Good Deed Bad Deed, Marcia Morgan [summer beach reads TXT] 📗

our plans, but I only met him last week. He’s a tech systems guy for God’s sake—not a criminal.”

“I know your father’s been involved in a lot of investigations over the years—all sorts of dodgy goings-on. I’m sure he’s made enemies, but he’s been retired for quite a while now. Some crook’s revenge seems quite a stretch. Listen, Olivia, the only thing that matters right now is that we stay alive— do as we’re told. We may be able to glean some information by listening to his phone calls.”

“That sounds like a long shot. I wonder if anyone else is coming to help watch us. If so, maybe we’ll hear something. A lot of good it will do us to know why. We’re still prisoners.” Olivia drew her knees up under her chin and buried her face in the crook of her free arm.

Valerie shook her head, realizing she had lost all control over her life. The worries of her London life now seemed the size of an atom. Of one thing she was sure: If it was something in her life that had precipitated their predicament, she couldn’t bear having put Olivia in danger. She bunched up her unrestrained fist and began to pound on the mattress in frustration. Clouds of dust rose from the dingy fabric and spread throughout the room, its motes sparkling in the muted sunlight coming through the curtain.

After what seemed like hours, the front door opened and they heard Lenny’s heavy footsteps, then the sound of something being dropped on the table, followed by the rustling of plastic bags. The women stayed perfectly quiet and waited for him to check on them. The sound of heavy boots came closer and he appeared in the doorway with a bag in each hand. He reached inside and pulled out a roll of toilet tissue, tossing it onto Olivia’s mattress, and then repeated the action for Valerie. From the other bag he pulled out two thin blankets and threw them over as well. In meek voices, they thanked him. He grunted, turned and walked back to the table in the main room. They heard a scraping sound before he appeared again. In each hand he held a lidded bucket. He walked toward the women and placed one beside each mattress. Appalled, they looked at each other, immediately aware of the buckets’ purpose: There would be no regular trips to the bathroom.

In spite of their fear, Valerie and Olivia were hungry—physically, if not emotionally. Common sense told them not to ask for food—not yet. The women exchanged only a few words while they sat or reclined on the mattresses—waiting for something, not knowing what. Olivia leaned on her elbow, saying she was reluctant to let her face touch the dirty fabric. Valerie agreed and sat cross-legged, eyes closed, her back against the wall for support. Their watches had not been confiscated along with the phones, so they were aware of the time. Time had seemed to stop, but the day was drawing to a close, and the dusk’s fading light no longer brightened or warmed the room as the sunlight had done.

They heard their captor rustling about in the other room, cupboards opening and closing, his heavy boots scuffing along the floor. Suddenly he was standing in the doorway staring at them with the usual gruff expression. “If you two want anything to eat, you have to do as you’re told.” Lenny walked over to Olivia and pulled a phone out of his pants pocket. She recognized it as her own. “Sit up and look at the phone,” he said, holding it in position to take her picture. The phone clicked several times before he put it back in his pocket. He left the room for a moment and came back with a pad of paper and pen. “Now you’re going to write a note to your parents and that brother of yours—let them know you’re alive … for now.”

“I don’t know what you want me to write,” Olivia said in a soft and shaky voice.

Lenny handed her the pad and pen and told her to write down what he was about to say. “Dear Daddy,” he said, stopping momentarily to chuckle. “I’m being held here because Mum has to do something for these people. Please tell her to do it. If she doesn’t, they will kill me.” He stopped dictating, told Olivia to stop writing, and then looked at Valerie. “Who’s this anyway?” He looked back at Olivia. “We only wanted you. Now I’m saddled with this bird.”

Olivia complied, answering his question. “She’s my friend. She used to be married to my brother.”

As the words left her mouth she knew it was the wrong thing to say. Now he would see Valerie as another means of controlling her family. Valerie sighed, realizing that Olivia had now made her more valuable, although she didn’t really believe that they were likely to survive anyway. They had both seen their captor’s face. That was likely to seal the deal. She had seen enough television shows to know that’s how it goes.

Lenny returned to the task at hand and told Olivia to continue writing. The rest of the note confirmed the danger she was in and emphasized that her mother and father were to tell no one, and that her mother must follow instructions to the letter. When she had finished writing he ripped the tablet from her hands and then left the room. Several minutes later he announced he would be gone for a while, then added a warning to be quiet if they wanted to keep breathing. Exhaustion won out over Olivia’s reluctance to lie on the mattress. She fell into a restless sleep. Valerie watched her, fighting to stay awake, but finally succumbed to her own fatigue. When they awoke the room was completely dark, the house quiet. They assumed they were still alone. Their hunger pangs were now more severe and they wondered if starvation would be