The World's Worst Mothers (14 page)

When it had all gone quiet again, she opened the door of the cubicle and slipped out of the bathroom. She scuttled along the corridor, off which were the bedrooms and workrooms. She considered for a moment whether she should take her handbag with her, but it was empty anyway. As soon as they'd arrived, Wohlfarth had confiscated all their keys, wallets and mobiles. ‘In case they got stolen.' Susie didn't see how a burglar could possibly get into the building. It was like Fort Knox. But they hadn't taken Porky. She had the lucky pig safely in her pocket.

She entered the big hall. It was always gloomy in here, whether or not the sun was shining outside. A diffused light came through the dirty skylights. There had to be some side entrance, apart from the main factory gate.

Susie squeezed her way between the crowded shelves. Her nose was full of dust. She suppressed a sneeze.

Every time she reached the end of a row of shelves, she came to a dead end. She was just about to give up and go back when she found herself faced with a curtain of thick plastic that you couldn't see through. What could be hiding behind it?

She raised the curtain and slipped under it. It was even darker in here. But she could make out shoes. Several pairs of black high heels. She touched the black leather and wondered what on earth women's shoes were doing in a factory that used to make toys. Then she touched a foot. More than a foot – a leg.

She stood up and found that she was face to face with a woman. A woman with pale hair, her lips open, as if to ask a question, and an empty stare. Then the lips moved: ‘Would you like to play with me?' The same sentence was repeated: ‘Would you like to play with me?'

But the second time, lots of mouths were saying it. There wasn't just one woman. Susie could see at least ten of them, all repeating the same sentence over and over: ‘Would you like to play with me? Would you like to play with me? Would you like to play with me?'

That was when Susie started to scream.

There is nothing more ridiculous than a grown woman who is scared of a few shop-window mannequins. Susie laughed at herself. But then her throat closed over, and she had to shut her mouth to prevent herself from shouting again. With joy, this time.

It had to be a dream. Here came a girl. A girl she knew only too well. She came out from among the dolls.

‘Emily!' cried Susie.

‘Hush,' said Emily, putting a finger to her lips. ‘Come with me!'

She dragged her mother between the Annas to a narrow door that stood ajar.

It led into a little yard. There were three children there: a chubby girl with wild dark hair; a freckled boy, beaming all over his face; and a little blond lad.

‘This is Sophie and her little brother, Nicholas,' said Emily. ‘And that's Bruno.'

‘I know you. I saw you in the pictures. The ones Kruschke showed us. Your mothers are here too, aren't they?'

Bruno nodded.

‘But how come you're here, on the island?' asked Susie. ‘And how on earth did you get into this factory?'

‘Just as we arrived,' said Bruno, ‘a van was coming out, and the whole place was open.'

‘That'd be the Dune View van,' said Susie. ‘Picking up the leftovers from lunch.'

‘So we just wandered in.'

‘Looking for our mothers,' Sophie added. ‘But there was no-one here.'

‘They were all out on the beach,' said Susie, still rather puzzled. ‘I was ironing.'

‘Ironing?' asked Emily, astonished.

‘Then we saw the drinking chocolate woman,' said Nicholas, ‘and we hid.'

‘Between the Annas,' said Sophie.

‘Annas? Do you mean the mannequins?'

‘They're not mannequins, Mum,' said Emily. ‘They're robots that look like people.'

‘They're ssoooo spooky!' breathed Nicholas.

‘Then Bruno found the door,' said Emily, ‘and we were just going to explore the factory when we heard you calling out.'

‘But I still can't work out how you got here in the first place.'

‘It's a long story,' said Emily, taking her mother by the arm. ‘For now, we need to work out how to get out of here.'

‘Without being seen,' added Bruno.

‘Maybe the gate in the fence is still open,' suggested Sophie.

They went around the corner of the building. From here they could see the exit and the fence. The gate was not open.

‘Now what?' asked Sophie.

Susie checked her watch. ‘If our luck holds out, we'll be able to get through to the other side of the fence. I did that myself this morning. The tide was out. Anyone know anything about tides?'

Bruno shrugged. ‘We did it in geography, but I wasn't listening.'

‘Maybe it'll be OK,' said Susie. ‘Let's all go into the dunes.'

‘Sophie and Bruno worked out that their mothers were on Nordfall,' said Emily, stumbling through the sand beside her mother. ‘And I came here with Aunt Anna. I mean, with one of those dolls that you've seen.'

