Behind Closed Doors Read Online Free PDF Page A

what I kept telling myself until . . . until we finally got to speak.’
    ‘Which was when?’
    ‘On the Tuesday. We talked about the baby first . . . I kept waiting for him to say Sophie was with him, but then he asked how she was and if she was over her paddy yet . . .’ She glanced at her husband, her breath catching on a sob. ‘That was when we realised that neither of us knew where she was, so I immediately rang Estelle again. She kept swearing she hadn’t seen her, or heard from her. I still didn’t know whether or not she was telling the truth . . . I wanted to believe she was lying, because if she was at least it would mean Sophie was safe. Then Gavin got a text from Sophie telling him to stop looking for her.’
    ‘Can I see it?’ Andee asked Gavin.
    Opening up his phone he found the message and handed it over.
    Dad, will you please stop looking for me, it’s embarrassing. I’ll be back when I’m ready, not before.
    Glancing up, Andee said, ‘So you stopped looking?’
    Heidi shook her head. ‘No, except . . . I mean, the problem was I didn’t know where else
to
look. Of course I asked people around the camp if they’d seen her, trying not to make too much of a fuss. I was afraid if I did and she found out she’d stay away longer.’
    ‘Had anyone seen her?’
    ‘Not since Sunday. Then Gavin got another text . . .’ She nodded to the phone.
    Scrolling to it, Andee read,
I know you’re not really bothered, but just in case I’m staying with some friends that you don’t know, OK. They’re really cool and they’re going to help me get a job so I can take care of myself from now on.
    Andee’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. ‘Do you believe this about the friends?’ she asked.
    ‘We don’t know what to believe,’ Heidi told her. ‘You only have to look at where we live to realise how many people she’s coming into contact with. She’s meeting new people all the time.’
    ‘Have you noticed her taking a particular interest in anyone lately, or vice versa?’
    ‘Not especially, no. I mean, she mixes with some of the punters, but most of the time she’s with Estelle.’
    ‘And what about Estelle’s parents? Have you spoken to either of them about where Sophie might be?’
    ‘To her mother, yes, and Sophie’s definitely not there. Which I realise doesn’t mean Estelle’s not covering for her, but . . .’
    ‘They do that, don’t they,’ Gavin came in raggedly, ‘make up stories or alibis for one another without realising how much worry they’re causing, or how much danger they could be putting themselves in.’
    Andee could hardly deny it. ‘Do you think Sophie could be in any danger?’ she asked carefully.
    He flinched. ‘I don’t want to think it, but it’s – it’s hard to make yourself stop when you don’t know where she is.’
    Andee knew from experience that it was next to impossible. To Gavin she said, ‘So where exactly were you last week?’
    ‘On a job,’ he replied, sounding as wretched as he looked. ‘I do some driving now and then for Pollards, the haulage company, based out at Frimsey. I had a big load to take down to Toulouse last Monday, but I decided to drive to Portsmouth on Sunday night and sleep in the cab so I’d be ready to get the early ferry in the morning.’
    ‘Did you see Sophie before you left? I mean after the row.’
    His misery was apparent as he shook his head. ‘I knocked on her door and shouted out that I was leaving, but she didn’t come out or turn her music down, so I realised I was still in her bad books. I know what she’s like when she gets in one of her moods, she won’t speak to anyone. You have to allow her time to get over it, so I told her to give me a ring when she was ready and I left.’
    ‘So you don’t know if she was actually in the room at that point?’
    ‘Her music was on, so I presumed she was, but I guess it’s possible she wasn’t. She thinks we don’t know how she sometimes sneaks out of her window and