‘Of course not, but—’ Carly began.

‘There you go, then. I won’t leave Leah.’ She linked her fingers through her sister’s. ‘Or you,’ she added as she caught sight of the expression on Carly’s face.

‘Marie—’

‘No, Carly! Besides, they wouldn’t believe it if I was suddenly ill.’

‘It wouldn’t be much of a stretch.’ Carly gestured to the piles of rubbish littering the graffiti-daubed room. ‘It’s filthy here – there’ll be germs crawling all over the place, probably enough to kill us.’ Carly shuddered.

‘We could die of germs?’ Terror was thick in Leah’s voice. Her eyes rapidly scoured the floor as if searching for germs scurrying around.

‘Not really.’ Carly wished she could take back her words. Leah had a tendency to worry about everything.

‘Nobody’s going to die,’ Marie said. ‘It’s a game. That’s all. Pretend. We stay quiet and don’t make a fuss and we’ll be home before we know it. Right, Carly?’

‘Right.’ Carly tried to lift her mouth into a smile but she couldn’t. In truth she didn’t know if they’d ever go home, and even if they did, the thought of what they might have to endure between now and then was utterly horrifying.

Carly felt sick. Dizzy. The lump on her head throbbing.

Think.

She was all out of ideas and worse than that, her bladder was uncomfortably full. Again, her eyes travelled across the room, hopefully looking for a toilet.

‘I need to wee.’ She stood.

‘Are you going to knock on the door and ask?’ Marie said.

‘Don’t go out there without us, Carly,’ Leah begged.

‘I’m not. I’ll…’ She was hot with humiliation. ‘I’ll go over there, by the corner. You two face the wall.’

The twins did as they were told. Carly’s fingers reluctantly hitched up her skirt and dragged down her pants. At first she couldn’t go, too scared the men would come in and see her exposed. She closed her eyes and pictured the waterfall they’d visited a few years ago in Wales. The roar of the water, the surge of the current. Hot splashes splattered her legs as she released a stream of urine.

‘I’ve finished,’ she said quietly.

‘It stinks of wee now,’ Leah said.

‘It stank of wee anyway.’ Carly was horribly embarrassed. She needed to find something to soak it up with. Careful to avoid the broken glass, she crouched down beside the pile of rubbish. There was a large cardboard box she could tear apart. Carly pulled it towards her, expecting it to be light and empty. Instead it was heavy and full. Sealed with brown tape.

Carly felt dread settle heavily in her stomach before she’d even opened the box.

Before she had seen what was inside.

She somehow knew it would be bad.

Very bad.

Chapter Twelve

George

Now

George closes his eyes momentarily. He can’t concentrate on his breakfast meeting. Has no appetite for the full English in front of him despite the bacon being crispy and the egg yolks sunshine-yellow and runny, just the way he likes them. Guilt has eradicated his appetite. No room for food in his churning stomach.