Whispers (14 page)

Seconds later, Jess ushered a young policewoman and a young constable with the worst case of acne she had ever seen into the room.

‘I believe you’ve reported your daughter missing, Mrs Beddows,’ he said, addressing Jess as he respectfully took off his hat.

‘Yes, I have.’ Jess promptly burst into tears. There was something very sinister about Mel not coming home now that the police were involved.

‘Try not to get too distressed,’ the young officer told her kindly. ‘You’d be surprised how common this is. We seem to spend half our shifts looking for missing youngsters, and nine times out of ten they turn up safe and sound within twenty-four hours. But now how about I ask you a few questions?’

Jess sniffed loudly and nodded, so he went on. ‘How old is your daughter and what is her name?’

Jess stumbled over the words while Simon looked on.

‘And had you had an argument, or was anything worrying her?’

‘She’s been very moody since we moved here some months ago,’ Jess admitted reluctantly. ‘But we just put that down to teenage mood swings and the fact that she needed to adjust to living here.’

‘Hm.’

All the while she was talking, the WPC was furiously scribbling away in a notebook.

‘So now can you describe Melanie to me,’ the young officer went on. ‘Her height, hair colour, what she was wearing.’

Again, Jess did her best to answer him until at last he seemed satisfied.

‘Right, now what we’ll do is put a call out to all the cars in the area and we’ll start to look for her. And you say that the last time you saw her was when you dropped her off at the gates of Highfram Lane School this morning?’

‘Y . . . yes.’ Jess blinked rapidly, trying her best not to look like some deranged parent. ‘I take both the girls to school every morning.’

‘And have you rung all her friends?’

‘Every single number in her address book, but no one has seen her.’ Jess could feel the panic rising in her again.

‘Well, Mrs Beddows, I think we have all we need for now,’ the young Constable said softly, handing her a small card. ‘That’s my number. If Melanie should come home, would one of you ring us straight away?’

Jess nodded numbly as he rose and put his hat back on.

He smiled at Jess and Simon. ‘Try not to get worrying too much. I’m sure we shall find her. We’ll start looking straight away and if we’re successful we’ll ring you immediately. Goodnight, all.’

Simon saw them out before saying, ‘What are we supposed to do now then?’

‘We wait,’ Jess replied dully. ‘And while we wait, we try to figure out why she might have run away.’

Hearing the accusation in his wife’s voice, Simon bristled. ‘And just what is that supposed to mean? Are you trying to insinuate that this is
my
fault?’

Jess looked him in the eye, her chin in the air. ‘Well, I’d hardly say you’ve been fair to her just lately, would
you
?’

He opened his mouth to protest but before he got the chance, she
rushed
on: ‘The poor kid can do no right for you any more. You’re always nagging her over one thing and another.’

‘That’s not true,’ he snarled, stabbing a finger at her. ‘And if we’re going to start apportioning blame, what about you – dragging her here to live in this godforsaken dump in the back of beyond away from all her friends.’

‘This is
not
a godforsaken dump.’ They were facing each other like two opponents in a boxing ring now as the argument escalated.

‘Mel will settle here eventually. We just have to give her a little more—’ Jess clamped her mouth shut when Jo suddenly appeared in the doorway, knuckling the sleep from her eyes.

‘What’s all the shouting about?’ she asked fretfully, and Jess hurried over to give her a cuddle.

‘We weren’t shouting, sweetheart,’ she lied. ‘Or at least we didn’t mean to. It’s just that we’re worried about Mel and our nerves are a bit on edge.’

Jo stared up at her before asking quietly, ‘Will Mel come home?’

‘Of course she will.’ Jess sounded far more confident than she was feeling. ‘Now why don’t you get yourself back off to bed?’

Jo shook her head. ‘I don’t want to. That lady is in there watching me again.’

Jess felt as if someone had doused her in ice-cold water but she managed to raise a smile as she said, ‘I’m sure there isn’t anyone in there, but I’ll tell you what, you can sleep in our bed tonight. How would that be?’ She took Jo upstairs, and ten minutes later she reappeared after settling her daughter back down.

‘Is she all right?’ Simon asked.

Jess nodded tiredly as she peered out of the window over the dark gardens.

