The police have brought sniffer dogs in. They did it while we were all at school so they thought we wouldn’t notice, but there are always kids about, and kids always notice.
Dogs’ noses are supposed to be a thousand times more powerful than human noses, so they can find where you’ve been by the smell. The dog handlers got some of Sally Ward’s clothes, rubbed them in the dogs’ faces and let them try to find her. The dogs went crazy apparently. Ran everywhere but found nothing.
Mrs Paterson watched it from the front of the cottage. She was the one telling us not to gossip, and now she is the one telling us what happened.
*
At breakfast the next day, Mrs Paterson taps her glass with a knife and everyone goes quiet.
‘I want everyone’s attention, please. Quiet, quiet. I need to talk to you young ladies and I need you to pay close attention.
‘You’re aware that there was a tragedy with Jane Denton, and it was very, very shocking and very, very sad. Now Sally Ward has gone missing, which is again very sad. We don’t know whit’s happened to her, and speculation doesn’t really help the situation, but the polis are worried so we should be worried.
‘What I am saying is delicate. I don’t want you to be scared, but I do want you to be careful; I want you to be extra careful. As you know, you are to come home straight after school, and from now on I would like you to travel everywhere in pairs.’
‘Is Sally deid?’ asks Jonesy.
‘Morag, what did I just say about speculating? It doesnae help. The polis are worried that she is, aye. We just don’t know. But I do know this: life is in many ways harder for us ladies. Sometimes people – men – target young women. This could happen to you at some point, and you need to be careful. Keep your wits about you, keep an eye out for each other. Life isnae fair for a young woman, and you need to be aware of that. Don’t be naive, don’t be complacent. Be alert and have each other’s backs; there is a thing called the sisterhood that we all belong to.’
I look around to see if Mr Paterson is there as I am worried that Jonesy will point out that he isn’t part of the sisterhood. He isn’t there; maybe Mrs Paterson asked him not to be so she could say this.
‘I’m just sayin’, be careful out there. Out there,’ she says, pointing at the door, ‘and in the world.’
A tear rolls down her nose.
‘Now, let’s pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the food you put before us, and thank you for our health. Please look over us and protect us and keep us in your heart, as you are in ours. Amen.’
‘Amen,’ we all say.
‘Let’s eat.’
And we do, in silence. I don’t want to break it by talking, and it seems like neither does anyone else.