by Guy Adams
‘He caught a peek of something strange and it didn’t sit well with him.’
‘It rarely does. Having checked into his history there’s a possible explanation from his time with the Serious Organised Crime Agency. He was beaten to within an inch of his life while working a human trafficking case.’
‘Doesn’t sound particularly magical.’
‘An initial statement, taken from the paramedics who got him to hospital, says that Rowlands claimed his attackers were invisible.’
‘Ah.’
‘Indeed. I imagine he bit off more than he could chew. Then, once recovered, he decided a bit of self-editing was in order. His official report states that he was set upon by a gang of men. He claims they got the jump on him and that he was swiftly subdued.’
‘OK, so maybe that explains the smoke. Not that it matters.’
‘Not really, no. It could have been anything. As you and I know, the preternatural is not as rare as some would like to believe.’
‘So, we ignore Rowlands. I presume we’re also not seriously considering Man-dae?’
‘Not really. He didn’t know we were coming either.’
‘Which leaves us …?’
‘With two people.’ Shining smiled. ‘And the only one who really fits is never going to be suspected by anyone other than us.’
‘No.’ Toby sighed. ‘He’s not. So what do we do now?’
‘We go and get him.’
c) Lufford Hall, Alcester, Warwickshire
‘Do you think we should get some backup?’ Toby asked as they stopped off in his room to fetch his gun.
‘I can’t see the point in the inevitable argument,’ said Shining, hoisting the small bag of tools they had collected from the groundskeeper’s store onto his shoulder. ‘We always knew this was likely to be the way things would play out. Nobody is going to believe us for one minute when we tell them what’s been going on.’
‘Nobody would have ever put it together,’ Toby agreed, ‘because the only way it all fits is to allow for possibilities that others wouldn’t consider.’
‘Precisely.’
‘Story of our lives.’
They stepped out of Toby’s room and moved past the clatter and chaos of the kitchens.
‘Can I help you?’ one of the waiting staff asked, having noticed them.
‘Just taking a look in the cellar,’ said Toby.
‘Cellar?’ the man asked. ‘It’s all locked. Your lot sealed it up when they first got here.’
‘I know,’ said Shining, ‘which is precisely why we’re taking a look at it.’
‘I don’t know how you’ll get in, I’m afraid.’
‘We’ll manage,’ Toby assured him as he and Shining continued away from the kitchens and along a gloomy corridor towards a further flight of stairs.
Toby removed the small torch he kept on his key ring and shone the light towards the foot of the stairs. There was a heavy-looking door, bolted and chained, a heavy padlock hanging from it. Shining put the bag of tools down, unzipped it and lifted out a bolt cutter.
‘I can’t believe Rowlands’ men didn’t check here already,’ said Toby.
‘Why would they? There was no way Man-dae could have had access. It was sealed up before he even arrived.’
Shining cut through the chain and, as quickly as he could, opened the door.
Toby moved past him, handing Shining the torch as he did so. Shining swept the torch beam around the room, keeping behind the jamb of the door in case the light made him a target. Toby, crouched low, moved inside, his gun held out. It was a jumble of dusty metal shelves, packing cases and furniture buried beneath protective sheeting.
The torch beam fell onto the face of Man-dae, and Toby aimed his gun on reflex. The Korean was staring, eyes wide open and it took Toby a second to realise he was dead. As the torch continued to pass through the darkness, it fell on another door on the far side of the room.
‘You can come in,’ he whispered to Shining. ‘Unless our man enjoys sitting in the dark, I think he’s next door.’
Shining joined Toby and the younger man switched off the torch for a moment. A thin sliver of light was visible beneath the other door.
Turning the torch back on, Shining made a quick examination of Man-dae. There was no pulse.
‘Served his purpose,’ whispered Toby.
Shining nodded. ‘A puppet, his strings now cut. This man is powerful indeed. It beggars belief … If he’s this powerful, it’s amazing any of us are still alive. Be careful.’
They made their way towards the other door.
