“Yeah, erm. He’s here.”
“What?” Detective Moran’s voice sharpens and I can hear rustling. I imagine him sitting up in bed.
“Will. He’s here. At my halls of residence. Well, not here, but he’s outside.” The other end of the line is quiet apart.
“OK,” he replies. “Listen carefully. I’m on my way. Is he still outside?”
I risk a quick look. “Yeah.”
“Right. I want you to go back to your room and lock the door. I’m going to stay on the phone till you’re in your room, and radio for a police car to be there as soon as possible. Keep your lights off and, whatever you do, do not open the door until you hear it’s me. OK?”
“OK.” I barely hear my response over the blood rushing in my ears. Adrenaline kicks into overdrive as I crawl to the door and run back down the corridor and into my room. I try to shut the door carefully, quietly, and turn the lock before leaning against it. I’ve never realized how flimsy it is.
“Miss Hughes?” Moran’s tinny voice rattles from the speaker and I raise the handset to my ear. “Are you back in your room?”
“Yes,” I breathe.
“Good. Help is on the way. I’m not far but the team will probably arrive before I do. I still want you to stay put until I get there, no matter what you hear, do you understand?”
“Yes,” I repeat, my voice small.
“Now, barricade the door if you can and stay away from it.” I push myself off the wood as though it has burned me. “I’m going to hang up the phone and I want you to keep the line clear until I call again. Can you do that for me?”
I nod, even though I’m fully aware he can’t see me.
“I’ll be there in a couple of minutes, Niamh. Sit tight for me.”
The line goes dead.
I need to barricade the door. I look wildly around the room. The desk is fixed to the floor and the wardrobe to the wall – there’s no way I’m budging either of those. The bed is bolted down, too. My desk chair is the only thing I can move and I grab it, racing back to the door to wedge it under the doorknob, like I’ve seen in a hundred horror films. I always wondered what it would do and the answer suddenly becomes painfully clear.
Nothing. It will do nothing.
I curl up on my bed, wrapping myself into a tight little ball, as far from the door as I can get. I’m starting to wish I’d brought the pan from the kitchen; a pathetic weapon would surely be better than no weapon at all. There’s a plastic coat hanger on the carpet, so I reach out and pick it up, brandishing it in front of me. I watch as the minutes crawl by on my phone screen. Three . . . four . . .
The door handle rattles.
My heart stops as I watch it turn, slowly, slowly. It stops for a few seconds and I wonder if I’ve imagined it, but then I hear a scraping, scratching sound, as though someone is sliding a key in from the other side.
The handle starts to turn again and a loud click fills the room.
The door begins to open.
No, no, no, no, no. Dear God, please don’t let this be real, I’ll do anything, anything you want, anything if you just help me. . .
The doorknob catches on the top rung of the chair and stops.
Holy hell. It does work.
I glance around wildly, looking for my key ring. It’s on top of my bag. My thoughts flash back to something Daddy always does at home; he leaves the key in the lock. He says no one can get in even if they have a copy.
The chair begins to slide with a sickening scrape and I know I only have seconds, so I launch myself across the room, scoop it up, and throw my full weight at the door, slamming into the chair as I do so. Pain explodes in my hip, tiny fireworks erupting behind my eyes, but I grit my teeth and focus on the doorknob, jamming the key in and twisting it. There’s a faint, metallic noise of something falling to the floor and I back away, praying it stays in the lock.
Silence on the other side, but the blood roaring in my ears is deafening. I’m frozen to the spot, scared to do so much as breathe.
Is he still out there?
I suck in a great gulp of air as blue and red lights wash over the walls. I peer out of my window, down to the car park below, where two patrol vehicles pull in crazily. Uniformed officers jump out, handcuffs at the ready, leaving the car doors wide open.
