Page 100 of The Knitting Club at Wagtail Ridge

Bree smiled. Since Rose had opened the shop, she’d proved very good at selling souvenirs and yarn to anyone who ventured inside, especially the walkers.

‘Sky’s started to unpack the twins,’ Bree told her.

‘How is she?’

‘So far, so good, but it’s barely started. I’ve called Anna. She’s on another call but she’ll be here soon, I hope.’

‘If I can do anything—’

‘I’ll call. And I’ll let you know how it goes. I still think there’s a good chance of two live births.’ Bree tried to sound confident, but now the moment had arrived, she wasn’t sure.

As she ended the call, her phone rang again. She didn’t bother looking at the caller ID. ‘Anna. Are you on the way?’

‘Bree, I’ve been trying to get hold of you.’

‘Matt?’ He sounded awful. Her heart clenched. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘It’s Vicki. She’s gone.’

The shock stopped Bree in her tracks. ‘What do you mean, gone?’

‘I came to school to pick her up. And she’s gone.’

‘Are you sure she didn’t go home with a friend? To Kelly’s place, maybe.’

‘No. I went there. Her kids think they saw her with Sally.’ She could hear that Matt was struggling to keep his voice calm.

‘They weren’t sure? So maybe that’s not it. Did you check with Rose? Vicki might have walked down to the shop.’ She knew this was unlikely and that Rose would have mentioned it on her call, but Matt needed to check every possibility.

‘I didn’t. She wouldn’t do that without talking to me.’

‘Or she might have walked home. Or stopped at the playground near the hall with her friends.’

There was silence down the phone.

Bree was clutching at faint hopes, and they both knew it, but right now, Matt needed a voice of reason in the hell his world must suddenly have become. She agreed that Sally had probably taken Vicki, but she wasn’t going to say that. Not yet. And not over the phone. Nor was she going to mention the police, despite the fact that her solicitor’s instinct was crying out for Matt to call them.

‘You go to the shop. Check the playground. And the house,’ Bree urged. ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

‘Thank you. I—’

‘I know. Just go look for her.’ Bree ended the call.

While she was still trying to gather her wits, she heard a call from the stables, where Maggie was standing watch over Sky. She hurried to her and saw that the first twin was coming. Her farmhand couldn’t be left alone to face this. It wasn’t fair on her, and it would risk the lives of the crias and perhaps their mother.

Bree felt as if she was being torn in two.

She cast a hopeful glance at the drive, but there was no sign of the vet.

‘I have to go,’ she said, making a decision.

‘What? I can’t do this alone.’ Maggie’s face went white at the prospect.

‘I’m sorry. Someone I care about needs me. You’ll be fine. Anna’s on her way—she’ll be here any minute.’ She hoped that was right, but Matt and Vicki had to be her first priority.

She sprinted for her car. She was halfway down her drive when a car turned off the road and came to a stop in front of her. She pulled up next to it.

‘Anna. Thank goodness you’re here. There’s an emergency. I have to go. The crias are coming. Maggie is at the stables.’

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