“That’s enough, Paula.” Isaac puts a hand on her shoulder. “Sit back. Sit back and relax.” He eases her back down to the floor and wraps the blanket around her, tucking it across her chest and under her armpits like a parent settling a child at naptime. “Emma only came here to check you’re okay.”

“I should go.” I take a step backwards, towards the cool, fresh air outside.

Isaac reaches for the joint behind his ear, then gently lifts one of Paula’s hands and puts the roll-up between her fingers. She takes it and places it between her lips as he sparks his lighter.

And that’s when I see it: the violent red mark that circles her right wrist like a snake.

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

“Take a seat.” Isaac angles me towards the armchair in the corner of his study and I’ve got no choice but to sit down. It’s 5 a.m. and the sound of the gong being banged in the meditation room next door carries through the wall. If Isaac tries anything, people will come running if I scream.

I watch as he crouches down beside the threadbare rag-rolled rug that occupies the floor space between the bookshelves and his desk and rolls it up, exposing a square hatch less than a metre wide in the centre of the floor. He pulls on the cylindrical iron ring in the centre and yanks it open, then places his hands either side of the hole and lowers his head.

“Kane? It’s me.”

There’s a hollow shout in reply, then a creaking noise, like a rusty ladder being climbed, and Isaac sits back on his heels as Kane’s scruffy head pops up through the hole. He grins up at Isaac but when Isaac nods his head towards me, the smile fades instantly.

“How’s Frank doing?” Isaac asks.

“Came round about two hours ago. We gave him some water then he started complaining that he’d hurt his arm. He thinks it’s broken.”

“What does Sally think?”

“She’s not sure. There’s no bits of bone sticking out; it could be a strain, maybe a fracture, she said.”

“Can he move it? Rotate his shoulder? Wiggle his fingers?”

“Yeah, well, he could until we …” Kane glances at me. “Should she be in here?”

“She’s fine. Look, stay with him until tomorrow, then we’ll make a decision. I don’t want him left alone, not even for a minute. Do you understand?”

“Sure. We done?”

“Yep.”

Kane’s head disappears back down into the hole, the ladder creaking under his weight as he descends back into the basement. Isaac watches him go then folds the hatch back, shakes out the rug and places it on the floor, smoothing out wrinkles or creases with his hands.