‘But they have an automated system. If you’re not in registration, the parents get a text and a call.’

Libby was thrown off. ‘I forgot about that.’

Sam raised his eyebrows. ‘You forgot?’

Ellie spoke to her. ‘We have to get you home right now.’

‘No.’

Ellie raised a finger at her, the nagging point. ‘Do you want to get your brother into more trouble, is that what you want?’

‘Of course not.’

‘You’ve got a funny way of showing it.’ Ellie hated how her voice sounded, like her own mother’s when she told Ellie off. Falling back on familiar patterns of speech, she was no better than the police.

Libby looked uncertain.

‘What’s the plan?’ Sam said, flicking his hand through his fringe.

Ellie stared at him. ‘I still need to work that out. In the meantime we have to get Libby home.’

She turned to Libby. ‘Does anyone know you’re here?’

Libby made a face like she was talking to a toddler. ‘Of course not.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Have you texted anyone today, posted anything online?’

Libby stuck her bottom lip out. ‘I texted my mate Cassie.’

‘What did you tell her?’

‘Just that I was meeting Sam, that’s all, and I’d see her later.’

‘When was that?’

‘I don’t know, an hour ago?’

‘Text her now, tell her to delete it and not mention it to anyone.’

‘What?’

Ellie moved her face closer to Libby’s. She could see clumps of concealer on her face, trying to cover the spots. ‘Do you realise how fucking serious this is?’

‘Of course I do.’

Libby shuffled her feet in the dirt and Ellie could see tears welling up in her eyes.

Sam moved between them. ‘Take it easy, she’s only a kid.’

Ellie sighed. ‘I’m sorry, but you have to understand. I promise I’ll take care of both of you, but you have to do what I say. The best place for Libby at the moment is at home, that way the police won’t be looking so hard for Sam. Your dad’s still in hospital, so there’s no danger on that front. We can’t arouse any more suspicion.’

Sam was rubbing Libby’s arm. ‘She’s right, Lib. Mum will go mental when she realises you’re not there.’

‘I suppose.’

‘And I’m always on the phone, I’ve got a battery charger now, so I won’t run out of juice like yesterday, Ellie sorted it.’

The tone of his voice had a calming effect on her. Ellie wondered how Logan would’ve been with a little brother or sister. Would he have been caring and considerate, or would they have been at each other’s throats like so many siblings?

Libby looked at her brother now. ‘We can meet up again, yeah? It’s weird in the house, just me and Mum.’

Sam gave her a hug. ‘Of course we can. We just have to be careful.’

He pulled away as Ellie looked at her watch.

‘We need to get you back,’ she said to Libby.

The girl looked at Sam for a long moment, as Ellie held out her hand. Then she began walking, dragging her feet, following Ellie.

Libby stopped at the window and turned to Sam. ‘See you.’

‘See you soon,’ Sam said.

22

Ellie waited till they were well away from the marina before she spoke. She turned to Libby who was scuffing her trainers, shoulders hunched in a red hoodie.

‘I need to get some things straight with you,’ Ellie said.

Libby shrugged. They were heading back under the bridge. How many times had Ellie walked under this thing? Must be hundreds. She imagined the concrete crumbling, huge slabs of the stuff raining down, crushing them, steel cables whipping as they lashed about, cars and vans and lorries piling down and smashing into the dirt around them. She pictured the shockwaves spreading along the length of the bridge, the overhead cables snapping like threads, the entire length of road tumbling into the water, sending a colossal wave to drown the towns and villages along the coast, collapsing the rail bridge and swamping the oil terminal, a chain reaction that would destroy the world.

‘If I’m going to help you and Sam I need as much information as possible,’ Ellie said. ‘Do you understand?’

Libby nodded, just a twitch of her head.

‘It might not be easy to talk about,’ Ellie said.

Libby looked at her. ‘I don’t mind.’

‘So tell me what happened yesterday.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I presume you’ve spoken to the police.’

‘Yeah.’

‘What did you tell them?’

Libby shoved her hands further into her pockets. ‘Nothing. I said I wasn’t home, and I didn’t know anything about it.’

‘Is that true?’

Libby lowered her head and mumbled.

Ellie ducked closer to her. ‘What?’

‘No.’

Ellie pointed up the access road to the bridge. ‘Let’s take the back way, less chance of being seen.’

They crossed the road and headed up the hill, traffic getting louder.

‘So,’ Ellie said. ‘What really happened yesterday morning?’

Libby blew out a big sigh.

Ellie pursed her lips. ‘You want to help Sam, don’t you?’

‘Of course.’

‘Well?’

Libby played with her hair, tucked a loose strand behind her ear.

‘Sam came home.’

‘What time was that?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe ten.’

‘Where had he been?’

‘He was supposed to be out with mates, I don’t know.’

‘When had he gone out?’

Libby slowed her pace. ‘Early. I was dreading it. Mum was already at work, Dad had a later shift, so that meant it was just the two of us in the house.’

‘What did he do, Libby?’

Libby shook her head. They were at the top of the access road now, heading left, round the visitor centre and the new bridge information hub. A few work vans parked up, nobody else about.

‘I know it’s not easy, Libby.’

Libby looked her in the eye. ‘You have no idea.’

Ellie held her gaze. ‘So tell me.’

‘He came into my room. Sat down on the bed next to me. He does this all the time, has done for ages. He started that talk, I’m his special little girl, all that. Says it makes us closer, our wee secret. He thinks he’s the first dirty old man to come out with this crap.’

She stalled for a minute. Ellie didn’t speak, just waited as they walked together. Eventually Libby spoke.

‘Starts feeling me up. Same every time. Tits first, always, then a hand into my pants. That gets him hard. Then I have to suck it. Until . . .’

Libby had stopped walking. Ellie’s heart was pounding as she shook her head.

‘You get the idea.’

‘God, Libby, I’m so sorry.’

Libby shrugged. ‘You’ve got nothing to be sorry about.’

‘Why haven’t you told anyone?’

Libby raised her eyebrows. ‘Like who?’

‘Your mum, for a start.’

‘I’ve tried, but it’s too hard, I don’t know how to bring it up. Besides, Dad says he’ll kill me if I tell anyone.’

‘What about the authorities?’ Ellie said.

‘The police?’ Libby laughed bitterly. ‘He is the police.’

‘Someone at school, then, a teacher.’

Libby sighed. ‘They’re all useless. The women are clueless, and the men, well, they look at me the same way as Dad.’

They were by the woods now, round the back of the cul-de-sac where Libby and Sam lived. The embankment sheltered them from the traffic noise. It felt suddenly intimate, in that vacuum.

‘So what happened yesterday?’ Ellie said.

‘Sam came back, found Dad in my room with his trousers at his ankles.’

‘Jesus.’

‘He went apeshit. They argued and shoved each other. Dad tried to walk away as if it was nothing. Sam followed him downstairs and into the kitchen. I came down and Sam was standing holding the knife, pointing it at him. Dad was laughing, said he didn’t have the guts. Sam ran at him and proved him wrong.’

‘Then what?’

‘I ran. Straight out the door and kept running until I couldn’t breathe. Just kept going through the woods, along the seafront, anywhere. I didn’t have my phone, so I couldn’t even call Sam, which was horrible.’ She turned to Ellie. ‘Was he really going to jump off the bridge and leave me?’