I Am Watching You(67)

But Sarah is torn – like Lily, she is relieved that her father is not involved in Anna’s disappearance and yet it is a temporary relief, not a full stop. They surely have to do something about their father. They can’t just pretend that the past didn’t happen. What if he targets someone else? Won’t that become partly their fault if they don’t step up?

Sarah can’t believe that their mother wouldn’t believe or support Lily when she told her. And now she feels her eyes scrunched up tight as she realises she should have spoken up herself – done more to reach out to Lily, rather than blaming her for abandoning the family.

She moves as quietly as possible onto her back and tries to calm her thoughts, to examine the shadows around the room again. In the corner there is a shop dummy made of some kind of bamboo that Lily uses as a clothes stand, draped mostly with scarves and a patchwork poncho. In daylight she had admired it – very boho – but in the shadows it looks foreboding, like a headless person, and Sarah has to concentrate hard to pick out and identify all the items individually to make them less ominous. Scarf. Scarf. Poncho. Just clothes, Sarah.

And now, uncomfortable already on her back, she moves onto her side to examine the robe on the back of the door. It is so long that it trails on the floor, and Sarah finds herself thinking that they should move the hook higher up on the door. Yes. Just a few inches and the robe won’t get stuck under the door when it’s opened.

Then it is suddenly all confusion. Sunlight. The swish of curtains. A tinkling of glasses or crockery. Distant voices. By some miracle she has slept. Sarah can’t believe it. There is a rattling of china right alongside her, and Lily has a wooden tray with two pretty cups of coffee and a plate of something triangular and ominously green.

‘Avocado on toast. No excuses. You really must eat something today, Sarah.’

Sarah yawns and stretches. ‘OK. Goodness. I can’t believe I finally fell off.’ She looks at the tray and reaches for a slice of the toast. ‘I will if you will.’ She dips her head to signal that Lily should have the other slice.

Her sister narrows her eyes, then takes the piece of toast and sits on the floor, pushing the mattress out of the way.

‘I honestly didn’t think I would sleep. Last thing I remember it was about three a.m.’ Still Sarah’s voice is distorted by yawning. ‘So do you think Caroline will let me stay a bit? I can look for a job in a café or something.’

‘I don’t know. But I’ll ask. Only for the summer, mind. You need to get cracking with your A levels.’

‘Not sure I’ll bother now.’

‘Please don’t say that, Sarah. I’m only asking if you can stay if you promise you’ll finish your exams.’

Sarah shrugs. The toast is nice. The surprise of lots of pepper on the avocado. Lemon, too. Popping the final piece into her mouth, she reaches down to the floor to pick up her phone. A string of messages. Sarah sits up, leaning back against the wooden headboard and skims through them.

Oh God . . .

She can’t take this in. Not Anna? How the hell can it not be Anna? What kind of new madness is this? There are messages from Jenny, from Tim, from Paul and other friends, too . . .

She swipes to a news app and asks Lily to put up the news feed on her laptop again.

‘They’re saying it’s not Anna. The girl in the flat in Spain.’

‘What?’

It takes a few minutes before the sound is up on the laptop. Lily and Sarah squeeze together on the edge of the bed, shoulders touching, to hear the reporter outside the flat in Spain confirm that the drama is finally over. Karl is now in custody, being questioned by police.

It’s been confirmed that the young woman allegedly being held hostage by Karl is not the missing English girl Anna Ballard. Both Karl and the blonde woman in the flat are unharmed. Police are saying nothing further at the moment.

‘Not Anna?’ Lily is pale. ‘This doesn’t make any sense at all.’

Sarah feels her hands come up to her mouth – her index fingers pressing into her lips. She can feel her sister trembling through the touching of their shoulders.

‘You know what this means, Lily?’

Her sister leans forward, head in her hands, and Sarah gently rubs her back as Lily begins to cry.

‘I’m so sorry, darling. I know it’s awful, Lily. I know it’s not what you want, but we have no choice now.’

Lily carries on crying, and Sarah has no idea how to comfort her. They both know what they have to do.

They have to go to the police about their father now. They have no choice. Sarah has to tell them everything.





CHAPTER 42


THE FATHER

The next week sees a heatwave. A great sweeping ‘high’ on every forecast. Henry watches it with a quiet fury. The only time the weather people get it spot on – when you can look out the window and call it yourself. His daughter, meantime, is completely forgotten. No longer the headline. The local news is full instead of temperature charts, with chuffed tourist officers babbling about records being broken and how the staycation is back in fashion. The best season in years. All around Devon and Cornwall, faces turn a golden brown to match the grass.

Today there is a news report about dolphins being seen more regularly and in bigger numbers off the coast, and some marine biologist is saying there could be more sharks soon. Global warming.