Girl, Missing (15 page)

26

Ribbon

The journey to the Purditts' seemed to flash past in seconds. I sat in the back of the car, my hands clenched tightly together.

When I saw the yellow ribbon round the tree in the Purditt's front garden my heart, already in a mush in my shoes, dribbled out onto the ground. ‘There's not going to be a party or anything is there?' I said to MJ.

She shot me a puzzled look. ‘That ribbon's been there since you disappeared eleven years ago,' she said. ‘Didn't you notice it before?'

I hadn't. As we walked up the path I saw she was right. Close to, the ribbon was faded and stained. ‘It's a tradition,' MJ said, ‘for when people are a long way from home.'

As she rang on the doorbell my heart thumped in my chest. The house seemed quiet, but I was dreading all the people I might have to meet.

Annie Purditt opened the door almost before MJ had stopped pressing the buzzer. She stood back to let me in.

My legs shook as I walked into the house. I got the same
impression I had before. Lots of space and light and polished wooden furniture. This time I noticed a swimming pool through the back-door window.

I stood awkwardly, wondering where everyone else was.

The man who had spoken to me when I was here before was hanging back by one of the flowery sofas. But I could feel his eyes boring into me. I knew his name was Sam Purditt.

My dad. And yet, so not my dad.

I looked at the floor wishing I was anywhere else.

MJ said goodbye. I was trying too hard not to cry to be able to say anything back. Annie Purditt showed MJ out, then came and held out her hand for my suitcase. I gave it up reluctantly. I still hadn't spoken.

‘Come and sit down. We're on our own. We thought it would be easier for you.' She put my suitcase by the stairs and led me over to the sofas. I had this strong sense she was dying to hurl herself at me and give me this major hug and was restraining herself with difficulty.

I sat in the corner of the sofa, as far away from her as possible.

I looked down. The wooden oval on its bit of string dangled over my top. The sight of it brought such a lump to my throat that I had to dig my fingers into my palms to stop myself from howling.

‘Lauren?' I looked up. Annie was sitting on the sofa
opposite me. Sam stood behind her, reaching over her shoulder. They were holding hands.

They couldn't have been more different from Mum and Dad. Despite the lines on Annie's face, she was obviously much, much younger than Mum and really groomed. Her hair was all carefully set and her make-up immaculate, right down to the glossy pink lipstick. Sam appeared even younger. He was tall and athletic-looking with dark brown hair that flopped over his forehead.

‘The counsellor told us you prefer to be called Lauren,' Annie said.

Course I do, it's my name
.

‘Which is fine,' Sam added quickly.

‘Lauren was my mother's name,' Annie went on. ‘That's why it's your middle name. I'm so glad that you remembered it – at least, I assume you must have or else . . .' She looked away. ‘My mother wasn't much older than you when I was born. Eighteen. She was called Lauren after the famous actress, Lauren Bacall. It's my middle name too.'

‘Annie.' Sam patted his wife on the shoulder.

‘Yes, I'm sorry, I'm just . . .' A tear trickled down her cheek.

I looked down at my lap. This woman was my mother. I had to live with her. And she was a complete stranger.

‘This is so very hard for all of us, Lauren. But . . . but
D— Sam and I want you to know that we love you so, so much.'

You don't know me
.

I suddenly missed Mum and Dad unbearably.

Oh God, what if they get sent to prison and I never see them again?

My gut twisted.

‘We never stopped waiting and searching and hoping and praying you would come home to us. Oh . . . oh what is it?'

I couldn't hold the tears back any longer. At the word ‘home' my whole body just heaved in despair. I bent over, hiding my face, every part of me racked with silent sobs.

And suddenly they were both there, in floods of tears themselves. Annie at my knees, her arms round me, going, ‘My baby, my baby.' Sam's hand stroking my hair.

It was hideous.

I wanted to scream and yell at them to go away. To let me go home. But what good would it do? Mum and Dad weren't allowed to see me. I had no home any more.

I forced myself to stop crying. I sat up, drew back and wiped my eyes.

