Forget Me Never

near Oxford. I didn’t really believe they were coming until I heard the siren wailing. It was only in the back of the police car with Reece, speeding towards London, that I at last allowed myself to accept that we were safe.
    By the time we arrived at Hendon it was early morning – on a school day I’d be in my first lesson. It felt surreal to be driving through the streets seeing people start their day when I’d been up all night.
    Julie and Reece’s mum were waiting in the police station. Effie let out a gasp when she saw Reece and flung her arms around him, almost crushing him in a tight hug. I felt a pang of jealousy. Slowly, not meeting her eyes, I went up to Julie.
    ‘Hi,’ I said. ‘Sorry about this.’
    It was such a vapid thing to say, but it was what I felt. Julie had looked after a lot of foster-kids, all with various issues, but she’d probably never had a headcase like me. This escapade would be reported to my social worker, and it was quite possible I’d be moved if Julie felt she couldn’t cope. So I was surprised when Julie hugged me. Hesitantly I hugged her back.
    ‘Sophie,’ she said softly, ‘why on earth did you keep all this to yourself?’
    ‘Because it was the easiest thing to do.’ I felt a bit choked up. While there was reproach in Julie’s voice, more than anything else she sounded relieved. ‘Thought you’d think I was making trouble. I didn’t want to get booted out.’
    ‘I’m not going to boot you out, you silly girl.’ Julie pushed me back to look me in the eyes. ‘Compared to what I’ve seen before, the “trouble” you’re referring to is nothing. Watch my lips: what happens when you turn eighteen is in your hands, but until then, you have a home with me.’
    I felt my lower lip quiver. I’d stood on my own feet for so long that this shouldn’t matter so much to me . . . but it did. Maybe I shouldn’t have closed myself off to Julie. Maybe I shouldn’t have made so many assumptions. Maybe people cared more than I realized.
    ‘Thank you,’ I whispered.
    I looked at Reece. Effie was brushing him down like a dog, getting rid of the cobwebs and surface dirt. It was ridiculous under the circumstances, and he gave me a thumbs-up. I rolled my eyes at him, but I knew I was smiling too.
    Lots happened after that. Even though we hadn’t slept properly for over twenty-four hours, the police wanted to speak to us. I didn’t mind – I wasn’t at all sleepy. I guessed I was still on an adrenalin high.
    To my surprise, the police officer was DI Perry. He didn’t refer to how I’d been dismissed before, and I didn’t either. I filled him in – but it turned out he knew quite a bit already. When he told me who his source was, my jaw dropped.
    ‘ Aiden ’s been here?’
    Apparently Aiden had called the police yesterday in a panic. DI Perry said he’d been terrified for his life and had told them all about stealing the formula, who he’d sold it to and also about us – though by then the police were already on the case after being alerted by Mr McIntyre. Reece and I had worked out most of this already, though there were a few things we didn’t know. Patrick and Aiden had first known each other at university, and Patrick had been at Vaughan-Bayard before returning to the States. Apparently he’d worked for a US pharmaceutical company for a while, before becoming involved with illegal drug production and distribution in Brazil. This was where HJP – a code name for the group – came into it. The cottage we’d been held in was owned by his family. He and Aiden had reconnected at a conference about a year ago, which was where the idea of stealing the formula had come up. The longer-term plan had been to produce it in Brazil and sell it into the USA.
    It was now looking like Cherie was off the danger list. I didn’t know how I felt about that. I told Perry exactly what I’d seen in the car park, and how the car that had run her down had belonged to Patrick and Kyle.
    ‘Talking of them, do you know where they are?’ I asked.
    ‘We’ll find them,’ Perry said. ‘That’s all we need from you at the moment, Sophie. I’m guessing you’d like some sleep.’
    ‘What about Danielle?’ I asked. ‘Have I done enough to prove she was killed?’
    Perry met my gaze levelly. ‘We’ll take a look at that iPhone backup, and then we’ll see.’

REECE
    I was incredibly miffed that the police seemed to know everything already. DI Perry said that the evidence