Missing Page 43

  ‘Well that’s good because I’m leaving.’

  ‘In that room now,’ he seethed, and moving straight past Vivienne he slammed a hand into the door before Kelsey could bang it shut. ‘Oh no, you’re going to listen to me,’ he told her, and pushing her out of the way he closed the door behind him and marched her over to the bed. ‘Sit there,’ he barked furiously.

  ‘I am not—’

  ‘Do as you are told, or you can forget going to camera rehearsals with Theo tonight.’

  Startled, since she hadn’t even known she was invited, she said, ‘You can’t threaten me—’

  ‘I can, I will and I just have. Now sit there and calm down.’

  ‘Me calm down, what about you?’

  ‘You’ll learn to curb your tongue or your privileges will be whipped away so fast it’ll make your head spin.’

  ‘If I’m living with Mum it won’t be up to you. In fact, I’m going to call her right now and tell her you’re abusing me.’

  ‘Think before you use words like that,’ he snapped. ‘They’re dangerous and could cause a whole lot more trouble than either of us could handle.’

  ‘Well, you are! Look at you, standing there shouting at me.’ Her face started to crumple. ‘It’s not fair. You always blame me for everything, and it’s not my fault. I didn’t ask her to come here, and I didn’t ask you to have any more children, but now you’re making me live with them and I don’t want to. This is my house, and Mum’s, not theirs.’

  ‘Of course it’s yours,’ he said, his temper dissolving as he went to sit beside her. ‘No one’s ever going to dispute that.’

  ‘So why do they have to come here?’

  ‘You know why.’

  ‘No I don’t.’

  He took a breath, and putting an arm around her, he said, ‘Look, I understand this is difficult for you …’

  ‘No you don’t. You’re not thinking about me at all. You’re taking her side all the time.’

  ‘You make it hard to take yours when you’re being rude and offensive. So tell me how I can defend that.’

  Her jaw clenched as she jerked her head away.

  ‘At least Vivienne’s prepared to give it a try,’ he coaxed gently. ‘I wish you would too.’

  ‘I don’t want to.’

  ‘Not even for my sake?’

  ‘No, because you’ll just keep picking on me, no matter what I do.’

  ‘You know that’s not true.’

  ‘Yes it is.’

  ‘Have I ever treated you unfairly before?’

  ‘All the time.’

  At that he smiled, and saw her mouth twitch too before she turned away.

  ‘It’s not funny,’ she growled.

  ‘No, it’s not. It’s actually quite serious, because we have to find a way to live together, all of us, and for that to happen we’ve got to make some extra effort.’

  ‘Yeah, and like Rufus is going to do that.’

  ‘Darling, try not to make stupid remarks. They’re not helpful and—’

  ‘See, when I say something it’s stupid—’

  ‘If you’re asking me to point out the obvious, that he’s a baby and you’re practically an adult, then there you have it. Frankly, I’d prefer you to act your age, but for the moment you seem to have other ideas. Let’s hope it changes when you go to the rehearsal with Theo tonight, because you’ve already shown him a side of you I think he’d rather not have seen.’

  ‘I told him I didn’t want to see her,’ she retorted, flushing angrily, ‘but he made me go in.’

  ‘Ah, so now you’re trying to make your bad behaviour his fault?’

  ‘That’s not what I said.’

  ‘It’s what it sounded like, so once again, think before you speak. There’s only one person who bears responsibility for the way you spoke to Vivienne and that’s you.’

  ‘There you go again, sticking up for her and making me in the wrong,’ she wailed, tears filling her eyes.

  ‘Then explain to me how you were in the right.’

  ‘No! I don’t want to talk about it any more. You always twist things round to make them my fault so what’s the point. Anyway, I’m going to call Mum now because I know you don’t want me here, so I’m going to ask if I can go to live with her, then I’ll see if Theo will take me up to London on his motorbike.’

  ‘Call Mum by all means, but even if you can find out where she is, Theo has other commitments tonight.’

  ‘So I’ll get the train.’

  He stood up and walked across the room.

  ‘What are you doing?’ she asked uneasily.

  ‘Here’s the phone,’ he said, holding out her extension.

