It had only been four days but I felt like I couldn’t take any more. My nerves were shredded and I was breaking down physically too; my blood numbers were completely up the creek. I put a nice film on in the afternoon, but my eyes weren’t the best and my heart wasn’t in it. I nodded off several times and kept waking with a start, remembering the boy. I fancied I could smell blood in my nostrils, taste the metallic tang of it on my tongue. It was all my fault – I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I felt like keeping my door shut and hiding away from the world forever, but being a hermit is never a good idea, particularly if you’re feeling a bit down. Den saying that the lift was working again was such a boost. I could get a little fresh air and stretch my legs without having to face those wretched stairs again. I’d take my trolley and maybe pick up a pint or two of milk or something different for tea. It was starting to get dark. Come on, Kath. Stir your stumps.
I got myself up and squeezed my poor swollen feet into my shoes, put my coat on and checked round the flat. Nice and tidy, just how I liked it. I looked at the urn on the mantelpiece. ‘Bye, love,’ I said. Old habits die hard.
I heaved the trolley out behind me and then shut the door. My knees hurt even walking along the flat walkway. It’s no fun getting old. I wouldn’t let it put me off, though. I called the lift and felt a surge of relief to see the numbers changing – 0, 1, 2, 3. That was better. I manoeuvred the trolley inside and pressed 0 for the ground floor. Just as the door was closing, a hand grabbed the edge of it and braced, causing it to open again. There was Danno, grinning at me.
‘Nearly missed it,’ he said, stepping smartly in.
My first thought was to get straight out, go to number seven and tell Jodie or Naz or whoever was there, but he planted himself between me and the door. It was obvious he wouldn’t let me go. The door closed again and my stomach lurched as we started going down.
I might have said before that I wasn’t scared of lads like him, but I was. I knew what he could do. Now he was looming over me, staring at me like a wolf. My Ray always used to tell me to pretend to be braver or more confident or whatever. Act the part. ‘Fake it till you make it, Kath.’ He knew all about that. Easier said than done, though, but that’s what I needed to do now.
‘There are people looking for you,’ I said.
‘I know this estate better than anyone. They won’t find me.’
3 … 2 …
I’m bigger than everyone. I’m better than everyone. I’d met his sort before.
‘Where’ve you sprung from now?’
He tapped the side of his nose. ‘I got friends,’ he said. ‘I was waiting for you. Watching.’
My heart started fluttering. I tried to keep calm but it was difficult to get my breath. I only needed to keep him talking – keep things civil – for another few seconds and then we’d be at the ground.
1 … 0.
We bumped down onto the ground floor. Thank God, I thought, it’s over.
Then he pressed ‘hold’ and the doors stayed closed.
‘What are you doing?’
‘We need to have a little chat.’
‘I don’t think we’ve got anything to talk about.’
‘The thing is, I don’t like cops and I don’t like grasses.’
He had one hand on the lift button and the other in his pocket. Was that where he kept his knife? I tried to back away from him, but there was nowhere to go.
‘I know what you did to that poor boy.’
He shook his head. ‘That wasn’t me. I didn’t go anywhere near him.’
‘Didn’t want to get your hands dirty,’ I said. ‘Why would you when you’ve got others to do it for you?’
The grin was back. ‘Not as daft as you look, Miss Marple.’
‘All right,’ I said, ‘so what if I told the police what Sam told me. It was because of the girl. Everyone’s worried about her. It’s been days now.’
‘Yeah, and I didn’t do a thing to her.’
‘No?’
‘No! I swear! I chased her, just for fun, like. That’s all. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs. I heard her run all the way up. She was crying.’
There wasn’t an ounce of regret in his voice. I tell you, if I’d been the one with a knife in my pocket, I’d have stabbed him there and then. What a nasty piece of work.
‘She was alive. I told the cops. That’s why they let me go. But I didn’t appreciate being there in the first place. Like I said, I don’t like grasses.’
He’d brought his face close to mine now. I could smell his breath – stale food and cigarette smoke.
We both started when there was a bang on the door behind him. Someone had kicked or thumped it.
This was my chance. Summoning up as much puff as I could, I shouted, ‘Help! We’re stuck in here!’
At the same time, I jabbed at the top of his foot with my walking stick, digging down hard.
Everything combined to startle him. He let go of the button momentarily and the door started to open. Den was waiting outside.
‘Mrs C!’ he exclaimed. ‘Are you okay? Oh!’
Danno barged past him, sending a plate of cakes or something flying into the air, and legged it out of the stairwell. ‘Go after him!’ I gasped. Then my legs started to go and I slid gently down the metal wall of the lift.