Shona’s message sounded urgent and desperate so, instead of calling her back, Claire headed straight back to the farm. She’d had enough of the hospital anyway and drove recklessly along the narrow lanes to Trevellin – her mind on fire from what Callum had done, as well as what she was going to do to him. Seeing the beautiful new babies was completely at odds with how she felt. She didn’t think she’d ever felt so emotional, angry or upset.
She pulled into the courtyard and got out of the car, but even before her hand touched the back door knob, she slowed to a stop, sensing something was wrong. She wasn’t sure what – perhaps just something in the air, the way the light was today. She knew this place too well, sensed every nuance, every tiny change. Even the chickens seemed to notice it, huddling against the barn wall. It was the silence that got to her most, making her pause before she went inside. She listened – nothing. Nothing except a slow, resonant heartbeat, as if the house itself was waking up from a long, long sleep. Then she went inside.
‘Mum?’ she called from the boot room. ‘I got your message. What’s going on? Is Dad back yet?’ She dumped her bag on the side table and went through to the kitchen. Her initial feeling was relief. Shona was bending down, fussing over someone sitting in the armchair – her father, she assumed.
But when Shona stood, her worried expression conveyed to Claire that no, her father wasn’t home yet. A dishevelled-looking girl sat beside her.
‘I don’t know where he is,’ Shona confirmed, shaking her head.
‘Have you been out looking?’ Claire’s eyes flicked between her mother and the girl in the chair. ‘Shall I go up into the fields?’
‘Love,’ Shona said, ignoring her question. She reached out a hand to her. ‘I think you’d better sit down for this.’
‘Mum, what is it? Where’s Dad? Just tell me what’s happened?’ Claire wasn’t sure she could take anything else today.
‘I’m praying Dad will be OK. Just sit down, will you, love? This is important.’ Shona pulled out a chair from the table, but Claire remained standing.
‘I think we should call someone, Mum. Maybe the police. It’s been ages since he went.’
‘Actually, I’ve already called them,’ Shona said through a smile Claire didn’t recognise. She nodded in return, relieved her mother had taken action, but then found her gaze drawn back to the silent girl. ‘Although not for the reasons you think,’ Shona added.
Claire sighed, annoyed at the intrusion of this girl’s presence, but then she did a double take. What was that she just saw? That look. Goose bumps travelled down her entire body. She didn’t want to embarrass the ill-looking visitor, but her being here was disturbing in a way she couldn’t quite fathom.
‘Darling, something has happened.’ Shona’s face was alight with wonder, as if she was in some kind of dream. Curiously, Shona got down on her knees in front of the girl and took hold of one of her hands. Claire thought she might kiss it and, when she actually did, she let out a shocked cough.
‘Mum?’ she said. ‘You’re scaring me now. What’s going on?’ Claire drew up to Shona’s side, taking hold of her outstretched hand.
‘Come here, Claire,’ Shona whispered, beckoning her down to where she knelt on the rug. The girl sat blinking, staring straight ahead, her knees pressed together and her lips constantly churning as if they’d never been taught how to be still. She was dirty, thin, unhealthy-looking and the smell coming from her was nauseating. Yet there was something about her, something strangely beautiful and serene, though Claire’s stressed and fragile mind couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.
She did as Shona said, crouching down tentatively beside her mother. ‘Please, Mum, tell me,’ she said quietly, staring into the girl’s sad eyes. Even before Shona had a chance to reply, the realisation flickered through her, filling her mind with possibilities. Though she hardly dared hope. What if she was wrong? But that look…
Claire clasped her mother’s hand tighter, listening to the girl’s rasping breaths, as if each one was a struggle.
‘It’s her,’ Shona said. ‘Darling… She’s come home.’
Claire felt as though she was going to pass out. Without taking her eyes off the girl, she knelt down properly at her feet, studying every feature. What her mother was telling her, what she could see for herself, what had happened two decades ago were all at odds in her mind. Her rational side screamed out that this wasn’t possible. She didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, yell or punch something. Instead, she was perfectly still in case the beautiful moment disappeared.
‘Lenni…?’ Claire whispered, daring to take hold of one of the girl’s thin hands. Shona held the other one and, between them, they formed a triangle, inching closer, drawing in to the daughter, the sister, they never thought they’d see again. Slowly, Claire brought Lenni’s hand to her lips, kissing it, breathing in a glimmer of the last two decades.
* * *
Claire stared out to sea. The tide lapped at her ankles, soaking her trainers and the bottom of her jeans. She didn’t care. The ambulance, with Lenni and several police officers in it, had not long left, but she had actually been there at Trevellin all along? Claire could hardly take it in.
Lenni. Eleanor. Len-monster.
She kicked the sand and an arc of watery sludge flew through the air. She did it again and again until her foot ached and a pair of hands came down gently on her shoulders from behind, steadying her.
‘I saw her, Nick. I saw her.’ She covered her face. The whole day was as far from reality as anything could be. Callum, Rain, the twins, Lenni… It somehow compressed the last couple of decades into a fleeting few seconds. They might as well all still be charging around the beach searching for Lenni the day she went missing. And Nick walking alongside her now made it seem as though nothing had changed. Yet everything had.
‘It’s fucking incredible,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘I still can’t believe it. I mean, how did she seem? Do they know anything… did she say much? Is it really her?’ Nick put his arm around her as they stared out to sea. There were so many questions, yet she couldn’t answer them all yet.
‘It was definitely her. They’ll do DNA tests of course but Mum and I know. We saw the scar. Beneath the years of abuse, we still recognised her. She was ill, Nick, very ill. But she was still Lenni. They wouldn’t let us go to the hospital with her yet. Something about infection risks and gathering evidence. We can see her again later.’
Nick nodded as the water lapped around their ankles.
‘I literally thought I was going to pass out when Mum told me. I felt sick.’
‘You’ve had more stress in a few days than most people have in a lifetime,’ Nick said, pulling her closer. They stared at the horizon, watching the sun sink lower. In a few hours, there would be a spectacular sunset. Claire glanced at her watch.
‘I should get back,’ she said, feeling guilty. She’d told Shona she wouldn’t be long, that she’d just needed time to think, to process what had happened. She still had Callum to deal with, after all. ‘Plus, I’m worried sick about Dad. He wasn’t back when I left.’
Nick agreed, and they walked back, their hands folding naturally together as they headed up the beach.
Chapter Seventy-Two
When they got back to the farmhouse, Shona was about to leave with two police officers. ‘Darling, they’ve said she’s allowed one visitor at the hospital, so I must go, but I’m desperately worried about Dad. He’s still not back.’ She looked broken and was on the brink of tears. ‘The police are going to look for him now. He needs to be told about Lenni.’
Claire placed a hand on her mother’s arm. ‘Yes, you go, Mum. I’ll help find him. Try not to worry.’ She paused, hardly able to believe what she was about to say. ‘And tell Lenni I love her. Tell her I’m waiting for her. That I always have done.’ She was fighting back the tears too, willing herself to stay strong. On the way back from the beach she’d spotted Callum’s car at the Old Stables. Before she looked for her father, there was something else she needed to do.
* * *