What Happened to Eva Sanchez?

It’s funny how you can feel a person even when they’re gone.

The way the butcher at the local supermarket still knows their order. The way their earthy smell lingers on their favourite black Kaiserchiefs T-shirt. The way their sofa in the corner of the living room is still damp with coconut hair oil, and no one can quite bring themselves to sit in it.

I bounced into Jude’s caravan, grinning, about to boast about my total lack of a hangover. But Kayleigh was in Jude’s arms. Her face was puffy with tears. Jude just shook his head, jaw tight, and said:

“She’s gone.”

***

Eight hours had passed since that morning. Night was falling fast.

The heat from the day lingered, making the air taste faintly burnt. Outside Jude’s battered caravan, the steep hills of the Lake District echoed the bird calls.

“Right. That’s it,” Jude said, standing up from the caravan’s cushioned bench with a start. “I’m calling the police.”

Eva, the fourth friend on this road trip, had been missing since last night – and we had been arguing about what to do all day. Kayleigh had been a sobbing mess just about as long.

Sure, I didn’t know Eva well. The only reason I was on this post-A-Level-exam road trip was because I happened to live in 32 Hadley Grove and Kayleigh lived in 34.

But even I knew how devoted Kayleigh was to Eva. Everyone on the street knew that if Eva asked Kayleigh to jump out of a window, she would.  

“We can’t!” Kayleigh stopped sobbing into my sweatshirt for a moment. “Our activities weren’t exactly… legal last night,” she said, glaring at Jude.

When Jude – the older boy who only came here to do his uni film project and was meant to be 'looking after us' - offered us his smiley faced tablets of ecstasy last night, I almost spit out my lukewarm Stella.

Kayleigh and Eva didn’t do drugs. Not since Kayleigh’s brother, Ralph was locked up for possession – and died in custody. 

But Eva, with a strange glint in her eye, just said, “Try me.”

The tripping had been funny. 

What wasn’t funny was waking up and finding Eva’s sleeping bag empty.

“We can’t call the police, we can’t,” Kayleigh sobbed. I knew that she was thinking about Ralph. The police was the reason he was dead – Kayleigh wasn’t about to let that happen to us. “And, I mean, Eva doesn’t want to be found.”

“Meaning?” Jude raised one pink eyebrow.

“She’s upped and left us, hasn’t she? Run away!” Kayleigh shook her head. “Last night, she kept saying something about feeling trapped. Wanting to get away…”

I wasn’t so sure. I mean, I knew Eva was wild, but she cared for Kayleigh. Would Eva really run away, without so much as a Post-it note?

Something was very wrong.

“I’m going for a piss,” I said.

As soon as I shut the battered door behind me, I slammed my back against the cool black metal. I could feel my pulse rising, my breaths growing frantic.

I just had to focus. What would Sherlock do? I struggled to remember the dozens of episodes me and Mum binged after she bought me the box set for my birthday.

Step 1: collect evidence.

Turning on my iPhone’s torch, I went round the side of the caravan to investigate. I saw my red sleeping bag, neatly rolled up. Eva’s next to it, a curled mess. Beside her sleeping bag, her scruffy purple backpack.

Kneeling down, I slowly unzipped the backpack.

When I saw what was inside, I dropped the bag like I’d been electrocuted. I stumbled backwards, hand pressed against my mouth. The caravan’s metal was cool against my back. 

Because tumbling out of that bag, came one very worrying thing.

Glinting black in the dim light of the path, was… Eva’s iPhone 8.

Maybe I wasn’t a detective.

But even I knew that nobody runs away without their phone.

***

“Y’alright out there, sugarplum?”

Jude’s call from inside the caravan made me jump. Pocketing the iPhone with shaking hands, I yelled:

“Fine, just a number 2!”

They were already suspicious! I would have to go back to the caravan for the night.

It was fine – we weren’t going anywhere, not while Eva was gone. I would have to return tomorrow morning to investigate.

