The Silent Ones: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller(72)

‘You left me to deal with the guilt and the blame for the rest of my life,’ Juliet whispered. ‘And now our girls have taken over that legacy.’





Fifty-Five





Juliet





When Carol interrupts us to tell me I can finally see my daughter, I’m glad of the diversion, glad to get away from them all.

I walk out of the room. Somebody calls my name, but I don’t look back.

Maddy is waiting for me, looking pale and weak, like there’s no fight left in her.

‘I’ll give you a couple of minutes,’ Carol says before leaving.

I put my arms out and Maddy sits down close to me, leaning her cheek on my shoulder. I can feel her shaking. It’s breaking my heart just to look at her.

I stroke her hair.

‘I want you to know that your dad and I love you so very much. We will always love you.’ She turns her face a little and looks up at me. ‘It doesn’t matter what you have or haven’t done. We love you. Do you understand?’

‘Yes,’ she whispers and gives the tiniest nod.

It’s so wonderful to hear her voice again, even if my heart is fractured.

Now that I know the truth about Corey, I understand that no matter what Brianna tells her mother or her grandparents about what happened in Bessie Wilford’s house, I will never get to know the truth, because they will all keep it from me and twist it into a story they can live with.

If I let them, they will lie to me and deceive me, just as they’ve done for the last fifteen years. They will let my daughter take the baton and be the new fall guy.

But I will never let that happen.

‘I’m going to share something with you, Maddy, and I want you to really listen to me.’ I shift in my chair so I’m facing her. ‘I’ve told you before about my little brother who died. His name was Corey and he had an accident and fell onto some rocks, remember?’

She doesn’t nod again, but I can tell she’s listening.

‘Well, what I didn’t tell you was that I’ve always believed it was my fault that Corey died. I dozed off, you see. I was ill and fell asleep when I should have been looking after him. But today I found out that it wasn’t my fault after all. Someone else was there that day, someone who could have stopped the accident.’

Maddy stares at me with wide eyes.

‘I took the blame all these years because other people said it was my fault.’ I sigh, realising I’m probably not making much sense to my exhausted ten-year-old daughter. I grasp her hand. ‘What I’m trying to say is that sometimes other people will do anything to get you to take the blame for something. They confuse you, lie to you until you really believe that somehow it is your fault. Do you understand?’

‘Yes.’

‘I know you better than anyone else in the world, and you’re a good girl, Maddy. I’d really hate for you to blame yourself because you think it’s the right thing to do.’ I squeeze her hand. ‘You’re kind and clever, and you have your whole life ahead of you.’

I can only hope that that’s still the case. Any kind of redemption is hanging by a mere thread now.

‘It’s not too late, Maddy,’ I add. ‘If you can tell us what happened in Bessie’s house, we can help you. All you have to do is tell the truth… your truth, not someone else’s.’

A single tear rolls down my daughter’s soft, pale cheek.

There can’t be a worse feeling than this. Desperately wanting to save your child and being so utterly unable to.

Everyone says the truth will always shine through and eventually it has. The truth about Corey’s accident is finally out. But at this precise moment, I’m wondering how something so ultimately powerful as the truth can be so easily hidden. So effortlessly, it seems, for all these years.

Most of all, I wonder if we will ever find out the truth of what happened in Bessie Wilford’s house.





Fifty-Six





The village





She was doing it again, failing to follow proper procedure. But what harm could it do now?

Dana liked and trusted Juliet Fletcher, and although it clearly irritated Lizzie every time she said so, she didn’t believe Maddy was capable of killing Bessie Wilford, regardless of Brianna’s accusation. It just didn’t stack up.

What harm could helping Juliet do, really? Dana knew that given a bit more leeway and time, Neary would be willing to explore other avenues of inquiry. But for now, the pressure to name a firm suspect was tremendous.

Legally, Neary had almost come to the end of his allowed interrogation time, and Superintendent Fry was gearing up to charge Maddy with manslaughter. Fry herself was bowing under pressure from her superior, who was subject to public outrage and press condemnation at the fact that they hadn’t already charged the girl.

Dana found it both disturbing and intriguing that the community and the press were so willing to ignore the fact that the two girls were vulnerable ten-year-olds, instead casting them as wicked young murderers in the ilk of Mary Bell and the killers of little Jamie Bulger.

Although Brianna could well be released, the fact that she had been present when Bessie Wilford was attacked still condemned her in the eyes of the world and a later charge could be made when the details became clearer. Dana knew from experience that Brianna would probably be hounded and the family forced to move away from the area.