Darkness Falls

by Mia James

‘That’s how it happened. Apart from the bit about heroic Gabriel Swift carrying April to safety,’ said Caro. ‘April dragged him out.’

  ‘Yes, well I’m happy to bend the truth a little there,’ said Reece. ‘The Crown Prosecution Service is more likely to look kindly on him if he comes across as a hero. Benjamin’s confession and his fingerprints in Miss Holden’s blood may be enough to get Gabriel off the hook for Marcus’s murder, but he did assault a couple of constables when he escaped from custody.’

  ‘But he was innocent! Surely he was justified?’

  Reece smiled.

  ‘I’m not sure the Police Federation will see it that way.’

  DCI Johnston was sitting at a desk in a borrowed hospital office when April was shown in. The inspector gestured towards the chair in front of him, but didn’t look up from April’s statement. Finally, he stacked the papers neatly, took off his reading glasses and fixed April with a baleful stare.

  ‘It’s rubbish, isn’t it?’ he said.

  April swallowed, trying to keep her expression neutral.

  ‘What’s rubbish, Inspector?’ she said.

  ‘The whole story,’ said the policeman, leaning back. ‘I don’t believe a word of it, frankly.’

  ‘But it all happened exactly as I said there, Inspector Johnston. How could I make something like that up?’

  ‘A very good question, Miss Dunne,’ said Johnston.

  ‘What, are you suggesting I did make it up?’

  The detective let out a long breath.

  ‘Let’s ask a more fundamental question, shall we? Why you? Why are you always involved?

  April shook her head.

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘You were at the scene of a murder, you’ve been seriously attacked twice, you personally knew both Milo and Layla – who both died in mysterious circumstances – and now someone has tried to set you on fire. Now why would all that happen to an innocent girl of seventeen?’

  ‘And I suppose you’re suggesting I made up those other two times I was half-killed? Times when the police were supposed to be protecting me, actually.’

  ‘No, April. I don’t think you made those events up. In those cases, we have witnesses, evidence, a plausible time-line. It’s just that this …’ he tapped the statement in front of him. ‘This particular story doesn’t quite add up.’

  ‘What do you mean it “doesn’t add up”?’

  ‘Well, why would Benjamin kidnap you?’

  ‘How am I supposed to know?’ said April. ‘He put a bag over my head, he didn’t discuss why he was doing it! Maybe he was jealous of Gabriel and I – I don’t know.’

  ‘Okay, but why take you to Mr Sheldon’s? What was the headmaster’s involvement?’

  April looked away.

  ‘I don’t know that either. How could I?’

  April was of course aware that there was little about the previous night’s events which made sense in the cold light of day. Unless you had the key fact: that Robert Sheldon was a high-ranking vampire preparing to wage war on humankind, it did look strange. Really, really strange.

  ‘Here’s the problem, April,’ said Johnston. ‘We have Robert Sheldon, a respected academic, educated at Oxford, running a top private school, never been in trouble, never had so much as an overdue library book as far as we can tell. And then we have Benjamin Osbourne – intelligent, straight-A student from a prominent family, also with an unblemished record. Then out of the blue, Sheldon and Benjamin hook up together and decide to kill your teacher, Miss Holden.’

  ‘Look, I don’t know …’ began April, but Johnston held up a hand.

  ‘Now, that’s crazy enough, but put that to one side for the moment. Now let’s ask this: why did Mr Sheldon try and burn you and Gabriel alive? And why, in doing so, did he deliberately set fire to his own house?’

  ‘Maybe he wanted to kill us and make it look like a suicide pact.’

  Johnston gave her a wintry smile.

  ‘Suicidal lovers don’t tie themselves to chairs, then set fire to the house.’

  The policeman massaged the bridge of his nose and sighed.

  ‘Try not to insult my intelligence, April,’ he said. ‘Clearly you know more than you’re telling us. Maybe you’re trying to protect someone, maybe you have something of your own to hide, who knows? But we have a small problem don’t we?’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘People keep getting killed, don’t they, April?’

