Pip saw her dad nodding in the corner of her eye, the LED light above drawing yellow streaks across the dark skin of his forehead. Her mum also saw it, turning to frown at him.
‘Victor . . .’ she said.
‘Leanne,’ he replied, stepping forward into no man’s land. ‘Clearly she’s not being reckless; she’s put a lot of consideration into her decision. That’s all we can ask of her, because it is her decision. She’s eighteen now.’ He turned to smile at Pip, his eyes glazing in that way they did. The exact way he looked at her every time he told the story of how they’d met. Pip at four years old, stomping around this very house he was looking to buy, accompanying her mum on the viewing because the childcare had fallen through. She’d followed them into each room, giving him a new animal fact in each one, despite her mother telling her to be quiet so she could inform the nice man about the high-spec kitchen. He always said it was both of them that stole his heart that day.
Pip returned his smile, and that hole in her stomach, it started to shrink just a little, freeing up more space for her around it.
‘And what about the risks, Victor?’ Pip’s mum said, though her tone had changed now, the fight all but gone from it.
‘Everything has risks,’ he said. ‘Even crossing the road. It’s no different than if she were a journalist, or a police officer. And would we keep her from either of those things because of the potential risks? And also: I am very big. If anyone even thinks about hurting my daughter, I will rip off their head.’
Pip laughed, and her mum’s mouth twitched with a smile she didn’t want to give into. The smile lost, for now, though it gave a good fight.
‘Fine,’ her mum said. ‘Pip, I’m not your enemy, I’m your mum. I only care about your safety and your happiness, the two things you lost last time. It’s my job to protect you, whether you like it or not. So fine, I accept your decision. But I will be watching to make sure you don’t become obsessive to the point where it’s unhealthy, and you better believe me when I say there will be no missing school or neglecting your revision,’ she said, counting the points off on her fingers. ‘I’m sure everything is fine, but if there is any sign of danger, even the slightest hint, I want you to come straight to us. Promise me?’
‘Thank you.’ Pip nodded, her chest releasing. ‘It won’t be like last time, I promise.’ She wasn’t that person any more. She’d be good this time. She would. Things would be different, she told that yawning feeling that never left her. ‘But I should warn you: I don’t think everything is fine. Put it this way, I don’t think you’ll see Jamie at work tomorrow morning.’
Her mum’s face flushed, and she dropped her gaze, tightening her lips into a line. Of all her mother’s faces, Pip wasn’t sure what this one meant. ‘Well,’ her mum said quietly, ‘all I’m saying is that Jamie is probably OK and I’m sure this will turn out to be nothing. That’s why I don’t want you to give too much of yourself to it.’
‘Well, I mean hopefully it’s nothing,’ Pip said, taking the packet of satsumas her dad handed her, placing them in the fruit bowl. ‘But there are a couple of red flags. His phone was turned off that night and hasn’t been on since. And he was acting strangely that day – out of character.’
Her mum placed a loaf of bread in the bread bin. ‘I’m just saying, maybe acting strangely isn’t that out of character for Jamie.’
‘Wait, what?’ Pip stalled, pulling back from the box of porridge her dad was handing her.
‘Oh, nothing,’ her mum said, busying herself with the tinned tomatoes. ‘I shouldn’t have said anything.’
‘Said anything about what?’ Pip said, her heart jumping up to her throat, sensing her mum’s unease. She narrowed her eyes at the back of her mum’s head. ‘Mum? Do you know something about Jamie?’
Pip:
Mum, wait, hold on, I’ve set up the microphones now. Can you tell me what you were going to say? About Jamie?
[INAUDIBLE]
Pip:
Mum, you . . . you have to come closer to the microphone. It can’t pick you up from over there.
[INAUDIBLE]
Pip:
Please can you just sit down and tell me what it is, whatever it is.
Mum:
[INAUDIBLE] . . . need to get started on dinner.
Pip:
I know, I know. This will only take a few minutes. Please? What did you mean by ‘acting strangely isn’t that out of character for Jamie’? Are you talking about something that happened at work? Jamie was working a later shift on Friday, before the memorial. Was he acting strangely then, is that what you mean? Please, Mum, this could really help the investigation.
Mum:
No . . . it’s . . . ah, no, I shouldn’t. It’s not my business.
Pip:
Jamie’s missing. It’s been almost two full days. He could be in danger. I don’t think he’d care about what’s anyone’s business right now.
Mum:
But Joanna –
Pip:
She’s the one who asked me to do this. She’s accepted she might learn things about Jamie she wouldn’t want to know.
Mum:
Does Joanna . . . does Joanna think Jamie still works at Proctor and Radcliffe? Is that what he told her?
Pip:
Yeah, of course, what do you mean? He does work there. He was at work on Friday before he went missing.
Mum:
He’s . . . Jamie doesn’t work at the agency any more. He left, maybe two and a half weeks ago.
Pip:
He left? Did he quit? His family have no idea, they still think he works with you. He’s been going to work every day. Why would he quit and lie about it?
Mum:
He . . . he didn’t quit.
Pip:
What?
Mum:
Pip . . .
Pip:
Mum?
Mum:
There was an incident. But I don’t really want to talk about it, it has nothing to do with anything. My point was just that maybe Jamie disappearing isn’t something so out of character, and why cause trouble for him when –
Pip:
Mum, he’s missing. Anything that happened in the last few weeks could be relevant. Anything. Joanna won’t be angry if you tell, I know she won’t. What was the incident? When?
Mum:
Well . . . it must have been a Wednesday because Todd wasn’t in, and Siobhan and Olivia were but they were out on viewings.
Pip:
Wednesday two weeks ago? So that was the . . . 11th?
Mum:
That sounds about right. I’d been out on lunch, went to see Jackie in the café, and left Jamie in the office alone. And when I got back . . . well, I must have been quicker than he expected because he . . .
Pip:
What? What was he doing?
Mum:
He had my key somehow, he must have taken it out of my handbag earlier in the day, used it to unlock my desk drawer when I was out. I walked in on him taking the company credit card out of my drawer.