Page 59 of A Face in the Crowd
‘Why did Jade choose to come here?’ I ask.
Doug and Faith exchange a sideways glance and I can tell this is a point of contention. Neither of them speak for a moment and then, before the silence can become too uncomfortable, Faith lets out a small cough.
‘She was looking to explore new places,’ Faith says. I get the sense she’s chosen these words carefully. ‘She could have done her course in a lot of places. We tried to encourage her to go to Stirling, but it was too close. After that, we talked about Edinburgh, but she seemed determined to come to England.’
Doug snorts but seems oblivious to how we’ve both turned to look at him. He clearly did not approve.
‘It’s not a crime,’ Faith says firmly.
It takes a second for her husband to realise she’s talking to him. ‘What’s not a crime?’ he replies.
‘To be young and independent,’ Faith says. ‘If she wanted to put a bit of distance between herself and us, that’s more an issue for us than it is for her.’
‘Wasfor her,’ Doug hisses. ‘Notis.’
‘She didn’t die because she left home.’
Faith speaks with a sharp hiss. They stare at one another and then Doug thrusts himself to his feet. He mutters something like, ‘See you in the car,’ and then he’s across the room and through the door. His footsteps echo away to nothingness.
Faith picks up her tea and sips. Doug’s is untouched.
‘Sorry about that,’ she says after a while. ‘It’s hit him hard.’ She has another sip and then puts her mug down. I have no idea what to say.
‘Do you have kids?’ Faith asks.
‘No.’
She glances around the room, probably without meaning to. Even without speaking, she has a point. Where would they go?
‘There were no real problems between Jade and us,’ Faith says. ‘She was home last Christmas and then over the summer. She liked her space, that’s all. There’s not a lot to do where we live and I think she wanted to be around people of her own age on her own terms. I don’t think she even looked at courses in Scotland.’
Billy, dear Billy, picks his moment; trotting across the floor and settling next to Faith. He looks over to me with his endless dark eyes, as if he wants permission, and then he turns back to Faith. She rubs his head and he lets out a low, appreciative moan before lying on her feet.
‘She was living somewhere else around here at first,’ Faith says. ‘I’m not sure where. It was too expensive for her, though – so she was happy when she found this place.’ She gulps and then adds: ‘Do you think she was happy here?’
It feels as if there’s a spotlight on me. The truth is that I have no idea. Not really. What I do know is that, sometimes, telling a white lie is the right thing to do.
‘I think so,’ I say. ‘She always stopped to say hello to me – and she loved Billy.’
That last bit is true and Faith bites her lip and glances away to the corner of the room as she rubs Billy’s back.
‘Have the police been around?’
‘Yes,’ I reply.
‘Did they ask you about whether Jade was ever in trouble? Or if she was in a bad relationship? Anything like that?’
I nod. ‘There wasn’t much I could tell them. I’m not sure I ever saw Jade with anyone here. If she had a boyfriend, she never told me. If she was in trouble, I never saw it. She got in late a few times – but that’s something we’ve all done. She was really quiet. The perfect neighbour, really.’
Faith nods again and gulps. It takes her a good minute to reply.
‘I just wish we had a reason. I don’t understand any of it. She’d call us once or twice a week – and would probably text most days. Sometimes it was just to say she had a lot of work on. We contacted the police after we’d not heard from her in over a weekend. They didn’t do much at first. Our force said they’d contact the officers down here, but I don’t know if that happened. By the time we finally got to speak to someone who understood, six more days had gone. It all got really dragged out. They were saying she was an adult, then I’d say, “Adults can still go missing.” We talked to that Lauren, but she seemed more concerned that Jade had taken off without paying rent. We’d have come down, but the police talked us out of it. I don’t know why we listened…’ She tails off. It sounds like someone made a mistake somewhere, but it’s all a bit late now.
Faith downs the rest of her tea in one.
‘This has been very kind of you,’ she says. ‘I’ve imposed enough, though – and Doug will be wanting to get back.’
She stands and so do I. Billy follows us to the door and then, in the corridor, Faith stops to press a hand to the door opposite. I watch but say nothing. She stands with her hand on the wood for thirty seconds or so and, when she turns, there are tears streaming over her cheeks.