Standing outside, Shining switched off the torch and took hold of the handle. Toby dropped to his haunches and aimed his gun.
Shining pushed open the door.
Bill Fratfield was sat in an ageing armchair eating an apple. As the door swung open, he swallowed in surprise, jumping forward in his chair. Then, when the penny dropped that there was little he could do, he fell back again and sighed.
‘Well,’ he said, ‘that’s annoying.’
‘For you and me both,’ Toby replied. ‘You made me look a right idiot.’
Fratfield shrugged. ‘Hardly. You caught me. Which is extremely surprising.’
‘Your little piece of theatre with Man-dae was pretty watertight,’ Shining admitted.
‘If you were dealing with someone that wasn’t familiar with the notion of a Doppelgänger Contract,’ said Toby, ‘then nobody would have figured a way past it.’
Fratfield offered Toby a begrudging smile. ‘You’re well informed.’
‘I think we occasionally move in the same circles,’ Toby admitted.
The ‘higher presence’ had mentioned the principle of the Doppelgänger Contract when it had taken over Tamar’s body. A service it had offered to Toby, duplicating him so that he could be in two places at once. He wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if it had mentioned it intentionally. Had it seen this moment coming?
‘When you work from the principle that there were two of you,’ said Shining, ‘you were really the only obvious suspect. Of the party here, so few knew we were even coming. Certainly only one of them was in a position to overhear Chun-hee admit he was working for the National Intelligence Service.’
‘More than that,’ Fratfield admitted. ‘He even apologised for having suspected me in the first place! Shoving me onto the ambulance with an honourable bow!’
‘He wouldn’t give us your name but it was obvious he suspected an intelligence officer who had travelled extensively.’
‘Which rules out Rowlands of course,’ added Toby, ‘being Box.’
‘Bet you still tried to make him fit, though,’ said Fratfield. ‘You really don’t like him very much.’
‘No,’ Toby admitted, ‘though I like him a damn sight more than I like you.’
‘Fair enough. You’ve got to admit we had fun on our trip to Stratford, though.’
‘Yes, another excellent bit of theatre,’ said Shining. ‘Your first attempt to deflect attention by making yourself out to be the victim. Even that stood out as strange, though. Bit of a change of MO, wasn’t it?’
‘Yeah, well, I was hardly going to curse myself was I? Besides, it’s all been theatre, hasn’t it? That’s my job. That’s what I get the big money for.’ He grinned. ‘Grotesque set pieces, major panic and a lot of scratched heads.’
‘Hasn’t worked, though, has it?’ asked Toby.
‘If the bloody Koreans had asked me my opinion rather than just forced me under contract,’ Fratfield admitted, ‘I might have told them they were asking for the impossible. Both sides need the money too much to give up. Still,’ he leaned forward, ‘you never know. One last push might do it.’
‘We’ll never know,’ said Toby gesturing with his gun. ‘Get up and turn around.’
Fratfield did just that. ‘If you’ll allow me,’ he said, reaching gently beneath his jacket with extended fingers to pull out a gun. He moved quickly and yet made it clear he had no intenti
on of firing it. Dangling the gun from his fingers, he handed it to Toby.
A suspicion hit Shining, just as Toby’s hand closed on the gun. ‘Don’t!’ he shouted but it was too late. The gun was in Toby’s hand and Fratfield’s smile was widening.
‘Never accept anything from anyone,’ he said. ‘Wasn’t that the advice?’
A crack of thunder echoed inside the room behind them. As Toby spun towards the noise, he found the barrel of another gun pressed to the back of his head, and Fratfield relieved him of his own pistol.
‘You can keep mine,’ Fratfield told him. ‘It isn’t loaded.’ There was another crack of thunder. ‘Well, not in the conventional sense at least.’
Toby pulled the magazine from the grip of the weapon, a piece of paper was wedged where the cartridges should be.
‘Be careful with that,’ said Shining, even as a gust of wind added to the impossible weather patterns forming in the basement of Lufford Hall, snatching the paper from Toby’s hand.
