Free Safe as Houses by Simone van der Vlugt Page A

are we?’
    Lisa feels Anouk tense up next to her.
    â€˜In the basement,’ she says simply. ‘You know, Daddy’s room.’
    â€˜With all that mess.’
    â€˜Yes, but the mess has gone now. I tidied it all up, remember?’
    â€˜I want to phone Daddy,’ Anouk says with her thumb in her mouth.
    â€˜Daddy needs to fix the light. I want to go to my own bed.’
    Lisa sighs gently. ‘Me too, but we can’t, darling.’
    There’s a short silence, then the sound of Anouk’s voice again in the darkness. ‘Is that scary man still there?’
    He’s in my bed, Lisa thinks bitterly, but repliesin a cheerier tone, ‘Yes, but it won’t last much longer.’
    Another silence, then Anouk asks, ‘Is he a child molester, Mummy?’
    Despite everything, Lisa has to laugh. ‘No, he’s not a child molester. But you’re right, he is a strange man. That’s why we have to do exactly what he says; otherwise he’ll get angry.’
    â€˜And then he starts hitting really hard, doesn’t he?’ There’s a concerned tone in Anouk’s voice, and Lisa feels her daughter’s small hand glide over her face. She kisses it and says nothing, afraid her voice will betray her emotions.
    With gentle force, she manages to get Anouk to lie down again; then she pulls the duvet over her shoulders with a nurturing gesture. She curls up against her daughter and sings softly to her until she dozes off. Lisa lies there, sleepless, until the first morning light enters through the tiny window.
    She gets up and makes a thorough inspection of the basement. Just as she’d expected, there’s nothing that she can use as a weapon or to raise the alarm in any way. There’s just an old radio of Mark’s.
    Lisa plugs it in and turns a dial, and to her surprise she hears a noise. Amazingly, it works.
    She searches feverishly for a news programme but gets only adverts. Although she has to wait at least fifteen minutes before the six o’clock newsbegins, there’s something about Kreuger almost as soon as the programme begins.
    A special team from the national police force is working around the clock to track down escaped convict Mick Kreuger. This special unit has been set up in view of the danger the man poses to the community. Yesterday, Kreuger killed two people during his escape, and today it has been made public that he was responsible for the violent murders not only of his ex-wife and her partner, but also of his children .
    Her ear pressed to the radio, Lisa sits down on a stool. She doesn’t dare turn up the volume for fear of waking Anouk or of Kreuger hearing it, but she doesn’t want to miss a word. The newsreader continues without intonation, his voice as neutral as if he were reading a traffic report. The stool seems smaller and smaller, until Lisa almost falls from it and needs to support herself by placing her good hand on the shelving unit.
    My God. He really did murder his wife. And not just her but also his own children. Violently. What does that mean?
    An image of two large hands closing around a child’s throat appears before her eyes. Who would do something like that? What can go so wrong inyour head that you become capable of squeezing the life out of a helpless child?
    Behind her, Anouk mutters in her sleep, and Lisa closes her eyes so as not to be swept away in a wave of despair and helplessness.

16
    A large part of the morning has passed before the key grinds in the lock and the basement door swings open. Lisa and Anouk are sitting side by side, leaning against the wall, the duvets pulled up around them.
    Kreuger looks down on them like a medieval lord and nods at the stairs.
    Lisa stands up stiffly and helps Anouk to her feet. The child is quiet and pale, but not coughing any more. Thank God the antibiotics have started to take effect.
    Maybe Kreuger will leave today, Lisa thinks hopefully. Surely he