‘That fisherman guy brought us here from Südersiel on his boat,' added Bruno, ‘and Wohlfarth lectured us for ages about how great his mother school is and how we mustn't disturb our mothers.'

‘We spent the night with Frau Paulsen,' said Emily. ‘She was really nice.'

‘She made us drinking chocolate,' said Nicholas.

‘And then we went back to the mainland on the ferry,' said Emily.

‘So I
wasn't
imagining it when I thought I saw you on deck.'

‘I saw you too. I saw the way they bundled you into that car.'

‘So Emily said we had to rescue you, and that's why we came back,' said Sophie.

‘I found the ship,' Nicholas announced proudly.

‘Yeah, you did,' said Emily, stroking his hair. ‘A fisherman brought us back to Nordfall.'

‘How is my mother?' asked Bruno.

‘She's fine,' said Susie. ‘They're all fine, except me.'

‘You can tell us all about it later,' said Emily. ‘We won't get away from here before tomorrow.'

‘Oh, God, I feel sick,' groaned Bruno, ‘when I think about having to get on a boat again.'

‘Only this one last time,' Sophie said to comfort him. But she was wrong about that.

They went running down the last dune then and could see the sea glittering in the distance. The six-foot fence cut across the bright sand like a black line to their left.

‘Do you not think you'll be missed?' Emily asked her mother as they ran along a wooden pathway to the strand.

‘Not before nine. That's when Wohlfarth's story time starts. That's what we call it when he reads out of his diary. They won't take any notice if I'm not at supper. The others think I have stomach cramps and that I've been in the loo the whole time.'

‘Get a move on, Nicholas,' called Sophie, as her brother stopped to watch a black beetle scuttling over the sand.

‘I can't go any further,' moaned Nicholas. ‘You'll have to carry me, Sofa.'

‘Come on, I'll give you a piggyback,' said Susie, hunkering down. ‘We're nearly there.'

When they reached the beach, they ran along the damp sand towards the fence.

‘I want that shell!' screeched Nicholas over Susie's shoulder, pointing at the gleaming mother-of-pearl of an oyster shell. He leant over so far towards it that Susie stumbled and she and Nicholas both went tumbling down onto the sand.

‘Typical!' muttered Emily, shaking her head as she helped her mother up. Nicholas got his shell and off they went again.

‘Damn!' said Bruno when they reached the fence. ‘We're too late.'

Water was swirling around the fence posts in little eddies.

‘Or too early,' said Emily's mother. ‘Maybe the tide is going out.'

‘We'll have to try it,' said Sophie. ‘It can't be all that deep.'

She hoisted up her trouser legs and waded into the water. At the end of the fence it reached her knees.

‘No problem!' she called to the others. ‘Come on.'

Bruno followed her. The water came up to his thighs. ‘Eek,' he complained. ‘It's cold.'

Next came Susie with Nicholas. She clung onto the fence posts to keep herself from being swept away by the water, which was swirling more strongly now. Nicholas thought it was great fun. He pulled her by the hair and called, ‘Hey up, sea horsie. Hey up!'

Emily hung back. She was afraid to go into the water. It looked anything but inviting. Brown bladderwrack and dirty grey foam floated on top of it. Her lovely white skirt would be good for nothing but a dishcloth after this. She looked out over the ocean. The sun was still on the horizon, but there was no more warmth in its rays. Emily came out in goosebumps.

‘What are you waiting for, Emily?' called her mother.

‘Come on!' called Sophie impatiently.

Emily took her sandals in her hand and yanked her skirt up high. The water was horrible. Cold and sort of slimy. Her foot touched something slithery. Emily gave a yell, lost her balance and fell into the water.

Sophie gave a loud laugh from the other side of the fence. It just looked so funny the way Emily got up, for all the world like some sort of water nymph, teetered around and then plopped into the water. But Sophie soon stopped laughing when she realised that Emily couldn't get up. She was trying to hang on to the fence, but she was being swept away by the water, which was coming from all sides now.

Susie cried out and went back into the water to come to the aid of her daughter. Bruno and Sophie stood transfixed, on dry ground.

‘Are they going swimming?' asked Nicholas.

‘Do something!' cried Sophie, when she saw how Emily and her mother were being swept further and further away from the shore.

‘What
can
we do?' asked Bruno in bewilderment.

Susie was trying to swim towards Emily, but the current was pulling the two of them in opposite directions. Then came the sound of a motor.

