Stranger Child Read Online Free PDF Page A

frightened?’ Emma asked. She couldn’t imagine what had made this girl come into her house, out in the middle of nowhere, but it occurred to her that perhaps the child was scared of something or someone. Was she running away? Maybe if Emma relaxed, the girl might tell her why she was here.
    Emma took some deep breaths and felt her heart rate slow. If the girl had planned to attack, surely she would have done it by now?
    Reaching forwards, she pushed the knife further onto the island. She lifted her cut finger to her mouth and sucked it, then pulled a tissue from up her sleeve and wrapped it around the painful wound. But she never took her eyes off the girl.
    ‘My name’s Emma. Nobody’s going to hurt you.’ She didn’t know why she said that, but despite the girl’s impassive stare she was, after all, only a kid. Surely she couldn’t mean them any harm?
    The girl slowly drew her hands from her pockets and Emma could see they were balled into tight fists, her arms held stiff and straight. And she was wearing gloves. Emma’s body tensed – perhaps the gloves meant that the girl didn’t want to leave any trace that she had been here.
    ‘Please – just tell me what you want.’
    Everything Emma said was met with silence.
    The girl stared at Emma for a moment longer, and then her eyes flicked around the room as if she was looking for something. Emma used the momentary respite from the hypnotic gaze of those cold eyes to look more carefully at the girl. She could see that her coat was at least two sizes too big – as if she had borrowed it from an older sister, or even a brother. It fell way below her knees, and the sleeves hung beyond the end of her arms. She wore dark-blue jeans, crumpled over a pair of dirty white trainers. But in spite of that, she had a fragile beauty that was at odds with the hostility of her stance.
    ‘Look, I don’t know who you are or why you’re here, but unless you tell me I’m afraid I’m going to have to call the police. Somebody will be missing you, wondering where you are.’
    The girl’s head spun round towards Emma, and her eyes opened wide. She glanced towards the back door, and suddenly Emma was worried that she was going to run. Two minutes ago, she would have been relieved to see her go, but something must have happened to this child for her to turn up here. Perhaps there had been an accident and she had walked here? Perhaps she was lost.
    ‘Why don’t you sit down? Can you tell me your name? I’m Emma, and this,’ she turned her head, smiling at her son to reassure him, ‘is Ollie.’
    The green eyes betrayed no hint of warmth as they focused on Ollie, who was looking curiously at the girl and banging his plastic spoon on the tray of his high chair.
    Emma’s mobile was upstairs in her handbag, and the girl was standing between her and the kitchen telephone. Although Emma had put the knife down, she still didn’t want to be within striking distance of the girl in case she had misjudged her.
    ‘Please – sit down.’ Emma raised her arm and pointed to the dining table at the far end of room. The girl didn’t move and Emma edged slowly around her without getting too close, hoping that she could reach the phone. She kept her voice calm and level.
    ‘Okay, I’m going to call the police now. Nobody’s going to hurt you, and I’m not calling them because I want you arrested for being in my house. I just want you to be safe and to get you back home. I don’t even know if you understand what I’m saying.’
    The girl flew towards the phone, ripped it from its base and threw it across the room. She swivelled on her heel and ran across the kitchen, grabbing the knife from the island where Emma had left it. She backed up against the wall, one hand balled into a fist at her side, the other grasping the knife, ready to strike.
    Emma stifled a scream of fear. She mustn’t frighten Ollie. She wiped her suddenly damp palms on the legs of her jeans and circled to the other