The Doctor

by Lisa Stone

  He stopped at a photograph of Em and Robbie in a park. It was recent, and they were standing beside a guy with a similar-aged child. A selfie taken by one of them, all four of them smiling into the lens. The caption beneath read: Em and Robbie with Greg (proud house husband) and Jamie. Best buddies. Who were best buddies? Ben wondered with a stab of jealousy. The children, or Em and Greg? Had she mentioned Greg? He couldn’t remember, and when had she started using Em, her nickname, with Greg? He’d always thought it had been his and his alone, intimate and personal, just between the two of them.

  Ben stared at the photograph, looking for any clue. Who was Greg? The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that Em had never mentioned him. A bit more research on Facebook and he learnt that Greg was married to Amy, who had returned to work straight after the birth of their son. Greg had stayed at home to look after their child and did some freelance photographic work. Why hadn’t Em mentioned him or invited him and his wife to dinner or their Christmas party if they were such good friends? Didn’t she want them to meet? Or perhaps she had mentioned him and it hadn’t registered. Sometimes when she talked about her day with Robbie he found his thoughts wandered to matters at work.

  Ben enlarged the photograph. There was a warmth in Greg’s smile that would appeal to Em. He moved the cursor to messenger and saw the box contained messages between Em and Greg. The last was that morning and from Greg: Survived Christmas? Amy back at work today. When does Ben return? Let me know when you are free to meet.

  Em had replied: Ben back at work today. Had a good Christmas, but glad it’s all over. Meet soon. But no details about where or when, or running away together.

  Ben scrolled further up to previous messages and saw that Greg had messaged on Christmas Eve: Happy Christmas xx

  Em had replied: And you xx

  Nothing suspicious in that except Greg’s next message was: Hope you’ve been a good girl and Father Christmas brings you whatever you want xx

  Suggestive, wink wink, nod nod, Ben thought, and began to feel uncomfortable. There were lots of messages stretching back to when they’d first met, which he now learnt was at the health clinic when they’d both taken their sons for their six-week check-ups. So they’d known each other a year. Where was Greg now? At home asleep with his wife and child or had he left them and was now with Em? There was nothing in the messages to suggest this, but they were clearly close and shared similar interests and a sense of humour. Em liked a good sense of humour. She said she found it sexy in blokes.

  Ben’s fingers hovered over the keypad. There was a way to find out, he thought. He could message Greg from Em’s account and see what his response was. If Ben messaged, Hi, let’s meet, and Em was with him now, then they’d know they’d been rumbled. And if she wasn’t with Greg, he could eliminate him.

  Ben hesitated. Where was the trust they had? Until the police had arrived and taken the contents of the note at face value – believing she had left him for another man – he’d been convinced Em was suffering from postnatal depression. Yet here he was trying to catch her out instead of looking for her.

  He snapped shut the laptop without sending the message, despising himself for doubting her. He needed to get a grip, try to think what to do for the best to help Em.

  The doorbell rang and he rushed to answer it, hoping it was Em returning, but it was his parents.

  ‘Hello, love, you poor dear,’ his mother said and burst into tears.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Amit paced the living room, seething with anger; his head hurt where the bitch had hit him with that metal bar. How could he have allowed himself to be tricked like that! He was annoyed with himself for being taken in, but she’d pay for it.

  He paused to listen for any sound coming from Eva’s room. Although he’d bolted the door, the bitch was untied and on the loose and still had another metal table leg she could use as a weapon. It was her fault things were going so badly wrong. Alisha would never have tried that on without her. He should have kept them separated, he now realized, but he hadn’t prepared anywhere else safe enough to put Emily. He’d thought that threatening Alisha not to untie her would be enough, and it would have been had that bitch not influenced her.

  He listened again. What were they doing up there? Plotting their next move? Emily didn’t seem the type to just accept her fate, but he was sure they couldn’t escape. The door was bolted and he had the key to the window in the room – a double-glazed, sealed unit with toughened glass. His preparations in the lab weren’t complete yet, but he’d had to seize the opportunity of Ben being late home to snatch Emily or he might not have had another chance for months. The old woman wouldn’t have caused him all this trouble, he thought bitterly, neither would a bride from overseas.

