The Silent Ones: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller(29)

And now… now, they won’t make a sound, even though at times I can see Maddy battling to swallow down the words.

The only thing that makes sense is that they are traumatised. But how, why…? We think we know our children so well, but is it possible that they are actually capable of such a terrible crime?

I once read a magazine article about how to spot the signs of a killer in childhood. I remember it was in the dentist’s surgery, a way of passing ten minutes’ waiting time when I got there early. Never for a second did I suspect that such subject matter would ever apply to my family.

Setting fires, hurting small animals, uncontrollable aggression and general callousness were all mentioned amongst other horrible behaviours that I felt relieved my daughter had never displayed.

Maddy is a kind girl. She loves her family, loves animals and has shown no aggressive or dangerous behaviours that could possibly indicate that anything is amiss.

Could I ever imagine her hurting an elderly lady? Never in a million years.

Likewise, I’m certain Brianna has never displayed any such awful tendencies, although in my opinion, she isn’t as placid a personality as Maddy. I’ve seen her swing in the space of a few minutes from acting upset and crying to breaking one of Mum’s precious Royal Doulton figurines in the throes of a temper.

Mum and Dad have now gone home to get some rest and feed Jasper. They’ve texted Chloe to say there are rubberneckers on the street, people from out of the area shouting questions about what has happened. Sounds like they’ve gathered at both our houses, judging by Beth’s earlier text warning of people looking through our windows. I expect Mum may soon be back in bed with a headache if it continues.

I still haven’t heard back from Tom but he should have picked up Josh from his school trip by now. I tried calling him but it went through to voicemail.

There are pepperoni pizzas I bought yesterday waiting in the fridge, with Josh’s favourite Ben & Jerry’s cookie dough ice cream for afters. It was to be his welcome home tea, where he could tell us all about his survival adventure at Hathersage.

We’d have sat together around the kitchen table and learned how to construct a shelter in bad weather, which wild berries and mushrooms were safe to eat and how long it had taken Josh to spark together two sticks to make a fire.

Now our priority has got to be explaining the situation with Maddy in a sensitive but truthful way that Josh can understand. We agreed that Tom will broach the subject on the journey here, and then we’ll fill in a few more details together.

It occurs to me that I haven’t thought through what I’m going to do with Josh while Maddy is still being questioned. Under the circumstances, I don’t feel comfortable letting him go to Mum and Dad’s. It might seem unfair, but I can’t deny the lack of trust I now have in their ability to keep my children safe.

I look over at my sister. She’s a bag of nerves, scratching, fidgeting, blindly leafing through magazines and tossing them down again. She doesn’t want to chat, that much is obvious. I can sense one of her brooding moods coming on.

There’s so much waiting involved. We’re all at the mercy of other people, telling us the next procedure that must be followed, when all we want is for this nightmare to be over.

It’s that lack of control I find most difficult to cope with.

I just want to take Maddy home, wrap her up in her favourite fleece blanket and cuddle her close. But I can feel the chances of that fading with every minute that passes.

There’s a tap at the door and Dana Sewell comes in.

‘I just wanted to say that I think that went well for a first session,’ she says. ‘There was lots of non-verbal communication.’

‘We’re not going to find out what happened in that house through non-verbal communication, though, are we?’ Chloe indicates speech marks in the air.

Dana completely blanks her comment, and I feel a glow of admiration.

‘I also came in to offer private therapy sessions to you both. DI Neary has approved this.’

‘What do we need therapy for?’ Chloe huffs. ‘The focus should be on the girls.’

Dana thinks for a moment. ‘Kids are very good at picking up underlying tensions in families. It might be useful for us to explore that angle.’

‘Not interested,’ Chloe says shortly. ‘It’s not therapy I need; it’s getting my daughter back home that’s important.’

‘I wouldn’t mind a session,’ I say quietly.

‘That’s great, Juliet. I’ll sort out a time with DI Neary.’ Dana smiles and leaves the room

When I look up, Chloe is staring at me.

‘Mum says Maddy is always dragging Brianna outside to play,’ she remarks spitefully, nibbling at a fingernail. ‘Never happy just to play in Bree’s bedroom or watch stuff on TV these days, she says.’

I look at her blankly. ‘I suppose that’s understandable given the nice weather, isn’t it? Kids like to be outside.’

‘Hmm, maybe.’ Her voice suddenly sharpens. ‘Juliet, are you sure Maddy didn’t talk about this Bessie Wilford woman? She’s never mentioned her to you at all?’

I pull the corners of my mouth down and shake my head. ‘Not to my knowledge. What about Brianna?’

‘Oh, I’m certain Bree doesn’t know her well. She’d have told me.’