‘Open the door slowly,’ Kim instructed, standing beside the door to the empty office.

David produced what looked like a master key and slid it into the lock.

The room was in darkness. Kim remembered a light cord to the left of the door. She reached for it and pulled. Nothing.

No light and no sound.

Kim’s heart rose in her throat. If she was wrong about anything at all then the child might already be dead.

‘Mia,’ she said, stepping into the small space.

Nothing.

She took another step as a torchlight from David shone past her and began to search the room.

A whimper sounded from the darkest corner.

Thank God.

‘It’s okay, Mia. My name’s Kim and I saw you yesterday in your mummy’s office. It’s okay, you’re safe now,’ she said, as David’s torchlight found the child.

Mia’s small body was folded into the corner, her legs pulled up, a small pony toy clutched to her chest.

The one that Bryant had played with.

Bryant.

Kim ached to turn away and go searching for her partner, but the child before her trembled with fear.

‘It’s okay, Mia. You’re safe now,’ she said, lowering slowly to her knees. She heard voices at the door, asking David what was going on, and thankfully one of those voices was female.

‘Mummy… I want Mummy,’ the child whimpered and squeezed the pony tighter.

‘Mia, do you know where the man took your mummy?’

The girl whimpered louder and shook her head.

Kim moved forward and touched her leg gently.

‘Mia, there’s a nice lady behind me who is going to look after you while I find your mummy, is that okay?’

The whimpering stopped. ‘You’ll find my mummy?’

‘Yes, sweetie, I’ll go find mummy but I need to make sure you’re okay. Can you come with me so I can go look for her?’

Kim held out her hand, and the child took it.

Kim gently pulled the girl to her feet and brought her closer towards her.

David’s torchlight stayed on them both.

Kim held the small hand loosely and guided her towards the door.

Kim glanced at the woman in the security uniform questioningly, wondering why she was breathless and there at all.

‘Panic alarm,’ she said, pointing to the cord Kim had pulled. ‘Linked to the control room.’

Kim nodded to the woman and then turned to the child.

‘This lady is going to take you somewhere safe while I go and find your mummy, Okay?’ she said, letting go of the small hand, trying to keep the urgency from her voice. Vanessa Wilson was not the only person she was desperate to find. Bryant was in the hands of someone who would stop at nothing to get his revenge on the people he felt were responsible for the death of his family. And even worse, her colleague had no clue what was going on.

The woman took the girl’s hand. ‘Oh, my daughter has that exact same pony,’ she said, guiding the child away.

Kim turned to the security officer.

‘Okay, David, where are these locker rooms and how do we get there fast?’