The Silent Ones: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller(13)

‘Have you remembered that Josh is back from his trip later?’ I say in a low voice to Tom, and he nods.

‘I’ll go and pick him up,’ he says. ‘I’ll have to bring him back here, with my mum and dad being away.’

I really don’t want to bring Josh here to the police station, but we might not have a choice. Tom’s parents are on a Mediterranean cruise, and Josh won’t be going to my mum and dad’s at any point until this mess is all sorted out, I know that much.

I close the Twitter page with a shaking finger just as the girls are ushered in. I feel Tom’s body tense next to me as he tries to rein in his emotion.

The tweets are instantly forgotten when I see my Maddy looking so vulnerable. She’s small and pale, like a startled doe. Brianna looks wild, as if she’s ready to bolt.

As we agreed, Seetal speaks first. She shakes hands formally with the girls and introduces herself in her no-nonsense way.

‘Your parents have asked me to come here to help you both. I’m not a policewoman, I’m a lawyer. That means I’m on your side and anything you tell me is confidential, just like if you were to talk to a teacher at school. Do you understand?’ She looks from one girl to the other. ‘We want to get you back home as quickly as possible, so it’s very important you listen carefully to what your parents have to say to you, OK?’

My heart sinks when there is no response from either Maddy or Brianna. They both sit still and wide-eyed as if they’re competing to see how long each one can hold their breath.

‘You can give them a hug before the interview starts,’ Seetal says, turning her attention to her yellow legal pad.

We all jump up and rush over to our girls, lost in the precious moments of holding them close without the need for words.

I press my face into Maddy’s hair and breathe in her smell as Tom wraps his arms around us both. There are other smells there I can’t identify, odours that don’t belong to my daughter at all, picked up from the musty surroundings of the police station and their temporary clothing.

Maddy’s small hands grip me hard, her fingers digging into my back as if she never wants to let go. I take her by the shoulders and prise her gently away until I can see her face.

Her usually sparkling blue eyes are bloodshot, her glowing pink cheeks sallow. She stares at me silently, as though imploring me to help her. She isn’t speaking, but she’s still letting me know how distressed she is.

‘Tell me what happened, sweetie,’ Tom whispers. ‘We can’t help you if you don’t tell us the truth.’

The intensity of her stare doesn’t waver, but still she doesn’t reply.

I try to get through to her. ‘Whisper in my ear, Maddy. Just tell me what happened. Did you hurt the old lady?’

Silence.

Tom’s voice is low and urgent. ‘We know you wouldn’t have hurt her on purpose, but maybe there was an accident? You were scared and—’

I have a brainwave. ‘You can nod your answer. Or shake your head. Did you hurt the old lady by accident, sweetie?’

Nothing.

I glance across the room at Chloe and Brianna, locked together. Chloe is speaking in a low voice, too low for me to hear, but I can see that Brianna’s lips aren’t moving at all.

I bend forward and whisper as quietly as I can in Maddy’s ear, ‘Did Brianna hurt the old lady? Just nod once, or shake your head.’

I sit back and watch her, a dull thud starting up inside my skull. She maintains eye contact, but does not move or make a sound.

There’s something there that wants to get out, something she’s desperate to tell me. I can see it. Feel it.

Fear, dread, sadness… she’s trying to convey one of them, but I can’t identify exactly which.

Maybe it’s a little of all of them.





Eight





DC Carol Hall whispers something to Chloe, and she and Brianna stand up and follow her out of the room. I try to catch my sister’s eye, but she keeps her gaze to the floor.

The two detectives walk in and sit down without looking over at us. March scribbles something on a pad and shows it to Neary, and he nods.

I feel Tom’s hand envelop mine, but I can only stare blankly into space. I feel numb, distanced from everything that’s happening around me.

The bitter, nasty words I read on Twitter are still bouncing around my head, and that was just a quick glimpse. Goodness knows what is being said on Facebook. I’m not sure I want to know.

Here in this room, I can feel… not exactly hostility, but a sense of revulsion. The very air seems dense, thick with the unspeakable truth of what had happened to that poor old lady.

Maddy sticks close to me, her upper arm and thigh pressed against me the whole time.

I am her mother. She expects me to protect her, keep her safe, and I can’t. I can’t whisk her away from here to gently tease out the truth of what happened to Bessie Wilford, and I can’t stop all those vile online comments and judgements.

I feel utterly helpless, and judging by his expression and continual frown, I’m pretty sure Tom feels the same way.

Carol comes back in and gently ushers us over to chairs that have been placed opposite the two detectives. She herself sits at the back of the room near the door, while Seetal silently takes her place to my left, a little apart from the straggly row the three of us form.