It was just a case of staying calm. I took a deep breath. Wiping the tears I hadn’t noticed from my face, I walked back to the caravan, eased open the door and entered.  

“Jesus! That was the mother of all shits, eh?” Jude grinned at me.

Then his head cocked to one side. “Y’alright there, sweets?”

I nodded slowly, my stomach coiling into a tight ball. His dark eyes were still on me. Probing. He wasn’t buying it. He could see my knees shaking, the redness of my nose.

Grinning brightly, I went to the caravan door and said, “Might hit the ole’ sleeping bag out there.”

But when I looked back, Jude had disappeared. I realised he was in the caravan’s cabin, with the steering wheel.

As I felt the engine rumble into life beneath me, he called, “Oh yeah, run and bring the sleeping bags in! We’re going.”

My eyes widened. “N-no!”

We couldn’t leave all the evidence behind. We couldn’t leave… Eva behind!

“What?” he said.

Dammit. I had to calm down. Quick.

“Um, what I mean is, shouldn’t we wait for her to… come back?”

“Look, that Eva girl doesn’t want anything to do with us. We’ve got to get home.”

I shook my head frantically. I had to stop this!

“Um… let’s stay one day, yeah? One? Just… in case?”

Jude was silent for a long moment. Then, finally, he said, “Alright, then. One day.”

I gritted my teeth to stop myself pumping the air with joy.

I had one day to find out what the hell happened to Eva Sanchez.

***

The next day, in that greyish time before dawn, I sneaked out of my sleeping bag, careful not to wake sleeping Kayleigh beside me (Jude slept inside the caravan).

As I strode down the dusty brown country lane, I realised I had no idea what I was looking for. The bird cries were eerie now, each one making me jump. The pre-dawn air was chilly, nipping at my skin.

That was, until I saw a jagged gap in the stone wall.

I neared it, looked inside. The long, unkempt grass was flattened here. The trail, like something heavy had been dragged over the grass, continued into the field. Down the inside of the stone wall.

Up to a big oak tree, where the grass gave way to crunchy soil.

As I curved round the tree, I saw something. I could easily have missed it, if I wasn’t looking. Barely a ‘thing’ really.

It was a long, raised mound of soil.

No.

My fingers, bleached white in the cold, started to shake. My chest felt like it was filling up with icy water.

Oh no.

I knelt down, started scrabbling at the soil with my fingers. It slipped under my fingernails, but I didn’t care.

I kept digging till something poked out of the soil. Holding my breath, I pulled at the little spot. It grew into a string.

When I saw what it was, I dropped it and fell hard onto my backside.

It was a long, unmistakeable lock of hair.

It was a bright purple.

Tears streaked hot down my face. What was I playing at? This wasn’t bloody Sherlock, this was real life! I felt like a seven year old again, watching CSI wide-eyed after my parents dozed off on the sofa, seeing all the crimes in shocking colour, not believing they were real.

I couldn’t even call the police. I couldn’t allow the same thing to happen to Kayleigh or Jude that happened to Kayleigh’s brother Ralph.

I had never wanted anything like I wanted to run back to the caravan and pretend that none of this ever happened.

But I couldn’t. Because Eva was gone. Because if I didn’t find out more, this would haunt me for the rest of my life.

So, ten minutes later, I’d dug out enough to reveal a face.

A girl’s face. About my age – 18, 19. Six piercings. Purple hair so bright it could outshine the sun.

My eyes fell shut as I collapsed onto the wet grass.

That was Eva, alright.

***

As I walked back to the caravan, my mind was spinning. So Eva hadn’t run away, hadn’t left us. Somebody had put her there.

I made a detour to a stream to wash the dirt from my fingernails. As the shock of icy water clasped my fingers, an image flashed into my head.

“Oi, Anushka.”

Eva barrelled into the caravan, squished herself in the seat beside me. Her eyes were wide, her forehead stuck in a frown.

“You won’t believe what’s just happened, mate.”

I looked up from my battered copy of ‘And Then There Were None’.

“What?”

“Fuck. You were right! You were right all along!”

