Deadly Choices by Rachel McLean, book 2 in the Zoe Finch series - Chapter 1

“Mum, she stole my Curly Wurly.”

Alison looked down at her son. His mouth was ringed with chocolate and his curly brown hair was smeared with it.

“It was a free Curly Wurly, Ollie. I’m not sure you can steal something they gave us free.”

“Wan’ it back.”

Alison turned to Ollie’s big sister. “Maddy love, give it back please.”

“He doesn’t like Curly Wurlys.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Why should I give it back when he won’t eat it?”

A man brushed past Alison. She flinched, her nerves frayed. They were standing on the walkway leading to the outdoor play area at Cadbury World. She knew they were blocking the route.

“Come on, you two. There’s a stall over there selling hot dogs. Let’s get some lunch.”

“Don’t want lunch,” Ollie huffed.

Alison sucked in her cheeks. “You need to eat something. Balance out all that chocolate.”

In the last two hours the kids had eaten one Curly Wurly (Madison), two Dairy Milks, two Double Deckers (did they still make those?) and four pots of melted chocolate. Plus one of each that Alison had given them from her own haul of freebies.

“Don’t want hot dogs.”

Alison checked the food stall. “OK. There’s burgers too.”

Ollie wrinkled up his nose.

“Look,” said Alison, “Let’s just grab a table and I’ll see what they’ve got. OK?”

Madison shrugged. Ollie thumped her.

“What was that for?” Alison asked.

“Nicking my Curly Wurly.”

“We don’t use words like ‘nick’. She stole it.”

Ollie poked his sister. “See. Mum says you stole it.”

Maddy flicked her head and flounced off to an empty table on the other side of the picnic area. Anxious not to lose her, Alison grabbed Ollie’s hand and dragged him along to follow. They stumbled past other mums trying to convince their kids to eat something that wasn’t chocolate. It was a Friday lunchtime and there weren’t a lot of dads.

She reached the table and helped Ollie onto the bench. “Stay there while I investigate. And Maddy, don’t go running off like that again.”

“I wasn’t running, I was—”

Alison raised a palm. How much of this outing had been enjoyable? Maybe five minutes, on the chocolate-themed ride. She’d enjoyed watching the old TV ads for chocolate bars that didn’t exist anymore. But the kids had soon pulled her away from that. This would be so much easier if Ian had showed up.

“I don’t want to hear it, Maddy. Just sit down and make sure your brother doesn’t wander off. Alright?”

“Yeah.” Maddy folded her arms across her chest and scowled at her brother, who was squishing a line of ants moving across the table. Alison swept a sleeve across the table to wipe away the crumbs that had attracted them.

“Mum!” Ollie gave her an exasperated look then sank to the ground to find the ants.

Alison dashed across to the food stall and gave the guy inside a nervous smile. “What’ve you got?”

“Hot dogs, burgers, cans. Baguettes. Tea. Coffee.” He shrugged. He had an Australian accent and blonde hair that looked out of place on an October day in Birmingham.

“Is that all?”

“Sorry, I don’t decide the menu.”

She gave him a smile and rushed back to the kids. Madison had pulled a wedge of hair in front of her face and was plaiting it, her eyes crossed as she focused. Ollie was on the ground, following the ants away from the table.

“Right,” Alison said. “Ollie, they’ve got hot dogs. There’s plenty of ketchup, you like them with ketchup. Madison, you can have a tuna baguette.”

“Euugh.”

“You like tuna baguettes.”

“Since when?”

“Since I bought you one in Greggs yesterday.”

“That was yesterday.”

“Well, I’ll buy one anyway and if you don’t eat it, I will.”

Maddy shrugged, her gaze not leaving her hair. Ollie giggled at the ants.

“Ollie, get up off the floor.”

He ignored her.

“Please?”

Nothing.

“Ollie! Your trousers are filthy.”

He looked up at her with a wide-eyed smile. She bit her lip, guilt washing over her. October half term, an unseasonably sunny day. This was supposed to be fun. Ian had only needed to pop into work, they were going to have a nice day as a family. And here she was, shouting at her kids and making it miserable for all of them.

She crouched to kiss the top of Ollie’s head.

“Stay here, both of you. I’ll be five minutes.”

Ollie returned to the ants. So his trousers were mucky. That’s what washing machines were for. Madison had moved onto another section of hair. Her tongue poked out between her lips and she hummed under her breath.

