She got Chrissie back on to the subject of Rupert, letting her ramble on and on.
Finally Chrissie said, ‘I’m talking too much.’
‘Talk all you want. There’s nothing else we can do.’
‘I’ve had a hell of a lot of time to think in the past twenty-four hours. I’ve been so vile to you because of Rupert. We all were, but me in particular, shouting at you at the wedding, then bitching you up over the weekend, and finally,’ her voice cracked, ‘putting the diamond in your suitcase.’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Bella. ‘If I loved someone, I’d have behaved just the same.’
‘But you’ve been so good to me since I’ve been here. You’re so strong and brave. You say you’re ashamed of the kind of background you have, but it certainly makes you able to cope with a situation like this, standing up to them, going for Ricardo with that chair. I don’t really know why you’re doing it, but I just want to say thank you, and that I was quite wrong about you, and that I really love you, and I’m sorry I’ve been so bloody.’
Bella turned away so Chrissie wouldn’t see she was crying. Ridiculous that when things were so grim, Chrissie saying those things should make her so happy.
‘Lazlo’s got you all wrong,’ said Chrissie, ‘and when we — I mean if we — one’s so superstitious about presuming anything — get out, I’ll tell him how lovely you are.’
She started to cough, on and on, until Eduardo brought her a glass of water.
‘You’ll have to get her something stronger,’ said Bella.
‘The others are going to bring back cough medicine,’ said Eduardo.
Chapter Twenty-one
The waiting was terrible. Bella read stories from Woman’s Own out loud, acting out the dialogue, camping it up to make Chrissie laugh. Finally Chrissie fell into an uneasy sleep. It was amazing to Bella that her violent spasms of coughing didn’t wake her up.
The two o’clock news still had no mention of the kidnapping, but, as the afternoon passed, Bella began to sense an increasing restlessness amongst the gunmen. Just after four o’clock there was a swift crunch on the gravel, three knocks, the front door opening and shutting, followed by raised, urgent voices.
Chrissie woke up.
‘I can’t stand it,’ she sobbed. ‘I can’t bear being cooped up any more.’
‘Hush,’ said Bella sharply. ‘I want to listen.’
She could recognize Carlos’s thick accent, and Eduardo’s deep, authoritative voice, and Ricardo’s oily whine, but she couldn’t hear Diego’s light, gentle drawl. Her palms were soaking; she must keep calm.
The next moment the door was unlocked and in came Ricardo and Eduardo, looking thunderous, and dragged her off into the living-room. Ricardo seized her and forced her arm behind her back, his fingers biting into her flesh.
‘You’ve been talking to Diego, haven’t you?’ he said. ‘Where is he?’
‘Ow, you’re hurting me,’ said Bella, joy bubbling up inside her. ‘How should I know where he is? I’ve been locked up all the time. Isn’t he here?’
Ricardo bent her arm even farther back.
‘He liked you. He fancied you. You’ve talked him round.’
‘I have not,’ said Bella indignantly. ‘It’s more than my life’s worth to talk to anyone here. Where is he?’
‘None of your business,’ snapped Eduardo.
They cross-questioned her endlessly. Had she talked to Diego? What was his mood last night? Several times they gave her stinging slaps across the face, but she was too elated to care.
Finally she asked if she could have a cigarette.
‘We haven’t got any,’ said Ricardo. ‘Diego’s done a bunk with all the supplies.’
She was thrown back into the room with Chrissie.
‘Don’t get too excited, and don’t ask me any questions,’ she muttered, ‘but things are looking up.’
‘Tell me,’ whispered Chrissie.
‘Better if I don’t,’ said Bella. ‘If you don’t know, they can’t beat it out of you.’
Outside the door she could hear the panicking getting worse. Hope grew inside her. If only they didn’t get frightened into becoming violent. She re-read that damn Woman’s Own over and over again. She could crochet that matinée jacket in her sleep now, but she had to force herself to do something or she’d go nuts.
Hours limped by, waiting for a crunch on the gravel that didn’t come. She listened to every bulletin on the wireless, but there was still no reference.
Chrissie’s cough was getting worse, and on Bella’s nerves. She suddenly started panicking that they’d notice her ring was missing. There was a suntan band where it had gone. Could she say it had dropped off because she’d got so thin and she couldn’t find it?
Back came Eduardo and Ricardo to cross-question her.
‘What did he talk about last night? Tell us again.’
‘Nothing much, mostly about his son. He was worried about his health. Maybe he’s telephoned home and got bad news and made a bolt for it.’
‘You know something?’
‘God, I wish I did. I’d have hitched a lift if I knew he was going to do a bunk.’
‘Stop fooling about,’ said Eduardo.
‘We’re going to start cutting bits off you and send them to El Gatto through the post,’ said Ricardo evilly.
Chrissie gave a sob.
‘He should have got your hair by now,’ said Eduardo. ‘What shall we send him next?’ He picked up her hand and examined her fingers. For a minute Bella froze with horror, then she realized it wasn’t her seed pearl ring hand.
Ricardo was waving a razor, making patterns in the air. Then he ran it down Bella’s face.
‘Shall Eduardo and I play noughts and crosses?’ he said.
‘Come on, talk,’ snapped Eduardo.
‘I don’t know anything,’ Bella muttered, cringing away from him.
‘Talk,’ hissed Ricardo.
Suddenly Eduardo stiffened.
‘Listen,’ he said sharply.
And above the thumping of her heart, Bella could hear a faint droning, like a Hoover in a far off room. Then it grew louder, buzzing like an angry wasp, coming nearer and nearer.
A helicopter, thought Bella. Thank God.
It was obviously taking its time, buzzing round and round overhead.
Eduardo swore softly. Both he and Ricardo went out to look. She could hear their anxious voices outside.
‘I think,’ she said to Chrissie, ‘we’ve been located.’
Pablo came and sat on guard in their room and picked up his book, but Bella noticed he was reading with unnatural slowness, his eyes fixed on the same place. Occasionally his fingers drummed on the back of the book, and he kept darting fearful glances towards the window.
They’re rattled, thought Bella joyfully. Really rattled.
Next door she could hear Eduardo gabbling away to Ricardo in Spanish. It was too fast for her.
‘What are they saying?’ she asked Chrissie.
‘They’re arguing about whether to make a bolt for it now, or wait until dark,’ said Chrissie.
Bella’s red and white dress was drenched in sweat. It was impossibly hot. Suddenly there was a flash, followed by a huge clap of thunder, and the storm that had been lingering for days broke over the house. Flash after flash filtered through the boarded-up window. The rain was falling like machine-gun fire on the roof.
People were crashing about next door. Oh God, they’re getting ready to move out, thought Bella. Perhaps we haven’t been discovered at all. Maybe the helicopter was just a farmer going home, or a politician returning to his constituency. Ricardo, probably for something to do, returned to his taunting and questioning.
‘We’ll cut off your foot, I think,’ he said. ‘And send it through the post to El Gatto.’