Killing a Unicorn by Marjorie Eccles Page A

the tension
in the room and sat down heavily. Her heart began to thump uncomfortably. She thought, I’m not up to all this. She wished desperately that Humphrey were here.
    â€˜His bed doesn’t seem to have been slept in.’
    â€˜Nonsense! Bibi put him to bed herself last night before - before she went out.’
    â€˜The duvet isn’t even rumpled.’ As if this wasn’t conclusive — any bed that Jasie occupied for more than five minutes looked like an earthquake disaster — he added, ‘We can’t find any trace of him.’
    Chip sat down at the table. ‘The police say someone will be here very shortly.’ He looked grey and haggard. Last night, Alyssa had been proud of him and the stoical way he’d accepted Bibi’s death, but this morning his courage seemed to have deserted him. He looked utterly shattered by this second blow.
    â€˜Police?’ Her heart jerked painfully. ‘Surely there’s no need -’
    â€˜We’ve already looked everywhere,’ Jonathan said, throwing a quizzical glance in his brother’s direction. How was it that Chip had been so immediately and absolutely certain that something untoward had happened to the child, rather than naturally assuming he’d just wandered off? The grounds, if you included the gardens, were, after all, pretty extensive and offered plenty of scope for an adventurous small boy to hide himself mischievously, or perhaps to fall and hurt himself. Plenty of trees to climb and fall off, a stream to fall into …
    But that had been the first place they’d all looked, Jilly as well, scouring the undergrowth along both banks, calling his name. Even, with mounting reluctance, but at Chip’s insistence, following it as far as the pool and the blue and white police tape. After finding nothing there, one look at his brother’s face had told Jonathan he’d given up all expectations that Jasie would be found anywhere within the grounds of Membery. But outside, there were still acres and acres of forest woodland …
    Jilly brought tea things and a plate with two pieces of
freshly buttered toast over to the table where Alyssa sat. ‘You’ll feel better after this,’ she said quietly, pouring a cup of tea. It was thick and strong, just as Alyssa liked it.
    â€˜How kind,’ she said absently, patting Jilly’s hand. ‘Hasn’t Jane arrived yet?’
    As if on cue, Jane Arrow walked in at the door, looking as neat and fresh as a daisy, though she hadn’t cycled home until well after one, refusing offers to put her up for the night. She had on a pale blue blouse, a flowered print skirt and a beige cotton sun-hat with a deep crown, which she wore as she’d worn her school hat, and all her hats ever since, well pulled down on her head and with the brim turned up at the back. She was rather flushed. ‘I’m so sorry to be late,’ she began. She made a point of always arriving by nine, as if she were a paid employee who might have her wages docked if she didn’t. ‘But the police came to see me, which of course held me up. They’ve now gone down to The Watersplash again, for some reason. They said they’ll be up here to see you, Chip, later.’
    â€˜That was quick!’ Chip said. Jane looked mystified. Her sharp, enquiring glance passed from one to the other as Chip added, ‘Impossible, in fact. I’ve only just finished speaking to them. They said they’d come straight away, but it’ll take them at least half an hour to get here from Felsborough.’
    â€˜But they’re already here! They only left my house ten minutes since. After asking me a lot of impertinent questions - which I chose not to answer, I might say! I find that perfectly dreadful inspector person no more appealing this morning than I did last night.’
    â€˜Why on earth did they want to see you again, Jane?’ asked Alyssa, momentarily