She seemed less afraid of being wrong than of losing control of who described it.
Maisie did not watch the adult interviews.
Julian took her upstairs with Mrs. Holloway while Anna spoke.
He explained who had arrived.
“They’re here to understand what happened.”
“Because Anna was bad?”
“No.”
“Because I said?”
“Because an adult was locked in a room and asked for help.”
The child sat on her bed.
Her school bag leaned against the wardrobe.
The evening had begun with a dinner invitation.
Now there were unfamiliar voices downstairs.
Julian knew how large that could feel.
He sat on the rug.
“You don’t need to explain it to everybody tonight.”
Maisie twisted the blanket.
“What if I forget?”
“You can tell the truth as you remember it. You don’t have to practice an answer.”
Her face changed.
The word practice had already been given a frightening use.
“She said it had to be the same.”
“What?”
“The quitting.”
Julian waited.
“She said if you asked where Anna was, I had to say she quit.”
“And if you said something else?”
Maisie looked toward the door.
“She said Anna would go farther away.”
Julian felt a cold anger settle beneath the first.
He kept his voice level.
“That was not something you could cause.”
The child watched him.
“Not even if I got it wrong?”
“No.”
“Then why did we practice?”
He did not have a gentle answer to that.
So he gave a clear one.
“You should never have been asked to.”
Anna’s sister arrived just after nine.
Her name was Beth.
She did not appear impressed by the house.
She looked at Anna first.
Then at Julian.
Then at the open route to the front door.
He respected the order.
Anna had a small overnight bag.
Her coat.