‘A boat!' exclaimed Bruno, relieved. ‘There's a boat coming.'

With her last ounce of strength, Emily reached for the lifebelt that was thrown to her. Her ears were ringing. It had all happened so quickly. One minute she could feel the sandy bottom of the sea under her feet; the next minute she was being whisked away by the water. Her mother was shouting something to her, but the wind carried her words away.

‘Hold on!' called a voice. ‘I've got you.'

Kruschke! Emily would never have thought she'd be so glad to see this funny little bald creature again.

‘My mother is …' She gasped for air and swallowed a gulp of salt water.

Kruschke pulled her in and helped her onto the boat. She scraped her leg on the side of the boat, but eventually she was in it, lying full length on deck, like a fish that had just been landed.

‘Emmykins! My baby! Are you all right?'

‘Mum!'

Her mum was bending over her, water streaming from her hair on to Emily's face.

‘Never underestimate the tide. It has cost many a person their life,' said Kruschke.

Emily looked at him. This man had saved her life. Her life and her mother's.

She half sat up and looked towards the shore. Bruno and Sophie, holding Nicholas by the hand, were still standing on the same spot on the far side of the fence.

Emily raised her hand to wave but let it drop immediately. She felt weak. Everything was starting to spin. She could feel her mother's hand supporting her head, and then everything went black.

When she opened her eyes again, Kruschke was mooring the boat to a little pier. It was already dusk.

Emily gave her head a careful shake. ‘Please take us to the harbour. I want to go home with my mother.'

Kruschke turned to look at her. ‘There's no ship at this hour. I'm sure you'll be glad of a nice soft bed for the night.'

Emily looked down at herself. Her lovely white skirt was sticking to her legs like a grey rag. It was ruined.

‘Only if my friends are there too.'

‘Not to worry, they will be,' said Kruschke, passing her a handkerchief.

‘And my mother?' asked Emily.

‘It's all sorted,' said Susie. She was all wrapped up in a blanket and Emily couldn't see her expression. ‘You're sleeping here tonight and tomorrow you're all going home.'

‘But you're not coming with us?' asked Emily, horrified.

Her mother shook her head. ‘No, I'm staying until I've finished here.'

‘Whenever that may be,' muttered Kruschke.

As the boat disappeared from view, Bruno said, ‘We should inform the police.'

‘Would you think there's a police station here?' asked Sophie.

‘Haven't a clue,' said Bruno, ‘but we have to tell someone that Emily and her mother have been kidnapped.'

‘Pulled out of the water, you mean,' Sophie corrected him. ‘First her mother and then Emily. I don't think you could call that kidnapping. It looked more like Kruschke saved them from drowning.'

‘But now they're back in the factory, and they definitely didn't want to go there.'

‘You're right,' said Sophie. ‘Come on, Nicholas, you'll have to walk a few more steps.'

Nicholas had stuffed his pockets with shells. He pulled a crab out now.

‘Look, he's still alive.'

The crab waved his pincers tiredly.

‘Don't put that into your pocket!' said Sophie sternly. ‘Put it back in the water.'

They trudged through the dunes till they came to a narrow cement path that led into the village. The thatched cottages seemed to be hiding among wild roses behind high hedges. Only at Dune View was the door left invitingly ajar.

The children entered the bar. Lührsen, the guesthouse owner, was standing behind the counter, washing beer glasses. Swantje was wiping down the tables. They were all unoccupied, except one by the door. Hinnerk was sitting there, staring glumly into his empty glass.

‘Well, did you visit your mothers?' he asked when he saw the children.

He held out his glass to Swantje. She shook her head, but she went to the bar all the same to pull a new beer. She put the glass in front of the fisherman and then bent down to Nicholas.

‘Well, laddie, are you hungry? I think we have some fried fish left.'

Nicholas nodded enthusiastically. ‘Oh, yes!'

‘Watch out that you don't grow fins,' said Sophie, ‘with all the fish you gobble up.'

Swantje disappeared into the kitchen and Bruno said to the barman, ‘We need to speak to the police.'

Lührsen put a beer glass into the dishwasher, saying, ‘The police? Are you joking?' He didn't wait for the answer but burst out laughing.

‘Our mothers are being held in Wohlfarth's factory,' said Sophie.

Swantje came out of the kitchen, her eyes popping.

‘What mothers are being held?' she asked, putting a plate of fish and potato salad in front of Nicholas.