Alison took her phone out of her pocket. Twelve messages to Ian, none in return. Where are you? He was doing far too much of this lately. Taking time off work but then telling her there was an emergency. Coming home after midnight. Being married to a police officer was never going to be easy, she knew. But couldn’t he manage one trip to Cadbury World?

A queue had formed at the food stall. Alison shifted from foot to foot, needing the toilet. Madison was twelve, only just old enough to be left alone. And Ollie would object to going into the Ladies. She watched them as the queue shunted forward, wondering if either of them would acknowledge the other’s presence. Did Madison even know she was supposed to be watching her brother? If he wandered too far in pursuit of those ants, would she notice?

Alison reached the front just as Madison moved onto the third section of hair. She turned away from her daughter to the Australian man.

“Hello again.”

“Er, hi. One hot dog and one tuna baguette please. And a large Americano.”

“One shot, or two?”

Her nerves jangled with fatigue. Olly had woken her at three am and she’d only dozed from then until the alarm went off at six.

“Three, please.”

“Three? We don’t do three.”

“I’ll have two.”

“Coming right up.” The man turned to his gleaming coffee machine and started pulling handles and turning knobs. The sausage for Ollie’s hot dog sizzled on the grill.

Alison felt her eyelids droop. If Ian had been here, she could have squeezed in five minutes’ rest, just a moment to recapture herself. But it was relentless, this married lone parent business.

“One Americano.” He leaned across the hatch and winked. “Three shots.”

She grinned. “Thanks.”

“No worries.” He lifted the hot dog sausage into its bun and wrapped the whole thing in paper. He turned to a fridge behind him and pulled out a baguette.

“Enjoy.”

“Thanks.” She shuffled along to a gingham-covered table and splashed milk in her coffee then smothered Ollie’s hot dog in ketchup. She rearranged the items in her grip and turned back to the kids.

Her stomach lurched. The table was empty.

She hurried towards it, bending to see if Ollie was behind it, on the floor. She scanned the picnic area and the playground beyond, searching for Madison.

She reached the table, her heart racing.

“Ollie? Madison?”

Don’t shout. Don’t panic. Not yet. Ollie had followed those ants and Maddy would have gone to get him. Good girl.

Alison placed the food packages and coffee cup on the table, telling herself to move carefully. To be calm.

She scanned the tables. About half of them were in use. She blinked, willing her vision to clear.

“Madison?” Her voice was strangled. She cleared her throat. “Madison!”

A woman at a nearby table looked up. Alison felt her limbs shaking.

“Madison, Ollie. Your food’s here. Stop messing about.”

She stepped towards the play area, leaving the food behind. Children roamed the pirate climbing frame, bundled up in winter coats despite the sunshine. What had Ollie been wearing?

She closed her eyes and searched her memory of the morning. His blue anorak, and pale grey trousers. She’d been worried about him getting them dirty.

She felt a hand on her arm and almost collapsed in relief. She turned.

“Is this yours?”

The woman from the nearby table was holding out a blue bundle. An anorak. Alison let out a strangled sound.

“You OK?”

Alison nodded, her eyes prickling. “Yes. No.”

The woman glanced back at her own kids. They were tucking into hamburgers, oblivious. Why couldn’t her two eat like that?

“You sure? You look sort of grey.”

“My kids. Have you seen them?”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Sorry. Are they over there, on the climbing frame?”

“I can’t see them.”

The woman gave her a smile, the kind of smile you give to someone who’s told you they’re terminally ill. “You go and look. I’ll keep an eye on your stuff.”

Alison nodded. She breathed something that might have been thanks and ran to the climbing frame.

“Ollie! Maddy!”

She circled the frame twice. No sign of them.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She grabbed it. Ian was here. He was with them. Everything was going to be OK.

It was a text from her mum. A problem with her boiler. Alison wanted to throw the phone to the ground. She clutched it, her palms sweaty.

Where were the nearest toilets? She ran back to the table. People were quiet as she passed. Watching her. Wondering.

The woman hovered by her table, scanning the area although she wouldn’t know what she was looking for.

“Is there anywhere they could have gone?” said Alison. “Toilets?”

“None out here. They’re inside.”

Alison turned back to the factory building behind her. She’d been in the queue five minutes, ten at the most. Madison would have told her if she was going to the toilet.

“They’ve gone,” she said. Her legs felt soft and her hands shook. “My kids have gone.”