Isolated. M. A. Hunter

I promised Mila she could go skating on the ice, if you fancy it?’

      I shake my head rapidly. ‘No, no, no, ice and I are not friends,’ I explain. ‘I never learned how to do it when I was a child, and then when Rachel and I were at university she said she’d teach me, so we went along to a rink one night, and despite her best efforts I ended up with a ligament strain in my knee and a behind that resembled a bruised banana. Don’t let me stop you two though. I don’t mind watching from the safety of the perimeter fence.’

      ‘Good heavens, no,’ Jack replies. ‘I can’t skate for toffee either, but Mila’s happy going on alone, aren’t you, sweetie?’

      She nods, totally unfazed by the prospect, so that’s where we head, Jack paying for her to hire skates and then helping her strap them on. He joins me at the fence once she’s on the ice. I’ll admit to feeling pangs of jealousy at how effortlessly she can glide across the temporary rink. If she hopes for an Olympic medal one day, she’d be better off focusing her efforts on skating rather than equestrianism.

      ‘She’s a natural,’ I say, as Jack snaps some pictures of her on his phone.

      ‘I’d like to take the credit but her mum’s been taking her skating since she could first walk.’ He puts the phone away. ‘I’m glad we’ve got a moment to talk without her earwigging. I wanted to ask how you’re doing?’

      ‘Me? I’m fine.’

      Jack turns so he’s looking straight at me, and I can see the concern etched around his eyes. ‘Are you sure? I know we’ve spoken a few times on the phone since, and shared emails, but I sense you’re still carrying the burden of what Turgood said when we went to see him, and—’

      ‘Turgood is lying,’ I say with certainty, ‘but short of beating the truth out of him, there isn’t a lot more either of us can do about that, is there?’

      Jack doesn’t respond at first, but continues to stare into my eyes. ‘I’m sorry it wasn’t the news you were hoping for. Believe me, I’ve met my fair share of Turgoods, and monsters like him get off on thinking they know more than the rest of us. You have to remember that you beat him before. If it wasn’t for your extensive research and determination, he would never have been brought to justice for the abuse he oversaw at St Francis. You’re the reason the police opened an investigation into the home. You’re the reason he was tried and sentenced at The Old Bailey. And you’re the reason he will never be able to repeat those abuses.’

      But I’m also the reason that Anna stomped off that day.

      Jack brushes a stray hair from my face, and gently tucks it behind my ear. ‘Have you had any new leads emerge on the website you set up for Anna?’

      After the success of Monsters and the media attention when Cassie Hilliard was found, there had been a spike in the number of messages I received through the site, but these were words of support rather than clues as to where she might be.

      I wish someone could find a bittersweet ending for my story.

      ‘Nothing new,’ I say despondently.

      ‘Is that why you’re so distracted today?’

      I shake my head. ‘When I was at Maddie’s office, a woman died by suicide after throwing herself from the roof.’

      Jack is blinking at me, maybe trying to work out if I’m trying to prank him. ‘Seriously?’

      I nod. ‘Check your phone; I’m sure it’s probably trending on Twitter. Her name was Natalie and she must have been about my age, give or take. One minute she was there, and the next…’

      Tears bite at my eyes.

      Jack puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his fleece coat.

      ‘I’m so sorry. You should have said… We could have postponed today.’

      ‘It was a bit late,’ I say, relaxing into his grasp. ‘I’ll be okay. I was going to ask actually… the woman – Natalie – had something to do with the disappearance of a girl called Sally Curtis. I wondered if it was a case you’re familiar with?’

      Jack shakes his head. ‘Not a name that rings any bells with me, I’m afraid. Certainly not a name that’s tied to any of the backlog of cases I’m currently reviewing. Do you have any more detail? Where she disappeared? When?’

      ‘No, just the name unfortunately. It’s definitely a name I’ve come across but I can’t quite figure out why. Never mind.’

      Jack’s giving me a cock-eyed smile.

      ‘What?’ I ask.

      ‘That look in your eyes.’ He sniggers. ‘I’ve seen it before. When we first met in September you had that look then as well.’

      I don’t know what look he’s referring to, but I won’t deny that Natalie’s final words have piqued my interest.

       You need to find her. Find Sally. Tell her I’m sorry.

      Chapter Ten

      Then

       Wareham, Dorset

      The walk to school on Monday morning was a lot more painful than Natalie had anticipated. After the grilling from her mum and dad, she’d ended up leaving late and missing the early bus. She preferred catching the early bus as it was always quieter than the later one. By the time she reached the bus stop, the line was already ten-deep with students of varying ages. On any normal day, she would have had time to bypass the bus stop and walk to school before the morning bell sounded, but with every step such agony, her pace was much slower today.

      When the bus had arrived, it had already been packed with teenagers wearing the same dark green blazer and tie as herself. There were no seats available, but at least the bus driver allowed her to squeeze on, perched perilously just behind the yellow line. Three stops later, and she was practically bundled from the bus as the throng of students pushed forwards to get in through the gates to see friends and copy homework before the bell.

      Natalie had looked for, but failed to find, either Louise or Jane in their usual hangout at the far side of the playground near the enormous sports centre. When the bell had sounded, she’d hobbled as quickly as she could in through the main doors, up the stairs to the first floor, and along to class 9-E. No sign of Louise or Jane in their seats either, though the space at Sally’s desk was almost haunting. Natalie deliberately kept her eyes from looking over at the desk, as if Sally’s absence was news to her, as it would have been to most of her other classmates, who were shouting and cooing and gossiping about last night’s Hollyoaks.

      Mrs Engleberry – their registration tutor – arrived two minutes later, and was just wishing everyone a good morning when a knock at the door was followed by Louise and Jane scuttling in and taking their seats on the far side of the class. With heads bowed, they quickly apologised for being late, but neither looked at Sally’s desk and both avoided eye contact with Natalie.

      When the second bell sounded to announce assembly, Natalie did her best to cut through the flow of classmates to stand beside Louise and Jane, but both were too far ahead and showed no interest in waiting for her.

      Louise is probably just feeling guilty about slapping my cheek last night, Natalie tried to reassure herself, though in truth it should have been her avoiding them after what had happened, and she wasn’t enjoying this cold-shoulder treatment.

      What about the pact? They were supposed to be in this together, weren’t they? Didn’t that mean banding together and supporting one another through thick and thin?

      Assembly was as irrelevant as ever but a real strain for Natalie to remain standing for the entire fifteen minutes of sermons, school hymn and notices. The fact that the canteen was serving spaghetti carbonara was hardly newsworthy; besides, they’d all see the canteen menu