by Peter Martin
The old man giggled helplessly as if Delia had been forbidden fruit he’d eaten.
‘Very nice, very nice indeed,’ he said smirking. ‘And what a great body. I congratulate you on your choice of woman, son.’
Up until now, Garry had been smouldering inside. Now like a volcano he finally flipped. He rushed at Sir Edward with his fists clenched ready to hit him, but the two men standing within the door jamb rushed forward, and held him back preventing him from lashing out at the old man.
The fact that Garry couldn’t get to him despite a desperate effort to get free seemed to delight Sir Edward; his shoulders shook with laughter and he didn’t look the least bit concerned. Causing Garry to use the only weapon he had left at his disposal, to spit right in the old man’s face. Sir Edward was momentarily silenced before wiping the gob from his cheek but then laughed evilly.
‘You’ll regret you did that, son. Delia is so lovely in or out of clothes – and that’s a nice little birthmark she has on her left breast. And then there’s the beautiful Cassie - why she’s something else. Such a ripe young body – that’s what an old man’s dreams are made of.’
‘You so much as lay a finger on either of them again, and I’ll kill you,’ Garry warned.
‘Sadly for you, young man, you’ll never get that chance. But you know, I’ve always had a way with the ladies, son, ever since I got into films, more years ago than I care to remember. For me, sex was the easiest thing in the world, and I guess you’d be the same, wouldn’t you? But there’s only ever been one person I loved, and that was your mother. It started when she was very young, hardly a woman herself.’ He stopped here and began to giggle, confirming in Garry’s opinion, the man was deranged, and it wasn’t due to old age either. ‘Lena’s mother never understood how it is in the film business, and when she caught me in bed with a friend, she banned me from her bedroom, the bitch. Treated me like dirt under her feet, over one silly mistake, and then she got cancer and put us through hell for a year or more. But when she died, your mother was there to support me, give me the love I needed. No wonder we fell in love – although I didn’t expect you to be the end result.’
Garry felt sick; his stomach heaved just at the thought of it. ‘Well let’s just get one thing straight, you’ve got that wrong, I’m not like you, you pervert.’ Then turning to Lena he said ‘And I’m not like you either. I can’t believe you did that with him.’
‘You’d never understand, no one would,’ Lena said. ‘I didn’t know what getting pregnant was at the time, I’d only recently started having periods and then not regularly. When it finally dawned on me, it was too late to do anything about it. Thank God dad was there for me. If this had got out, my whole life would have been ruined. That’s why when your mum and dad came on the scene, it was such a blessing to me.’
‘My heart bleeds for you, Lena? After all, we can’t have your career suffering, now can we? – not when you consider how little money you’ve made over the years,’ Garry said with a sneer.
But she continued oblivious to Garry’s remark. ‘You may think what we did was dirty and perverted. Well, let me assure you it was beautiful. It emerged out of the pain and hurt that was around both of us at the time - a miracle.
‘Mum and I were best of friends, more like sisters than mother and daughter. And it was as dad says, mum reached a point where she wouldn’t even sleep in the same room as him. Nonetheless, we were both devastated when she died and that’s how it really came about, we consoled each other in our grief. I was only thirteen then, but amid all those emotions, it just happened.
‘So you see if any of this came out now, they’d crucify us – dad would be sent to jail, and my career and reputation would be in ruins.’
Garry listened to her pathetic excuses. What good would it do to voice an opinion he thought?
‘Maybe now you know why I won’t allow any of you to leave. You should have left well alone in the beginning while you still could. You had her money, my money, didn’t you? What more did you need? Now thanks to your silly adoptive mother, and your own persistence in trying to find me, you’ve given me no choice. My little secret would have remained that way forever. Whatever happens, now is your fault,’ she said looking at Garry. ‘You’re both coming with me.’
As there was little he could do, Garry felt vulnerable. He just wanted to take Delia and the rest of his family away from here and never come back. He didn’t even want to think about this place, let alone talk to anyone in the media. But he dreaded to think what she had in store for them.
