‘La la la la.’ Lucy danced down the steps, giggling as she reached the last one, and jumping with both feet together. Her voice carried in a forced high-pitched tone, and Anita prepared herself for her visit. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry, to bunch her fists and launch herself at her captor until she broke free. But she knew from experience that her best chance of being released was to stay calm and give her persecutor whatever she wanted.
The last few hours had been hell, and she had no choice but to believe Lucy’s reassurances that Sophie was still alive. Being good in emergencies was a trait which had got her out of a few sticky situations. The worse things got the calmer she became. It was uncanny. She used to worry about it until she found her niche in counselling. Her husband joked that she attracted all the crazies. It was all the more reason for her to have picked up on Lucy’s mental state when she visited. But she so wanted it to be real she had put aside any niggling reservations. For now, Lucy was happy and it was up to Anita to make sure she stayed that way.
‘Mummy,’ Lucy said; the childish words strangely out of place for her adult frame. ‘It’s going to be Christmas soon.’ She rushed forward, opening her arms for a hug. She was dressed as a little girl now and freakishly frightening. Her eyes flitted back and forth while narrow lips mumbled as she spoke under her breath.
Anita counted to ten in her mind, forcing her body to relax, leaning her head into Lucy’s bony frame to accept her affection. It was going against every natural instinct, but she forced a deep, calming breath and was rewarded by the look of surprise on her captor’s face. She had not been expecting her compliance. Not a second time. But Anita would do what it took to keep her baby alive.
Lucy stepped back and clapped her hands. ‘Oh Mummy, this is so exciting. Do you like Christmas? Do you?’
Anita nodded, mumbling ‘mmm’ under the slimy gag which was making her stomach churn.
Lucy bit her bottom lip. ‘Silly me, let’s get this off,’ she said, her fingers hastily undoing the knot. ‘Now don’t do anything silly, will you? Because the last lady did something silly and she’s not around anymore.’
Anita’s eyes fell on the bloodstained floor and she nodded. The smell of decay, the broken floorboards: everything about this room screamed danger. She focused on her lungs, drawing in breath and exhaling it again. In… out… in… Anything rather than allow her natural instincts to emerge. Because every sinew in her body was battling to punch, kick and fight. She took a slow breath as the gag was removed, licking the bitter taste from her lips. This was not the time to scream. This was the time to take things calm and slow. She smiled, looking at Lucy as if she was the most precious thing in the world. Because that was what Lucy wanted and keeping Lucy happy was her best chance of saving her and Sophie’s lives.
Lucy stared as if observing a new species in the zoo. She clearly was not used to Anita’s behaviour and seemed at a loss as to how to react. Anita wanted to ask about Sophie, demand for her to be set free. But instead she gave her a sad smile and waited for Lucy to speak.
‘Aren’t you cross?’ Lucy said, folding her arms.
‘No. I’m a little sad for you and feeling uncomfortable in this chair, but I’m not cross. Why would I be cross when I’ve found you?’
Lucy frowned. ‘So you’re happy to see me?’
‘Of course I am, darling; I’ve waited all my life for you.’
Lucy jutted out her bottom lip in a pout. ‘You’re lying. You want to trick me – because you’re scared.’
Anita smiled, pushing back the hysterical laugh bubbling up in her throat. She swallowed it back, emitting a gentle chuckle, her words calm and even. ‘Don’t you remember how happy I was when you turned up at my door? I said I’d waited all my life for you to come knocking. Seeing you was the happiest day of my life.’
Lucy nodded. ‘I remember. But this is different. I took you here; you must hate me for that. The others did.’
‘Sweetheart, I don’t know about any other people, but I do know this: you’re my daughter. From the second I saw you I knew that it was true. You must have been hurt by some very bad people to bring you to this dark place, and that breaks my heart. So it doesn’t matter how I got here. You don’t even have to tell me why; because now we start our lives afresh. Forget those other people who let you down. It’s you and me now.’
Lucy eyed her suspiciously. It was the longest conversation she had ever had with her guests. And it was way too good to be true. Lucy’s childish tone had dropped for now as she spoke with the voice of an adult. ‘What about your other family? Your husband, your son and daughter?’
‘They’ve had me all their lives. And I’m guessing that you’ve had no one. This is my chance to make things right. But there is something I need you to do for me so we can start on the right foot.’
‘What do you want?’ Lucy said, her voice flat.
‘I need you to tell me where Sophie is.’
‘She’s asleep upstairs.’
‘Good girl. Now we have an exciting adventure ahead, don’t we?’
Lucy nodded; a slow bob of the head, her eyes uncertain.
‘But it needs to be just you and me, nobody else, right?’ Anita said.
Lucy nodded faster this time. ‘You want me to get rid of Sophie?’ She flashed a smile as if she had just been waiting for permission all along.
Anita cleared her throat, feeling as if she was drowning on the inside. ‘No. I need you to see that she’s returned home safely to her father. She’s just a little girl, just like you, and we don’t want anything bad to happen to her now, do we? If Sophie gets hurt, then the police will be looking for us and we’d be all over the television and in newspapers in all the countries. But if she is returned home I could write a letter saying I’m safe and I want to be left alone. Do you understand what I mean?’
‘So you want me to take Sophie back home alive?’
‘Yes. Then we’ll be free to start again. And how exciting would that be? Because that’s what you want, isn’t it?’
‘I guess I could do that. But there’s something we have to do first. You have to pass the test. If you don’t pass the test, then you’re not my mother.’
Anita’s stomach grumbled. All she’d had to sustain her was a glass of water, which brought with it the understanding that if she’d had nothing to eat then neither had Sophie. Was she still under the influence of the same drugs that made their capture possible? Anita realised that Lucy was staring at her. Fists clenched, they rested on the hips of that ridiculous outfit. She looked like a reject from Oliver Twist. ‘Oh I do hope I pass,’ Anita said, grateful she couldn’t read her mind. ‘I’ve got my hopes up now. I can’t imagine us not being together.’ She considered asking Lucy to untie her, allow her to speak to her daughter. But slowly, slowly, catchy monkey. Her senses told her to take things gradually. Lucy could change with the click of a finger, and she had made it quite clear that the other women had met a bad end. There was no doubt that this was a life-and-death situation. All she wanted was for Sophie to be returned home, safe and well.
‘Do you like Christmas?’ Lucy said, her face illuminated by the flashing lights on the tree.
‘It’s my favourite time of the year,’ Anita replied, hoping it was the right answer.
‘And do you like my clothes? Strike a chord, do they?’
‘They’re beautiful. I have seen them before but… ’ Anita paused, wracking her brains for the answer. The Victorian clothes, the Christmas tree, and the music box she left on the shelf. She had recognised something about her. ‘Silly me. Can you help?’
Lucy shook her head. ‘I’m going to play my music box. Perhaps that will jog your memory.’
Anita nodded. ‘Can I please use the toilet? It’s just that… ’
‘Not yet. It’s time. First the music. Then you’ll know what to do. If you’re my true mother, that is.’
As Lucy wound the music box, Anita felt as if she were part of a macabre bedtime story, being tested for her worthiness like ‘The Princess and the Pea’. Only in this case, her life was hanging by a very fine thread.