Samantha stood up and allowed herself to be drawn into a tight embrace. The smell of Evelyn’s perfume transported her to Christmas Day, and sitting around the dinner table, pulling crackers and laughing at the bad jokes inside. Evelyn had taken Samantha under her wing since their first Christmas break during university. Lizzie had dragged Samantha, against all of her protests, to Aldeburgh to join Lizzie and her family for Christmas dinner. ‘I’ve already told my mum that you’re spending Christmas alone,’ Lizzie had said. ‘If you don’t come with me, I’ll never hear the end of it.’ Samantha had spent Christmas with the Appletons ever since.
‘It’s so lovely to see you.’ Evelyn squeezed Samantha. ‘How are you enjoying the trip?’
‘It’s fantastic, thank you,’ Samantha said. ‘There have been some ups and downs, but I’m loving our time together.’
‘That’s so lovely to hear.’ Evelyn smiled. ‘Shall we get some more seats here?’ she asked.
‘Have mine,’ Samantha replied, stepping out from the wicker chair. ‘I’m not that hungry. I might go check out the hotel room and grab a quick shower myself.’
‘Are you sure, dear? I didn’t mean to scare you off.’
‘No, honestly, it’s fine.’ She turned to Ben. ‘Do you know what time we’re supposed to leave for the sunset helicopter thing?’
‘Three o’clock,’ Ben replied, also standing up. ‘I’ll leave you to it as well,’ he said, as Peter and Aaron stepped up behind Lizzie.
‘Oh, no, you don’t,’ Evelyn said, taking his arm. ‘Let us buy you lunch. It’s the least we can do.’
He glanced at Lizzie.
She shrugged with a smile. ‘You might as well sit down. My mum doesn’t often take no for an answer.’
‘Shall we meet in the same place in the lobby at three?’ Samantha asked, already stepping away from the table.
‘Make it two-forty-five,’ Ben called after her. ‘I think Caroline wants to be leaving by three, and we all know how she gets when things don’t run on time.’
Samantha nodded as she spun around and walked towards the lifts. She waited a beat before glancing over her shoulder. The two cameramen hadn’t stopped filming since they’d left LA, but at least their focus seemed to be centred on Lizzie.
She pressed the call button by a row of lifts and imagined the feel of the soft mattress against her body. Maybe she should have a power nap, she thought as another yawn took hold.
‘Jaddi? Caroline?’ she called out as she entered the suite. ‘Anyone here?’
A corridor ran to her left and right, whilst floor-toceiling windows covered one side of the living room in front of her. The view faced out towards the back of the hotel and to an entire city beyond the main strip. White three-storey apartment buildings and houses lined the streets – all the signs of everyday life away from the casinos, the hotels, and the tourist attractions. Just past the city, orange hilltops and empty desert loomed, as if at any moment it might rise up and swallow the city into its sandy depths.
A muffled noise startled her. She heard a movement from somewhere in the suite.
Samantha twisted in the direction of the sound, just as a force struck the side of her head, knocking her to the ground. Her thoughts fell like a broken puzzle. The pieces were still there, but the picture was incoherent.
A shadow passed over her, then pain exploded from the top of her head. A hand grabbed her hair, yanking her head up from the floor. She slapped at the fist clenching her hair as it dragged her across the floor. The prickles of the carpet burnt against her bare legs as she kicked out her feet and tried to stand. Her eyes darted back and forth but all she could see was the floral Artex pattern on the ceiling.
The pain eased as the hand released her hair. Samantha tried to steady herself, but she was still facing upwards and couldn’t find her balance. Momentum carried her forwards until she slammed into the wall. The strength drained from her body as she fell in a heap on the floor.
Samantha opened her eyes and for a split second she thought the blow to her head had blurred her vision, but then the warmth of his breath brushed her lips and her pupils focused on David’s face, millimetres from her own.
She shrieked.
‘Do you think I’m stupid?’ He grabbed both of her wrists in one iron grip.
‘No,’ she said. A quiver ran over her body.
‘That’s strange, because earlier you acted like I was pretty stupid.’
‘I … I didn’t. David please, what are you doing? I don’t think you’re stupid.’
