While You Slept

by R. J. Parker

  ‘Can I tell you a different story?’

  ‘I really like this one. Even though it’s a bit scary. Were you scared?’

  Maisie didn’t react.

  ‘I know I would have been. I’m not sure I would have been as brave as you.’

  ‘We were playing a game upstairs but I didn’t like it.’

  Lily’s body tautened. ‘What sort of a game?’ She tried to keep her tone light.

  ‘A guessing game.’ Her response was emotionless. ‘He put something on my head.’

  Lily’s mouth was dry. ‘Do you know what it was?’

  ‘It was made of cloth and it smelt funny.’

  Anger mounted. ‘Why didn’t you take it off?’

  Maisie’s breathing quickened.

  ‘Maisie, why didn’t you take it off?’

  ‘I … couldn’t.’

  ‘Why not?’ Had he tied her hands? Lily hadn’t seen any marks on her wrists or ankles.

  ‘I wasn’t allowed.’

  Lily could hear her own circulation surge in the ear against the pillow. ‘So you did everything he told you to?’

  ‘I had to.’

  What did that mean? Lily could see tears twinkle in her daughter’s eyes. ‘Why?’

  ‘He said, if I took it off … horrible things would happen to you.’

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  Lily tried to restrain the colliding emotions she felt and reached out to stroke Maisie’s hair. What could she tell her? ‘He was only saying that to make you do what he wanted.’

  ‘But I thought … we had to do what he wanted.’

  Lily nodded. ‘Right now we do. And you did the right thing.’ Lily wanted to scream at the camera. But she had to know. ‘What else did you do?’

  ‘He made me sit on a stool. It was tall. My feet couldn’t touch the ground.’

  Lily’s face was hot, and it felt like she might suffocate. ‘Did he … when he was nearby … did he put his hand on you?’

  Maisie nodded once. ‘He lifted me off the stool and stood me on the floor. He took the cloth off my head and I was looking at the wall. He put his hand on the back of my head.’

  For the photo. ‘And what happened after that?’

  ‘He put the cloth back on me and lifted me onto the stool again. Told me not to move or …’ Maisie started crying.

  ‘OK, you don’t have to go on.’ But Lily wondered if she should get it all out now, while it was still clear in her head. ‘Let me get you a tissue.’

  ‘He said he’d hurt you.’ Maisie’s chest pumped out the words. ‘That I’d never … see you … again.’

  Hatred for him burnt at Lily’s core. She touched Maisie’s cheek. ‘But you can see now, he was making all that up. I’m here, he hasn’t hurt me. And I’m not about to let him hurt either of us. He’s like that horrible boy who picked on you your first day of school. They were just cruel words.’

  ‘But he … took me.’ Tears ran down Maisie’s face. ‘And … you couldn’t … help me!’

  ‘Ssshhh, ssshhh.’ She didn’t want him to hear this. Didn’t want him to know how helpless it made her feel. ‘He wouldn’t dare hurt you.’ She realised her voice had risen. She dropped it to a whisper again. ‘Wouldn’t dare. That’s why he let you come back to me.’ She gently wiped the tears from Maisie’s eyes with her fingers. ‘And now he knows how strong you are too.’

  ‘I just want to go home.’ The words barely grazed Maisie’s throat.

  ‘So do I. And we will. But sometimes nasty things happen. The sorts of things that make us realise how lucky we are to have each other.’ Lily needed to know about the rest of the time her daughter had been away from her. ‘Do you remember him taking you from here?’

  Maisie shook her head.

  ‘What was the very first thing you remember?’

  ‘I woke up … and I was in a different room.’

  ‘What then?’ But what had happened when she’d been asleep or drugged? How many hours did that account for?

  ‘I called for you.’ Even wrapped up in a whisper, Maisie’s voice was suddenly small.

  ‘What did the room look like?’

  ‘It wasn’t a bedroom. It was cold and … empty and dirty.’ Maisie’s sobs were dwindling now. ‘And it wasn’t even a proper bed.’

