The Family Game(56)

I let out a yelp of triumph as thumbnail after thumbnail of Lucy fills my screen, the sound curdling in the silence of the room as I read the results.


Search for missing Columbia student Lucy Probus in its fourth day

The parents of Columbia undergraduate Lucy Probus, 19, are ‘deeply concerned’ for her welfare following her disappearance last Saturday night. The student was last seen returning to campus at around midnight on the night of October 27th.

Lucy was reported missing after failing to attend scheduled activities the following day.

The sophomore anthropology major, a dedicated member of the Columbia University Cheerleading squad, formerly a resident of Pittsburgh, is described as petite and slim with blonde hair and green eyes.

She was last seen wearing a burgundy jacket, jeans, and a grey hoodie bearing the distinctive blue C of the Columbia cheer squad. (photo insert above)

In a statement, NYPD Police chief Jim Westerly said: ‘We remain open-minded as to the circumstances behind Lucy’s disappearance, but naturally, as the search enters its fourth day, our concern for her is growing. We are aware that Lucy had recently undergone significant trauma due to the loss of a close friend, and family and friends have described her recent actions as “out of character”.

‘I would like to appeal to Lucy directly. If she sees this, please make contact with the police or with your family.’



Jesus. I close the tab and scroll down, opening up an article published earlier this year. Perhaps they found her?


Family of Columbia student Lucy Probus, who went missing 21 years ago, mark her milestone 40th birthday by appealing to those ‘haunted’ by knowledge of what happened to come forward.



I stop reading abruptly. The girl with the soft blonde hair was never found. The girl Robert described in his tape was never seen again.

The tape is real. It’s a confession. He left Lucy’s body in the woods two hours outside New York City.

Without missing a beat, I lunge back towards the bedroom and pull my suitcase out from under the rumpled bed to retrieve the tape player. I pull its red foam pads over my ears, fumble rewind until it clicks off, and press play.

Back in the office, in sweat-soaked pyjamas, I listen to Lucy’s story again, as New York glitters beyond my dark windows.

The thing is, there are a lot of woods two hours outside of New York. I bring up an online map of New York state, a search perimeter website I’ve used before for researching my novels.

Pen in hand, I scribble out the maths on a pad. The time it takes to get out of Manhattan, the average miles per hour a car is likely to achieve on the interstate and highways surrounding the city – the distance achievable in the space of two hours. I drop a perimeter line down on the map and within its wide circle assess all the possible wooded areas where Robert could have left her in a 360-degree perimeter around Manhattan.

I then add another circle beyond that one. After his drive, Robert mentions hiking with her for another two hours. I do the maths once more: the average person can hike between 2 and 3 miles an hour, but he was carrying her, so let’s say only 2 miles an hour. My second circle extends another 4 miles out past the original circle. It’s a huge area. She could be anywhere out there.

But then, Robert mentions other factors: a mountain and a lake. Still, the huge catchment area is peppered with mountains, lakes and reservoirs. Two whole mountain ranges lie within my circles: the Catskills and the Adirondack Mountains.

I will never find her out there. But then, that is why he told me.

I need to tell Edward everything tomorrow. We need to go to the police.

I shudder at the thought of Lucy out there now in the cold. But she’s been there so long already, I can’t do anything tonight, and after two decades, one more night will change nothing.

The clock on the desk reads 3:45 a.m. I’m not going to get any sleep tonight, and Edward will be back from Hong Kong in just five hours.

I look down at the tape player in my hands. As much as I do not want to hear more, I know I have to; I need to see how deep this goes. I need to find out why he is telling me any of this and what he wants.

With grim determination, I sink back into my chair, slide the headphones back on, and pick up where I left off.





28 The Tape




Part 2

I have no doubt you will feel resistance to this recording. To this story. But I also know you will use your enquiring mind to sort through what lies before you. All I can ask is that you bear with me, dear Harriet, as I continue, because there is more for you to know.

I suspect you have already thought of telling my son about this recording. But the fact you are still listening tells me you have not. I suspect you have weighed the pros and cons of such a decision. The knock-on effects of that choice. You are an intelligent, resourceful woman; that is why I have chosen to confide in you. But I advise you to tread with incredible care.

God knows, I love my son. I love all of my children, but I am not above taking action to protect the future of our family. Too many have given too much for us to let it all slip away, for it to be squandered by one unknown quantity. In his way Edward knows what I have done for this family, not in the details, but we know the men we are.

So, I ask you for his sake, do not act rashly. This cassette recording is meant for you, and you alone. Listen carefully to what I tell you, weigh the content, use your faculties, and when you are ready to talk, talk to me.