‘The difference is that I give a damn,’ I said steadily. ‘You never did.’
‘Don’t get snotty, Ishmael. It’s just business. Why am I doing this? Because even someone as versatile as me can still experience financial reverses. The money from this contract will allow me to retire, and disappear forever. You can’t say I didn’t give you a chance, Ishmael. I offered to just walk away from all this if only you’d go with me. With you at my side, I could have faced my enemies and dealt with them once and for all. But you wouldn’t do it. So really, everything that’s going to happen now … is all your fault.’
‘You knew I wouldn’t leave,’ I said. ‘You just wanted to see if I’d fallen as far as you.’
‘Enough!’ said Baron. ‘Bored now. Let’s do it, Ishmael. Let’s dance.’
‘Let’s,’ I said.
Baron’s body rippled, like an image in a heat haze, and a massive grey-furred wolfman towered over me. Broad-shouldered, with clawed hands and a wide-stretched mouth packed full of teeth. The eyes were still human, still full of that terrible malevolent glee.
‘For old times’ sake!’ he growled. ‘You can’t beat the classics.’
He lashed out with one long muscular arm, and the impact lifted me off my feet and sent me flying backwards. I slammed into the corridor wall, hitting it hard enough to crack the plaster from top to bottom. I slumped to the floor, my head dazed and muddled. The wolfman laughed soundlessly, and turned unhurriedly to face Penny.
‘You can run, if you like,’ he growled. ‘I do so love the thrill of the chase. And I’ll enjoy your heart so much more if it’s still excited when I rip it out of your chest.’
‘I wouldn’t lower myself,’ said Penny, ‘to run from the likes of you.’
The wolfman shrugged, an eerily human gesture in such a large animal. ‘Then Ishmael can watch as I kill you. I want him in the proper frame of mind for when I finally get to him.’
He advanced steadily, and the floor shook under his tread. Penny fell back, one step at a time. He reared over her, reaching out with both clawed hands. Penny stepped forward, inside his grasp, and booted him solidly in the nuts. The wolfman bent sharply forward, his eyes squeezed shut. A low agonized whining leaked out of his muzzle. And then he forced his pain back and straightened up again, raising one arm to club her down. And I jumped on his back from behind. He lurched forward, and almost fell. I slipped one arm round his throat, tightening my grip to cut off his air. For a moment he staggered back and forth, fighting for breath, and then thick bands of muscle formed inside his neck, forcing my arm away. He reached back with both arms. I held on tight, crouching down out of his reach, and his arms elongated unnaturally. I let go, and dropped off him.
‘Penny!’ I said. ‘Get out of here!’
‘No! I won’t leave you!’
‘I can’t concentrate on him and you! Go!’
The wolfman swung round to face me, and I punched him in the head with all my strength. Bones shattered and teeth smashed, only to repair themselves in a moment. The wolfman moved remorselessly forward as I hit him again and again, but all I hurt was my hands. He roared deafeningly, and I laughed in his face. I grabbed hold of his lower jaw and ripped it away. A new jaw formed, even as I threw the first one aside. I grabbed hold of one long arm, broke it over my knee, and then ripped it right out of the shoulder socket. I went to use it as a club, but the flesh in my hand was already melting away to nothing. A new arm burst out of his shoulder. I moved in close and punched him under the sternum. My hand sank in deep, closed around his rapidly beating heart, and tore it out of his chest. He screamed horribly … but didn’t die. I crushed the still beating heart in my hand. Bloody pulp squeezed between my fingers. The wound in the wolfman’s chest had already closed over.
I caught a glimpse of Penny watching me. She looked horrified, at something alien and awful she could see in my face. She started to back away.
The wolfman lashed out at me, but I was too quick for him. I dodged and ducked, hitting him again and again, grabbing handfuls of flesh and tearing them away. The wolfman fought with savage fury, grunting and snarling, his vicious claws and snapping jaws only missing me by inches. But he was no match for me, for the dark part of me I usually only glimpse in dreams. The wolfman screamed. Not from pain, but from the horror of what he was facing. And I laughed.