  Lily imagined her waking alone on a mattress in one of the derelict rooms upstairs. ‘What did you do?’ She had to keep her focussed.

  ‘I went to the door but it was locked.’ She released a sigh from her chest. The tears had momentarily abated.

  ‘OK …’

  ‘I was cold, so I went back to bed and tried to keep warm. Then the scary man came in and turned off the lights.’

  Lily closed her eyes. How could she broach the question she had to ask? ‘Was he in the room with you long?’

  ‘No. Just to put the cloth over my head. Then he gave me some socks and told me to sit on the high stool.’

  ‘And apart from when he put his hand on your head, he didn’t touch you?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘You’re sure?’

  Maisie nodded and sniffed.

  ‘And you spent the rest of the time on the stool?’

  ‘Yes. He wouldn’t let me off it, even to pee.’

  The son of a bitch. How could he have put her through that? But Lily was glad that, as far as Maisie was concerned, he’d barely touched her. However, any relief she felt was negated by the time before she’d woken that Maisie couldn’t remember. ‘Did he give you anything to eat?’

  ‘No. Just some water … with a straw so I didn’t have to take the cloth off my head.’

  Lily wondered if he’d always known he was going to return her when he did.

  ‘I don’t want to go back to the stool.’ There was palpable fear in Maisie’s voice.

  ‘You’re not going to. I promise you.’

  But Maisie was silent.

  ‘Do you remember anything else he said to you?’

  ‘No. He turned on a radio so I couldn’t understand what he was saying to the lady.’

  ‘What lady?’

  ‘She was in another room but I could hear her talking to him.’

  ‘You’re sure it was a lady’s voice?’

  ‘Yes. They were arguing. I heard a door slam and then I didn’t hear her again.’

  So there was more than one person holding them. But how could a woman be involved in this, in mistreating and subjecting her little girl to such a terrifying and humiliating ordeal? Lily felt contempt for their captors burn even stronger. She needed fresh air. She pulled the duvet from her hot face and let the cool air settle on them. ‘OK,’ she rubbed Maisie’s arm. ‘That’s enough hiding.’

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  Even though it was the early hours of the morning, they were both fully awake and decided to get up. Daylight routine didn’t seem important. Lily was just glad to have Maisie back and didn’t want to let her out of her sight.

  She led her to the bathroom to clean her teeth and, while her daughter squeezed the paste onto her duplicate tiger toothbrush, Lily closed the door and scanned the bathroom again. Were they really free to talk in here or were they being monitored at this hour? She now knew there was more than one person involved in their incarceration. Perhaps their male and female captors took it in turns to keep tabs on them. She couldn’t identify anything that could be a camera but there was a grill above the cabinet. Lily wouldn’t remove it as she had the one in the kitchen. She wasn’t about to give their captors any further reason to punish them.

  Maisie was watching her, the brush paused at her teeth. ‘Can he see us in here too?’

  Lily briefly put her finger to her lips to shush her. ‘Come on and don’t forget to do your gums.’ She started running the tap and knelt down next to her. There was still something she needed to know. She whispered in her ear. ‘When you came back, did he let you in through the front door?’

  Maisie thought about it and whispered back. ‘I had the cloth on my head. I know I came do
wn some stairs. Then up a few. When he took it off, I was standing in the hallway.’

  ‘Up a few?’ Lily made a mental note of that. ‘Did you see him leave?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘You didn’t hear the door close behind him?’

  Maisie shook her head.

  Lily gestured for her to brush her teeth and she obeyed. Had they both been so drugged that he was able to just walk in and lift Maisie out of bed or was he using another entrance? It made sense that, as he’d built their prison, he’d give himself easy access to them. What about the locked front lounge door? Was there really a room behind there and, if so, why was it still sealed to them? Perhaps it led immediately to the place he was watching them from.

