‘Carly!’ Marie nudged her and Carly realized she hadn’t replied. ‘I said, do you wish you’d tried frogs’ legs? They tasted like chicken.’

‘I’ll tell you what tastes like chicken,’ Carly said.

‘What?’

‘You! Carly pounced on her sister and raised Marie’s arm to her mouth, pretending to chew on it like Bruno would a squeaky toy. Leah squealed and dived on Carly, tugging at her until Carly turned her attention to Leah, tickling her until she screeched with laughter that bounced off the walls and returned to their ears loud and shrill.

‘You taste like poo,’ Marie said to Carly, a wicked glint in her eye. She sprang to her feet and Carly played along, chasing her around the room, dividing her attention between the twins, swiping at both, but purposefully catching neither.

‘Stop!’ Carly held up her hand. Marie launched herself at Carly’s legs, still in the game.

‘Shhh.’ Carly was deadly serious. ‘Do you hear something?’

An engine.

A door slamming.

Footsteps.

Someone was coming.

Oh God. Someone was coming.

Was it help or was it them?

Fruitlessly Carly looked around for somewhere to hide the girls. Why had they been talking about bloody food when they could have been building a barricade from the rubbish and mattress. Something to shield them from immediate view. In her mind she imagined Moustache stalking around one side of their hiding place while they crawled out from the other end, ran through the open door…

‘Carly, I’m scare—’

‘Shhh.’

From outside a voice, barely decipherable.

Fear pin-pricked Carly’s skin.

The pound-pound-pound of boots on concrete.

A muttered, ‘I’ll take care of it.’

Them. It was them.

Terror rose in Carly’s throat as she listened to them growing closer and closer.

And then…

The sound of three bolts sliding open.

Chapter Twenty

Leah

Now

Archie and I eat alone. George has another meeting. Am I being selfish by not doing the TV interview? The money would mean George wouldn’t have to be out all hours but the thought of exposing myself in front of viewers for cash seems sordid and dirty. Not much of a step up from one of the webcam channels Tash caught Barry watching at work, one hand stuffed down his trousers, when he thought the office was empty.

‘Do you have to go out tonight?’ I ask.

George hesitates. I can see he is torn.

‘Sorry,’ I try to smile. ‘You go. I’m just worried about Marie and—’

‘Marie will be fine. It’s not as though she hasn’t disappeared before. She’s resourceful. Please don’t worry about her, Leah.’ He brushes his lips against mine. ‘Have you made an appointment with Francesca yet?’

‘No. But I will. I know I’m not… easy again. But it’s not an easy time.’

‘I know.’ He shrugged on his coat. ‘I’ll try not to be too late.’

After I’ve bathed Archie and put him to bed I sit on the landing outside his bedroom, spine pressed against the cold wall, listening to him chattering to his soft toys. Telling them that it will be his birthday soon and he’ll be five.