‘Do you want me to go for a drive round and see if I can spot her?’ Simon volunteered when the silence was becoming unbearable.

‘What would be the point?’ Jess sighed. ‘The police are already doing that. The best thing we can do is stay put here in case they find her.’

Simon shrugged and dropped into the armchair at the side of the Aga. Then steepling his fingers, he stared off into space.

It was almost three o’clock when car headlights suddenly sliced through the darkness in the courtyard, and Jess sprang out of her seat so quickly she almost overturned it. The commotion woke Simon, and then Jess
was
racing towards the door as a police car switched its headlights off. The same young Constable who had called earlier stepped out of the driving seat while the young policewoman got out of the back closely followed by someone else.

Jess peered into the darkness then suddenly she shrieked and flew towards the car so quickly that her feet barely touched the ground.

‘Mel? Oh, thank God! Where have you been? Are you all right? We’ve been worried half to death.’

‘Oh Mum, get off me,’ Mel said churlishly as Jess tried to hug her, and pushing past her mother she began to stamp towards the open door.

The Constable smiled at Jess as she stared at him bewildered. ‘We found her wandering around the streets in Hinckley, not too far away from where you used to live,’ he explained.

‘And did she tell you why she ran away?’

He shook his head. ‘I’m afraid not. In fact, she’s barely said a word all the way home. But at least all’s well that ends well. She’s home now so I’ll leave the rest to you, shall I?’

‘Oh yes – and thank you,’ Jess gabbled. Suddenly everything was right with the world again and she could willingly have kissed him. ‘I’m so sorry you’ve been troubled, but I do appreciate what you’ve done.’

‘Think nothing of it. It’s all in a night’s work.’ He doffed his hat then after climbing back into the car with his colleague beside him, he restarted the engine and drove away.

Back in the kitchen, Mel was standing with her arms folded protectively across her chest as she waited for the onslaught that she was sure was to come. She looked totally worn out and all Jess wanted to do was hug her, but Mel’s body language was telling her loud and clear that this wasn’t what the girl wanted right now.

‘So, are you going to answer some of the questions that I asked you outside now?’ she said calmly.

Mel kept her head down avoiding eye-contact as Jess looked towards Simon for some help.

He merely shrugged, so now she tried again. ‘Look Mel, there must be something that’s upsetting you. Can’t you tell us what it is? I’m sure there’s nothing that can’t be sorted, but if you won’t tell us, we can’t help you.’

‘You
never
help me,’ Mel burst out. ‘All you care about is this damn house and Jo!’ Her head was up now and Jess recoiled from the hatred
she
saw in her daughter’s eyes. It was if she was confronting a stranger and she instinctively moved forward, but Mel side-stepped her, slapping her mother’s outstretched hands away, her eyes flashing.

‘Do you know what? I
hate
you!’ Mel cried. And then stabbing a finger towards her father she continued, ‘And I hate
him
even more. I wish that I was
dead
!’ And with that she stormed out of the room and pounded up the stairs.

‘So is Mel OK then?’ Jo asked the next morning as she loaded her books into her bag.

‘Yes, love, she’s fine,’ Jess replied absently.

‘Then why isn’t she going to school?’

‘Because it was very late when she got home and she’s worn out.’ Jess refrained from telling her that Mel had only come home because the police had brought her back, figuring that the least said about the incident the sooner it could be forgotten and put behind them.

‘So where had she been then?’ Jo was like a dog with a bone and Jess feared that she wouldn’t be fobbed off so easily. Deciding that a little white lie was called for, she told her, ‘Oh, she’d just been round to some friend’s house and they’d lost track of time.’

‘Mel doesn’t have any friends any more,’ Jo stated, clearly not believing her.

‘Look, why don’t you just finish getting ready for school, miss. You’re going to be late at this rate and I’m not in the mood for all these questions.’

‘Oh, sorry I’m sure,’ Jo growled. ‘Bite my head off, why don’t you!’

‘Sorry, love. I didn’t mean to . . . I’m just tired. Now let’s get off, eh?’

Jo sulkily slammed her bag shut and followed her mother out to the car as Jess sighed. Why don’t older kids come with manuals telling you how to handle them? she wondered as they got into the car.

