to sound. I poke my head out and look both

  ways. The lights flicker, the light outside is

  dull.

  I step back into my room and stare at the

  wall. All my pencil markings begin to make

  sense in front of me, my mind is working.

  I’m set to get the evidence and prove my

  innocence or take my revenge but either way,

  I’ll make Andrew and Tanya pay.

  I stare at the crossed out letters, I stare at

  the phrases and ‘Liam Graynnil’. As I

  concentrate, a piercing alarm rings. Glass

  smashes and people shout. I step out into the

  corridor. A man bursts into the corridor and

  barges one of the nurses onto the floor. He

  spits in her face and tells her to stay down or

  he’ll rape her. She tries to reason with him,

  she gets to her feet so he punches her in the

  face. I can’t worry about this now, I need to

  get out. This is the time.

  At the end of the corridor, there’s a locked

  door. A male doctor runs up to the door

  with a bunch of keys. He puts the key into

  the hole and unlocks it. As I sprint up to

  him, Frank grabs the man and throws him

  into the wall. The doctor turns to grab him

  but Frank punches him in the stomach and

  throws the doctor into the wall again. I get

  there just as he’s kicking him in the head.

  “Let’s go Milligan.” Frank turns and shouts

  to me.

  I run behind him, on guard against anybody

  who tries to stop us. We run through endless

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  corridors. I have ever been allowed to come

  down here; this corridor is only for the

  workers and the visitors.

  We come to a right turn and Frank runs

  down towards double doors. If my reckoning

  is right, it leads to a yard. Frank charges

  towards the doors and kicks one of them

  open. Flakes of snow flurry into the corridor.

  Frank barges his way out into the yard

  followed by me. I stand outside and I lose

  my breath. I feel like a computer restarting;

  the air tastes fresh, I watch as my breath

  fades into the air.

  I look up and watch the flakes float down.

  I follow two sets of footprints; Frank’s and

  somebody else’s, up to the storage building. I

  see Frank standing next to a Mexican; he

  must be Diego. I nod to him. We do not

  need introductions. I see the gap in the wall,

  someone else has already escaped, most likely

  Freddy who was working with Frank to

  make all this possible.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Diego says

  in a mixed Mexican and south London

  accent.

  As he says it, we hear the crunching of the

  snow outside, there are guards approaching

  the building. Diego slips out through the gap

  in the wall. I’m next but as I kneel down to

  duck through, I hear the shouts of the

  security.

  “Stay where you are!”

  I look back to Frank; he nods to me and

  mouths: ‘get out’ as he pulls out a knife.

  275

  I duck through the hole and run along the

  road. Diego is gone.

  I look for the car Sandra would have left for

  me.

  I can’t see the car for the blizzard. I look

  behind and see Frank emerging from the

  hole. He runs in the opposite direction.

  I spot a lump of snow on the side of the

  road. It can only be a car.

  The first thing to do is search for the keys. I

  kneel down and look underneath the car. As

  I look across beneath the car, I see the keys

  behind the tyres on the opposite side behind

  the back wheel. I scramble round the other

  side to get them. Then I reach the mound of

  snow and knock it onto the floor around the

  car. Only when the windows and lights are

  clear do I get into the car and turn the engine

  on. As the engine starts, I turn the heat onto

  full. I put the car into second gear and lifting

  the clutch slowly, the car begins to roll

  forward. I see the sat nav and a black jacket

  on the passenger seat. I pick the sat nav up

  and press ‘go home’ on the screen. It

  calculates the route and says it will only take

  thirty minutes. But in this weather, more like

  an hour.

  I begin the journey back to Mulberry Lane.

  It’s only when I’m on my way to safety that I

  realise I’m shivering.

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  No.2 Mulberry Lane

  I have been driving for hours. The roads are

  treacherous, the flakes coming down and

  suffocating the land.

  As I drive, I look up to the road ahead of me.

  There are abandoned cars enclosed in snow

  on the side of the road, side-roads are silent

  and covered in the fresh, untouched snow.

  I drive past the park; its climbing frames and

  swings look like clouds formed into the shape

  of a park.

  The tyres crunch their way through the snow,

  there’s the road sign: Mulberry Lane. I turn

  into the cul-de-sac and look down the road.

  Shola’s house is gone, leaving open land in

  front of the woodlands, but that’s the only

  difference.

  I let the car roll; I switch off the lights and

  turn into Simon’s drive. I push the door onto

  latch and then push again to shut it properly,

  creating minimal sound.

  The lights in the Cann’s are off. I walk up to

  the front door and put the keys in the letter

  box.

