‘Still no sign of him?Have you checked all his usual hiding places?Sweetie, there’s no need to shout, I know you’re not stupid!But when did you see him last?And was he OK at bedtime?’There was a pause, and Mab began to bite her thumbnail.‘So when did you notice he’d gone?Oh… erm, you’ve probably already done this one, but I’m just trying to think of everything.Is George’s bike still in the shed?Jess?’
Harry had been leaning as close to the mobile as possible.Now he said, ‘For pity’s sake, girl, what’s going on?’
‘I think she’s gone to look for the bike.She just dropped the phone…’
‘Has George done anything like this before?’
‘No, Jess says he normally likes to be as near to his bed as possible.He hates getting up in the morning and he loves coming back home at night.Something must have upset him.’
‘Maybe he doesn’t want to move here to the flat?It’ll be a big change for him, leaving his house, and Nina too?She must be one hell of a granny.’
‘Oh, I don’t think he knows about the move yet, Jess was going to be very careful how she told him.’
‘Yeah, but kids have a funny way of finding things out.They listen when you don’t expect them to.Mine were like that when their mum was ill.’
Harry’s eyes filled with sudden tears and Mab was about to hug him when she heard a faint squawking coming from her phone.She pressed it to her ear.‘His bike’s missing too?Well, that’s it, you’ll have to tell the police now.Oh, Nina’s already done it?They’ll be with you very soon then, I guess, but shall I come round too, love?I’m sure he’s just gone off exploring somewhere, so if you’d rather I went and had a look around the river and the lake?No, of course I don’t think he’s drowned, George can swim like a fish, can’t he?He’ll just be having a bit of an adventure.Look, Harry’s here too.We’ll go and see if we can see George anywhere while you deal with the police, but ring me whenever you get news, OK?Love you, Jess.Hang in there, honey.’
Mab disconnected, and looked helplessly at Harry.
‘Do you think the boys will come with me too?I need to do something for her, and I can’t think of anything else that’s useful.’
‘Of course, let’s get them up.I’ll ring Leo.’
In the end, all four brothers got dressed in a hurry, Leo having been summoned from his more luxurious bed.Apparently Sophie was less than pleased to be woken up, and had elected to have breakfast in their room, saying her shoes were not suitable for a morning hike.Mab didn’t comment.
‘Right, now that there are more of us, I think that the best thing will be if Leo, Harry and Josh go along the riverbank to the lake, because you all know the way there.Maybe Alex could stay at the flat, just in case George turns up here, and Den and I will go to the Spinney.George likes climbing trees, and he’s got a den in the wood,’ said Mab, suddenly visualising George sitting in a tree, laughing down at her.She so wanted to experience the ache of love that Jess felt for her son, but all that she was getting was a feeling of irritation.Was she so far from being a proper, motherly woman?If that was the case, it was a good job someone else was going to have the job of bringing up Mab’s own baby.This thought made her so sad that she could hardly breathe.
Den seemed disconcerted to be chosen as the one to go with Mab, but rallied and raised his eyebrows at her.‘See, lads.I’ve still got it.She just wants to get me alone.’
At this, Leo shot his older brother a look of disgust, and clattered down the stairs, yelling, ‘Come on then, or he’ll be home again having his breakfast before we track him down.’
Mab and Den half walked and half ran towards the Spinney.Mab decided she couldn’t keep this up for more than five minutes; her chest was much too well-developed for jogging and everything bounced painfully as she trotted along.Den was grinning again as he observed this phenomenon but was silent until they reached the road signposted ‘To the station’.‘I thought we were going into the deep dark forest?’he said.
‘Not a forest, just a little wood behind the station.It was Stan’s favourite place too, when he was George’s age.The trees are old and twisty, and they’re really easy to climb.There’s a rope swing, and a fantastic den made out of an old wartime dugout and lots of interwoven branches.’
‘Talking of Fantastic Den, what about me?Why did you pick me to come with you?I thought you were angry with me?’
‘Likewise.You didn’t seem very impressed with me either.’
‘You’ve got to admit, you did give me a lot to think about, not to mention the problem of the… erm… long-term effects your wonderful body had on me.It was a difficult night.’
‘Den!There’s a little boy missing.Don’t you think of anything but sex?And I’ve told you about my… erm… problem too, aren’t you bothered at all?’
He thought for a moment.‘Iamworried about young George.He’s a cool kid.The jury’s still out about you, love.’
They reached the edge of the Spinney, skirting the station car park to find the entrance.This was well-hidden, and Den certainly wouldn’t have noticed the way in if Mab hadn’t suddenly ducked down and half crawled through a tunnel of dense undergrowth.
‘Oooh, good.We’re off into the bushes again…’ he said, following her lead.
‘For goodness’ sake.Can’t we just concentrate on finding George?’Mab snapped.
‘Come on, love, calm down.Lads are always going off on missions of their own.He’ll be fine.’
‘This boy doesn’t do adventures.He stays at home and plays with his Lego, or when he’s allowed, he plays on his Lego computer game for a change, or he draws.This isn’t like George at all.I’m really worried, Den… Ouch!’
This last exclamation came as Mab, still crawling and looking over her shoulder at Den at the same time, banged her head hard on a bike tyre.They both stopped and tried to stand upright in the tiny enclosed clearing.
‘Is it…?’Den said, not sure what answer he was hoping for.
