"And she could control it?"
"Yeah, mostly. It was getting stronger, though. She said… it was like it was calling to her and she didn't know what it wanted."
"But she had it under control."
"She wouldn't go near the river, and the swimming pool was right out. She said it was too strong. There was too much of it. She was frightened about what it would do."
"Was that when she had the accident?"
Kayleigh went quiet. She sat, pulling her cardie around her.
"I need to know, Kayleigh. I can't help her until I know."
The silence persisted. Then there was a snuffle.
"You could just tell me. I'm her dad. I'll understand."
"Yeah, but…" she snuffled.
"Yes, but what?"
"The accident." She sniffed.
"What about it? What happened?"
"It wasn't an accident, was it? She did it. She killed them." The tears overflowed and I found myself holding her as she wailed into my shoulder. I drew concealment closer around us, so as not to attract attention. Kayleigh shook, convulsing with great heaving sobs as it all spilled out. Between heaving gulps of air she told me.
"She didn't mean it. She never meant it. It was too strong. It got loose. They were trying to hurt her. Trying to dunk her – in the toilets. They hurt her – they were shoving her – into the water. They put her – in the water – don't you see? They put her in it!"
I hugged her to me. "It's OK. I think I do see."
She gulped and hiccoughed in my armpit and I held her until the sobbing subsided. I passed her my hanky and she dabbed her eyes and then blew her nose. The mascara around her eyes had run and stained it. She offered me back the hanky.
"No, keep it."
She stuffed it into the sleeve of her cardie.
"She wouldn't have done it on purpose, would she?" she asked.
"No. If they were putting her into water and hurting her then they probably brought it on themselves. I don't think she meant it to happen." The truth of that statement rankled with me. I wasn't a hundred per cent sure it was true, but speculation was not what Kayleigh needed to hear.
"I tried to get them to stop. They wouldn't listen. She knew it was bad." She sniffed. "We were supposed to meet. She wasn't there. I knew something was wrong."
"How did you find her?"
"You can't get out the front. There are the offices and they watch the gates like hawks. I went out the back, where the playing fields are. I thought she might be there. I heard her. She was in the toilets in the changing block. I think she was hiding. Welham and her mates went in there, smoking."
"So you followed her."
"I tried to warn them, but they wouldn't believe me. They were gonna get me too. I ran out into the corridor and closed the door so they couldn't get me. It was me. I trapped them in there with her." She took out that hanky again and mopped at her nose.
"No, you didn't."
"I did. If I had been with her she might not have lost it. They wouldn't have done much. I've had worse. They're all mouth, that lot. They were. They're all dead now. All of them." She started crying again and I hugged her close.
"It was an accident, Kayleigh. You didn't know what would happen. You did the best you could. You ran for help, didn't you?"
She calmed a little and snuffled into the hanky. "It was too late. The water was filthy. It went everywhere. It was streaming out the windows. Where? Where did it all come from?"
"She called it, I think. She panicked when they tried to drown her. She lost control. Someone once told me that magic responds to need. They must have been hurting her pretty badly."
"Not that badly. Not to deserve to drown. Not in that. There was stuff in it, ugh, it was horrible. The smell was awful. It's taken them weeks just to clean it up."
"Who cleaned it up?"
"Workmen. They all came in suits with plastic masks on. The smell was atrocious. You weren't there."
"Was there a big truck? Really new, like an American one. All white and shiny?"
"No. I don't remember a truck. Why?"
"Just something I saw somewhere. I thought it might be a clue."
"No. They had a van, but it was a beaten-up old thing."
"Did they say anything?"
"To me? We weren't allowed anywhere near it. The whole area has been off limits for weeks. It still is. You can understand why."
"Is there anything else, Kayleigh? Anything you remember? Anything that might help me find her?"
"No, I don't remember. It all happened so fast. I wake up nights. Mum says I'm dreaming. I can hear them in there, screaming, clawing at the door to get out." She shuddered.
"OK. Thank you. I think you've been very brave. I'm sorry I had to trick you to get you out here."
"It's OK. I feel better. I couldn't, like, tell anyone. Not even Mum. I daren't."
"You'd better get back before you're missed."
"I left my radio on. They think I'm doing my homework."
"Best go and do some, then."
She handed me the hanky back. "You better have that, otherwise I'll have to say where I got it."
I took it from her.
She turned and walked three paces and then stopped and turned around.
"Remembered something?"
"No," she said. "No, but I need to know. What is it? What is it with you and her? How is it possible? I mean, I've seen it and I don't believe it. I'm sure it was a trick." She watched me. "Is it? Is it a trick?"
"No. It isn't a trick. You mustn't tell, though. They will be watching you."
"Who's they? Who is it that's watching?"
"That's the question I'm trying to answer. I'm just a man looking for answers. You should go."
She sighed and nodded, acknowledging that it was true and walked back towards the road. I watched her check for cars before crossing and then I stood and walked across the park to the swings, so that when she turned back the bench was bare and she could not see me in the gloom. She scanned the area from the far side of the road, then shook her head, wrapped her cardie tighter and headed for home. I followed discreetly until she went inside, and then waited until she appeared at her bedroom window. She looked out on the empty street and I think she knew I was there somewhere, even though she couldn't pick me out. She drew her curtains closed against the dark, but couldn't resist a last peek through the crack.
I found myself hoping that she would sleep better from now on, now that she had been able to share her burden.
I left the cul-de-sac and turned away from Katherine's house, heading for the Tube station. I set a strong pace, knowing that the walk would take me half an hour and that if I lingered I would miss the last tube and end up waiting for a night bus.
The walk gave me chance to think. If Kayleigh was right and Alex had drowned the other girls, then it would make sense that the authorities had acted to take her out of circulation. She was a danger to others, but where would be safe? Blackbird had once told me that there were places for people like Alex, who couldn't control their gifts. She'd never said where any of them were, though. I made a mental note to ask her later.
The reality was that my daughter had killed three girls, however unintentionally. Garvin had said that was likely and Kayleigh's story confirmed it. They had tried to hurt her and she had drowned them in sewage. I thought I should feel bad about that, but my honest reaction was that they deserved it. They had been intent on hurting her when they should have left her alone. It was harsh, and sad that they had been caught up in it, but they weren't my daughters.
I was beginning to understand why they had taken her, though. If she couldn't control her gifts then she was dangerous. They would act to protect other people and to prevent her harming herself. That didn't mean that I would leave her there, though. I was her father and I had got her into this mess. If anyone could look after her, it was me.