afraid of being accused of bad parenting. ‘I went round personally to see Emily’s mum to confirm that she was expecting them. I half thought that they might have been teasing Abbie, and going somewhere completely different. Some of them are a bit like that, I’m sorry to say. But it was genuine. Emily’s parents don’t live in a big house, and it was all a bit cluttered, you know. Her mum looked as if she didn’t care how many turned up, and they could look after themselves. But with so many of them, it didn’t seem they could come to any harm.’
Kath went quiet.
‘So what happened,’ Ellie prompted.
‘I’ve only met Emily a couple of times, but I could see that she could be a little so-and-so. She kind of ruled the roost, if you know what I mean, because she was the one that had the best parties. So nobody ever wanted to fall out with her. The police say they’ve talked to all the girls that were there, and they’re all agreed that Emily said something nasty to Abbie - although they claim not to know what - and they had a row. Abbie told them she wasn’t going with them to the cinema; she was going home.’
Kath started to cry quietly.
Ellie patted Kath’s arm and turned towards Abbie to give her mum some privacy, holding the child’s hand lightly and stroking it with her thumb. She carried on talking softly.
‘It sounds to me as if you did everything right. Poor Abbie. Sometimes teenagers can be very hurtful to each other, and I don’t think you could have done another thing. Just keep talking to her. We don’t know for sure what’s happening in her mind, so talk to her about the good times and don’t worry about Emily now.’
‘Do you think she can hear us,’ Kath asked.
‘I don’t know. Sometimes patients come round from comas and say they had random thoughts and impressions, others that they had lucid dreams. Most say it was a complete void. The brain is such a complex thing. But if I were you I would talk to her, sing to her, touch her. It can’t do any harm.’
‘Whatever happened after she left the burger place, it must have been a nightmare for the poor love,’ Kath said. ‘One of the girls saw her using her mobile and texting or something, but even that’s missing, and she never went anywhere without it. They left her, the little horrors. How could they have done that? They said they thought she was coming home.’
‘Didn’t Emily’s parents wonder where she was?’
‘They asked Emily if everybody was okay, and left them to it. Emily apparently said yes, and didn’t think it necessary to say that Abbie had gone home. They didn’t bother with a head count or anything. I suppose you wouldn’t with that many of them. Still, somebody should have known. I would have phoned her to check she was all right, but I know what she would have said. “Stop fussing, Mum. I’m fourteen,” as if that is old enough to take care of yourself.’
‘Where do you think she might have gone, Kath?’
‘That’s just it. I’ve absolutely no idea. We don’t have any other family nearby, and I can’t believe she didn’t phone me and ask me to come and get her. She knew I’d be there in a flash. Well, either me or her dad. Brian didn’t even have a beer that night in case something went wrong and he needed to go and collect her. He always says he’s ‘on call’ when Abbie’s out. Just in case. So none of it makes sense.’
Kath rubbed Abbie’s leg gently through the thin sheet and blanket.
‘I don’t want to touch her legs below her knees. The doctor said she won’t feel it, but what if he’s wrong and she just can’t say? They look so sore.’ Kath choked back a sob, wiping the tears that were escaping from the corner of her eyes with the back of her other hand. ‘Do you know, when they found her she wasn’t wearing any shoes? That’s why her feet are so cut up. How could that have happened? The police searched the whole area close to where she was found yesterday, and there’s no sign of her shoes. Her feet must have hurt so much - they’re cut to pieces.’ Kath put her head down and rested it on Abbie’s thigh. ‘Oh, Abbie love. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry