by Taylor Leon
‘Do you know them?’
‘No, but they’ve been in once or twice before.’ He leaned in closer. ‘You want me to get someone from security to go over with you?’
‘Thanks, but I can handle this,’ I said to him and crossed over to the sofas.
Sure enough, there was Frankie sprawled face down across the lap of some skinny dude, her face buried in his blue linen shirt which was unbuttoned to his navel. His hair was gelled back and he had a small tuft of black fuzz on his chin. He looked up at me, over her shoulder.
‘Can I help you?’ he said.
Another voice called to me from behind. ‘You must be Erin. I’m Mick.’
I turned to see a tall guy in a white shirt and jeans holding a bottle of beer. He had a narrow tanned-face, and like his friend had opted for the wet look, with his hair combed back tight to reveal a large forehead.
‘You were right, your friend Erin is real sexy,’ Mick said to the back of Frankie’s head.
Frankie, rolled over on her man’s lap to look up at us. ‘Erin?’ she gasped.
I grabbed Frankie’s wrist, hoisting her up. ‘Come on Frankie,’ I said. ‘I’m taking you home.’
‘Whoa, whoa, whoa,’ said the guy under her, and he reached up to pull her back down. Frankie was wobbling and not in any position to decide where she wanted to be. I was going to make the decision for her and pulled her close to my side.
‘What are you, her mother?’ Mick said.
‘She’s drunk and I’m taking her home.’
‘She’s a grown woman who wants to play with my friend Dave,’ he said. ‘Why don’t we let her decide?’
Dave stood up on my other side and I was hemmed into this small corner of the club between these two six-foot something guys.
Dave leaned down and said into Frankie’s ear. ‘Don’t you want to stay with me for a bit, babe?’
‘I don’t know,’ she slurred. ‘Yes…I mean…I think so.’
Dave grinned and pulled her away from me. At the same time, Mick gripped my wrist. ‘If you want to stay and play, that’s fine,’ he said menacingly. ‘If not…’
Dave started dragging Frankie back towards the dancefloor.
‘Let go of me,’ I hissed at Mick.
‘Let them play,’ he said.
‘She’s drunk.’
‘Then she’ll play nicely,’ he said. ‘We’ve heard all about her. Girls like her are the reason we come here.’
It was the sleazy, sickening way he said, “We’ve heard all about her,” that set me off.
I spun round and smashed my free fist into his face. He released his grip on my left wrist and then I slammed both my palms against his ears. I felt a dozen pair of eyes turn in my direction as I left Mick kneeling on the floor in agony, and headed onto the dance-floor.
Dave was oblivious to the fact that I had floored his mate, and was trying to slow dance with Frankie. He had one arm around her waist, pulling her tight against him, in effect propping her up. His eyes were closed as he slowly and obscenely ground his crotch against her.
I yanked Frankie back by her shoulders, the sudden movement catching Dave off guard so she slipped out of his arms. The drink caused her to stumble and I just managed to catch her as she fell back, provoking a few gasps and a couple of screams from dancers in the immediate vicinity. If the music hadn’t been so loud there may have been even more commotion. Instead, I hoisted her up just as Dave squared up to me.
‘You stupid bitch,’ he said.
And then Mick grabbed me on one side and started pulling me away. I thrust my elbow into his ribs and spun around, my right fist connecting with his chin, sending him sprawling away from me.
I’d let go of Frankie without thinking, but some stranger had taken hold of her.
Now, Dave came charging at me. I deftly stepped back so he shot past. Then, as he turned around, I caught him on the chin with a high kick, sending him down to the floor next to his arsehole friend.
As they both slowly rose to their feet, holding their faces, I saw the two security guards from downstairs enter the club near the bar. Somebody was pointing them in our direction.
I reached into my pocket and flashed my ID.
‘Police,’ I shouted over the music. ‘Step back.’
Dave and Mick hovered uncertainly.