‘And if you don’t behave yourself, I’ll let dad loose on Delia again, or even better on young voluptuous Cassie. The younger the better he says. He’s always had this terrible weakness for female flesh, more so when he was young and famous; we used to go to all sorts of lengths to cover it up. Well perhaps now there’s no need since here he has it on tap and will never be found out.’
Garry glared angrily first at Lena, then his so-called father, or would that be grandfather, as either fitted the bill. He’d got the urge to strangle the dirty old man given half a chance, although he doubted he’d get that opportunity. But unable to keep his mouth shut he said, ‘You’ll regret this. What you’re doing to my family. All of your lives, both of you have conspired to pay people to do your dirty work and keep quiet. You got rid of me, bribed just about everyone, and somehow or other not only managed to get me a fake birth certificate but at the same time all hospital records, newspaper reports, everything - vanished.’
However, Garry’s outburst was ignored, the two men gripped his arms tighter as he tried again to break free. He cried out in frustration asking them to let him go, but no one listened, and was dragged across the bedroom floor and out on to the landing, all the time shouting and trying to free himself. A subdued Delia followed closely behind, flanked by Sir Edward and two more men.
As they were manhandled downstairs, Garry glanced across at Delia, now sobbing quietly. He feared she’d never forgive him for all this, he’d been far too trusting and gullible, but no one could have foreseen what was happening now.
Downstairs, they were taken from the hall through to the back of the kitchen. There, one of the men rushed forward, taking an implement from the corner of the room to open a hatchway in the floor. They were then pushed down a flight of about twelve steps into a cold dimly lit cellar. From what Garry could see, shelving units laden with food ran along the walls on both sides of the room and here and there were sacks of vegetables and fruit. In the far right-hand corner stood an immense wine rack filled from floor to ceiling with bottles, cobwebbed and dusty. But they were led to the opposite corner and once again pushed through a door down a set of stone steps into a corridor, where the temperature was noticeably colder. Then a strip light flashed on to reveal a row of doors. Delia glanced at Garry with concern, and he tried to smile back but realised it would be of little comfort to her. She looked as frightened as he felt.
He guessed this would be their new home from now on and hoped beyond hope they were in the same cell.
Lena produced a bunch of keys opening the first door on her right. First Garry and then Delia were pushed unceremoniously into the room, without a word being spoken. Then the door clanged shut, and the key turned noisily in the lock.
The inhospitable, windowless room of about twelve feet square held a single bed with one blanket, a small table and two chairs, and a sink and toilet. Finally, the lights were turned off, presumably by Lena in the corridor.
Would this be their own private prison cell for the rest of their lives? Only time would tell, their only consolation being they were together.
Chapter Twenty-One
Garry sat down on the hard narrow bed, unable to grasp the enormity of their current situation. If such a thing as a madhouse existed, this was it. Everything that had happened tonight was unbelievable, in fact, it was futile even to try to get his head round what was going on, but he must never give up hope of getting out of here and going
home.
He held out a hand to Delia, still horrified by her frightened and bedraggled appearance. She sat a little way from him, crying, hugging herself tight, as if to keep the world at bay and totally ignored his offer. He desperately wanted to take her in his arms, but this wasn’t the right time. His whole family were now caught up in this vile charade, and in mortal danger - and it was all down to him.
For the time being he let her be, she’d come round, given time, and depending on what happened to them. For now, he pondered over their future – what did it hold? Life or death? Would life here in captivity be better than dying? Then he tried to dismiss all such thoughts; he didn’t have the answer at the minute to any of them, but he would find a way to get out of here if only for Adam’s sake.
After a while, Delia stopped crying and wiped her eyes. As she breathed in deeply, her whole body trembled. Garry’s heart bled for her, wishing he had the power to take on her troubles.
