Page 148 of The Silent Appeal

You could’ve told Mum the truth. All of it. Why tell her I need an air fryer when I don’t FFS?

3:35 p.m. Nicky-Rose wrote:

To distract her. She couldn’t be any more pissed off with you than she is already.

3:39 p.m. Nicky-Rose wrote:

Her air fryer is in the Honda Civic if you want it.

Message exchange between Carol Dearing and Sarah-Jane MacDonald on April 27, 2025:

4:02 p.m. Carol wrote:

It had better come back squeaky clean and smelling of roses.

4:03 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:

It will. We didn’t need it in the end. False alarm.

4:05 p.m. Carol wrote:

What were you thinking of, sending your sister round here in the middle of the night?

4:07 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:

I must’ve been worried we wouldn’t be able to cook everything on the church hall hob. Logistics.

4:08 p.m. Carol wrote:

Are you telling me the truth?

4:08 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:

Why would I not be?

4:17 p.m. Carol wrote:

I crept downstairs at gone midnight to see who was in the lounge, peered through a gap in the door, and there was Nicky-Rose, white as a sheet, staring in pure horror at something on her phone.

4:22 p.m. Carol wrote:

She was rocking slightly like she used to do when she was stressed. I wonder if she’s heard from that ex-boyfriend. The one who moved to Jakarta. She keeps mentioning him.

4:28 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:

Well, it’s not our business and we can only help Nicky-Rose if she tells us what’s wrong. Did you hear about the stage light that fell down during the sleep out?

4:30 p.m. Carol wrote:

No. And we’re not talking, so I’ll find out from Joyce.

Message from Trina Neale to Nicky-Rose Dearing on April 27, 2025:

12:08 a.m. Trina wrote:

Thought you should know.

[Attachment]