Mum and Dad are just being questioned. They'll be out soon and then they can fight for me. The Purditts won't make me stay. If they really love me they'll let me go
.

I tucked my wooden oval inside my top. I said the words over and over in my head.

Things can only get better
.

I didn't know it at the time – but things were about to get a lot worse.

27

r u still missing me?

About an hour after I'd arrived, Annie's and Sam's other daughters turned up.

I remembered them both from the other day – bottle-blonde Shelby, who had tried to make me leave, and little Madison, who had stared at me over the top of the sofa, her eyes as big and round as a bushbaby's.

‘Are you sure it's OK?' Shelby said from the front door.

‘Of course, sweetie.'Annie stood up. ‘Come in and meet your sister properly.'

Shelby shuffled cautiously into the living room. Her hair was tied loosely in a ponytail and she was wearing a massive amount of make-up. I knew from what Annie had told me that she was thirteen, a year younger than me. No way would my mum have let me put that much eyeliner on even now.

‘Hi Martha.' She blushed. ‘Oh, I'm sorry. I'm supposed to call you Lauren.'

‘Hi,' I said, shortly. Then, feeling perhaps I should be a bit more generous, I added: ‘I'm sure you'll get used to it.'

Shelby's lip trembled.

‘It's OK, sweetikins.' Annie gave her an enormous hug, then turned to me. ‘Shelby's just a little emotional right now. She was only two when you went missing, so this is all kind of strange for her.'

Strange for
her
?

Shelby fixed me with her tiny, grey eyes. ‘I've always wanted to meet my big sister,' she said, in this flat voice that made it quite clear to me she had never wanted any such thing.

‘Oh, Shelbs. What a sweet thing to say.' Annie hugged her again.

I heard a noise behind my chair and looked round. I jumped. Madison was standing by the arm, about half-ametre away from me.

‘Madi, please don't creep up on people like that,' Annie sighed. ‘I'm going to make some tea. Come through when you're ready.'

Shelby followed her mother out of the room. I smiled at Madison. ‘Hi.'

She stared at me.

‘So how old are you?' I said, though Annie had already told me.

‘Six.' Madison still hadn't taken her eyes off me. ‘Are you really my sister?'

I nodded.

‘I imagined you were a princess.'

‘Oh. Well . . . er . . . I'm not. Sorry, I guess I'm just ordinary.'

She leaned forward and whispered in my ear. Her breath smelled of strawberry jam. ‘We could still pretend you are.'

I grinned. ‘D'you like pretend games?'

Madison nodded solemnly. ‘I'm going to be an actress when I grow up.'

‘Really? D'you like dressing up and stuff?' I asked, remembering how I used to like putting on Mum's old clothes when I was little.

‘Some.' Madison tilted her oval face to one side. ‘But what I really like is pretending. You know, imagining being other people.'

‘Tea's ready,' Annie called.

Madison skipped out of the room. I followed, watching the way her long dark hair swung from side to side across her back.

‘I hope you talked nicely to Lauren,' Annie said as Madison sat down at the table. She turned to me. ‘She's such a shy little thing.'

‘Such a freak show, you mean,' Shelby said, not particularly under her breath.

Annie appeared not to have heard this.

‘Actually Madison was great,' I said loudly. ‘She told me . . . lots of stuff.'

Madison reddened. I tried to smile at her, to reassure her I wasn't going to grass her up about her acting ambitions in front of Shelby, but she looked away.

Annie set a jug of milk down on the table. As she reached across my chair I noticed the roll of flesh creeping over the top of her skirt.

Great. Just my luck. On top of everything else.

Fat genes.

At least I got out of the house that afternoon. I'd asked if I could use the phone later.

‘Of course.' Annie blushed. ‘You don't need to ask.'

‘Hey, why don't I take you to the mall?' Sam said. ‘You can pick out your own cell.'

So off we went, just Sam, me and Madison, in the big seven-seater family car.

Sam was OK, actually. Really sweet with Madison – gentle and a bit teasing. Not a big talker, though. I guess he's what Carla would call intuitive – he understands stuff without you having to say it.

