that it had been an overreaction to call the police. Then again, she was also very much aware that her sense of perspective was probably warped.
"I've told you this a thousand times already," Ruth said, fiddling with a tissue as she sat, red-eyed and tear-stained, at the kitchen table. She was filled with a kind of calmness that seemed poised to explode at any moment. "It was lunchtime. My husband was in here making a salad..." She paused for a moment. "My sister, as usual, was flitting about the place, and my mother, as usual, was drinking. It was about half twelve, and Sophie said she was going to go and play." Her voice began to tremble for a moment. "That's all she wanted to do," she continued, with tears rolling down her cheeks. "She wanted to play..."
"And how long was it before you noticed she was missing?" the male police officer asked, writing something in his notebook.
"About ten minutes," Ruth replied, taking a deep breath as she tore pieces off the tissue. "It can't have been more than that. I'm not a bad mother. I just let her play for a few minutes, and then I looked down toward the river, and there was no sign of her."
"I noticed she wasn't there a few minutes earlier," Charlotte added.
"You did what ?" Ruth asked, turning to her sister with a shocked look on her face.
"Just a couple of minutes earlier," Charlotte continued hesitantly, wondering if it had been strictly necessary to make such an admission. "I didn't think anything of it at the time -"
"You didn't think anything of it?" Ruth asked, the anger building in her voice once again. "Are you fucking kidding me? My daughter disappeared from view and you thought there was no reason to mention it?"
"It wasn't just me," I reply, looking over at Tony. "You looked out the window too, remember? You saw she wasn't there!"
Ruth turned to her husband, and it was clear that she was quickly forming the opinion that everyone else was to blame for Sophie's disappearance.
"I might have glanced over," Tony said hesitantly, "but I wasn't exactly looking for her."
"Let's all stay calm," said the female police officer, turning to Charlotte. "When you say a couple of minutes -"
"Two, tops," Charlotte replied. "I just looked out the window and noticed I couldn't see Sophie, but I figured she was just out of sight. You know, behind a tree or something. Doing kid stuff."
"Well that's alright then," Ruth said, fixing her sister with a look of pure hatred. "Maybe that's still where she is, huh? Behind a fucking tree?"
"Ninety per cent of the time," the male officer said, interrupting what was threatening to turn into a full-blown tirade, "children are found very quickly once we've been called in. It's simply a matter of making sure that people in the area are aware of the need to keep an eye out. I want to make it very clear to you that the odds of someone snatching your daughter are very small. Most likely, she's simply wandered off somewhere -"
"Or she's hurt," Ruth interjected.
"We're not ruling anything out," the male officer replied.
"I'm afraid our family doesn't have a very good track record when it comes to missing children," Ruth said bitterly, staring at Charlotte with an expression that made her anger very visible. "Ask my sister."
"I'm sorry?" the officer replied.
"Ask her," Ruth continued, her words dripping with disdain.
Charlotte felt her heart sink as everyone in the room turned to her. She'd known that the subject would have to come up eventually, but she'd been hoping to put it off for as long as possible. Whenever she had to talk about her past, she always felt that a whisper of suspicion was laid at her feet, now more than ever.
"It was twenty years ago," she said with a sigh. "It's really not going to be relevant."
"What happened?" the female officer asked.
"It doesn't matter..."
"Please," the male officer said, "let us be the judge of that. Just tell us what happened to you."
"I was eight years old," Charlotte replied, figuring that
"I've told you this a thousand times already," Ruth said, fiddling with a tissue as she sat, red-eyed and tear-stained, at the kitchen table. She was filled with a kind of calmness that seemed poised to explode at any moment. "It was lunchtime. My husband was in here making a salad..." She paused for a moment. "My sister, as usual, was flitting about the place, and my mother, as usual, was drinking. It was about half twelve, and Sophie said she was going to go and play." Her voice began to tremble for a moment. "That's all she wanted to do," she continued, with tears rolling down her cheeks. "She wanted to play..."
"And how long was it before you noticed she was missing?" the male police officer asked, writing something in his notebook.
"About ten minutes," Ruth replied, taking a deep breath as she tore pieces off the tissue. "It can't have been more than that. I'm not a bad mother. I just let her play for a few minutes, and then I looked down toward the river, and there was no sign of her."
"I noticed she wasn't there a few minutes earlier," Charlotte added.
"You did what ?" Ruth asked, turning to her sister with a shocked look on her face.
"Just a couple of minutes earlier," Charlotte continued hesitantly, wondering if it had been strictly necessary to make such an admission. "I didn't think anything of it at the time -"
"You didn't think anything of it?" Ruth asked, the anger building in her voice once again. "Are you fucking kidding me? My daughter disappeared from view and you thought there was no reason to mention it?"
"It wasn't just me," I reply, looking over at Tony. "You looked out the window too, remember? You saw she wasn't there!"
Ruth turned to her husband, and it was clear that she was quickly forming the opinion that everyone else was to blame for Sophie's disappearance.
"I might have glanced over," Tony said hesitantly, "but I wasn't exactly looking for her."
"Let's all stay calm," said the female police officer, turning to Charlotte. "When you say a couple of minutes -"
"Two, tops," Charlotte replied. "I just looked out the window and noticed I couldn't see Sophie, but I figured she was just out of sight. You know, behind a tree or something. Doing kid stuff."
"Well that's alright then," Ruth said, fixing her sister with a look of pure hatred. "Maybe that's still where she is, huh? Behind a fucking tree?"
"Ninety per cent of the time," the male officer said, interrupting what was threatening to turn into a full-blown tirade, "children are found very quickly once we've been called in. It's simply a matter of making sure that people in the area are aware of the need to keep an eye out. I want to make it very clear to you that the odds of someone snatching your daughter are very small. Most likely, she's simply wandered off somewhere -"
"Or she's hurt," Ruth interjected.
"We're not ruling anything out," the male officer replied.
"I'm afraid our family doesn't have a very good track record when it comes to missing children," Ruth said bitterly, staring at Charlotte with an expression that made her anger very visible. "Ask my sister."
"I'm sorry?" the officer replied.
"Ask her," Ruth continued, her words dripping with disdain.
Charlotte felt her heart sink as everyone in the room turned to her. She'd known that the subject would have to come up eventually, but she'd been hoping to put it off for as long as possible. Whenever she had to talk about her past, she always felt that a whisper of suspicion was laid at her feet, now more than ever.
"It was twenty years ago," she said with a sigh. "It's really not going to be relevant."
"What happened?" the female officer asked.
"It doesn't matter..."
"Please," the male officer said, "let us be the judge of that. Just tell us what happened to you."
"I was eight years old," Charlotte replied, figuring that
Similar Books