  But what to do with Emily until he was ready for her? He didn’t want to keep injecting her with anaesthetic as it could compromise the outcome of his experiment. But he needed to contain her. It would be the end for him and his work if she escaped. One thing was for certain: she was going to regret the trouble she’d caused him when her time came. His lab was soundproof, so no one would hear her scream. He pictured her paralysed with muscle relaxant and fully conscious, lying naked in the ice bath as he drained her blood before he began the infusion process. When he’d tried this method on the animals, it had worked, although they’d writhed and squealed in agony as they’d bled out. He fully expected Emily to do the same. Serve her right for trying to escape.

  Upstairs in the room above, Emily sat on the sofa in the gloom of the night light with a wad of tissues pressed to her cheek. She’d caught her face when she’d gone down and it was bleeding. Her ribs ached from where Amit had kicked her, and she knew Alisha was in pain too. She was lying beside Eva on her bed, soothing her. Eva had become hysterical and had only just stopped crying. If only Alisha had found the courage to use the other metal bar, it would have given her the chance – the few seconds she needed – to get up from the floor and fight back. As it was, he’d got away and Alisha was blaming Emily for having persuaded her to try to escape. ‘I should never have listened to you,’ she’d said over and over again, as she tried to pacify Eva. ‘He’ll kill us all now and it’s your fault.’

  Emily did feel responsible; not because she’d tried and failed but because she’d blown their one chance. She should have realized Alisha wasn’t up to attacking Amit, even if it meant saving Eva. Now Amit would be on his guard, so there’d be no second chance to escape before he … She pushed the thought from her mind. How long before he came for her and dragged her to his lab? Alisha wouldn’t stop him, she was far too scared.

  And what the fuck was Ben doing? Emily thought with a stab of anger. She’d heard cars arrive and at least one leave. Had he called the police? There had been no siren. Surely the police would search their neighbours’ houses and outbuildings? She’d seen news items of when children went missing and police and volunteers scoured the neighbourhood, and a police helicopter was sent up to help in the search. But, of course, she wasn’t a child, and she’d left a note saying she’d gone off with another man and not to come looking for her. But Ben wouldn’t believe that, would he? She turned the wad of tissues over and pressed the clean side to the wound.

  How much did Ben trust her? she wondered, gazing into the semi-darkness. Did he appreciate the depth of her love for him and Robbie – enough to know she would never leave them? True, they’d had their disagreements, but then so did most couples. She knew from her friends that there were times when even the best matched couples got on each other’s nerves. Greg, who doted on his wife, said he felt hurt sometimes when Amy came home and insisted on talking non-stop about work and seemed to marginalize what he’d been doing. She could identify with that.

  Christmas had put a strain on their relationship, Emily acknowledged, but then Christmas did. Although it had gone well, all the planning, upheaval, and high expectations, especially when Ben had wanted a quiet Christmas, had made them tetchy sometimes.
He’d gone along with her wish to have a drinks party and both sets of parents to Christmas dinner when she’d said her life was quiet enough and she needed some fun. She hadn’t meant it as a criticism, and she hoped Ben knew that. He’d said after that he’d enjoyed Christmas and was proud of her.

  Her eyes filled at the thought of him and Robbie next door, and she willed them to feel her close. Ben, Robbie, I’m here. I love you. I would never leave you. Believe me. Whatever happens, I’ll always love you both with all my heart.

  Her gaze flew to the other metal table leg, still partially concealed behind the cushion on the sofa. One chance and she’d lost it, but she couldn’t sit here doing nothing and risk never seeing Ben or Robbie again. Her anger and frustration flared. Jumping up, she grabbed the bar and running to the window struck the glass with all her force. Eva and Alisha screamed. She hit the glass again and again, all her anger and sorrow behind the force of the blows. Alisha clutched her daughter protectively, shielding her, expecting the window to burst and shower them with glass. But it was too tough and held firm. Emily raised the bar and hit it again and again and eventually a chip appeared in the centre of the window.

