‘You’re conscious then.’
‘Please help me,’ I cry, barely able to get my words out. ‘Someone is trying to kill me and I need you to ...’
My voice trails as his words sink in.You’re conscious then. He knows where I am.
‘Please get me out of here,’ I beg.
‘Do you think I’d go to all this trouble just to free you?’
‘I’ll do anything.’
It’s only when he laughs that I recognise his voice.
It’s Anna’s husband, Drew.
‘I’m begging you, I’ll do anything. Just help me.’
‘I’m sorry, but I can’t. You are going to burn alive in a bonfire of your own making.’
‘What?Why?’ My mind whirls pointlessly for a moment and then I come out with it. ‘What did I do to you?’
He laughs again.
‘I’ll tell you what you did. You killed me first.’
Chapter 66
Anna
I wipe away the blood that keeps dripping down my forehead as I hurry in the direction of where Liv saw my brother. I don’t think my wound needs stitches, but it’s flashing hard and hot. And so is my shoulder, from fruitlessly charging the door to the utility room that he locked me inside. I must have been trapped for about twenty minutes before I remembered the toolbox in the cupboard under the sink. Fumbling around in the dark I opened it, hoping to find a screwdriver with the right-sized tip to take apart the lock. Instead, I found a hammer, and a few thwacks later, the handle clattered to the floor. Once free, I washed away the blood streaming down my face with a wet tea towel, and stuck three Band-Aids over my wound while dialling and redialling Margot. Each time my call went to voicemail.
I was still calling her as I dashed out of the house. And that was when I heard her ringtone, the distinctive, bouncy opening sounds of Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’. It was coming from inside the works van Drew had left on the drive. I opened the unlocked door and caught the glimmer of light coming from the central arm rest. The screensaver of a much younger Margot confirmed it definitelybelonged to her. Hesitantly, I moved around to the back doors, holding my breath as I opened them.
The van was empty, save for a couple of wooden pallets, some dead leaves and an axe. I was closing the doors when I paused. Why would Drew have branches in the back of his van?
And then I realised what he’d meant when he told me Margot was safe, for at least another forty-five minutes. Because that was when the bonfire was going to be lit.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me through the village until I reached the playing fields. I didn’t have time to make small talk with Liv once she confirmed she’d seen Drew. And now, as I squeeze my way through the crowds, I can just about make out a solitary figure lurking at the back by the tennis courts, with a clear view of the bonfire, and his hand held up to his ear.
‘Where is she?’ I yell as I run towards him. ‘What have you done with Margot?’
He lowers his phone and presses it against his chest.
‘Why do you care?’ he asks, attempting to conceal his surprise at seeing me.
I point to his device. ‘Who are you talking to?’ He doesn’t answer.
I need that phone, but Drew is bigger and stronger than me so there’s nothing for it but to dip into my bag of tricks. I let my gaze shift over his shoulder and widen my eyes.
‘Over here!’ I yell. ‘Help!’
When he wrenches his head around to see who I’m talking to, I slap the bottom of his hand holding the phone and it pops up into the air. I snatch it and race past him with it jammed to my ear.
‘Who’s this?’ I ask, shouting above the airborne explosions.
‘Anna, is that you?’ comes the desperate reply.
I recognise Margot’s voice immediately. She’s crying.
