Page 89 of Seven Days

‘So nothing can hurt me?’

‘That’s right, Max. Nothing can hurt you.’

‘Good,’ Max said. ‘That’s good.’

She closed her eyes. If only it was true. Because there was something that could hurt Max.

And it – he – was coming tomorrow.

3

The day seemed to pass slowly, and yet it was a surprise when evening came and she heard the scraping noise.

The door opened and the man came in, two plastic plates and two plastic cups on his tray.

Max toddled over and looked at the food.

‘Sausages,’ he said. His voice was thick with the cold. ‘And orange juice. Yum.’ He picked up one of the cups and drank. The man stepped back towards the door.

‘You can take mine,’ Maggie said. ‘I’m not hungry.’

The man shrugged. ‘I’ll leave it. You might change your mind.’ He pointed at Max. ‘Is he ill?’

‘He has a cold.’

‘Orange juice should help.’

‘What do you care?’

The man caught her gaze. ‘I suppose I don’t.’

She watched him leave. She’d had many feelings towards him over the years – anger, of course, and hatred, but also pity and sympathy and wonder. Wonder at what made him do this, at the life he led.

Now, though, she saw only one thing. He was a monster. He had kidnapped and imprisoned a fifteen-year-old girl and taken and murdered – she was sure that was what had happened to Seb and Leo – two of her sons. Tomorrow he would take a third. To the world he seemed mild-mannered and calm but it was a veneer that hid the truth: he was violent and cold-hearted and selfish and utterly lacking in any sense of the harm he was doing to other people.

‘Why are you doing this?’ she said.

He paused, hand on the door.

‘I’m only bringing food.’

‘Not that. You know what I mean. This’ – she gestured around the room – ‘all of it. Why keep me here? Why take me in the first place? Why did you want a girl – and now a little boy – in your basement? How is this good for you?’

He frowned. ‘I told you. You’re safe here. Out there is’ – he shook his head – ‘it’s a bad place. No harm can come to you in here.’

‘Every day harm comes to me. Every second you deny me sunshine and laughter and family and love you are doing me harm. And Max.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘You never listen. Why won’t you listen? Sometimes I wish I’d not bothered with this, but then I remember. This is my duty. This is my burden.’ His voice rose. ‘I have to save at least one. I watch the girls. They start so innocent, so perfect, and then they change. They are corrupted. By boys and alcohol and cigarettes. And I couldn’t let that happen to you. I tried with your mum, but I let her slip away. She was so beautiful, so perfect, and I was sure that she felt the same way about me, but no. The world took her from me. I realized then that I would never get what I wanted. What I needed. People like me didn’t get such perfect prizes, so I decided I would have to take it. It was too late, though. Your mum was gone.’ He smiled, a lopsided, clownish smile. ‘But then I got the chance with you. And I was not going to miss it.’

‘You haven’t saved me,’ Maggie said. ‘You say I would have been corrupted, but you’ve done worse. You’ve ruined me. Raped me. Dirtied me. You’ve destroyed my life.’

At the sound of his mum’s raised voice, Max looked up from his sausages. Maggie smiled. ‘It’s OK,’ she said. ‘We’re only talking.’

‘OK, Mummy,’ Max said.

The man was staring at her, his face flushed. She could see he was upset. Good. Maybe she could provoke him into an argument and he’d have a heart attack right now.

He shook his head. ‘You’re getting it wrong,’ he said. ‘I’ve not destroyed your life. I’ve perfected you. I’ve kept you pure.’ He raised his hand. ‘It doesn’t matter what you say. You don’t know. You were a girl when I rescued you. You have no idea what happens out there. If you did, you’d be grateful. I know that, so whatever you say, it won’t bother me. Look at your mum. Look at what she became. And your brother.’ He shook his head. ‘He’s wasting his life.’