Michael Robotham - Say You're sorry

“An industrial site?”

“There were also traces of creosote and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Creosote has been used to treat railway sleepers and chlorinated hydrocarbons can create all sorts of things: pesticides, plastic, synthetic rubber, you name it. I’ve sent the samples to a lab in Switzerland that specializes in identifying contaminants. It may give us an idea of the industrial process.”

“What about her stomach contents?”

“She hadn’t eaten in her last twelve hours. There were traces of vegetable matter and meat, but I won’t have a definitive answer until tomorrow.”

He pauses for a moment, gazing past me at a stained glass window showing the apostles at the last supper.

“She was circumcised,” he whispers.

“I know.”

“The procedure was poorly executed but required some medical knowledge. She could have died of infection.” The pathologist lowers his forehead, faltering. “Why was it done at all?”

I don’t answer him.

“How far could she have walked in a blizzard in those clothes and shoes?”

“Not more than an hour or two.”

I make the calculation: four to seven miles, depending upon the terrain.

“Natasha was wearing an ankle bracelet,” says Leece. “A silver chain, not expensive. I went back over the old case files-there was a list of the clothes they might have taken with them. Jewelry was mentioned.”

“Did Natasha have an ankle bracelet?”

“No… Piper Hadley had one.”

The church grows even quieter, as though someone has turned the volume down, muffling our voices. Piper Hadley has rarely been mentioned in the investigation, yet she’s like a jagged hole at the center of every scenario. A silent victim.

Outside, I breathe in the cold air, smelling wood smoke and chestnuts roasting over charcoal. I buy a bag from a man on the corner, peeling off the blackened skins and tasting Christmas. People pass me on the wet pavements, hunched and hurrying, carrying bags full of Christmas presents and groceries. They have no idea how the world has changed since yesterday.

A ridge of lead-colored cloud is burning like magnesium along the edge of the horizon, silhouetting the rooftops, making the dark seem darker. Stillness gathering.

I once thought of studying meteorology to learn how it works, the flow of things, air currents, wind, clouds, circling the earth. I thought the planet might be easier to understand than the mind.

Shifting my weight from one foot to the other, I wait for Mr. Parkinson to fall into step inside me. Together we walk back to the hotel, going over the details again. One girl escaped. One remains elusive.

These are urgent times and I’m a weary man.

There’s a note from Charlie written on hotel stationery.

Gone to a party. Won’t be late. Cxx

A party? No mention of where, when, who she’s with. What constitutes “late”? It’s only six o’clock. She’s allowed to have a social life. She’s sensible and mature for her age, but looking seventeen doesn’t change the fact that she’s only fifteen. Two years is a lot when you’re that age. Fifteen is more Britney than Barbie. Fifteen scares the hell out of me.

I try her mobile. She’s not answering. Maybe she’s ignoring me on purpose because I wouldn’t let her go to London on her own.

Four sealed boxes have been delivered in my absence-statements from the original investigation, along with timelines and phone wheels. Drury has written a note: “Knock yourself out.”

I pick up the first of the transcripts.

It’s dated Monday, September 1, 2008. Sarah Hadley, Piper’s mother, told police that she’d woken just after seven on Sunday morning and thought Piper had already gone to her riding lesson because she wasn’t in her room.

At nine o’clock she phoned the riding school and one of the instructors, Mrs. Clayton, told her that Piper hadn’t shown up. Piper’s mobile had been confiscated when she was grounded for an earlier indiscretion so there was no way for Mrs. Hadley to call her.

“I was angry at first,” she told police. “It was obvious Piper had snuck out of her room and stayed all night with that McBain girl, who is nothing but trouble. We told Piper she couldn’t go to the funfair, but she disobeyed us and went out anyway.

“Piper has a blind spot when it comes to Natasha McBain. I don’t like pointing the finger at particular people, but that girl is bad news. We tried to tell Piper, but what can you tell a teenager, eh? They never listen.”

I carry on reading statements, periodically glancing at the digital clock between the beds. At midnight Charlie still isn’t back. If I call Julianne she’ll panic. Blame me. I try Charlie’s number again, leaving another message, trying to take the strident tone out of my voice.

Where is this party? Charlie doesn’t know anyone in Oxford. She could have met them today, which isn’t reassuring. Then it dawns on me. How stupid! She’s not in Oxford; she’s in London.

I dial Julianne’s number, fortifying myself. She’s awake instantly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you have a number for Jacob?”

“Why?”

“I think Charlie is with him.”

“When did you last see her?”

“This morning.”

“Christ, Joe!”

There are so many things I know Julianne wants to say, but thankfully she holds back. I can picture her in her flannelette pajamas, fire-engine red, padding down the hall to Charlie’s bedroom, looking through Charlie’s desk, her corkboard, her address book.

“Why do you think she’s with Jacob?”

“She said she was going to be at a party and wouldn’t be late.”

“What party?”

“That’s just it-I think she went to London instead.”

“Where were you?”

“I’ve been busy today.”

It sounds like a lame excuse.

“I can’t find a number,” she says. “Her friends might know.”

“No. Wait. Look at the last mobile phone bill. Charlie’s calls will be listed.”

Julianne goes downstairs to the kitchen where we keep the household bills in a drawer with the checkbooks and our passports. I listen to her breathing, which sounds judgmental. Accusatory. I was supposed to settle this issue of the inappropriate boyfriend.

Julianne is looking down the list of numbers. She tells me one comes up more than any other. It must be Jacob.

“Do you want me to call him?” she asks.

“No, I’ll do it,” I say, jotting it down.

“Ring me back.”

“As soon as I know something.”

She won’t sleep now. She’ll lie awake worrying.

I try the number. The first attempt goes to Jacob’s voicemail. I try again. This time he answers, shouting to be heard above thumping music He’s at a party or a nightclub.

“Yeah.”

“I need to speak to Charlie.”

“What?”

“This is Charlie’s father. Where is she?”

He hesitates. “Charlie who?”

“I know she’s there, Jacob. Put her on.”

Another pause. I can picture him, lean and sharp-faced, with drooping trousers and a leather biker jacket. Blood surges into the top of my skull and I can feel my fingers working on the phone.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says. Wasted. Drunk. High.

“Listen, Jacob, up until now I haven’t had reason to hate you or want to hurt you. Charlie is fifteen. You’re an adult. There are laws.”

“I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Is that a licensed venue, Jacob? Is Charlie drinking? You’re corrupting a minor. There are laws about grooming underage girls.”

“Fuck off!”

“Did Charlie tell you about me? Did she mention that I work with the police? They’re tracking this mobile. They can pinpoint your location to within fifty yards. I’m giving you the opportunity to help yourself, Jacob. Let me speak to Charlie.”