“No, I’ll do it.” Thea slumped down on a dining chair, the wood creaking under her weight.
“You stay at the farm in case she comes back.”
Thea stared at the clock on the wall, each tick of the second hand like a countdown to some unseen disaster. “Felix, should I call the police?”
He paused. “Yes.”
“Oh, God,” she wailed.
“Call Josh, call Daniel too. We’ll find her.”
38
FELIX
Felix sat behind the wheel of his car, scanning the hedges and ditches at the sides of the road. The verges were thick with spring growth, which restricted his view into the fields. But it also meant Ammy would have had trouble getting through them, lessening the chance she’d head over the cornfields. He’d set off from Clavenham fifteen minutes ago, and he was now on the outskirts of Tottenbridge, its little chocolate box cottages becoming more frequent.
He sighed. Thea was all alone at the farm. Felix’s heart wrenched as if being squeezed by invisible hands. He’d endured one of the worst weeks of his life after he’d stupidly admitted his feelings. He’d heard nothing from her. She’d half smiled at him across the playground the one time they’d bumped into each other, but the two texts he’d sent remained unread. Then there’d been the deluge of messages from Adrienne demanding to know his plans. He hadn’t responded.
Felix didn’t regret telling Thea how in love he was, but that she hadn’t reciprocated his feelings stung. She’d used the word “like” as if she were talking about the summer holidays, musicals, or coffee. And now, the one time she actually needed him,he felt powerless. All he wanted to do was take the worry from her shoulders. Take the pain away.
She’d texted him that Josh had ridden out on the bridle track between the farm and Clavenham. Daniel was covering the other side of the village. She’d called the police, and they were on their way to the farm.
Felix entered Tottenbridge, deciding to head straight to Small Oaks. He had to check on Thea before resuming his search. He needed to make sure she was okay. His chest ached at the thought of her just sitting in the kitchen, thinking the worst.
He crossed the bridge over the river, taking the time to check on the bank in case Ammy had made her way down there. Then he’d come past the cricket ground. After a fruitless detour up High Street, he looped back, now driving around the village green.
As he completed the circuit, something pink attracted his attention at the duck pond. Felix lowered his window, slowed to a walking pace and squinted towards the water. There on the bench, surrounded by a crowd of birds, was Ammy.
Felix sucked in a quick breath, his heart racing in his chest. He pushed his foot down on the brake, coming to a standstill opposite the little play area built on the grass. He turned off his engine and, without checking for oncoming traffic, leapt out of the car, sprinting over the road and across the green.
As he approached, Ammy looked up at him, and her face erupted into an enormous grin. She was sitting on the bench, chatting away to a scrum of ducks, scattering something pink at their webbed feet.
“Ammy! What are you doing here?” Felix asked, bending over to rest his hands on his knees, catching his breath.
“I’m feeding the ducks. They like cupcakes.”
“Cupcakes?”
“Yes. I ran away from home, but I got hungry, so I stopped to eat the cupcake I brought, except the ducks were hungry, too.” The little girl waved around a pink bun in her hand, and the heads of at least fifteen out-sized mallards followed its movement.
Felix’s eyes widened. Thea had told him how lethal the waterfowl in the village were. Rumours circulated that their insistent focus on eating had led to at least three locals losing fingers. The Demon Ducks of Tottenbridge, she’d called them. He cast his eyes around for a big stick and, on finding one, picked it up, wielding it like a baseball bat.
“Ammy,” he said, his voice low and steady. “Drop the cake. Stand up, step onto the bench, and put your hands in your pockets. Make no sudden moves.”
The little girl scowled, looking at him as if he’d asked for her stash of Halloween sweets. “Why?”
“They look hungry, and I wouldn’t put it past them to take a chunk out of you.”
Ammy erupted into fits of giggles, throwing her head back in delight. The ducks followed suit, jostling and quacking as if mirroring her amusement. “They won’t hurt me. We’re friends. The ducks like me. Kitty, too. We come and feed them together sometimes.”
Sure enough, as Felix made his way to the bench, the flock parted around him, not remotely interested. He sat down next to Ammy.
“You just have to know how to talk to them. Kitty says they’re probably traumatosed by something, so we must be kind to them.”
The corners of Felix’s mouth twitched at her mispronunciation. The only person “traumatosed” around here was Thea. “Fuck,” he said under his breath. His relief at finding Ammy had pushed the thought of calling her mum right out of his mind. He took out his phone and sent her a quick text. If Ammywas upset, he didn’t want to freak her out with a phone call to her mum.
Felix: I have Ammy. She’s with me at the duck pond. Call off the search. I’ll bring her back soon.
