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Paige was taken by ambulance from the ecologist’s bunkhouse at Whiteford Sands to Morriston Hospital in Swansea. Jenna traveled with her, while Jack, Hanna, and Waffle followed in the car and Kay drove across from Port Eynon with Josh and the twins.

After the doctor finished checking Paige over, the children were allowed to see her. The reunion was boisterous and tearful, and did much to endear them to the staff. However, Paige was apparently still suffering from a mild delirium caused by exposure to the elements, emotional trauma, and a two-day fast, so the young ones weren’t allowed to stay long.

She fell asleep almost as soon as they’d gone, and slept deeply until late afternoon, at which point the doctor said, “I’d like to keep her for further observation, but under the circumstances, perhaps being back in the bosom of her family is where she really needs to be.”

“I think so,” Jenna agreed. “And don’t worry, we understand about the psychiatric assessment. We’ll make sure it happens.”

“I’m sure you realize that working through something like this can be a long process,” he cautioned, “so it’s important that she’s fully recharged physically before she begins. Were you given the number to call?”

After assuring him she had been, Jenna took Paige the fresh clothes Kay had brought in, and Jack went to fetch the car. It was while they were waiting for him to come back that DS Mariner rang.

“How is she?” the detective asked.

“She’s doing well,” Jenna said with a smile, slipping an arm round Paige’s shoulders. “We’re about to go home.”

“That’s good. I’m glad it turned out this way.”

“Thank you.”

“We’ll need to speak to her at some point.”

“I realize that, but not yet.”

“No, of course not. I thought you’d want to know that we’ve identified Julie Morris.”

Yes, Jenna did want to know, but not with Paige sitting right next to her; there would be time later for her daughter to deal with whatever else was to come. So leaving her texting Charlotte, she walked outside. “Who is it?” she asked.

“Her real name is Olivia Masters. She’s at the same school, a year above Paige.”

Jenna was frowning as she tried to recall the name. “Does she have a brother called Owen?” she asked.

“Yes, she does. She was rushed to the emergency room last night after taking an overdose.”

Stunned, Jenna said, “Is she…did she…?”

“She was at home when it happened, so I’m guessing Paige knows nothing about it.”

“Is she going to be all right?”

“I believe so.”

Glad of that, though confused about her feelings for the girl herself, Jenna asked, “Do you know why…?” She shook her head. “There are so many whys. Why Paige? Why change her name? Why try to kill herself?”

“All questions we need answers to, and hopefully we’ll get them when she’s ready to talk. Meantime, if anything should come to light that you think might be helpful, you have my number; please be in touch.”

Paige was at home now in her own bed, surrounded by her siblings, who couldn’t do enough for her, and her dog, the hero of the hour. Jenna thought she still looked tired and anxious, but at least she was managing to put on a show for the children. Her old self was still in there somewhere; it was just going to need some time to find its confidence again.

“She’s always had a strong personality,” Hanna declared when they were in the sitting room later, with everyone asleep upstairs. “It’s what’ll get her through this—and her mother, of course.”

Jenna looked at Jack. He seemed so lost, so beaten, even, that she could only wonder what was going through his mind. “How long are you staying?” she asked him.

“You mean tonight?” he replied.

“Yes, and after that. Will you be booking a flight back to the States once we’ve seen the psychiatrist? Or perhaps you’d rather not stay around for that.”

His eyes went down. “I’m getting the impression she’d rather I wasn’t here,” he said. “She’s barely spoken to me since we found her.”

Irritated by the self-pity, Jenna said, “You know she’s not in a good place, and frankly I don’t think disappearing again is going to help things between you. This is presuming, of course, that you want there to be a relationship between you.”

His eyes showed his pain. “I’m surprised you can even ask it.”

Before Jenna could respond, Hanna said, “I’m guessing she won’t be going back to school for the rest of this term.”

Jenna shook her head. “They break for Easter on Thursday, so I don’t think anyone will be expecting her to. I’ll call Mr. Charles in the morning.”

“Did you see that he rang while you were at the hospital?” Hanna asked. “He wanted to say how relieved everyone was that Paige had been found, and he wants you to call to discuss what’s happened when you’re ready.”

“Did he mention anything about Kelly Durham and what’s going to happen to her?”