  She had no concept of the geography of the floor they were on. Did freedom lie beyond the thickness of that door? But there was no light around it. Did it have a metal plate over it like the front door? Maybe they were both permanently sealed and he was getting in through a wall. ‘Do you remember what the lady and the scary man were arguing about?’ She’d envisioned the man with the hood stealing in while they slept, but perhaps it had been a woman.

  The brush paused in her mouth. ‘I couldn’t really hear over the radio.’

  ‘Anything at all?’

  Maisie thought about it. ‘Just before she left she said something about the storeroom.’

  ‘The storeroom?’

  Maisie nodded. ‘I think that’s what she said.’

  ‘That was all you heard?’

  ‘Something about opening it up.’ But Maisie didn’t look sure.

  Lily nodded. ‘And there was nothing else?’

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Don’t apologise. You were so brave.’ Another thought occurred to Lily. ‘And the radio station he put on, what was that like?’

  ‘All pop music.’

  ‘But was it like the radio that I listen to?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Were there people talking in between?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Can you remember the names of the people talking?’

  ‘No. It was a man and a woman.’

  ‘And were they talking in English?’

  Maisie nodded.

  ‘Did you hear any news?’

  Maisie thought about it. ‘I think so.’

  ‘Can you remember what they said?’

  ‘I wasn’t really listening.’

  This was a partial relief. From the window Lily hadn’t seen any indication that they were still in the UK. But wherever they were their captors could easily find an English-speaking radio station. If they’d been smuggled out of the country to be trafficked in some way what would be the reason to create the environment they were in? Lily leaned in close to Maisie’s ear. ‘Keep brushing. This is going to be our place for secret chats, only when this tap is running. So he can’t listen in on us. If you remember anything more or have something you want to say to me that you don’t want the scary man to hear, you say to me “Please can you take me to the bathroom”.’

  Maisie paused, froth about her lips. ‘But I don’t need you to take me to the bathroom.’ She was mortified.

  ‘I know that. But he doesn’t.’ But did he? Did he know them more intimately than even she realised? ‘Only do it if you think you really need to tell me something. We’ll talk here first thing in the morning or just before we go to bed. If we do it too often, he’s going to guess we’re fooling him, OK?’

  ‘But what if I really need to tell you something quickly?’

  ‘Then tell me you feel sick and we’ll come here. Understand?’

  ‘Yes.’ Maisie spat some toothpaste into the sink.

  ‘OK, finish your teeth now. And when I turn off the tap it means he’s listening to us again.’

  Maisie seemed thoughtful.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘What if he finds out?’

  Lily could see the fear begin to swell in her eyes. ‘He hasn’t told us we can’t talk to each other. It’s just that here we can talk in private.’

  She whispered even lower. ‘He won’t take me away again?’

  ‘No. I’ve told you. That’s never going to happen again. I’m turning the tap off now. We’ll talk again here when you brush your teeth later.’

  Maisie nodded and Lily switched off the tap. ‘OK, good job. Let’s go and find something to eat. You must be starving.’

  But before Lily could open the door to the hallway, they heard a loud click from behind it.

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  ‘Stay there.’ Lily squeezed Maisie’s shoulder and stepped to the closed door. She listened at the panel.

  Maisie formed her fingers into a tube and whispered at Lily. ‘Is it the scary man?’

  Lily held her palm up to be quiet. Surely he hadn’t been able to hear what they’d been saying. Maybe he didn’t like them shutting themselves away to have a conversation. But how would he have known that that was what they were doing? They hadn’t been in there longer than a few minutes. But Lily still suspected the bathroom was as wired up as the other rooms.

  No other sound from outside.

  Damn, she’d left the knife and hammer in the bedroom. But she still had the nail scissors in her robe pocket. She slipped them out but kept them concealed in her hand.

  ‘What’s that?’

  She’d tried to do it sneakily because she didn’t want to alarm Maisie. She shushed her and put her ear to the door.

  After a few minutes she still couldn’t hear any noise. Lily slowly pulled down the handle and peered out of the crack in the door.