  As I walk away from the house, the front

  door opens.

  “I heard you’d be escaping.” Simon says.

  “How did you hear that?” I ask.

  “I’ve got contacts.”

  I turn around and walk towards Simon. “I

  know about you Simon, I know what you’ve

  done to me. I know you were involved in

  setting me up.”

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  “What are you talking about? At least I know

  that you’re insane.”

  “Oh you know what I am talking about, Mr

  S.”

  Simon stares at me. I return the stare and we

  stand only a few centimetres away from each

  other. He tries to slam the door, but I put my

  hand out and push the door back into the

  house forcing him back. I step inside the

  house and close the door behind me.

  “Mr S? What is that about?” I say to him.

  “It’s complicated Ryan you wouldn’t

  understand.”

  “Oh is it? Well to be honest I couldn’t give a

  toss about your pathetic name. All I care

  about is Tanya and Andrew living at number

  two.”

  “Who have you been talking to?”

  “I’ve got my contacts.” I smirk.

  “You don’t understand any of this.”

  “Oh yes I do, this is about money, this is all

  about a conniving bitch who set me up to get

  my money. She set me up to get everything I

  own but you know what? That isn’t going to

  happen.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “I’m sure it’s only a matter of time and all

  this will come crashing down on you too.”

  “Don’t do anything stupid Ryan.”

  “Shut up you back-stabbing bastard, don’t

  make out you care for me, you’re just worried

  that you’re going to be going to prison.”

  “Get out of my house.” Simon bellows at me.

  278

  I grab his shirt in my and slam him against

  the wall. As he tries to push me off, I tighten

  my grip and throw him across my body and

  across his coffee table. He lands on his back

  and stays down looking up to me. I walk over

  to him and kneel beside him. I grab his shirt

  again and push his head against the floor

  amongst the smashed glass from the coffee

  table. Simon gasps and I punch his face.

  Simon grunts in pain and holds his face. I lift

  him by his shirt and punch him again. Simon

  falls back and his eyes are shut.

  I go back outside and stare at my old house. I

  look up to the house; the downstairs and

  landing lights are on.

  The snow suffocates the greenery and the

  path that leads up to the front porch.

  I stand on the pavement at the bottom of the

  path. I feel as if I cannot go any further. It

  feels as if there’s a force field around the

  house protecting it, stopping me from

  entering. I remember being up there holding

  the children’s bodies. I remember dropping

  them onto the grass. I look away; I can’t bear

  to remember any more of that day.

  I cautiously step up the hazardous icy slope.

  As I reach the top, I lean against the wall and

  look in through the window next to the door,

  into the hallway. I see the refurbished stairs,

  the new kitchen and the new doors. The

  basement door has a new lock on it.

  I sneak around the side of the house into the

  back garden. The shed has been replaced by a

  bigger one but everything else is the same. I

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  kneel down below the kitchen window. I hold

  my breath and try to listen to any movement

  or voices inside, but there’s nothing. I stand

  up to look inside. Tanya is sitting at the

  kitchen table typing on a laptop. She closes it

  and leaves the kitchen to go into the sitting

  room.

  I crouch back down and make my way past

  the window. I hear a bang from somewhere

  nearby. I quickly walk past the kitchen door

  and move to the side of the house pressing

  my back to the side of the house. I listen for

  movement.

  I hear the shuffling of boots and then a

  shovel digging through to the path under the

  snow. I hear a deep breath and then the

  excitable screams from children. Then the

  booming voice of Paul Brooke says: “Come

  on you two little devils, get back in, it’s a

  school night.”

  I smile to myself and walk back to the front

  of the house. Paul has a point, it’s a school

  night. Alex and Sammy will be in bed and

  hopefully asleep.

  I stand on the porch outside the front door.

  A male figure puts on a jacket. I see Tanya go

  up to him and put her arms around his

  shoulders and kiss him on the lips. I listen

  carefully and hear the words I never wanted

  to hear.

  “I love you.” Tanya says.

  The words hurt, I am angry. My mood

  changes from anger to fury, I always wanted

  to make him pay but now I want her to pay

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  too; especially her. My eyes don’t water as I

  expect them to but her words repeat in my

  head as I watch her go upstairs as Andrew

  comes out of the house, leaving the door

  open ajar. I glare at him as I crouch in the

  shadows of the porch. I watch Andrew go

  down the porch steps and over to the rubbish

  bins. I feel like going up behind him right now

  and killing the fucker but I can’t, I can’t. I

  need the evidence. I creep into the house. I

  stand in the hallway and look at the newly

  painted walls and ceiling. I look at the new

  doors that make the hallway seem more

  refreshed and modern.

