The Woman Who Lied(37)

‘What’s his name?’ barks Louise, and even in her red sweatshirt with the Labradoodle on the front, she exudes power.

Marcie wipes a tear from her cheek. ‘Jake Radley. He’s in their year at school, I think, and runs with the popular crowd. I was surprised when Nance said he liked her.’ She suppresses a sob. ‘Not because she isn’t beautiful. She’s my baby girl …’ Frank hugs his wife harder.

Emilia knows exactly what Marcie is getting at. She’s heard of Jake Radley. He’s one of the most popular boys in Jasmine’s year. She hadn’t realized it was that Jake when Jasmine told her Nancy had a boyfriend. He’s not the kind to be interested in Nancy, Jasmine, and their studious, geeky crowd.

Just then the doorbell rings and Louise runs to answer it. Jonas moves to stand closer to Emilia, takes her hand. ‘It will be okay,’ he says, but she notices the fear in his blue eyes and feels bonded to him in that moment due to their shared panic. From across the room Kristin clears her throat and Jonas drops Emilia’s hand.

Louise returns with a young woman in police uniform, her caramel-highlighted hair pulled back in a sensible low ponytail. ‘This is PC Bryan,’ she says. ‘Can you tell her everything you told me?’

Emilia and Marcie take turns to fill her in. A frown crosses her fine features when Emilia tells her about the hoax phone call from the hospital. She asks for Jake’s address and strides out of the room, talking into her mobile. When she’s ended the call she comes back into the kitchen and stands beside Louise. ‘We’ll get to the bottom of this,’ she says, and Emilia thinks that this woman can’t possibly understand how they’re feeling. She doesn’t look older than twenty-five. ‘Please try not to worry. Now, is anything going on this weekend that the girls wanted to go to? A party, perhaps? Or a concert?’

Emilia’s brain is foggy.

After a few seconds Kristin pipes up: ‘Actually, yes. Jasmine wanted to go to see that band at the O2 – do you remember?’ She starts scrolling through her phone. ‘I’m sure it was around this weekend. I remember her saying. Yes, some band called Total Whiplash. Something like that. Wait – here it is. Tonal Whiplash. Not Total. And, according to this, they played last night.’ She taps her phone screen triumphantly with a long fingernail.

Emilia recalls it now too. Months ago, Jasmine had asked if she could go with Nancy, but Emilia had said no – she’d felt they were too young to go without an adult.

‘She told you I’d said no?’ Emilia asks Kristin.

Kristin nods. ‘Yes. But we …’ She sidles up to Jonas so that she’s standing between him and Emilia. ‘We agreed she was too young.’

Marcie moves forwards, hope in her face. ‘Yes! Last year Nancy asked me if she could go. I also said no. Plus it was expensive.’

‘Maybe this Jake Radley got them tickets,’ adds Frank, folding his beefy arms across his chest.

‘But they sold out almost immediately,’ says Emilia, frowning.

‘Do you think that’s where they were last night? But where have they been since?’ Marcie rubs at the mascara under her eyes.

‘Nancy better not have stayed at this Jake’s,’ says Frank. ‘She’s just fifteen. Wait until I get my hands on that bastard.’

Louise throws Frank a warning look. ‘We don’t know anything yet. But I …’

They are interrupted by the buzzing of PC Bryan’s mobile phone. She snaps it open. ‘Yes,’ she says, into it. ‘Right … Okay, that’s great. Thanks.’ She closes the phone. ‘My colleague has spoken to Jake’s parents who have confirmed he went to the concert last night. But he’s home now. One of our officers has gone over there to speak with them. Jake might be able to shed some light about where they’ve been.’

Emilia swallows. Please let her have been at the concert, she silently prays. She doesn’t care if she and Nancy stayed the night at Jake’s, as long as they’re safe. It’s better than the alternative. She can’t stop thinking about the hoax call. Who was it from, and have they done something to Jasmine and Nancy? Her mobile rings. Seeing Elliot’s number she quickly answers it.

‘She’s here. It’s Jasmine,’ he says jubilantly. ‘She’s just walked through the door.’

‘Thank God.’ Her whole body sags with relief and she looks up at the hopeful faces of Marcie and Frank. ‘And Nancy?’





24





Daisy,

2005

She was midway through her first term at Exeter University, studying history, when she met Ash.

Daisy was standing in line at the library, staring at her feet clad in her favourite Dr Martens and trying not to look around at all the other students hanging out in their cliquey groups. Daisy didn’t like to get too close to people. It was better that way. It protected her fragile heart. As a result, she hadn’t so much as kissed anyone. But that was okay. She was happy throwing herself into her university life. And she had people she hung out with, superficial friendships.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what made Ash stand out from the rest of the students in the library that day. Maybe it was because she recognized another damaged soul when she saw one. Ash was effortlessly cool, with dyed black hair, longer on one side, the other with a shaved undercut, calf-length black coat and black biker boots, standing apart from the others, flicking through a book on French New Wave cinema. Daisy had been transfixed, and instantly wanted to know more. Their eyes met and, for the first time in her life, Daisy’s stomach performed a series of gymnastics that made her feel simultaneously sick and turned on. They didn’t talk, though. Not then. But after that they kept bumping into each other around campus, acknowledging each other with a shy smile, a tilt of the head, sometimes with a gruff hello.