‘You make one more move,’ I said to them, ‘and instead of seeing stars, you’ll be seeing the inside of a cell.’
If it wasn’t for the music still playing, you would have thought everyone there was playing musical statues. Nobody moved.
I reached across to the kid near me, who was propping Frankie up.
‘Thanks,’ I said, and took her from him.
Keeping a close eye on Mick and Dave, I backed off the dancefloor.
‘You okay, ma’am?’ security asked me as I staggered across with Frankie, and the dancing started up again behind us.
‘I’m taking her home.’
My car was parked down a side-road near the club and both security guards gave me a hand taking a semi-conscious Frankie outside. I bleeped the car open as they dragged her along between them. They turned her around and managed to shovel her onto the passenger seat, propping her up and then wrapping the seatbelt around her.
‘You sure you’re okay taking her home?’ one of them asked me.
I looked at my friend, now fast asleep and snoring lightly. ‘I’ll let her sleep it off at my place,’ I said.
They nodded and went back inside. I closed the passenger door and crossed round. The street was empty and quiet, except for the distant beat echoing from inside the building behind me. There was a series of shuttered small independent shops across the road, their fronts hidden in shadows. I had an unnerving sixth-sense that I was being watched from over there.
I climbed in and turned on the ignition and headlights, giving one last look around for any movement. Then I pulled out into the road and drove home, keeping a paranoid eye on my rear-view mirror the whole way.
****
I carried Frankie into my flat, and laid her down on the sofa using one of the cushions as a pillow. I got a blanket from the airing cupboard and laid it over her
Sampson danced around my feet trying to figure out what was going on. I should have taken him out for a walk, but it was half-eleven and…
I am target number six.
I crossed the room and looked out of the window. There was another block of flats opposite and cars parked all the way up the narrow road. Every shadow I saw looked like someone watching me. FRIGHT-NIGHT or THE CHAMELEON waiting for their moment to strike, and take one step closer to winning the million pounds. I knew they were out there and that they would be relentless in their pursuit of me.
I crossed into the kitchen area and took out a large steak knife from its wooden block. Sampson looked at me warily and followed me into my bedroom. It had been a long time since he’d seen me bring a knife into my bedroom. That had been before I joined The Coven, when I used to keep a knife under my pillow in case Edward Cryle came back to kill me.
Edward Cryle, the monster in my dreams. But that was a psychological fear. Deep down I always knew he wasn’t going to come back. He’d killed my mother and then disappeared off the face of the Earth. I wouldn’t see him again. The knife was just a comfort blanket I had for twelve years, until The Coven gave me the confidence to let go.
But this threat was real. FRIGHT-NIGHT, THE CHAMELEON and THE GAMES-MASTER were real and I was their target. I changed into a t-shirt and climbed under my duvet. I left the side-light on and tucked the knife under my pillow, keeping my fingers wrapped around its warm handle.
44
THE GAMES-MASTER had them both together on the screen. The game had almost run its course and so it was time to hurry things along.
I ASSUME BECAUSE I HAVEN’T HEARD FROM EITHER OF YOU, THAT TARGET NUMBER 6 HAS NOT BEEN ELIMINATED YET.
Neither of them flinched. That was fine. Target number six was never going to be eas
y. Erin Dark was a police detective who knew her life was in imminent danger. Taking her unawares, and escaping without detection would be a very impressive feat. But he needed to put a time-frame on this. The finale was the trickiest challenge of all and had to happen exactly as he had planned.
I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE GAME IS ALMOST FINISHED.
Now their eyes widened at the thought that very soon one of them would be a million pounds richer.
A REMINDER THAT WHOEVER ELIMINATES TARGET 6 WILL TAKE THE LEAD AND PROGRESS TO THE FINAL. YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT TOMORROW.
45
I WOKE UP late.
From another night, full of dreams.
Of Edward Cryle.
Always Edward Cryle.