  From her position she couldn’t see anyone in the hallway. But something seemed different. Lily opened the door wider and realised what it was – the illumination had changed. It was less dingy. She stepped cautiously out and found the light source. The lounge door was half open.

  ‘Who is it?’ Maisie asked from behind her.

  ‘Just wait here.’ Lily didn’t take her eyes off the door and the light beyond it. Was this a trick? But she had to find out where it led. Maybe it was about to close again. ‘Are you in there?’ She directed the question towards it, but nobody responded.

  ‘Let me see.’

  She could feel Maisie at her waist and turned. ‘Just wait here. I’ll be back now. Not a peep. Do as I tell you.’

  Maisie opened her mouth to protest, but Lily closed the door on her. She quickly returned her attention to the lounge and took a few paces towards it. A game, a test? Maybe the argument that Maisie had overheard had changed the situation. Perhaps the woman persuaded their captor to return Maisie or even release them. But Lily doubted their ordeal was about to end that easily.

  Another two steps towards the door and she could hear a humming sound, like a low electrical motor. What the hell was that? She halted, reluctant to get any nearer. He’d opened this door, wanted her to walk over the threshold. Was he waiting for her the other side?

  Lily waited to see if he, or she, would appear. She shot a glance to the camera to her right. There was no element of surprise for her. Sooner or later they knew she would look through the doorway. Even if she didn’t enter, there was no point delaying the moment.

  She took the four paces that would take her to the edge of the door and then leaned and looked inside. She took it in for a few seconds.

  It was a room and not a corridor that led to freedom. The dimensions were about the same as her front lounge. But she couldn’t tell if there were any windows. There was very little floor space left unoccupied. Boxes were stacked up almost to the ceiling.

  Lily’s eyes drifted to the right and she saw the source of the noise. It was a large, white industrial chest freezer that ran the length of the wall. Above that were metallic shelves with more boxes stacked on top. ‘Hello?’ But she guessed there was nobody inside. There was scarcely any room for her to squeeze in.

  ‘What have you found?’

  Lily turned to find Maisie standing behind her. ‘Go back to the bathroom
.’

  ‘Is this food?’

  Lily returned her attention to the room. It was. And she recognised some of Maisie’s favourite brands printed on the cartons. Juices, cereals, boxes of baked beans, noodles, rice and crisps.

  ‘Can I see?’

  ‘No.’ Lily held her back by the nape of her neck. She still wasn’t sure if this was a booby trap. But if they’d wanted to take Maisie from her, they could have just kept her upstairs. She pulled the door open wider. ‘Stay here.’

  ‘No.’ Maisie looked up the corridor towards the camera.

  ‘Just let me check first and then you can come in. Count to twenty out loud.’

  Maisie started doing so immediately.

  ‘Too fast. Slow down. One and two and …’ Maisie picked up the counting, and Lily stepped inside and pulled the door closed behind her. She examined the stack of boxes in front of her. They almost touched the far wall. She skirted them until she reached the gap there and peered up it. She could just squeeze through the dingy aperture there to the back wall. No windows where they should be. And certainly no TV. Looked like this room hadn’t been completed. Or was it destined for this purpose? This had to be the storeroom that Maisie had heard the ‘lady’ talking about.

  She took a breath and entered and when she reached the rear, she squeezed quickly along a wall of toilet rolls and down the other side, so she was at the door again. Lily noted the camera above it. She opened the door quickly and was relieved to find Maisie still there.

  ‘Can I come in now?’

  ‘No, wait.’ Lily turned her attention to the chest freezer to her left. ‘I’m going to close the door again just for two seconds.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Two seconds.’ Lily did so and turned to the freezer. Why was it so big? Had they stockpiled as much in there as they had in dry storage?

  Maisie knocked the door. ‘Let me see.’

  ‘Did you count to twenty properly?

  ‘Nearly.’

  ‘How many seconds did you have left?’

  ‘I got to fourteen.’

  ‘Then finish counting.’ Lily gripped the handle of the freezer.

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