The Winding Stair

by Millie Vigor

  James put their suitcase on the platform beside his wife.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ he asked when she turned to him, her face distraught.

  Sarah pointed at the billboard. ‘Look over there.’

  ‘Yes,’ said James as he looked. ‘I expect we shall see more of them. But that means that people are looking for her. Come on, the taxis have probably all gone and we’ll have to wait. Let’s see where the taxi rank is. Have you got the address of the B & B?’

  ‘It will be all right, won’t it?’ said Sarah when they stood by the empty taxi rank. ‘They will find her, won’t they?’

  ‘Of course they will,’ said James.

  He put an arm round her shoulders and gave her a reassuring hug, loath to let her see that he was as worried about their daughter’s disappearance as she.

  ‘When we’re settled in I’ll phone the police station. I think we should go and have a word with them.’

  The landlady at the bed and breakfast establishment they had chosen made the Harveys welcome.

  ‘I am sorry your visit is not for happier reasons,’ she said when they told her why they had come. ‘Please don’t hesitate to ask for anything you need.’ She showed them to their room. ‘You’ve had a long journey, have you eaten?’

  James said they had but that they would like a pot of tea.

  A tray with tea was waiting for them when, washed and refreshed, they went down to the lounge.

  ‘When you’re rested and feel ready, Sarah,’ said James, ‘I would very much like to visit Virginia’s neighbours. I’m sure they would be able to tell us more about our daughter and her friends. We’ll go to the police station tomorrow. Do you have the Grahams’ number? It would be better to ring them and let them know we’re here.’

  ‘Yes, I do. It’s here somewhere,’ said Sarah as, looking for the diary where she had written the Grahams’ phone number, she went through the many pockets in her capacious handbag.

  The meeting with Nancy did not go well. Still smarting from the accusations Ginny had thrown at her, Nancy was reluctant to talk. But the obvious distress of Sarah Harvey prompted her to unbend a little and tell what she knew of Ginny’s way of life.

  ‘My daughter told me that you kept a key to her house, Mrs Graham,’ said Sarah. ‘May I borrow it? I would like to look at her home.’

  ‘I’m afraid you can’t do that,’ said Nancy. ‘The police took the key from me and the house is still locked.’

  ‘But I am her mother; surely they would let me go in.’

  ‘I’m sorry. You would have to ask them,’ said Nancy.

  The Harveys didn’t stay long with Nancy Graham, and as they walked away Sarah said, ‘That woman was distinctly uneasy to see us. But Ginny said that they were great friends, so what’s happened? Do you think she and Nancy fell out?’

  ‘I had exactly the same feeling and I was very surprised. I can’t imagine Ginny falling out with anyone, but then again you know how outspoken she can be. I’m sure if there was a difference of opinion, our girl would not have hesitated to speak her mind. Not always a good thing, but it’s easy to be wise afterwards.’

  They walked on without speaking for a while then James Harvey said, ‘I’ll ring the police station and ask if they can see us in the morning. We should be able to find out who’s in charge of the search for Ginny and make an appointment with him. Maybe we’ll get some more answers there.’

  DI Barker was in his office. The Harveys were shown in.

  ‘My wife and I visited Mrs Graham,’ said James. ‘She told us that Virginia went away without telling anyone where she was going just a few weeks ago. I imagine that you must have been made aware of that. The question is … where is she now? What do you think has happened to her?’

  ‘At the moment I really don’t know,’ said Barker. ‘But that doesn’t mean to say that we are not doing our best to find out.’

  ‘I’m afraid something terrible has happened,’ said Sarah.

  ‘There could be a number of reasons why she’s missing, Mrs Harvey. She may have decided that she was in need of a spell of peace and quiet and didn’t want to be disturbed by anyone. Or she could be doing research for one of her books. I do know that she’s a writer. But if you are worried that some evil person has murdered her, we do not consider that a missing person has been murdered until we find a body and even then, death can come from natural causes. Violent death is much rarer than you might think. We haven’t got a body, so at the moment murder is out of the question.’ To himself, Barker thought, for now!

