Afraid (8 page)

Sad and worried, Hayley left a message now, telling Skye that the police were looking for her, and pleading with her to get in touch. Then, logging out of Facebook, she signed into
WhisperBox
to do the same.

As Hayley logged out of Facebook, Skye was just logging in. She was touched when she saw Hayley’s message, but when she read that the police had been round there she decided not to send a reply, scared that they might have told Hayley to contact her in order to find out where she was hiding. Instead, marking it as unread, she logged out and switched to WhisperBox, only to find that Hayley had left another message there.

I know you must be scared,
this one read,
and I’m scared too, ’cos you’re my best friend and I love you. Please call me or come round when you get this. My mum and dad will help you, I promise. They’ll talk to the police and make sure you get properly looked after until this gets sorted out
.

Skye felt a twinge of resentment when she read this. It was all right for Hayley to sit there in her pretty bedroom promising to help, but if she was half the friend she claimed to be why hadn’t she asked her mum and dad if Skye could stay with
them
?

As a wave of self-pity washed over her, Skye was about to log out when her Whisper light started to flash, and she smiled when she saw that it was QTPye.

Hey babes
,
how’s you?
the girl asked.
I was worried about you when you went off so sudden last week. Everything okay now
?

Not really
, Skye replied, squinting to see the keys in the darkness.

Aw, they’re not still at it, are they? Don’t they ever stop
?

It’s way worse this time
, Skye typed, the words she had been holding in all weekend pouring out through her fingertips as if someone had pulled an internal plug.
My mum went mental and stabbed my dad
.

OMG!!!
You weren’t there, were you
?

No, I came in just after. I called ambulance, but pigs came as well. They arrested my mum and sent me to a home, but I’ve legged it, so now they’re looking for me. They’ve been to Hayley’s and everything
.

Hayley
???

Sorry, Sugarplum
.

Ah, right
.
So where are you
?

In the attic.

Awww, I bet you’re in bits
.
But you shouldn’t have gone home if they’re looking for you, babes. That’s the first place they’ll look
.

They’ve already been, but I’ve got nowhere else to go
, Skye replied, sniffling softly as the tears she’d been holding back began to trickle down her cheeks.
I just want my dad to come home
.

I’m so sorry
,
babes
.
Wish I knew you in real life so I could give you a great big hug.

Me too.

An alert suddenly popped up on the laptop’s screen, warning Skye that there were just a few minutes of battery life left. Aware that she couldn’t risk going back down into the house to find the charger, because somebody might come in and catch her, she quickly typed:
Laptop about to die, so got to go. Don’t know when I’ll get another chance to talk to you, but thanks for caring, I won’t forget it xxxx

Wait
! QTPye wrote back.
Have you got a mobile
?

Only my mum’s
, Skye replied.
But she’s got no credit so I can’t ring anyone
.

Me neither, but we can text,
suggested QTPye.
Send me the number!

Panicking, because she didn’t know the number off by heart, Skye snatched up her mum’s phone and quickly found it. The screen went black at the exact time she pressed ‘send’ after typing the number, so she laid the laptop on the beam beside her and stared at the phone, praying that her message had got through in time. But when half an hour had passed with no text from QTPye she guessed that she’d been too late and, feeling very sorry for herself, curled into a ball and cried herself to sleep.

6

Jeff Benson was agitated. There was some kind of construction work going on outside the window behind his bed, and this was the second day running that the crew had started at the ungodly hour of eight a.m.

They had been at it for two hours now, and Jeff had a banging headache from the racket that they were making with their hammers and drills. It didn’t help that he’d been kept awake half the night by the old man in the bed to his right coughing and spluttering. Although he had felt a bit guilty for fantasising about smothering the old bastard with his pillow when he’d woken this morning, to find the guy’s bed had been stripped and had been told by a nurse that the man had passed away in the early hours, and that the noises he’d been making were probably what they called the death rattle.

Still, at least the old man was free now, unlike Jeff, who was going completely stir-crazy. Four days was too long for a man to be lying around on his back like this, so he’d been gutted when the doctor had done his rounds a short time earlier and said that he wanted him to stay for a couple more days at least.

