Chapter 52
FIFTY-TWO
LINDY
Another loud bang came from afar. No one had come up close and spoken to her.
Maybe the bang was down to the kidnapper loitering around, planning what to do next.
All she could do was endure the revolting stringy things brushing past her legs, suspended in the liquid and swishing as she gently bobbed.
In her mind, she imagined worms swimming. She screamed again. ‘Let me out.’
Her stomach turned each time she inhaled the sulphurous air.
The liquid in the tank had to be stagnant.
She looked up, knowing that she’d tried but couldn’t reach the top of the lid, or whatever might be containing her.
Above, all she could see was a crescent of night-time hue, only marginally lighter than pitch-darkness.
Was it a relief that her captor had left her with a little bit of fresh air?
Maybe he had no intention of killing her or he would have sealed her in and waited for her to suffocate from the stench or lack of oxygen.
She had tried to climb out of the cylinder, but she’d slipped back into the liquid.
Her captor knew she had no way of escaping.
She yelped as another cramp distorted her calf muscles and she kept thinking, stay upright.
Don’t drown in this revolting stew. Was anyone missing her?
Her neighbours all thought a lot of her and they’d been more than supportive when Kain had come by making a scene.
She hoped that everyone was looking for her.
But where were they looking? Where was she?
She’d been standing for a long time and the warmth coming from below had now gone.
Iciness spread through her body and the constant teeth chattering was making her jaw ache.
Think about better times. She tried to conjure up her safe and happy place in her mind.
It was always their first holiday as a family when she and Kain were kids, back when he was her adorable little brother.
They’d jumped over the waves on the Costa Blanca and Kain had shrieked with delight each time.
That thought never failed to maintain her inner calm.
She tried to tap into the warmth of the sun, the smell of salt and the slapping noise her feet made on the wet, compact sand beneath them, then the tickle of seaweed as it brushed against her legs.
She stumbled, losing her balance. As she ducked underneath the liquid, she inhaled a mouthful of slime.
She gasped and started coughing the foul gunk from her lungs while trying her hardest to hold back her nausea.
Her mouth had never tasted more disgusting.
‘Why are you doing this to me?’ she said in a quivery broken up voice, wondering if anyone was actually listening.
‘Help,’ she cried one more time. If anyone heard how feeble she sounded right now they’d have surely thought she was giving up.
Was she giving up? Never, not as long as she had a breath left in her body. She wouldn’t give up.
The sound of a metal door creaking sent her silent as she listened to the nearing footsteps.
The scrape of a ladder made her hyperventilate and she worried her ordinarily healthy heart might pack up at any moment.
She’d waited for ages in the hope that her captor would come back to free her but now that he was back, she hoped he’d go away again.
But if he went away, she’d definitely die.
Thoughts raced through her mind, making her panic even more.
Boots clunking up metal steps sent chills through her and that was followed by the scraping sound of the lid being moved.
The crescent of grim light turned into a half-moon but it was still too dark to see anything.
A figure leaned over and she could make out the goggles on his face and their devilish green lights again.
She was almost blind but he could see like it was daylight.
‘Water.’ He unscrewed a bottle and held it above her.
Desperate to quench away the disgusting taste in her mouth, she opened wide so he could pour.
Before she realised what was happening, he’d already dropped what felt like a pill to the back of her throat and the water followed – too fast for her to stop that and the pill from slipping down her throat. ‘What was that?’ she spluttered.
He removed the goggles and moved in closer, leaning over. That’s when she saw the barely visible line of his squarish jaw, one she recognised.
‘A sleeping tablet. How long will you be able to stand for now?’
‘Please don’t do this to me. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this. Please let me go. I won’t say anything to anyone. I just want to go home,’ she said.
‘All debts must be paid in full. You were on the wrong side all those years ago. All that rejoicing, champagne… It’s all about justice, rebalancing the scales. Remember his name. Baz. Baz, Baz,’ he shouted and she knew exactly who he was referring to.
How could she not know that name? She pictured the day that they’d all gone to the pub after the inquest had been heard at the court in Kidderminster.
Kain had walked straight up to the bar and ordered several bottles of their finest champagne all while the teen was gazing through the window of the pub. ‘You were the boy…’
He slammed the lid down, but this time, he closed it. The air was thickening with eggy fumes and however much Lindy wanted to force her eyes to stay open, she couldn’t. They half closed and she stumbled.
Her breaths slowed and she began jumping over the waves again, her hand gripping Kain’s so the sea couldn’t sweep him away from her. A large wave came and weed began to wrap around her calves, dragging her away as she held on to Kain. She allowed the sea to take them both.