He’d noticed earlier the CCTV camera peering down from a great height and now he had a strong urge to smash the thing to smithereens, but the camera was impossible to reach. This was a total invasion of their privacy. However, it did afford the faintest shadowy light to the room. He guessed someone would be watching their every move, which led him to the question uppermost in his mind, as he looked at Delia once again, and finally asked, ‘Did he rape you, Deel?’
‘What do you think?’ She replied. ‘Not exactly he didn’t, but he would have done if he’d been capable. If you want to know the gory details, he touched me everywhere with his horrible grubby hands – you can’t imagine the humiliation. Your father, Sir high and bloody mighty Edward Matthews, that supposedly great actor, sexually assaulted me – now isn’t that a great claim to fame? I’ve been wondering if he had succeeded in raping me and I’d gotten pregnant, just what relation would his baby have been to you, Garry?’
‘I can’t say, and I don’t want to even consider it, or think about him, putting his hands on you. Nothing would please me more than placing a gun to his head for what he’s done to you – father or no father.’
‘How jolly decent of you,’ she said scornfully, ‘But it’s too late for that. We’re all going to die, or at the very least be imprisoned here for the rest of our lives – and you are to blame.’
Garry winced, looking at her anxiously. ‘Don’t you think I know that? It’s my fault, I admit it, but having a go at me won’t change things, will it? I’ll do my best to get us out of here somehow – as soon as I get the chance.’
‘And how are you going to do that? Maybe you should dig us a tunnel like they did in Colditz,’ she said, giving him a dirty look.
‘Come on Deel, don’t be like that. Don’t worry I’ll think of something.’ he said brusquely.
‘Oh sure, you will. Why don’t you speak to your darling mother? Maybe offer to sleep with her, seeing as she seems so keen on incest.’
Garry scowled, ignoring Delia’s last remark. He stared down at the floor of this prison cell, fully aware of what Delia was getting at. If only they were able to escape, things between them might be different. But for now, they’d be confined for as long as Lena deemed it necessary and nothing anyone could say would alter that.
<><><>
The time passed slowly, and no one came. Both Garry and Delia were hungry, and already they’d had the humiliation of using the toilet in the same room together, with a camera pointing down at them. They’d also had to wash in sight of the camera.
Garry hated every minute but Delia must have suffered far worse, having already endured something similar on her own for several days. He found it difficult to come to terms with their predicament; the only positive being they were still alive.
Later, they lay together barely touching each other on the narrow bed. After much fidgeting Delia finally went to sleep; Garry too began to feel sleepy but as he was about to drop off, he thought he heard a key turning in the door. His hopes rose, and he moved towards the door. But it didn’t open instead, a small flap at the bottom snapped open, and a plastic box was pushed through, then the flap slammed shut again.
‘Hey!’ Garry shouted, but whoever it was had gone. He swore under his breath.
The commotion woke Delia who looked up to see Garry put the plastic box on the table.
‘I think you’ll find there’s food and drink in that box,’ he told Delia.
‘Well, thank God for that – for a time there I thought they were trying to starve us to death.’ Delia took a sandwich.
‘Things are looking up.’
‘I wouldn’t bank on it if I were you.’ She said devouring the food.
Garry ignored her pessimism, saying, ‘Surely she’ll come to her senses? And she may as well let us have the run of the place – I mean, how would we get away from here with that huge fence surrounding the house, and the jungle beyond?’
‘Í agree with what you’ve said, Garry. But don’t forget she’s slept with her father and doesn’t see she’s done any wrong. So she may not ‘come to her senses’ as you say. But from what I’ve seen of her, and more particularly her father, they appear to flout the law with impunity.’
Delia had said more in the last two minutes than she had in the last twenty-four hours. He half-smiled, saying, ‘If only we could get out of this room, we might stand a chance. We could steal a car and drive through the fence and then get to Whitehaven. From there it’d be a piece of cake. There has to be a boat or an airstrip or something...’
