Maggie

The window darkened again. There was barely the hint of a shadow, but it was there. She pulled Max tighter against her. The knife was sharp against her throat.

There was a knock on the hatch.

The man held his hand tighter over her mouth.

‘Hello?’ he said. ‘Who is it?’

‘Just checking everything’s OK,’ a man’s voice said. ‘I heard a bang. Wondered whether you’d slipped.’

‘No, I’m fine. Dropped a kettle, that’s all. But thanks for asking.’

There was a pause. ‘Could I come in?’

‘No,’ the man said. ‘I don’t think so. My wife’s getting dressed.’

‘I can wait. I only want to help if there’s a problem.’

The man tensed. ‘It’s really OK,’ he said. ‘And to be honest, I don’t want you on my boat. I don’t know who you are. You could be anyone.’

‘Oh, I’m no one. A concerned citizen.’

‘If you don’t leave, I’m going to call the police.’ The man waited a second, then changed his tone, as though he was speaking to someone in the cabin with him. ‘Darling, could you pass my phone? I’ve had enough of this.’

He was going to do it, Maggie saw. He was going to get rid of this man and then move the boat somewhere else and then kill her and Max.

This was, without any question, her last chance.

She gripped Max’s big toe, pressed her nails into the skin, and dug in, hard.

His eyes flew open and he looked at her in shock. He opened his mouth and screamed. It was muffled by the gag, but it was still loud.

It was still a child screaming.

There was a bang on the hatch, then another. Someone started to shake it. The lock was weak and there was a splintering sound as it ripped open. A man’s face appeared against the light and looked at her, then the man, then Max.

‘Hold it right there,’ he said. ‘Police.’

The man had moved his hand from her mouth to her chin and lifted it, exposing her neck. He pressed the tip of the knife against it.

‘Stay there,’ he said. ‘Or I kill her.’

The man in the doorway – who’d said he was police, but was not wearing a uniform – shook his head.

‘Don’t be stupid,’ he said. ‘This is over. Put the knife down.’

The man drew the knife over her skin. She felt warm blood run down her neck and over her chest.

‘Jesus,’ the man in the doorway said. ‘You fucking fool.’

He stepped into the cabin and stood opposite the man.

‘My name is PC Oliver Reid. I—’