Mother Knows Best (Novella): A Psychological Thriller Novella Read online

  She shook her head.

  “Suit yourself.”

  He allowed his eyes to travel up and down her body once again.

  “Please, please—let me go,” Ruby begged, totally exhausted.

  “Shhh.”

  Steve flashed hard eyes towards her. His demeanour seemed different from earlier.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, I want to love you.” He ran a hand down her side, over her waist and hip, to her knee. Then he slowly lifted the hem of her dress and traced the outline of her underwear with his fingertips, sucking in air between pursed lips.

  Ruby whimpered again as tears ran down her face. She held herself rigid. Silent prayers filled her head, wishing for someone or something to intervene.

  Once again, Steve placed the bottle down. He leaned forwards and unfastened the top button of her dress exposing her small breasts encased in the simple lacy bra. He gasped. “You are totally perfect.”

  Reaching for the bottle, he took another swig. “I suggest you get some shut-eye, my dear. We both should.” Steve got to his feet and produced a roll of tape from his jacket pocket. He tore off a strip.

  Ruby tried to wriggle away as he bent forward again, but the struggle was useless.

  He placed the tape firmly across her mouth.

  A loud, inarticulate sound escaped her. She thought she might pass out as in her panic she struggled to breathe through her nose.

  “Sorry, sweetie. It’s not that I think anyone will hear you—you’ve seen there’re no neighbours, but I need some sleep and I won’t get that if you’re wailing all night.”

  She made a louder, angrier protest, but he ignored her.

  “Sleep tight, Ruby.” He switched the light off and left, closing the door behind him.

  Sobs ripped through her and made it even harder to take a deep breath.

  How the hell did she get herself into this? She’d always been so careful. But Cody had seemed sweet and sensitive—his dad too. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

  Now Cody had gone to sort her mother out, so Steve said. What the hell was that all about? Her mother was her only hope. Ruby had been relying on her mother’s over-the-top protectiveness to alert the police when she hadn’t returned home. Now she wasn’t so sure.

  Shivering, she tried to use her knees to flick her dress back down, but she couldn’t. She figured the cold was the least of her worries right now.

  Chapter 10

  Cody couldn’t sleep. Kath snored softly beside him in his double bed, her head on his arm. He shuddered. She wasn’t his type—much too forward and sexually aware for his liking. However, he planned to keep her around for the rest of the night and most of tomorrow if he got his way. So he needed to keep her sweet.

  He eased his arm out from under her and swung his feet out of bed, sitting on the edge. He wanted to call his dad to make sure everything was okay, but most of all to make sure his father had managed to keep his hands off Ruby. However, he would have a job explaining a call to his father at 3am while a hot and wanton hussy lay in his bed. No—he needed to be patient.

  He thought back to the first girl he took home to his father—a French back-packer called Simone. He met her on the beach after she’d hitchhiked to the Welsh coast from the channel tunnel. He’d convinced her to go home with him, offering her room and board for a few odd jobs. She never even flinched when she realised the jobs they required of her were of a sexual nature.

  After one rampant night, she left without a word, leaving behind one of her bags in Cody’s car.

  Cody felt sorry for his dad, he hadn’t got over his wife vanishing—none of them had. But he never left the house anymore, never walking any further than the car and back. He hated open spaces and consequently, had never met any other women in years. Bringing women home seemed the only solution.

  After the French girl, they began advertising in magazines—room and board in return for chores. They got a number of girls that way—always turning the males away. They were never disappointed, until the girls got tired of the strange set-up, of course, and decided to leave. They always left without a word in the middle of the night.

  That’s when they decided to find a girl to keep.

  Felicity Crew had been perfect—she had a sweet innocence about her that he and his dad both liked. When he met her on the coast road, her car wouldn’t start. The area was a notorious black spot for mobile phones and so convincing her to get into his car had been a doddle.

  They’d already set up the room off the garage by then and managed to spend two wonderful nights with her, when suddenly, she vanished.

