Times of Trouble by Victoria Rollison Page B

but to accept your offer,
because we can’t take you off the case now...’
    ‘ Of course not. I’m
not willing to give up now anyway. I can live fairly cheaply in
Sydney. I’ve got enough friends there willing to offer their
couch.’
    ‘ So what are you
going to do now?’
    ‘ There’s something
else, Ellen.’
    Liam was the last in
the queue, and he was about to be ushered through the departure
gate.
    ‘ Tell me
quickly.’
    ‘ Danny and Sophie’s
things were sent to the local charity shop. There was an envelope
slipped in-between the books, with a return address sticker for
Danny’s parents in Manchester. I thought it was worth talking to
them. But when I got there, the house was deserted. One of the
neighbours asked if I was looking for the Wrights. She told me they
had been killed in a car accident. Their car ran off the road and
hit a tree, just streets away from their house.’
    ‘ So what’s this got
to do with Sophie...’
    The answer dawned on
me before I could finish the question.
    ‘ I looked up the
accident in a local newspaper. They died the day after Danny was
murdered. It’s just too much of a coincidence.’
    ‘ Jesus.’ What he said
hit me like a ton of bricks.
    ‘ I’ve got to fly.
I’ll call you, and let you know what I’m doing.’
    ‘ Ok, just be
careful...’ He was already gone.
    I stood in the
departure lounge, watching Liam's plane take off. Usually when I
left the house, I couldn't wait to get home, which was one of the
reasons I so rarely went anywhere. I felt most comfortable in the
solitude of my room, or chatting to mum while she cooked, or
playing Picasso. But I didn't like the idea of going back to
monotonous hours of nothing. To mum's worried face. To a house
without a piano. It struck me I was jealous that Liam was so caught
up in the search. Jealous he was looking for my sister, while I sat
at home wondering what on earth was going on. Maybe I could help
him? Maybe I should be in Sydney too?

    As I drove home, I
thought about Sophie, all alone, running from these people. She
must be absolutely terrified. I wondered if she knew what had
happened to Katie. I almost hoped she did, so she would know to be
extra careful. I wanted her to hide somewhere no one would ever
find her, except Liam of course.
    Sophie was always so
brave. As a child, I thought she was invincible. I remembered one
time, when I was about seven, I found a huntsman spider in the
bathroom sink. I was so terrified I dropped my hairbrush, and stood
there screaming. Sophie grabbed one of its legs and flung it into
the toilet, flushing it before it had a chance to swim. I stood in
shock, staring at her as if she had slain a wild beast. The next
day, mum let out this piercing shrieked when she came to the front
door with her shopping. Dad and I went to see what was wrong.
Hanging from the doorway were three huntsman spiders, dead, and
strung up with cotton at waist height. We looked at each other in
astonishment. Then Sophie wandered out of her bedroom, and calmly
explained she had hung them there to warn other spiders not to come
into our house. Dad thought it was hilarious, and congratulated
Sophie on her creativity. Mum told her to take them down, and that
it was disgusting to kill spiders. I was touched she went to all
that trouble for me.
    I hoped Sophie still
felt brave. But would her bravery make her more likely to run from
these men, or to confront them? They wouldn’t be so easy to string
up in a doorway. Maybe she needed some help?
    By the time I walked
in the front door, I was almost convinced I should go to Sydney.
Sure, I hadn’t any idea where to start looking for Sophie. And I
also had none of the things people usually used to find missing
people: ingenuity, guts, bravado and luck. But would my presence do
any harm? My email to Tina was a good idea; maybe other inspiration
would come.

Chapter 12

    When I got inside, I
prepared myself for the idea I might chicken out of going to
Sydney. Maybe