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In the porch I say, ‘What do you think, Detective? Has someone taken my daughter?’
Bevan frowns. ‘I don’t know enough yet to speculate with you.’
‘Please,’ I say.
She sighs. ‘Knowing what we know now, all I can say is I’m concerned enough about your daughter’s mental state to issue an Amber Alert. I won’t be sleeping tonight. If she doesn’t turn up at Glastonbury or around the school in the next hour or so, I’ll call for a dog team.’
I press on my chest. ‘I wonder…’ I start, then shake my head.
‘What?’
‘It’s just, Trevethan House, where Georgia used to live. It’s not far from the school.’
Bevan nods slowly. ‘The one with the harp sculpture?’
I nod, remembering the twisting metal artwork I once knew so well.
‘Does she live there now?’
I shake my head. ‘It was sold after they left, thirty years ago. It’s changed hands two, three times. Some Londoners have it now.’
Bevan purses her lips. ‘I’ll talk to Georgia first, but it’s good to know these details.’
She’s being kind, I can hear it. The house belongs to someone else. There’s nothing more than a mother’s suspicion to link her daughter’s disappearance to the reappearance of an old enemy. I’m grasping at straws.
She gives me a nod and Croft pats my shoulder as they leave.
I’m concerned enough about your daughter’s mental state… She doesn’t believe Jenna’s in danger from Georgia. She thinks Jenna is a danger to herself.
And whose fault is that?
I blame the mother.
42
NOW
‘Dan, where are you?’ The line is fuzzy. I pull the phone back and see I have a missed called from an unknown number. Who was it? I press the phone back to my ear. ‘Dan?’
I’ve retreated to our living room. The cool night air is making everything damp: the sofa, the moth-eaten carpet. I should draw the curtains and turn on a light.
My parents went home, complaining about having been kept up late. They didn’t think we should join the search around the school. The lawyer will stay at a Travelodge until the formal interview requests arrive.
I had thought my mother might at least give me a hug, but she has barely looked at me.
Mina went for a shower, having finally caught my eye, but her look was unreadable. The twins vanished before I could question them. Theo and Tristan went to his office. Campaign, campaign, campaign.
The line crackles. ‘Dan?’
‘Frankie! I’m on my way.’
‘It’s almost midnight. You said that three hours ago.’ And our daughter is missing.
‘I – uh – I’ll be a bit longer.’
‘But where are you?’ Even with traffic it shouldn’t take more than two hours from Exeter.
‘Ah, sorry. I forgot to tell you. I had to go up to London today.’ He’s coming from London? Or from his mistress? He forgot.