It wasn’t a human sound.
It had got out. The alien thing that hid in the depths of my mind, behind the human mask, had finally got out. And even as I used it to tear the wolfman to pieces, I wondered if I’d ever be able to put it back inside again. Or if I’d ever want to.
I ripped out the wolfman’s throat with hooked fingers, and black blood spouted on the air. He bent forward, making almost human sounds of distress. I raised my fist to smash in his skull and rip out his brains, the only sure way to kill a shape-changer … And then I looked past him, to see Penny still staring at me. As though I was the monster, not Baron.
I slowly lowered my hand, and the wolfman collapsed to the floor, panting and whimpering. I stepped past him to get to Penny, and she turned and ran. Sprinting down the corridor, not looking back, desperate to get away from what she’d seen in my face. The wolfman scrambled to his feet and bolted off in the opposite direction. I couldn’t chase them both. So I went after Penny.
I ran down the corridor, calling her name. She looked back once, her face twisted with horror and revulsion. She must have known she couldn’t outrun me. She plunged round a corner, and I heard a door open and slam shut. By the time I got there, the corridor was empty and all the doors were closed. I stumbled to a halt, and a cold affronted rage surged through me. Penny was hiding from me. From me! After everything I’d done for her! I stopped as I saw her big black hat lying on the floor, where she’d dropped it as she ran from me. I bent over slowly and picked it up, turning it over and over in my hands. And slowly I shook off the cold inhuman feelings, like the black blood I’d shaken off my fists. I shuddered, and started slowly forward.
I could hear Penny breathing harshly behind one of the closed doors. I could smell her; her scent was thick with sweat and panic. I moved towards the door she was hiding behind. And her breathing shut off as she clapped a hand over her mouth and nose, hoping that if I couldn’t hear her I’d pass her by. I stood facing the closed door, my heart pounding in my chest. But I wouldn’t let myself speak until I was sure I was back in control and my voice was mine again. Until I was sure there was no one left in my head but me.
‘I know you’re in there, Penny. Please come out. I won’t hurt you. You’re perfectly safe, it’s only me.’
‘But who’s that?’ said Penny. Her voice came clearly to me from the other side of the door. ‘What was that I saw in your face? Was that the real you? Have I ever known the real you?’
‘I never lied to you about what I was,’ I said steadily. ‘What I was before I was me. But all I’ve ever been to you is Ishmael Jones. The man I chose to be. Look, I’m not going to break down this door. Even though we both know I could if I wanted to. I only did what I did to protect you. I let out the part of me that scares me most because it was the only way to save you. I’d never hurt you, Penny. Never allow you to be hurt. You must know that.’
I waited. I could hear her breathing slowing. But she didn’t answer me.
‘Please!’ I said. ‘I need you to trust me.’
‘Trust who?’ said Penny. ‘Trust what?’
‘The man who loves you,’ I said.
‘Do you love me?’ said Penny. ‘As a man loves a woman? Is something like you capable of that kind of love?’
‘I would die for you,’ I said. ‘Or if you want, I’ll leave Coronach House. Just walk away and disappear, and you’ll never have to see me again. I’ll do that for you, if that’s what you want. If that’s what you need, to feel safe. Because I love you. It’s up to you, Penny. You decide.’
She slowly opened the door and for a long moment we just stood there, facing each other.
I showed her the black hat I’d picked up and offered it to her. After a moment, she took it from me.
‘You were born into this world a man,’ she said finally. ‘But you were something else, before that. Do you know what?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘All I know … is that I’m scared it might be realer than me.’
She reached out and took me in her arms, holding me close. And I held on to her like a drowning man thrown a lifeline at the very last moment. I could feel her heart slowing, next to mine. Two human hearts together. Eventually we let go, and looked at each other.
‘So?’ I said. ‘What do we do now?’
