Sarah’s parents were different to how Jayne expected. After the chaos of Sarah’s house, she’d expected much of the same. Instead, it had a beautiful garden, filled with pots of flowers and raised beds, colour streaming in every corner. Inside, it was neat and ordered, with family pictures on the walls, the room freshly decorated.
Sarah’s mother, Evelyn, was in the kitchen, making drinks. Jayne went to a large picture over the fireplace. It showed three girls of varying ages, all in school uniform of white shirt and tie. Their likeness was sufficient for Jayne to work out they were sisters.
As she looked closer, she realised with a jolt which was Sarah. The middle one, it appeared.
Her life had not been kind to her. In the picture, her smile was broad and white, her eyes alive with youth. She was probably nearly thirty years older now, but that alone didn’t account for the change. Sarah had once been pretty and happy, but alcohol and worry and cigarettes and bad living had wrecked her. Life can take cruel turns, she thought, and the girl in the picture had no idea of what was ahead.
Evelyn came into the room, announced through the jingle of cups on a tray, and brought in drinks and a plate of biscuits. As Jayne held the door open, she saw a man through the kitchen window digging something over. Sarah’s father, she presumed.
Evelyn put the tray down and passed Jayne a cup. ‘You went to Sarah’s house then?’
‘I’ve just come from there.’
Evelyn looked down, embarrassed. ‘It’s a mess, but that’s just how she is. We’ve tried to change her, to help her, but what else can we do?’
‘It’s not really Sarah I’m here about, but Leoni.’
‘I don’t understand.’
Jayne explained about Mark and Rodney. Evelyn’s expression darkened. ‘How can anyone expect Leoni to be like the other kids after what she’s been through? And then living with Sarah. It made her different.’
‘Different? How?’
‘Sad. Withdrawn. Quiet. It was too hard for us, and then there was that business with that boy. Well, that was too much for us. They took Leoni from us, but it wasn’t for long, because she was sixteen by then. Once she was seventeen, they just let her out, told her to make her own way.’
Jayne’s interest was piqued. ‘That boy? Sarah mentioned something about a boyfriend who killed himself.’
‘That’s right. Called David Green. Tied a rope round his neck and stepped off a chair in his garage. Can you imagine how awful it was for his parents, coming home to find him like that? And everyone turned on Leoni.’
‘But why? People should have rallied round her.’
‘Sarah didn’t mention the messages? That’s why Leoni had to move away.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘They tried to say that Leoni talked him into doing it, but how could they think that? They were just kids. They confided in each other, both quiet, just children. It wasn’t Leoni’s fault.’
‘Did this boy, David Green, live around here?’
‘Yes, two streets away. Nice kid, but a bit lost, in his way. I think that’s why Leoni liked him. He was a lost soul, just like her.’
‘Lost soul?’
‘Too nice for an estate like this. Timid, quiet, gentle. He got bullied a lot, so Leoni gravitated towards him. And they exchanged messages, because that’s what kids do, but he ended up killing himself. Just awful it was, but some people do tragic things. That’s when they took her from us, put her into care.’
‘That’s so sad,’ Jayne said. ‘Do you know where Leoni is now?’
Evelyn put her head back and thought about that. ‘I don’t know where she is now, but I know where they took her. Some place on the other side of the Pennines. Never really heard of it before, a small place, but I don’t drive so I don’t get about much.’
Jayne felt a chill. She knew the answer before she asked the question, but she asked it anyway. ‘Is it Highford?’
Evelyn snapped her fingers. ‘Yes, that’s it. I knew I’d know it if I heard it.’
‘Do you hear from her now?’
Evelyn’s lip trembled. ‘No. We tried to find her, but it was as if she didn’t want to be found. I think she felt like we’d abandoned her, or even blamed her too for David, like everyone else did. In the end, we gave up. She knows where we live, and if she wanted to find us, she could.’ She sniffed away a tear. ‘But she hasn’t.’
Jayne leaned forward and took her hand. ‘If I find her, shall I tell her you miss her?’
She nodded, tears running freely now. ‘More than that. Tell her we love her.’
‘I will, I promise. Do you have a picture?’
Evelyn went over to a cluster of framed photographs in one corner of the room. ‘This is her.’
Jayne took it from her and felt another wave of sadness. She looked just like Sarah at the same age, but not as bright. Her stare was direct, black make-up around her eyes, her hair dyed black.
‘Let me take a picture of it,’ and she meddled with the frame to take it out. She put it on the floor and used her phone to take a photograph, before reassembling it. ‘Thank you, and I hope I find her.’
As she was about to leave, Jayne thought of something. ‘Where can I find David Green’s parents?’
‘There’s only his mother left. Doreen, she’s called. His father died of a heart attack a year later. A broken heart, that’s what I think. She works in the shop most days. Dawsons, it’s called. Like a small supermarket. You might have passed it when you came in.’
Jayne thanked her and left.
As she got in her car, she sent Dan a message. Think I’m on to something. See you later.
She noticed that she’d got a message from Chris. Hope you’re okay. I wish I could see you. XX.
Yeah, right, she thought, as she turned on the engine. That party finished hours ago.