Already pissed off, Jeff’s hackles rose when two police officers walked onto the ward and headed straight for his bed. Convinced that they had come to have another crack at getting him to admit that Andrea had stabbed him, he scowled up at them.

‘I’ve already told your mates everything I’ve got to say, so don’t bother asking me the same questions again. My wife is innocent. I was jumped in the alley. End of.’

‘We’re not here about that,’ one of the officers told him. ‘This is about your daughter.’

‘What about her?’ Jeff snapped. ‘If she’s told you it was her mum who stabbed me, she wasn’t even home when it happened, so I suggest you check the facts before you start—’

‘She’s missing,’ the officer interrupted. ‘She failed to arrive back at the children’s home after school yesterday afternoon, and we’re trying to establish where she might have gone. Has she tried to contact you?’

‘No.’ Jeff sat up and frowned at the man. ‘But what’s this about a children’s home? The social worker said she’d be going to foster-parents – in a proper house, like.’

‘That’s not really our concern,’ said the copper. ‘We’re just trying to locate Skye, so is there anywhere you can think of where she might have gone?’

‘Not really.’ Jeff shook his head, and ran a hand through his hair.

‘The head at her old school gave us the name of one girl she’s friendly with,’ the officer told him. ‘A Hayley Simms?’

‘That rings a bell.’ Jeff frowned thoughtfully. ‘I think Skye might have brought her round to ours once,’ he said, thinking it best not to add that it had only been the once because Andrea had banned the kid from coming again, convinced that she was some kind of spy because she spoke a bit posh. ‘Have you talked to her?’ he asked.

The cop nodded. ‘We did, but she hasn’t heard from Skye, and doesn’t think she’s good enough friends with anyone else to have gone to them for help. That’s why we’re here: to see if
you
can think of anyone she’s likely to have contacted.’

‘I don’t really know her mates, to be honest,’ Jeff admitted. ‘I work long hours, and she’s usually in her room by the time I get home. Her mum would probably have a better idea about that kind of thing, but I doubt she’s in the frame of mind to remember stuff like that just now.’

‘Unfortunately not,’ the officer affirmed.

‘Where is she?’ Jeff asked, guessing that they must have already tried to question Andrea. ‘I hope you haven’t still got her banged up, ’cos, like I told the last lot, she’s ill and needs treatment, not locking up.’

‘She’s in hospital,’ the officer told him. ‘But if we could get back to Skye … Is there a relative she’s particularly close to? A grandparent, maybe? Or a favourite aunt or uncle?’

‘We’re not that kind of family,’ Jeff murmured. ‘We’ve had a lot of hassle with them in the past, so we pretty much stick to ourselves. It’s less complicated that way.’

‘Okay. Well, if you do hear from Skye, please let us know immediately,’ said the officer. ‘Now she’s under the care of Social Services, it would be an offence for anyone who knew her whereabouts to withhold that information.’

‘Don’t worry, I’d tell you,’ Jeff replied. ‘She’s my kid, and I want what’s best for her.’

‘Course you do.’ The second officer hadn’t spoken until now, but his expression contradicted his words – and it wasn’t lost on Jeff.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ he demanded. ‘Me and my missus might have had our troubles, but we’ve always done our best by Skye, so it’s not my fault she’s done a runner. It’s that social worker you want to be questioning, not me.
She
’s the one who was supposed to be looking after her. And you lot are no better,’ he went on angrily. ‘You say Skye went missing yesterday, so how come this is the first I’ve heard of it? I should have been the
first
to know, not the last.’

‘Somebody did come to see you yesterday evening,’ the first officer informed him. ‘But you were sedated, so we couldn’t speak to you.’

‘Oh,’ Jeff muttered, temporarily thrown. ‘No one told me. But that still doesn’t make it right. And I’m not happy about her being shoved in a home.’

‘You’ll have to take that up with Social Services,’ the man said. ‘We’ll let you know as soon as we find Skye. But, as I said, if you hear from her in the meantime, please—’

‘Ring you,’ Jeff cut in. ‘Yeah, I know.’

Teeth gritted, he watched now as the coppers made their way off the ward.

‘Everything okay, son?’

‘Eh?’ Jeff snapped his head around at the sound of the voice, and frowned when he saw that it was the man in the bed to his left.

