Read Online Sister, Missing by Sophie McKenzie - Free Book Online

bear it. I had to get her back – and as fast as possible. Whatever it took.
    ‘Sonia Holtwood said not to tell Annie or Rick.’ I hesitated. ‘Maybe . . . maybe she thinks Annie doesn’t want me to have whatever it is . . . maybe Annie’s been
deliberately keeping this valuable thing away from me.’
    Jam frowned. ‘I don’t believe Annie would do that,’ he said. ‘Especially now, with Madison’s life at stake.’
    ‘Yeah?’ My heart felt like ice.
    ‘Yes, and I also think Annie has a right to know what’s going on,’ he said stubbornly. ‘You’d want to know if the situation was reversed.’
    ‘But Annie’s crazy,’ I said. ‘Maybe she’s better off not knowing all the details. She can’t handle stuff like I can. In fact, she and I don’t do anything the same.’
    ‘You both love Madison,’ Jam persisted.
    We stared at each other.
    ‘I’m right about this,’ I said. ‘I know I am. We have to go to London and find out what Sam hid there. And we have to keep quiet about it to Annie and
Rick.’
    Jam shook his head. ‘Man, you always think you’re right, don’t you?’
    ‘No,’ I said. ‘But I’m right about this.’
    Jam checked his watch. ‘So how are we going to get to London?’ he said.
    I indicated the track ahead of us. ‘According to Holtwood, that leads to a town where we can get a train.’
    Jam stared at me. ‘I don’t have enough money for a train ticket.’
    ‘Me neither, but it’s fine.’ I pointed to the backpack. ‘There’s two million in there. We’ll use a bit of that. If there’s really something amazingly
valuable hidden in the London house, a few quid out of this won’t make any difference.’
    Jam’s face split into a smile. ‘Not only always right, but also insane,’ he said.
    I grinned back, my stomach cartwheeling in spite of my fears for Madison and for what we were about to do. Even after all the time I’d known him, Jam’s smile still made me melt. Then
I thought back to how he’d pulled away from my kiss.
    The smile fell from my face. Again, I wondered . . . was he just helping me because he thought he ought to?
    ‘What?’ Jam’s eyes filled with confusion. ‘What’s up now?’
    His phone beeped before I could say anything. He glanced at the text, then shoved the mobile away.
    ‘Who was that?’ I could hear the sharp edge in my voice and hated myself for letting my vulnerability show.
    What did it matter what Jam thought or did? I was strong. If it came down to it I could survive without him.
    ‘It was Mum asking when I’ll be home.’ Jam rolled his eyes. ‘The usual.’
    ‘Right.’ We headed along the track but, as we walked, doubt crept through me. Was that really Jam’s mum? Or was it some other girl he didn’t want me to know about?
    We walked into Annie and Sam’s London flat in Notting Hill at 1.40 pm. Though Annie had given me a key that I always kept on my key ring, I hadn’t been inside since
Sam died, and the memories of him were overwhelming.
    The main room was large and open-plan, with a kitchen area at one end. There was the soft, cream sofa Sam used to lie on, laptop in front of him, his forehead creased in a frown of
concentration, working until Annie nagged him to stop. He used to wink at me sometimes when she got upset, as if to say: I know she’s emotional, but we can handle her . For a moment, I
felt a surge of anger with Sam for not being here. He would never have gone to pieces, like Annie. If he were around he’d know exactly how to handle the kidnappers.
    ‘Where on earth do we start?’ Jam said, glancing around.
    I gulped. The flat was neat and tidy – and it wasn’t large – but we were still facing an uphill struggle. I checked the time again. Sonia Holtwood had given us until 4 pm to
search the entire apartment for anything valuable. That deadline was only just over two hours away. For the first time since Madison disappeared I felt totally isolated. I’d texted Annie from
our train,