I tried again to pull my hand through the cuff. I had slim hands. But it wouldn’t go. Not even close. I yanked at the chain, but it was firmly attached. I looked around for an implement to smash it with, but there was nothing within reach. Just a couple of coats hanging on hooks, and a pile of bagged pig pellets.

I pulled to the end of my chain and lay down, twisting to push my feet towards the blood-soaked coat Tony had discarded. I was sure he’d put the key to my cuff in the pocket. But I couldn’t reach it. Even stretched out fully, I was nowhere near. ‘I can’t reach. I can’t reach his coat. The key’s in his coat but it’s too far away.’

The pigs had calmed down and were grunting softly and shifting side-to-side, which was as much movement as they could manage in their tiny cages. The cages had metal dividers which would separate the mothers from their babies once they were born. Perhaps I could use one of the dividers to reach Tony’s coat? But without even trying, I could see they weren’t big enough to bridge the gap between me and the coat.

Maybe Jai or Fiona would come looking for me. Surely I’d been gone a while? But they weren’t expecting me back at the station. If Dad had still been at my house, he’d have wondered where I was. But he wasn’t at my house and he certainly wouldn’t be wondering why I wasn’t answering his calls.

Nobody would be missing me.

It hit me then. This was it. I would die in this barn with these desperate people and equally desperate pigs.

At least Hamlet was with Hannah. He’d be okay. Maybe she’d keep him.

The carbon monoxide tube was within my reach. If I could pull out the tube and plug the hole, I could stop the carbon monoxide getting to the people trapped below. I could use the coats to block the hole. If I did that, I’d be poisoned instead. ‘I can save you,’ I shouted. ‘I can pull the tube out.’

Voices from below. ‘But then it’ll go into the top barn and you’ll die.’

‘If he survives, he’ll kill me anyway. At least this way I’ll have carbon monoxide in my bloodstream. He can try and make it look like an accident, but he won’t get away with it. And then they’ll come and find you.’

‘No! You can’t do that.’

‘There are four of you,’ I said. ‘And only one of me. And six pigs.’