After dropping Jo off at school she was thoughtful as she drove home. The things that Mel had said to her the night before when the police returned her home were whirling around in her head and she began to wonder if perhaps she hadn’t neglected her elder daughter since moving into the house. The renovation had kept her very busy and she realised with a little start that it was quite some time since they had done something together as a family. She knew that it would be pointless trying to plan a holiday. She had already suggested that, and Simon had told her he was far too busy. But perhaps she could
organise
a shopping trip and treat Mel to some new clothes? All teenage girls took a pride in their appearance and it might just be the thing they needed to get them back on track again. In fact, she decided, she would suggest it as soon as she got home; there was no time like the present. They could go today if Mel was agreeable and she might mellow a little away from the house and confide to her what was troubling her.

She found Laura standing at the end of the drive with Beth at her side staring off into space. As she pulled up beside them Laura instantly asked, ‘Is Mel home?’

Jess nodded. ‘Yes, the police found her early this morning wandering about in Hinckley and brought her back.’

Laura breathed a sigh of relief. ‘And is she OK?’

‘She seems to be but she won’t tell me why she did it.’ Jess pursed her lips. ‘I’m going to go and make her some breakfast and see if she’ll open up while we’re on our own.’

‘In that case I won’t keep you,’ Laura told her understandingly as she took Beth’s hand firmly in her own. ‘Good luck, love.’

‘I’ve got a horrible feeling I’m going to need it if the mood she was in when she came home is anything to go by.’ Jess smiled wryly. ‘Bye for now.’

Laura stood and watched the car disappear up the drive with a worried frown on her face. Something bad was about to happen, she could feel it, although as yet she had no idea what it was. The feeling had been there since the day the Beddows had moved into Stonebridge House and it was slowly getting worse.

Sighing, she turned Beth about and guided her back to Blue Brick Cottage.

As soon as Jess got home she stroked Alfie then hurriedly set about making a breakfast tray for Mel. She soft-boiled two eggs and cut up some bread and butter into soldiers; Mel had loved this when she was a little girl and Jess hoped that it would put her in a better mood. She added a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice before carefully carrying the whole lot upstairs.

‘Morning, sweetie,’ she chirped brightly as she entered Mel’s room, balancing the tray on one hand. The curtains were still tightly drawn and Mel was just a bump beneath the duvet. ‘Come on, wakey-wakey. It’s a brand new day so let’s make the most of it, eh?’ After placing the tray on the bedside table she swished the curtains aside and Mel
groaned
as she surfaced from beneath the duvet, blinking in the harsh morning light.

Jess was shocked to see how ill and pale she looked. Her hair was all over the place and her eyes seemed to have sunk into her head. Forcing herself to sound cheerful she said, ‘I was thinking we might go and do a bit of retail therapy today. It’s been ages since we had a bit of quality time together and you’ve been complaining for weeks that you need some new jeans. What do you think?’

Ignoring the question, Mel screwed up her nose as she looked at the tray. ‘What the hell is that, Mum?
Soldiers!
I’m fourteen next month, in case you’d forgotten. I’m not a little girl any more, you know.’

‘Then perhaps it’s time you stopped acting like one!’ The second the words had left Jess’s lips she could have bitten her tongue off but the harm was done now and Mel glowered at her.

‘Sorry, love. I didn’t mean that.’ Jess ran her hand distractedly through her hair as she sank down on the side of the mattress. ‘I suppose I’m still just a bit wound up after last night. I was sick with worry when you didn’t come home. I had visions of you lying dead in a ditch somewhere and I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.’

The words were said so genuinely that Mel’s face relaxed a little as she pulled herself up onto her pillows.

Now Jess cautiously took her hand as she asked, ‘Why did you run away, Mel?’

The girl was instantly on her guard again as she snatched her hand away, and desperate to get to the bottom of what was troubling her now, Jess went on, ‘Is it something you can tell me about?’

Mel wagged her head miserably as tears sprang to her eyes and Jess felt as if her heart was breaking. But she knew her daughter well enough to know that now was not the time to push her, so she forced a smile. ‘Well, what about that shopping trip then? We could go to Coventry and hit all your favourite shops. Monsoon, Next, River Island. What do you think?’