While No One Was Looking

By Mark Edwards

'Class of 1987' Reunion– Nebraska, 2017. Beth went missing that night and has never been seen since.

Two years after, 2019, on the exact date of the reunion, Maggie gets this phone text from one of the other girls at the reunion. This phone text has attached photographs of the reunion, where her best friend, Beth, had gone missing. Maggie scrolls through the photos and surprisingly, Beth didn't appear on any. It's as if Beth wasn't at that reunion party. But she was! Maggie knew this because they both had travelled to the reunion from Seattle, leaving their husbands behind on the same day Beth went missing.

But after taking another look at 'this particular photograph', Maggie gets the fright of her life! It's only a photo of Stan and Camille hugging each other on that rainy night. But, it wasn't just a mere photograph of Stan and Camille hugging, because in the far background of that photo, Maggie could have seen Beth talking to this man – an uninvited guest. So, whoever he was, he had to know something about Beth 's abduction! But there's one problem – On that photograph, Beth and the uninvited guest are underneath this umbrella, which hides his face.

Maggie will stop at nothing to find out whose face it is and what he had done to her best friend, Beth !

Now Maggie has this sudden emotional reunion to the case, which everyone had given up on. Will she be able to deal with what she's about to find out?

 

'A gripping mystery and thriller in one – so suspenseful! You won't put this down until the very last page.'

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Edwards
• Release date: Feb 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393094562

Mark Edwards

Mark Edwards writes psychological thrillers in which scary things happen to ordinary people. He has sold 4 million books since his first novel, The Magpies, was published in 2013, and has topped the bestseller lists numerous times. His other novels include Follow You Home, The Retreat, In Her Shadow, Because She Loves Me, The Hollows and Here to Stay. He has also co-authored six books with Louise Voss. Originally from Hastings in East Sussex, Mark now lives in Wolverhampton with his wife, their children and two cats. Mark loves hearing from readers and can be contacted through his website, www.markedwardsauthor.com, or you can find him on Facebook (@markedwardsauthor), Twitter (@mredwards) and Instagram (@markedwardsauthor).

Book preview

Formerly named 'Something Happened That Night'

This fictional work contains the names of characters, places, events and a storyline that exists only in the author's imagination.  Any resemblance to actual events, persons alive or not, is a coincidence.

This publication was created only for entertainment.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, duplication or copying of any part of this publication in any form or by whatever means is strictly prohibited unless consent is given by the author. Texts remains the intellectual property of the author.

Copyright 2020 ©

––––––––

Persons photographed are models and used only for illustrative purposes.

Class of 1987 Reunion

––––––––

Beth was suddenly snatched away that night and nobody at the party had even realized.

The parking lot of their old school, which they had left 30 years ago, was transformed into a disco stage that night.  2017 it was in Nebraska– Saturday, June 24th to be exact.  The event, essentially, was this glamorous contest to see who had put on the least weight  over the years even though everybody calls it a school reunion.

And if there was anything that sudden outburst of rain would put a damper on that night it would have been their flashy clothes, but not their mood because,  'the party must go on!' they roared after hearing the horns intro from the live band.

♪Celebration♫, the lead singer of the band thrilled.

'Ain't no reunion if they don't play this song.'

'You got that right, Sis.'

'Love that bass-line.'

'This band's killing it, Madge.'

'Haven't danced in the rain like this since prom night,' Maggie laughed.  Drunk wasn't too far off.

'Ya hooo,' Dave joined, giving her a smack on the jaw after ripping his shirt off.  Maggie pulled the bottle from him and then she poured the drink down her throat.

'Luckily we're too old to get kids now, huh?' he grinned.

'Dave, they're playing our song now - ♪ Am so excited♫'

'You better shake it with me.  Tonight's going to be a crazy night, Miss 1987 Cheerleader of the year.'

'Can't believe we didn't end up getting married.  You still know how to move those legs though, Dave. If my husband knows I danced with you like this he'd kill me.'

'If you don't tell then he won't know.  I love reunions, Maggie.'

'No spouse's invited, that's what makes reunions so nostalgic. I feel 18 again. I just want to kick my shoes off in the rain.'

And then this band member did a slide of his finger along his piano's keyboard bringing the disco music to an abrupt pause!  Tom needed to say something.  He borrowed the microphone.

