‘We’ll do our best, Mr Stone, although I have to say this misinformation has only served to slow down any progress we’ve made. Any kind of non-cooperation wastes our time and resources.’

‘Yes, I see that and I am truly sorry.’

‘Thank you. Now is there anything else you’re not telling us?’ Radford asked.

Richard was again faced with a snap decision as he thought immediately of the kidnappers’ mobile phone which he’d told the police they’d taken from him. ‘No, nothing,’ he said, feeling like scum as his cheeks burned in shame.

The call ended and Richard was disappointed not to experience the relief he’d expected. Radford was agreeable in trying to keep his secret about Serena, but deceiving him about the phone was sitting heavily on Richard’s conscience. All in all, he felt he’d not covered himself in glory throughout this whole sequence of events and wished it could be over and his life returned to normal. But would he ever deserve such a prize?

30

DAY 4

It was early evening and Lewis’s head still throbbed from his fall. It wasn’t a fall but his mother referred to it as such. It bled for ages and only stopped after Sally held a wet cloth over it for several minutes and applied pressure to try to knit the skin together again.

After Danny ran back upstairs, all hell broke loose. Pete and Neil asked how many times Dan had been allowed out of his room and why they’d disobeyed orders.

Protecting his mother from Pete’s wrath, Lewis bravely admitted to being the one who’d allowed Danny downstairs. Sally was too scared to say anything much to her boyfriend and remained silent, only moving to do their bidding.

The two men eventually settled down and it appeared they were going to stay for a while. Lewis was willing them to leave, so he could go up and see how Danny was. The only good thing about them being there was that they’d brought a carrier bag of groceries: fresh milk and bread, a tin of beans (which the two men shared for dinner) and a box of cereal. There were two cartons of orange juice too.

At one point, Lewis whispered to his mother, ‘Can I take something up for Danny to eat?’

‘I’ll have to ask Pete,’ she replied, but when she did, the answer was an emphatic no. Lewis remained quiet after that and kept out of Pete’s way.

When darkness fell, Pete went outside to make a call. Lewis watched him pacing, talking animatedly and waving his arms in extravagant gestures. Lewis couldn’t make out what was being said but Pete seemed angry when he eventually ended the call and came back inside.

‘We’re off,’ Pete announced and Neil jumped up.

‘Will you be back later?’ Sally asked.