‘But what if I can’t show you mine?’
‘I think it’s maybe a work in progress for us both. But that’s OK.’
He was shaking a little as he lowered his mouth towards hers.
‘Whoa! Looking away!’
It was Tommy coming in and Hunter leapt up with a bark. Jacques backed up, turning to face his brother as Orla straightened herself.
‘What’s up?’ Jacques asked him.
‘It’s Erin,’ Tommy said. ‘She’s texted me. She told me not to say anything but, you know, she’s freaking crazy so…’
‘Keep talking,’ Jacques ordered.
‘She’s gone,’ Tommy said bluntly.
‘Gone?’ Orla exclaimed. ‘Gone where? She was in our room an hour ago.’
‘She’s gone to meet Burim.’
48
Orla’s heart was in overdrive. Very much like the truck she was having to drive because Jacques had been drinking. She was panicking. For her sister. For her ability to keep this vehicle in any way steady on the layer of snow. She didn’t even know if she was going the right way. She didn’t know much apart from a rather short text Erin had sent to Tommy. Why had her sister texted Tommy? Why hadn’t she come to her? OK, she might not be 100 per cent on board about the Burim situation but she would never want Erin to be afraid of telling her anything!
‘There is a rabbit!’ Jacques yelled suddenly.
Orla swerved, gasping for breath as they narrowly avoided the animal. ‘Is there any location on her phone yet?’
‘No.’
‘Have you looked again?’
‘I am looking.’
‘You need to refresh it.’
‘Orla, please, keep your eyes on the road.’
‘Please keep your eyes on the phone. She never has it off. She must be hiding her location! And that’s dangerous because she doesn’t know around here and there’s literally nothing hereexcept wilderness and wild animals and what if I’m not even driving the right way? What if she’s gone walking the other way, further from Saint-Chambéry and civilisation?!’ She could feel hyperventilation was only a few pants away.
‘Listen to me,’ Jacques said. His voice was firm yet calming. ‘Right now it doesn’t matter what way she has gone.’
‘What? Of course it matters! She has an insubstantial coat that has probably got worse after the hot wash it needed when she was sick! It’s still cold, it’s dark… she can barely navigate her way out of her bedroom some days.’
‘Orla, she’s going to be fine,’ Jacques said, his hand on her shoulder now. ‘The reason it does not matter the way she is gone, is because as soon as we get to Saint-Chambéry we can ask others to help. Then we can come up with a plan and send more people different ways.’
That made sense. Except when he said “others” he really meant the village stalwarts of Gerard and Delphine and Delphine had too much going on without being called on to assist in the search for Erin.
‘OK,’ Orla said, her breathing steadying a bit. Then the thoughts came thick and fast. Should she call her mum or her dad? No. Not yet. She didn’t know anything. How far could Erin really have got in an hour?
‘Tell me about this guy, Burim. What is his last name?’
Orla was distracted by the question, eyes on the sloping ice road but mind revolving like the whisks of a KitchenAid. ‘I… don’t know.’
‘Tell me what you do know,’ Jacques said.
A quick sideways glance and she saw Jacques had his mobile phone in his hands. ‘What are you doing? Are you putting something on social media?’ That was a good idea. Except her Auntie Bren was on Facebook more than LadBible and she would see it and tell Orla’s parents.
