The Anomaly (Scarrett & Kramer Book 2)

by Neil Carstairs

  “I’m sorry,” she said as she held them at arm’s length. “You just look so sad standing there.”

  “I should have checked the forecast.”

  “Here.” Hannah passed him the brolly as she opened the boot of her car and put the bouquet inside. “I hope you don’t mind me sticking them away in here. They’ll just soak into the seats if I put them inside.”

  “No, that’s fine.” He did the correct thing and sheltered her to the entrance, which Hannah appreciated. Inside they were shown to their table, and Hannah let Tim head off to the gents so he could at least dry off. When he returned, he looked a little less like a drowned rat.

  Hannah thought the restaurant looked cosy. There were only twelve tables on the ground floor, most of them occupied, but the layout allowed each one to feel as if it was on its own. She’d been in some places, especially in London, where she felt as if she was sitting on a stranger’s lap the tables were so tightly packed.

  “Shall we start again?” he asked.

  She held out a hand. “Hi, I’m Hannah. Do you come here often?”

  “A few times a year. Usually with an older woman.”

  “Oh,” Hannah said in surprise. She stared at Tim and hoped he was joking. “Not our headmistress I hope?”

  “No, her name is Elaine. She’s sixty-eight and my mother.”

  “I have to say, that’s a relief.” Hannah fanned her face with the menu.

  “She comes up four or five times a year. We tried a few different places to eat out, and she settled on this one. She reckons it’s the best Italian she’s ever been to. So when you agreed to a date, I thought only the best would do.”

  Hannah grinned across the table. “And here I was, not realising what a smooth talker you were.”

  A waiter came to their table. He lit the single candle that sat in the centre of their table next to a slim, cut glass vase that held a single red rose. Hannah said no to wine to avoid drink-driving. They ordered their meals, Tim went for spaghetti polpette and Hannah chose tagliatelle saporite. To Hannah’s surprise, the conversation flowed. Tim seemed much more relaxed away from school. She wondered if he felt more comfortable in familiar surroundings and the fact they weren’t anywhere near the little horrors in their classrooms. Her only regret as the evening wore on were the gradual lies she began to tell. As far as Tim knew, Hannah was a graduate looking for permanent work in the area and taking the TA role as an emergency stand-in. She couldn’t tell him her real job, or even the usual cover that she worked for a government department. She began to wish she’d listened when her course instructors said how difficult undercover work could get.

  By the time Tim paid the bill, and said a definite no to going halves, she’d decided a second date would be on the cards if he asked. She knew he would ask. Well, Hannah hoped he would. But as they finished their coffees he still hadn’t asked, and when he paid the bill she expected him to bring the subject up, but he didn’t. When they got up to leave Hannah figured she had failed his girlfriend test. Maybe he did prefer older women.

  Outside, the rain still fell. Tim looked up at the night sky in resignation. The streetlights illuminated the falling raindrops. Hannah thought they looked quite pretty, like diamonds sprinkled from heaven.

  Wow, that’s romantic. This evening must have got to me.

  “Oh, well,” Tim said. “Guess we’ll see each other tomorrow.”

  “Yes.” She waited. Tim looked up at the rain again. He’s not going to ask.

  They moved out of the way as another couple left the restaurant. Hannah started to feel a little awkward standing in the rain with nothing to say as the rain began to soak into her clothing.

  Well, I’m not standing here getting wet for nothing.

  “Guess we better be going,” she said.

  Tim nodded and hunched his shoulders against the weather.

  Hannah sighed. “Where do you live?”

  “Up on the new estate. It’s not far.”

  “Far enough at this time of night and in this rain,” Hannah said. “I’ll give you a lift.”

  “No, I’m fine. I can walk,” Tim said.

  Hannah blipped the car locks open. “Get in,” she said. “It’s the least I can do after you paid for the meal.”

  The journey took about five minutes by car, two of those sitting at a red traffic light. Hannah parked up in a cul-de-sac of modern two-bed semis. They sat in silence, engine running, Hannah waiting for Tim to either get out or speak.