For instance, we both knew a new phone would take a few hours to charge up. But he could see I was dying to make a call so, without me having to ask, he offered to
lend me his mobile.
And
he walked off with Madison round a clothes store while I was on the phone. I mean Mum would have hung around, wanting to know who I was speaking to. And Dad just wouldn't have got the hint. He certainly would never have spent ten minutes looking at shirts and sweaters to give me some privacy.

Who did I call? Jam, of course. He was still at the hotel.

‘I miss you,' he said.

It made me feel better. Kind of warm and glowy inside.

Until Carla called him away.

Then I was alone again.

I chose a really neat little silver mobile with a pink trim. Sam said I could have whatever I wanted, so I picked this expensive model with video and camera functions. I wasn't being greedy. It meant Jam would be able to send me pictures and little videos of himself – if he could borrow somebody else's phone to send them on.

Afterwards the three of us drove down to the harbour. It was cold, but in a good way – sharp and crisp with clear blue skies. Evanport is really pretty down by the water. There's a big wooden promenade area with lots of cafés and a long marina full of boats.

We sat and drank a couple of Cokes looking out over the water. Madison drifted about, occasionally shooting me these big-eyed glances. Then Sam showed me his boat. The
Josephine May
. It was all sparkly in the sunshine, bobbing about on the water like an impatient kid. Sam got dead excited when we went on board – even had Madison run all over, telling me what the different parts of the boat were called.

‘Course I don't get as much time as I'd like to sail,' he said. ‘And Annie and Shelby aren't as keen as they used to be. But Madi still loves coming. Maybe we'll take her out sometime.'

He looked at me expectantly.

‘Sure,' I said.

The sun was almost set by the time we drove the short journey home. Sam held Madison's hand as they walked indoors. That and the darkness made everything worse. I was so miserable, I didn't even notice MJ's car parked outside.

As soon as we got indoors, I could see from her face it wasn't good news. She took me through to the living area while Annie pottered about in the kitchen, casting anxious glances in our direction.

‘Taylor Tarsen's admitted knowing about the whole kidnapping from when you were little,' MJ said.

I frowned. ‘But that's good,' I said, ‘isn't it? I mean if he's admitted taking me, then that proves Mum and Dad are innocent.'

‘It's not that simple,' MJ said. ‘Tarsen's signed a
statement saying your parents were involved in the whole thing.'

I stared at her, my heart beating wildly. ‘He's lying,' I cried. ‘Mum and Dad told me everything. They thought Sonia Holtwood was my mother.'

‘Sssh.' MJ leaned closer and patted my arm. ‘Between you and me I believe you. Your parents seem like decent folk and their story makes sense. But they've admitted now they broke the law with the money transfer to Sonia. And we have to go through due process.'

We talked a bit more. MJ promised she would get Mum and Dad's lawyer to call me later. Then she slipped away.

I sat on the sofa. Sam's mobile was on the little table by the door. I picked it up and texted Jam. I didn't dare call and speak to him in case anyone in the house came in.

Anyway, what I really wanted was a hug.

Remembering what he'd said earlier I wrote:
r u stl mssng me?

He texted straight back:
more
.

I deleted both messages and put the phone back. Strange how something can keep you going and break your heart at the same time.

28

Martha's room

I spoke to Mum and Dad's attorney later that evening.

I could hardly take in what he was saying. Mum and Dad had been charged with something awful-sounding, like conspiracy to abduct a minor. They were in prison, waiting for the next stage in what ever the legal process was.

Mr Sanchez, the lawyer, said he was working hard on their behalf but that I needed to prepare myself for a long fight.

I came off the phone too dazed to even speak.

‘What is it, Lauren?' Annie hovered round me, all nervy and anxious.

I couldn't bring myself to tell her. ‘Nothing,' I said.

‘OK . . . well . . . er . . . I've cooked a special dinner,' Annie said. ‘It'll be ready in a few minutes.' She fluttered miserably away.

She wasn't joking when she said ‘special'. The table was covered with a crisp linen tablecloth with proper napkins and gleaming white china at every place.

I sat down between Sam and Madison, hoping they didn't eat this formally every night.