Chapter 51
SCARLETT
Justin slides open the door to my stall and walks inside. I push my back against the stone wall. He comes at me. Daisy enters my mind. My sister. I straighten up. I’ve never felt such fear. Or such anger.
‘Before we start, Imogen. Let me tell you how this is going to play out,’ he says. ‘I’m about to take the tape off your mouth. You can scream as much as you like, but you won’t be heard. I’m going to ask you some questions. And you’re going to answer them. You understand?’
I nod. The tension in the pit of my stomach makes me want to be sick, but I need to stay focused if I’m going to get through this.
‘Good. So we’re going to need a grown-up conversation where you’re going to be completely honest with me about what you’re really doing here.’
He hovers over me, an arm’s length away.
I can smell his coffee breath. He steps forward, reaches down and tears the tape off my mouth in one quick, violent motion.
My skin stings like mad, but the relief in being able to breathe properly outweighs the pain.
I gasp, filling my lungs with air. ‘Untie me. It hurts.’
‘In good time, Imogen. All in good time.’ The way he says that name infuriates me. ‘You’re going to learn that you earn your rights in here.’
The knot in my stomach tightens. He sounds as if he’s going to hold me here for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, that’s the case. Then I’ve got time to work a way out of here.
He continues standing over me, a sinister shadow. ‘First of all, I’d like you to tell me exactly what you were doing in my office.’
I need to pull myself together and fast. But it’s hard when you’re tied up and in fear for your life. I rack my brain. ‘Hattie wanted to go up there.’ It’s all I can think of, but not a bad gamble in the circumstances. The poor woman can’t recall what happened from one moment to another.
Justin grasps my face with one hand and squeezes my cheeks together hard. I wince at the pain. His face is only inches from mine. The strong smell of coffee makes me gag. ‘You honestly expect me to believe that?’
I sense the tiniest trace of doubt in his voice. ‘It’s true. She was anxious. Agitated. You know what she gets like. She went to the kitchen and picked up a set of keys from the bowl. I didn’t know where she was going. I just wanted to placate her.’
His eyes bore into me, as if trying to read which parts are true.
‘She headed out and said she had to get something.’ I’m scared I’m digging a hole for myself here.
‘What?’ Justin snarls.
Think, Scarlett. Think. ‘I didn’t know at first.’ My words speed up. ‘It was all weird. She led me to your office. I said I didn’t know if it was a good idea to go in there. She wouldn’t listen. She was insistent.’
‘But you were in charge. Why didn’t you stop her?’
‘I’m her carer, not her keeper. She fumbled with the key and got really upset, so I…
I helped her open the door.’ I shrug and inject a poor-me tone into my voice.
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do for the best. She made out that she often goes in there.
Who was I to judge whether she was right or wrong? I couldn’t see the harm.’
I could be an actress with the show I’m putting on here.
‘Well, she hasn’t been in there often, if ever. And then what?’ he snaps, frowning. I’ve got him second-guessing. He seems unsure.
‘She went straight inside and picked up that photo. She wouldn’t let it go. She said I looked like that girl.’ My confidence grows with his uncertainty. ‘Is that Daisy?’
‘Daisy?’ The frown on his face deepens. ‘I don’t know who you mean.’ He backs away and paces. Three steps across the stall, three back. ‘Who is Daisy?’
I’ve hit a nerve. He knows exactly who Daisy is.
‘I don’t know,’ I say. ‘Someone Hattie knew, perhaps? She’s mentioned a few people from her past.’
‘So what were you doing with the photo then?’ He’s fishing. I might have the upper hand here.
‘I told her we should get out of there. It was time for her afternoon nap. On the way back to the house, she dropped the photo and started asking after Harold. You know how she is when she gets started on that subject. I picked it up and put it in my shorts pocket.’ I shrug.
‘I forgot about it. And then I realised it was gone. Where did you find it?’
‘When you were in the water. It was poking out of your shorts pocket. Why did you run when I showed it to you?’
‘You scared me, Justin. And judging by where I am now, I had every right to be scared. Why are you holding me here? Why drug me? Who is Daisy?’
He continues pacing across the stall and back, as if working something out. ‘Let’s be clear,’ he eventually replies. ‘I ask the questions around here.’
As he makes to leave, I call after him, ‘Justin, please untie me. Don’t leave me like this. I’ve done nothing wrong. I was just looking after Hattie.’ It’s not a bad performance given the circumstances. ‘Please, Justin, I need some water. At least get me some water.’
‘We’ll start your sessions tomorrow.’ The door slides closed with a crash. The main door to the old stables opens, and I’m cast back into semi-darkness. The music suddenly stops mid-bar. He didn’t even turn it off. He just left the building and it stopped as if it knew he’d gone.