  “Would you like to come in for a coffee?” he asked.

  Hannah thought about that for two seconds. “Sure, but only coffee. Nothing else.”

  Tim frowned as if he didn’t understand, and then he twigged. “Oh, no, I wasn’t expecting that or anything. I mean, I’m not like that. I wouldn’t...”

  She put a hand on his arm. “Chill. I didn’t think you were, but a girl’s got to be straight with a guy in this day and age.” Plus, if you did try something, I could put you in hospital with one arm tied behind my back.

  “Okay. But honestly, I was just inviting you in for a coffee.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  Tim used a coffee machine to make their drinks. He seemed to be back to his shy, uncertain self.

  “When was the last time you brought a girl back here?” Hannah asked.

  “Oh, a few years, I guess.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “Well, you’re good looking, got a good job, nice house. I’d have thought someone around here would have fixed you up with a date from time to time.”

  He shrugged, concentrating on the machine. “I did have a serious relationship just after university. But when it ended I stayed away from getting involved with anyone else.”

  “It hurt too much?”

  “Yes.”

  Hannah leant against the counter-top to drink her coffee. From what she’d seen of the house Tim kept it neat and tidy. He would make a good partner for someone. But if Tim didn’t want to get hurt then it couldn’t be her. Best let him down lightly if he brought up a second date. It would make life at school awkward for a while, but her TA position would see out the term until Christmas and then the department could rotate another officer in as close protection for Emily.

  “You?” Tim asked.

  “Dated guys here and there but never anything serious. Education and career, that’s been my aims so far.”

  “Mrs Lynch thinks you’re wonderful.”

  “Well, that’s very kind of her. I’ve only been in class a couple of days.”

  Tim nodded. He looked at the floor and said in a rush, “Would you want to meet up again? Maybe see a film. Or just for a drink?”

  “Sure.” Now why did I say that? I’m supposed to be letting him down lightly. Jesus.

  “Great.” He looked up, beaming. “How about the weekend? There’s a nice pub on the Oxford road. The Fox.”

  “I know it,” Hannah said.

  “I can pick you up.”

  “Oh, no need, that’s over my way so I can drive and meet you.”

  “It’s not a problem to come and collect you,” Tim said.

  It is for me if you saw my accommodation at the Hall. Along with the armed guards and layered security. But at least the anti-aircraft system is well hidden.

  “Are you sure?” Tim asked.

  “I’m fine.” Hannah finished her coffee. “I best be going anyway. I need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed if I want to keep impressing Mrs Lynch.”

  Tim followed her to the doorstep. The rain still fell. Hannah turned and said, “Playground duty before school?”

  “Yes.”

  “What a coincidence.”

  He laughed. “You noticed then?”

  “Just a little. You’ll have to get the other teachers to mix up the rota again, or we’ll never have anything to talk about on our date.”

  “I quite like being on duty with you,” Tim said.

  “Only quite?”


  Tim smiled. Hannah stood on the front path, and he stood in the house, just inside the threshold. It meant she was a few inches down from him even if she went up on tiptoes.

  Tim blinked when Hannah kissed him. She stepped back so he couldn’t see her blushing in the hall light. “See you tomorrow, Mr Munro.”

  “Yes. You too, Miss Davis.”

  ***

  Stanton wanted Moira. She ran through his bloodstream like a drug. Her image filled his mind. He saw her clothed. He saw her naked. He wanted her.

  The mist covered the valley once again, thickening until it pressed in on his car and all the world ceased to exist. He drove slowly, alone in the vehicle, hoping he could find the house without Moira to guide him. Her call came as a surprise just as he was finishing for the day. She simply said come to me. Stanton felt the pull as if she had an invisible leash strapped to him. If he’d even wanted to, he could never have resisted the summons. As it was, he had no choice but to allow the magnet in his head to guide him along the narrow lanes to her strange house.