Shining ran after it, moving back into the main room. He hit a light switch next to the door, flooding the storage room with neon light. He chased after the paper, even as he felt rain beginning to fall. It poured, splashing off the relics, dripping down the walls and soaking into the pages of old books and the upholstered cushions of ancient furniture.
Toby made to grab Fratfield but the man kept the gun aimed squarely at his face as he inched past him and after Shining. ‘Two choices, Toby,’ he said. ‘Quick or slow?’
Toby let him go. However slim his chances might be of avoiding the curse, they had to be marginally better than avoiding a bullet fired from inches away.
‘Grab it!’ shouted Shining, snatching at the piece of paper as he barrelled into a set of shelves, sending stacks of old china tumbling to the floor.
Toby was right behind him, plucking the paper from the air. ‘Fratfield’s on the run.’
‘And so should you be,’ said Shining closing Toby’s hand around the curse. ‘You’re only hope is to outpace him. I’ll deal with Fratfield, you get out of here.’
Toby rubbed the rainwater from his eyes and turned as he heard the creak of another set of shelves behind him.
‘Move!’ Shining shouted, pulling Toby out of the way as the shelves collapsed, pounding into the floor inches from Toby.
Where the shelves had been, the Rain-Soaked Bride was now revealed, her long, dark hair covering the little she could call a face.
Toby darted back and felt his feet slip on the wet floor. Shining was there again, grabbing him just as he had been about to fall on a stuffed deer’s head, its antlers inches away from his face as the older man lifted him back onto his feet.
‘Everything is out to get you,’ said Shining, ‘remember that. The world will take any opportunity to end you. You need to be careful. Be aware. Most of all, you need to be out of range. If you put enough space between you and him, the curse won’t work. We need room to breathe.’
‘But Fratfield’s already on the run, surely he’s doing the job for me?’
‘He’s not going to go far,’ said Shining. ‘He wants to finish his contract and he’s not going to do that by leaving the building. Please, trust me, you need to get out of here. That’s the only chance you have. Get to the Swan Hotel in Alcester, I’ll come and find you there.’
Shining neglected to mention Toby would find Tamar there. He thought the young man would probably avoid the place if he thought he might be bringing danger her way.
Toby looked towards the Bride, her crumbling fingers extended towards him as he slowly sidestepped her and made his way towards the door. With every step, his feet skated on the wet floor. As he backed away from the curse spirit, he heard another set of shelves creak. He turned to face them, slamming his hands into them as they toppled towards him and shoving them backwards. Their contents smashed against the floor and he just managed to get his hand up in time as half a broken plate shot towards his face. The sharp ceramic cut into his palm, drawing blood.
He grunted and clenched his fist, continuing to navigate past the toppled shelving towards the open door. The rain poured down on him as he made it to the stairway and ran up towards the staff quarters, his soles slipping so that he fell, taking the last few steps on his hands and knees.
The rain followed him along the corridor past the kitchen.
‘Careful!’ someone shouted, and Toby dropped on instinct, a large carving knife bouncing off the wall of the corridor next to him. ‘You could have had my bloody head off with that!’ said one of the kitchen staff. ‘What were you thinking?’
‘I just slipped,’ came the reply, ‘here, what’s going on with the sprinklers?’
Toby was already on the move again, leaving the confused conversation behind as he aimed for the next flight of stairs that would lead him up and out of the building.
He reached the main entrance hall and ran across the chessboard floor, his wet soles once again slipping from beneath him and sending him crashing to the floor. He lay there for a moment, dazed, until the splashing of rain on his face brought him to his senses and his feet. From above him there was a sharp crack and he threw himself towards the back of the room, sliding across the tiles and hitting the far wall as the air filled with the sound of the massive chandelier shattering on the ground. He covered his head with his hands as the glass shards pelted at him, stinging his exposed skin as they peppered him with cuts.