‘Oh sure. This isn’t cops and robbers, Garry. We’re not going to get that chance – are we? And if we provoke Lena further, she’ll make life even more difficult for us. She might split us up, and I don’t want to be left on my own again,’ she shuddered.
‘Don’t worry, I won’t do anything rash. But I have to do something, no matter how impossible it seems.’
‘But what?’
‘I wish I knew. But we should never give up hope either – it’s the only way to keep our sanity.’
Delia sighed loudly – she’d been through so much here and on her own, Garry knew. It must seem impossible for her to believe they’d ever go back to living a normal life. And he admitted it wouldn’t be easy, but he didn’t intend to just lie down and die. If the opportunity came to escape, he intended to be ready.
Before long, most of the food had been eaten as they were both famished. In the darkness of the room, they lay down again. This time, she allowed him to hold her, wanting comfort it seemed from the situation they were in.
<><><>
Garry assumed it must be daytime when they woke as the light was back on. They sat in silence and ate the remains of the food and drink from the night before, each locked in their own thoughts. As time passed the boredom and anxiety became intolerable. Garry feared one or other of them would soon be close to breaking point.
The days that followed were spent in exactly the same way - eat, drink, wash, toilet, sleep, only talking occasionally, but then as they were not seeing anyone or doing anything there was little to discuss. And apart from someone bringing food, it felt as if they’d been forgotten. In addition, the lack of a change of clothes, often caused Delia to shed a few tears. And although they washed both their hair and body regularly, with the soap provided, they both longed for a warm shower.
Garry always tried to reassure Delia that eventually an opportunity would arise, even though it was a long shot. But when an opportunity did come, it was quite unexpected. Lying squashed together on the single bed, Garry heard a slight shuffling noise outside their door, which he took to be the delivery of food. The lights had already been turned off and in the shadowy darkness, even the light from the CCTV camera wouldn’t allow him to see the door. He waited for the sound of the flap at the bottom of the door to open and bang shut – but it didn’t. Instead, the key clicked in the door lock. He nudged Delia to alert her, and they both stared into the darkness. Perhaps at last Lena had seen the error of her ways and was about to set them free.
&n
bsp; He got up, this was what he’d been waiting for, and gently pulled Delia’s arm to encourage her to follow, hoping to surprise their visitor. He moved over in the direction of the door and was about to put his hand on the door handle when they were stopped in their tracks by a female voice whispering, ‘Garry, Delia – please listen, I’m here to help you.’
‘What!’ Garry muttered, not recognising the voice straight away.
‘It’s me, Charlene - I’ve come to take you out of here,’ she said, her hand reaching out for them to touch.
‘You expect me to trust you after what’s gone on? This has to be a trap, and besides you’re on Lena’s payroll,’ Garry said, indignantly.
‘Shush, do you want everyone to hear? This has nothing to do with Lena. I’ll explain it to you later. Now I’m telling you, either you trust me or risk being stuck here forever or even worse, who knows what? Hurry, come with me before it’s too late,’ she urged them.
‘Why would you want to help us, Charlene? Why stick your neck out for one crummy family who mean nothing to you?’ Delia asked.
‘Because she’s treating you like wild animals. It’s wrong even if she is trying to protect herself. Now please, we have to go right away, so less of the talking.’
Garry wasn’t sure; remembering the night of the shindig, but he decided even in the worst-case scenario they’d have a better chance outside of this room. Anything was better than rotting in this cell.
Out in the passageway, their eyes grew accustomed to the dim lights above them. There at the end of the corridor stood, Tom, Jane, Cassie, Chris and little Adam. They all hugged and kissed each other with much relief.
‘Oh thank God,’ Delia whispered under her breath.
Garry’s face was so full of emotion, as he tried to encompass the entire family into his arms.
‘All right everybody, that’s enough – time to go,’ Charlene urged them. ‘If you’re serious about getting out of here, I suggest we hurry up, and please no talking.’