In that moment, Kayleigh came bouncing in. “Wanna get a drink?

Think I saw a pub down in the village.” She paused. Took in our faces. “What are you guys nattering about?”

Eva’s mouth fell open. “Um… Anushka was just… telling me about her…” She grabbed the book from my fingers. “Crime book thingy.”

I jumped back to reality. My fingers were a greyish blue; I quickly removed them from the water and warmed them on my flannel shirt.

What had Eva been so anxious to tell me the night before last? What had I been ‘right’ about? And why was her revelation a secret?

It made no sense. It had to have something to do with her death, it had to.

I sprinted back to the caravan, head full of ideas.

***

That night, after Kayleigh had gone to sleep, I got up from my sleeping bag and sneaked back into the caravan.

Step 2: interview witnesses

It was time to find out what Jude knew about Eva’s death. Only, I had to be discreet. It would not be helpful if he knew I was sniffing around.

Jude was sitting on one of the caravan’s cushioned benches, sipping from a beer bottle.

“And what brings you into the Jude-mobile, ma cherie?”

I wiped my sweaty palms on my pyjama bottoms. “Um, Jude-“

He interrupted me. “Eh-eh-eh?”

Rolling my eyes, I corrected, “senpai?”

For some reason, he insisted on being called that. Jude motioned for me to continue.

“Couldn’t sleep, that’s all,” I lied. I accepted the musty cider he offered me from under the seat, and sat down.

 “Eva?” he asked.

“Eva,” I nodded, grateful that I wasn’t lying, for once.

Ok. It was time to start probing.

“Was Eva acting… I don’t know… funny last night?”

Jude smiled vaguely as if he couldn’t understand me. “You know, my film project is going to be an absolute hit. The Lake District: A New Perspective!” He picked up his laptop, ready to show me another boring shot of the hills.

I groaned. Why was he avoiding my question?

“Um, Eva? How was she?”

“Look, I know I’m just a film student, but just imagine: the young Hitchcock. Do you even understand how long it took to set up 16 cameras on the road in the middle of bloody nowhere?”

I sighed. “Jude!”

He suddenly froze. He stared at me like he’d only just noticed I was there. “Eva?” His eyes dropped. “Well, yeah, she was a bit off.”

Finally! Some useful information…

“Of course, she couldn’t resist the J-man a.k.a. the ladies favourite.”

“Meaning?” I frowned.

“Well, we made out.”

Seeing my absolutely blank expression, he clarified, “Kissed? Snogged? Engaged in debauchery?”

I almost dropped my drink. Was Jude lying? Why would he lie?

Jude continued, “Yeah, she seemed absolutely wild. Just ran up and started snogging me, in the middle of the bloody road. Obviously, I always get that kind of reaction, but…”

My mouth had been hanging open for so long that my tongue was drying out.

Because there was something inexplicably strange about Jude’s story.

The Eva I knew – if briefly – would never kiss Jude.

“Eva’s gay.”

Jude blinked twice, absolutely still.

I continued, “Tell me you’re not surprised! The boycut? The boots? Her Instagram is ‘@killerdyke’, for god’s sake!”

Wait a second. Did Eva’s strange behaviour have anything to do with the discovery she made that day? The thing that I ‘was right’ about?

Jude spluttered, his caramel face slowly turning red like the inside of a toaster. “Well, obviously I knew that, babe.” He gulped, frowning like he didn’t really believe himself. “I mean, Eva and Kayleigh were obviously hot for each other.”

Okay, Jude’s ideas could be a little wacky. But this theory about Kayleigh and Eva being ‘more than friends’ wasn’t crazy.

 In fact, I’d thought the same thing myself when I first saw Eva and Kayleigh at close quarters. What kind of person folded their friend’s underwear for them? Or stared at them with those dopey eyes, catching every word? Kayleigh even had purple hair – it was easy to tell where that came from.

Wait a second.

What if that – Kayleigh’s hidden crush on Eva – was the thing that I was ‘right’ about? What if that was the discovery that made Eva so thrown off?

