The messy familiarity pulled at her heart as she filled a glass with water and popped a couple of tablets from the packet she kept in the cupboard, the detritus of family life reminding her of what she’d lost. It would never be the same again. But do I want it to be? The thought hit her out of nowhere, and now it had appeared, she understood that although this was the death of one phase in her life, it was the birth of another; one that might have room for her needs as well as those of her family.
She walked over to the table, where Hailey was sitting, her phone to her ear. ‘Hi, Marian. I just wanted to make sure Ezra’s okay with you for another half-hour or so.’ Her eyes widened. ‘What do you mean? When?’ She ended the call, stared at Sara. ‘Matt picked him up. He’s got Ezra.’
Sara gasped, and the glass she was holding fell to the floor, smashing on the tiles, pieces skittering in all directions. ‘Oh my God, no.’ She clung to the back of a chair. ‘That’s it. We’ve got to call the police. This has gone too far. I’ve got to put the safety of the kids first.’
Hailey blew out a long breath, clearly shocked. ‘How did he know where Ezra was, though?’
To Sara, it was obvious. ‘If we’re here together, then someone must be looking after him, and your next-door neighbour is the only person he’ll stay with, isn’t she?’
‘Yeah, you’re right. Wouldn’t take a genius to work that one out.’ Hailey swiped at her phone, put it to her ear, her face pale but determined. ‘Let’s just check in with the girls, shall we? See what they’re up to. Then we can give the police the full picture. Matt might get cross with Ezra, but he’s not going to hurt him. He’s safe enough.’
Sara paced the floor, too agitated to sit down, her hands buried in her hair. ‘What if he’s going to get the girls and make a run for it? What if he and Fiona have got a contingency plan worked out?’
Hailey tutted, looked at her phone. ‘No reply. I’ll message Soph.’ She gave Sara a hard look before she started tapping away at her screen. ‘You’ve been watching way too many TV dramas. You know your daughters. Nobody’s going to make those girls do anything they don’t want to do.’ She pressed send and gave Sara her full attention. ‘The only reason Matt would take Ezra is as a bargaining chip. That’s what it’s all about. He’s desperate and thinks if he’s got Ezra, he can control you.’
They busied themselves with clearing up the mess on the floor while they waited for a response from Sophia. When they’d still heard nothing, Hailey made mugs of tea, while Sara stood gazing into the back garden, paralysed by fear.
‘Come and sit down. Panicking isn’t going to get us anywhere, is it? Let’s have a proper think about this.’
Sara slid onto a chair, her hands cupped round the hot mug, her body shaking. Just when she’d thought she was in charge of her life again, Matt had been one step ahead.
Hailey’s phone pinged and she frowned as she read the message out loud: ‘Chelsea is being a bitch. Fiona is being weird. Can we come home?’
Sara stood up. ‘That’s it. We’re going to get them.’
Hailey followed her. They were almost at her car when she stopped. ‘I just had a thought. Fiona set off not long before Matt did a runner, didn’t she?’
‘That’s right.’
‘They might not even be at Center Parcs yet.’ Her fingers flew over the screen of her phone. ‘Let’s find out where they are. We don’t know if Fiona was going straight there. She might have stopped on the way somewhere. We don’t want to go bombing up there if we can pick them up closer to home.’ She pressed send.
They waited, Hailey checking her screen every few seconds for a reply, but nothing came. After a couple of minutes, they looked at each other, and Sara knew from the expression in Hailey’s eyes that she was worried.
‘They might just be in a blank zone.’
‘What if Fiona’s taken Sophia’s phone off her?’ Amelia had stopped using her mobile in recent weeks, something Sara now realised was probably due to the shower incident. ‘Or the battery has gone flat?’
‘Maybe wait a few more minutes.’
‘We can wait at the police station. Honestly, Hailey. It’s the right thing to do.’ Sara’s stomach clenched at the thought, but the prospect that her children might be in danger was far more important than anything else.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
They had only been travelling a couple of minutes and were at a T-junction heading into the middle of town when a familiar car went past, the driver a woman with short blonde hair, wearing large sunglasses.
Sara did a double-take. ‘Bloody hell, Hailey.’ She pointed at the black 4x4 heading down the road. ‘It’s her. It’s Fiona. What the hell’s she doing in Ilkley?’ And where are the girls? Her heart skipped as Hailey sped away from the junction after Fiona’s car, which started winding up towards the moors. She was confused now. ‘Where on earth is she going?’ Fiona lived on the other side of town, so she wasn’t going home.
‘We’ll just have to follow and find out.’
They were directly behind her, Hailey keeping a bit of distance so she wouldn’t be too obvious. But a few moments later, Fiona sped up, zooming well ahead of them.
‘Crap. I think she’s seen us.’ Hailey sat forward, hunched over the steering wheel as if she was pushing the car up the hill. ‘Come on, car, please go faster.’ But Fiona was pulling away, heading up to the top of the moors.
Sara pointed. ‘Look, she’s going into the car park.’ They watched her swing the 4x4 into a parking spot, jump out and run off up the track towards the quarry. Moments later, Hailey screeched to a halt and they clambered out and started running after her.
Fiona had a head start, and she darted nimble-footed across the moors. Sara was no match for her speed, stumbling over stones and losing her footing in gaps between the heather, air ripping into her lungs as she pushed herself forward as fast as she dared go. Hailey was way ahead of her, fitter and used to running, while Sara thought her lungs might explode. She had to watch where she was treading, unable to keep her eyes on her target as Fiona sped towards the jumble of gritstone boulders.
After a few minutes, Hailey stopped, gazing around, and Sara caught up with her, pulling to a halt, puffing and panting so hard she couldn’t speak.
‘What the hell is she playing at?’ Hailey frowned, scanning the moors, but there was no sign of Fiona anywhere.
‘Oh no, don’t say we’ve lost her.’ Sara turned in a full circle. ‘There,’ she said, her heart flip-flopping as she pointing to a figure on a narrow path that eventually led back down to the car park. ‘She’s doubled back.’ They set off at a jog, Hailey pulling ahead again while Sara concentrated on where she was putting her feet, her legs shaky and weak after the unaccustomed exercise.
A sharp scream made her stop and scan the moors ahead of her. Fiona had disappeared. Sara stood looking around at the boulder-strewn landscape, the ground cloaked in heather and bilberry bushes. There were endless hiding places; all Fiona had to do was duck down when they weren’t looking and she’d be hidden from sight. Hailey had stopped too, and glanced back, throwing up her hands. ‘Where the hell did she go?’