  Cody blamed his dad for not fastening the ties tight enough. But the strange thing was Felicity never made it home. They spent night after night expecting the police to raid their place but nothing. Felicity’s image remained all over town on billboards and in local newspapers—her disappearance a total mystery.

  Ruby was only their second guest—he thought of them as guests, not victims. She would be treated well, like any other guest would be, the only difference being, she wasn’t allowed to leave.

  Why did women always leave?

  “Come back to bed,” Kath groaned, reaching for him.

  “In a minute.” He unhooked her hand from his arm and placed it back under the duvet. “Shhh, go to sleep,” he whispered.

  He took a cigarette out of the packet she’d left on the bedside table and lit it, taking a deep drag. The room was briefly illuminated in an orange glow. He didn’t smoke all the time, just when he was stressed.

  His mind raced. If he was going to pull this off, he needed to keep his cool.

  Chapter 11

  Ruby cried with relief when Steve arrived the next morning. She made urgent sounds as she writhed on the bed.

  “Hey, hey,” he said, placing a tray down on the floor. He tore the tape off her face in one fluid movement.

  “I need the toilet!” she gasped.

  “Oh shit! I didn’t think about that,” he said. “Hang on.”

  He left, reappearing moments later with a pair of scissors. “Now, if I release you, you’re not going to try anything stupid, are you?”

  “No! Please hurry, I need to pee.”

  “Alright, keep your hair on.” He cut through the plastic ties and grasped Ruby’s upper arm as she got to her feet. “Now the bathroom is inside the house and upstairs. If there’s any funny business, I’ll bring a bucket in here and that will be where you’ll do your business from now on. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Ruby said, rubbing at her wrists.

  He led her indoors. The house stank of burnt toast.

  At the top of the stairs, Steve pointed to a door on the left. “Leave the door open. I’ll wait here.”

  Ruby didn’t care about the open door at that point, she just needed to empty her bladder.

  No sooner had she finished wiping herself when Steve stepped into the room.

  “Do you mind?” Ruby said, pulling her underwear up and straightening her dress.

  “Come on.” He seemed agitated.

  “Can I wash my hands, please?”

  “If you’re quick.”

  Ruby scanned the bathroom, trying to find something she could palm and use as a weapon later, but squirty soap was the only thing on the sink. Her reflection startled her—streaks of black mascara were all down her face and her was hair wild and matted.

  “Come on, come on,” Steve said, an impatient tone to his voice. He grabbed her upper arm once again before she had chance to dry her hands.

  In panic mode, not wanting to go back into the cold white room, she resisted and struggled, but was surprised by Steve’s strength. She eventually allowed him to bundle her back down the stairs while she scoured every surface with her eyes looking for something she could use as a weapon. There was nothing.

  She knew she needed to keep her wits about her if she had any chance of escape. Back in the hateful room, she once again pushed against Steve.

  “Please, I
can’t bear to be tied up again, can’t you just …?”

  “No-can-do, I’m afraid, love. But I’ll make a deal with you.”

  Trembling, Ruby nodded.

  “If you promise to behave, I’ll just tie one wrist while you eat your breakfast.”

  Ruby was willing to agree to almost anything in order to prevent being fastened down again. “Okay—okay,” she said, suddenly breathless.

  He eased her down onto the mattress. “Hand,” he said, picking up the chain and feeding a tie through it.

  “Steve, I …”

  “Hand.” He gripped her right hand and with deft fingers, managed to secure her in seconds. “Okidoke, my girl. Eat up.” He lifted the tray onto the bed beside her.

  She turned her head away, but not before she spotted the plate of yummy food. There was bacon, sausage, egg and mushrooms. Much to Ruby’s disgust her stomach betrayed her with a loud growl. She was starving and the sausage did look delicious.

  “Go on,” Steve urged as he saw her take another quick glance at the plate.

