‘Part of me… part of me hopes she never comes back. That she’s found a place for herself. Away from all of this. A better life. One where she fits in properly and isn’t angry or upset. Not lashing out at people. Somewhere she belongs.’

‘I understand,’ Mark said, hoping she believed him. ‘I need some more answers though, before I can find her, okay? There’s things that aren’t being said that need to be.’ Stephanie shook her head, frowning towards him. ‘We’ve told you everything…’

Mark held a hand up. ‘I’m not accusing anyone of leaving things out, or not telling the truth. It’s just… I’ve heard some things about Emily. About her behaviour over the past few weeks.’

‘I don’t know,’ Stephanie began, then stopped herself, wrapping her arms around herself. ‘It was just stupid games, that was all.’

‘What kind of game are you talking about?’

Twenty-Eight

Mark waited for Stephanie to compose herself once again, allowing the atmosphere to settle before tackling the next step. It was almost like a play running in his head – the lines and actions he had to act out so he could look for the correct responses, the real ones.

Mark sat back down at the small table, finished his coffee in a long swig and set the cup down. Looked across at Stephanie, who was still cradling her own drink.

‘I know we’ve been over this before, but I need to have everything in the right order here. There’s still so much I don’t know and I need the whole story right. Have you been back much in the past few months? Home, I mean?’

‘Not really,’ Stephanie replied, staring at her mug. ‘I’ve been busy and that. I rang Mum as much as I could, but you know how it is.’

‘How were things with Emily during that time?’

Stephanie shook her head. ‘We weren’t really talking. Not for a couple of months. I’m sure it would have sorted itself out, but you know… Sometimes when you think you have the time to let things happen naturally, it turns out you don’t.’

‘Did you hear anything about Emily while you were away? Her behaviour?’

Stephanie shifted, her chair scraping back as she stood and walked over to the sink. ‘Not really.’

Mark watched her empty her cup and then stay with her back to him. ‘I’ve been told she was doing some odd things lately.’

‘What do you mean?’ Stephanie replied, turning to face him, arms folded across her chest. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘That perhaps she was witnessed doing weird stuff in town, things like that?’

‘Who told you that?’

Mark shook his head. ‘It’s not important right now. I just wondered if you’d heard of her doing anything like that.’