‘You’ll let me go?’

‘But if you tell anyone —’

‘I won’t, I swear I won’t.’ Sadie slowly rose to her foot, terrified that the woman would change her mind. ‘Thank you.’

Petra pulled a face, her thin lips turning down at the corners. ‘I’m not doing this for you, love. Don’t think that for one minute.’

Sadie opened her mouth but then promptly closed it again. Sometimes it was better to keep quiet. Instead she simply gave a nod.

‘Stay there,’ Petra said. ‘I need to check upstairs.’

The next sixty seconds were the longest in Sadie’s life. What if she didn’t come back? What if Petra went to fetch Wayne and… She stared longingly at the open door, tempted again to try and make a run for it. It took every ounce of will power to stay put. If she blew it now, there wouldn’t be any second chances.

Eventually she heard the soft tread on the stone again. Petra came to the door, put a warning finger to her lips and beckoned her out. Sadie’s heart was pounding in her chest as she left her prison and began the long walk up the steps. Was it a trap? Maybe this was just another play in some sick game of revenge. Maybe she would get to the top and… she swallowed hard. No, she couldn’t bear to think of it. One foot in front of the other, one step at a time. It hurt to walk, but it was the kind of pain she could endure if it meant she was heading for freedom.

She emerged, blinking, into the brightness of the kitchen. Quickly she looked around but the room was empty. Although she’d checked her watch while she was waiting – it had said a quarter to one – she hadn’t been sure whether it was day or night. Now, from the dark squares of the window, she knew it was the latter.

Petra came up behind her, went straight to the back door and opened it. A rush of cold air flooded into the kitchen. Sadie realised, suddenly, that she had no idea where she was. In East London probably, but whereabouts? She had no coat and no money; both had been taken off her by Wayne Gissing. But none of these things mattered as she gazed hungrily at the outside world. She would have walked the streets naked if it meant getting out of here.

But as she took a step forward, Petra blocked her way. She looked Sadie up and down as if she was seeing the full extent of her injuries for the first time. And now she was obviously having second thoughts. To release Sadie in this state was too big a risk. She might collapse on the street and be picked up by the law. ‘No,’ she muttered, ‘you can’t go out like that.’

‘I’ll be fine,’ Sadie said softly, afraid of wakening anyone else who might be in the house. ‘I will.’ She gazed over Petra’s shoulder to the small yard beyond. One lunge, that was all it would take, and she could be free. She could push past her and… but was the gate locked? It was too dark to tell. And it was far too tall for her to climb over. She felt her heart sinking. She couldn’t let this happen, not when she was almost there. ‘Please, I’ll be fine.’

‘Where are you going to go?’

Sadie wondered where she could go. Only one place sprang to mind. ‘Kellston,’ she said, thinking of Velma. ‘I’ve got a friend there. She’ll take care of me.’

‘Where in Kellston?’

‘A guest house. It’s called Oaklands. It’s opposite the station.’

Petra pondered on this for a moment and then said, ‘Wait here,’ before moving past her and disappearing into the living room.

Sadie wasn’t sure what was going on. She gazed longingly towards the gate. Here she was alone in the kitchen with the door open. Was it worth the gamble? There was nothing to stop her from…

But the thought had barely entered her head before Petra was back. She had a set of car keys in her hand. ‘We’ll drive. It’ll be quicker.’ She gave Sadie a small push on the shoulder. ‘Come on, then,’ she said roughly. ‘Don’t just stand there.’

Sadie stepped out into the chill air, walked along the path to the gate and waited while Petra pulled across two bolts. The woman did it slowly, trying not to make a noise. Every now and again she stopped, glancing back over her shoulder and up at the top windows of the house. Sadie, impatient and fearful, looked too but saw nothing but blackness.

It seemed an age before the gate was open and they passed through into a dark narrow alleyway. The only illumination, and it was meagre, came from a house that still had its lights on. Petra went first, weaving her way past dustbins, heaps of tin cans and other accumulated rubbish. Sadie stuck close to her heels, terrified of bumping into something and creating a racket.

After twenty yards, the path took a sharp right-angle turn and emerged on to the street. Petra hurried towards the red Ford Capri parked under a streetlamp. She unlocked the driver’s side, got in and leaned across to open the passenger door.

It was only in the confined space of the car that Sadie became aware of the pungent smell of alcohol. It drifted off Petra in waves so strong they almost made her gag. Jesus, the woman was pissed! She had to be. But Sadie was past caring. She’d rather take her chances with a drunk driver than with Wayne bloody Gissing.

Petra put the key in the ignition, started the car and instantly stalled it. ‘For fuck’s sake!’ she muttered as the Capri gave a lurch. She tried again and this time succeeded in getting away from the kerb.

Sadie said a silent prayer, hoping they weren’t too far from Kellston. It would just be her luck to escape from a dungeon and end up wrapped around a lamppost. She gazed out of the window, trying to figure out exactly where they were. Nothing looked familiar. She saw a few street names but they didn’t ring any bells.

Petra, hunched over the wheel, shot her a quick sidelong glance. She was, perhaps, starting to have some regrets about what she was doing. ‘You open your mouth about all this and you’re dead, you get it? No second chances.’

‘I get it,’ Sadie said. ‘I’ve told you, haven’t I? If I blab to the police, I’ll be going down too.’

‘Just remember that, huh?’

Sadie kept her eyes on the road ahead. Petra was steering erratically, frequently veering over to the right. Fortunately, there wasn’t much traffic about. ‘How far is it?’ she asked.

‘Not far.’

Sadie gave a nod. Her teeth were gritted, her hands clenched tightly in her lap, partly in response to the driving but mainly because freedom was so close and she was terrified that something might still go wrong. She wondered how Wayne and Kelly would react when they found she was gone. Not with equanimity, she imagined. Still, Petra was their mother; if anyone could deal with them, she could.

Five minutes later everything was starting to appear more familiar. There was a building she recognised, an old factory with two tall chimneys that she’d seen from the train. They must be getting close. She uncurled the fingers of her right hand and ran them through her matted hair. God, she must look a state. But that didn’t matter right now. All she wanted was to get there, to be safe, to be free.

Petra took a left on to Station Road and slowed down, her eyes darting to the left and right as she searched for the guesthouse. ‘Where is it, then?’

‘On the other side,’ Sadie said, gesturing towards the long line of Victorian houses. ‘It’s just opposite the station. You can drop me there or by the Fox.’

But Petra didn’t seem too keen on this idea, worried perhaps that Sadie wasn’t going where she said she was going. ‘Before the Fox or after?’

‘Just before.’

When they got to the pub, Petra swerved into the car park, did a careless three-point turn and, turning right, exited back on to Station Road. A few seconds later she pulled up outside Oaklands. ‘Okay, we’re here. Remember what I said? You call the filth and you’ll be sorry. I’ll make sure of it.’

‘I won’t.’ Without another word, Sadie opened the car door, stepped out on to the pavement, closed the door behind her and walked quickly up the short drive to the guesthouse. The house was in darkness and she pressed hard on the bell, hoping that someone would answer. As she waited, she glanced back over her shoulder. Petra was still watching her.