‘All right, but we have to do something, because I can’t stay here. I’m going to have to move the lamp to look around, but you’re coming with me, and we’re going to find something to clean you. You’ll have to do it, I’m not …’ Meggy tried not to let too much disgust show on her face. ‘But I won’t leave you. What’s your name?’

‘Elspeth,’ she whispered. ‘How old are you?’

‘Twelve,’ Meggy said, delighted that the woman – Elspeth – was finally forming words. Less pleased when the woman began to laugh, then cackle, then to cry again.

‘Twelve?’ Elspeth cried. ‘How can you help? We’re going to die here. He’s insane!’

‘Stop,’ Meggy ordered. ‘Don’t do that. If I don’t cry then you’re not allowed to, either. Grown-ups aren’t supposed to be stupider than kids. It’s not fair.’ She marched across to the doorway, identified the nearest electrical socket then marched back to the lamp. ‘I’m unplugging this now, but it won’t be for long, so you need to get up and follow me. And you can’t cry any more. It’s crappy of you.’ She pulled the plug and waited for the hysterics.

What she got was the noise of dragging then shuffling. A hand hit her shoulder first, then trailed down her arm to grasp her hand, hard. It was all Meggy could do not to pull away. Finding a weapon was important, but running water was coming a close second.

‘Is there a bathroom? We have to deal with’ – she waved a hand generally in the vicinity of Elspeth’s body – ‘all this.’

Elspeth managed a nod.

‘Show me.’

They went out into the hallway. The bathroom was on the left.

In the ceiling was a small inset light. Meggy tried the switch on the wall.

‘Won’t work,’ Elspeth said. ‘He controls the electricity from outside for the light and the heating. If I’m good, he turns the lights on.’

‘You should have a shower,’ Meggy said. ‘Tell me afterwards.’

The shower unit was nothing more than a head set into the wall and a circular base. No glass surround, or even a curtain that could have been pulled down.

As Elspeth showered, Meggy put her hand in the water to test the temperature. It was warm enough to be comfortable but not really hot. She looked around. A plastic sink sat in a vanity unit. He’d removed the doors of the cabinet the same way he’d taken the mirror from the wall. She didn’t like it. The man was much cleverer than she’d wanted him to be. He’d thought about everything. Really thought about it, not just like some stupid TV show where you could see fifty different ways you could get yourself out of trouble.