a moment she stares, then she says, “There’s nothing there.”
“It’s gone off now,” I persist. “But I’m sure I saw something. There must be someone in the house.”
“There isn’t,” she flashes, raising her voice. “I told you, Niamh. They’re away.”
For a moment, I imagine a face in one of the windows, watching us. “We should go,” I tell her, suddenly uneasy.
But she ignores me. “Come on! I want to show you something!” She starts marching toward a gap in the hedge. Reluctantly, I follow her through into a rectangular area, surrounded by tall hedges and carpeted in fallen leaves. Bending down to pick something up, Hollie grabs my arm. “Listen.”
She throws something into the middle of the leaves. After a couple of seconds, there’s a loud splash as it hits water. “The pool,” Hollie says casually.
I shrink back against the hedge. With all the leaves, it’s impossible to tell where the ground ends and the water starts. Suddenly I’m freaked out. “Why have we come here?”
It’s as if someone’s walked over her grave. There’s a look of desolation on Hollie’s face. “Let’s go,” she mumbles.
Spooked by the dark house and the invisible pool under the leaves, I’ve no desire to change her mind. But when we get home, my father’s car is in the drive and Hollie refuses to come in.
* * *
“I gave Ida Jones a lift earlier.” Still wearing her airline uniform, my mother’s slipped off her shoes and undone her hair so that it hangs down past her shoulders. “I need to change.” Picking up her shoes, she’s halfway out of the kitchen when she pauses. “She said she saw you and Hollie walking together.”
She tries to make it sound light, conversational, but I know what she’s going to ask.
“Where did you go?”
I shrug. “Just for a walk.”
My mother frowns slightly. “Ida said someone saw you in Furze Lane.”
Irritation flares in me. “So?”
“You weren’t just walking, were you, Niamh? You were seen climbing over a gate. You can’t go onto other people’s private property like that.” She sounds annoyed.
I frown at her, trying to imagine what kind of small-minded gossiping villager told Ida exactly where we were. “We went for a walk, that’s all. It was a mistake. It’s not like there’s anything else to do around here.”
“It’s no excuse,” she snaps.
I stare at her, wondering why she’s so angry with me. Flinching as her anger ricochets off the walls at me; stings.
6
Elise
As days pass, there seems no end to this dismal winter. Ice and snow disrupt flights, while the tension between me and Andrew escalates as my schedule changes at short notice. On the third day, my flight is canceled. That I am at home instead of conveniently out of his way at thirty-five thousand feet has implications for Andrew’s love life.
“I thought you were in Zurich tonight.” Not expecting me to be here, he doesn’t attempt to hide his irritation. As always, he gives no thought to Niamh. Home early, he’d planned to shower and change before going out again, leaving her here alone.
“The flight was canceled. Does it make any difference to anything?” It’s an innocent enough question he chooses not to answer, instead storming upstairs, reappearing ten minutes later wearing different clothes, before grabbing his jacket and walking out without speaking to me. Minutes later, when I hear a car pull up outside, my heart sinks. I imagine Andrew coming back for something, preparing myself for another verbal onslaught, but instead, there’s a knock at the door. When I open it, James is there.
“James.” His face is pale, his eyes flitting about nervously.
“Is something wrong? Would you like to come in?”
“I won’t stop, Elise. I just wanted to ask if you’ve seen Hollie.”
“Not since...” I think back, remembering seeing Hollie run across the garden, from an upstairs window. “Well, she was here one evening last week, but I didn’t talk to her. I have a feeling she was avoiding me.”
His face wrinkles into a frown. “Why would you say that?”
“Oh...” I try to remember our conversation. “To be honest, I think she’d skipped school that day. I made some comment about it being important that she didn’t get behind.”
James nods. “They called me a while ago. Seems she’s skipped quite a few days recently.” He doesn’t say how many. “Do you know if Niamh’s seen her?”
It’s in line with what Stephanie told me, but warning bells are ringing. “I don’t think so, but if you wait, I’ll go upstairs and ask her.”
Leaving him alone, I go to find Niamh. “Niamh?” When I push her door open, she’s engrossed in one of her schoolbooks. “Have you seen Hollie at all the last couple of days?”
Her face is blank as she shakes her head. “Why?”
“Her dad wondered, that’s all. I’ll tell him.” Not wanting her to worry unnecessarily, I go back down to tell James. “She hasn’t seen her. Is Hollie OK, James?”
He freezes. “To be honest, I don’t know. We’ve been in touch with the police. Look, I need to get going. I’m trying to talk to everyone in the village before it gets too late.”
“Let me know?” At the thought that something might have happened to Hollie, my heart is thudding in my chest. “When she comes back?”
He nods, before turning to walk away. I close the door and seconds later hear his car start, then its tires on the gravel before the sound gradually fades away.
Niamh’s voice from the doorway startles me. “Why was he here?”
“Hollie’s missing.” I pause. “Do you remember the last time you heard from her?”
Niamh’s eyes hold mine as she shakes her head. “There was that day Ida Jones saw us. I can’t really remember.”
“Would you have any idea where she might be?”
“No.” Niamh’s voice is clear, light, as I fight off unwanted emotions, imagining how I’d feel if my daughter had gone out one day and hadn’t come back.
“If you hear from her, can you let me know? Even if she doesn’t want James to know where she is, he needs to know she’s OK.”
Niamh nods slowly; then fear crosses her face. “What if she’s not?”
I feel an unfamiliar urge to protect my daughter from the horrific possibility that something could have happened to Hollie. “I’m