“No, but I don’t suppose he would to me. It was about Paige today. As far as I’m concerned, it’s always about Paige.”

“Have you told her about this Olivia girl yet?” Jack wanted to know.

Jenna shook her head. “She’s had enough for one day.”

“Do you know the parents?” Hanna asked.

“I’ve seen them, but I’ve never met them. They always seem…how shall I put it…a bit reclusive, stand-offish even, but like I say, I don’t actually know them. She’s a gifted musician, Olivia. Paige has often talked about her. Apparently she plays in assembly sometimes.”

“So why did she need an alias to make friends? And what on earth drove her to forge a friendship with Paige that ended in a suicide pact?”

“I’ve no idea yet. Just thank God she stood Paige up and acted alone—although, of course, it’s tragic that she did. It seems she’s going to pull through.” She looked around. “Where’s Mum? I don’t think I’ve seen her since the children went to bed.”

“She was going to do some ironing,” Hanna answered, peering through to the kitchen. “Doesn’t look like she’s there, though.”

Going to check, Jenna found her mother in the dining room, standing in the darkness staring out at the starry night sky. “Are you OK?” she asked softly. “I wondered where you’d got to.”

When Kay didn’t answer, Jenna went to stand in front of her. “Mum?”

Kay still said nothing, but as she turned her head Jenna caught the glint of tears on her cheeks.

“Oh, Mum, what is it?” she urged. She couldn’t remember ever seeing her mother cry before, not even when her father died.

“It’s my fault,” Kay stated. “I should have taken it more seriously. She told me—she said people were being mean to her. And because I did nothing we nearly lost her.”

“You can’t blame yourself, Mum,” Jenna protested. “She told me too.”

“But I’ve been through it. I know what it’s like to be bullied.”

“Which doesn’t mean you would automatically understand what was happening, or that you could have stopped it. You were there for her when she needed you, that’s what counts.”

Kay’s face remained strained with grief. “I’ve never been a good enough parent, or grandma,” she said bluntly. “I keep trying, but I know you need more….”

“How can you say that when we’d never manage without you? You’re our rock, Mum. You’re always there for us, and always have been.”

“But not in the way your father was.”

“In other ways. Oh, Mum, please don’t do this to yourself. We love you so much, all of us, and we know you love us too. You’re still crying….I’m sorry, but I have to do this. I know you don’t like it, but I’m going to.”

Kay stood very still as Jenna folded her into her arms and rested her head against hers. Though she didn’t hug her back, she didn’t try to break away either, and after a while she gave her a hesitant little pat.

Jenna smiled through her own tears. “That was lovely,” she whispered.

Kay’s eyes came to hers. “Perhaps if I got some counseling?” she suggested.

“I think we all need it,” Jenna told her. “You, me, and Paige.”

“But she’s our priority.”

“Of course.”

Kay’s eyes drifted back to the garden. “I had some once,” she admitted, “but it didn’t do me much good.”

“Times have changed; therapies are different, more effective. Even so, we love you just the way you are.”

Kay nodded. “What’s happened here, with Paige,” she said, “will change a lot of things for a lot of people. Let’s hope it’s all for the good.”

—

“You’re kidding,” Paige murmured, torn between disbelief and unease. “Tell me you’re making it up.”

“I swear I’m not,” Charlotte insisted. “Oliver was there on Saturday, helping to look for you.”

Paige’s face remained pale. “Did you talk to him?”

“No. Actually, I only saw him from a distance, but it was definitely him, because Cullum was there too, and their dad.”

Not sure whether she wanted to curl up with embarrassment or allow herself to feel pleased, Paige said, “Do you think someone made him come?”

“I’ve got no idea. I’m just telling you, he was there.” Charlotte glanced at the time. “I have to go,” she sighed. “I’ve probably already missed the bus, but your grandma said she’d drive me to school. I just had to come and see you for myself. So we’re good now? All the bad things forgotten?”

“Definitely,” Paige assured her, feeling certain they would be just as soon as she got her head properly straightened out. “Thanks for standing by me all the times you did,” she remembered to add.

Charlotte regarded her sardonically. “You didn’t always make it easy,” she told her. “Anyway, we should find out sometime this week if Kelly Durham’s being suspended or expelled. Let’s hope it’s expelled.”

