‘Got one of those fancy en-suite showers up here I see,’ Lewis quipped as he handed over a bowl of cereal and a mug of orange juice. ‘That’s about the last of the food but Mum says we’ll be outta here today so it don’t matter.’

‘And what about me? Does your mum say I’ll be going home too?’

‘Look, I know you’re worried but she says Pete’s not a killer.’ Lewis couldn’t meet Danny’s eyes.

‘That’s only because she doesn’t want to believe he’s a killer. I’ve seen him, Lewis, and he knows I have. He’ll kill me and then what do you think he’ll do to you and your mum? You’ll be witnesses to murder – will he kill you both as well?’

Lewis looked thoughtful. ‘You’re right, Dan. I hoped you’d feel differently this morning, but you’re right and I’ve hardly slept trying to think what’s best to do.’

The confident Lewis appeared to have gone, adding to Danny’s anxiety. ‘The best thing is for you and your mum to come with me, but if she won’t, will you still come?’ Danny desperately wanted his friend to escape with him, to have a chance of a better life.

‘You know I can’t leave her. She needs me to look out for her.’

‘But she’s the adult – she should be looking after you!’

‘Yeah, but you know how it is, I don’t think she’d get by without me and she won’t listen.’

‘What’s she doing now?’

‘Sleeping.’

‘Did you search around to find something we can use to break down the door?’

‘Yeah, but there’s not much, only an old stool which I thought we could wrap in a blanket then try to smash the glass and break through the wire mesh on the outside,’ Lewis told him.

‘So you have been thinking about it. Will your mother sleep through the noise if we do it now?’

‘Hmm, not sure. Depends how much she drank last night. She was pretty upset so I think it would be a lot.’ Lewis’s face looked as if a cloud had passed over him. ‘When d’you want to go?’

‘Now would be a good time before Pete comes back. Will you come with me?’ Danny’s eyes were pleading with his friend. He was convinced Lewis and Sally were in real danger, especially if Lewis helped him escape. Pete had gone berserk when he found him downstairs – what he’d do if Danny escaped was almost unthinkable.