The Retreat(44)

‘This is what I mean about Ursula being dangerous,’ I said. ‘She’s trying to fill your head with nonsense about spirits and apparitions.’

Julia hoisted herself onto the fence, swinging a leg over.

‘What are you doing?’

‘I’m going to look in the woods.’

‘Julia . . .’

She turned to me, and her expression told me there was no point arguing. ‘What if she saw Lily? What if she’s out there . . . too scared, for whatever reason, to come to the house? Or maybe she was about to come back and Ursula frightened her off?’

She was over the fence now, making her way through the grass towards the line of trees. I sighed and climbed after her. The grass clutched at my ankles and the ground squelched, still wet from all the rain that had fallen the previous week.

I caught up with Julia, who stood on a little path just inside the wood. ‘Lily!’ she called. ‘Lily? Are you there? Sweetheart, it’s me, it’s Mummy.’

‘Julia, there’s no one here,’ I said. ‘It’s Ursula. She’s trying to mess with your head. You should tell her to leave right now.’

She wasn’t listening. She stared into the trees, fresh tears on her cheeks. I was furious with Ursula. What was she playing at?

‘She was here,’ Julia said, her voice thick with distress. ‘I can feel it. I can feel her.’ And then she smiled. The hope in her eyes broke my heart. ‘She’s alive, Lucas. She’s really alive.’

She embraced me, her face against my chest, hot tears soaking through my shirt. I held her and let her cry for a minute until she pulled away, wiping her cheeks with her sleeves.

‘Oh God, I’m such a state, I’m so embarrassing,’ she said.

What was I supposed to do? Insist that Ursula had been lying? Tell her Lily had to be dead, that there was no way she could be standing here watching the house? I couldn’t do it.

‘She must be hungry,’ Julia said. ‘I should bring some food, leave it here. Some warm clothes too. And a note, telling her not to be afraid. Yes. Yes, that’s what I’ll do.’

She ran out of the woods, back into the field and towards the house.

Looking at the trees all around me I made a silent vow. If I couldn’t persuade Julia to kick Ursula out, I had to do what I could to limit the damage.

‘Ursula,’ I said to myself, ‘I’m watching you.’





Chapter 22

Ursula was nowhere to be seen when I got back to the house. I figured she’d gone back to her room.

Julia was in the kitchen, filling a basket with snacks and fruit. She made a cheese sandwich and wrapped it in cling film. It was all very Little Red Riding Hood.

‘Won’t it get eaten by animals?’ I said.

She stared at the basket. ‘You’re right. I need something more secure. Like a metal box, with a key. I don’t have anything like that.’

‘Julia, do you really . . . Do you really think Lily could be living wild in the woods?’

She lay her hands flat on the counter, as if stopping herself from falling.

‘If there’s a chance . . . even the remotest chance . . .’

‘Ursula was lying. I don’t know why, but—’

‘I was not lying.’

I whirled around. Ursula stood in the kitchen doorway. She still wore her red coat even though it was warm in the house. Maybe she was one of those people who is always cold. Thin skin, weak blood. Anger bubbled up in me and I was about to give her a piece of my mind when she produced a mobile phone – one of those large iPhones – and said, ‘Look. I took a picture. You didn’t give me a chance to show it to you.’

Julia began trembling as Ursula unlocked the phone and located the photos app.

‘There. See.’

I couldn’t believe it, but there it was. A picture of the edge of the woods where Julia and I had just stood. And in front of the trees, facing the camera, was a child.

‘I’m afraid it’s not very clear,’ Ursula said, as Julia took the phone from her and zoomed in on the figure. It was a girl with long brown hair. She was wearing a blue coat and jeans.

‘Is it . . . ?’ I could hardly bring myself to say it. ‘Is it Lily?’

‘I can’t tell. I want it to be her so much that I’m seeing her. But I don’t know. I don’t know.’

‘Let’s plug it into a computer,’ I said. ‘Make it bigger.’

I ran upstairs and grabbed my laptop, along with the USB cable I used to charge my missing phone. Back in the kitchen, I plugged Ursula’s phone in and navigated through a series of permissions messages. Finally, I was able to import the photo.

It appeared full-size on the screen. It was a top-of-the-range laptop with a retina screen so the photo appeared bright and vivid. It was a little out of focus, but we were able to zoom in on the girl’s face so her features were visible enough to identify her.

‘It’s not Lily,’ Julia said, the disappointment making her voice tremble.

I put my hand on her shoulder, which drew a knowing look from Ursula.

‘But I know her,’ Julia said, staring at the picture. ‘It’s Lily’s friend, Megan. Her family lives on the other side of the woods.’

She grabbed her car keys from the hook on the wall.