She was too lost in her own story, though. ‘I told him, I’d said to make sure he’d padlocked the ward door! Every time, I said about it! I didn’t want no junkies coming in while we were busy, he knew that. But he’d been in a funny mood all day. Quiet, off his food. I thought he’d be all right once we’d finished in that place. If I’d known, I’d never have… I thought he’d just fallen, clumsy like he was. But he just lay there, his face all blue! I couldn’t just leave him there, could I, my lovely lad? Not in that place, not with them!’
I wasn’t even trying to follow what she was saying, intent on making my body work. Lola bowed forward, covering her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook, but then her head snapped up again.
‘It was that pregnant little bitch’s fault!’ she spat. ‘If she hadn’t…’
Without warning she snatched up the tube and rammed it against my side. And then again. Fresh agony poured through me. I blacked out this time, greying back to consciousness as I felt myself being dragged from the bed. I landed on the floor with a jarring impact, winded on top of everything else. My limbs were dead as lumps of wood, and my heart seemed to be fluttering in my chest as I saw Lola stoop down, stiffly, and take hold of the rug I was lying on.
‘Let’s get you out of the way, shall we?’
The ceiling above me began to move as I slid across the floor in a series of slow, stop-start jerks. After a few seconds Lola stopped and straightened, panting and with her face flushed.
‘Jesus bloody Christ…’
Grimacing, she massaged her lower back while she caught her breath. Then she bent to grip the rug again. Grunting with exertion, she took one staggering step backwards, then another.
The rug, with me on it, slithered a few more inches.
I could see an open doorway behind her. Inside it was a small, unlit hallway with a low ceiling that sloped downwards into the blackness of a cellar. The sight terrified me as I realized what Lola was intending. Even if I didn’t break my neck when she tipped me down the cellar steps, once I was down there she could do as she liked. No one knew where I was, and my car was still parked at St Jude’s. Lola could take her time, torturing me with the black tube without anyone to see or hear.
Just like Darren Crossly and Maria de Souza.
I tried desperately to will use back into my muscles. Come on, MOVE! As Lola wheezed and huffed, dragging me inch by inch across the floor, I was rewarded by the slightest twitch of my fingers. It was a start, but the cellar door was only a few feet away. Fresh panic surged in me as Lola heaved the rug nearer before stopping again. She mopped her forehead, gasping for air.
‘Christ, my bloody back.’ Her face was red and greasy with sweat as the small eyes rested on me. ‘Woken up, have we?’
I saw her look over at the chair where she’d left the black tube, and could almost see what she was thinking. I lay completely still, knowing if she gave me another shock it was all over. No! Don’t do it!
But no one was listening. My feet thumped down as Lola let go of the rug. She stepped over my legs to get to the chair, and as she did I felt a thrum against my chest as my phone began to vibrate. It was almost silent, but she was closer to it this time. Or perhaps something in my face gave it away: either way, she stopped. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me.
‘What’s that, then? Someone trying to get hold of you?’
She reached down and wrenched my jacket open. With an annoyed click of her tongue, she pulled out the phone. She scowled as it vibrated again, more audibly now.
‘Bloody things.’
Shuffling round me, she went to the sink and dropped the phone among the dirty dishes. It disappeared with a splash, giving one last bzz like a drowning insect before falling quiet. Lola turned back to me with a mean smile.
‘Not be needing that any more.’
I closed my eyes as despair welled up. But the distraction had made her forget about fetching the black tube. Not that she needed it: my feet were already in the cellar doorway. Hands on hips, Lola regarded me as though contemplating her final effort.
‘Right. Nearly there.’
Taking a deep breath, she began to step over my legs so she could drag me the last few inches. As she did, with an effort born of desperation, I raised my hand to grab her ankle. It was a futile attempt. My hand flopped, numbly, succeeding only in slapping at her foot.
‘Oh, yes?’ she snarled. ‘Want some more, do you?’
Incensed, she turned to wrench free, and her other foot caught my outstretched legs. Her eyes widened as she stumbled, teetering in the open doorway. She clutched at the door, causing it to swing towards her. It struck my body and stopped, and Lola’s hand slipped from it. Her cry was cut off as she tumbled backwards down the cellar steps, crashing down them in a series of slithering thuds.
Then silence.
I lay in the doorway, my heart racing. I half expected to hear movement from the cellar as she began to make her way back up the steps. But there was nothing. OK, you can’t stay here. Time to move. Trying to force myself to sit upright, I succeeded in rolling on to my side. I lay there, gasping. My entire body felt wrong, numb and burning at the same time. There was a buzzing in my ears and my heart was still hammering too fast. Stay calm. Breathe deep and stay calm. Looking up, I could see Lola’s landline on the sideboard. If I could reach that, pull it down to the floor by its cable, I could call for help. Throwing out an arm that was as unresponsive as a log, I attempted to drag myself across the floor. The buzzing in my ears grew louder, and my heart raced more than ever. I could feel it bucking in my chest, its rhythm ragged and stuttering as a grey mist seemed to fill the room. Oh, Jesus, don’t pass out. Not now, not yet. I kept my eyes on the phone as I tried again to crawl towards it.
But it could have been a mile away. The buzzing was growing deafening. It filled my head as I lay back down. I couldn’t feel my body any more. That worried me at first, but it was also a relief. An odd sense of peace came over me. So this is it, I thought, as my vision began to fade. I felt sadness for Rachel, then I pictured Kara and Alice. I heard my daughter’s laugh, and before the greyness turned to black I smiled to think of them waiting for me at home.
Chapter 32
‘Has his girlfriend been informed?’ Whelan asked.
Ward shifted in the chair, trying to find a more comfortable position for her stomach. ‘Not yet. We know she’s out of the country but haven’t been able to contact her.’
They sat in front of the window. Both looked tired, the strain of recent events evident. Of the two, Whelan looked the worse, the light from the window and the fluorescent fitting overhead combining to expose every hour of lost sleep. Ward looked marginally more rested, but the freshly scabbed grazes and a purpling bruise on one cheek told their own story.
‘Better if she hears it from us rather than see it on the news.’ Whelan blew out his cheeks. ‘What the hell did he think he was doing, going back to the Lennox house?’
‘I expect he felt sorry for her. And responsible, probably. Bear in mind he was the one who told us about Lola and her son in the first place. If not for that, we might still be—’
She broke off, looking towards the bed.
‘Back with us, are you?’
I tried to speak. My mouth was dry and didn’t work at first. ‘What are you doing here?’
My voice came out a croak. Ward smiled. ‘Good to see you, too.’
‘I meant…’ I swallowed, trying to moisten my mouth. ‘… Shouldn’t you be in bed?’