by Adam Carter
He was fairly short, with a deep ruddy complexion and a round face. His white hair was almost gone, although stood out at the sides of his head in fine wisps. He wore a baggy T-shirt and trousers and reminded Lin of a clown. His expression was more like a blowfish.
“What, what, what?” he squeaked in a mild yelp. “We’re closed, closed. Go on, off with you.” He picked up a beer towel from the bar and began waving it as though it would be enough to chase them away.
Lin said nothing, allowing Baronaire to take the lead. He just had to stare hard at the rotund man for him to quail. And after a long pause Baronaire asked, “You the owner of this place?”
“Yes. Darren Milton. This is my place, yes. Who are you?”
“Friends of Marius,” Baronaire said, deadpan. “He told us to meet him here.”
At the name Milton relaxed considerably, even collapsed against the bar to fan his face with pudgy fingers. “Gods, for a moment there I thought you were the police. Ray’s coming here?”
“He came ahead of us,” Baronaire said. “Funny he’s not here yet, maybe he was picked up by the cops.”
“Whatever for?” Milton asked, exasperated. “He’s done nothing wrong. Did he say whether he’d found Donny yet?”
“He was still looking,” Baronaire said.
With the relief now washed away, Milton was starting to become suspicious. “Who did you say you were again?”
“I didn’t,” Baronaire replied. Lin tried not to smile outwardly. Here was coming Baronaire’s hypnosis trick. He would make Milton forget he had asked the question or pretend that he had answered. “You don’t need to know our names.”
Milton frowned. “Sort of do, old boy. You’re friends of Ray, you say? He never mentioned you.”
“Doesn’t matter who we are,” Baronaire tried again.
“This is my place, mister, and in my place I say it matters.”
Baronaire stared at him blankly, clearly in trouble, and Lin offered helpfully, “Uh, you don’t need to see our identification?”
The two men looked at her. Not helping, she decided.
Baronaire looked back to Milton to find a shotgun pointed in his face. Milton likely kept it under the bar, and was faster than he looked. Lin had underestimated him and it looked as though Baronaire had also. “All right,” Milton said, the fumbling barkeep routine vanished entirely now. Actually, Lin reflected, it hadn’t seemed like a routine. It was more like Milton knew when to take life seriously. That meant he was used to this sort of situation, which was bad news for the two of them. “Names. Now. And, since you mention it, identification.”
Lin could see Baronaire was spoiling for a fight, despite saying earlier that he had had enough of barroom brawls, and Lin slowly produced her driver’s licence. She tossed it onto the bar and Milton glanced at it so quickly it did not give even Baronaire the chance to strike. “Sue Lin,” Milton said. Thankfully the licence didn’t say she was a detective. “Now you, tough guy.”
Lin could see Baronaire had no intention of providing this man with any information, which either meant Baronaire really didn’t want to share his name or hadn’t brought his driver’s licence out with him. She really wished he would just show the man something: other than his police badge of course.
Lin could see Milton was on the verge of pulling the trigger and she blurted out, “His name’s Charles Baronaire.”
Baronaire scowled her way and she offered a shrug.
“So,” Milton said, “Sue and Charles.”
“Baronaire,” he growled.
Milton raised his eyebrows in question.
“Uh,” Lin offered, “he really doesn’t like people using his first name.”
“Right. Anyway ... What do you want? I take it you’re police? Or hired muscle?”
“Where’s Ilium?” Baronaire asked.
“No idea. But I’m the one with the shotgun so I’ll do the asking of the questions, thank you.”
“Why would you protect a man like that?” Baronaire continued, ignoring Milton’s words entirely. “You know what he’s done, why are you hiding him?”
“I’m not hiding him,” Milton replied, and Lin was certain he was genuinely annoyed at the suggestion. “He’s a disgrace, I don’t want anything more to do with him.”
Lin’s eyes narrowed. “What does he have on you?”
Milton fumbled for his words, although unfortunately his shotgun did not waver. “Don’t know what you mean, lass.”
“He can expose you,” Lin continued. “We could see it in Marius as well. Marius doesn’t care about Ilium any more than you do, but Ilium could say the wrong thing to the wrong people. I take it you’re a part of this rich gentlemen’s club of theirs?”
“They told you it was a gentlemen’s club?” Milton almost laughed.
“That’s what I’d believe,” Lin said, “if this woman Cara wasn’t involved as well. No, I don’t think this is a men’s club. That would suggest it’s a tradition handed down from rich father to rich son. I think this is something you all came up with together. A group of wealthy individuals bored with everyday life. You found yourselves a hobby, and now that Ilium’s gone and assaulted someone he’s brought the police in. And that means your little hobby might well be found out.”
“Which means it’s illegal,” Baronaire determined.
Not necessarily, Lin reflected, but would not disagree with her partner before this man. She had very little experience with the rich and famous, but she was under the impression they were more worried about scandal than anything else. Whatever these people got together to do, it did not have to be illegal: just socially unacceptable. For all she knew they all worked in soup kitchens at the weekend. Now there would be a social disgrace.
“Darren!”
