Page 34 of A Murder is Going Down

Lilia nods, but slowly. ‘Sure. Ben too.’

‘If we must,’ Patrick says, still looking chipper. ‘Come on, Heidi, we’ve got to get the bus home. Lilia, we’ll be in touch. Ben, try being less of a massive dick.’

Now

The lift intercom buzzes and this time Marianne responds.

‘Hello? Yes.’ The conversation is short, but the news is bad: they’re still waiting on a part. It’s going to be longer than expected, maybe another twenty minutes. Mr Honeyvoice sounds apologetic, or maybe he’s just braced for Cyclone Marianne to make landfall. But all she says is, ‘I guess we don’t have a choice.’ You might miss the wobble in her voice if you weren’t listening for it.

‘Great.’ I rest my head against the wall of the lift and close my eyes.

‘Look,’ Marianne says in a way that makes me open them back up. ‘I’m sorry about what I said before when I suggested, you know.’

‘That I was a lift-tampering menace in search of a book deal?’

‘Sure. But you have to admit there’s something strange going on here.’

‘No kidding, we’re stuck in a lift.’

‘It’s not just that. There’s something strange about the man on the intercom. He keeps telling us it’ll be twenty minutes but then twenty minutes passes and there’s another problem that’ll takeanothertwenty minutes. We’ve only heard his voice, which means we only have his word about what’s happening outside this lift. He’s delaying us.’

I’m listening. ‘Okay?’

‘What if I was right about the lift being sabotaged, but it’s him?’

‘Who?’

‘The man on the intercom.’

‘Why?’

‘I have no idea. I’m telling you, this doesn’t feel normal. Where are the fire services? Why haven’t we heard from Hap?’

‘Who’s Hap?’

‘He’s the building manager. We play tennis together.’

Of course they do.

‘I’m telling you, if Hap knew I was in here he would be on the phone or organising for someone to come downand rescue us.’ Marianne points to the ceiling hatch. ‘Something’s not right.’

Marianne waits. Maybe she’s waiting for me to object. Maybe she’s waiting for me to agree. Possibly she’s waiting for the man on the other end of the intercom to call and defend himself.

‘There’s something I didn’t want to say,’ I say carefully, ‘because it seemed like you were really freaking out before.’

‘What?’

‘Why don’t our phones work in here? I know sometimes the reception gets screwy in lifts, but I don’t even have a single bar, and no WiFi.’

Marianne takes out her phone and turns it over in her hands. ‘You’re right, she says. ‘It shouldn’t be such a dead zone.’ Her breathing is speeding up. ‘So you agree with me? This. Is. A. Nightmare!’

‘I’m not saying I agree that the random guy on the intercom has sabotaged the lift,’ I say quickly. ‘I’m just acknowledging it is a little … weird.’

‘This is not happening,’ Marianne says to herself. ‘I’m going to wake up and this will be a dream.’

‘Keep taking deep breaths,’ I say, trying to remember anything I’ve ever read about panic attacks. Is the thing about putting your head between your legs just for plane crashes?

‘I’m going to ask to speak to Hap,’ Marianne says, between breaths.