Page 30 of The Trap by Catherine
Lucy, who had just realized she was going to have to share nightmarish information with Sarah and Tommy, right here, right now, swallowed hard before continuing.
“He, ah, he said that when Lena was found, she was in clothing—a nightdress—that wasn’t her own, and that she kept talking about a pink house.Thepink house. He said that’s what the Gardaí are doing now: searching for something that matches that description in and around the area in which she had the accident.”
Silence.
Without looking down, Sarah reached out, immediately found Tommy’s hand waiting for her, and clasped it tightly. Lucy had to avert her eyes because the tenderness of it, the togetherness of it, was enough to break her.
“God,” Caroline said. “Really?”
Margaret shrugged one shoulder. “That’s not what I’m hearing.”
But of course, Lucy thought.
“What did you hear?” Sarah asked.
“Yes,” Lucy snapped. “Please do share with the group.”
Margaret glared at her. “Excuseme?”
“We’d just like to hear what it is too,” Caroline said, in an obvious attempt to defuse the tension. “Is there a reason you can’t tell us?”
Margaret narrowed her eyes at Caroline.
Before Nicki disappeared, Lucy could never have imagined that a meeting of people who were missing people would play out just like any other assembly of randomly connected strangers tasked with making a collective decision: very badly.
Even when traumatized, people were the worst.
“Iheard,” Margaret said, “that that girl has nothing to do with us. That she ran away from home after a fight with her parents and rather than face the music, she’s come up with this elaborate story about being kidnapped—because she knew people would believe it, because ofourgirls.”
Ongirls, something unusual happened: Margaret’s voice caught. She rarely showed emotion and had in fact been lauded by the public for being such a steady pillar of stoic strength. Lucy started to feel bad about her own lack of compassion toward the woman, but then—
“Her mother is Iranian,” Margaret said pointedly. “So, you know.”
“No,” Lucy said. “I don’t know. What’sthatsupposed to mean?”
“Just that that household is more than likely very strict. Very conservative. Especially with girls. You can see how arguments would arise, and how a situation like this might occur, especially when she was raised here.”
“We don’t know any of that,” Caroline said. “Actually.”
She looked at Lucy as if to silently say,What the fuck?and Lucy returned one that said,I can’t, even with her.
“So there was no house?” Sarah asked. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure I...?”
“We’re getting off track here,” Lucy said, holding up a hand. “The bottom line is it doesn’t really matter whether or not Lena ran off, or whether Jack has the facts. Whatdoesis that he’s asked us to do this interview and I think we should. Of course we should. It’s a chance to keep Nicki, Tana, and Jennifer’s faces fresh in the public’s minds. Why wouldn’t we? We should be taking every chance we get to do that.”
Caroline nodded in agreement, while Sarah and Tommy looked lost in thought.
Margaret pressed her lips together and Lucy knew exactly what she was doing: trying to stop herself from saying that she didn’t need to, that she could pick and choose her chances, because she had got plenty of them.
Because the womanshewas missing was Jennifer.
“I don’t know,” Sarah said. Her voice was weak, wavering. “I agree with what you’re saying, Lucy, but I just don’t know if I’m up to doing anything like that.” She glanced at Tommy, who was looking at the floor. “We’re not in the best form at the minute, either of us, you see, and, well, you know me.” She smiled briefly, sadly. “I’m no good with this kind of thing. I can’t even say her name without... You know...”
“What if,” Caroline said, “I sat in for you?” To Lucy, “Would he go for that, do you think? Me representing them?” Back to Sarah, “You could write down whatever you’d like to say about Tana, and I could read it out for you.”
Sarah brightened. “Would you?”
“Of course. Whatever you need.”
