He lit another cigarette, drawing on it noisily, but he didn’t bother to answer her. Jessie threw her cigarette butt on to the floor at his feet, getting more worked up.
‘Do you even know who my father is? Don’t you realise exactly who you are dealing with? My father is not a man to try and have over in any way. He is very dangerous if he’s crossed. He will be searching everywhere for me. You better understand that, and stop this before it goes too far.’ She sounded petulant even to her own ears, but she was still reeling from his words. If he hadn’t been in touch with anyone, how was she ever to escape? How could anyone find her? If this wasn’t about money, about shaking down her old man, then what the hell did this fucking nutbag want with her?
The man settled himself on the end of the bed and, shrugging gently, he looked at her frightened face, and he said seriously, ‘This isn’t about you, Jessie. It never was. This is about your father. Michael Flynn. This is about payback. This is about reminding him that the past is always there, no matter how much he might have tried to forget about it. I certainly haven’t. When I finally decide to deliver you to your parents, young lady, you will be as dead as a fucking doornail. That was always the plan.’
‘But why? What have I ever done to you?’ Jessie was sobbing now.
He laughed again, as if she was amusing him. ‘You? You’ve never done anything to me, you silly girl. Like I said, this is not about you.’ He stood up abruptly. ‘By the way, I’m not going to be bringing you food any more. I think it’s only fair to tell you that. You deserve that much from me, Jessie. You deserve to be treated decently. It’s all in the Bible. John chapter eight, verse thirty-two: then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Never forget that, Jessie Flynn – it’s a statement of fact. The truth is important, the truth is worth dying for.’
Jessie shouted angrily, ‘But I don’t want to fucking die! I have a little boy. He needs me.’
The man smiled once again. ‘You see? You’re lying again. It’s the truth you need to hang on to, Jessie. You’re just a fucking trollop. Your little boy is being brought up by your mum and dad. Everyone knows what a fucking piece of shit you are. I’ve done my homework, Jessie Flynn.’
Jessie was unable to answer the man; he was without reason. There was nothing she could do to make him listen to her.
The man looked at her sadly. ‘I wasn’t going to tell you this, but I think you need to know the truth, Jessie. I sent your mother a number to ring me on – that was last week. I was going to torture her, to be honest. I had no intention of ever letting you leave here. But do you know something? She didn’t even call me. Three thirty that day, there I was, ready and waiting, and nothing – not a fucking peep. That is a truth you need to acknowledge. I gave her that one chance, a chance to contact you. Your mother didn’t even bother herself. Now your dad, on the other hand, from what I can gather, has been looking for you all over. There’s even a fifty grand reward for information about your whereabouts. See what I’m saying? The truth will set you free, Jessie.’
She watched him as he walked away from her, and she knew that she was without hope. She was bloodied and bleeding and this man didn’t care. She was nothing to him, her suffering meant nothing to him. She heard the door slam, and the scraping noise as he pulled the bolts into place, and she wondered if this was it for her. Was this how she was going to die, alone and frightened, starved to death, and without ever having the chance to tell her little son how much she had really loved him?
Chapter One Hundred
and Eighteen
‘With respect, Josephine, do you really believe for a fucking moment that I haven’t been searching high and low for Jessie? No one knows a fucking thing. Not the Filth, not our workers. It’s fucking outrageous.’