'Alright, it's time for the group pictures.  Come on everybody before the rain starts pelting our heads again.'  He pointed them toward Jim who had this protruding set of lens bolted to his camera. His waistcoat and short trousers would only remind everybody  he was still the school-clown and geek after all these years.  And he seemed not to be a year older.  Laughing a lot keeps you young, they say. 'You need to grow up, Jim,' he'd often hear back in high school.  Apparently, this he did a poor job at and so he looked the youngest.

'Alright, everybody.  I know your hairs are all wet but we can still do this,' he said while standing before the group. He did this sort of elf-like skip. 'Shorter ones to the front.'

'Come on, Bob-head, hurry up and take that picture.'

'Still a bully, Peter.'

'Alright, alright, people let's do this.'

'Get a bit closer to each other,' Jim directed as he looked into his camera's viewfinder, fiddling with the rings on his camera lens to get the group in focus.  'Say cheese, everyone– After the count of three.  One–  Two– '

'Wait! Someone's missing,' stopped Maggie . She hauled her scarf over her dress.

'You always know how to stop a party,' Peter joked.

'I'm serious.  Where's Beth?'

'She was...'

'Beth's always has been late for everything.  Even the flight to come down here she was late for.'

'Maybe she went to the loo.'

'But she was here, about twenty minutes ago, I'm almost certain...' Maggie  uttered.

'Beth?  Beth, where are you?'

'BETHHHH???'

Two years later, 2019, Seattle

Chapter One

Maggie

I pulled my phone out after it beeped.  It was only this text message from Sharon, one of the girls who had attended our 30th reunion back in Nebraska two years ago, 2017.  She had been the more responsible of the lot.  She had been so instrumental in planning that Class-of-1987 Reunion and she'd keep us all posted on what's happening with everyone in the group. There were more beeps coming in, a lot. 

'What now, Sharon?'  I hauled my coat off after climbing out of my Volvo Jeep.  'Ok, then,' I grinned. 'The photos of the reunion.  For the mother of me, I didn't even realize today is June 24th, exactly two years after we'd all reunited in Nebraska.'  I wiped my jaws dry.  More beeps were coming in. 'Alright, Sharon. No more!'  I didn't want to see the pictures she was overloading my iphone with.  I didn't want to remember anything.  I wish I hadn't been there because if I hadn't been there then my best friend, Beth, wouldn't have been there.  Now that feeling of guilt was on my shoulder, feeling strong enough to poke me into the ground.  I shouldn't have influenced her to come to that reunion two years ago.

Ding. 

My phone vibrated again.  'No, Sharon.  Those wretched photos are what I don't need now,' I said.  I would have screamed it out if I didn't want my nosy neighbors to think I'm a madwoman, screaming to myself. 

'I'll delete her text messages and all of the photos as soon as I go inside.  I'll block her too.'  I shoved the phone in the back pocket of my jeans.  It was warm now.  I couldn't look at those reunion photographs.  I didn't want to be reminded of the fun we had back in Nebraska not when my best friend went missing, without warning.  My head pains started.  It was time for some aspirins.  I've barely come out of depression and now, you're going to send me photos to remind me?

I pulled my bag of groceries from off the rear seat after pressing the remote, closing our front gate.

*

Forty minutes had happened and I sat by the fireplace, alone as usual, my cup of coffee on the floor beside me. Colby wasn't home as yet– must have been out drinking as usual.  He hadn't been very supportive throughout my period of depression.  We had our separate solitude.  We weren't the best couple but we've had better days.  He didn't have an office job or an envied profession like those other husbands of my former schoolmates but I was still proud of what he did.  He owned this large farm, which had been handed down to him.  He had started drinking more and haven't been himself for maybe over two years.  He couldn't have cared less if I ended up in a madhouse.  The only reason I didn't have sex with my high school crush, Dave, at that reunion in 2017 was that Beth suddenly went missing.

'Oh, the text and photos from Sharon.  I'd totally forgotten to delete them.'

And so I went toward my mobile phone.  I scrolled through and then I wiped my thumb over the [delete] icon after selecting Sharon's message.  'Once and for all.'

I was just about to press [yes] to delete but my fingers suddenly became too heavy. I felt somewhat guided.  I swallowed after