Millie still didn’t move.
‘Now, you’re not going to make me pick you up and carry you like a baby, are you?’
She didn’t want that, so slowly she lifted her head and stood up, still keeping her back to the wall.
The woman held out her hand, and after a moment’s hesitation Millie took it, hoping those long nails didn’t cut into her skin. The hand felt icy, but everything in this house was cold.
Holding back the plastic, the woman led Millie out into a wider space, and then pulled another sheet out of the way. They were in some sort of hall with no furniture, lots more sheets of plastic and some stairs ahead. There was no carpet, only bare wood.
‘Up we go.’
Holding Millie’s hand so tightly that it hurt, the woman led her to the top of the stairs. More plastic covered other doorways, but there was one proper door.
‘I’m sorry the house isn’t finished for you, sweetheart. I wanted it to be ready, but I had to do things a bit sooner than I’d originally planned. It should all have been done but I had this special part finished this morning, and you’re going to love it.’
Millie didn’t understand. Why would she be getting something ready for her? Were Mummy and Daddy going to live here too?
The woman pushed open a door and Millie saw a big bed. There was some other furniture too, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the bed. It was the biggest she had ever seen. The whole room seemed enormous and empty, with no carpets or curtains.
There were two doors on the far side of the room. One of them stood open, and Millie could see the edge of a bath. The other one was closed. Still holding her hand, the woman led her towards it.
‘Here we are, Millie. This is your surprise. Close your eyes now.’
She didn’t want to. She was too scared, so the woman tutted and put her hand over Millie’s eyes. She heard the door open.
‘You can look now!’ She pulled her hand away.
Millie could feel the woman watching her. She stared around the room, then closed her eyes and opened them again. But nothing had changed.
‘Do you like it?’ the woman asked.
Millie didn’t answer. She walked over to the wall and reached out a hand to touch a pattern of clouds and birds on a pink background. She looked at the bed, at the pink and purple cover, and she wanted to cry. She wanted to look out of the window, to see what was outside. But there was no window in the walls, only in the roof.
The woman walked over and knelt at her side. ‘It’s lovely, isn’t it? You’ll feel right at home here.’
Millie couldn’t hold back the tears any longer.
‘Where’s Mummy? I want Mummy,’ she sobbed.
The woman held out both hands and grabbed Millie’s. She tried to snatch them away, but the woman was holding them too tightly. Her lips were pinched, as if she was cross.
‘You don’t need Mummy, Millie. You’ve got me now.’
It felt like ages since the woman had shown Millie to her room. She’d brought her some biscuits and some juice, then said she had to go out. Did that mean that Millie was here in the house all on her own? That wasn’t allowed, and she didn’t know whether to be pleased the woman had gone or frightened because she was all alone. She didn’t like the house. It seemed empty and echoey, and all those plastic sheets seemed to be hiding things.
For a long time after the woman had gone, Millie lay on the bed and sobbed. She didn’t want to be here. She wanted to go home. She slithered under the duvet, cuddling it around her for comfort, and she must have slept for a while because when she woke up the rain had stopped clattering on the window in the roof, and the sky seemed to be turning dark.
Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and looked around. There were lots of toys and a TV, which she didn’t have in her room at home. Mummy said she wanted them to watch TV together, and didn’t want Millie to be a stranger. She didn’t really understand that, but she loved watching nature programmes on CBBC with Daddy, who always explained things to her. She didn’t want to watch television now, without Daddy, and she didn’t want to play with any of the toys – not even the dolls’ house. She just wanted to go home.
Millie got off the bed and tiptoed towards the door, not sure if she was allowed to leave the room. She stood close to the door for a while, trying to decide whether or not to open it and go out. What if there was someone else in the house?
She didn’t want the woman to be cross; it made her voice go tight. She didn’t want to stay in the bedroom either. She took a deep breath and reached for the handle, pressing it down ever so slowly in case it made a noise.
She tried to pull the door towards her. It didn’t move. She pushed the handle further down and rattled it, tugging, pulling on the door again. It still didn’t move. It was locked.
Millie began to panic. There was another door and she ran towards it, but it led into a tiny bathroom – just big enough for a toilet and sink. There were no windows, and no way out.
She ran back to the first door and tried moving the handle up instead of down, grasping it with both hands and pulling.
‘Help!’ she called, banging the flat of her left hand on the wood while she rattled the handle with her right. ‘Let me out!’
Millie called and called, but no one came.
‘Mummy, where are you? Daddy, why don’t you come and get me?’
She heard a noise. Someone was coming, and she held her breath to listen. Heavy footsteps sounded outside the door.
‘Mummy? Daddy?’ she said, her voice little more than a whisper.
But no one answered. All Millie could hear was the sound of breathing.
44
‘Christ, Jo, you look like shit!’
I don’t think it’s worth responding to Nousha. I’m sure she’s right and frankly I couldn’t care less.
‘Who are these women?’ she asks rudely, nodding her head at Becky and Zoe.
‘Sit down, Noush,’ I say. She gives me a puzzled look and stays where she is. ‘Suit yourself. I’m going to sit down even if you’re not.’
Wearily I make my way into the sitting room.
‘Becky, Zoe, make yourselves at home.’
‘Shall I find the kitchen?’ Zoe asks, ever ready with a hot drink.
‘If you like, but I just want water. I’m awash with hospital tea.’
‘Hospital?’ Nousha says. ‘Jo, what’s going on?’
I sigh. She deserves an explanation, and Becky says it’s okay to tell her now. They want me to appear on TV later today, to make an appeal, so I’m going to have to tell those closest to me.
‘Ash is in hospital.’ Before Nousha can go into meltdown, I hold up one hand and quickly carry on. ‘He’s okay. He’s going to be fine. This is Becky, and the woman in the kitchen is Zoe. They’re police officers.’
‘Was it an accident? But his car’s here. And so is yours.’
I’d forgotten that the police had brought my car back from the hotel where I’d left it what seems like five years ago but is actually less than twenty-four hours. They want the kidnappers to believe I’m home if they come knocking, which they are reasonably certain is not going to happen.