Just The Way You Are(99)

Sam jerked back as though I’d slapped him. He froze there for a long second, before regaining his composure. ‘Okay, well, I’m sorry for interfering. I was trying to be a good friend. Trying to protect you from a lecherous creep who you’ll be stuck living next door to once you’ve realised he’s nowhere near good enough for you.’

‘Okay, well, apology accepted!’ I said, almost choking on my unshed tears. ‘Maybe next time you want to be my friend, try harder! Try letting me enjoy my first ever party, rather than ruining it!’

At that, I turned and clattered back into the garden just in time to see the Frea-K Three-K’s human pyramid topple into a holly bush. When I glanced back into the kitchen, Sam had gone.

Good. I was fuming with him. If I wanted something casual with my new sexy neighbour on my birthday, that was none of his damn business. It was my party!

Only before I could get back to it, Steph came and grabbed me. ‘Ollie, you need to come with me.’

‘I don’t want to come with you, I want to enjoy my party.’

Acting as though I’d not even spoken, Steph dragged me back into the kitchen. There in the doorway to the hall was a sight that sobered me up instantly.

Leanne clutched at her jacket, her face contorted in fear and panic. ‘Ollie, tell me she’s here!’

‘What?’

‘Joan. She’s run away. Please tell me she’s turned up here for a birthday surprise.’

It took a few minutes for Leanne and Peter, who’d been finding somewhere to park clear of the partygoers’ cars, to explain. Joan was supposed to be at a sleepover with a girl from her school, but when Leanne called round to drop off a forgotten toothbrush, the girl’s parent said that Joan had cancelled.

‘We got straight in the car and came here. I’ve been calling you every ten minutes since we left.’

‘My phone is in here. I’ve been outside.’

‘We tried Pia, a couple of my other old clients, but no one answered. I didn’t want anyone else to know what was happening.’

When we asked Leanne if she’d called the police, she had the same excuse. ‘If I’d called the police, they’d have involved social services, and I can’t bear to relive that nightmare unless I have to. I felt sure she’d be here.’ Leanne’s face fell. ‘Where else would she be?’

And then it clicked.

‘Nesbit went missing. We couldn’t figure out how he’d escaped. When we found him, he was acting strange, like there was something in the undergrowth. I had to carry him away.’

Leanne and Peter stood up. ‘Where?’

‘Wait here, thirty seconds. If we’re going out there, we need to know what we’re looking for.’

A minute later I confirmed that my camping gear was missing. ‘I never took the kitchen door key back.’

Five minutes after that, Leanne had called the police while Steph organised the limited number of party guests who were sober and knew the forest well enough to be relatively safe out there at night into a search party.

‘Where’s Sam?’ she asked me, as Ebenezer handed out party lanterns to supplement the limited number of torches. ‘He should be doing this, not me.’

‘I’ll try him again.’ I’d already called three times, but he’d not answered. This time I left a message and sent a text for good measure. Someone was calling the out-of-hours number for the forest park, but no one would be more dedicated or more skilled at locating Joan than Sam.

As the party broke up into those who were staying and those who were joining the search, the first drops of rain began to fall. It was fully dark now, and the temperature had dropped as the clouds rolled in, reminding us that it was now autumn, and before the night was over there could well be a frost on the ground.

‘She’ll be fine in the tent, with the sleeping bag,’ I tried to reassure Leanne, but my own heart felt like it had frozen solid in my chest.

I swapped into thick leggings, a hoodie and raincoat, grabbed one of the remaining lanterns and slipped on Nesbit’s lead.

‘Who are you pairing up with?’ Steph asked, glancing at the half-empty garden.

‘Nesbit.’

‘Not happening.’

I had a look at the people who were left. Steph’s brothers had paired up with Bigley residents, and Drew was dropping her mum home. No one else was fit enough to keep up with me. I was fully intending on running with my dog until we either found Joan or collapsed with exhaustion. Before I could argue any further, Irene appeared at my shoulder.

‘I’ll come with you.’

‘Irene, I’m going to be running. I don’t want you holding me back.’

‘Oh? Running quicker than twenty-six miles in five hours and thirty-one minutes? Because that was my latest marathon time, and since then I’ve only got faster.’

I handed her a torch and we sprinted out the gate.

I took Nesbit straight back to where I’d found him earlier that day. If Joan was intending on hiding from us, then she’d have moved on by now, but it would hopefully be enough for Nesbit to remember that his best friend was here, and pick up her scent again.

I’d thought the hour or so that Sam and I had spent hunting my dog had been frightening. This was a living hell. Pushing through the freezing wet undergrowth, slipping and squelching as what had been dusty paths turned to a mudslide and the rain dripped off our noses.