He took no time to check the damage, just got to his feet and ran towards the rear exit.
d) Lufford Hall, Alcester, Warwickshire
Shining watched Toby go then turned his attention to the Bride.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘if the myth about you is even half true. But, be warned, I won’t let that get in my way when it comes to stopping you.’ She inclined her head as he walked past her. He paused in the doorway and turned back towards her even as she began to fade from view. ‘If only you could choose the company you keep,’ he said, turning back around and making his way upstairs.
He heard the crash of the chandelier as he passed the kitchen and broke into a run.
He was quite convinced he’d see the broken body of Toby beneath its twisted arms as he entered the entrance hall, and the relief when he realised the young man must have avoided it momentarily stopped him in his tracks. He could only hope that Toby would make it far enough away to be safe. It was hard to specify how far that would be, but, as long as Fratfield stayed here, Toby should be clear.
‘What the hell’s going on?’ asked Clive King, having stepped out of the conference room, followed by the rest of the delegates.
‘I’ve found our assassin,’ said Shining, ‘and we’ve got him on the run.’
‘What’s that?’ Rowlands asked, entering from the front door. ‘I’ve had my men covering the grounds all morning but you’ve found him?’
‘Yes,’ Shining agreed. ‘It was Bill Fratfield.’
‘Bill?’ April couldn’t believe it. ‘But he’s …’
‘In a hospital miles away,’ said Rowlands. ‘The codger’s finally flipped.’
‘I wish I had,’ Shining replied, looking around the room. ‘Is it just me or is it getting dark in here?’
The windows began to darken and Shining thought back to what Toby had told him about his experience in the car coming back from Stratford. ‘We need to stay close together,’ he said, ‘things are about to get very dangerous indeed.’
Slowly, inevitably, the room was plunged into total darkness.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE FEAR
a) Lufford Hall, Alcester, Warwickshire
Barry Steelhorn had been working private security for eight years and while it had its ups and downs, it beat the prison service hands down. These days he was paid decent cash to keep an eye on men in suits. They didn’t kick off when the mood took them. They had nothing to say on the sexual habits of your wife. They didn’t try and score points off you as you went about your duties. They just sat in their little meetings, an
d acted like you didn’t exist. That was fine as far as Barry was concerned. He had no real interest in them either. They were just the people who signed his cheques. If they were in trouble then he’d do his bit, that was the job and he wasn’t afraid to throw his weight around if the need arose. Most of the time, though, it was about sitting around, keeping your eyes peeled and your mind alert.
Sat in the guardhouse at the perimeter of Lufford Hall, he poured himself a cup of tea from his flask and sat sipping it while keeping his eye on the CCTV monitors.
There was nothing to see. Just an empty road and open fields. As the camera feeds rotated, the screens featured footage of the Hall itself from the three cameras placed in trees surrounding the property. They were no more eventful as a rule. This morning they had offered him pairs of security officers wandering around the garden in a bored grump.
Barry wasn’t bored. That was the key to a job like this. Boredom got you in trouble, it made you sloppy. He kept his mind active by thinking through the plot of an adventure novel he kept planning to write. It was going to be about a brilliant young soldier who solved an international conspiracy by shooting things. One day he’d write it. Until then he kept working over different chapters in his head, adding more car chases and explosions. It was going to be the best book ever.
He had finished his tea and was rooting around in his backpack for a packet of chocolate biscuits when he noticed one of the monitors go blank. Then another. Then one more. They were the feeds for the Hall itself. Everything on the wall was fine but he could bring up no footage of inside the building.
Giving up on the chocolate biscuits, he reached for his walkie-talkie and tried to contact someone in the Hall. There was no reply. The SIS boys were supposed to be the click of a call button away. He knew they looked down on the private staff but couldn’t believe they would be so stupid as to ignore him. Something must be going on.
‘Oi,’ he shouted through the window to his shift partner, Luis, who was walking up and down the road outside because he’d got a bit stir crazy from sitting in the guardhouse all morning. ‘Something’s up.’