But there had been others there, tonight. Shadows that I couldn’t identify, but which I knew were FRIGHT-NIGHT and THE CHAMELEON.
Frankie was sitting up on the sofa, and looked at me quizzically as I replaced the steak knife in its wooden block, and poured myself an orange juice.
‘What’s with the knife?’ she asked.
‘Long story. How are you feeling?’
‘Lousy,’ she sighed and fell back against pillow. ‘Thank God it’s half-term and I don’t have to be in school.’
‘I slept through the alarm,’ I said, ‘but I do have to go in.’ I sat on the sofa next to her. ‘How much do you remember about last night.’
‘Not much,’ she said. ‘I’m guessing I was so drunk you had to bring me home.’
I looked at her seriously. ‘Do you even remember speaking with me on the phone?’
‘Vaguely.’
‘Do you remember Dave?’
She shook her head.
‘Mick?’
She shrugged.
I reached forward and clasped her hands in mine. ‘You can’t keep this up. Carry on like this and you will end up getting really hurt.’
She lay back and hid her face behind her forearm.
‘I’m going to shower and change,’ I said. ‘You can do me a massive favour as I’m late and you’re off work.’
She lowered her arm and looked at me suspiciously. ‘What’s that?’
I nodded at Sampson on the sofa opposite. ‘Feed my baby and take him for a walk.’
She looked across at my darling Schnoodle who sat up straight and nodded his head, as though he understood exactly what I’d just said. Maybe he did. He’s a smart pup.
‘Sure,’ she said to me, lacking any real enthusiasm, covering her face back up.
‘I want to help you, Frankie,’ I insisted.
‘Why would you want to do that?’
I frowned at her. ‘Because you’re my friend.’
‘Am I?’
The question took me by surprise. ‘What does that mean?’
She dropped her arm and looked at me, thinking hard. Then she placed a warm slim hand over mine.
‘When were you going to tell me about Desiree?’
‘You said you wouldn’t get inside my head anymore.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, with little sincerity. ‘I took advantage when your guard was down.’
‘I trusted you,’ I snapped.
‘When were you going to tell me?’
I shook my head in disgust at this invasion of privacy. ‘How much do you know?’ I asked her.
‘I know the ghost you have been seeing is Desiree, who was one of us until she was killed by another witch. She is being held in purgatory by Edgar Mansard. Now Mansard’s dying which is why you can see Desiree in a ghostly form. As he weakens, all the spirits being held by him are pushing to escape.’
She stopped and waited for me to confirm everything she had said so far. It scared me how much information she had been able to take from inside my head.
‘That’s basically it,’ I said.
‘But what I don’t understand,’ Frankie said, ‘is why doesn’t Edgar set Desiree free?’
‘There are good and bad witches locked in there,’ I told her. ‘Edgar can’t release some. It’s all or nothing and the negative repercussions of releasing the bad ones outweighs the positives of releasing the likes of Desiree.’
She pulled herself back up into a sitting position. ‘Why are you the only one who can see her?’
‘I’m a Watcher,’ I said. ‘A high-value commodity, so I’m told. I have this gift of being able to see these spirits. When they break out they are supposed to drift into the after-world, but there are some bad spirits who will come back to this world and cause some serious trouble. When they return, they won’t be able to exist in their old bodies because those physical shells have been destroyed. So, they will have to possess other people’s bodies…’
‘Arrrgh! Gross.’
‘…Edgar and Victoria believe that, as I am able to see Desiree, as a Watcher I will also be able to pick out these bad witches out when they return.’
I paused for breath and we sat looking at one another. Up until now I had been a rookie in The Coven’s ranks. It seemed that things could change very soon.
‘Victoria was going to tell you when the time was right,’ I said.
Frankie was clearly stunned by the revelations. ‘I never knew,’ she said quietly. ‘It’s not why I brought you into The Coven.’
‘I know,’ I said, and pressed her hand warmly between both of mine.
‘Are you okay?’ I asked her.
