there was no point delaying the inevitable. "I was playing in the garden with my sister, with Ruth, and..." She paused for a moment, trying to think back to that long-ago day before hitting the mental wall that always prevented her from remembering. "I don't really remember it very well," she continued, "but apparently I went off by myself, down to the river, and I ended up going into this small cave up near the bridge, and..."
"And she disappeared," Ruth said, as if the words sickened her. "To cut a long story short."
"For how long?" the male officer asked.
Charlotte and Ruth exchanged a worried glance.
"A day?" the female officer asked. "A couple of days?"
"A year," Charlotte said eventually, before clearing her throat nervously. "There was an extensive search. I'm sure you have records in your system somewhere. Police dogs, helicopters, national appeals, you name it. Everyone looked for me, but eventually, after a few weeks, the media moved on and..." She paused again. "They could never work out of I'd had an accident, or been snatched or whatever, but after a year they'd pretty much given up on the idea that I'd ever be found -"
"That's not true," Ruth said firmly.
"Yeah," Charlotte replied, "it kind of is. Ask Mum. And then, exactly a year later to the day, I came wandering up to the house from the bottom of the garden, from near the river. No memory, no recollection of where I'd been or anything. I was just... back!"
"Maybe the witch took you," Ruth muttered with clear disdain.
"There must have been an investigation," the male officer said, clearly taken aback by the tale.
Charlotte nodded.
"It was all Charlotte's little mystery," Ruth said bitterly. "She always claims she doesn't remember a thing, and that we should all just stop asking where she was. She acts like it doesn't really matter. An eight-year-old girl vanishes for a year, and when she comes back, everyone's supposed to just shrug and get on with their lives."
"I didn't say that it doesn't matter," Charlotte replied, forcing herself to stay calm. "I said that I don't remember what happened."
"And you don't want to find out, either, do you?" Ruth replied.
"Not particularly," Charlotte muttered.
"See?" Ruth said, turning to the police officers. "See what I have to put up with here? What kind of person doesn't even care about what happened to her while she was missing?"
"And you really don't know where you were for a year?" the female officer asked. "That... must be quite a difficult thing for you to get your head around."
Charlotte shrugged.
"She refuses to try psychotherapy," Ruth muttered. "It's like she doesn't want to know where she was for a whole year. Either that, or she's lying her ass off and she just doesn't want to say."
"This isn't about me," Charlotte continued, determined to get the focus back onto Sophie. "What happened to me is just a coincidence. It's not gonna help anyone find Sophie any quicker, is it?" She paused. "I mean, that's why we're here, right? To find Sophie? Not to rehash everything that happened with me."
"But in both cases," the female officer added, "the missing child was eight years old?"
Charlotte nodded wearily.
"Same age," Ruth said firmly, "same place, same family. Is that really a coincidence?"
"This is some kind of sick joke," Tony said, still staring out the window. "It has to be. Someone's doing this on purpose, to torture us." He paused, before turning to the police officers. "Couldn't that be it? Someone wants to mess with our heads, and they know about what happened before, so they've done this because they want to watch us squirm. There's no other explanation."
"Do you have any enemies?" the male officer asked.
Ruth shook her head.
"Miracle of miracles," Charlotte muttered under her breath.
"The house is very remote," the female officer pointed out. "Where's your nearest neighbor?"
"About four miles away," Ruth replied, her voice trembling. "We've already phoned everyone in the area, but
"And she disappeared," Ruth said, as if the words sickened her. "To cut a long story short."
"For how long?" the male officer asked.
Charlotte and Ruth exchanged a worried glance.
"A day?" the female officer asked. "A couple of days?"
"A year," Charlotte said eventually, before clearing her throat nervously. "There was an extensive search. I'm sure you have records in your system somewhere. Police dogs, helicopters, national appeals, you name it. Everyone looked for me, but eventually, after a few weeks, the media moved on and..." She paused again. "They could never work out of I'd had an accident, or been snatched or whatever, but after a year they'd pretty much given up on the idea that I'd ever be found -"
"That's not true," Ruth said firmly.
"Yeah," Charlotte replied, "it kind of is. Ask Mum. And then, exactly a year later to the day, I came wandering up to the house from the bottom of the garden, from near the river. No memory, no recollection of where I'd been or anything. I was just... back!"
"Maybe the witch took you," Ruth muttered with clear disdain.
"There must have been an investigation," the male officer said, clearly taken aback by the tale.
Charlotte nodded.
"It was all Charlotte's little mystery," Ruth said bitterly. "She always claims she doesn't remember a thing, and that we should all just stop asking where she was. She acts like it doesn't really matter. An eight-year-old girl vanishes for a year, and when she comes back, everyone's supposed to just shrug and get on with their lives."
"I didn't say that it doesn't matter," Charlotte replied, forcing herself to stay calm. "I said that I don't remember what happened."
"And you don't want to find out, either, do you?" Ruth replied.
"Not particularly," Charlotte muttered.
"See?" Ruth said, turning to the police officers. "See what I have to put up with here? What kind of person doesn't even care about what happened to her while she was missing?"
"And you really don't know where you were for a year?" the female officer asked. "That... must be quite a difficult thing for you to get your head around."
Charlotte shrugged.
"She refuses to try psychotherapy," Ruth muttered. "It's like she doesn't want to know where she was for a whole year. Either that, or she's lying her ass off and she just doesn't want to say."
"This isn't about me," Charlotte continued, determined to get the focus back onto Sophie. "What happened to me is just a coincidence. It's not gonna help anyone find Sophie any quicker, is it?" She paused. "I mean, that's why we're here, right? To find Sophie? Not to rehash everything that happened with me."
"But in both cases," the female officer added, "the missing child was eight years old?"
Charlotte nodded wearily.
"Same age," Ruth said firmly, "same place, same family. Is that really a coincidence?"
"This is some kind of sick joke," Tony said, still staring out the window. "It has to be. Someone's doing this on purpose, to torture us." He paused, before turning to the police officers. "Couldn't that be it? Someone wants to mess with our heads, and they know about what happened before, so they've done this because they want to watch us squirm. There's no other explanation."
"Do you have any enemies?" the male officer asked.
Ruth shook her head.
"Miracle of miracles," Charlotte muttered under her breath.
"The house is very remote," the female officer pointed out. "Where's your nearest neighbor?"
"About four miles away," Ruth replied, her voice trembling. "We've already phoned everyone in the area, but
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