The Silent Ones: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller(17)

The three of us watch silently as they leave the room. There is something about two angelic-looking children being accused of such a terrible, savage crime that feels wrong on a visceral level.

It’s just not right. It can’t possibly be right.

When Tom pops to the bathroom, I check my phone. There’s a group text from school.

Hathersage trip update: your child will now require picking up at 3.30 p.m. prompt from school please. Many thanks.

My heart hammers. It’s two-thirty now, so that’s only another hour now that they’ve brought the pick-up time forward from the original four o’clock.

Soon we’ll have another child to try and protect from all this. At least while Josh is with his friends on the trip, he’s away from this circus of horrors. Plus I’m worried something important will happen here and Tom will be delayed getting to the school in good time to collect him.

My phone buzzes as another text from Beth comes through.

There are people in your front garden, looking through the windows!! Pls let me know asap if you’re all OK. B x

I shiver. Who are these people trespassing in our front garden? Locals? Or ghoulish out-of-town onlookers?

When Tom comes back into the room, I show him Beth’s message.

He shakes his head, colour flooding his cheeks. ‘Cheeky buggers. I’ll be going over there soon to get changed; I’ll chase them all away before we bring Maddy home.’

I think cheeky is the wrong word. It feels more menacing than that to me. The thought of people trampling through our personal space totally freaks me out.

But in a way, it’s the least of our problems.

‘Also, school have texted,’ I tell him. ‘Josh needs picking up at three-thirty now.’

‘I can do that when I’ve been to the house.’ He’s calm and confident, and it helps. I pinch my tight left shoulder, trying to alleviate the tension that has gathered there. He checks his watch. ‘I’ll need to get going shortly. I’ve only got an hour until Josh gets back.’

‘I feel so helpless,’ I say. Tom sits down next to me and slides his arm around my shoulders, massaging my neck. ‘I don’t know how we can help Maddy when she won’t even talk to us.’

‘What I want to know is when Mum and Dad are going to get here,’ Chloe remarks. ‘It could take hours before Dad manages to shoehorn Mum out of bed, even for an emergency like this. We need some gaps filling in as to why the girls were at Bessie’s house in the first place. I’m going to ask the front desk if they know what time they’re due to arrive.’ She starts to walk out and then turns back. ‘Oh, and I’ve left another message for them to bring spare clothes from their house for the girls so no need for you to bother, Tom. That’s if they listen to their voicemail before leaving.’

She leaves Tom and me alone.

‘I don’t know how Mum is going to handle all this.’ I chew my thumbnail.

‘I’m worried how you’re going to handle it,’ Tom tells me. ‘We have to make sure we’re there for Maddy every step of the way. She needs to know we believe she’s innocent, Jules.’

I nod, and when I look at him, I realise his gaze is loaded.

‘What?’ I say. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

‘Because I want to make sure I’ve got through to you. Maddy is our priority now. Not Brianna, not Chloe or your mother. Just Maddy.’

‘Obviously!’ I shake my head, irked. ‘I don’t know why you even feel the need to say that.’

‘I’m saying it because I know how easily your family can sway you. Chloe and your mother are the worst when they get their heads together, so don’t give them the time of day if they start. Don’t be their fall guy, Juliet.’

My nostrils flare. I’ve no intention of causing tension with my mum and sister at a time like this.

‘I’m just saying,’ Tom continues, ‘I think you’ve paid enough years of penance for what happened. They’ll bleed you dry if you let them.’

‘You know, I really don’t need this.’ I stand up and walk a circuit of the tiny room like a caged tiger. ‘Maybe this is a chance to get closer to my family. We need to pull together, not bicker about the past.’

The door opens, and Carol’s head pops around it.

‘Your parents have arrived, Juliet. Your sister is with them in room 15A, just down the corridor on the left.’

‘Thanks,’ I say, and walk past Tom and out of the room. Finally, Mum and Dad are here and can hopefully shed some light on the situation.

Tom catches up with me just as I reach room 15A, and I feel his hand on my shoulder. I turn and whisper to him.

‘Don’t wade in with both feet, Tom. The last thing we need is Mum’s anxiety flaring up again.’

He looks hard at me and presses his lips together.





Eleven





The door is already slightly ajar, so I push it open a little more and see that Mum is sitting next to Chloe, their heads close together. They’re speaking urgently, in voices too low for me to discern what they’re saying.

I step inside the room and Tom closes the door behind us. Mum looks up quickly and reaches for my sister’s hand.

‘Here’s Juliet now,’ Dad says needlessly. ‘Any more news?’