  The door burst open and Amit was in the room. ‘Stop that now,’ he shouted. ‘Or you’ll all die. The child first.’

  Alisha jumped from the bed and, with a force that surprised Emily, snatched the bar. ‘He means it,’ she screamed.

  ‘Bring the weapon to me,’ Amit demanded.

  ‘No,’ Emily said. ‘Don’t.’ She tried to grab Alisha.

  But Alisha pulled away, ran to Amit and gave him the bar. He quickly left the room.

  ‘I’m sorry, I had to,’ she said, tears in her eyes. ‘For Eva’s sake.’

  Chapter Forty-Five

  ‘Did you hear something?’ Emily’s mother, Pat, asked, putting her finger to her lips to silence the others. Both sets of parents had arrived and were now in the living room with Ben, their discussion had become heated. ‘Perhaps it was Robbie. I’ll go up and check.’ Standing, Pat left the room, and the atmosphere shifted.

  Ben’s father, Richard, cleared his throat to speak. ‘I don’t want to upset anyone more than we already are, and I can understand why Pat won’t have anything said against her daughter, but we have to be realistic. The note Emily left states clearly that she’s left Ben for another man. I think we have to accept that, don’t you, son?’ He turned to Ben. ‘It doesn’t mean Emily won’t come back, but it puts things in a different light.’

  ‘Agreed,’ Ben’s mother, Mary, said. ‘I don’t know why you didn’t tell us about the note when you telephoned. I was worried sick all the way here, thinking Emily was ill and suicidal.’

  Ben stared at them but didn’t speak. He wished he’d come clean about the note sooner.

  ‘I can appreciate why my son didn’t want to tell us,’ his father said. ‘He’s struggling to believe it himself. Pat is in denial too. It’s understandable.’

  ‘It’s not denial,’ Emily’s father, David, said brusquely. ‘Emily would never run off with another man unless she had a good reason. She’s loyal and trustworthy.’

  ‘Are you suggesting my son treated your daughter badly?’ Ben’s father said, rounding on him.

  ‘No one knows what goes on behind closed doors,’ David responded. ‘Ben and Emily seemed to be happy, but who knows? Something must have made my daughter leave.’

  ‘It wasn’t my son!’ Richard retaliated fiercely.

  ‘Will you all stop it!’ Ben shouted, exasperated. ‘I didn’t treat her badly, and I don’t know why she’s gone except …’

  ‘Except what?’ Ben’s mother asked, her expression grim.

  ‘Well, the police told me to check Em’s Facebook account, and I found she’d been meeting a guy called Greg who I knew nothing about.’

  ‘There, told you!’ Ben’s father said.

  ‘It means nothing,’ Emily’s father retorted. ‘Lots of young people have friends of the opposite sex. It doesn’t mean she’s run off with him.’

  ‘Apart from the note,’ Richard pointed out.

  Ben sighed. ‘I don’t know what to believe anymore, but I do wonder why Em never mentioned Greg to me.’

  ‘Does Emily know all your friends and work colleagues?’ Emily’s father asked him.

  ‘No.’

  There was silence. Everyone avoided eye contact, then Emily’s father spoke again. ‘I think we should wait until the police have had a chance to speak to Emily’s doctor.’

  ‘Yes,’ Ben agreed. ‘That should be tomorrow. There’s nothing missing from our bank accounts, the police told me to check and put stops on.’

  ‘Have you put a stop on them?’ his father asked.

  Ben shook his head.

  ‘I would do so, son, to be on the safe side.’

  ‘So you’re suggesting that not only would my daughter run off with another man but she’d clear out their money too!’ David snapped.

  The room fell quiet again as Pat returned, the Christmas decorations stirred in the air. ‘Robbie is asleep,’ she said, ‘but keep your voices down or you’ll wake him.’

  ‘I think we should all try to get some sleep too,’ Emily’s father said, his tone flat.

  ‘Yes, use the guest room,’ Ben said. ‘My parents can have my bed. I’ll sleep down here.’

