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He bounced up and down on his heels. ‘That’s when I ate the food. I’d made it for you just before they arrived. They saw it and I didn’t want them wondering who it was for. So while they were banging around looking in cupboards and under beds – as if I’d be so stupid as to hide anything valuable in such an obvious place – I ate it. As though it was mine all along.’

He shrugged.

‘And so no food until tomorrow.’

‘Why,’ Maggie said, in a whisper, ‘why do they not like you?’

He shook his head ruefully. ‘My wife,’ he said. ‘Ex-wife, that is, found some photographs I’d taken. She couldn’t understand that they were harmless and innocent and she made a big fuss, and then the police came and she told them – can you believe that? She told them – about the photos and I had to destroy them.’

‘What kind of photos?’

‘Nothing, really! Photos of people. Girls, mainly. On the way to and from school. She said it was disgusting that I took them, but she was wrong.’ He leaned forward, his eyes bright. ‘They were beautiful. Not obscene. Not disgusting. They were works of art. And they were harmless. The girls didn’t even know I’d taken them.’ He sighed. ‘But it worked out well. It was serendipitous. You know what that means? It comes from the Three Princes of Serendip and it means lucky. Fortuitous. I’ll tell you all about it some day. Anyway, it was serendipitous because it meant I had to re-start my collection and that meant I found you.’

Maggie was glad she hadn’t eaten. If she had, she would have thrown it up.

‘I saw you soon afterwards and I realized immediately you were special. You were the one I had to have. It had all happened for a reason: to lead me to you. There was something about you. A light you gave off. I could see you were kind and sweet and loving and I decided at that moment that I had to have you. I had to pluck you from the cruel and corrupting world you were in and keep you safe. You don’t think so now, but in time you’ll appreciate what I’m doing for you.’

‘Please,’ Maggie said. ‘Leave me alone.’

‘Then I discovered who you actually were. It was perfect. I couldn’t believe who you were.’

‘What do you mean?’ Maggie said. ‘Who am I?’

‘That’s for later,’ he said. ‘It took me a long time to get you. Every week I drove near your house, waiting for a chance to talk to you. And it finally came.’

He took a step towards her.

‘And now you’re finally here. Home.’

‘This is not my home,’ Maggie said. ‘This will never be my home. This is a prison.’

‘I’m sorry you feel that way,’ the man said. ‘But you’ll change your mind, eventually. And I’m in no hurry. I have all the time in the world.’

He undid the belt on his blue bathrobe and walked across the room. Maggie pulled her knees tighter to her chest. ‘No,’ she said, her breathing shallow, the panic in full flow. ‘No. Please. No.’

He frowned. ‘OK,’ he said. ‘For you, Fruitcake, anything. But there is one thing I want.’ He bent down and pressed his lips to her forehead. ‘I just want a kiss from my little girl.’

She closed her eyes. The man said it again.

‘Give me a kiss. Then I’ll go away.’

It was awful, but it was better than the alternative. She turned her head and kissed him. His lips were warm and wet. His tongue stabbed into her mouth and she fought not to gag. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but it felt like a lifetime.

‘Good night, my darling,’ he said.

She waited until the door closed and she heard the scraping sound before she opened her eyes.

And then she started to sob.

Tuesday, 19 June 2018

Four Days to Go

1

She was already awake when Max rolled on to her chest and pressed his cheek to hers. Sleep had been impossible, her mind replaying her useless escape attempt.

Reminding her that her last chance was gone. The man would be on alert now, watching for anything out of the ordinary.