‘Just asking if you’re okay,’ the man said. ‘Only that’s the third time the bobbies have been to see you in the last two days. You in some kind of trouble?’

Jeff could practically smell the old duffer’s curiosity. He opened his mouth to tell him to mind his own business, but quickly changed his mind and clamped it shut again. The way he was feeling right now, he was likely to go too far if he started laying into the man and he couldn’t be bothered with the hassle that was bound to cause. Instead, he pushed the sheet off his legs and tugged the curtain around his bed.

A nurse walked over a couple of minutes later and swished it open again. She frowned when she saw him pulling his trousers on and asked him what he thought he was doing.

‘Leaving,’ he told her, zipping up his fly and steadying himself on the bed before reaching for his T-shirt.

‘You haven’t been discharged yet,’ she reminded him. ‘Doctor Shah wants you to stay for a little while longer.’

‘Yeah, well, Doctor Shah’s going to be disappointed,’ Jeff replied tersely.

‘I really wouldn’t advise you to leave,’ the nurse persisted. ‘You’re clearly still weak. At least wait until you’ve spoken to Doctor.’

‘What, so he can talk me out of it?’ Jeff glanced up at her as he leaned down to retrieve his trainers from under the chair. Then, sighing, he said, ‘Sorry, love, I know you’re only doing your job, and I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me while I’ve been here ’cos you’ve been brilliant. But my daughter’s missing, and I need to go and look for her.’

‘I’m sorry,’ the nurse apologised. ‘I had no idea.’

‘I’ve only just found out myself,’ Jeff told her. ‘And I’d go crazy lying here not knowing where she is, so you can see why I’ve got to go, can’t you?’

‘Of course.’ She nodded. ‘Just give me a minute to get your discharge papers. And good luck,’ she added, patting his arm sympathetically. ‘I hope you find her soon.’

‘So do I, love.’ Jeff smiled sadly. ‘So do I.’

Back at the house just then, Skye could hear somebody moving around downstairs. She held her breath when she heard them coming up the stairs, and shuffled deeper into the corner, dragging the quilt with her.

‘Front room’s clear,’ she heard a man say after a minute.

‘Back room and bathroom are clear, too,’ said another.

‘Does it look as if anything’s been taken?’ a woman asked, and Skye breathed in sharply when she recognised the social worker’s voice.

‘Hard to tell, the state of this place,’ one of the men replied. ‘No wonder you lot got called in if this is how they’ve been living. I wouldn’t make my
dog
sleep in those beds, never mind my kids.’

‘Unfortunately, some parents aren’t as mindful of their children’s welfare as the rest of us,’ said Val Dunn, her critical words causing Skye to clench her teeth in anger now.

‘Well, we’ve looked everywhere,’ the man said. ‘She’s definitely not here.’

‘We haven’t checked the attic,’ said Val. ‘I don’t suppose one of you could take a look up there for me, could you?’

Light-headed with fear, Skye bit down on the quilt to keep from crying out and slid lower down into the shadows.

A few seconds later, the hatch was pushed open and a man’s silhouetted head appeared. He gazed slowly round for a while, then said, ‘Can’t see much, but I don’t think anyone’s up here. I doubt she’d have been able to get up here without a ladder, anyway. I’m six-one, and I’m struggling.’

‘Thanks for looking,’ said Val, her voice much clearer now. ‘But I’ll arrange for someone to fetch a ladder over later – just to be on the safe side.’

‘No worries.’

When the man withdrew his head and jumped down onto the landing, Skye listened as the three went back down the stairs. She stayed where she was after hearing the front door open and close, scared that it might be a trick and they were standing in the hall waiting for her to come out of hiding. But when several minutes had passed with no sound of movement, she crawled over to the hatch and peeked down.

Relieved to see that the hallway below was empty, she let out a shaky breath and sat back on her heels. That had been too close for comfort, and it was only a matter of time before that bitch social worker came back with a ladder, so there was no way she could stay here now. But where else was she supposed to go? She couldn’t go to Hayley’s now that she knew her friend’s parents intended to hand her over to the police; and there was no way she could risk asking any of the neighbours for help, because they would grass her up as soon as look at her if they thought there might be a reward in it.