  ‘Thanks, lad,’ David said, getting to his feet. ‘Hopefully we’ll have some better news in the morning. Don’t lose faith in her.’

  ‘No, I wasn’t.’ Ben smiled wistfully.

  No one spoke again until Emily’s parents had left the room.

  ‘That’s all very well for him to say,’ Mary said. ‘But if Emily isn’t coming back, we’re going to have to make some practical arrangements for looking after Robbie. We can help out, but we’re not young anymore and couldn’t do it permanently. You’ll need to look at day care or employ a nanny.’

  ‘I can’t think about that now, Mum,’ Ben said, dragging his fingers through his hair. ‘I’m shattered.’

  ‘I appreciate that, but the child is going to need looking after. I mean, who’s going to get up tonight to change his nappy and give him a bottle?’

  ‘Em,’ Ben replied automatically without thinking, then stopped and swallowed hard. ‘I will.’

  Chapter Forty-Six

  ‘He’s doing it on purpose to punish me,’ Alisha said, in tears again as she and Emily watched Amit from the window.

  Emily banged on the glass with her fist to try to attract his attention, but he continued to his lab.

  ‘You can’t hear anything through that glass,’ Alisha said. ‘I tried knocking before when he forgot to let me out for our food and tablets. That film makes it worse.’

  ‘Why do you keep it on?’ Emily asked, picking at its edge.

  ‘To stop anyone seeing us,’ Alisha replied, surprised she didn’t know. ‘I told you what happened at our last house when people saw Eva at the window.’

  ‘Yes, but we need someone to see us now!’ Emily said. ‘Not that there’s likely to be anyone in their back garden in the middle of winter.’ She looked as far as she could see left and right – to her own back garden and the other neighbours. ‘Do the elderly couple next door ever go into their garden, maybe to feed the birds?’

  ‘No, they’re housebound. They have carers.’

  ‘Even so, we have to try.’ Emily began picking at the film, teasing the edges away with her nail.

  ‘You mustn’t do that,’ Alisha exclaimed. ‘Amit will be furious.’

  ‘And what’s he going to do that he hasn’t done already?’ Emily asked, annoyed. ‘Get real, Alisha, we’re trapped here. His prisoners. He’s even stopped letting you out for food and your tablets, and he told me he’s planning on killing us as part of his gruesome experiment. What have we got to lose?’ She continued to work on the loose edges of the film.

  ‘Mummy, I’m hungry,’ Eva said.

  ‘I know, love.’ Alisha went to her. ‘Have some more of your water, it will
help.’ She offered her the beaker. ‘The door is stuck again, so I can’t get out for food yet.’ Alisha had washed and dressed Eva and put her in front of the television, where she was playing an interactive children’s game.

  ‘Daddy made the door stick,’ Eva said.

  ‘Yes, he did,’ Alisha admitted.

  Emily concentrated on picking the film from the window. It was stuck fast and came away in tiny pieces. Then a large strip running up the centre peeled off, allowing more light in and a better view. She continued picking at the film until most of it had gone. She could see out more clearly, but the trees and shrubs at the bottom of the garden blocked the view from the house behind. Realistically, it would need someone to stand on their roof, or to be in her or Alisha’s other neighbours’ garden to see them up here. Precious little chance of that, but she had to do something. Drawing up a chair, she positioned it in front of the window and kept watch as Alisha stayed with Eva. It was late afternoon now, the day after her capture. Slowly the dusk began to settle.

  Since Amit had been depriving Eva of food and her medicine, Alisha had become angry and more assertive – but it was too late. They’d had their chance to escape and had blown it. What kind of man did this to his child? A mad evil one who played God and believed he could bring people back from the dead. It defied reason and logic.

  ‘Alisha,’ Emily said, turning to look at her. ‘What I don’t understand is why you didn’t leave Amit years ago, when he first started treating you badly?’

  ‘I had nowhere to go.’ She stood and came over so Eva couldn’t hear. ‘I am not in contact with my family. Amit saw to that. He was angry and wouldn’t believe that none of us knew about the faulty gene. He thought we’d tricked him into marrying me and made me sever all ties with them.’