little then we might be able to squeeze through the gap. But it was no good. The chain held. We’d have to retrace our steps past Keith and Tommy’s rooms.
Barney stood back, watching my progress with mild curiosity. He seemed to find me amusing, if not a little eccentric. But now, as I faltered, he seemed to tire of my bizarre attempts to leave the hotel. Slumping against the wall, he retrieved the compass from his pocket, opened it up and began to waggle it around in the air.
I decided to check the coast was clear and then make a run for it, but when I peered round the corner I instantly recoiled.
Tommy.
Buckling his belt, he was moving towards the lift at the opposite end of the corridor. He was alone. My lungs seemed to squeeze and twist against my ribs. I could not let him find us here. I’d tried to steal Barney back. Now he knew where my true loyalties lay, he’d need to be sure of my silence.
I put my head up close to the wall and inched forward as far as I dared. Tommy was now stood by the lift. He reached for the call button and kept his finger there, pressing it over and over while he muttered curses about my betrayal under his breath.
On the off-chance that we might find somewhere close to wait things out, I began pushing handles on the three rooms that populated this small area of the corridor. But they were all locked. I checked back on Tommy. He was still waiting for the lift and had started to scan the nearby area.
I reappraised our options. It was through this fire exit or nothing.
I looked around for something – a fire extinguisher, a removable light fitting – anything I could use to break the padlock. But the corridor was empty, the lights all grimy halogen bulbs fitted into the yellowing ceiling. There was an old metal NO SMOKING sign fixed on the wall. Flat and thin, there wasn’t much to it, but right now I was willing to try anything. It was up high, just out of my reach; I jumped up and tried to dislodge it from the wall with my hand. My fingers brushed against its corner. I tried again, this time hooking my nails underneath its bottom edge, but it was stuck firm and, as I came back down to earth, I went over on my heels and fell onto my side.
Barney took a step back, uncertain but also intrigued as to what I might do next. I smiled and pulled a face, trying to make out that this was all a bizarre game. Picking myself up, I went to put my shoes back on and try again. But looking at my feet, I stopped. My stilettos. I’d worn the ones with the metal heels.
Kneeling in close to the door, I gripped the suede, upper lining part of the shoe, lifted it high in the air and bashed the heel hard onto the padlock. Moving in close to examine my handiwork, I saw I’d managed to chip some black paint away from the padlock’s metal face but nothing more. Undeterred, I brought the heel down again and this time I tried to direct the spike into the keyhole. And then I hit it again and again, with as much force as I could. Stopping to check my progress, I saw that it was starting to weaken. Emboldened, I gave it one last bash and the heel broke off the shoe, taking the lock with it. The chain slid to the floor with a clunk. Panting with the effort, I got to my feet and checked on Barney. Pressed flat against the wall, mouth agape, he couldn’t decide whether to be scared or impressed. I pushed down on the door’s metal bar. It opened to reveal a stairwell.
‘Come on,’ I said, not that much taller than him in my stockinged feet. My broken heels were now useless. ‘First one to the bottom gets a Mars Bar.’
And then we were running, taking the steps two at a time, the lights in Barney’s trainers flashing red the whole way.
Chapter Fifty-Five
The fire door at the bottom of the stairs opened onto a thin strip of grass. We seemed to have come out somewhere around the side of the hotel. My first instinct was to find my car and drive us both as far away from here as quickly as possible. But