Ruby cried with relief when Steve arrived the next morning. She made urgent sounds as she writhed on the bed.
“Hey, hey,” he said, placing a tray down on the floor. He tore the tape off her face in one fluid movement.
“I need the toilet!” she gasped.
“Oh, shit! I didn’t think about that,” he said. “Hang on.”
He left, reappearing moments later with a pair of scissors. “Now, if I release you, you’re not going to try anything stupid, are you?”
“No! Please hurry, I need to pee.”
“Alright, keep your hair on.” He cut through the plastic ties and grasped Ruby’s upper arm as she got to her feet. “Now the bathroom is inside the house and upstairs. If there’s any funny business, I’ll bring a bucket in here and that will be where you’ll do your business from now on. Got it?”
“Got it,” Ruby said, rubbing at her wrists.
He led her indoors. The house stank of burnt toast.
At the top of the stairs, Steve pointed to a door on the left. “Leave the door open. I’ll wait here.”
Ruby didn’t care about the open door at that point, she just needed to empty her bladder.
No sooner had she finished wiping herself when Steve stepped into the room.
“Do you mind?” Ruby said, pulling her underwear up and straightening her dress.
“Come on.” He seemed agitated.
“Can I wash my hands, please?”
“If you’re quick.”
Ruby scanned the bathroom, trying to find something she could palm and use as a weapon later, but squirty soap was the only thing on the sink. Her reflection startled her—streaks of black mascara were all down her face and her was hair wild and matted.
“Come on, come on,” Steve said, an impatient tone to his voice. He grabbed her upper arm once again before she had the chance to dry her hands.
In panic mode, not wanting to go back into the cold white room, she resisted and struggled, but was surprised by Steve’s strength. She eventually allowed him to bundle her back down the stairs while she scoured every surface with her eyes looking for something she could use as a weapon. There was nothing.
She knew she needed to keep her wits about her if she had any chance of escape. Back in the hateful room, she once again pushed against Steve.
“Please, I can’t bear to be tied up again, can’t you just ...?”
“No-can-do, I’m afraid, love. But I’ll make a deal with you.”
Trembling, Ruby nodded.
“If you promise to behave, I’ll just tie one wrist while you eat your breakfast.”
Ruby was willing to agree to almost anything in order to prevent being fastened down again. “Okay—okay,” she said, suddenly breathless.
He eased her down onto the mattress. “Hand,” he said, picking up the chain and feeding a tie through it.
“Steve, I ...”
“Hand.” He gripped her right hand and with deft fingers, managed to secure her in seconds. “Okey dokey, my girl. Eat up.” He lifted the tray onto the bed beside her.
She turned her head away, but not before she spotted the plate of yummy food. There was bacon, sausage, egg and mushrooms. Much to Ruby’s disgust her stomach betrayed her with a loud growl. She was starving and the sausage did look delicious.
“Go on,” Steve urged as he saw her take another quick glance at the plate.
She picked up the sausage with her fingers and bit. Wanting to hate it—to spit it back onto the plate, but she couldn’t. It was the nicest sausage she’d ever tasted and she devoured the lot in a few bites.
“That-a-girl. Go on, eat up. Now while you’re finishing that little lot, I’ll get you a drink. Tea? Coffee?”
“Coffee.”
“Sugar?”
“Just milk, please.” Ruby eyed him as he left the room. She was puzzled by his treatment of her. Apart from the strange cuddle, Steve had been kind—caring even. Maybe all that would change once Cody returned.
After a few seconds, Ruby snatched up the fork and stuck it down the side of the plastic tie and twisted. The tie didn’t budge except to dig into her sore wrist. She tried several times until she heard Steve’s shuffling footsteps. She stabbed a rasher of bacon and held it to her mouth as he entered.
“One cup of coffee.” He held a cup towards her.
Ruby placed the fork back onto the plate and took the cup from him. “Thanks.”
She wished she could throw the hot liquid into his face like they did in the movies, but she couldn’t wilfully injure another person, regardless of what he intended to do to her. And besides, there was still a chance she could talk him round, convince him to let her go.
They sat in silence as she drank, Steve beside her on the bed.
She emptied the last of the delicious coffee and handed him the cup.
“Finished?” He got to his feet and reached for her other wrist.
“No, not yet.” She lifted her arm away and grabbed a triangle of toast off the plate.
He sat back down.
“You’re a good cook.” She smiled, trying her best to appear sweet and grateful. Despite the fact that she still had mascara down her cheeks and probably looked more like a lunatic.
“That’s good. I like a girl with an appetite. Karen had a good appetite but never seemed to put on an ounce of weight.”
“Karen—was she your wife?”
Steve sighed. “Yes, my beautiful wife.”
“Cody told me what happened. That must have been terrible for you.”
Steve focused on a fleck of white fluff on the sleeve of his navy-blue sweatshirt. “You have no idea. Not a day goes by I don’t think about her.”
“I can’t begin to imagine what it felt like. The not knowing alone must be terrible.”
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “I loved her so much,” he whispered.
Ruby picked up the fork and flicked the bacon off, before sliding it into the tied hand, hiding the handle under her arm. “I know you did,” she said, softly. “What do you think happened to her?”
He shrugged and shook his head. “The last time I saw her was when I left to take Cody to school. He was only doing mornings at the time. Kyle came with us to give Karen a break. As she waved us off, I remember thinking how lovely she was in her bright pink blouse and blue jeans. When I got back, she’d gone.”
Ruby gasped, encouraging Steve on.
“I didn’t think much of it at the time—just thought she must have popped out for something. She kept her car in the garage.” He glanced around. “This room actually. But I didn’t think to check. When she didn’t return by lunch-time, I collected Cody from school and we drove around looking for her car. I thought she must have broken down somewhere.” He glanced at Ruby. “You see, it wasn’t like nowadays. Nobody owned mobile phones back then.”
“No, of course.”
“Anyway, when I didn’t find her, I called into the police station to report her missing. It wasn’t until I got back home I realised her car was in the garage all along. I panicked then. I knew something awful had happened.”
He rubbed his eyes.
“The police thought she’d left me. They blamed me for being the reason she’d run away. They searched the house. What they thought they might find was anybody’s guess, but they didn’t find a thing. Karen had vanished with no money, no car and only the clothes she stood up in.”
He pinched in between his eyebrows—his eyes shut tight as though in great pain.
“Are you okay, Steve?”
“Yes.” He shook himself as though just realising where he was and glanced at his watch. “Have you seen the time, I’d best get cleaned up. Cody might be back soon.”
Her stomach dropped.
He pulled a handful of plastic ties from his pocket.
“Please don’t tie my other arm and legs. It’s not as if I can go anywhere and I promise I won’t make a sound.”
He cocked his head to one side as he considered her request. “Are you sure I can trust you?”
“I swear—I won’t try anything.”
“Any funny business and that’s it.” He picked up the tray. “I’ll be back shortly.” He headed for the door, then stopped and turned back to face her, holding the tray towards her.
“I’ve finished thanks.”
He nodded. “Fork, please.”
Ruby gave him a worried smile. “Sorry.” She pulled out the fork and placed it onto the tray.
“That-a-girl,” he said before leaving.