A Murder is Going Down

NOW

Marianne stands up, stretches and points at the open ceiling hatch. ‘I can’t handle any more of this. Up you go, then,’ she says to me.

I’m sure I’ve heard her wrong. ‘What?’

‘Old mate on the intercom is never letting us out and I’m not going up there, so I guess you’ll have to give it a go.’

‘I’m not going up there, either.’

Something has changed in Marianne’s tone. I’m suddenly sure I’ve made a bad mistake.

‘Either you go out the hatch or you start telling me what’s really going on,’ Marianne says, and her eyes, suddenly on me, are very, very cold.

‘It’s nearly over,’ I say, desperately, which is almost the truth.