Page 133 of Worse Than Murder

Upstairs, Sally is comforting Carl as he’s in tears, gripping hold of the one Woody he had left. He didn’t notice the other run down the stairs until it was too late. He begged and pleaded with his mother to let him go after him, but she refused.

Adele runs into the en suite, grabs as many towels as she can, soaks them in cold water from the shower and places them in front of the closed bedroom door. The room is cloudy with smoke, but they’re still able to breathe. Just.

Adele goes over to the window and throws it open. She takes in great lungfuls of fresh, clean air and hopes Matilda and Philip have managed to get out. While at the bedroom door, all she could hear were the sounds of exploding bottles and the fire eating away at everything it touched. She looks down at the drop below and straight away dismisses jumping. It’s too far. She strains, over the sounds of the fire below, to listen out for any sirens, but can’t hear any. She turns back and looks at Carl and Sally, holding each other for support. She squats down beside them, wraps her arms around both of them, feels the cold wet nose of Woody on her arm, and closes her eyes.

Tania Pritchard can’t sleep. Her mind is working overtime and won’t switch off for some reason. She throws the sheets back and climbs out of bed. She thinks better while she’s drawing on a cigarette. That’s her reason for never giving up, anyway. She vapes, occasionally, but nothing beats the real thing. Vaping is like having vegan mayonnaise. It makes no sense.

She goes downstairs and picks up a packet of cigarettes from the coffee table, lights one and feels her entire body instantly relax as the nicotine hits.

Glancing to her right, she can see daylight through the thin curtains. She looks at her watch. Surely, it’s too early for sunrise. She peels back the curtain and sees an orange glow in the distance. That’s not the sun. That’s fire. And the only thing she knows in that direction is Nature’s Diner.

Stubbing out her fag, she takes the stairs two at a time and pulls off her nightie while scouring the floor looking for the clothes she discarded last night.

She runs to her shitty Punto, climbs in, turns on the engine and slams her foot down hard on the accelerator. This is where her erratic driving pays off.

* * *

Philip uses the fire extinguisher to smash the padlock on the garage. He pulls back the door and we run inside for the aluminium ladder. We grab it and run back to the restaurant, Woody following. Philip slows as he looks up and watches as his restaurant burns around him.

We prop the ladder against the end wall. It’s too short and doesn’t quite reach the open window to Philip and Sally’s bedroom.

‘Is this the longest ladder you’ve got?’

‘Yes.’

‘They’re not going to be able to reach from there.’

‘Shit.’

‘Hold onto the bottom,’ I say as I start to climb.

‘What are you going to do?’

‘Something incredibly stupid. Just make sure it’s stable.’

‘Shouldn’t I go up?’

‘I’m lighter than you.’

I call out for Adele as I make my way up the rickety ladder. It’s strange how an emergency stops us thinking about our own personal problems. I should be cowering in a corner right now, rocking back and forth, crying like a baby at the prospect of losing more people I care about. I’m not. I’ve jumped straight into action to help them, to save them. This is my police training. It’s engrained within me. I can’t sit back and watch disaster unfold around me. I have to help.

‘Adele!’ I scream again as I reach the top of the ladder.

Adele pokes her head out of the window, looking relieved to see me.

‘Are you all okay?’ I ask.

‘Carl’s worried about Woody.’

‘He’s fine. He showed us the way out. He’s down here.’

‘Carl, did you hear that?’ Adele turns back into the room.

Carl appears at the window and looks down. Woody, on the ground, barks and wags his tail as he sees Carl looking down at him.

‘Adele, this is longest ladder we’ve got. It won’t reach the window. You’re going to have to back out and lower yourself down to the top rung. I’ll guide you.’

‘Shit,’ she says.