I felt my way to the end of the bed and my hands landed on a thin pillow. Kneeling down, I tentatively felt under the bed, but there was nothing there except for dust and grime. Wiping my hands on my dress, I stood up and turned. Again, I felt brick wall and trailed my hands along the rough surface as I inched to the left. I bumped into a small table. There were no chairs near the table and nothing on the table.

Using the tabletop as a guide, I edged round the table until I came to the wall again. When the rough texture of bricks beneath my fingers changed to the smooth feel of wood, I realized I was standing in front of a wooden door. Hurriedly, thinking I’d discovered an escape route, I felt for a handle. Finding one, I pushed down and pulled. Pulling didn’t work so I pushed the door open. I gagged as the stench increased tenfold. Still, I edged forward and felt all around me. My hands touched brick wall on either side and my leg collided with something hard. I was in a tiny room. I reached down, my fingertips outstretched. My fingers touched a brick table of some kind. I trailed my fingers along its surface and they fell into a hole in the brick. This was where the stench was strongest. A fly buzzed around my head. Another fly landed on my hand.

Unable to bear the smell any longer, I turned and shuffled back towards the door using the side walls as my guide. I reached the doorway, hurried through, turned and grappled for the handle, pushing the door shut, desperate to put a barrier between myself and the stench.

So the small room was a bathroom of some kind. My whole body jolted. If the bathroom smelled that bad, the stench so fresh … someone was using it.

I leaned against the wall, the wind knocked out of me.

I wasn’t alone.

A stranger was down here with me.

Chapter 39

In the total darkness I stood still and listened. Listened for the sound of someone’s breathing. If I was right, and I was sure I was, a stranger was sitting in the darkness listening to my movements. This stranger must have heard me. They must have heard Mother push me down here. They must have heard me tumbling down the steps, getting up, moving around the space like a blind girl. This stranger had listened to my terror and said nothing. Why? Were they too afraid to make themselves known? Did this stranger expect to remain unknown to me – was that what he or she wanted? Did they want to attack me, take me by surprise?