Penny managed a small smile. ‘You are asking me? I suppose … we do our job. We still have a murderer to catch, and people to protect. We know Baron is the killer, but we don’t know who’s been giving him his orders. Or why any of this is happening. He can’t get out of the House, no matter whose face he puts on, because the guards have orders to shoot anyone who tries to leave. And they’re jumpy enough to shoot first and not bother with questions afterwards. So … let’s go find Baron.’
‘That’s not going to be easy,’ I said. ‘He could be anyone by now.’
‘But can he change his scent?’ said Penny.
I smiled. ‘Perhaps. If he thinks of it. He doesn’t know me nearly as well as he thinks.’
‘Well if he does, we’ll just have to catch him the old-fashioned way,’ said Penny. ‘Through clever questioning and insightful deductions.’
‘OK …’ I said. ‘You’re pushing your luck now.’
‘I know,’ said Penny.
She clapped her big hat back on her head. We laughed quietly together, held hands, and went back down the corridor.
When we finally reached the bottom of the stairs, the Major Domo was already there, in the reception area, waiting for us. Looking strained and tense, and more than ready to take it out on someone else. She saw Penny and I were holding hands, but chose not to comment.
‘Hello, Major Domo,’ I said. ‘You’re looking very much yourself. What is it this time?’
‘I’ve found the missing heads,’ she said flatly. ‘Those of the principals and escorts.’
‘Where were they?’ said Penny.
‘In the one place no one would have been expected to look. Except I did.’
‘Stop patting yourself on the back,’ I said. ‘You’ll strain something. Where were they?’
‘It was just common sense, really,’ said the Major Domo, refusing to be hurried in her moment of triumph. ‘I found them in the walk-in freezer in the kitchen, tucked away with all the other body parts.’
‘That was clever,’ I said.
‘Thank you,’ said the Major Domo.
‘I meant the killer was, but you’re welcome,’ I said. ‘We know who the killer is.’
‘Who?’ said the Major Domo. ‘Tell me!’
‘Baron,’ said Penny. ‘Your own Head of Security. That’s how the killer was able to run rings round us. Because he knew all there was to know about the House’s layout and guards.’
‘But there’s more to it than that,’ I said. ‘We’re pretty sure Baron’s working for someone else. Someone in this house. And we know for a fact that he’s a shape-changer.’
The Major Domo put up a hand, asking me to stop for a moment so she could mentally get her breath. She didn’t challenge anything I said. She didn’t even seem particularly shocked. She just nodded slowly, taking it all in and deciding what to do next.
‘Bastard!’ she said finally. ‘I trusted him. He seemed so hard-working, so eager to please. And his references were excellent! A shape-changer …’ She smiled briefly. ‘I suppose it makes more sense than a brains vampire … I should have known the Organization wouldn’t take an interest in this case unless there was an unnatural element. All right. How are we going to find Baron? He could be pretending to be anyone.’
‘Did you count the heads in the freezer?’ I said.
She nodded quickly. ‘The number’s right. But I couldn’t identify any of them. The damage to the faces was too extensive.’
‘Deliberately inflicted,’ I said, ‘so we couldn’t be sure. He wanted us to be confused as to who might be who. But I know where he’s hiding. I know how he thinks. He’ll have taken the place of one of the four surviving principals, because he believes we won’t dare question their authority. I’ll need your help to question them, Major Domo.’
‘Of course,’ she said. ‘My man, my mess. It’s my duty to help clear it up.’
‘Then you’d better go and talk to the principals,’ I said. ‘Fill them in on who and what the killer is. We’ll be along in a minute.’
She nodded quickly, and hurried off. Penny looked after her.
‘She took that rather well, I thought.’
‘She did, didn’t she?’ I said.
‘We were brought in to find a fake principal,’ said Penny. ‘So … are there two fake principals now?’
‘Beats the hell out of me,’ I said. ‘We’ll just have to get at the truth through clever and subtle interrogation.’
‘That could take a while,’ said Penny.
