Missing
teenager sub-plot
Originally
the novel was going to include a shadowy sub-plot
about a missing teenager, Sophie Field, who
was a pupil at the school where Adam Hunter
taught. I eventually decided against it because
it was starting to move the emphasis away
from the family and the dogs in the park.
It also sat uneasily next to some of the other
scenes.
Here
is an extract from the amputated sub-plot:
‘Turn
on the news.’
Adam
was hardly through the door. No-one else had
even noticed his arrival and his words failed
to be heard above Hal and Charlotte’s
music. He shut the door and I wagged my greeting.
No response.
Something
was wrong.
He
dropped his bag and walked through to the
kitchen with me close at heel. Human food
smells everywhere. Kate was making the dinner.
She turned, jumped.
‘I
didn’t hear you,’ and then: ‘You
look terrible. What happened?’
‘Something
dreadful. Sophie. Sophie Field. You know,
from year seven. The girl whose phone I confiscated
last week. She’s disappeared.’
Kate’s
jaw dropped, ‘disappeared?’
‘Yes.
It’s on the news.’ He looked at
his watch. ‘Now.’
Moments
later the whole family were in front of the
television. Adam and Kate were on the settee,
flanked by Hal and Charlotte on each arm.
The
woman on the television was crying. She could
hardly speak. Her hands were shaking as she
read from a piece of paper, her husband’s
arm around her shoulder. Camera’s flashed.
‘
. . . Sophie if you are watching we want you
to know that you are not in any trouble. We
all love you very much and everyone misses
you . . .’ The woman’s head dropped.
She made a noise, a whimper. More flashes
than before. ‘ . . . we just want to
know that you are safe and that nothing .
. . nothing bad has happened to you. Your
dad . . .and your brother . . . and everybody
all love you and we miss . . .’ She
put the piece of paper down. ‘ . . .
we miss your voice . . . and we miss the sound
of you laughing in the morning and your singing
. . .your singing in the bathroom . . . I
can’t . . . Sophie . . . please . .
. I . . . I’ll never . . . tell you
off . . .I . . .’
At
this point a policeman bent down and whispered
in her ear and a man in a suit started talking.
‘Poor
woman,’ said Kate, clutching onto Charlotte’s
hand.
A
series of photographs appeared on the screen.
Sophie on holiday. Sophie with her cat. Sophie
wearing a paper crown. Sophie in her school
uniform.
‘Nobody at school can believe it,’
said Adam.
The
man in the suit was telling us more about
the situation. Sophie disappeared on Sunday
morning on her way to get some milk and bread
from her corner shop. ‘According to
the accounts of her family, friends and teachers
Sophie is a happy girl who had no clear reason
to run away. The police are keeping all lines
of enquiry open . . .’
And
then, with no warning, Adam is on the screen.
‘Dad
it’s you!’
‘Ssshh!’
‘
. . . well obviously we are all devastated.
Sophie is a fun, lively member of this school
who has a large circle of friends. As a parent
myself, I realise what a nightmare this situation
is and how devastating it will be for her
family.’
Hal
slapped a hand on his father’s back.
‘Wow,
dad. You’re famous!’
Kate
looked at him, scornfully. 'Hal, this is serious.’
‘Why?
She’ll have only run away.’
‘No,’
said Adam. ‘That’s the thing.
If I had to think of a girl at school who
would run away she’d be the last the
list, she really would.’
‘But
they always say that don’t they,’
Hal went on, moving back on the arm of the
sofa. ‘It’s like with serial killers.
They always interview the neighbours and they
say, “Oooh no, there was nothing suspicious
about him. He was an ever so nice man. He
was a member of Neighbourhood Watch.”
So it just goes to show you never know what’s
below the surface.’
Another
look from Kate. ‘Hal, please.’
I
closed my eyes, trying to work out what this
situation meant for the family. If you could
smell the future, wasn’t it also possible
that you could hear the future too? Wasn’t
it possible that if I listened carefully enough
I would know what could happen, and how to
prevent it?
In
the dark, the room became voices.
Adam’s
voice: ‘Charlotte, you mustn’t
be worried, but you will have to be a bit
careful from now on. I don’t think you
should be walking anywhere on your own.’
Charlotte’s
voice: ‘Oh, but -’
Kate’s
voice: ‘Your dad’s only worried
about you. You’ve got to realise how
serious this is.’
Charlotte’s
voice: ‘But why just me? Why not Hal?’
Adam’s voice: ‘Because Hal is
older than you. And he’s a boy.’
Charlotte’s
voice: ‘That’s discrimination
against women.’
Kate’s
voice: ‘Charlotte. A young girl has
gone missing. She lives less than two miles
away. We’re not even arguing about this.
From now on, if you need to go anywhere we’ll
drive you.’
Charlotte’s
voice: ‘I’m not going anywhere
in that car. I can look after myself.’
Hal’s
voice: ‘If anyone started to attack
you, you could always play your new Slipknot
album. That would make them think twice. Huh
huh.’
Charlotte’s
voice: ‘Very funny.’
Hal’s
voice: ‘Ow that hurt.’
Kate’s
voice: ‘Adam will you tell them.’
Adam’s
voice: ‘Enough you two. This is serious.’
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