Jude leaned back in his chair, wearing his trademark smirk. “I mean, chicks always fight when they’re into each other. Rule of nature, ma amie.”

I was jolted out of my thoughts. “Always fight?”

Whenever I watched Eva picking up Kayleigh at her house, or the two leaving for town together, they seemed in perfect harmony. In fact, I hadn’t seen them so much as snap at each other during this whole road trip.

“Um, yeah, just two nights ago they were having a mad tiff.” Jude cleared his throat. “I could hear them shouting something outside the back of the caravan.”

Goosebumps prickled over my skin. “Two nights ago?”

And then, I thought, the night before Eva disappeared?

Jude continued, “Yeah, and when Kayleigh saw us making out that night, she seemed well rattled. Mumbling something about betrayal.”

Suddenly, I felt a cold sweat spread inside the back of my shirt. Pieces were falling into a sickening puzzle.

What if Kayleigh and Eva had been arguing because of Kayleigh’s confession of love?

Jude drained the last dregs of his beer, put the dirty glass straight into the cupboard, and wriggled into his sleeping bag.

“Goodnight, yeah? I’ve gotta get up mad early tomorrow to bring my cameras in before the dew ruins them.”

He turned his head away from me. I was about to scoff at his absolutely unscientific fear of ‘dew’ ruining his cameras, when I realised something.

The cameras.

Jude had set up film cameras all around the site of the caravan!

“Show me the cameras.”

Jude looked up from where he was sleeping. “Now? Since when do you care about my art?”

My chest felt like it was expanding, filling with hot air.

“Look, I haven’t got time to explain, let’s just say I have a sudden urge to understand the Lake District!”

My voice must have sounded frantic because Jude didn’t even come up with a snappy comeback. He just nodded.

As we trooped out to the site of the cameras in the dark, I could barely hear Jude’s whingeing about the cold.

If this plan worked… I could find out what happened to Eva Sanchez.

The first camera revealed nothing but grass.

The second showed a stray squirrel, getting my heart rate up, but nothing else.

It was the third camera that revealed something.

I gasped, and dropped the camera onto the wet grass.

“What is it? What’d’ya see?” Jude asked.

But I was too stunned to speak. After a moment, I stuttered:

“Everything.”

***

I was running down the lane, phone attached to my ear, the stars above me playing their chilling melody.

“Mum?” I was breathing hard, salty tears wetting my dry tongue. “Eva’s gone.”

Taking a deep breath, I said, “I think Kayleigh confessed that she loved Eva, but Eva refused her!” I had to stop speaking to let out a choking sob.

“Then, just to spite Kayleigh, Eva went and kissed Jude. Only, Kayleigh saw them kissing – and that pushed her over the edge. Mum, Kayleigh got angry and accidentally killed Eva!”

“I found Eva’s body, Kayleigh buried her, here, on that night when we were too high to hear a thing!”

My mind flashed back to the grainy video picked up by Jude’s camera.

It showed Kayleigh and Eva arguing furiously, so close their noses almost touched. Suddenly, Kayleigh shoved Eva, not hard, certainly not to kill.

Only, something went wrong. By accident, the force of it sent Eva falling backwards onto the ground, where her head hit a rock. Hard.

Kayleigh dropped to her knees. A long while later, she could be seen dragging Eva’s slack body out of the screen.

There was no doubt as to where Eva Sanchez had gone. Or who put her there.

After hearing Mum’s response, I screamed, “Of course I’m bloody sure! Jude’s cameras picked up the whole thing!”

I was still blubbering down the phone when I heard something. It was hurried footsteps coming down the lane.

I spun around. My phone clattered onto the dusty ground. I sucked in a gasp, too shocked even to scream.

It was Kayleigh, standing there with her arms crossed in her black stripy pyjamas, her long purple hair a wild mess.

There was not a soul in sight; even Jude was far away, asleep in the caravan.

I fell to my knees and clasped my hands in a prayer.

Kayleigh leaned in, and whispered:

“Oh no, you don’t.”