  The mist curled away, and the land returned. An odd, indistinct patchwork of woodland and scrub. The familiar fields of Cornwall didn’t seem to exist here. This area held a difference that chilled him. He needed to ask Moira about it. Why did she live so far out on the open moorland?

  Her house appeared, as if from nowhere. Stanton gazed up at it. The wood seemed warped and old. He saw no stones or bricks. Only planks and logs and ivy that stretched across the structure like a blanket. The leaves moved as Stanton walked towards the door. They beckoned him onwards. Green hands that rustled and fluttered in applause as he stepped up onto the porch.

  Moira must have been watching out for him. The door opened as he reached for the brass knocker. She looked a vision in black. Even her lipstick glistened with a midnight darkness that fascinated Stanton.

  “Alec.” The way she said his name made his heart race. Moira slipped one hand behind his neck and drew him down for a kiss.

  Her touch hit him like a drug. A song began to play in his bloodstream. The sound lifted him from his feet until it felt like he floated. Moira took hold of the lapel of his jacket in one hand and pulled him through the open door. Stanton could barely stand. Moira drifted around him like a dance partner, touching and stroking his body. Somehow he ended up lying on a huge animal skin rug.

  Moira appeared above him. Stanton reached for her, and she descended upon him, enfolding him in her arms. Her warmth embraced him. He closed his eyes. He drifted. The animal skin changed beneath him. It became soft grass, and when he opened his eyes, he found they were in a woodland glade. Sunlight bathed their naked bodies. Moira drew him over until he lay upon her. Her body accepted his and Stanton surrendered to the heat and power of her flesh. He lost himself in the movements, his mind full of light as she arched beneath him.

  Sometime later he woke. They were on the rug, and Moira sat cross-legged beside him. She smiled and reached out, running a hand across his bare chest.

  “We need to talk,” she said.

  “We do?”

  “Yes.” She rose to her feet. The word statuesque came to his mind. And magnificent.

  Darkness edged his vision. The animal skin seemed to grow above him. Or maybe he sank into it. Moira straddled him. Stanton let her. Any fear of the darkness vanished. He saw figures moving in the periphery of his vision. They ran in swift, darting motions. Some small, some large. He saw a naked man with the head of a stag. A woman with tiger fur instead of skin.

  A wolf that brushed close to Moira and spoke with the voice of a man, This one?

  “No, I don’t think so,” she ran a hand down the side of his face. “He’s weak, easily led.”

  Then why is he here?

  “He needs to talk to me.” Moira rested her forehead on Stanton’s. Her eyes filled his vision. Dark pools that expanded until he felt himself falling into a void.

  “Alec?” she whispered. “I can hear your heartbeat. I can feel it. It’s mine.”

  She came to him. He felt her walking through his mind. Footsteps echoed in the corridors of his memory. A touch, a whisper. He let her into his core. She saw the village, the Anomaly, the woman. A man. A ruthless, dangerous man.

  “Where?” she asked.

  Stanton showed her.

  His eyes opened. Moira kissed him. His hands explored her and found her ready for him. Moira took him again, riding him. Stanton forgot everything of the dream as his world centred on this beautiful woman.

  ***

  When Emily woke, she knew she wasn’t alone in her room. She listened carefully but heard no sounds. No breathing. No minute rustle of clothing. That meant only one thing.

  A spirit.

  Ever since Darlford, the number of visions Emily received had dropped to close to zero. No sudden insights into future events. The return to what some people called ‘normal’ both pleased and upset her. It pleased her because as an almost eleven-year-old she struggled to cope with some of the things she saw. Death. Violence. Monsters. And it saddened her because no matter how much she thought she might be returning to ‘normal’ she couldn’t be because her angels accompanied her wherever she went. And she wouldn’t have guardian angels if she was ‘normal,’ would she?

  Emily rolled over and looked out into the darkness of her room. A figure sat in the chair in front of her homework desk. A boy.

