‘What kind of sites?’
‘Bomb-making, usually.’
O’Connor waited patiently.
‘Music downloads, horoscopes, school stuff, entertainment, cinema listings,’ said Ali.
‘Does she go into chatrooms?’
‘Ew. Freaksville. No.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Well, I’m not with her every minute of the day, but I seriously doubt it. She’s too busy hanging out with her alive and well friends.’ She pointed to herself. ‘Ohhh, I get it,’ she said, ‘you think she’s run off with one of those creepy old guys.’ She laughed. ‘Ew. No way.’
‘Was Katie flirtatious?’
‘Eh, have you seen her boyfriend?’
‘I presume you mean she was faithful to him.’
‘He’s not my type, but yeah, I think it’s safe to say most normal girls would be perfectly happy to stick with Lucky.’
‘Was she easily flattered?’
‘No. She can’t stand compliments.’
‘Was she depressed?’
‘No. Where are you going with all this?’
‘I’m just asking you a few questions.’
He looked down at his notebook.
‘Right. As a publican’s daughter, you would have access to…?’
Ali looked at him. ‘Dirty glasses?’
O’Connor stared at her. ‘I was thinking more along the lines of alcohol.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Duh.’
‘Come on. This isn’t going to take long.’
‘Look, that’s what I do in the bar – wash glasses. I take them off the tables, I pour out the slops, I inhale the manky stench of stale beer, I load the glasses into the dishwasher, I turn it on, I wipe the counters, I wait for the glasses to be finished, I open the dishwasher, steam my zits, unload the glasses and stack them on the shelves. Yup, I can see the link between that and Katie going missing. I handle beer glasses. Isn’t it the Looking Glass you’re thinking of? Maybe she went through there.’
‘You’re not very helpful for someone whose best friend has disappeared.’
‘That’s because she’ll be back.’
‘What do you know that makes you so sure of that?’
‘It’s not what I know, it’s who I know. I know Katie and she just isn’t the type to go off and not come back.’
‘Hmm. You smoke dope, isn’t that right?’
Ali’s eyes shot wide. ‘Uh, what?’
‘You heard me. Isn’t that right?’
‘I presume that means you know that’s right.’
‘Yes, we do. Did Katie?’
‘No.’ She laughed. ‘No way.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Eh, yeah. She’s my best friend. I think I’d know.’
‘Has she ever asked you for drugs?’
‘Lots of times. I’m a known dealer. In Feminax.’
‘Please can you take this seriously?’
‘Fine, OK. Katie would never do drugs.’
‘Did she approve of you doing drugs?’
‘What kind of a question is that? We are sixteen. We are friends. We don’t approve or disapprove of what each other does.’
‘No,’ said O’Connor patiently. ‘I just wanted to know how she felt about drugs.’
‘Look. I’ve told Frank all this stuff already. This has nothing to do with drugs,’ said Ali. ‘Nothing. She’s neutral on the subject, OK? She doesn’t feel anything about drugs. Drugs play no part in her life, no part in her disappearance. I smoke dope the odd time. I’m not a junkie, Katie isn’t messed up in the wrong crowd, she isn’t in a warehouse somewhere unloading a shipment of coke. We’re just two girls from a tiny village, one of whom smokes a spliff every now and then, neither of whom has ever dealt with anyone dodgier than, than…See? I can’t even think of anyone dodgy we’ve ever come into contact with. Jesus. What does that say about our sheltered little lives?’
‘It’s a nice way to be.’
‘Don’t tell me – the world is a horrible place and we’re lucky—’
‘Yes, actually. You are lucky. It can be pretty grim out there.’
‘Well, it can be pretty uneventful “in here”. Thank God for Katie causing a bit of a stir.’
‘So you think she’s done all this for the attention?’
‘Oh, for the love of Mike.’ She rolled her eyes dramatically. ‘You must have scored ten out of ten in literal interpretation class.’
He looked at her.
She held up her hand. ‘And before you say it, I know there was no literal interpretation class.’
Anna put her cup gently back on its saucer and turned to Martha. ‘I remember running away once,’ she said. ‘I packed a little bag, left a note for my parents and took the bus into Paris. I sat crying to my friend in McDonalds. Then she told me her mother hit her and her brothers. And I realised I was crazy. My parents loved me, I had a wonderful home, I just wanted to test it all, spread my wings. I wanted to grab a piece of independence, but really when I found it, I wanted to go right back home.’
Martha smiled and squeezed Anna’s hand.
‘I’m sure that’s all this is, Martha. A young girl trying to have independence. She knows you love her, she knows she has a good home. But she’s sixteen, she thinks she’s ready for it all. But she’ll know soon enough that she’s not.’
‘Thanks,’ said Martha. ‘I hope so.’ She folded and unfolded a tissue. ‘I know I was strict with Katie. I’ve been going over all the things I stopped her from doing like sleeping over in friends’ houses, staying out late or going out with boys. I gave in, of course, when she met Shaun. Katie didn’t know, but I had seen them together once on their way home from school and I knew straightaway I’d have no hope of tearing them apart.’
Anna smiled.
‘I’d understand if she ran away because of something like that, if I’d stopped her from seeing Shaun. But, this? I don’t know what’s going on.’ Martha paused. ‘Are you sure he doesn’t know anything?’
‘Of course,’ said Anna. ‘He would tell us. He’s devastated. He would say something.’
‘I know,’ said Martha. ‘I’m sorry. I had to…’
‘It’s OK.’
Martha smiled again, then went into the kitchen to make more tea.
Anna sat back on the sofa and breathed in deeply. There was nothing about Katie to make her believe she’d ever run away. She wasn’t the type of girl who looked for her next hit of adventure, she was content enough not to want to escape.
The phone rang. Martha dropped the tray with the teapot, splashing hot tea up her legs. She ignored it and ran for the phone. Anna could hear her speaking slowly.
‘No. Definitely jeans, Frank. Those wide ones. Yes, the rest is right, yes.’
She hung up and came back into the living room, deflated.
‘Someone saw a girl in a pink hoodie, hitching the Sunday after, but she had track pants on and they wanted to check if I could have got it wrong, what she was wearing.’ She sat down. ‘I suppose I don’t mind them calling for things like that, but it’s just, you know, every time the phone rings, I nearly have a heart attack.’
