The Silent Ones: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller(48)

She glanced at her phone on the passenger seat to see if her WhatsApp message had been read yet. Sure enough, two little blue ticks had appeared, showing that it had been delivered and read.

That was something at least.

She continued her journey to Sutton-in-Ashfield and turned off at the reservoir, the tyres crunching over the gravelled car park. This had become their safe place for meeting. Squirrelled away from sight of the main road.

There were only four or five other vehicles parked up, their occupants probably running around the reservoir or walking their dogs, but Chloe took no chances and manoeuvred the Toyota over to the far side to wait.

It wasn’t long before another car turned into the car park, and she saw with relief that it was the familiar silver VW Golf.

She checked her face in the mirror and tucked lank wisps of hair back behind her ears. The passenger door opened and closed again, and the car filled with the soapy, clean smell of him.

Chloe felt her neck and shoulders relax a little.

‘Hi, Tom,’ she breathed as she reached for her brother-in-law’s hand.





Thirty-Four





Juliet





We’re transported to the new facility in a small minibus – me, Mum and Dad, the girls and DC Carol Hall.

Chloe has taken Dad’s car to go back to the house and when Tom got back from his meeting and I filled him in on Maddy’s confession, he abruptly made some excuse about needing time to get his head around it, and left again. The gulf between us seems wider than ever.

It’s all getting to Tom, I could see that as he left. He looks a shadow of his former self, wearing the worry about Maddy like a mask for all to see. I feel like I can’t touch him emotionally at the very time we should be pulling closer together.

During the journey, Maddy presses close to me and we hold hands. Brianna sits behind us next to Mum and Dad, so although I constantly whisper reassurances to Maddy, I don’t discuss her interview with Dana. There’s enough pressure on her right now, and I’m sure the detectives understand her confession was a knee-jerk reaction.

The stuff she said about someone pressuring her to do ‘bad things’ is bothering me but I try to remind myself it was just dreams. It didn’t happen in real life and there’s a big difference.

Maddy doesn’t say much, but she is talking. They both are. So I’m praying we’ll soon get the whole truth out of them and it will be proven that Maddy did nothing wrong after all.

When we first climbed into the minibus, I tried to catch Mum’s eye a couple of times. Whatever our girls say, there’s no point in us falling out about it. That won’t change or resolve anything.

But Mum makes a distinct effort not to look my way at all. There is this sort of distracted air about her, as if she hasn’t even got her mind on her granddaughters.

If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say there’s something else bothering her.

But what could be more important than all this?

The new facility is a single-storey prefab-type building on the outskirts of Mansfield. There are electric gates, and Maddy’s eyes widen as they swing open and a security guard waves us through.

‘Is this a prison?’ she whispers, and my heart leaps at the sound of her voice. Earlier today, I’d begun to think she might never speak again.

‘No, sweetie, it’s not a prison. It’s going to be much more comfortable here for us all while we sort out this mess with the police.’

I hear Mum say something to Brianna, but I can’t catch the words.

Inside the centre, we kiss the girls. ‘We’re off to get something nice to eat,’ Carol tells them. ‘You’ll see your mums again soon, OK?’

Brianna pulls away and tries to hang onto Dad’s arm, but Maddy just looks at me sadly and turns away.

‘I’ll see you in a little while, Brianna,’ Mum says tightly. ‘Come on, remember what I said. Be a brave girl and this will soon be over.’

As the girls walk away with Carol, I glare at my mum.

‘What’s the matter with you?’ She frowns back.

‘We’re far from home and dry,’ I say. ‘Brianna is obviously as confused as Maddy; they’re just reacting differently.’

‘Is that so?’ Mum says smugly. ‘Have you considered that Brianna might be telling the truth rather than just trying to save her own skin?’

‘Funnily enough, no!’ I snap. ‘I haven’t considered that because it would mean Maddy is cruel and violent, and as you know, Mum, that’s simply not true.’

An attendant shows me my room, a small but adequate space not unlike a private hospital room, with an adjoining bathroom, then leads me to the family room to wait for Tom. Mum and Dad are already in there. They’re both staring down at newspapers strewn over the floor.

Neither of them looks up when I walk in and close the door behind me.

I am invisible. I am on the outside looking in. My chat with Dana has opened up a chink in my coping defence and I have an overwhelming desire to be alone.

I have my handbag on my shoulder. Inside it is the phone I found in Maddy’s wardrobe. I need to turn it on and see what’s on there, but I’ve not been able to bring myself to do it. If there is anything incriminating – and according to Josh, there might well be – I’ll put myself in a very tricky situation with the police.