  Suddenly Johnston banged his hand on the desk.

  ‘People keep dying! And I won’t have that on my patch, do you hear me?’

  April just stared at him, gripping the sides of her chair.

  ‘I can’t help it if I keep getting caught up in these situations, Mr Johnston,’ said April. ‘Maybe I’m just unlucky.’

  Johnston snorted.

  ‘Unlucky,’ he repeated, a twisted smile on his face. ‘What’s that Oscar Wilde quote? “To have someone try to kill you once may be considered unlucky, to have someone try to kill you three times looks like carelessness”? Perhaps it’s all just coincidence? Hmm? Well one thing’s for sure, Miss Dunne,’ he said, walking over to the door and opening it. ‘You certainly seem to have nine lives.’

  He paused for a moment, his hand on the door knob.

  ‘Although I think you might be running out.’

  ‘The police tell me you’ve refused to see your mother.’

  Grandpa Thomas was sitting at the side of April’s bed, his face disapproving.

  ‘Do you know what she did, Gramps?’ said April. ‘Do you have any idea what she’s like?’

  ‘April, I know you’re angry with her, but she’s different,’ replied her grandfather. ‘She might not be the best mother in the world, she makes mistakes, yes, but she loves you the best she can.’

  ‘And Dad? Did she love him the best she could? Is that the get-out clause? “Sorry for sleeping with other men, I’m a bit rubbish at this. Doh! Silly me!”?’

  ‘Everyone makes mistakes, April. No one gets the life they want.’

  ‘And that’s supposed to justify what she did to Dad? I know you hated him, but he was a kind, gentle man. He was nice. He didn’t deserve her.’

  Thomas shrugged.

  ‘Maybe, maybe not. And you’re right, I didn’t see eye to eye with your father, but I am sure of one thing: he loved her very much, and she loved him back.’

  ‘What about me, Gramps? What about my love? Why do I always get the feeling she’s disappointed in me?’

  ‘It’s not that. I think you remind her too much of your father.’

  ‘Isn’t that a good thing?’

  ‘The wound is deep, April. She blames herself for his death. Everything that happened … she just thinks things could have been different.’

  ‘Well, she’s right!’ said April. ‘And my wound is deep too.’

  ‘If you could just talk to her …’

  ‘No, Gramps,’ said April fiercely. ‘I can’t. I’ve heard everything she’s got to say. All the excuses, all the lies. I’m not going back there. Maybe I can go to Caro’s for a few days while I look for a flat …’

  ‘Nonsense!’ said Thomas. ‘You will come and live with me. Your room is there. We are family, we look after each other.’

  ‘I wish that were true.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘You covered for her, Gramps. When she said she had come to see you the morning Dad died, you gave her an alibi.’

  ‘She did come to see me.’

  ‘But you let the police – and me – believe she was somewhere she wasn’t.’

  ‘I know it was wrong, but when your mother asked me to say she was with me, I supposed she had a good reason. Never for a moment did I think she had anything to do with your dad’s death. She loved that man – too much, I think.’

  ‘She had a funny way of showing it.’

  Thomas stood up and walked over to the window, gazing out.

  ‘As I say, Princess
, we all make mistakes. I wish I could say I was a saint, but I’d be lying.’

  ‘You cheated on Grandma?’

  He turned to face her.

  ‘No, not that. But I made bad mistakes. Some may say worse things. I was never there for my kids, we fell out. I regret things in my life. You must never regret anything, April. Live for now, because you never know what’s waiting for you around the corner.’

  April pulled a face.

  ‘You really don’t have to tell me that, Gramps.’

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  When April woke in the morning, Silvia was sitting by her bed. She sat up with a start, pulling the covers around her and reaching for the nurse alert button.

  Silvia put her hand on April’s.

  ‘Darling, please. I won’t stay long.’

  April sank back on her pillows and glared at her mother.

  ‘What are you doing here?’

  Your grandfather told me you were here. I wanted to check you were all right.’

  ‘It’s a bit late for that, isn’t it?’

