Page 100 of Glasshouses

Clearer. Closer.

“Meee – a.” The last syllable was shorter, as if she was losing patience.

I climbed to the top floor, aware of the lack of stability in some of the floorboards, damage from the fire and then the years since, listening for another set of steps because I didn’t know where Stefan Taylor was, but I knew what he was capable of.

“Mia. Is that you?”

I saw her tied to a bedpost, sitting on the floor with her hands behind her back, rope entwining her to the bed and her feet tied together. Kernmantle rope.

“Lily. What’s happened?” I moved into the room, taking up a position where my back was to the wall so I could see both her and the door.

“Can you untie me?” Her voice quivered but there was no sign of tears.

“I will in a moment. Who tied you up?” I was still not clearer whether she was friend or foe.

“The boy who set the fire at my parents. The boy who told me to.” Then the tears fell.

“Stefan Taylor.”

“Yes! How did you know his name?”

“I’m a detective. It’s what I do. How did you get here, Lily?”

She kept looking at the doorway. “Stefan. He told me to meet him here.”

“So how did you get here? Where’s your van?”

“At the back of the old pub. I met him in the graveyard. It was him that night; I was with him and he said we could make sure I didn’t have to live here anymore. That if they were dead, I could live with a nice family who wouldn’t make me do chores all the time and would let me have a mobile phone. Then I could message him and even video call him, and I loved Stefan. He was nice to me, Mia. He brought me gifts.” She was smiling and her face was shining as she spoke about him.

“What gifts did he bring you?”

“Sweets and chocolate and things for my hair. I couldn’t wear them; my parents didn’t like me dressing up. My dad wanted us to join a church; he thought The Holding didn’t teach enough about how we should live just off the land. He thought Roselea should be the church and we should have retreats where people came and worked the land, only living off what we had here.” She looked around the room, across the walls and to the wardrobe. “This was my bedroom. It hasn’t really changed.”

“It’s very simple.” That was an understatement. “Did you have pictures on the walls?”

“No. I wasn’t allowed as they weren’t necessary, unless I painted my own. My dad approved of that.” She pulled against the bedpost. “We need to get out of here. You need to untie me.”

“Why did Stefan tie you up?” I heard a creak I was sure wasn’t the house moving. There was someone nearby, someone on this floor.

“Because he wants to keep us together. Like he always promised.” She was oddly serene again.

“Here at Roselea?”

“Yes. Do you know this is where my dad and brothers died?”

“I do.” I needed to make a decision about whether to untie her. I checked my phone, still no reception. Vinny would be around twenty-five minutes away. “What happened that night?”

“I was out with Stefan, and we decided to set the fire. He told me what to do and we did it, and then we ran off and got in his dad’s car because Stefan could drive it.” She was still smiling. “I was so happy, but he told me to get out of the car and wait in the churchyard and then the police came.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone what happened?”

“Because Stefan told me not to. So I didn’t say anything.” She pulled at the ropes. “Untie me, Mia.”

“Was it you who locked me in the toilets in Afflecks?” I started to untie her feet first, the knot loose and easy, surprisingly easy.

“I had to.”

“Why?”