  ‘She could have wanted to disappear,’ he went on. ‘Perhaps there’s someone she wanted to get away from. We know she thought she had a stalker, though that may have been her imagination. I’ve found over the years that there are all sorts of reasons why people do the disappearing act. If she’s to be found, we shall find her.’

  ‘And what are we to do in the meantime?’

  Barker looked at the very disturbed couple.

  ‘First of all you can have a cup of tea.’ He picked up the phone on his desk and ordered tea and biscuits. ‘Then,’ he went on, ‘you can talk to me about your daughter and tell me everything you can so that I can get a clearer picture of her. It will help, I assure you.’

  ‘She was inclined to be a solitary sort of person,’ said Ginny’s father. ‘As a child we could never get her interested in joining the Brownies or the Girl Guides. She always had her nose in a book. I think that’s what made her want to become a writer.’

  ‘You’re quite right, dear,’ said Sarah Harvey. She turned to the detective. ‘She was always happy in her own company. But it still seems odd that she would think of going away without telling anyone. What was there to go for? And why sneak away secretly? But then, we understand that she has done that before. And I think that if anyone had been pestering her, which is what Mrs Graham suggested, she would have stood up for herself. She was not one to stand any nonsense.’

  But someone was pestering her and she didn’t know who. And the suspicion that she had once again fled the scene loomed large in Barker’s mind. There was just one thing that spoiled that – the pots of prepared vegetables that were waiting on the stove in Ginny’s house. She had intended to come home and something had stopped her, and he had to search until he and the whole of the city’s police force, if necessary, found her.

  ‘Did she grow up in Scotland?’

  ‘Yes, why do you ask?’

  ‘I wondered if skiing was one of her hobbies and if maybe she had gone off on a skiing holiday. It’s the right time of year for it and I believe the snow in Switzerland is particularly good this winter. One of our young constables is away for a couple of weeks and that’s where he’s gone.’

  ‘She can ski and she does go on skiing holidays, but she usually goes with a friend who she went to school with. That young lady is at home, in fact, I saw her only a few days ago. She was asking after Virginia. And I’m sure she would have said if she and Ginny were thinking of taking a holiday.’ Sarah Harvey drew a deep breath then sighed. ‘I must admit I did have qualms about Ginny living alone and, even though she lives with just a cat for company, she’s by no means an old maid. She’s an adult and it was not for me to interfere. We live in a remote part of Scotland and it wasn’t fair to expect her to stay there with us. Everything is so convenient here. She can get to London in an hour or so to attend meetings, to see her publisher and …’ Sarah Harvey paused.

  ‘Go on,’ said Barker.

  ‘I was going to say she had good neighbours, she always led us to believe that was the case, but I’ve met the woman and now I’m not so sure.’

  ‘What made you doubt her?’

  ‘I got the impression that she didn’t want to see us. Do you know if she and my daughter did not get on as well as I thought?’

  ‘I have been given to understand that they were very good friends, but I think there was a difference of opinion. I couldn’t comment on it because I’ve only heard one version.’r />
  ‘I knew it,’ said Sarah. ‘We both felt it, didn’t we, James? We called on Mrs Graham and she wasn’t comfortable talking to us. Oh well, if they had a quarrel that’s their business.’

  There was a knock on the office door, it opened and a young PC carrying a tray came in.

  ‘Good, here’s the tea,’ said Barker. ‘Do you both take milk and sugar?’

  ‘Well, that didn’t tell us very much, Sarah, did it?’ said James Harvey when they were on their way back to the B & B.

  ‘The police are always very tight-lipped though, aren’t they?’

  ‘They’re setting things up for us to make an appeal on TV. That will reach out to a lot more people and will perhaps bring some results.’

  ‘I’m not looking forward to that, but I hope it does some good!’ Sarah paused. ‘What are we going to do if nothing happens? Are we going to stay here till they find her?’

  ‘That depends,’ said James. ‘We can’t stay here forever. When there’s nothing more we can do we’ll go home. We’ll visit the library tomorrow. Virginia said the librarian was a friend of hers and I think we should see as many of them as we can. I’m sure the police will already have questioned them but it will do no harm to see them again. Goodness knows what we might turn up. Perhaps they’ll tell us things they won’t think of telling the police.’

