Laura looked at the floor for a second, deciding what to do. She was on her own, but she knew that time was important. Then she looked along the wall again and saw something. It was an old door, propped against a window opening, just along from the van, but the window didn’t have the usual metal plate over it. It looked like there might be a way into the building.

Laura walked slowly towards it, checking behind her as she went, her back still against the wall.

The door was old and splintered. When Laura moved it back, she was able to look behind it and into the gloom of the factory. She had to let her eyes adjust, some light crept in from behind her, but it was still mostly dark, starting to match the evening outside, but she could tell that the building was huge and empty. Her efforts with the door seemed to echo inside. There were rectangular outlines of light along the walls, the remnants of the day trying to creep in around the metal plates opposite, and the holes in the roof let in straight beams of light that caught the dust thrown up by the movement of the door.

Then she heard something again. It was the sound of movement, scuffling on the floor, then a muffled shout. No, not a shout. A muffled scream.

Laura scrambled over the wide stone sill to get inside and looked along the walls to make sure that no one was waiting for her.

‘Hey, who’s there?’ she shouted. It echoed back. She took her phone out of her pocket.

The muffled screams started up again, the sounds of a struggle, feet kicking on the floor. Then there was movement further into the building, towards the wall at the other end. Someone was crouching down, and there was motion, a flurry.

‘Stop it!’ Laura shouted, and began to run in the direction of the movement. The floor was covered in debris and loose cables, with metal brackets sticking up, but Laura knew that she couldn’t afford to tiptoe her way through. She jabbed 999 on her phone and shouted out where she was when the phone was answered.

It got darker as she got further in, but when she got within twenty yards of the shape, she saw that whoever was on the floor was struggling, the legs kicking up.

Laura shouted again, and then she saw a shadow get bigger and turn towards her.

It was a man, she could tell that from the height, and as Laura’s eyes shot back to the floor, she saw that there was still someone there. The remnants of light that streamed in through a hole in the roof shone back off bare skin. There were more muffled shouts, and as Laura processed what she could see, she knew that it was Rachel on the floor.

‘It’s over!’ Laura shouted, stepping closer. ‘Move away from her.’

The shadow didn’t move. It looked like he was all in black, not much visible in the poor light, although Laura could tell that he was coming towards her.

‘Stop now!’ Laura shouted, her arms out, making herself look big. ‘You’re under arrest. You’re done.’

Laura shivered and felt the hairs on her neck stand up as she heard a chuckle, deep and mean. Her ears went keen, and she heard the noise of sirens. There was no flicker of blue lights though, and so it was still just her and the shadow, now around fifteen feet from her.

Laura stepped forward. ‘They’re on their way now,’ she said, a tremble in her voice. ‘It’s over.’

The shadow moved towards her. It was fight or flight, Laura knew that now, and she was choosing fight. All the self-defence moves she knew raced through her head, but they scrambled for attention, and all she could do was follow her instincts. She took one more step forward. Then she saw it. The raised arm. He was holding something. No, not holding. Aiming. She stopped, her breathing halted. Then there was that chuckle again.

There was a noise, like a whistle in the air, and then it seemed like everything stopped working. Her arms went down, her legs straight, there was a sharp pain in her chest, and then she was falling backwards, the holes in the roof swirling, her muscles not working. Nothing was working. She hit the floor hard and went into spasms, her feet thrashing on the floor, her teeth clenched. She couldn’t do anything as he came towards her, his steps heavy. Her brain registered that he was standing over her, looking down, his head cocked to one side.

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Laura lifted her head off the floor and tried to roll onto her front. The spasms had ended now, but she felt drained and sweaty, her shirt sticking to her chest. Her head had hit the floor, so she reached behind gingerly, and then winced when her hand came into contact with damp hair. She knew that the stickiness on her fingers was blood.

The attacker had gone now, or at least it seemed that way. The sirens were getting louder. He must have made his escape before the cars arrived.

She rubbed her chest. She knew what she had been hit with. It hadn’t been a gun, or at least not one with bullets. It had been a Taser, a stun gun, two electrically charged wires with a fine needle on the end of each one. It had dug into her chest and paralysed her muscles, sent her into spasms on the floor. He had stood over her to take the needles out and then he had gone.

She creaked to her knees, panting hard, her hair hanging down in sweaty trails, sticking to her forehead. Then she crawled over to the form on the floor. Rachel was lying in a foetal position, choking noises coming from her.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ Laura said, tears streaming down her face now. She reached into Rachel’s mouth and started to scoop out the grit and small stones, throwing them onto the floor, Laura’s fingers caked in saliva and vomit. She got enough out so that Rachel could start to spit out the rest, and Laura put her arms round Rachel’s shoulder as she gagged and spat onto the floor.

Once her mouth was empty, Rachel began to wail, but it came in short bursts as the air tried to force its way back into her lungs. Laura held her close, tried to be a comfort, but tears were running down her own face. Rachel’s hands were still cuffed, and so all she could do was submit to Laura’s hold. The horror of what had happened struck Laura hard. ‘I should have got here sooner, I’m sorry. It’s all over now.’

Rachel’s head dipped onto Laura’s shoulder, and she felt her neck go damp.

Where were the police vans? She pulled out her phone and dialled Joe’s number, but when it started to ring, she felt sick, knew that she didn’t want to pass on the news. She couldn’t call him with Rachel crying and retching next to her, and she couldn’t let Rachel go, not here, alone, in a dark and derelict factory. She clicked off the phone.

Laura thought of the police cars that should be on their way, Rachel’s colleagues heading for them. She used her phone to cast some light, and as she ran it up Rachel’s body, she saw that she was still wearing her vest although it was torn, but there was nothing below her waist apart from her running shoes. There were red scratches on the inside of her thighs, her skin like a pale glow in the light of the screen.

‘Are there stones anywhere else?’ Laura asked, quietly.

Rachel looked at her, her mouth trembling, her eyes rimmed red and wide with fear. Then she nodded slowly and looked down.

Laura closed her eyes for a moment, and then nodded, trying to stay in control of the situation.

‘I’m going to leave it there,’ Laura said. ‘Are you okay with that? Or do you want me to get it out?’

Rachel shook her head violently and began to sob again, before her head slipped forward onto Laura’s chest.

Laura put her arms around her again and pulled her in close, let Rachel sob into her chest, one hand stroking Rachel’s hair, trying to make it better. Except that she knew she couldn’t do that. Rachel would never be better again, and it would take more than just hugs and comfort to make her a lot less broken.