Now You See Me Read Free

on his mind he was struggling to find words for.
    But then there was always something. Usually work.
    â€œShe’s still on the phone. Can you speak to her, Hannah?” His mouth made the awkward movement that these days passed for a smile. “I’m rather in the middle of things at the moment…”
    A few seconds later he was back with the handset, dropping it onto my bed like he couldn’t get rid of it fast enough. Dad always avoided speaking to Martha. Never got beyond a perfunctory greeting, the briefest exchange of information.
    I heard the closing click of his study door. I put down my pen and pressed the phone to my ear. It emitted a tiny, furious bark.
    â€œHi, Martha.”
    â€œHannah, sweetheart, is Danny there?” Despite Rudman’s yapping in the background, I could hear the worry in her voice.
    â€œNo. I thought he was with you.”
    â€œI haven’t seen him since this morning. It’s almost nine.”
    I glanced outside at the gathering darkness. In the house opposite, lights glowed in the upstairs windows.
    Another volley of frantic barking in my ear. A groan from Martha. “Hang on a sec…” A muffled sound, then her voice scolding Rudman.
    â€œSorry, Hannah,” she said, slightly breathless. “I’ve no idea what’s got into that animal. Anyway, I’m a bit concerned. I’ve tried Danny’s mobile half a dozen times, and he hasn’t answered.”
    â€œHe cycled back here with me hours ago. I assumed he went on home.”
    â€œDid he say so?”
    I thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think so.”
    â€œAny ideas where he might have gone?”
    I barely had any idea where Danny got to any more, I felt like saying, but kept it to myself. “You could try Joe,” I suggested, “or Ross or Ewan.”
    â€œDo you have their numbers?”
    â€œNo. Sorry.”
    I could almost hear Martha suppress a sigh at the other end of the line. “How about you ask some of your friends, Hannah? Maybe they’ll know where he is?”
    â€œI’ll call Vicky Clough. She might.”
    â€œThanks.” Martha’s voice was laced with anxiety. “Look, Hannah, if you hear anything you’ll let me know, right?”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œThanks. See you tomorrow after school, okay?”
    â€œSure. Bye then…”
    An abrupt click at the end of the line. I listened to the burr of the dialling tone for a few seconds, then grabbed my phone and texted Vicky, hoping she wouldn’t read anything into me asking about Danny. No matter how many times I told her he was my friend and nothing more, she clearly never believed it.
    Apart from thinking that Danny would really be for it when he got home, I admit I didn’t give Martha’s call a second thought. It didn’t even occur to me that there could actually be something wrong. Why would it? Lately Danny was always out somewhere or other, round at someone’s house or off riding his bike. This was hardly the first time his mother had rung to track him down.
    Even so, even now, it still seems incredible that I didn’t know, that I didn’t somehow sense that something wasn’t right. I was his best friend, after all. Or at least had been. And not any old best friend, but the kind you get when you’ve practically grown up together. The kind who knows you better than you know yourself.
    But there was nothing. No warning sirens going off in my head as I picked up my pen. Not even a little niggle of worry as I wrote about the slave boats and all those stolen people sent far across the world, never to see their homes or families again.

3
then
    â€œHey, Hannah.”
    I looked up to see Joe Rowling standing by my desk. He nodded at Lianna before turning his attention back to me.
    â€œYou seen Danny?”
    I shook my head. “His mum was looking for him last night. Did she get hold of