Page 39 of The Therapist

TWENTY-SIX

Lana

My heart is racing. It’s obviously Sandy in the shed; clearly she’s been locked up here for the last few days and somehow been coerced into making a call to the police.

Or is that what I’m supposed to think? The voice didn’t sound like it was coming from inside the shed but rather somewhere in the garden.

I have no idea what’s going on and right now I am more confused than ever.

What if I’m wrong about everything, and what I thought I understood only hours ago is wrong?

Mike is fumbling with the lock. Is he trying to open it or trying to stop us getting in there?

I hold the gun out towards Mike, my hand trembling even though I’m trying to hold it steady.

Glancing frantically around, I look for Ben because I want to give him the gun.

He’s the one who knows what to do with it.

But he’s not in the garden. He’s probably gone to look after the kids.

That’s good – somebody should. But I wish I’d gone, I wish I had gone to them and Ben was here holding the gun.

‘Are you mad?’ whispers Mike as he twists the dial on the lock. ‘Don’t point that at me. It could go off.’

The sound of scraping metal makes me startle and turn and I look back at the house to see Ben standing by an upstairs window that looks out onto the garden.

He’s opened the window and he can hear and see everything that’s going on.

He doesn’t look worried or even concerned.

He’s just standing there, statue-still, staring down at me and Mike.

‘You need to get her out of there and let her go,’ I say loudly.

‘She’s not…I don’t know how she…’ He keeps turning the dial. ‘I can’t remember.’

‘You’re lying,’ I yell at him. He shakes his head.

Sandy is silent now. ‘Sandy, Sandy,’ I call, ‘I’m here, it’s Lana and I’m coming to help you. We’re here to help you. Are you okay?’ I bang on a cold tin wall, feeling its reverberation through my hand.

But there is no sound from inside the shed and only the sound of the rushing spring wind is in the garden.

‘Sandy, Sandy, can you hear me?’ I pound on the tin wall again.

But all is silent. I step forward and push Mike slightly with one hand.

I have to admit that having the gun makes me feel powerful, not as frightened of his height and his size.

I make sure that Ben can hear me and see what I’m doing.

He needs to be able to tell the police what happened here.

‘What’s the combination?’ I demand and he shakes his head but then he seems to remember.

‘It’s the kids’ birthdays, their dates um…um…twenty-third of the sixth and twenty-ninth of the ninth…two, three, six, two, nine, nine.’

I can’t turn the wheel of the padlock and hold the gun so I step back. ‘Do it,’ I say and he does but the combination doesn’t work.

‘I’m calling the police.’ I glance back to the house as I say it. Ben is still watching me. I had no idea what would happen here tonight and I feel as if I’m making this up as I go along.

I can’t wait anymore and this is not working the way I thought it should. I imagined Sandy would reveal herself, would reveal the game and I would have caught them in the act. I didn’t expect the scream.

Using one hand, I take my phone out of my bag and press triple zero. The police need to be here no matter what happens. Hopefully they can sort out what’s been going on.

‘I’m calling the police, Ben,’ I yell so he knows what I’m doing. I turn quickly and then I see what I’ve been waiting for on Ben’s face.

I see a flicker of panic.

I turn back to Mike, lifting my phone a little so Ben can see me make the call. I look down at the screen.

‘No, Mike, don’t hurt her,’ I hear Ben shout from the window, and I swing around to look at him. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mike move towards me, and without thinking, I squeeze the trigger of the gun.