“How are you finding it… them?”
Maddie shrugged. “It’s okay. Everyone’s being weird… exceptionally nice, especially the teachers but my friends are normal. Well… almost.” The schoolgirl fell silent, her expression looked pained as if she was dwelling on something. She waited for her to speak, giving her all the time she needed. “I can’t help but think if I had been with her… then none of this would have happened.”
“You can’t think that way, Maddie. Holly was supposed to be in Norwich seeing her tutor and preparing for a recital the following day. There was no way you could have been with her.” Maddie looked at her, straight into her eye and there was something there, a revelation she wanted to speak of. “What is it, Maddie?”
“I knew… I knew she wasn’t going to Norwich on the Friday night. I got her in trouble.” Tears fell. “It’s my fault.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I was supposed to be at a friend’s house. We… we went to the beach party. All the fifth and sixth form were talking about it and we wanted to go, so we told our parents we would be at the other’s house and went along.”
“Ahh… I see.” They wouldn’t be the first teenagers to play that trick. She’d done similar. “How does any of this come back to you?”
“Dad found us there,” she said, looking at her feet. “He dragged me away… in front of everyone. It was so embarrassing.”
“What about Holly?” It was odd that the Bettanys failed to mention this. They were supposed to be attending social functions that night, not dragging a wayward daughter away from a beach party. Colin was all about image and status, though. Perhaps he didn’t want it becoming common knowledge.
“I don’t know. I didn’t really see much of her. She was off with Mark. I argued with Dad.”
“What about?”
“He was ranting about me being there. It wasn’t fitting… stuff like that. He’s old-school, my dad. I didn’t think it fair I should be pulled away when Holly got to stay out.”
“Did she? Get to stay, I mean?”
“Dad put me in the car and then called her on the phone. She didn’t answer. Probably saw him kicking off and did a runner. Usually she would stand up for me. I don’t blame her this time. He was really angry. He wanted to go and find her. We sat there in the car for at least twenty minutes while he stared at his phone before we went home.”
“Maddie, how did he know where to find you?” she asked, puzzled. And why would he lie… not lie, that was too suggestive. He certainly wasn’t open and truthful about his movements.
“I don’t know. We didn’t tell anyone where we were going.” Maddie sounded unsure. “Maybe he called Abbie’s mum or the other way around.”
“Have you got your phone on you?” Maddie nodded, reaching into the pocket of her blazer. “May I?” she asked, holding out her hand. Maddie unlocked the handset with her fingerprint and passed it over. It was a smartphone, fairly new judging by the slim design. Flipping through the screens at the standard icons one would expect alongside a collection of social media apps, she recognised most but there were some unfamiliar to her, probably popular with teenagers alone. There was nothing unusual. Ideally, she wanted to have a more tech-savvy person take a look. Maybe Janssen would know, more likely Eric. However, it would likely be noticed by Colin and judging by his recent reactions he would probably kick up a fuss. Handing the mobile back, she smiled. “Thanks. I don’t suppose Holly’s phone turned up at home, has it? We still haven’t located it.”
“No, sorry. Not that I know of. She would have had it with her. She never went anywhere without it.” A bell sounded inside the school buildings and Maddie looked over her shoulder. “I should get back. I have maths next and Mr Fothergill is less forgiving than most.”
“I’m sure you’ll be just fine.” She wanted to reassure the girl, tell her that everything would be okay. “I could come with you if you like?” Maddie shook her head, although with an appreciative smile at the gesture. “Call me if you want to speak again.” The girl turned and headed up the path and through the nearest door, disappearing from view as the voices of children freshly released from class, carried to her.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Mark was up well ahead of usual. His father stirred on the sofa as he ransacked the kitchen looking for a clean bowl in which to make breakfast. Giving up, he found one from the previous day and gave it a cursory rinse under the tap. There was no hot water again, the third time this week. The baffles on the wood burner had gone, only this time his faith in his father’s ability to fix them was waning. A man quite adept at repairing almost anything, even his skills would be far stretched on this occasion. Wiping the inside of the bowl with the sleeve of his shirt, he filled it with cereal and milk. Picking up a spoon, he crossed to where his father lay and put the bowl on the