  She picked up the sausage with her fingers and bit. Wanting to hate it—to spit it back onto the plate, but she couldn’t. It was the nicest sausage she’d ever tasted and she devoured the lot in a few bites.

  “That-a-girl. Go on, eat up. Now while you’re finishing that little lot, I’ll get you a drink. Tea? Coffee?”

  “Coffee.”

  “Sugar?”

  “Just milk, please.” Ruby eyed him as he left the room. She was puzzled by his treatment of her. Apart from the strange cuddle, Steve had been kind—caring even. Maybe all that would change once Cody returned.

  After a few seconds, Ruby snatched up the fork and stuck it down the side of the plastic tie and twisted. The tie didn’t budge except to dig into her sore wrist. She tried several times until she heard Steve’s shuffling footsteps. She stabbed a rasher of bacon and held it to her mouth as he entered.

  “One cup of coffee.” He held a cup towards her.

  Ruby placed the fork back onto the plate and took the cup from him. “Thanks.”

  She wished she could throw the hot liquid into his face like they did in the movies, but she couldn’t wilfully injure another person, regardless of what he intended to do to her. And besides, there was still a chance she could talk him round, convince him to let her go.

  They sat in silence as she drank, Steve beside her on the bed.

  She emptied the last of the delicious coffee and handed him the cup.

  “Finished?” He got to his feet and reached for her other wrist.

  “No—not yet.” She lifted her arm away and grabbed a triangle of toast off the plate.

  He sat back down.

  “You’re a good cook.” She smiled, trying her best to appear sweet and grateful. Despite the fact that she still had mascara down her cheeks and probably looked more like a lunatic.

  “That’s good. I like a girl with an appetite. Karen had a good appetite but never seemed to put on an ounce of weight.”

  “Karen—was that your wife?”

  Steve sighed. “Yes, my beautiful wife.”

  “Cody told me what happened. That must have been terrible for you.”

  Steve focused on a fleck of white fluff on the sleeve of his navy-blue sweatshirt. “You have no idea. Not a day goes by I don’t think about her.”

  “I can’t begin to imagine what it felt like. The not knowing alone must be terrible.”

  He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “I loved her so much,” he whispered.

  Ruby picked up the fork and flicked the bacon off, before sliding it into the tied hand, hiding the handle under her arm. “I know you did,” she said, softly. “What do you think happened to her?”

  He shrugged and shook his head. “The last time I saw her was when I left to take Cody to school, he was only doing mornings at the time. Kyle came with us to give Karen a break. As she waved us off, I remember thinking how lovely she was in her bright pink blouse and blue jeans. When I got back, she’d gone.”

  Ruby gasped, encouraging Steve on.

  “I didn’t think much of it at the time—just thought she must have popped out for something. She kept her car in the garage.” He glanced around. “This room actually. But I didn’t think to check. When she didn’t return by lunch time, I collected Cody from school and we drove around looking for her car. I thought she must have broken down somewhere.” He glanced at Ruby. “You see, it wasn’t like nowadays. Nobody owned mobile phones back then.”

  “No, of course.”

  “Anyway, when I didn’t find her, I called into the police station to report her missing. It wasn’t until I got back home I realised her car was in the garage all along. I panicked then—knew something awful had happened.”

  He rubbed his eyes.

  “The police thought she’d left me—blamed me for being the reason she’d run away. They searched the house. What they thought they might find was anybody’s guess, but they didn’t find a thing. Karen had vanished with no money, no car and only the clothes she stood up in.”

  He pinched in between his eyebrows—his eyes shut tight as though in great pain.

  “Are you okay, Steve?”

  “Yes.” He shook himself as though just realising where he was and glanced at his watch. “Have you seen the time, I’d best get cleaned up. Cody might be back soon.”

  Her stomach dropped.

  He pulled a handful of plastic ties from his pocket.

  “Please don’t tie my other arm and legs. It’s not as if I can go anywhere and I promise I won’t make a sound.”

  He cocked his head to one side as he considered her question. “Are you sure I can trust you?”

