Lisa Stone - The Doctor

Her mobile phone, already on her bedside cabinet for the night, began to vibrate behind her. She turned from the window. Their bedside clock showed it was after ten o’clock. It wouldn’t be her parents or friends phoning at this time. Nuisance call? She picked up the phone and saw the call was coming from a local landline number, although not one the phone recognized as a contact. Something stopped her from letting it go through to voicemail and she pressed to accept the call. ‘Hello?’

‘Emily?’ a small female voice asked tentatively. It was vaguely familiar but so slight it was impossible to place.

‘Yes. Who is it?’

‘Alisha. I am so worried.’

‘Oh Alisha. What’s the matter?’ Concern immediately kicked in, but why was she phoning when Amit was home?’

‘I’m in trouble, Emily. I’ve just realized that your visit today will all be recorded on our CCTV. If Amit sees it, he will be furious. I don’t know what to do. You must never come here again. It was wrong of me to ask you for help. I don’t know what to do.’

‘Calm down,’ Emily said and returned to the window. The light was still on the outbuilding. ‘Amit is in his shed, isn’t he?’

‘Yes, for now, but supposing he looks at the recording? He does sometimes. If he checks it, he’ll see you’ve been here.’

‘Can you delete part of the recording? We haven’t got CCTV, but I’m guessing you can.’

‘I think so, but I don’t know how.’ Emily heard the panic and desperation in her voice.

‘There must be a control box somewhere. How do you control it?’ Emily asked, watching the outbuilding for any sign that Amit might be leaving it.

‘There’s a box under the television. Amit views the recordings on our TV. I’ve seen him do it.’

‘And he hasn’t viewed it yet today?’

‘No.’

‘So delete the bit where I arrive and leave.’

‘Yes, but how?’ Alisha’s hysteria grew.

‘Calm down. It can’t be that difficult. Are you in the living room now?’

‘Yes.’

‘Have you got the remote control there?’

‘Yes. It’s on the table.’

‘Look at it now while Amit is in the lab. I’m in my bedroom. I can see him from here if he leaves.’

Alisha fell silent and Emily concentrated on the outbuilding. ‘I’ve found the channel it’s on,’ Alisha said at last.

‘Good. Can you see a main menu?’

A short pause then, ‘Yes.’

‘Click on the menu,’ Emily said. ‘I’m guessing there will be something that says device.’

Silence again. Emily hoped Ben wouldn’t choose this moment to come up. She’d have difficulty explaining what she was doing.

‘Got it,’ Alisha said.

‘Right, move the recording to the bit just before I arrive.’

‘How?’ Alisha’s panic rose again.

‘Try to stay calm. There must be a way of rewinding it. Some little arrows maybe, pointing backwards?’

Another silence. ‘Yes. Here they are. Shall I click on it?’

‘Yes.’

A second later. ‘It’s rewinding.’

‘Good.’ Emily watched the outbuilding, her mouth dry and her pulse racing. Alisha’s fear and anxiety were contagious.

A minute later, ‘I’m back to where you arrive.’

‘OK, now press delete and keep deleting until just after I’ve gone.’

‘Yes, I’m doing it.’

Emily waited. She could hear Alisha’s breath coming fast and shallow.

‘Done it.’

‘Good. If Amit finds out, just act dumb and say you don’t know anything about it. He’ll think its malfunctioning.’

‘I think I must be dumb,’ Alisha said.

‘No. You just panicked. Are you OK now?’

‘Yes.’

At that moment, the light went off in the outbuilding and the door opened. ‘Alisha, Amit’s leaving now. Is the television back to normal viewing?’

‘Yes.’

‘Try to relax and stay calm. Do what you would usually do. I’ll see you Friday. You can switch off the CCTV before I arrive and then put it back on after I’ve gone, but we’ll speak again before then.’

‘Yes. Thank you.’ The line went dead.

Emily stayed by the window and watched Amit Burman as he carefully padlocked the door of the outbuilding and then began up the path towards the house. Alisha’s fear of being discovered had unsettled Emily. She had been panic-stricken. Genuinely afraid. Emily had heard it in her voice. Why, if Amit really was looking after her, as Alisha had claimed? She had doubts now.

Emily drew the curtains and then saved Alisha’s house phone number to the list of contacts in her mobile, just in case it should ever be needed.

‘It’s off, I’ve switched it off!’ Alisha declared, having phoned Emily’s mobile at 1.55 on Friday. Emily heard her sense of achievement and the excitement in her voice.

‘Great. Well done. I’ll be round in five minutes. Just putting Robbie into his coat.’

‘See you soon.’

Alisha was waiting behind her front door and ready to open it as soon as Emily and Robbie approached. She was smiling, wearing a lovely dress and had styled her hair.

‘You look nice,’ Emily said, helping Robbie over the doorstep.

‘Thank you. I thought I should make an effort. You always look very fashionable. It’s so long since I had a visitor.’ Alisha quickly closed the door. ‘You and Robbie can sit in the living room while I make us some tea. Oh, but I need to take your coats first,’ she flustered. ‘Sorry, I forgot.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Emily said and slipped off her coat, touched by just how much their visit meant to Alisha. It nearly hadn’t happened. The day before, she’d had to spend ages on the phone persuading Alisha that the sky wouldn’t fall in if she switched off the CCTV for a while.

Emily handed their coats to Alisha, who hung them in the under-stairs cupboard.

‘Please go through to the living room and make yourself comfortable,’ she said a little formally. ‘I found some of Eva’s toys from when she was younger for Robbie to play with.’

‘Great,’ Emily said. Taking hold of Robbie’s hand, she steered him into the living room while Alisha went into the kitchen to make tea.

Laid out on the rug by the hearth was a collection of brightly coloured early years activity toys. They were similar to the ones Robbie had at home with buttons and knobs that could be turned and pressed to make different sounds, music, numbers, words and letters. Robbie toddled over to investigate as Emily sat on the sofa and looked down the garden. While her own garden was very bare in winter – a sea of lifeless twigs and brown earth – this garden was largely evergreen, with a screen of shrubs all around the edges forming a tall hedge. The one she’d cut between their gardens was shorter than those on the other two sides and she felt another stab of guilt. But she hadn’t known then that they were there to stop prying eyes from seeing Eva.

‘Please help yourself,’ Alisha said, returning with a tray set with tea and a plate of pastry savouries.

‘Wow. You’ve been busy,’ Emily enthused, impressed. ‘These look delicious.’

‘It was nice to cook something different. Eva’s food is very simple and Amit often eats at work.’

Emily took a couple of the pastries and put them on the plate Alisha gave to her, together with tea in a white bone-china cup and saucer.

‘What about Robbie?’ Alisha asked. ‘Does he want anything?’

‘He’s all right for now, he’s just had lunch.’ Emily settled back, took a sip of her tea and a bite of one of the pastries. ‘Very nice,’ she said. Alisha smiled, pleased. ‘So, you worked out how to switch off the cameras, well done. And you know how to switch them on again?’ she asked.