Pained, I watch him go before facing the cashier once more. ‘You’re sure you haven’t seen Alexa?’
When the teenager shakes his head, I follow Otis out onto Albion Street.
It’s started to rain while we were in the store. People scurry past us, desperate to reach the comfort of their workplaces. I follow Otis as he ploughs through the damp streets with reckless abandon.
‘Otis, stop!’ I demand when he knocks into yet another bewildered stranger.
Otis takes a few lurching steps onwards before sense tells him to follow my instructions. When he turns to face me, there’s a weariness to his movements that’s haunting.
‘Where is she, Janine? Where’s Lex?’
‘I don’t know,’ I reply, even though I know from the manic air surrounding Otis that he wasn’t really wanting me to answer – he simply needed to get the words out in the open.
‘I never should have left when she was so upset,’ he groans, bending at the waist with his hands clamped to his thighs. ‘What if she went out in a state and something bad happened? What if she got hurt? What if—’
‘What ifs don’t help right now,’ I cut in. ‘You need to calm down and call the police.’
Otis flicks his attention to me, his expression tight with terror. ‘The police?’
‘Alexa isn’t using her card. And the fact of the matter is that no one has seen or heard from your wife in days. The police need to know what’s going on, Otis. It’s time.’
CHAPTER 14Alexa
Three days gone
Delirium. That was the point Alexa had been driven to. Hollering for help until she passed out. Hallucinating that strange creatures with gnarled features were in the room, drawing nearer and nearer. Weakened and dehydrated to the point she was sure death would come for her.
But each time Alexa closed her eyes, certain it would be the last thing she ever did, she would still wake up. More than waking, she would wake to find a needle in the crook of her arm. Attached to it was an IV drip. Alexa didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the sight.
The drip proved one thing: Alexa was not meant to die here. Not yet. Someone out there wanted to keep her alive.
The worry was: what did they want her alive for?
In all her time in captivity, Alexa had not seen her attacker. Her injuries meant she wasn’t conscious for their visit, but she knew she wasn’t alone in the building. She’d heard someone moving around beneath her. She’d heard their car start and their TV blaring. She’d even woken up from a delirious slumber to the sound of the door to the white room closing.
One thing Alexa never heard, though, was the pound of footsteps running to her aid.
‘What do you want from me?’ she had roared when she first saw the drip embedded in her arm, but there was no answer. Whoever had captured Alexa did not want to speak.
But whatdidthey want?
Alexa had no idea. She had no idea about anything. Why her? What had she done to deserve this? The questions rattled around in her aching skull, but no answer came alongside them. Only more pain. More fear.
And as more time passed, more uncertainty that she would leave this room alive.
CHAPTER 15
I drive us through the rain-soaked streets of Lancashire, back to Bramblethorpe. Even though driving Otis’s expensive car terrifies me, I have no choice but to take over. He’s too numb from shock to be behind the wheel. Plus, he has an important phone call to make.
With my teeth embedded in my bottom lip, I focus on the road as he speaks to the police, informing them about Alexa’s last known whereabouts. My features remain impassive as if I’m not listening, but I can’t help it. I mine Otis’s every word for details.
How does a woman go into her garden and simply disappear?
Was Alexa really going for a walk, or was something else going on?
Does Otis sound defensive over the fact that he waited so long to call the police, or is it shame?
I don’t know the answer to any of my questions. All I know is my fear that something bad has happened.