  “Connor!” Emily sat up. Tears pricked her eyes as the boy smiled. His teeth seemed to shine across the room as he rose and walked to her. He sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand.

  “Hello, Emily.”

  Connor felt solid as she put her arms around him. And warm.

  “I miss you,” Emily whispered.

  “I know.”

  Connor was so different to her and yet so much the same. She’d met him first in a vision when he’d warned her about the demon Scieppend. That was when Connor was still alive. He’d grown up in England, in inner city Birmingham, with a teenage mother and a talent for precognition that led to him working for Douglas Congrave. He sat next to her now, his dark skin merging with the shadows of her room. Emily wished he hadn’t died in Darlford.

  She sat back, wiped her eyes on the duvet cover and switched on her bedside light. Connor’s glow faded. He seemed real now. Not like the angels who were just ethereal glimmers when she looked at them. But Connor was dead. There had been a search for him after the battle with the demon at Darlford. Connor, his mother Devon and the spy lady Natalie had never been found. Everyone said they were dead, but Emily always hoped that maybe, just maybe, they were alive somewhere.

  Connor sensed her thoughts. “It’s okay,” he said. “We’re happy. It’s a good place to be.”

  “Your mum and Natalie as well?”

  “Yes. All of us.”

  Emily sniffed. “I wish you could have lived.”

  “It was never meant to be.” Connor patted her leg under the bed cover. He sounded so adult about death and the afterlife. They were silent for a moment, Connor waiting, Emily thinking.

  “Why are you here?” she asked.

  “Because there is danger coming.”

  “Is that why there are angels with me?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t get visions anymore. It’s like a switch was turned off after Darlford.”

  “You are recharging at the moment,” Connor said. “They will come back.”

  “Part of me hopes they don’t.”

  Connor sighed. “When I was alive I thought the same.”

  “And now you don’t?”

  “Now I know different.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means you’re a link, a special link. Even now you still don’t realise how important you are.”

  “I don’t feel important.”

  He reached out a stroked her arm. Emily wondered if when she grew up, Connor would always appear as a child to her. If he still came.

  “Others know how important you are. Tha
t’s why I’m here.”

  Emily saw a look in his eyes that scared her. “What is it?” she asked.

  “When it happens you will know what to do.”

  “Connor,” Emily said. “You’re scaring me.”

  “I’m sorry.” Connor seemed to fade a little before her eyes.

  “Connor?”

  “Be ready,” he said and vanished.

  The bedroom door opened and Emily’s mom put her head into the room.

  “You should be asleep. Are you watching a video on your tablet?”

  “No.”

  Jane came in. She wore a nightdress that had a Best Mom logo on the front. She sat on the edge of Emily’s bed right where Connor had been.

  “Is everything okay?” Jane asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “I don’t know,” Jane shrugged. “You are in a new country. You’ve started school. We’re still a bit messed up because Pete had to go back home. And it wasn’t that long ago a demon tried to kill you. So I’m just asking if you are okay?”

  “Yes. I’m okay.”

  “You’ll talk to me if there are any problems, won’t you?”

  “Mom, I’m fine.”

  Jane leant over and kissed Emily on the cheek. “Go to sleep, then. Sweet dreams.”

  “’Night, Mom.”

  Jane left the room. Emily turned off the bedside lamp. She waited for Connor to reappear. He didn’t, and even if he had, she wouldn’t have noticed because she slipped back into sleep where dark clouds rolled over the English countryside and left only desolation in their wake.

  Chapter Eight

  Five people stood in Congrave’s office. The man himself, wore an MCC tie and looking as if a war goddess wasn’t trying to take over the world. Ben’s thoughts were dominated by Kramer, hoping that the British soldier Tom would call with an update. Reuben, leaned on a wall, observing as normal but ready to offer an opinion if asked. Ruth Clements had her reading glasses balanced on the end of her nose as she peered over the top of them. Last of all, Daisy was ready with her ever-present notebook as Congrave handed out orders and instructions that she recorded in precise shorthand.