Chapter 55
FAYE
I close my eyes and I see Penny’s face smiling.
She is excited because she’s going to have the little sister she always wanted. I place a hand on my stomach and feel my baby move – she is in there waiting to meet us.
No. That isn’t right. There is no baby.
I blink and see the man sitting on a chair beside me, staring at me with menace. Then a short man walks into the room and places a mug next to me.
“There you are, Mrs Blackburn. A nice cup of tea for you.” He sits across the desk from us.
“Thank you,” I say, even though I don’t want any tea.
“Everything appears to be in order,” the short man opposite says. “We have authorised that transaction and the money should be in the account within the next few days. Is there anything else we can help you with today?”
The younger man next to me smiles broadly. “That’s everything, isn’t it, Mum?”
This room keeps changing shape, the walls moving, heat rising from below. It’s like I’m halfway through a portal between the past and present but I can’t make the two marry up in my mind.
And then the truth sharpens like a knife cutting through the air. The man beside me has kidnapped me and is holding Penny hostage. I’m being forced to sit here and pretend to be his stepmother.
As the younger man—Magnus—stands to leave, he turns away to get the jacket from the back of his chair. I have less than a second. I reach across the table, grab the bank manager’s wrist, and mouth “help”.
He’s visibly shocked. I quickly release him before standing to leave.
Magnus shakes the speechless manager’s hand. “Thanks so much for your assistance today. Sorry about the short notice.”
“Thank you, Mr Froome,” I say quietly. “You’ve been wonderfully attentive.” My words say one thing, but I drive home the call for help with my eyes.
“No problem at all.” His gaze is fixed on mine as he tries to figure out what’s going on. I just hope he’s smart enough to go straight to the police.
We make our way out of the bank. My heart pounds as we walk up the high street and approach the passageway towards the car. As soon as we’re out of the view of passersby, Magnus’s hand is on my elbow, squeezing hard.
“Are you back in the real world again, Mrs Mathis?” He says my name with a hiss.
“Yes,” I reply.
“What the hell were you trying to pull in there?” he asks.
“Nothing,” I reply. “I did what you asked. I’m just not feeling well.”
He’s silent. He’s analysing what happened in the bank and that could be dangerous. “I think you said something to Froome. You tipped him off.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t. I promise I didn’t.”
He squeezes harder. I can tell he doesn’t believe me.
I swallow dryly. “What happens now?”
But he doesn’t reply. He leads me back to the car. In the moment before he opens the door for me, there’s another sharp pinprick in my arm. He has injected me again.
I cry out in shock and he shoves me into the passenger seat and slams the door closed.
I grope for the handle but there’s some sort of child-safety lock on the door.
It won’t budge. He hurries around the front of the car as I beat against the windows, yelling for help.
The street is quiet. There’s a woman walking her dog further up the road on the opposite side, but she’s too far away to hear anything.
Magnus slides into the car next to me and slams the door closed.
“Stop!” He slaps me hard across the face. “Be quiet. Unless you never want to see Penny again.”
I comply and sit silently as we drive through town, past shoppers and old people and mothers with buggies. I am helpless. Entirely at his mercy.
“Tell me… what… happens now.” The drug is taking effect. My speech is beginning to slur.
“I leave. That’s what happens now.” He pulls off the main road onto a quiet one.
With no cars around, he grabs hold of my hair and yanks my head back.
“Except that I think you might have fucked things up, Mrs Mathis.” He pushes my head forward, letting me go.
“You did something in there. I saw his fucking expression change as we were leaving. He’s going to call the police. ”
“I… I didn’t do anything! I didn’t!”
“If he calls the police we can’t get out.” He shakes his head. “The police are coming after me. I can’t get on a fucking plane now! Because of you!”
His arm sweeps out, the palm slamming me into the window. I cry out, terrified, pain exploding above my ear.
Magnus tightens his fingers around the steering wheel. “We don’t have long until those drugs work. Are you listening to me?”
“Y-yes,” I stutter.
“And you understand what’s happening, right? You’re not having one of your little episodes?” he says, the words patronising.
“I understand.”
“Good.” He gives my hair another yank. “You fucked up, Auntie Faye. I have nothing to lose now. I won’t get the money. I won’t get out of here. So I’m going to take your daughter—”
“No you’re not! I won’t—”
“You need to be punished for what you did in the bank. And you need to keep your mouth shut. So, I’m taking your daughter and if you tell the police I’ve taken her, I will murder her. Think of it as a deposit for her safety. If you go to the police, they will find her dead. Is that clear?”
Acid builds up from my stomach. I can’t open my mouth. I can’t speak.
“Why?” I whisper. “You don’t need her. I don’t understand. I promise I won’t tell the police anything. Just let her go.”
He shrugs. “We’re engaged. Come on now, Faye. Don’t you understand that I like her? She’s a sweet girl.”
“Take me instead.” The words slur. I don’t have long before I pass out. “Please.”
“No.” He laughs mockingly. “I want Penny. I mean it. Tell the police I have her and you lose your entire family. I won’t just kill Penny, I’ll murder your stepson and his precious wife and daughter too.
” He grins. It’s deranged. All teeth and gums and malice.
My head tilts forward on my neck, suddenly as heavy as a boulder. I can’t speak.
As my eyelids droop, I examine the road, trying to work out if he’s taking me back to Middlesbrough, to that house, or if we’re heading in a different direction. Little Ingleby perhaps. But I don’t know the roads well enough to work it out.
Penny.
Desperation washes over me. Fighting the drug, I try to raise a hand. If I could just grab the wheel, make us crash… But my arm is so heavy. Drool escapes from my mouth.
Magnus laughs. “Oh, how embarrassing. Look at yourself, Faye.”
He’s still laughing as my limbs grow heavy and the road ahead fades into nothingness.