Free Snatched by Unknown

didn’t see her when I was walking home.’
    ‘When you say Kelly was after her, do you mean that she wanted to fight with her?’
    Biting her lip even harder now, Sophie nodded. ‘They were all talking about it at school, how Kelly was going to jump her when she came out of the gates at home time, and that.’
    ‘I’d better not find out you were involved,’ Trevor said sharply.
    ‘Course not,’ Sophie protested. ‘Nicky’s my friend. I’d never do something like that to her.’
    ‘So, why didn’t you tell someone if you knew what they were planning?’
    ‘I did ,’ Sophie sobbed. ‘I told Miss Newton, and she said she’d look into it.’ Swinging her gaze back to Jay now, she said, ‘Please don’t tell Kelly I told you. She’ll kill me if she finds out it was me who grassed her up.’
    Reassuring her that anything that was said in this room would stay here, Jay asked if Kelly had caught up with Nicky.
    Dabbing at the tears with the tissue that her mother had just handed to her, Sophie guiltily admitted that she didn’t know.
    ‘I saw them all at the front gates when I was telling Miss Newton, but they were legging it onto the back field by the time I came out, so I think they must have sussed that she’d gone that way instead. And I know I should have gone round to see if she was all right, but I was scared they might be watching her house, ’cos that’s what Kelly’s like. If she wants you, she won’t leave it alone.’
    ‘She’d better not touch you,’ Trevor said angrily. ‘Or she’ll have me to answer to.’
    ‘I’m sure it won’t come to that,’ Jay said quickly. ‘And if it does, I’d appreciate it if you gave us a call rather than try to deal with it yourself.’
    ‘Fine,’ Trevor said brusquely. ‘You keep my daughter out of it, and I ’ll keep out of it. And you can look at me like that all you like,’ he went on. ‘But you obviously don’t live round here, so you don’t know what a battle it is trying to protect your kids from the gangs. They’re like animals, smashing the place up and fronting up to anyone who dares pull them up about it. And God forbid we should lay a hand on one of the little bastards, ’cos you lot come down on us like a ton of flaming bricks.’
    ‘He’s not blaming you,’ Marie said, jumping in apologetically. ‘We know your hands are tied, but it is really rough round here. And we’d love to be able to move the kids to somewhere nicer, but it’s a vicious circle if you can’t afford to buy. You ask the council for a transfer, and they just offer you something even worse, so what can you do?’
    ‘It must be hard,’ Jay said sympathetically, fully understanding Marie’s despair – and feeling a grudging respect for her husband, who was obviously only trying to protect his family. A little over-zealously, maybe, but Jay wished there were more parents like him in the area. It would certainly make her job a lot easier if there were.
    Saying, ‘I think we’re just about done,’ she stood up. ‘Thanks for your help, Sophie. And sorry again for disturbing you, Mr and Mrs Gordon.’
    Climbing back into the car a couple of seconds later, she said, ‘Sophie certainly seemed scared of this Kelly Greene girl.’
    ‘Probably got good reason,’ Ann grunted. ‘I take it you haven’t had the pleasure yet, so be warned, she’s a cocky little bitch. But if her mum’s in, you’ll soon see where she gets it from.’

    Back at the hospital, Terry was still out in the corridor. He’d been told that he had to stay out until the doctor had been and okayed it for him to go in. But every time he asked how much longer the doctor was going to be, he was told that he’d have to be patient; that the doctor was with a more urgent case right now and would be with them as soon as he could.
    Pacing a tight circle in the corridor now, he was chewing his dirty nails to the quick. He desperately needed a smoke, but he didn’t want to risk going down to