The table was exquisitely set. The glassware had been rinsed in lemon juice so it sparkled and the cutlery polished to within an inch of its life. At the centre of the table was a small arrangement of gerbera daisies. Less romantic than roses, granted, but in floristry they were a recommended choice to give your love interest in a new relationship, or when you were hoping a friendship might develop into something more. The message they gave were, according to one online expert, ‘I’m getting to know you. Accept these flowers as a token of my growing affection for you.’ The flowers were the pink variety as well, which symbolized adoration.
There were more of them stuffed into vases on the sideboard and in the front room next door, on the coffee table beside the sofa – but Jade Reynolds paid no notice on her way past.
She was still unconscious and had been since she reached her destination, curled up like an infant in the confines of the suitcase. The effects of the opiate injected into her neck meant she was oblivious to the hire vehicle pulling up the long driveway and being parked as close to the villa as it possibly could without leaving tyre marks on the lawn out the front, and she felt nothing as the boot was opened, the suitcase unzipped and she was lifted out.
Her head lolled against her abductor’s chest as she was carried into the bedroom that was to be hers for the next week. It had already been set up for her arrival: the room had been stripped of everything except a made-up bed and a chamber pot. Not the most dignified way for her to relieve herself, but it wasn’t as though she could be left to stew in her own urine and faeces. On the opposite side of the room was a cool box filled with food and water to keep her going for the time being. With the police now actively searching for her, only so many trips could be made here from the resort without arousing suspicion.
Still, there was little chance of her being discovered while she remained there. From the veranda at the front of the building it was just possible to make out the roof of a neighbouring property in the distance. It was why the place was so perfect – not overlooked by anyone and too far away for any screams to be heard. As far as the locals were concerned, it was disused and had been for many years, so there was no danger of unexpected callers or delivery drivers turning up and discovering who was being kept there.
Jade didn’t stir as she was laid down on the bed next to a pile of fresh clothes in her size. All basic: some T-shirts, shorts, jogging bottoms and underwear. The fancy stuff would come later. Also arranged for her use was a packet of fragrance-free baby wipes, a toothbrush and toothpaste.
She was left alone then, the door locked and the wooden shutters bolted firmly across the windows. A few minutes later, there was the sound of a tap running somewhere else in the building and the clink of a glass being placed on a granite worktop. Then a beer can cracking open and a mouth sucking noisily on the foam that exploded from the opening.
But Jade heard nothing.