  Silvia sighed.

  ‘You’re going to have to speak to me sometime, you know.’

  ‘Am I?’ said April.

  ‘Darling, I know you’re upset, but—’

  ‘Upset? Is that what you think? I’m furious! No, furious doesn’t even begin to cover it. All those years I watched you giving Dad such a hard time about everything, sniping at everything he did, belittling his whole life, and now I find out the reason. You’d been having an affair … and with a man who tried to kill me! I don’t know how you can live with yourself.’

  ‘It wasn’t all one way, April,’ said Silvia. ‘Marriage is a complex thing, when you’re older you’ll understand.’

  ‘Don’t patronise me! I might only be a child,’ she said sarcastically, ‘maybe my brain isn’t fully developed, but it seems pretty simple to me: keep your hands to yourself. And you couldn’t even manage that, could you?’

  ‘I’m still your mother, April.’

  ‘No!’ she yelled, ‘No, you’re not. A mother is supposed to guide, nurture and support her child. You’re supposed to give me affection and love. When have you ever given me any of those things?’

  Silvia pulled out a handkerchief and began to sob into it.

  ‘If you only knew …’ she said.

  ‘Oh, don’t give me those crocodile tears, I’m sick of your lies. Why can’t you just look me in the eye and tell me the truth? You and Sheldon were always together behind Dad’s back. Your tears are for him, not for Dad.’

  Silvia said nothing, standing up and smoothing her skirt down.

  ‘Aren’t you even going to deny it?’ said April with a sinking feeling. Even if it had been true, April wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to know. She didn’t think she could stomach the thought of Silvia carrying on with Hawk while her dad was alive – the truth was, April was desperate for her to deny it.

  ‘You’ve obviously made up your mind, April. Nothing I say is going to change that. I wish I could explain why I kept it from you, but …’

  ‘You don’t have to explain, I already know – because you’re selfish and you always have been. You think about no one except yourself.’

  Silvia pressed her lips together.

  ‘Whatever you think, April, I do care. I care deeply about you and I always will.’

  April looked out of the window.

  ‘I think you should go.’

  Silvia nodded.

  ‘Do me one favour? Stay close to your Grandfather. I know you hate me, but it’s dangerous out there. I want you to be safe.’

  April glared at her.

  ‘Maybe you should have thought of that a little sooner.’

  She struggled out of her bed and crossed to the door, holding it open.

  ‘Just leave me alone,’ she said.

  ‘April …’

  ‘No. Just go. Go!’

  When Silvia had gone, April quietly closed the door, pulled down the blinds, then slid down the wall, curling up on the floor, her shoulders heaving with sobs.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  April sat down on the cold steps and hugged her knees.

  ‘Hi, Daddy,’ she said. ‘You okay in there? I’m fine. Well … I’m not so fine, actually. I’ve left home. It’s not going well with Mum, and I’ve moved in with Gramps. So I guess I won’t be seeing you quite as often.’

  She shook her head. Here she was, worrying that a cadaver behind an iron door would be upset by a change in her routine. He’s dead, April, she said to herself. Let him go.

  April blew on her hands and shifted her bum, hoping she wasn’t getting chilblains or haemorrhoids or something from sitting on the cold steps.

  ‘I think Gramps will be able to protect me from the police, too. They seem to have it in for me now. Not that I can blame them really.’

  If she was investigating this, April had to admit she would have been hugely suspicious of April Dunne. A witness to four murders and one suicide, victim of three murder attempts herself, and now discovered in a burning house which contained the bodies of one of her teachers and one of her supposed school friends. She seemed to be a death magnet.

  Even so, April wasn’t all that worried about the police. She was worried about the vampires. Two of them had worked out she was a Fury. How long was it before the others realised? And, crucially, would April manage to solve the Ravenwood mystery before that happened?

  She saw the vicar long before he spotted her. He was wandering up the main path, his cheeks pink, stopping every now and then for a breather. April decided to walk down to meet him.

  ‘Is there a funeral today?’ she asked.