By the time we got to the meeting room, the Major Domo had filled the outer corridor with heavily armed security guards. Who all snapped to attention as Penny and I approached. One of them diffidently announced they’d been given orders that no one was to be allowed in or out of the meeting room, apart from me and Penny. And then only if we were together. It was clear they hadn’t been told why. I nodded approvingly. The Major Domo had been thinking about the implications of dealing with someone who could be anyone.
I knocked on the closed door and announced myself loudly. Penny added her voice, just to make it clear we were together. The Major Domo unlocked the door, looked us both over carefully, and then stepped back. The moment we were inside, she closed the door behind us. As though afraid someone might make a dash for it. The four principals weren’t at the long table any more. They were sitting separately, on chairs some distance apart. January and March weren’t even pretending to be interested in each other. August sat at the back of the room, quiet and grey as ever; the Major Domo went to stand beside him. December looked old and tired, as though he was having trouble keeping up with everything that was happening.
‘Well?’ he said querulously. ‘Is it true? Is it true what the Major Domo says? That Baron is the killer?’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘And yes, he’s a shape-changer. He can make himself look like anyone.’
The four principals looked at each other uneasily, but they all seemed to be taking the news in their stride. January saw the surprise in my face, and sniffed loudly.
‘We’ve all had dealings with the hidden world, in our time,’ she said flatly.
‘Money is money,’ said March. ‘You can find profits in the strangest places. Gold is gold. Unless it’s elf gold, of course.’
‘My family made its fortune in the hidden world, originally,’ said August.
‘Shape-changing would explain a lot,’ said December, ‘I suppose.’
‘But there’s more to it than that,’ I said. ‘Baron was just a hired man, working for someone else. Someone in this house. And the only people with the authority and money to arrange that are in this room. Baron is here, too. Pretending to be one of you, so he can use a principal’s authority to protect himself. As well as keep an eye on his employer, to make sure he, or she, won’t betray him.’
The four principals looked startled, and shocked, for the first time.
‘But that’s not possible,’ said January. ‘None of us have any reason to want the rest of the Group dead.’
‘How can you be sure?’ said March, his hands twitching restlessly in his lap. ‘We don’t know each other outside Group meetings. Who knows what we’re capable of? We all broke the rules; apart from December, of course. How can we be sure any of us really are who we claim to be?’
‘We’d know from the way we all act, wouldn’t we?’ said Augu
st, blinking confusedly. ‘I mean, someone could look like one of us but not know how to act like a principal.’
‘I’d know if you weren’t you,’ said the Major Domo.
‘Of course you would,’ said August. ‘Thank you, my dear.’
‘Claiming the killer is a shape-changer,’ said December, glaring at me, ‘could just be an excuse. To explain why you haven’t been able to catch him.’
‘Why would any of us want to hire an assassin?’ said January, sticking stubbornly to her point. She sounded honestly puzzled. ‘It doesn’t make sense. What would we have to gain?’
‘Let me walk you through the basic motives,’ I said. ‘January and March first. You couldn’t afford to be found out, because your private conspiracy could get you kicked out of the Baphomet Group. But that’s not a good enough reason to kill all the other principals. And the first killings, of Jennifer and October, took place before your relationship was revealed.
‘August, you’ve been very open about not wanting to be part of the Baphomet Group. But killing all the others wouldn’t put an end to the Group or free you from your duties. The families would just appoint new replacements, and the Group would go on.
‘And finally, December. You hated what the Group was becoming. But again, even if all the others died, they’d just be replaced by more of this new generation that you despise so much. And you’d be more outvoted than ever.’
I stopped talking, and waited.
‘OK …’ said Penny. ‘Are you saying none of these four have any reason to be the killer?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘It’s just that the basic motives don’t work here. This was never about money or position; it was always about hatred.’ I looked round the room, at the suspicious January, the supercilious March, the confused August and the scowling December. ‘But first, let’s talk about the shape-changer. Because we need to deal with him before we can proceed to his employer. Baron is in this room. I recognize … something very distinctive about him, which he didn’t think to change when he changed shape.’
Very Important Corpses Page 22
