Page 114 of The Stolen Child

And in that desperate moment, as Kimberly tried to buy some time, the perfect answer came. ‘Ian Baldwin.’

Sally’s face blanched at the mention of his name, understanding beginning to dawn.

‘If you call security, then he’ll be notified, won’t he?’ Kimberly continued, her voice going stronger as her thoughts crystallised. ‘And you said yourself he damned you publicly, stating that you were a bad mother. He’ll take Robert . . .’ She corrected herself when she saw Sally’s face flinch. ‘He’ll take Zach. You know I’m right. You will get your son back, only to lose him again. Do you think a judge will allow you to keep him?’

Sally collapsed onto the couch in the reception area, her body shaking uncontrollably. The weight of Kimberly’s words had crushed her, leaving her feeling vulnerable and helpless.

‘You could leave Zach with me . . . with Jason and his little sister, Lily.’ Kimberly held a placating hand up when Sally yelled out an immediate no. ‘You could come to live in Dublin with my family. We bought a new house a few months ago. It’s got four bedrooms. I’ll introduce you as my long-lost sister. You’ll be Robert’s godmother. And, this way, you can see him every day.’ Kimberly smiled encouragingly. ‘My husband and I have money. We have our own business, and it’s doing well. Since working with Jason, I’ve transformed it, doubling our revenue. I can pay you too, give you a lump sum, so you can open that salon you’ve always dreamed of . . .’

Kimberly saw she had made a mistake mentioning money when anger flashed over Sally’s face at the clumsy attempt to bribe her.

‘You think I’d give up my son for money?’ Sally’s voice was high-pitched in its incredulity. ‘You are delusional, Elsie Evans, if you think I’d ever agree to that.’ She stood up and moved close to Kimberly, their noses an inch apart. ‘I want my son back. And there is no other solution here than that. So you can forget your fairytale nonsense of me living as a second-class godmother.’

Kimberly nodded along, her mind racing again as she tried to work out her next move, anything but allowing Sally to finish placing her call to security – her hand still hovered over the receiver.

‘You need to understand that in the same way that you can’t lose Zach I cannot lose Jason and Lily,’ Kimberly stated as she felt terror snake its way around her body, making her tremble. For the first time, she truly understood the horror through which she’d put her best friend. But they’d reached a stalemate, and they both knew it.

Then an idea came to Kimberly, and she knew there was only one thing they could do so they both got to keep their families.

‘You have to take Robert. Abduct him. Then disappear forever,’ Kimberly said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Sally’s hand fell limply to her side. Kimberly led her back to the couch, and they sat side by side, as they’d done hundreds of times throughout their childhood. Sally listened as Kimberly made a plan to get them out of trouble – as she’d always done.

BEFORE

July 1983

Sally

The Carousel, Spanish Coast

Sally closed her rucksack. She was packed and ready to leave when the ship docked at Barcelona port.

She’d made two phone calls yesterday once Elsie returned to her family.

Her family. What a lie that was. In truth, every part of the life that Kimberly had created was a facade, from the phony Scottish accent to the clothes and mannerisms. Elsie had replaced every part of her warm, cockney friend with someone Sally didn’t recognise.

How could Elsie try to justify the horrific thing she’d done? And pretend it had been in Sally’s best interest? When it was, without doubt, the most selfish thing any person could do to another. And then to try to bribe her? Sally felt anger nip at her again, but knew she had to keep that bay. She needed all her wits about her to pull this off.

The first call Sally made was to a stunned Nicola. But, as always, her surrogate mother came through for Sally. She called her friend, Sally’s manager on the Carousel, and tearfully explained that Sally’s grandmother was terminally ill and that she had to return to England immediately.

When her manager called Sally to her office to break the sad news, Sally didn’t need to pretend to be shaken. And Sally was granted permission to leave the Carousel as soon as they arrived at Barcelona port, which they expected to be at four o’clock in the morning.

The day passed at a snail’s pace. Sally listened to clients chit-chat about their holiday as her mind whirled with what she had facing her.

Her biggest issue had been staying away from Zach. On her lunch break, she’d gone to the pool area and watched the Murphy family together from afar. When Zach lifted his arms upwards and called ‘Mama’ to Elsie, it felt like a knife was gutting her.

And she almost charged at them.

But then she remembered why she was doing things this way. Yes, it helped Elsie, but that wasn’t important. All she had to focus on was that this way she got to keep Zach – and herself – safe. It wasn’t enough that she got him back. She also had to protect him from his father.

Finally, it was time. It was almost three thirty in the morning, and the ship was quiet. Passengers and staff were asleep, save for the crew on the night shift. Sally slipped out of her cabin and went to deck eight, using the stairwell rather than the lift. As she’d hoped, she didn’t meet anyone.

Sally knew she should be scared, but knowing she was right and taking back what was hers made her bold. She moved swiftly, taking a longer route than necessary to avoid the areas with security cameras of which she’d taken note earlier that day.

And then she finally reached Cabin 1812. Sally reached for the key that Elsie had dropped into her earlier at the salon whilst pretending to buy some hair products. Sally listened at the door momentarily, but it seemed quiet inside. So she slipped the key into the lock and opened it, pausing for a moment to ensure the click hadn’t woken anyone up.

She pulled a small torch from her jacket pocket, flicked it on, pointed the small circular light towards the floor and went inside. She heard snores from the bed – from both Elsie and Jason, who were unconscious. The waft of stale lager lingered in the air. Jason had clearly had a few drinks too many. But she ignored all of that, and instead, her eyes scanned the room until the outline of a small body underneath a soft white duvet appeared.