Behind Closed Doors (Season One: Book 7) (Jessica Daniel) (31 page)

Without seeing or hearing anyone, she reached the bedroom door, out of breath, heart pounding. Tentatively, she pushed it open, glancing across to where Heather lay facing away on her side,
asleep. Jessica tiptoed across to her bed, slipping her hand in between the mattress and the bed frame, feeling the panic growing inside her as she realised the phone wasn’t there.

Jessica ran her hand along the full length of the mattress and then climbed on top, lifting it up and peering under the area where her pillow was. She crouched, running her
hand along the floor underneath in case the phone had somehow dropped.

It hadn’t and it was nowhere to be found. Someone had taken it – perhaps even Heather, who may have seen the light when Jessica had checked the time, waiting until she had left the
room and then hurrying across to hunt for it.

Jessica sat on the edge of her bed, peering across the room in the dim glow towards where Heather was still facing away, her side gently rising and falling. Could she be awake right now, faking
it? Could she have the phone with her now, or had she already passed it on to someone else? Jessica knew her roommate’s feelings for Moses and he would surely have been her first point of
call.

There was now only one thing she could do: get out of the house unnoticed and get to the town centre to alert Charley and everyone else.

Jessica didn’t know if whoever had taken her phone might be waiting in the hall, so she went to the window, pressing as hard as she dared on the unmoving handle. Escaping that way was
always going to be unlikely seeing as it was locked before and even if it had opened, it would have been a long drop to the ground.

Knowing she had no choice other than to go back the way she had come, Jessica changed into shoes she could run in and headed into the still-silent hallway. She looked both ways, edging slowly
across the carpet and listening for any sense of movement.

It was such a cliché that it sounded too quiet, but Jessica couldn’t think of any other way to describe it. The house was old and she expected pipes and the antique wooden
furnishings to be creaking and squeaking but they weren’t.

Jessica headed down the stairs one step at a time, crouching to peer through the banisters to the first floor. She continued to the bottom only when she was certain there was no one below.
Jessica had never been great with maps, let alone ones in her head. She tried to picture from above where all of the corridors led, knowing the most direct route to the front door would take her
past Moses’s office, the games room and the work room. If anyone was around, that was surely the route they’d expect her to take.

Heading in the opposite direction, Jessica used the paintings to guide her, remembering what she had been shown by Zipporah and Heather on her first day. Twice, she ended up in a dead end and
another time, she stumbled into the kitchen, almost knocking a pile of metal pans from the counter top just inside the door.

Eventually, she figured out where she was, doubling back until she found the passage she had been looking for. Jessica checked around the corners, moving efficiently until she entered the main
hallway at the front. The enormous painting of Moses stared down upon her, as imposing as the real person.

Jessica crept across the floor, trying not to make a noise. When she reached the front door, she stopped to catch her breath, reaching for the first bolt as Glenn’s voice sounded behind
her.

‘Where are you going?’

She pulled across the bolt but heard the rush of footsteps, knowing she’d never be able to wrench it open before he got to her.

Jessica moved quickly to the side, turning to see Glenn reach the door, spreading his arms as if guarding something. There were two doorways that would take her into the rest of the house but
Jessica didn’t fancy her chances at out-running Glenn, not to mention that there could be other people in the corridors. She still hadn’t seen Moses.

‘I was going to go for a walk,’ Jessica said, her voice echoing around the high walls.

Glenn wasn’t dressed for bed and must have been up for a little while. He was staring at her, more daring her to make a move than being surprised or angry.

‘It’s a bit late for a walk, isn’t it?’

‘I don’t know, there aren’t any clocks around. It feels like it’s early.’

He poked out his bottom lip, nodding in acknowledgement. ‘Right you are. It’s around five o’clock, if you’re wondering.’

Jessica yawned unexpectedly, having not felt it coming. ‘It still feels like a nice time for a wander,’ she said. ‘Everyone keeps saying that we can leave at any time.
I’m not even leaving, I just fancy a stroll.’