  Her eyes came up to his. ‘Is that like, because you really want me to go?’ she said, a little less cocky now.

  ‘No, it’s because I want to find out where your mother is, and I think we stand a better chance of her telling you than me. Then you can go off to the rehearsal with Theo, as planned.’

  She swallowed her tears, and wiped her face with the back of a hand. ‘Her number’s in my mobile,’ she said.

  ‘Which is where?’

  ‘Downstairs in my bag, with my make-up. Dad, I can’t go down there like this. My mascara’s bound to have run and anyway, I don’t want to bump into her.’

  Taking a deep breath rather than argue any more, he said, ‘OK, I’ll go, but don’t think you’ve got away with not apologising, Kelsey, because you’re actually not going anywhere until you have.’

  ‘No, Miles,’ Vivienne said, when he came into the bedroom to find her. ‘Forcing her to say sorry will just make things worse. Let her go off with Theo for now. They’re having so much fun over there that she’ll probably be in a much better frame of mind by the time she comes back.’

  ‘Aren’t you going?’ he asked, taking Rufus from her.

  ‘There’s nothing for me to do tonight, and it would ruin it for her if I did.’

  Sighing, he gazed down at Rufus’s sleepy face and said, ‘Promise me, young man, that when you get to be a teenager, you’ll be easier.’

  Rufus yawned and burped, making him smile.

  ‘So what happened when she tried calling Jacqueline?’ Vivienne said, keeping her voice down even though Kelsey was across the landing behind the closed door of her own room.

  ‘She got flipped through to voicemail, but she says that’s normal and Jacqueline usually rings straight back. I just wish she’d damned well call me back, because God knows I’ve left enough messages.’ He sighed again, and hoisted Rufus onto one shoulder. ‘What is she playing at?’ he growled quietly. ‘If she wants to set up home in Richmond I’m hardly going to stand in her way. In fact, I’ll help her, if she needs it.’

  Dabbing some drool from his collar, Vivienne said, ‘Has it occurred to you that we could be handling this all wrong with Kelsey? We should be giving her more time to get used to the idea of me and Rufus, especially while her relationship with Jacqueline is going through this … well, new phase.’

  His face was inscrutable as he turned to stare down at the lake.

  ‘If she got to know Rufus more gradually,’ Vivienne continued, ‘and in a different environment, rather than her own home, she might not feel quite so threatened.’

  ‘She’s away all week,’ he reminded her, ‘and you’re in London, so are you suggesting you don’t come here at weekends? We’d never see one another.’

  ‘You’ll be in London some of the time, and if things work out between her and Jacqueline, she’ll probably go there at least every other weekend.’

  Turning to look at her, he said, ‘She doesn’t deserve how considerate you’re being, but I’m thanking you for it anyway.’

  ‘I just want it all to work out,’ she told him softly. ‘Now, why don’t you go and find out if Jacqueline’s called back yet, while I manoeuvre his lordship into a fresher-smelling nappy?’

  A few minutes later Miles returned, looking slightly less strained as he closed the door behind him.
‘Yes, she’s spoken to her,’ he said, and started to laugh as a little fountain sprang up from the semi-naked Rufus. ‘Apparently Jacqueline’s still in Richmond, and she says Kelsey can go there whenever she likes, just not yet.’

  ‘Mm,’ Vivienne responded, searching for the baby wipes. ‘So what are we to conclude from that?’

  ‘You tell me.’

  ‘Well, she could be having some kind of counselling, or therapy, which needs to reach a certain stage, or even completion, before she’ll be ready to interact with her family again.’

  He shrugged. ‘It’s one explanation, but if it is the case, why not say so?’

  Unable to answer that, Vivienne decided to voice what she knew was in both their minds. ‘You’re still afraid she has something else planned, aren’t you?’ she said. ‘Even though the joint birthdays have passed.’

  Miles nodded gravely. ‘I can’t think of any other reason for her to be so secretive about where she is.’ Then, with a sigh, ‘I felt sure someone from the press would have tracked her down by now.’

  ‘Are the police still looking?’

  ‘Not with the same urgency as at the weekend. She’s been in touch, assured them she’s not intending to harm herself, and asked to be left alone. So what can they do?’

