‘Oh, Sam—’
‘Besides. What if it works? What then?’
‘If the spell works, you mean?’
‘It’s not a spell, it’s a ritual. What if it could bring her back and I haven’t at least tried it?’
‘Pot, you’re not thinking straight. Edie will come back when she’s good and ready. I’ve never met a more headstrong girl. Not even all the combined forces of hell could budge her. You must know that. This is madness. It’s madness. Let the police do their job.’
I snorted derisively. ‘And where’s that got me? Here. To a point where all I have left is watching some girls do parlour tricks in a graveyard. That’s where it’s got me. You know I walked into town the other day? Most of the posters I’ve hung up are gone, either blown away or ripped down. I went into the school and the headmaster couldn’t even look me in the eye. Did you see the piece on her in the Argus? They called her “Ellie”. “Missing: Ellie Hudson”. No one cares, Rupert. I’m all she’s got. So I have to try.’
‘Sam, I have to go back to Devon tomorrow. I can’t leave like this. What’ll happen to you?’
‘I’ll be fine,’ I told him. The Valium had made my tongue thick and it came out Uhllbefine.
He stared at me and I held his gaze until he huffed a noisy sigh and I reached for the phone, dialling Tony’s number.
‘Samantha. Thanks for getting back to me.’
‘What news have you got for me?’
‘Nothing much. We’ve let Liverly go.’
‘What? Why?’
‘We can’t keep him past twenty-four hours unless we charge him and we’ve got nothing to charge him with.’
‘Well, what about the photos?’
‘He said they were for security purposes. Those girls have been causing a lot of mischief in the churchyards. He’s convinced they’ve been coming into his house at night. Talking about getting a guard dog. He’s built up quite a file on them.’
‘What about Edie? You asked him about her?’
‘Well, the problem there, Samantha, is that I can’t prove anything. We deal in evidence and as far as Edie’s concerned, there is none.’
‘But you searched his house, didn’t you?’
‘We’re doing everything we can with everything we have.’
‘I don’t – I don’t know what that means. Have you searched the house?’
‘You know, you need to get some sleep. Let me get on with my job.’
‘I’m sick of people telling me that!’
I could feel the weight of Rupert’s gaze on my back, a heat building between my shoulder blades. Tony was right, though – I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a full night’s sleep. I ached all over, and my head pounded like a muffled drum. I should have told him I went to see the girls at the school – the Rattlesnakes, as they called themselves – but I had a feeling low in my gut that Tony would disapprove of it so I kept quiet, holding the phone so tightly to my ear the skin there started to burn.
‘What about that boy she was seeing? William? You going to bring him in?’
There was a rustle of paper. ‘William Thorn was at school all that day. That’s been confirmed by his teachers. In the evening he and his brother had a takeaway pizza. That’s confirmed by his mother.’
‘And Edward Thorn? His father? Didn’t you say something about his car being parked nearby?’
‘Yes, but—’
‘But what?’
He sighed again. I knew he was looking at his watch, hoping to wind this conversation up. ‘I went to school with Edward Thorn. Did you know that? He taught me how to fish. He works hard and he’s built up a lot of goodwill in this community. It’s a currency, Sam.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Just—’ Another sigh. I knew I wouldn’t like what was coming. ‘Just don’t go around using his name in connection with Edie’s. People won’t like you for it, and you need people on your side.’
‘On my side? Is this a competition?’
‘You know what I mean.’ He sounded irritated, worn out. Join the club, pal. ‘I’ll talk to Edward and as soon as I do I’ll let you know. As soon as anything happens I’ll let you know. But you need to rest, Sam. You sound like shit. Please. I know this is hard for you but you have to let me do my job.’
I didn’t remember dropping the handset, but I must have done because Rupert was staring at me strangely and the phone was swinging from its cord, tick, tock, tick, tock, like the pendulum of a clock. For a moment I heard Tony’s muffled voice at the end of the line saying my name over and over again and black wings fluttered at the edges of my vision and maybe I was going to pass out; in a way I hoped I would. What was it Tony had said? I would welcome a coma right now, but no, hands were gripping me firmly under my arms, my big brother. I couldn’t think clearly. He was saying Oh, Pot under his breath and I wanted to answer him but I couldn’t, I couldn’t.
Rupert must have put me to bed but I don’t remember, I only know I woke late and it was dark and the room was cold, I was cold. My head ached as if my skull had been caved in. There was a glass of water beside the bed and I sipped it, holding it in my mouth for a moment before swallowing. Outside, the night sky bristled with stars and the slender curve of the moon, white as bone. For the first time since she went missing I had a feeling that Edie would not be coming home. A shard of ice lodged in my chest, piercing my lungs. I struggled to take a breath.
Admit it.
I levered myself off the bed on legs that felt shaky and weak, using the wall to lean against as I made my way out into the hallway and
