The Bunker Diary Read Free Page A

room and tried to make her comfortable. It
was the best I could do. Settle her down. Comfort her. Talk to her. Give her a smile.
Ask her if she was all right.
    ‘Are you all right?’
    She sniffed and nodded.
    ‘Are you hurt?’
    She shook her head. ‘My tummy feels
funny.’
    ‘Did he put a cloth over your
mouth?’
    She nodded again.
    ‘What about your knee?’
    ‘I knocked it. It’s all
right.’
    ‘Did he … ?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Did he … ?’ I coughed
to cover my embarrassment. ‘Did he touch you or anything?’
    ‘No.’ She wiped her nose.
‘Where is he?’
    ‘I don’t know. Upstairs
somewhere.’
    ‘What’s upstairs?’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘Who is he?’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘What’s he called?’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘Is he coming down here?’
    ‘I don’t think so.’
    She looked around. ‘What is this
place? Do you live here?’
    ‘No, the man brought me
here.’
    ‘What for?’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    Don’t know, don’t know,
don’t know … probably not the most comforting answers in the world, but
at least she wasn’t crying any more. Her breathing was beginning to improve
too.
    I asked her where she lived.
    ‘1 Harvey Close,’ she said.
    I smiled. ‘Where? What
town?’
    ‘Moulton.’
    ‘Moulton in Essex?’
    ‘Yes.’
    I nodded, then nodded again, trying to think
of something else to say. I’m not that good at small talk. I don’t know what
you’re supposed to say to nine-year-old girls.
    I said, ‘What time was it when the
policeman stopped you?’
    ‘About half past seven.’
    ‘Isn’t that a bit early for
school?’
    ‘We were going on a trip to the
nucular power station.’
    ‘Nu
cle
ar.’
    ‘What?
    ‘Nothing. Is that why you’re not
wearing school uniform, because you were going on a school trip?’
    ‘Uh-huh.’
    She was wearing a little red jacket, a T-shirt,
jeans, and trainers. There was a picture of a tiger on her T-shirt.
    ‘What’s your name?’ she
asked me.
    ‘Linus.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Linus,’ I repeated, as I almost
always have to. ‘Lye-nus.’
    ‘That’s a funny name.’
    I smiled. ‘Yeah, I know.’
    ‘Is there anything to eat,
Lye-nus?’
    ‘Not at the moment.’
    I looked down at the trainers on her feet.
Newish but cheap. Stuck-on stripes. Frayed laces.
    I said, ‘What do your mum and dad do,
Jenny?’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘I was just wondering, that’s
all.’
    She pulled at some knots in her hair.
‘Dad works at Homebase. He doesn’t like it much.’
    ‘What about your mum?’
    She shrugged. ‘She’s my
mum.’
    ‘Does she work?’
    She shook her head.
‘Nuh-uh.’
    ‘You’re not rich,
then?’
    Her face creased into a frown.
‘Rich?’
    ‘Forget it. Here.’ I passed her
my hooded jacket. The room wasn’t cold, but she was starting to shiver again and
her face was really pale. ‘Put it on, it’ll keep you warm.’
    So, no kidnapping then. Not for the money
anyway. He’s not going to get much of a ransom from a guy who works at Homebase,
is he? And besides, if he knows who I am, why botherkidnapping anyone
else? I mean, you don’t rob a bank and then stop on the way out to break into a
bubblegum machine, do you? Not unless you’re an idiot.
    There’s no point. No reason.
    No kidnap.
    Which means …
    What?
    I have to get out of here, that’s what
it means.
    We
have to get out of here.
    The trouble is, I can’t see how.
Everything is solid concrete. The walls, the floor, the ceiling. The only way out is the
lift. But that’s hopeless. When the lift comes down the door stays open. When the
lift goes up the door closes. The door is solid metal. Very thick. And the lift itself
looks indestructible. And even if I could get through the door when the lift is up, what
then? I don’t know what’s behind it. I don’t how high the lift shaft
is. It could be thirty metres of sheer concrete for all I know.
    And anyway, he’s watching us.
    This afternoon, while Jenny was sleeping, I
had another