The Silent Twin by Unknown

She looked so tiny, her face bare without her glasses. He thought of Abigail’s glasses, found in the yard, dented and cracked, and a fresh wave of pain took his breath. Olivia would always serve as a reminder of what he had lost. Huddled under her duvet, the sight of her sucking her thumb brought fresh tears to his eyes. Abigail’s school uniform hung neatly on the door of the wardrobe. Joanna had wasted no time in cleaning up the room, and as he gazed at the board games stacked neatly in the corner, Nick wondered if Olivia would have to learn how to play alone. It must feel as if half of her has been amputated without anaesthetic, he thought. Fresh guilt overtook the pain. It was wrong, asking her to keep his secret . . . but what choice did he have? Everything would fall apart if it came out now. He couldn’t cope with seeing the disgust in his family’s eyes. And as for his parents . . . it would devastate them. What’s done is done, he thought. Nick stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door, But he was denying the inevitable. The truth would come out in the end. As sure as the sun would rise in the morning, the truth would come.

Chapter Eleven
One Day Gone
    T ying Nick down seemed to be a battle in itself. Rather than sticking together in their grief, the family members were like magnets, set to repel. Gathering them in the same room was next to impossible, and given the last outburst, inadvisable. Fiona had taken on the role of matriarch and Jennifer was damn glad of her. As she placed the tray of tea and sandwiches on the rickety coffee table in the living room, Jennifer was grateful to have someone in her corner.
    ‘C’mon, sausage,’ Fiona said, taking Olivia gently by the hand. ‘Let’s leave the grown-ups to it.’
    Jennifer sipped her tea, wishing it were coffee. Morning briefing had produced no new developments, despite the teams of police working on the case. Pressure was mounting for the safe return of the little girl, and police were working through the hundreds of calls, emails and social media messages produced in the wake of the news report on Abigail’s disappearance. So far, they were a mixture of hate mail, false leads and mistaken sightings. Jennifer gently placed the cup back on the saucer and stared at Nick long enough for him to return her gaze.
    ‘I know it’s hard. When my nephew went missing, it felt like my world was caving in.’
    Nick’s shoulders sagged as he listlessly picked at a ham sandwich. ‘Multiply that by a hundred and you’ll get an idea of what I’m going through.’
    Jennifer nodded. ‘Will you do something for me? Put your sergeant hat back on and imagine the tables have turned. Say it’s my child that’s gone missing, and that so far I’ve disappeared for hours, had a domestic with my partner and thrown a tray against the floor. What would you say to me?’
    Nick exhaled, and wearily threw the uneaten sandwich back on the plate. ‘I didn’t throw the tray.’
    Jennifer blinked, trying to get his words into context. ‘What?’
    ‘You said I threw things around. I didn’t.’
    ‘Yesterday. The tray with the coffee and pastries, you upturned the lot.’
    Nick shook his head vehemently. ‘No, I didn’t. I walked straight out the door.’
    Jennifer was too tired to argue, and let it go. Worries about taking on this case had left her with little sleep, and as each hour passed, she regretted it even more.
    Completing the paperwork was easy, given Nick’s experience in the police. Approaching the subject of his daughter’s behaviour was another matter altogether. The fact Olivia had refused to speak was worrying enough, but Jennifer was bothered by the look in the child’s eyes each time Nick entered the room.
    Car tyres scrunched in the gravel drive outside. It was soon followed by three heavy raps, which reverberated around the house. Nick stiffened, his face struck by a panic that hit him every time there was a knock at the door. You couldn’t