  TEN

  Curtis had been Curtis for several days, but afraid that Mikhail might be the next one to come down the stairs, Ginny still blocked the door with the chair. Someone was coming now. Although she knew that nothing could have moved the chair, she checked to see that the door was secured. Perched on the edge of her bed, she held her breath. Would it be Curtis and what mood would he be in?

  The handle turned but the door stayed shut.

  ‘I know you’re blocking the door with the chair,’ said Curtis. ‘Would you please move it? I’ve brought you some books.’

  Relieved that it was not Mikhail, Ginny retrieved the chair, but held on to it and kept it in front of her, a barrier between her and her jailer and, if need be, a weapon. The door opened and Curtis smiled at her. He was carrying a handful of books. Ginny kept her distance.

  Pushing the door shut with his foot, Curtis motioned to Ginny to sit.

  ‘I thought you would like something different to read,’ he said, ‘and that you might be glad of some company. I’ve got this for you.’

  He gave her a paper bag. In it was a small box of some very exclusive chocolates.

  ‘Ooh, lovely. Thank you, how very kind,’ said Ginny. ‘When are you going to rape me?’

  ‘Virginia!’ Curtis’s eyes were wide with shock.

  ‘Well, why else am I here? I don’t know why you think I would be happy just to stay with you. You haven’t made me very welcome so far.’

  ‘I’ve fed you. I’ve told you that you’re safe and that I’ll look after you. You know I would never rape you.’

  ‘How can you say that? You’ve locked me in your cellar, you’ve been cruel and you punched me so hard I thought you’d broken my jaw. How is that looking after me?’

  Curtis jumped up. ‘Virginia,’ he said, ‘I don’t know where you got that idea from. I would never hurt you.’

  ‘But you did. You were horrible and you said you were Russian and your name was Mikhail.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  Obviously distressed, Curtis sat down again and reached out to take hold of her hands.

  ‘You poor dear, you’ve been having nightmares. They can be so real, can’t they? I’ll have to be more careful of what I give you to read. No sci-fi from now on.’

  Was he kidding, denying what he’d done? He was behaving as though he knew nothing about it.

  ‘No, Curtis. It wasn’t a nightmare,’ said Ginny. ‘It was real and I’ve still got the bruises to prove it. Look.’

  ‘I can’t see anything,’ said Curtis.

  ‘Or you don’t want to,’ said Ginny.

  Curtis, a faraway look in his eyes, smiled at her. ‘I want you to stay here with me, Virginia, so why would I want to hurt you?’ His voice was gentle.

  This is ridiculous, thought Ginny, but at least he’s in a good mood today so best go along with it and humour him.

  ‘There’s just one thing,’ she said. ‘I need a change of clothes. I also need soap, my own flannel, toothpaste and toothbrush and other personal things. I would also like to have a bath. I can’t have that in the basin you expect me to wash in. And there must be bills piling up at home that need to be paid. I can’t do that while you keep me locked up.’

  ‘I know that. Make a list of what you want and I will get it for you.’

  ‘But …’ Ginny paused then went on, ‘there will be some very personal items on the list. Do you really want to do that? Won’t you be embarrassed?’

  ‘Well, I don’t know how else you’re going to get them, do you?’

  ‘Yes. You could let me come with you.’

  Curtis threw back his head and laughed. ‘Sorry, Virginia, but I’m afraid that’s not going to happen.’

  Of course she knew it wasn’t, but he shouldn’t have laughed. Nothing he was doing was a joke. Being shut in a cellar was worse than being in a real prison; at least the inmates there knew the length of their sentence. She did not.

  ‘And what about the bath? I need a bath.’

  ‘I’ll arrange it.’

  ‘Good. But what am I going to do about the bills I have to pay? There’s council tax and electricity and all that sort of thing. I don’t want to get into debt.’

  ‘You have nothing to worry about, Virginia. I have taken care of all your financial arrangements.’

  ‘What?’

