‘I thought you might say that,’ he replied. ‘That’s not going to’ – another pause, followed by a rush of words – ‘be possible, I’m afraid.’ He smiled, his gums pink and fleshy. ‘Sorry, my darling.’

Maggie’s skin prickled. ‘You can’t keep me here,’ she said. ‘Let me go.’

He shook his head.

She clenched her fists. ‘Let me go!’ she shouted. ‘You have to let me go!’

‘I don’t have to do anything,’ he said. ‘Not any more. Not now.’

‘My mum will find me,’ Maggie said. ‘My mum and dad will come and find me so you might as well let me leave now. If you let me go I won’t tell anyone what you did.’

‘I’m touched by your faith in your parents,’ the man said. ‘But I don’t think you’re right. There’s no way she will be able to find you here. No one will. I’ve put a lot of thought – and effort – into this.’ He made a sweeping gesture, indicating the room around them. ‘It’s totally hidden. I made sure of that.’

He spoke in a serious, quiet voice. Maggie fought the urge to scream.

‘What do you want?’ Maggie said. ‘What do you want from me?’

‘I don’t want anything from you,’ the man replied. ‘What would I want from you? I want to help you.’

‘Help me?’ Maggie shook her head. ‘This isn’t helping me,’ she said. ‘This is the opposite of helping me.’

‘No,’ the man said. ‘You say that because you don’t understand. This is what you need. I’m giving you what you need.’

His pink, gummy smile came again. He looked at her, his eyes lidded. He was trying to be seductive, she realized. She shuddered.

The panic came closer to the surface. Her vision blurred. She took a deep breath. It was a struggle to retain what little control of herself she had left.

‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘I don’t understand. How is this what I need?’

‘Because this will keep you safe,’ the man said. ‘That’s all I want. To keep you safe.’

It was the worst possible situation. He thought he was doing the right thing, and people who thought that were nearly impossible to convince they were wrong, especially when they were crazy.

She didn’t know much – where she was, who he was, what his plans were – but she knew one thing. She knew she was in a lot of trouble.

‘Why me?’ she said. ‘Why do you care about me being safe?’

The man frowned. His expression darkened, his mouth flattening into an angry line. ‘Isn’t it obvious?’ he said.

It was far from obvious, but Maggie nodded. ‘Kind of,’ she said. ‘But not completely.’

The man raised his eyebrows and tilted his head, as though explaining something extremely simple to someone who should not need it explaining.