‘Of course I knew you’d broken up with me. I knew your bitch friends had been whispering in your ear, telling you I wasn’t good enough for you.’ He snorted. ‘What a joke.’
‘Why did you come then?’ Samantha whimpered. A sharp fear clutched her heart. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before. Her eyes scanned the bedroom, searching for anything that could help her. A large bed dominated the space. Two ornate cabinets sat either side, each with an oval-shaped lamp sitting on top. Then she saw it – the telephone. She swallowed a mouth full of saliva and struggled to collect her thoughts. She just needed a chance to use it.
David grinned. ‘I couldn’t let you go without saying a proper goodbye. What a waste that would’ve been.’ He chuckled. ‘I have to say the hand-luggage restrictions made things a little awkward at first but, do you know what? It was rather fun improvising. Take this phone,’ he said, reaching for the telephone with his free hand and yanking it towards him. Using his knee for leverage, he ripped the wire away from the base unit, taking with it her glint of hope. His eyes, wide and unblinking, continued to stare at her as he spoke. ‘Who needs handcuffs when this will do the same job? Here, let me show you.’
He pulled her wrists towards him and began coiling the wire around them.
Samantha gasped as the plastic wound tighter and tighter around her wrists. She couldn’t let him do this. She dragged her legs out from under her and bucked them towards David. He grunted and released his grip as her foot impacted with his abdomen. Adrenaline flooded her body. She jumped to her feet and leapt over him.
A second later she felt his hand clamp around her ankle and pull her to the floor. In one swift movement he lurched forward, forcing the air from her lungs as his weight bore down on her body. She coughed and swallowed back a mouthful of vomit. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might stop dead from the excursion. A lightness drifted through her head, from the oxygen being pumped at speed through her veins, or from the blow in the living room, she didn’t know.
‘If you don’t want me to punch you again, then I’d stop struggling. Me, I’m fine with it either way, but the end result will be the same,’ he said, his voice chipper as if he was discussing targets in the weekly team meeting.
Samantha continued to draw in heaving breaths as he wound the wire even tighter around her wrists.
‘David.’ The side of her head throbbed as she spoke. Her voice sounded muffled as if she was listening to herself from the next room.
‘Shh.’ He bent over her and placed his index fingers against her lips. She reeled at his touch and scrunched her eyes shut. ‘I’ll be right back.’
Her eyes shot open as his words filtered through the fog. He was leaving her alone.
‘Don’t worry, I’m only going to get my camera,’ he said, reading her thoughts. ‘I left it in the living room. Since you like being filmed so much, I thought we’d make another of our own little documentaries. That way I can watch our farewell anytime I like. I’ll send you a copy too, if you want?’
He laughed again and turned as if to leave, but stopped and stood over her. Another explosion of pain hit her stomach as his shoe landed just above her belly button. Seconds passed as she tried and failed to draw breath. For a moment she thought her lungs had collapsed, but then at last she gasped. Her head swam as she pulled her body into the foetal position and vomited.
By the time she was able to look up again, David was back, holding a small video cam
era on a tripod.
He exhaled a long sigh like an exasperated parent unable to reason with a child. ‘Looks like we’ll need to move rooms now, doesn’t it? I don’t want to be smelling that stench whilst we’re trying to have our farewell fun.’
She wiped her bound hands against her mouth and used her elbows to push herself up to sitting. A new thought struck her – Lizzie and Ben would expect her to be in the lobby by three, but would they come looking for her when she didn’t turn up, or assume she’d decided not to go? How much time had already passed? It felt like hours since she’d stepped over to the window and admired the view, but she knew that was impossible. Minutes seemed more likely.
‘Can you walk or do I need to drag you again?’
‘Walk.’ She coughed, scrambling to her feet. Her legs wobbled but she fought to stay upright.
He looped his arm through hers, just as he’d done hundreds of times in their relationship, and pulled her into the corridor and along to the next bedroom.
As her gaze fell onto the bed, her legs stopped moving. Images of his game flooded her head. If that was what he’d done to her when she’d been a willing participant, what would he do to her now?