  Vivienne shook her head, and not wanting to point out that even if they knew where Jacqueline was, they couldn’t keep a twenty-four-hour watch on her, she said, ‘How was Kelsey after she’d spoken to her?’

  ‘She seemed OK, but to have behaved the way she did earlier tells us she’s feeling more anxious and insecure than ever.’

  ‘Which is hardly surprising. What’s she doing now?’

  ‘Getting ready to go off with Theo, but not, she tells me, before she’s fed the ducks and introduced him to Henrietta.’

  ‘Who?’ Then, remembering the abandoned goose, ‘Oh yes, I’d forgotten all about Henrietta. Did the Canadas ever come back?’

  ‘No,’ Miles replied, coming to kneel down next to the bed, ‘but I don’t think we’ve given up hope yet, have we Rufus?’

  As she sat back on her heels to let him take over the clean-up, Vivienne was recalling the rare moment of closeness she and Kelsey had shared the day they’d watched the heart-rending spectacle of a little gosling being left behind by its mother. No, she thought to herself, we certainly won’t give up hope yet.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  IT WAS LATE on Friday evening when Miles returned to Moorlands with Kelsey, having just collected her luggage from school, and Martha from her parents’ house near Dawlish. No one else was at home, as Vivienne had taken Rufus over to the refuge where final rehearsals were under way before the next morning’s live transmission, and Mrs Davies had gone with them.

  Though there had been no more unpleasant scenes that day, it was mainly because Kelsey was doing her level best to avoid seeing or speaking to Vivienne. However, Miles had spotted her at her bedroom window in the afternoon, watching him kicking a ball about with Rufus, and though she’d shaken her head when he’d beckoned her down to join them, she hadn’t disappeared from view. Nor had she rebuffed him when he’d gone to her room later, needing to make sure she wasn’t feeling neglected. True, her mood had been prickly, but she hadn’t seemed quite as hostile as the day before, even if her tone was meant to convey that she had no intention of being friends.

  ‘I’ve told Mum they’re here,’ she’d said, as though throwing out a challenge.

  ‘Really?’ he’d responded affably. ‘What did she say?’

  ‘That she wasn’t surprised.’

  ‘Oh.’ Then, after a beat, ‘Is that all?’

  The way she shrugged suggested to him that Jacqueline might have urged her to try and make friends, but if she had, Kelsey obviously wasn’t going to admit it.

  ‘How is she?’ he asked, as Kelsey had started to get ready to go out with him.

  ‘OK. Actually, she’s going to watch the auction tomorrow, just in case I’m in shot.’

  ‘Well, you’re in the front row, so you could be.’

  She carried on applying her mascara. ‘Does that mean I’m going to be near her?’ she asked sourly.

  ‘If you mean Vivienne, then I believe you won’t be far away.’

  ‘Where are you?’

  ‘Actually, in between the two of you, and I’m still trying to work out whether that’s the wisest, or most dangerous place to be.’

  Though she’d tried not to laugh she hadn’t succeeded, but before he could get through any further, she’d punched his arm and disappeared into the bathroom. He’d known then that she really didn’t want the bad feeling to continue, she just needed to find a way to back down without losing too much face.

  Now, as they got out of the car, Kelsey clearly had other things on her mind for she and Martha could barely contain their excitement over tomorrow’s big event.

  ‘Theo looks so cool in his trunks and goggles,’ Kelsey was whispering as they followed him into the hall. ‘And he’s a fantastic dancer, I saw him at rehearsals last night. Actually, they all are, and there’s this one fireman, Percy, he—’

  ‘Percy!’

  ‘I know, wild isn’t it, but honestly, he is sooo fit. He’s good at electrics apparently, so if you need rewiring …’

  Martha smothered a snort of laughter. ‘Light me up, baby,’ she sniggered, and they went off into paroxysms.

  ‘Go on up to my room,’ Kelsey said, ‘I just need to sort out about later,’ and following Miles into his study where he was playing back his messages, she said, ‘Dad, is it OK if Martha and I go to the Nobody after rehearsals, with the others? Everyone’s going and I expect we can get a lift from—’ She stopped as his hand went up. ‘What?’ she said, feeling suddenly nervous at the look on his face.

