24

 

Hattie slowly opened her eyes. Bright light assailed them, making the hammering in her head worse. She shut her eyes tightly for a moment, before squinting around the room. Where was she? She didn’t recognize anything.

She felt sick. The way the room sloshed and swayed set her head pounding and her stomach turning. She ran a tongue over her parched lips. Her hands were heavy and leaden and wouldn’t move properly. It was only as she raised them and looked at them, she discovered they were bound with duct tape.

Duct tape? What’s going on?

She sat up and glanced around. She was on a boat. She could hear water lapping somewhere and the movement was the waves under the hull. No engine sounds so must be docked somewhere.

But where? She didn’t even remember getting on a boat. She closed her eyes, trying to remember something, anything. Why would someone want to put her on a boat and tie her up? What had she done?

The boat lurched, sending Hattie rolling to the floor. She cried out involuntarily as she landed hard against the edge of the cabinet. Pain ripped through her shin and blood oozed through the long jagged tear in her slacks. “Nice one, Hattie,” she told herself. “At least you won’t have broken your wrist again. Not with the cast on, anyway.”

She glanced down at her feet. “Where are my shoes?” Looking around she couldn’t see them. “Curious. All I need now is a white rabbit and today will be perfectly confusing. And why am I talking to myself?”

She paused. “Maybe because you work things out better aloud than thinking. But sitting here isn’t going to get you out of here. Besides, no one kidnapped Alice. Now, move.”

Grateful her hands were tied in front of her and not behind her, she caught hold of the cabinet and pulled herself to her feet and stood for a minute, fighting to get her balance. Her leg took her weight, so it wasn’t broken, just cut. Perhaps there was a first aid kit somewhere.

The deck beneath her feet had a slight list to it which didn’t help her balance any better. Her head spun and the sea-sickness increased.

Hattie slowly walked to the door and tried it. It opened. That didn’t make any sense, but then none of this did. Why tie her up and yet leave her in an unlocked room? Whose boat was this anyway?

The boat lurched again and she staggered into the corridor. Her confused mind couldn’t make sense of it.

Oh, think, Hattie. The only person you know with a boat is Markus…

Distorted images danced in her mind. She and Steve had dinner with Markus. She’d tried to leave, but when she stood she’d felt incredibly dizzy and fallen. Then Markus picked her up and…

Nothing. Then there was nothing.

Had they drugged her?

She glanced at her hand. Cal’s ring was gone. No—surely she hadn’t lost it. She pulled herself back into the bedroom and looked for it. Not an easy task with her hands bound. It wasn’t anywhere obvious. Maybe if she found a knife, cut the tape from her hands she could look easier.

Something cold and wet ran over her bare feet. She glanced down. Water ran across the floor from the open doorway. Water? That wasn’t a good thing on a boat. Maybe someone had left a tap running or something.

Leaving the search for the ring for a moment, she headed to the door. She had to untie her wrists. The list was a little more pronounced now. Stumbling into the kitchen, galley she corrected, she pulled open all the drawers until she found a knife sharp enough for her purpose.

She wedged it into the drawer and slowly rubbed her wrists against it. The tape seemed impervious at first, then finally it gave and she was free.

OK, so now what?

Find something to bandage that cut first. Then find a radio. Find out where you are. If you’re docked then just get off the boat and call for help.

There was a first aid kit on the galley wall. Pulling it down, she emptied the contents on the table and used the sling to tie over her leg. She debated taking some aspirin for her headache, but decided against. If she had been drugged, they might react with whatever she’d been given and kill her. Not a good move.

She took a deep breath and started walking through the boat until she found a ladder leading upwards. It led to a small bridge. Climbing the ladder wasn’t easy, but she managed it.

Her heart sank as she stood on the small deck and looked around.

There was nothing but open sea in front of her though the small window. On the control panel, there was no radio, just bare wires where it had been ripped out. The door to the deck swung open and she headed through it. From which ever direction she looked there was no land.

The boat was lower in the water than it should be. Fear coursed through her, turning her blood to ice. She’d been abandoned and left to die.

“Lord, God, help me. What do I do?”