I’m going to tell them the truth. Someone moved the car, Adam, whether you believe me or not.’
He sighed. ‘I’m not saying I don’t believe you, sweetheart; what I’m saying is that it sounds pretty unbelievable. And if it sounds unbelievable to me, it’s going to sound crazy to them.’
She flinched, and to his credit, he noticed.
‘I’m not calling you crazy, Els, I just think you should tell them you made a mistake. Surely that’s going to sound better than some conspiracy theory that someone’s out to get you?’
Eleanor nodded, defeated. He was right. What she was saying sounded crazy. And she believed it a hundred per cent, which meant she was crazy. But there was no way she was going to let anyone else know that.
35
Tell me about the day Eleanor lost Noah …
I’ve told you what happened. She insisted it was a mistake. That she’d forgotten where she parked.
Did you believe her?
It didn’t seem like her. And she was so insistent when I got to the school that she’d parked in her normal space – I believed her then so I didn’t know what to believe when she changed her story. She’d been so distracted, so unlike her usual self.
Where were you when the police called you?
I was at work.
The police said you arrived very quickly.
They said it was urgent. Are you going to arrest me for speeding?
It was important to you to get to Eleanor quickly. To be there for her.
Is that a question?
Would you disagree?
No. Wouldn’t you want to get to a friend who had lost her child?
But you didn’t know that at the time.
I knew it was urgent. That was enough.
Didn’t you ever worry about putting your friends’ needs before your own? Leaving work at their slightest call, getting embroiled in their squabbles?
Not at all. They needed me. It’s what any good friend would do.
At your age? Some would say they are adults now, old enough to take care of themselves …
Well they aren’t. They needed me.
And now? Do they need you now?
I think we’re done for today.
36
From my vantage point behind the large tree outside the gates I watched Eleanor’s car enter the school. I waited as it came to a stop in its usual spot and watched Eleanor climb out. Toby got out of the front passenger side, then hauled his project out, nearly letting it topple to the ground under its own weight. I’d considered moving it close to the log burner in their front room when I’d spied it through the window last night, letting the heat melt the plastic tubes and rendering the hours they had spent on it useless, but I was glad I hadn’t now. Toby’s disappointment at his mother’s carelessness would have been nothing compared to Eleanor’s confusion at losing her car, the panic I could imagine in her eyes when she returned with the baby to find they had no way of getting home. But it turned out better than I could have imagined. Because when Eleanor left the car to help Toby carry the project into the school, she gave a furtive look around before locking the car door with Noah still inside.
For a second I considered abandoning the plan. Stealing the car was one thing – I had Eleanor’s spare keys and it would only take me a few seconds to move it once she was safely out of the way – but stealing Noah … that felt like it was going too far.
But I might not have to actually steal the car for the plan to have maximum effect. What if I just moved it? Even if Eleanor spotted it straight away, those few seconds when she realised it wasn’t where it was supposed to be would be enough, all the more so now she’d been stupid enough to leave her son in it. I had to move fast, though; if she just dumped the project inside the front doors, she might return quickly and I’d be seen. I had no explanation ready for that eventuality, but crossing the car park and slipping the key into the lock, I knew I would think of something.
Sliding into the driver’s seat and turning the key in the ignition, I could feel the adrenalin surging through my veins. All I had to do was ease the car slowly around the corner of the school to the far side of the parents’ parking. I threw a glance at the corner of the school. No sign of Eleanor