  After hitting the button he replayed the last message.

  ‘Miles, it’s Justine. There’s something you need to know. You’d better call me back as soon as you can.’

  Stopping the machine, he picked up the phone. Uppermost in his mind was the fact that Justine had accessed his computer – or perhaps she’d found Jacqueline … ‘It’s Miles,’ he said when she answered.

  ‘Hang on, I’ll pull over.’ Then, a few moments later, ‘You got my message?’

  ‘I did.’

  ‘OK. So does the name Elizabeth Barrett mean anything to you?’

  Miles became very still. His eyes went to Kelsey as he said, ‘I’d rather ask why it means something to you.’

  ‘She’s the focus of the Critch’s front page on Sunday.’

  Miles’s heart skipped a beat. ‘But how …?’ Then, not bothering to go there, since they obviously knew who the woman was, ‘It was established at the time that she wasn’t creditable …’

  ‘She’s saying you gave her money to keep quiet.’

  Shock reverberated through him. ‘That’s absolutely untrue,’ he said. ‘Now let me ask you this, how did you find out about Elizabeth Barrett? It was never made public.’

  ‘The Critch has a police source.’

  ‘I’m sure he has, but you need to know the right questions to ask. So answer me this, did you seriously think Kelsey wouldn’t tell me she found you using my computer?’

  There was a fraction of a pause, but it was enough to tell him how she’d first learned about Elizabeth Barrett.

  ‘Spare me the lies, Justine,’ he said, cutting off whatever she’d been about to say. ‘The timing is too much of a coincidence. You were trespassing in my house, going through my personal files, and probably thought you’d hit gold when you stumbled upon something from that woman. Well, you must know by now that she isn’t sane, so perhaps you’d like to tell me how you and the Critch are proposing to handle a story that has neither substance nor newsworthiness.’

  ‘The story’s all his,’ she insisted.

  ‘Just answer the question.’

  She took an audible breath. ‘OK, he’s running it as a kind of sympathy piece. You know, what families like yours ha
ve to go through when a child is abducted …’

  ‘And that’s a front page? Try again.’

  ‘All right. He’s going to run her allegations and accusations, not as truth, but, like I said, as an example of what can happen when families are traumatised by the loss of a child. Elizabeth Barrett and Jacqueline have both suffered mentally since losing their sons …’

  By now Miles’s face was taut with fury, but with Kelsey there he had to try and hold onto his temper.

  ‘He’s also going to be asking questions,’ Justine continued.

  ‘What kind of questions?’

  ‘You’ll have heard them before. Was Sam really in the car when Jacqueline drove into the garage? Why were there no witnesses when it was on a busy roundabout? How come there’s never been any sign of him since?’

  ‘You do realise what this could do to her, don’t you?’

  ‘I have pointed it out, but you know the Critch. He’s going to use the cover-up over Elizabeth Barrett’s allegations to ask if it’s connected in any way to the fact that Jacqueline’s missing now.’

  ‘But she isn’t.’

  ‘You don’t know where she is, and actually, the police have confirmed that she’s still considered a missing person.’

  ‘The fact that they haven’t seen her might be distorting their view,’ he retorted, ‘but as I’ve seen her myself and she’s in regular contact with Kelsey … Actually, I’m not getting into this with you. I’ll just tell you this, Justine, if that story goes to print my lawyers will hit you and your editor so damned hard you’ll be lucky not to end up behind bars.’

  As he banged down the phone he tried to keep his voice even as he said to Kelsey, ‘Call your mother. If she doesn’t answer, tell her she has to ring you straight back.’

  ‘Why?’ Kelsey asked, sounding as worried as she looked.

  ‘Just do it,’ he snapped.

  Obediently Kelsey took out her mobile and pressed in the number. After going through to voicemail she said, ‘Mum, it’s me. Please call me back.’ She jumped as Miles grabbed the phone. ‘Jacqueline, I have to speak to you,’ he said urgently. ‘Gareth Critchley has found Elizabeth Barrett. I don’t know if I can stop the article, but I’m going to do my best.’