  ‘Ah, April,’ said the vicar, a little flustered to see her. ‘No, no. They don’t have many funerals in the West Cemetery any more – but then I suppose you know that. No, I come here to walk sometimes. I like being among the graves, I find all the faith and love soothing. Does that sound strange?’

  ‘No, not at all.’

  They carried on walking up the hill together.

  ‘So how are you, my dear?’ he asked. ‘I heard you were in the hospital again.’

  ‘Nothing too bad this time, just a bit of smoke inhalation. But you’re right, the nurses all know me by name now.’

  The vicar smiled.

  ‘Trouble does seem to follow you, doesn’t it? I suppose you wouldn’t be your father’s daughter if it didn’t.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘He could never let anything lie either. He had to know the answer to whatever story he was working on, however much danger it put him in.’ He stopped, his hand on his hip, catching his breath. ‘Maybe he was too curious.’

  ‘Do you think I should stop looking for answers, Mr Gibson?’

  He shook his head.

  ‘I fear that would be like asking a fox to stop trying to steal chickens. If it’s in your nature, you’ll never be happy until you find what you’re looking for. The trouble is, when you lift up a rock, you often find more than you bargained for underneath.’

  April gave a thin smile. She thought of her mother and what she’d done. She thought of Benjamin, clutching at his neck. And then she thought of Layla, so alone.

  ‘I think I’ve already lifted that rock,’ she said. ‘And you’re right, I didn’t much like what I saw.’

  The vicar fixed her with a serious look.

  ‘The darkness is rising, April, and I think it’s only going to get worse.’

  ‘Then we’ve all got to do what we can, haven’t we?’ she said. ‘I mean, even if you know it’s going to hurt you and the people around you? You’ve got to follow the path you think is right, don’t you?’

  The vicar looked at his feet, scuffing at a loose rock on the path.

  ‘It’s at this point I’m supposed to quote a passage of scripture, I think,’ he said. ‘But I’ll be honest with you, April, I think you’re on your own now. Off the edge of the map, so to speak. Faith will only tak
e you so far, and after that you have to trust that you’re acting for the best.’

  She squinted at him.

  ‘I think I am,’ she said. ‘Or at least I try to.’

  He reached out and squeezed her shoulder.

  ‘Then perhaps you’re already on the right road.’

  At the bottom of the path, they could see a tall figure dressed in a dark overcoat climbing the steps and making his way up towards them. April didn’t need to see his face to know it was Gabriel. There was something in his walk, the set of his shoulders, the way her heart began to beat faster when he was nearby.

  ‘I can see you love him, and that’s a good thing,’ said the vicar.

  ‘But? I can feel a but coming on.’

  ‘He’s not all he seems, April.’

  She began to protest. ‘You don’t know him …’

  He touched her hand.

  ‘Oh, but I know what he is. They were here when I came to this parish, I’ve always known about them.’

  ‘Can’t you do anything? Some good versus evil thing to cure him?’

  The vicar smiled.

  ‘As I say, I’m a great believer in the power of prayer, but there are some things it can’t deal with. Sometimes we have to rise up and do God’s work ourselves.’

  ‘Am I doing God’s work?’

  ‘Only you can say. I know you love him and that’s good, but remember what he is. They’re never completely in control of themselves. They can’t be tamed.’

  ‘He’s a good man, Reverend.’

  He nodded and began to walk back towards the church.

  ‘Just be careful.’

  Gabriel looked amazing. Considering he had been scorched, cut, blackened with soot and barely breathing when she had seen him two days before, he looked perfect. His skin was flawless, his hair sleek and his eyes sparkled as he grinned at her.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ she asked, wrapping herself around him. ‘Aren’t the police watching the cemetery?’

  ‘I had a call from DI Reece,’ he said. ‘All charges against me are being dropped. In fact, I got the impression that the police want nothing more to do with us or the case. If they had their way, they’d prefer to pretend the whole thing never happened. They’ve managed to keep the deaths out of the papers and obviously Benjamin’s father is as keen as they are to keep his death a private matter.’