Instantly feeling anxious, Paige said, “If she is, she’ll find a way to make me pay.”

“No way, we won’t let her. She’s history from now on. She’s the sinking ship no one wants to go down with.”

“What about Bethany and Matilda?”

Charlotte shrugged. “The Durmites are over without her. Are you staying in bed today?”

“I don’t know. Mum wants to have a chat,
of course,
and I just know Dad will want one too.”

Charlotte pulled a sympathy face. “At least he came back from the States,” she pointed out.

“Big deal.”

“You’d have been hurt if he didn’t.”

Letting her head fall back, Paige said, “I don’t know what to say to him.”

“So let him do the talking. He’s the one who’s in the wrong, so you don’t have to do anything.”

After a while Paige’s eyes went back to Charlotte, a sheepish glint flickering in their depths. “Do you swear you’re not winding me up about Oliver?”

Charlotte grinned. “Cross my heart. I know—why don’t you text and say thank you?”

Paige immediately shrank from that. “No way am I going to be in touch with him.”

“Up to you, but I would be if it were me.”

Reminded of how different they were at times, Paige gave her a hug and watched her walk to the door.

Turning back, Charlotte said, “By the way, have you been in touch with
Julie
since all this happened?”

Paige’s lips tightened as she shook her head. Lying back against the pillows as Charlotte left, she closed her eyes. She’d messaged Julie dozens of times since her phone had recharged, asking why she hadn’t come and what sort of friend would leave someone out in the woods on their own for two nights in a row, but she hadn’t received a single reply. She wasn’t going to bother trying again. In truth, she didn’t want to have any more to do with her. She didn’t even care who she really was, although she’d definitely like to know, if only to expose her to everyone else.

How could she have allowed herself to be talked into what she’d done? It didn’t seem credible now, yet she hadn’t forgotten how comforted she’d felt when they were in touch. It really had seemed as though Julie was her only friend in the world, and that she’d be there for her when no one else would.

Except that hadn’t happened, had it?

As if on cue, Waffle nosed his way in through the door. Breaking into a smile, Paige patted the bed for him to come and join her. “We’re not dead,” she whispered in his ear. “I know I said we were yesterday, but we’re here, and everyone can see us, just like we can see them.”

Seeming to enjoy this idea, he gave her a hearty lick.

“I thought I saw him sneak in,” her mother said, putting her head round. “Charlotte gone?”

“Just.”

Coming to sit on the bed, Jenna said, “So how are you feeling this morning?”

Paige simply shrugged. She didn’t want to talk about anything, but at the same time she didn’t want to hurt her mum any more than she already had. So in the end she finally admitted to being a bit mixed up. “Like one minute I’m fine and the next I’m all kind of…you know.”

Jenna’s eyebrows rose. “Do you want to try another way of explaining that?”

Paige sighed. “I don’t know the words. It’s just, like, weird, as though I’ve been someone else for a while, and I’m kind of back, but not.”

“You’ve been through a pretty harrowing time, which is why it’ll be a good idea to talk it through with someone.”

“I’m talking to you.”

“I mean a professional.”

Paige’s eyes went down. “I just want to forget it now,” she said.

“I know, sweetheart, and I understand that, but we need to find out how much harm those girls might have caused, and what this business with Julie Morris and all those dreadful websites might have added to it.”

“It was dark,” Paige mumbled, “like really, seriously dark. Those chat rooms…I don’t ever want to go there again, but it felt kind of OK while I was doing it. It was like everyone was my friend and they all understood me.”

“But you know now that’s not true?”

“I guess so, except a lot of the people I connected to are being bullied, the same as me, some of them even worse, so they did understand.”

“OK, but they need to be helped, not encouraged by others in the chat room to take extreme ways out.”

“I never encouraged anyone, I swear it.”

“But you
were
encouraged, especially by Julie, and if she hadn’t decided to let you down, I’m not sure where we’d be now.”

Paige’s eyes drifted as she pictured herself back at Whiteford Sands. “I kind of wanted to do it,” she said, “but then I didn’t. I was thinking about you and everyone….I kept wanting you to come, but it was like I had to wait for Julie, so I couldn’t come home.”