Page 63 of Plot Twist

‘Bridget just went to pick her up and some new teacher said she’s not there. Said someone already came by to pick her up.’

‘What? But we’re here. Maybe it was Ellie?’

‘Nope, Bridget checked with her already.’

The stones crunched beneath our feet as we dashed to the car.

‘Well, they can’t just have anyone walking in to pick her up, Riley. They must have a list of people with permission to do that, surely? They’re not just going to give her away to a random stranger.’

He opened the car with a flick of his keys.

‘Not a random stranger, no,’ he said, turning back round to face me. ‘I think Jackie’s back.’

28

Riley slammed his car door behind him and the engine roared to life.

Shit. Shit. Shit. So Ivy hadn’t been telling stories. She obviously had been in contact with her mum. But how? I considered telling Riley what Ivy had told me, but how could I break the news now, when he was driving full speed along the road, his face etched with anxiety? Instead, I kept quiet.

‘Would Jackie take her somewhere?’ I asked, tentatively. ‘Or are we going to the nursery?’

Riley frowned, as though he was annoyed at the question, but I realised he was contemplating the answer. He was trying to think logically. Good luck with that.

‘I need to speak to the nursery. Bridget is there but she’s all over the place. I think she’s in shock. We’re only two minutes away anyway.’

Given the speed Riley was driving, I estimated we would be there in way less than that, but I kept my mouth shut and clung on to the edge of my seat. He turned expertly into the nursery car park, as he’d clearly done a thousand times before, and parked in the disabled spot. He turned off the engine and ran in, leaving the driver door wide open.

I wondered what on earth I was meant to do now. Should I follow him in? See if Bridget was OK? Or give them space? I’d never felt like more of a stranger.

Coming to Rathcliffe suddenly seemed like the worst idea in the world. I was totally imposing on Riley and his family, getting in the middle of things I didn’t understand. Riley didn’t want to open up to me about Jackie and now Ivy had gone missing. I didn’t even know how bad it was that Jackie had Ivy; was she some sort of psychopath? I couldn’t even let myself think about what Riley and I had just done, either.

Riley and Bridget came flying out of the front door towards the car.

‘Sorry, I didn’t want to get in the way,’ I said. ‘What did the nursery say? Is she with her mum?’

‘Come on, sis.’ Riley nodded to Bridget, and she scrambled into the back seat of the car as he started the engine again. ‘We need to go to the station.’

Gawd. The police station. I pictured Ivy’s innocent wee button nose all scrunched up when she smiled. All I wanted to do was gather her into a big bear hug and never let her go. If I felt like that after knowing her for such a short time, I couldn’t imagine how Riley must feel.

Was Jackie really dangerous? She wouldn’t harm Ivy, would she? I shivered.

But some mothers did. It was unthinkable, but I knew it was true.

As the engine roared back to life, Riley cocked his head to one side and bit his lip. His green eyes shone black and I felt like I didn’t know him at all. Not really.

Traffic lights. Riley banged on the steering wheel and swore loudly at the car in front for, I assumed, adhering to the law of red lights. He rolled his window down to get some air. I shivered.

‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening!’ Bridget exclaimed from the back seat.

‘It’ll be all right,’ I soothed, although of course I had no way to know that. But it seemed like the right thing to say.

I wished I’d offered Bridget a space in the front, where she belonged. I felt so out of place here, with this family who had more secrets than they were willing to share with me.

And worst of all, I hadn’t told Riley about Ivy’s claim that Jackie was coming back and they’d all be a happy family. I slid further down in the seat, looking out at the people whizzing past on the pavement as we made our way through to the small town I’d driven through on my way to Rathcliffe. Maybe this was all my fault, too.

So many people walking. It would be so hard to locate one small missing person. I mean, if Jackie had taken Ivy and she had legal rights or whatever, or had a passport perhaps with her name on it, and she was actually Ivy’s mother, could she just take her away somewhere?

I gulped at the thought and stole a glance at the side of Riley’s head. His cold, hard stare at the road in front was nothing like the easy smile that had leaned in to kiss me just moments ago. I shivered again.