Scarlett was leaning against the side of the cell. Janey picked the guy’s torch up and shone it around. They were in some kind of cellar and the two wooden boxes they’d been kept in were quite clearly cages in the light. They looked like animal cages, and she realised that’s exactly all they were to the guy who was probably slowly bleeding to death on the floor.
‘We need to get out of here.’
A loud bark from the tunnel the guy had come down filled the air, and Janey turned around. The beam of light picked outanother, identical, tunnel. She pointed towards it. ‘That way, he has a guard dog. It might be vicious.’
She led the way. Scarlett was struggling to walk, each step made the air inside of her lungs burn as the cold air seemed to be sucked in through the burning hole in her side.
‘Wait, I need something to wrap my side up with. It hurts too much when I walk.’
Janey turned to look at her, and for a moment Scarlett thought that she was going to leave her behind, her eyes were so hard and focused. Then she pulled the sweater she was wearing off and tied it around Scarlett’s waist, so tight Scarlett felt the room begin to swim.
‘Hey, stay focused. I need you to stay with me, Scarlett.’ She gently slapped her cheek, and Scarlett glared at her but realised that she no longer felt faint.
‘I’m okay, thanks.’
‘Follow me, I need you to stay close. We’re getting out of here.’
Scarlett clutched the back of the thin T-shirt that Janey was wearing and shuffled along behind her. The tunnel was going downhill, which was something because if it had been going upwards, she didn’t think she’d make it.
At least they’d managed to incapacitate their kidnapper. They were safe now as long as they could get out of this place.
FIFTY-THREE
Morgan tried to stay calm as she knocked on Joyce Black’s door for the third time in twenty-four hours. There was a huge difference this time. Her hands were shaking with adrenaline at the thought that they were so close, that she had been so close to the missing women and hadn’t even suspected Joyce had anything to do with what happened. That hurt Morgan a lot and she wondered how much Joyce knew. She hoped she was wrong about Grant.
Cain hovered behind her. She’d told him to let her do the speaking, but now she wondered what she was going to say. Her mouth had gone so dry her tongue felt as if it had tripled in size. Finally, she heard footsteps and the door opened. Joyce was dressed in jogging pants and a hoodie today, both with theStranger Thingslogo on.
‘Hi, Morgan, what a surprise.’
‘Hi, Joyce, can we come in?’
Joyce looked from her to Cain and nodded. ‘Of course, I was just about to make some coffee.’ She opened the door wide and ushered them inside.
Morgan hovered in the hallway, wondering where Gerald was and where the girls were.
‘Go down to the kitchen, I’ll be along in a minute. Left my glasses upstairs and can’t see a thing without them.’
Morgan smiled at her and went into the kitchen that was warm and smelled of bacon sandwiches. There were two mugs on the table, and she pointed to Cain and silently mouthed,he’s here.
He nodded, took out his phone and sent a quick message then shoved his phone back into his pocket. They could hear Joyce moving around upstairs, and Morgan looked around the kitchen. There was a magnetic knife rack above the cooker with enough knives to stop an army, and she didn’t know if she felt comforted by them and the fact that there were weapons to hand or worried that they could also be used against her and Cain.
Joyce walked back in with a shotgun in her hands and aimed it straight at Cain’s chest.
‘I wish that it hadn’t come to this, Morgan, I really do. Why are you here this time? You’ve already searched my house and didn’t find anything. Get your hands up, the both of you.’
Cain glanced at Morgan as if to saywhat the fuck, and Morgan felt a crippling pain so bad in her chest that she had dragged him into this. They raised their hands in the air.
‘I don’t understand what’s going on, Joyce,’ Morgan asked her, keeping her voice as calm as she could.
‘Yes, you do. You came here looking for Gerald. Who told you about him?’
‘Nobody, I checked the electoral register, and he’s still registered as living here.’
Joyce let out a sigh. ‘Well then, that just shows you can be the cleverest kid in the class and still as stupid as shit.’
‘Where is he, Joyce, and where are the girls?’
‘He isn’t here; he had to go on a little trip.’
