Page 64 of Plot Twist

The silence in the car was deafening. Bridget had never been so quiet before. Words tumbled out of her mouth more easily than they did for anyone I’d ever met. And she talked to everyone and everything. Last week, I’d overheard her having a conversation with a bird in the garden about what was for dinner that night. There was a discussion about worms and all sorts and I’d hoped I wasn’t being invited to their house for a meal. I looked back to check on her in the back seat, but she was gazing out of the window with a pained expression on her face.

Riley flicked the indicator and I caught a glimpse of a sign for a police station. I wondered if I might be asked to give a statement. I mean, I would probably be under suspicion immediately, as the random house guest no one knew who had taken up residence in their house just as Ivy happened to go missing. I was here, obviously, and had clearly not actually taken Ivy, but maybe they would think I was some sort of accomplice. I’d been in bed with her dad when it happened, after all, like some kind of slutty temptress. They were bound to take up useless time investigating me and that was just pointless. But how was I supposed to clear that up without sounding guilty as charged? I was definitely going to raise some eyebrows.

The loud jangling tune of ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ broke the silence, as Riley drove around in search of a space in the police station car park. He muttered under his breath as Bridget searched for her phone and then answered it in the back seat.

‘Ellie, what’s going on?’

She listened intently and hung up a few seconds later.

‘She’s at Bellinder Cottage, Riley. Jackie’s got Ivy and they’re waiting for you there. Ellie went round to check and found them bouncing together on the trampoline outside.’

‘Oh, thank God,’ Riley said, pulling over into a parking spot.

He sat completely still for a second before inhaling and exhaling with deep breaths. His hands shook against the wheel and I looked back at Bridget, tears stinging my eyes and hers.

Ivy was safe. Well, she was with Jackie. Somehow, that didn’t seem to add up to the same thing, according to Riley and Bridget.

Riley flipped the key and started the car again. This time, he switched the radio on to a channel where they were having some sort of phone-in. He let the noise rumble on quietly in the background but still didn’t say much.

Bridget piped up. ‘Thank God she’s OK. I couldn’t believe it when nursery said she wasn’t there. I just looked at the new girl and she looked so confused, like I was going mad or something, when I asked for Ivy. The panic in her eyes was unreal. I should phone the nursery and tell them we found her, actually.’

Riley grunted in reply and Bridget made the call in the back.

‘It was her mother that took her. . . Yes, she was probably on the list. I’m not sure if she should be removed. I’ll check with Riley and let you know. . . Yes, I know, we all got a big fright too. We weren’t expecting her mother to be back, you see. No one knew,’ Bridget said down the phone.

I knew. I sat still and closed my eyes.

Riley sped along the road and turned into Bellinder Cottage.

Home sweet home.

29

Riley hugged Ivy so close to him that she struggled to breathe.

‘Dadd-ay!’ she protested with a little squeal. ‘You’re hurting me.’

‘Ivy, I think you should come with us, love,’ Bridget said, stretching her hand out.

All eyes were on Jackie. I frowned, realising she looked familiar, with short dark hair which was tied into a messy bun, hooded jumper and jeans. She was beautiful, in a very low-maintenance kind of way. Jackie didn’t look stressed at all. In fact, she looked pretty chilled about everything. Like she snuck into nursery and took a child without permission every day.

‘Riley,’ Jackie said in a low, lilting accent. ‘Good to see you.’

‘Jackie,’ he said, keeping his tone steady as he looked down at the little girl between them, smiling up at her parents.

And then I remembered.

‘The book store,’ I said, turning to her. ‘You were at the author event.’

Jackie looked up and met my eye. ‘Hello again.’

‘Sorry, what?’ Riley said, looking at me and then Jackie. ‘You came to my book event?’

I knew inside he was a bubbling ball of rage. I could see it in his eyes.

‘I was in the area.’ She shrugged. ‘So I popped along.’

Riley frowned.