‘Is that right?’

Jessica shrugged, holding her hands up. ‘I’m not sure what to tell you.’

‘So why don’t you come and let yourself out?’

Glenn stepped to one side, leaving the door invitingly free but not taking his eyes from her. She took a pace forward, wondering whether he had her phone. Heather could have taken and kept hold
of it, with Glenn simply making his early-morning rounds. She had never been up at this time to know if this was a regular occurrence. Somebody in the house had to be up to set off the morning
alarm.

Slowly, she walked forward, glancing from the door to Glenn and back again. He took another step backwards, giving her more space.

Jessica laid one hand on the door, half-turning towards it when she felt Glenn moving towards her. Despite his strength and presence, he couldn’t do anything about his short legs. Moses
might have been able to get to her in two strides but Glenn was slower.

He reached for her, a snarl of triumph on his face, but Jessica saw him coming. Her knees were sore and they buckled under her weight when she tried to kneel. The natural momentum sent her
lunging forward but Glenn had grasped too high. Jessica reeled back and punched him as hard as she could in the groin, feeling the satisfying crunch of flesh followed by the gratifying groan. Glenn
doubled over in pain and Jessica punched him in the same area before driving up with her shoulder, catching him under the chin and sending him flailing to the ground.

As she tried to stand, her knees almost gave way but she kept her balance and rushed to one of the exits. There was little point in going for the main door as Glenn was capable of crawling the
metre or so it would take to grab her.

She dashed back the way she had come, heading towards Moses’s office, hoping the window wouldn’t be locked. Behind her she could hear movement, not knowing if it was Glenn or someone
else, but she darted through the passageways until she got to the office. Jessica slammed her palm down on the handle but it didn’t give way, locked as she knew it would be. Just to be sure
she reared back, kicking the area next to the handle as hard as she could, but only succeeding in making the pain spread from her knee to her hip.

As she heard the footsteps getting louder behind, Jessica set off again, running past the basement entrance and the stairs which went nowhere and rounding the corner.

It was only as she dashed away from the games room that Jessica felt a sense of déjà vu from when she’d stood there looking for a way into Moses’s office. She had
overheard the cooks talking, being nice about everyone but giving her the one piece of information she should have remembered – ‘I’ll get the back door unlocked last thing
Thursday so we can get straight onto it’.

There was a delivery due later in the morning and one of the cooks would have left the back door unlocked to help with the loading. If she had only remembered that in the kitchen a few minutes
ago, she would have been out of the house now.

Now the kitchen was behind her, the only way back was the long way around, which would take her past the front door, or the shorter route, meaning she had to face whoever was following her. If
it was Glenn, he might have left the main door unguarded but she didn’t know how many people were involved. Moses had to be somewhere, directing everything from the shadows, not wanting to
get his hands dirty.

Jessica headed for the stairs, reaching the landing and lying flat on her front, knowing she could see the scene below her but that anyone on the ground floor wouldn’t be able to see her
unless they climbed a few steps. Outside, it looked as if the early vestiges of daylight were beginning to appear. She knew she was vulnerable if anyone was coming down the stairs but if Glenn or
Moses started to come up then she might be able to lunge at them, knocking them backwards and leaving her free to run.

She waited until Glenn finally hobbled into view. He was moving relatively quickly considering the way he was clutching the inside of his thigh but there was a dribble of blood on his chin. He
stood at the bottom of the stairs looking both ways as Jessica waited, unmoving, holding her breath.

Glenn stood, waiting, pulling out a watch from his pocket and checking the time. Just as she thought he wasn’t going to move, he shrugged his shoulders, grunting in annoyance, and started
walking back the way he had come. Jessica shuffled forward slowly, forearms burning against the carpet as she peered through the banisters, trying to see if Glenn had left the corridor.

He was heading towards the kitchen, blocking that way out. Ultimately he could end up back at the front door but he was moving slowly enough that Jessica knew she could run the long way around
and make it to the front door before he got there.

