Where the Missing Go(50)

‘Seriously?’ I laughed, and went to hug him. ‘Really, it’s fine, I promise. And it won’t be for that long.’ He stroked my hair.

Mum always said I was clever, and I try to tell myself the same, I do. But I feel so stupid.

That first night, he stayed with me. I felt OK, reassured.

In the morning, before he left, we’d talked again about what I’d do all day: read, make food, watch TV. I nodded. ‘Honestly, we talked about this – I understand. You can’t be everywhere.’

But it still shocked me when I tried the door, after him, and found it locked: the metal handle refusing to turn in my hand. We fought about that, when he came back that evening. He used to come a lot, back then.

‘It’s for your own good,’ he kept saying. ‘It’s not safe. For you, or me. Someone might see you, even here. It’s not like you can go outside. So why do you need it unlocked?’

‘But why do you need to lock me in?’ I was frustrated, hot tears starting. ‘That’s not fair!’

‘Sophie,’ he said, his expression grave. ‘You’ve got to be responsible. It’s my life at stake here, as well as yours.’

I pulled a face. ‘Your livelihood,’ I corrected. ‘Not our lives.’

‘And when I’ve seen that I can trust you in this,’ he continued, ‘well, we’ll see.’

‘But I won’t go out, I promise. Don’t you trust me?’

‘Of course I do,’ he soothed. ‘It’s just, you’re impulsive. It’s not fair to put that responsibility, for your safety and mine, on you. But you do understand, don’t you? If it’s locked, no one can get in, either. It’s much safer. You’re all alone in here. I’d hate to think, if you were asleep and …’

I hadn’t thought about that. ‘OK, I get it.’ I took a deep breath. ‘I understand.’

‘Good girl.’ He kissed me on my forehead, and I smiled.

He’s always made everything sound so reasonable. And he’s so good at making me feel like I’m in the wrong. In the end, I let it go. It wasn’t my first mistake.





24


KATE


So she didn’t run away. Not like we thought, anyway.

The message in front of me was sent from Sophie’s other email account: [email protected] – the one we’d checked. She must have deleted it after she sent it; I know both her sent messages and her deleted file were examined.

I flex my hands; they’ve gone cold.

It took me a few seconds to realise what I was reading. It’s an email conversation, a string of messages that she’s forwarded to herself, to this secret email account.

Now I start reading them again, keeping my breathing controlled. There is no point panicking, not now. The messages are brief; I get the impression it’s the continuation of an ongoing conversation:

10 May 2016 at 18:05, King Pluto <‘[email protected]’> wrote:

All set?

10 May 2016 at 18:09, Sophie Harlow <[email protected]> wrote:

Yes! I’m ready x

That’s Sophie’s gogomail, the account we knew about. The replies come quickly:

King Pluto: Do you need to go over the plan for Friday again?

Sophie: Only if you want to. Everything’s fine with me. I’m excited x

King Pluto: You know you’ve got to stay calm now. Don’t act too happy, or out of the ordinary.

Sophie: I know! I just started another row, coursework this time. I feel bad:(

King Pluto: It’s got to be done. Just a few days to go now. Delete this conversation.

Sophie: You’re such a worrier. Don’t I always?

King Pluto: I mean it. You know I’ll check. Delete it.

Sophie: All right, I will. x

King Pluto: I can’t wait until we can be together.

Sophie: Me too. See you soon x

King Pluto: See you very soon.

So someone knew she was going to run away. Not just that, but someone was planning to go with her. And now one question is running through my head, on a loop: who? Because everyone she knew is still here.

I check the date of the forwarded messages – the whole exchange took place on 10 May 2016, between 6.05p.m. and 6.17p.m. – and pull up an online calendar. Like I thought: it was a Tuesday. Homework hours, when she’d be up in her bedroom, safely tucked away; me pottering around downstairs, upset after our latest clash; Mark still at work.

But she wasn’t safe. She was making arrangements, three days before she went, with someone who wanted her to keep it a secret: ‘You know I’ll check.’ How?

I think: if they knew her password too, they could just log in themselves. The confidence that she’d do what she was told chills me. No persuading, no endearments – just commands.

And I know when this was, I realise now. Just after that last argument, in the last week. I remember how it ended: Sophie slamming her way out of the kitchen. ‘Just let me go. I can’t stand it! Don’t you get it? I want some space!’ To go up to her room, and talk to … whoever this was.

I’ve replayed that argument so many times. If I’d handled things differently that evening … it seemed to come from nowhere. Of course it did, I understand now. They were laying the ground to tell the familiar story: family strife, an unhappy teenager – a reason for going. But that wasn’t it, was it?