She jerked her arm and tried to move away, but his hold was too strong. ‘Fine, have it your way,’ he said.
David placed the tripod and camera on the floor and turned to face her. In a single movement, he scooped her legs up and threw her onto the bed. She hit the soft springs of the mattress but then kept rolling, colliding with the lamp and the nightstand and dropping to the floor.
CHAPTER 53
Samantha
Samantha flinched as she opened her eyes. A sharp pain resonated from a long cut on her right arm where she’d struck the edge of the nightstand during her fall. Droplets of blood, the colour of the dried ketchup around the rim of the bottle, trickled towards her wrist.
She held her breath and forced herself to listen over the throbbing in her head. Was she hearing things or did a door shut inside the suite? Relief swept through her as a voice called out.
‘In here,’ David replied.
Samantha’s eyes shot to the open doorway as the sound of flip-flops padded along the corridor.
‘Ben?’ Jaddi said. The sound of her friend’s voice sent a chill racing down Samantha’s spine.
Samantha gripped the bedside table with both hands and pulled herself up. ‘No.’ In her head the word had been loud and full of fear and warning, but the noise that came out was barely a whisper. Hot tears welled in Samantha’s eyes.
David’s face contorted into a manic grin as he stepped out of sight behind the open door.
‘Sam?’ Jaddi said, taking a step into the room. ‘What are you—’ Her eyes bulged as her gaze fell to the ligature around Samantha’s wrist.
‘Run!’ Samantha shouted, launching herself across the bed towards them just as the door slammed into Jaddi’s body.
David leapt forward and yanked the door open again as Jaddi’s body flew back. David dived on top of her as she dropped to the floor. She yelped and writhed her body back and forth.
‘Get off me!’ Jaddi shouted.
Samantha clambered off the bed. Her only thought was for Jaddi as she jumped onto David’s back and hooked her bound hands around his neck. She pulled her arms back, forcing David away from Jaddi.
‘Run,’ she croaked as she felt David’s weight push her backwards to the edge of the bed.
Jaddi pulled herself up, but she didn’t run. Instead, she charged at David. He raised his knee up and kicked out, striking Jaddi in the stomach and sending her careening back out of the doorway. At the same time, the force of his elbow struck Samantha’s ribs. She groaned, relaxing her hold on him just enough to allow him to drop to the floor and out of her grip. He spun around and pulled something from his pocket. The coiled metal of a corkscrew glinted in the sunlight from the window.
‘Another good thing about upmarket hotel rooms,’ he said, breathing hard, ‘is that they usually have a corkscrew. Pretty handy really, if you think about it. This little thing can cause a lot of damage.’
He knelt to the ground and dropped one knee onto Jaddi’s chest, pinning her down as he touched the point of the corkscrew against the skin on her neck. She gasped but didn’t try to move.
‘Should’ve listened to Samantha, Jaddi,’ he said. ‘Should’ve run whilst you had the chance.’ He stared at Samantha, his pupils large and dilated. There was something unnatural about the glaze of his eyes, and she wondered for the first time if he might be on drugs.
‘Samantha, be a dear and pass me the wire from that phone, would you please? And remember, try anything stupid and this corkscrew is going into Jaddi’s neck.’
Jaddi cried out again as he pierced her skin with the corkscrew. A drop of blood trickled out from the wound.
‘Don’t hurt her, please, David.’ Samantha moved to the far side of the room and pulled the telephone away from the wall. The receiver clattered against the handset from the violent shaking of her hands.
The wire resisted for a moment, pulling taut before giving a small pop and jumping free from the wall.
She dropped the wire into his free hand as her mind raced through scenarios. Her eyes flicked to the doorway and back to David as he focused on tying Jaddi’s wrists together. She might be able to jump past him and run to the hotel room door, but would she make it? And what would happen to her if she didn’t? Another thought crossed her mind and pained her just as much as the strike from David’s fist – what would happen to Jaddi if Samantha did make it? How long would it take her to find help? Two minutes? Five minutes? She couldn’t leave Jaddi alone with him, not for a second.
