I hear the sound of the door closing. Is someone else here? Soft footsteps come up behind me.
‘I told you to sit down, Tia,’ Mr Jeffries says through clenched teeth. He looks grotesque in the lantern light. Shadows flicker across his face as he looms even closer, the tang of beer on his breath.
‘You’d better do what he says.’ A young woman’s voice from behind. She walks around me, hovering just outside the pool of lamplight so I can’t quite make out her features.
I shift my gaze back to Mr Jeffries. ‘Why did you send me those photos? They’re fake, right?’ I still haven’t moved towards the chair. I need to ask my questions before they gag me. ‘Just tell me why you did it? What do you want? Money?’
Mr Jeffries sneers. ‘Stop asking stupid questions and sit the fuck down.’ He presses the blade to my neck, and I flinch at the pressure of cold steel against my skin. I can’t feel if he’s drawn blood. Would it hurt, or would my adrenalin mask the pain? I don’t have the nerve to test his patience further, so I shuffle forward in the direction of the chair, catching Fiona’s eye. I can’t tell if she’s scared or – knowing Fiona – angry. Possibly she’s both.
This all feels so surreal. If only I hadn’t received that text before I confided in Ed. I was all set to tell him, and if I had, I wouldn’t have needed to come here. I would have called Mr Jeffries’ bluff. Too late for regrets now. I’ll have to make the best of it. Work out a way to get out of this nightmare.
Presumably these two want something from us. So as long as we give it to them, they’ll let us go. At least I hope that’s how it’s going to work, because I don’t even want to let my mind formulate an alternative scenario.
Mr Jeffries moves with me, the knife now millimetres from my throat. I reach the chair and he puts a hand on my shoulder, forcing me down into it. While he stands above me, the woman crouches down and shoves my legs apart, binding my ankles to the chair legs. She then moves behind me and pulls my arms around the back of the chair, tying them together. It’s only been a few seconds and my limbs are already protesting. Next, she wedges a strip of material in my mouth and ties the two ends into a knot at the back of my head, catching a lock of hair in the process, which pulls painfully at my scalp.
This has all happened so quickly. How the hell did I let myself be captured like this? I can’t believe I came here so willingly. Why is Rosie’s teacher part of this? Does he have me mixed up with someone else? Did I do something wrong? But if it’s something to do with school, then why does he also have Fiona? Unless it’s related to that night out we had for Fiona’s birthday. After all, that’s when those photos were supposedly taken.
I’m just going to have to hope that whoever walks in here next is way smarter or stronger than me and Fiona. That they can somehow overpower these two psychos and get us out of here. If they can’t, I have a horrible feeling that things aren’t going to end well. Because Mr Jeffries doesn’t seem like the reasonable type. I think he might be planning to hurt us. Maybe even kill us.
I struggle uselessly against my bonds and try to call out, but it’s hopeless; all I can manage is a weak grunt. An image of Rosie and Leo jumps into my head. What will they do without me? I don’t want to die. Please, God, don’t let me die.
Thirty-Five
KELLY
I close the front door and step outside into the warm night air. It’s quiet out here, the excitement of yesterday’s regatta now a fading memory. Most people are probably already tucked up in bed or preparing for the week ahead. It’s the final week of the school term, so it’ll be a busy one. I should be at home myself, catching up on the sleep I missed out on last night. I can’t imagine that anything productive will come of a clandestine late-night meeting with an anonymous texter. But I have to give it a try.
After the weekend I’ve had, going out right now is the last thing I feel like