Page 117 of The Dead Ex

The last few stragglers passed me.

‘Back in now!’ shouted Jackiefrom up ahead.

‘You’ve cut us short,’ I heard Zelda shout. ‘Just cos we’re the last group.’

‘I don’t mind coming in,’ shivered another woman in front of me. ‘It’s cold.’

It was too. I pulled my heavy-duty jacket closer around me and followed her. As we came into the building, the lights flickered. ‘Circuit playing up again,’ mumbled one of the officers. This often happened in bad weather. Theelectricians were meant to have sorted it by now. I made a mental note to chase them.

Right now I needed to concentrate on getting this lot back through the doors to the rest area and then up the stairs. Jackie was running past to check the others. ‘I want to see Zelda Darling in my office as soon as we’ve got them all locked up,’ I called out.

‘Sure. Anything wrong?’

‘Tell you later.’

‘Keepmoving,’ called out Frances. Patrick was somewhere here, although it was difficult to see where, with the lights flickering.

‘Stay together,’ yelled another officer. There was a note of urgency in his tone. Then suddenly we were plunged into blackness. Fuck.

I waited for the lights to come on. Nothing.

‘Into your cells, everyone.’

The officers’ torches were scattered like glow worms. I fumbledfor my own, but the battery was fading. Why hadn’t I checked earlier?

‘This is fun,’ called out someone.

Another was giving a wolf-whistle.

The smell of fear and excitement was tangible. The women were acting like schoolkids who had been let loose unexpectedly. Then, suddenly, the mood changed to one of mass fear.

‘I can’t find the handrail,’ whimpered a voice.

‘It’s not fucking fair. IfI couldn’t keep my kid, why should she?’

Footsteps. Running.

Face your attacker. That’s what the self-defence refresher course had taught us.

But it was dark.

There was a sudden blinding pain in my head.

I reached out for the handrail, clutching instead at empty space. And then I fell.

‘Vicki, Vicki. Are you all right?’

David’s voice seemed to be coming from a great distance.

The achebetween my legs – like a terrible period pain – made it hard to think straight.

‘You’re here,’ I murmured, struggling to open my eyes.I was in hospital, judging from the drip in my arm and the white uniforms around me.

‘Are you all right?’

My head hurt. I could barely talk. ‘What happened?’

‘You were attacked. One of the women hit you.’