‘I’ll kill her if you so much as try,’ he said, reading her thoughts and sending another shiver down her body. ‘Now be a good girl and pop yourself on the bed, that’s it, all the way back against the pillows.’ He nodded as she shuffled up to the head rest. ‘You,’ he said, looking at Jaddi, ‘have just earned yourself a starring role in our farewell video.’ David’s tone remained jovial as if he was salesman offering her a good deal on a new car.
‘David, please let us go,’ Samantha said. ‘This has gone too far. You were upset, I understand that, but things have got out of hand. If …’ She paused and racked her brain for the words that would filter through the madness which seemed to have consumed him. ‘If you walk out the door right now, I promise you we won’t call the police, or tell anyone. Just let us go.’
He threw back his head, cachinnating a sound full of menace and fear in equal measure. ‘Oh Samantha, it’s far too late for that.’
‘You won’t get away with this,’ Jaddi snarled at him.
David turned to face Jaddi. ‘Actually, I will. By now your friends will all have left for a three-hour excursion to the Grand Canyon. By the time they get back, I’ll be long gone.’ He chuckled.
David fastened the wire around Jaddi’s wrists and pulled her up from the floor. ‘The only problem with these hotel beds is that they don’t have any posts to tie things too. You remember how much fun that was, don’t you, Samantha?’ He shoved Jaddi onto the bed. ‘Looks like we’ll need a bit more improvisation. Never mind, we have plenty of time.’
CHAPTER 54
Lizzie
Lizzie watched Ben’s fingers drum against the overstuffed armchair and smiled. He was clearly lost without a camera to fiddle with. The lift chimed again, pulling her attention to the shining gold doors as they opened into the bustling lobby. Half a dozen people moved out of the lift; none of them were Jaddi or Samantha. Where were her friends?
All of a sudden a warmth crept over her neck and face. She could feel his eyes on her again.
‘Do I have ketchup on my chin, or something?’ Lizzie wiped her fingers over her lips and smiled at Ben.
‘Are you feeling all right?’ he asked, ignoring her question.
She nodded. ‘I’m great. Why? Do I look ill?’
‘No.’ He looked into her eyes. ‘You
look –’ a half-smile stretched across his face, crinkling the skin around his eyes ‘– fine.’
‘So what’s wrong? You’re doing your frowning face.’
‘My what?’
‘Your frowning face.’ She laughed. ‘Like this.’ Lizzie scrunched up her forehead, flared her nostrils and pouted her lips, before doubling over in a fit of giggles.
‘Hey.’ Ben smirked. ‘My face doesn’t look anything like that.’
‘It does; you’ve just never seen it before because you’ve always got a hump of plastic in front of it.’
Before Ben had a chance to retort, the lift chimed another arrival and Caroline glided towards them. Her eyes were glued to the screen of her mobile, and yet she weaved around plants and people as if she had a second set of eyes in her forehead.
She smiled a greeting at Ben and Lizzie, before glancing across to the opposite sofa and nodding to Lizzie’s family. Aaron lifted a hand in greeting as his mouth stretched into a wide yawn. Like a wave in a football stadium, it passed between them, hitting her dad and then her mum, before moving back to Aaron.
‘Where’s the rest of you?’ Caroline asked.
‘It’s only just gone quarter to,’ Ben said. ‘They’ll be here in a minute, don’t worry. We lost track of time ourselves over lunch.’
It had been fun spending time with her family and with Ben. There had been an initial awkwardness and small talk about the weather and jet lag as her mum and dad had thrown furtive looks at the three members of Caroline’s film crew, stepping in a slow perimeter around the table. Then Ben had turned to her mum and asked, ‘Has Lizzie always been sarcastic?’
Evelyn had laughed. ‘Born with it.’
The rest of their lunch had flown by as her parents had regaled Ben with stories of Lizzie and Aaron’s childhood, whilst Lizzie and Aaron had laughed along, hid behind their napkins, and declared their parents outright liars. Like the time she’d tried to dye her hair red one Christmas Eve and had spent the entire holiday hiding her bright orange mop under a hat. Or the dozens of times they’d taken Aaron to A&E because he’d been attempting double summersaults off the top of the sofa and hit his head.
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