called.
‘Are you okay?’
‘Fine,’ she responded, praying that her voice didn’t shake. One thing about Leo, though - if Ellie wanted to pretend she was okay, Leo would respect her privacy. Perhaps this was the one good side of a sister who struggled with emotional attachments.
Ellie switched the shower on and stripped off her clothes. Maybe she should vamp herself up a bit? Go to some effort to look good for him? Don’t be ridiculous, she thought. It’s a bit late for that. She had tonight and then two whole days. A bit of lipstick wasn’t going to make any difference now. She had to be who she was.
And so it was ten minutes later that she made her way downstairs in her stripy pyjama bottoms and a dark red vest top. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard the message signal on her phone coming from the handbag that she had dumped as she ran up to deal with the children. She’d forgotten that she’d switched it back on to call Pat. Thank God Max hadn’t heard it first, because he wouldn’t hesitate to read her texts on the basis that hers were always more interesting than his. She could hear Leo laughing at Max in the kitchen, and wanted nothing more than to be there with them, happy and giggling at Max’s silliness. She grabbed her phone.
Convinced that it was him she hardly glanced at the screen. Only as she pressed to accept the message did she register that the number was blocked. And she knew what that meant.
HOW HAS YOUR DAY BEEN, ELLIE? HOW’S YOUR LITTLE GIRL TONIGHT? LOST ANYTHING HAS SHE? NEXT TIME, MAYBE IT WON’T BE HER TOY DOG THAT I TAKE… BUT DON’T THINK OF TELLING ANYBODY. YOU DON’T KNOW WHO I AM, AND YOU WON’T CATCH ME. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ONE THING. JUST ONE SMALL TASK. AND THEN IT WILL ALL BE OVER - AS IF IT HAD NEVER HAPPENED. I’LL KEEP YOUR DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS, AND YOUR KIDS WILL BE SAFE.
A cold fear gripped her. This couldn’t be happening. Somebody had been in the house again, and Ruby hadn’t lost Muffin. He had been taken. She’d never doubted that it was Sean, blocking his number and toying with her - making everything so unbalanced that she would simply give in. But it didn’t quite add up. However much Sean might want her, she was certain he would never hurt a child. Despite his recent behaviour, he was a gentle giant of a man; she’d seen him with his stepdaughter and his little boy. He would never threaten her children, would he?
As if it never happened - the text said. That couldn’t be Sean either. That wasn’t what he wanted.
The hairs on Ellie’s arms were standing on end. She was still staring at the screen when she noticed something else - the time the text was sent. She remembered checking her watch as she got home with the shopping. This text was sent while Sean was in the house - with her and Max.
I’ve got it all wrong - it can’t be Sean. It’s someone else - somebody I don’t know.
Ellie sat down abruptly on the stairs as her legs gave way beneath her. It wasn’t Sean. The thought and all its implications were spinning round and round in her head.
It meant only one thing. She was being blackmailed - and it was real. Not some game dreamt up by a thwarted lover. And it was dangerous. This person had been in their house - not just once, but at least twice. And Ellie had no idea how they had got in. So they could do it again, whenever they liked.
Perhaps they were here now! It was a big house - they could be hiding anywhere.
Ellie jumped up from the bottom step. Her head spun from side to side, and back up to the dark void at the stop of the stairs, not knowing what she was expecting to see. She walked quietly towards the closed door of the library and slowly turned the handle, pushing the door quickly so that it slammed against the bookshelves behind. She saw a white face, eyes black with fear, staring back at her.
It took no more than a second for her to realise that the unrecognisable features were her own, reflected back from the mirror over the fireplace. Her face was drained of all colour, and her pupils dilated in wide