Lewis began filling the bucket with warm water. ‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a bloke around the house for a while. You know, until we catch the bastard. I can’t see him coming back again, but it could happen, nothing’s impossible.’

‘I said no, and I meant no.’

‘Okay, love, have it your way. I was just saying. I couldn’t force you even if I wanted to.’

Megan picked up her phone. ‘I appreciate your understanding.’

He winked once, regretting it immediately. ‘Right, you ring your mum, and I’ll do my household duties. I’ll stay with you until she arrives. How does that sound?’

‘Thank you, Ray, I’m glad of your support. You’ve been brilliant in truly horrendous circumstances. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Now, all you’ve got to do is find my daughter.’

32

Heath felt his cock swell in his pants as he pictured Megan’s traumatised face, making the image big and bright. ‘Can you imagine the horror she felt, Mother? Can you imagine the sinking feeling deep in the pit of her stomach?’

‘What on earth are you talking about now, Henry?’

His cock returned to its flaccid state in the blink of an eye. ‘The photos, the photos! What the hell else did you think I was talking about?’

She shook her head. ‘You and that camera, click, click. You’re as bad as your father.’

Heath slowly approached the cage, kneading his genitals through his trouser pocket. ‘The waiting is getting harder. I have to acknowledge that. The anticipation of death isn’t going to sustain me for very much longer. I need to get my hands on the little brat. I need to feel the warmth of her skin before her life-force drains away.’

His mother swept past him in one direction, and then the other, coming in and out of focus before taking on an apparently solid form. ‘Why wait? I’ve told you to kill her.’

He flung his arms wide. ‘You told me to move the brat. That’s what you told me, to move her.’

‘Well, why don’t you do that then?’

He dropped his head. ‘Do you always have to suck the joy out of everything?’

‘Kill her or move her, make your mind up. But either way, stop bothering me about it. You’re a grown-up now, an adult with adult responsibilities. Someone of your age shouldn’t be suckling at his mother’s teat.’

Heath looked into the mirror and saw his mother’s face glaring back at him. ‘Sending the photos should have been a triumph, one of the greatest achievements of my life. And yet you can’t even congratulate me on my accomplishments. Are a few kind words too much to ask for?’

He heard her sniggering before she spoke again, her tone rising in pitch. ‘You’ve got rather an inflated opinion of yourself, don’t you think?’

Heath punched the mirror hard, smashing the glass with his second blow, cutting a knuckle down to the bone. ‘Now look what you’ve made me do, you vicious witch.’