The Silent Ones: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller(21)

‘You’ve ideas above your station, my girl,’ Irma had snapped, her wrinkly mouth pulled into a tight knot. ‘You’ll never make anything of yourself. Mark my words.’

But Joan’s ambition had burned even brighter at Irma’s scathing words. She knew she was special, had always felt it. If her own mother, Tessa, had been alive, she would have supported her dream, she knew.

Now, all these years later, she was loath to admit that Irma’s prediction had come to pass. As far as her performing aspirations were concerned, anyhow. The most she had ever done was a short stint on stage during an amateur gym showcase at school.

It was meeting Ray that had put paid to her dreams. He’d promised her the earth and she’d taken her chances and ended up in this ramshackle little ex-mining village where nothing ever happened.

But sitting there watching Chloe cartwheel from one side of the room to the other, well, it brought back the feelings Joan had had herself as a young girl. The freedom, the joy of getting caught up in the beauty of movement… it felt almost as good as the real thing.

She was entranced as her elder daughter skipped and jumped, her slim fingers poised and toes elegantly pointed, enjoying the warmth of her mother’s attention.

Her heart beat a little faster when she began to consider just how far Chloe could go with this. Joan had been blocked from achieving her dreams, but maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t too late.

Absent-mindedly she rubbed the arms of the chair, her fingertips grazing over the worn, bare patches. It was entirely possible that with her help, Chloe could really excel as a gymnast, and Joan, her devoted mother, would naturally accompany her on the journey.

‘Mum!’ She was pulled out of her pleasant reverie by her other daughter, Juliet, two years younger than Chloe and forever trying to grab attention for herself. ‘Watch this, Mum.’ She performed a clumsy balancing posture in front of the mahogany sideboard. She had all the grace of a baby hippo, and Joan was forced to look away to conceal a snigger.

Juliet was academically bright. On the last day of the summer term, she’d come home proudly displaying a sticker on her pullover, given to her by the teacher apparently for coming top of her class in a maths test.

Maths! Joan thought disparagingly. Where was the glamour in that?

At the end of the girls’ little performance, their mother clapped enthusiastically.

‘Bravo!’ she called, like the ladies dressed in furs and pearls did in the black-and-white films she enjoyed watching.

‘We’ll try and get you enrolled in a proper gym class,’ she told Chloe when her daughter skipped over and perched next to her on the arm of her chair. ‘I can see you performing as a rhythmic gymnast, and I’ll be right there in the front row to cheer you on.’

‘And me too?’ Juliet prompted from the other side of the room.

Joan laughed. ‘Not everyone’s a natural mover.’ She stroked Chloe’s silky ponytail. ‘You’re better off concentrating on your school studies, Juliet.’

Chloe laid her head on Joan’s shoulder and watched as her sister’s face dropped.

‘I don’t want to go if Jules can’t come, Mum,’ she said.

‘Don’t be silly.’ Joan suddenly sat up so Chloe’s head slid away from her shoulder. ‘If you’ve got a talent for something, then you go for it, my girl. Don’t be weak and don’t let anyone get in the way.’





Thirteen





The village





As the coach pulled into the school car park, Tom drew up behind the other vehicles that lined the pavement outside the school.

He’d thought he’d left plenty of time for the journey here, but a lane had been blocked by a broken-down car on Annesley Cutting, resulting in a ten-minute delay, and now it was a few minutes past three-thirty and it looked like he was one of the last to arrive.

His heart was heavy from worrying about Maddy. It was a struggle keeping up the optimism in front of Juliet, but it was essential that he did so. He’d seen a decline in her ability to cope as the business had grown, and he’d supported the doctor’s decision to put her back on antidepressants. But if the worst happened with Maddy, it could finish her off.

Still, he felt a little brighter at the thought of seeing Josh and hearing all about his trip. He knew that a big part of his job was protecting his son from the fall-out from the situation. It would be a challenge, but he hoped to keep a least a little normality in Josh’s life.

Perhaps if he bumped into his best friend Leo’s dad, he could arrange for Josh to go there for a sleepover at some point. Just to help him deal with this initial period of utter chaos.

He jumped out and jogged up through the car park to wait with the other parents at the top. The coach was still reversing into its spot and the windows were slightly tinted, so he couldn’t spot Josh or Leo amongst the child-sized faces pressing up against the windows.

At the edge of the group of parents he spotted Nick, Leo’s dad, who he usually stood with at the boys’ after-school football matches.

‘How’re things, mate?’ He pushed his hands into his jeans pockets and nudged the other man. ‘Thought I wasn’t going to make it on time, but looks like I just pulled it off.’

Nick looked at him coolly. ‘Come straight here from the police station, have you?’