  The sitting room has also been modernised.

  As I take in the huge renovation since the

  fire, I hear the front door slam and shoes

  rubbing on the front door rug.

  I hide behind the sitting room door. I lean

  against the wall and breathe slowly. I hear him

  slip off his boots and go into the kitchen. I

  step out from behind the door and Andrew

  leaning over the sink washing his hands.

  Andrew shakes off the water and bubbles

  from his hands and dries them. I grab his t-

  shirt and throw him behind me into the

  kitchen table. Andrew hits his head on the

  table and looks at me, the shock registers in

  his eyes and tries to scurry back up onto his

  feet. As he tries to stand, I kick him in the

  stomach forcing him onto the ground.

  Andrew looks up to me and I punch him in

  the face.

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  I introduce myself: “I’m Ryan by the way,

  Tanya’s ex-husband and your previous client:

  Liam Graynnil.”

  He stares at me. His lower lip shakes; his face

  is covered with blood from his nose and

  mouth. His hair is a mess and his eyes widen

  as he realises who I am.

  I’ve had enough of his face, I want to kill

  him. The temptation to kill him right here and

  now is appealing but instead I punch him on

  the jaw knocking him out cold.

  Looking down at his body, I feel like just

  holding his mouth and nose. Killing him now

  will not give me as much satisfaction as seeing

  him going to prison, being beaten and abused,

  that’s what I want for him.

  I run to the front door and open it ajar to

  scare Tanya when she comes downstairs.

  I hear the stomping footsteps from above;

  Tanya has always had heavy stomps. She’s the

  type of person who makes sure everyone can

  hear that she is going upstairs and she

  certainly lets me know she’s coming down the

  stairs as I hear the stairs creak and the hollow

  bumping of her flat feet hitting the carpet.

  I hide behind the kitchen door and listen to

  her. “Andy, darling where…” She doesn’t

  finish her sentence as she sees his body. She

  panics, her breath becomes faster and louder.

  She goes to the front door. I look out from

  behind the kitchen door and I see her leaning

  outside, looking left to right whilst the snow

  swirls past her and into the hallway.

  282

  I hold my breath and creep towards her. As

  she comes back inside and shuts the door, I

  grab her, holding her mouth, muffling her

  screams.

  “You bitch.” I whisper in her ear.

  I go over to the basement door and say:

  “Where’s the key?”

  Tanya tries to scream louder, shaking her

  head.

  “Tell me now.”

  She screams again. I have to do something to

  make her tell me. So I clench my fist, sticking

  my middle knuckle out further than the rest

  and jab her lower back. Her legs give way.

  “Tell me.” I say again.

  I put my forearm across her neck and pull

  her towards me. She squirms in my arms, her

  head butting against my chest, her teeth trying

  to sink into my hands. The more she wriggles,

  the harder I crush her neck. She begins to

  slump, she must be giving way; she must be

  close to passing out when she gives a high

  pitched muffle.

  “Kitchen.”

  “The keys are in the kitchen?” I ask.

  She nods and with that, I release my grip and

  throw her onto the floor.

  “Go and get it,” I say. “If you make a sound

  I’ll kill him and then you.”

  “Ryan please, please don’t…”

  “Now.” I say pushing her on her way with

  my foot.

  She goes into the kitchen and gets the keys.

  “Unlock the door.”

  283

  I follow her from the kitchen back to the

  basement door; she unlocks it, pulls the metal

  latch up and opens it. As she does, a waft of

  cold air blows past my face; the familiar smell

  of the basement. That musky scent, it reminds

  me of the teddy bear and the pink table and

  then the children’s bodies.

  “Go.” I say and nod towards the door.

  She walks inside and down the stairs. I

  follow. We reach the basement which now

  reveals the extension.

  “I like what you’ve done with the place.” I

  say as I grab Tanya by her hair and throw her

  onto the floor. “Stay down.”

  I look around the basement for anything to

  tie her up. There are wooden chairs and. I

  fetch two of them. Behind the chairs are the

  pink table and the teddy bear on top.

  There’s a bag of cable ties and I pull some

  out, pick up the duct tape next to it and go

  back over to Tanya. I pull her up by her hair

  and put her on the chair, binding her hands

  behind her back and then I tie her legs to the

  legs of the chair.

  “Stay.” I say to her like I would a dog, then I

  put a dirty cloth in her mouth. She tries to

  push it out but I put tape over her mouth. I