  “I swear—I won’t try anything.”

  “Any funny business and that’s it.” He picked up the tray. “I’ll be back shortly.” He headed for the door, then stopped and turned back to face her, holding the tray towards her.

  “I’ve finished thanks.”

  He nodded. “Fork, please.”

  Ruby gave him a worried smile. “Sorry.” She pulled out the fork and placed it onto the tray.

  That-a-girl,” he said before leaving.

  Chapter 12

  Cody and Kath slept until eleven. After another wild sex session, he made her breakfast in bed. Nothing Jamie Oliver would write home about—just poached eggs on toast, but you’d have thought he laid the eggs himself by the way Kath carried on.

  While he was in the kitchen Cody called Ruby’s mobile leaving a message asking her to call him—mentioning their amazing date. Then he sent two text messages saying pretty much the same. He wanted to appear keen to whoever read them but not come across as a stalker.

  He didn’t have to wait long for a response. His phone began ringing halfway through breakfast. He apologised to Kath and left the bedroom. Once in the bathroom, he braced himself before answering.

  “Ruby, thank God. I was beginning to think you were avoiding my calls.” He laughed.

  “Hello is this Cody?” the irate caller said.

  “Yes—who are you?” The laughter suddenly dropped from his voice.

  “I’m Ruby’s mother, Sharon. Do you know where she is?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “She’s gone—Ruby—she’s gone.”

  “Gone? What do you mean gone?”

  “What do you think I mean? She’s not here. She’s vanished. What time did you drop her off at home?”

  “It was late. After midnight, maybe.”

  “Did you spend the night?”

  “No. I dropped her off at the door, thank you very much.”

  “Well, she’s not here now.”

  “Hang on—I’ll come over.”

  Cody raced back into the bedroom and grabbed his jacket and keys. “Sorry, babe, but I’ve got an emergency. Leave your phone number and I’ll call you later.” He kissed her upturned cheek.

  “I could wait?”

  “I might be a while, but suit yourself.
”

  He descended the stairs in three leaps and ran out to his car. It wasn’t there. He slapped the heel of his hand against his forehead. He’d left it outside the bar last night. He set off at a sprint to collect his car.

  Ten minutes later, he parked his car outside Ruby’s house and was greeted at the door by a younger version of Ruby. She had the same long brown hair and peach coloured skin.

  “Hi, are you Cody?” the girl said, holding her hand out towards him. “I’m Scarlett—Ruby’s sister.”

  “Has she turned up yet?” Cody asked.

  “No—it’s so strange. She never goes anywhere without her phone.”

  “Maybe she just forgot to pick it up. Have you checked around her friends?”

  “Mum’s calling them now. Come on in, she’ll want to talk to you. But be warned, she trusts nobody.” Scarlett raised her eyebrows comically.

  Taking a deep breath, Cody followed Scarlett into the house.

  A short, dark-haired woman had her back to them as they entered the lounge. She had a phone to her ear.

  “I’ll have to go, Melissa. Let me know if you hear from her … I will do, thanks, love.”

  The woman turned. “Ah, you must be Cody.”

  Cody nodded, his throat suddenly bone dry, and he couldn’t swallow. He could feel his Adam’s apple jumping in his throat.

  “I’m Sharon, we spoke on the phone. Come in, sit down.”

  He sat on the lounge chair and Sharon perched on the arm of the sofa. Scarlett still hovered in the doorway.

  “Scar—can you let Baxter in. I put him in the backyard to do his business,” Sharon said.

  Scarlett left. Sharon turned to him and in hushed tones said, “I’m worried, Cody. I’ve called the police and they said they’d send someone round. They didn’t seem too concerned, but I am. I know my daughter and this just isn’t like her.”

  “Could she be off visiting a friend?”

  “No. I’ve called all her friends, and anyway, she knew we were coming. We walk to the market on a Saturday together—we’ve done it for years.” She rubbed at her face and eyes. “Tell me, son. What happened last night?”