Deadline

Thirty-four

Upstairs they were arguing again. It was the second time she'd heard them today. Emma couldn't hear what they were saying – the voices were too muffled for that – but she knew it was about her, and was pretty sure what the subject would be: whether she lived or died. She wondered which of the two of them was in charge. She prayed it was the smelly one, but something told her he wouldn't be.

Neither man had been down to see her today. This was unusual. It had been light for hours now, and the bucket she was going to the toilet in needed changing. She was also hungry, and though she'd vowed not to eat anything until she could slip off her handcuffs, she thought she might have to relent on that one. She was using up plenty of energy, scraping away at the wall – a task that had become something of a full-time activity. The chain was definitely getting looser, but it still wasn't budging, and she knew she was beginning to run out of time. The nail had worn down by about a third, and her fingers were stiff and aching. If she stopped eating altogether, she ran the risk of being too weak to escape if an opportunity did somehow arise, although she was still unsure exactly how she'd get out anyway, even if she got the chain free from the wall.

Take it one step at a time, she told herself.

Upstairs the voices stopped, and she broke off what she was doing too, replacing the nail under her pillow and pushing the bed back against the wall so that the metal plate wasn't showing.

For a few minutes she sat there in silence, the butterflies racing around her stomach as she wondered if they'd come to a decision about what to do with her. Maybe they had; maybe they'd agreed it was best simply to kill her. 'Calm down,' she whispered out loud. 'Calm down. Remember what Mum always says. It's the tough ones who rise to the top.'

But when the cellar door opened she had to stop herself from crying out as she pushed herself back against the wall, praying that this wasn't the end, reaching for the hood she had to wear and thrusting it over her head, not wanting to give them any more of an excuse for getting rid of her.

It was the smelly one. She could hear his heavier footfalls as he came down the steps, that wheezing of his. She felt a surge of relief, even enjoyed the familiar odour of his BO, which was stronger than usual today. She heard him stop at the bed, put some food down on the floor, and change the waste bucket.

'Hello,' she said uncertainly.

'All right, love?' he answered, in his gruff voice. 'Did you sleep all right?'

She nodded. 'OK, I guess.'

She could smell his breath as he crouched down in front of her.

'I just need you to do another little message for your mum. I want you to let her know what day it is, so she knows you're OK.'

'OK.'

'So, I'm going to lift your hood up, all right? Just a little bit so you can see the date on the paper.'

She nodded again, waiting patiently while he lifted up the hood and placed the newspaper in front of her face, obscuring her view of anything else. He held it there, giving her plenty of time to see it, and she stared straight ahead obediently, confirmed that it was indeed Saturday, and the hood was replaced. He then recorded a very short message from her before switching off the tape player.

'Well done, love,' he said, trying to sound all cheery, but not quite making it. 'Not long now and you'll be home in front of the telly.'

'What are you arguing about up there?'

'Can you hear us?' He seemed surprised.

'I can't hear what you're saying, but I know you're arguing, because your voices are very loud. Is it about me?'

'Course not.'

She didn't believe him. 'He wants to kill me, doesn't he?'

'No, no, it's not like that,' he said quickly, but he sounded flustered, like one of her friends who'd been caught out telling a lie.

'Please don't let your friend kill me. Please. I never saw his face, I promise, whatever he says.'

'I won't, love, it's all right.'

'Because I know how cruel he is. When he came down here yesterday, he really scared me.'

Beneath the hood, she pretended to cry (she'd vowed not to cry for real any more), hoping this would make him feel sorry for her. And it seemed to work. He put an arm around her and pulled her into his shoulder. The smell of BO coming from his armpit made her want to gag but she forced herself to ignore it. She had to keep him on her side.

'I promise you, darling, no one's going to hurt you while I'm here. I wouldn't let anyone hurt defenceless kids.' His hand stroked her head. 'Tonight it's all going to be over and you'll be going home. I'm sorry my friend had to come down yesterday. I didn't want him to, but it was important your mum took things seriously, you know.'

'He put a knife to my face.'

His arm tensed, almost crushing her. She realized then how strong he was.

'Bastard,' he hissed angrily. 'Did he?'

'Yes.'

'Don't worry, he won't be coming down here again. And he won't touch you, I promise. No one hurts kids on my watch.'

His hand continued to stroke her hair, his gloved fingers slowly massaging her head. It was a horrible, creepy sensation, like spiders running across it, and she really wanted to move away, but she couldn't. He had her pinned.

'Who's in charge?' she whispered, trying to ignore what he was doing. 'You or him?'

'Neither,' he answered, but she heard him hesitate. And that told her everything.

It was the cruel one.

She desperately wanted to feel better, had hoped that his words might soothe her, but as he got up and left, telling her to enjoy her meal, the waste bucket sloshing and slapping against the banister as he mounted the steps, she felt instead a growing sense that something dark and terrible was about to happen.

And it was going to happen soon.