Chapter 57
CLAIRE
We are sisters
We are partners in crime
We are a mirrored mime
A moment in time
What’s yours is mine
Together entwined
By bloodline
By DNA
We are sisters
I put the Palmer Twins book down, a lump forming in my throat.
“Together entwined, by bloodline,” I whisper.
I have been at Faye’s house for the last few hours, waiting for news of my sister.
When I arrived, Nathan seemed hesitant to let me in.
I guess he doesn’t trust me after everything that happened, and I can’t blame him.
It was awkward at first, me explaining myself again, him listening to my story with narrowed eyes.
But now I think he’s glad to have the company.
We may be facing this from different ends, but we are both in this together.
I left him speaking to his father on the phone and wandered into Faye’s study, looking through her notes, running my fingers over her pages, trying to feel connected to her.
My phone starts ringing. I pull it out of my pocket and see it says, “Number withheld”.
I brace myself for whoever this might be and whatever threats might follow.
“Hello, Mrs Blackburn, this is DS Oliver.”
“Oh, hello. Have you found her? Have you found Faye?” I am almost breathless.
“Not yet, I’m afraid, but we do have an update. We have been contacted by Barry Froome, your bank manager.”
“Barry? Yes?”
“It appears Magnus Blackburn arrived at the branch with a woman claiming to be you, and attempted to transfer significant funds. Mr Froome reported that the woman appeared to be in distress so he froze the transaction and called it into us. They left about half an hour ago.”
His words are all a blur. None of it seems real.
DS Oliver continues. “Obviously, this is a significant lead in our search for Mrs Mathis, but I wanted to verify that you were not the woman with him.”
I gasp. “No! It wasn’t me, it must be Faye. Oh my God! Is she okay?”
“We have no further information at this time, but we are doing everything we can to locate them.”
“Yes, you must!” My voice is raised, panic setting in.
“Please try to remain calm, Mrs Blackburn. I will be in touch again soon with an update.”
I thank him and hang up, totally floored. How could I have let my sister get tangled up in this?
“Everything okay?” Nathan’s head peers in through the doorway. “I heard you shouting.”
“They’ve been spotted. It’s as we feared – Magnus has Faye.”
“Fuck.” He turns white. “Where are they?”
I repeat what DS Oliver told me and we both stand in stunned silence.
“What shall we do?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” he says, pacing around the office.
“Well, let’s try and calm down a little. At least we know she’s alive.”
“For now,” he replies.
It’s such a horrible thought that I start crying.
“I feel so guilty,” I say, between breathless sobs.
“Well, yeah.” Nathan frowns. “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t come into the picture.”
He’s right. I’m to blame. If anything happens to Faye, I will never forgive myself.
I sit down in her desk chair, head in my hands, letting the tears cascade.
Time seems to stand still as I sink into my agony.
All the wasted time, all the missed opportunities to be with my sister, and now she might never come home.
I feel a hand on my shoulder. “Sorry, Claire.” Nathan is standing over me. “That was unnecessary. I’m just stressed out.” He looks down on me with a tight-lipped smile.
I take his hand and give it a squeeze.
The sound of his phone ringing breaks our silence.
He picks up and listens to the person on the other end. “Oh my God. When?” I search his face for clues. “Yes, of course, we’ll be right there.”
He’s already striding from the room as he hangs up.
“They’ve found her in the middle of a road. She’s being taken to the hospital.”
I am up and out of the chair like a shot.
“Let’s go,” he calls over his shoulder.