‘I’m fine,’ she whispered, but I didn’t believe her.
When I came back into the lounge half-an-hour later, having showered and dressed, she had fallen back asleep. I left a note on the breakfast bar with a spare key so she could come and go. Then I grabbed my coat and handbag and quietly let myself out. Sampson followed me and I knelt in the open doorway to give him a quick cuddle.
As I stepped out into the car park, the cold chill hit me and it wasn’t just the weather. I had a bounty on my head, and it was just a matter of time before one of the hunters made their move. I scanned the area around me. My body was like a compressed coil, ready to spring into action if I detected the slightest move towards me.
Nothing. It was dead quiet.
I walked faster than usual to my car and climbed in, uncharacteristically locking the doors after me. It wasn’t until I parked up outside the station half-an-hour later that I realised I hadn’t turned my mobile on and missed some zillion calls from Cade and Vranch.
As I walked in they both rushed me, with three uniformed officers in tow.
‘We’ve been trying to get you for the last hour,’ Cade said.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I said. ‘I missed the alarm and…’
Cade waved his hand dismissively and looked back over his shoulder at the Uniforms. ‘You boys ready to go?’
They nodded and he and Vranch both turned back to me with big grins plastered across their faces.
‘We’ve got him,’ Cade said. ‘We’ve got THE GAMES-MASTER.’
46
THE VICTIMS’ SOCIAL media accounts had been examined.
Melissa Fairweather.
Jennifer Brooks
Oriane Law
Amy Harper
The only one missing off the list was Elias James, because he didn’t use any.
An account under the name of Keith Harvey had checked out their profiles on various social media sites.
Keith Harvey’s account had been traced back to Keith Hargreaves’s home computer.
Keith Harvey was Keith Hargreaves.
This time we didn’t call up and let him know in advance we were coming. We couldn’t take a chance that he would make a run for it. We poured out of the elevator, one of the Uniforms stopping at his PA’s desk, while the rest of us continued through the open plan office.
Keith Hargreaves was in his glass room, with a team of people sat in front around the meeting table. He stood up abruptly as we came in.
‘What the hell is going on?’ he yelled at us.
‘Keith Hargreaves,’ Cade said calmly, ‘we need you to come with us.
’
Hargreaves reached for his mobile. ‘I am going to shit on you people from a great height,’ he snarled. ‘My lawyer is going to tear you apart.’
‘You’re under arrest Mr Hargreaves,’ Cade added.
The staff members around the table gasped. Hargreaves’s mouth dropped open and he lowered his phone, as Vranch crossed the room with the bracelets.
His staff all started talking at once, and Cade struggled to make his voice heard above them as he read Hargreaves his rights. Our suspect’s head dropped for a moment and he seemed to be listening, but then he suddenly jerked back up and called across to Vincent on the other side of the table. Vincent leaned back to hear his boss and friend.
‘Find Louise and tell her what’s happened,’ Hargreaves barked.
Vranch gently nudged him forward, and we led him out through the open-plan office.
‘This is a disgrace. I have done nothing wrong,’ he yelled, so everyone could hear. ‘NOTHING!!’
The staff members had stopped working and were all standing and watching.
He stopped at his PA’s desk.
‘Close the office for the day,’ he told her. ‘Send everyone home. And woe betide anyone who talks to the press.’
‘Come on,’ Vranch said, and gently pushed him forward again, towards the lifts.
Cade held me back, looked at me and smiled. ‘We got him.’
****
Cade and Vranch wanted to run the show this time. I was relegated to the back-room, watching the show on the monitor with Arnie.
The lawyer started off aggressively, demanding to know why his client had been brought back in.
Cade led the way. He was calm and confident. He knew it would take a bit of time, but we had our man. The ring-leader. THE GAMES-MASTER.
They hadn’t been sure he had even existed two days ago.
But now they knew he was real.
Find THE GAMES-MASTER and then find FRIGHT-NIGHT and THE CHAMELEON.