  Curtis, confident and relaxed and holding all the aces, sat opposite her.

  ‘It’s surprising what you can do when you know how,’ he said.

  Was nothing beyond him? He had the key to the door; his was the decision as to whether he would provide food, reading matter, or anything at all. She couldn’t win. The anger that constantly simmered inside her at the injustice of her situation suddenly erupted. Leaping at him she clawed at his face.

  ‘You bastard,’ she screamed.

  The force with which she flew at him took him by surprise. With a crash the chair, Curtis and Ginny, fighting and entangled in its legs, hit the floor. Curtis’s head connected with it and seizing the advantage, Ginny bit, clawed and kicked. This was her chance, he hadn’t bolted the door. From the inside he couldn’t. Then, to her horror, Curtis threw her off and was back on his feet. With bared teeth he snarled and seized hold of her. He grabbed hold of her arms and shook her. Shook her like a dog with a rat, shook so hard that her head snapped back and forth.

  ‘You bitch,’ he snarled as he threw her on the bed.

  Ginny struggled to sit up, watched in horror as Curtis drew in a long, long breath. His whole physique changed and then … he roared. Ginny was afraid and wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go.

  Seizing her by the hair, Curtis pulled her up till she was on her knees. ‘You ungrateful bitch,’ he snarled as he punched her in the ribs. She cried out in pain and he punched her again. ‘You will do as you are bloody well told,’ he said. He brought his face close to hers. ‘You cannot run away, you will stay with me … forever.’

  He let her go then and feet and hands working, she pushed and pulled and slid herself backward till she reached the head of the bed, there she pressed herself against it and waited for the next attack. Oh God, he really was crazy. What was he going to do to her?

  ‘You can’t keep me here. The police will be looking for me. When they find me they’ll put you in prison.’

  Curtis’s breath was coming fast.

  ‘You are so stupid,’ he said. ‘Don’t you know when you’re well off? I can do everything for you.’ Why was he shouting if he wanted to be good to her? ‘I want to do everything. Why can’t you see that?’

  Trembling with fright and eyes wet with tears, Ginny looked
at him.

  ‘But I want to go home. Please let me go. I don’t like being locked in. You wouldn’t like it, either.’ Be nice to him, placate him, see if you can change his mood. ‘I’m sorry I lost my temper. I hope you’re not hurt.’ Don’t lay it on too thick. She hung her head. ‘Thank you for the books.’

  Much as she wanted to look at Curtis and tell by the expression on his face if the soft approach was working, Ginny kept her head bowed. He did not reply, but sighed and sat down. To her relief his breathing slowed and he appeared to relax. She looked at him then, met his gaze and held it.

  Curtis picked up the books he had brought, and, behaving as though nothing had happened, handed them to her. There was definitely two of him. One was a monster and she was never going to know when this side of him would come through the door. But it was Curtis who sat opposite her now.

  ‘When I told you I wanted to write you gave me pencil and paper,’ she said. ‘But that’s only enough for notes.’

  Ginny crossed her fingers before she spoke again. ‘What I’d really like is a laptop. If I’m going to stay I have to get on with my writing. I have a book to finish.’

  ‘Of course, why didn’t you ask before?’

  Because I hadn’t intended to stay, thought Ginny, not that I want to now, but I cannot sit and twiddle my thumbs all day or I shall end up as mad as you.

  ‘I didn’t know why I was here and I didn’t think I was going to stay.’

  ‘But now you are.’

  ‘Seeing that you don’t intend to let me go, I don’t have any choice, do I? Now tell me something. When I ran away I didn’t tell anyone where I was going, but you found me and sent that rose, so how did you know where I was?’

  Curtis laughed. ‘Finding you was easy. You took your mobile phone with you. I know you didn’t use it, but didn’t you know it can be traced?’

  ‘What do you mean, traced?’

  ‘I’m not going to tell you how it’s done, but there are ways and means. You would be surprised how much detail I was given. I thought you’d chosen a very nice hotel. Was it as good as you thought it would be?’

  ‘It was, but I still don’t know how you found out where I was.’