Managing a fluid movement which surprised her, Jessica sprung to her feet like a frog, bounding down the steps. She only realised her mistake when she heard a roar of outrage behind her. Glenn
had been going more slowly than she had thought, not even reaching the end of the corridor. Not fancying her chances of getting past him, Jessica dashed in the opposite direction for the second
time.

She wanted to drive on but the backs of her knees were aching and she couldn’t get the image out of her mind of how she’d looked in the mirror, her arms and legs like twigs.

She glanced over her shoulder to see Glenn struggling too but there was no way she could outrun him back to the door.

Jessica flung herself around the corner, unsure of what to do, only looking up at the last moment to see someone standing in front of her.

Zipporah’s eyes were full of surprise as she stepped back at the last second to stop Jessica colliding with her. Around the corner, Glenn’s footsteps were echoing
as he picked up speed.

Whether something like this had happened before, Jessica didn’t know, but Zipporah acted quickly, whispering, ‘In here’, holding the door open.

Jessica had never been in the room before, mistaking the door for a plain wooden panel when she’d passed it on previous occasions. She had no time to think but the bruise around
Zipporah’s eye swung it for her. This was someone who had seen the type of violence she was hoping to escape. She dived into the room as Zipporah clicked the door silently into place.

Jessica lay on the floor, trying to catch her breath as she heard Glenn race past outside. She was overcome by the tiredness from not sleeping and the exhaustion of the chase. She rolled onto
her front, allowing Zipporah to pull her to her feet.

The woman’s face looked worse than it had the last time Jessica had seen her, a rainbow of colour stretching from her eye socket all the way down to the base of her neck, set off against
her dark brown eyes.

She noticed Jessica staring at her and turned away, whispering: ‘It’s nothing.’

‘It looks sore.’

‘I’ve had worse.’

Jessica finally had a chance to look around the rest of the windowless room, taking in the long rows of bookcases filled with leather-bound hardback books. The spines alternated between red and
green, creating something Jessica thought would probably look impressive through an old pair of 3D glasses.

‘What is this place?’ she asked.

‘It was my father’s library. You might not know this but this was my house before I married Moses. Every title you see was bound specifically for my father. Sometimes when I
can’t sleep, I come downstairs and sit. I don’t even read the books but it feels nice to have them around. It reminds me of my dad.’

Zipporah sat on the edge of a solid wooden table. The room was taller than it was wide, a cubby hole hidden away behind a panel.

She peered up at Jessica, looking a broken woman, tired. ‘Do you know, I’ve been married to Moses for all these years and I’ve never told him about this room? This has always
been my little corner where I can get away. In the early days, before people started coming to stay at the house, sometimes I’d spend a few hours here. I’d hear Moses – or Jan as
he was then – in the corridors, calling my name. When I eventually came out, I’d tell him I’d been on the top floor or something like that.’

It was the first time Jessica had heard anyone other than Charley call Moses by his real name. Zipporah yawned, making Jessica follow, until they both smiled. Jessica couldn’t help
herself.

‘What was going on out there?’ Zipporah asked, nodding towards the closed door.

Jessica pressed against one of the bookcases, wondering what she could say. She didn’t want to mention what went on in the basement, figuring that if Zipporah was this protective of her
father’s hidden library, then she probably wouldn’t want to know what was happening underneath the house. The poor woman was going out onto the streets once a week to recruit people,
not knowing that those who didn’t pass her husband’s tests were ending up in the basement of the place where she had grown up, being tortured for either fun or money. Or both.

‘I want to leave,’ Jessica said.

‘What happened?’

‘They took me out to the woods.’

‘Who did?’

‘Glenn and Ali.’

Zipporah nodded knowingly. ‘I’ve heard from others about what goes on. My husband . . .’

She didn’t finish the sentence but she didn’t need to.

‘I think it was just to scare me.’ Jessica held up her wrists to show the marks.

Zipporah winced. ‘That looks nasty.’