The door burst open and Marius hurried into the cramped pub. Milton’s aim did not stir, and Lin watched in amazement as Marius ran between Milton and Baronaire, seemingly unaware there was a shotgun being pointed at someone. Marius passed them both and opened the door leading farther into the pub.
“Ray?” Milton asked.
Marius seemed to notice the police then. “Oh, you guys got here after all.” He did not seem either annoyed or pleased. He was just stating facts. “Guess you’re better than I thought. Well, you might as well come too. I have a lead on Donny.”
“Ray,” Milton called without taking his eyes from Baronaire, “these guys really are friends of yours then?”
Marius paused, and Lin could see the truth warring against speed behind his eyes. “Sure,” he said. “We all want to find Donny. Now come on.”
Begrudgingly Milton lowered the shotgun, although Lin noted he did not replace it behind the bar. He sniffed at Baronaire and motioned for the two officers to precede him through the door after Marius. Lin inhaled deeply and began to walk. She had no idea what Marius had for them, but at least the gun was down at last. Lin did not like having guns pointed in her face, even if she did have every confidence in Baronaire’s ability to snatch the weapon away before Milton could have fired it. But with Baronaire’s other abilities failing against Milton, she wasn’t certain this time even he would have been quick enough.
She did not know who these people were, and was beginning to wonder whether she ever would know for certain.
CHAPTER FIVE
The room was larger than the bar area outside. An expensive chest of drawers rested in one corner, holding a lamp of exquisite craftsmanship. There was a circular table in the centre of the room which may have been used for poker, may have been because these wealthy fools thought they were modern-day Knights of the Round Table. The carpet was more expensive than Lin’s entire flat, while in contrast the chairs seemed old and worn. Above the table hung a chandelier of glistening crystals, the light of the lamp reflecting beautifully off each stone. Lin noted the chandelier was not electric but contained a score of candles, none of which were lit.
These people were eccentric, she decided, and she did not like rich
people at the best of times. Outright weird ones were far more than she cared to deal with.
Marius was already sitting at the table and had produced some papers and a half-eaten bacon roll. He was poring over the information while he ate, and Lin felt like asking him whether he wanted to see the dessert menu.
Milton positioned himself to stand where he could keep an eye on the two officers, while Lin sat beside Marius to examine the papers with a frown. Baronaire decided he would do what he did best and strolled about the room, slowly taking everything in and sending Milton’s heart rate soaring. For all his odd resistance to Baronaire’s hypnosis, Darren Milton was still only human. If Baronaire frustrated the man enough, perhaps he might even suffer a heart attack.
“I don’t understand,” Lin said, noting that Baronaire focused on what she and Marius were discussing.
“Donny owns a lot of property,” Marius was saying, which likely explained why he had thought to bring so much paperwork with him. “He could conceivably have gone to any one of the sites he owns. We could search through them all and still never find him.”
“He could have gone abroad,” Lin suggested.
Milton grunted. “Ilium? Run from something? Guy thinks he’s in the right all the time, why would he run?”
Baronaire fixed Milton with narrowed eyes. “Because he raped someone?”
“Not according to the courts,” Milton said. “Ilium knew he could buy the courts, and what the law says goes. You don’t listen too good, Baronaire. Ilium thinks he’s in the right. He’s not running anywhere.”
“In the right?” Baronaire asked, confused. “But he ... It’s one thing to know you’re going to walk free after committing a crime, but you’re saying he actually believes he didn’t do anything wrong?”
“Ilium’s too used to having control now,” Milton said. “He’s grown used to having servants and underlings. The power’s gone to his head. We should have noticed when his province started to lose productivity. He doesn’t seem to understand he’s not the only law over here.”
“Over here?”
“We’re all a little stressed,” Marius said in a clipped tone, staring hard at Milton, “and we’re all beginning to say things we perhaps shouldn’t. Let’s just find Donald and worry about everything else later.”
“Good idea,” Lin said. “Marius, where’s Ilium?”
“The one place you wouldn’t think to look,” Marius said. “I think he’s gone after his victim.”
“Why?”
“Because she works for him. And in Donny’s warped mind that means he owns her. She ratted him out to the cops and now he’s been found not guilty he plans to punish her. He couldn’t do it before because he needed the courts to prove him not guilty. It would have seemed – to the law, the public, even himself – that he was trying to shut her up so she wouldn’t testify. He didn’t care about her testifying, but he does care about respect.”
Lin thought back to the case. She realised she did not even know the name of the victim in all of this. “Where does she live?”
“Cornerstone Road,” Marius supplied.
“That’s five miles,” Lin said. “Give or take. And we don’t know when Ilium would have gone for her.”
“We do,” Marius said. “How do you think I know he’s gone after her?”
“Because,” Lin said, “you said it was the one place we wouldn’t think to look for him?”
“No, I said the one place you wouldn’t think to look for him. You. The police.”
“I knew they were cops,” Milton muttered.
“He called you,” Lin said to Marius. “He phoned you to say he was on his way to the victim right now.”
Marius nodded. “He’ll be there in less than five minutes. No way we can cover five miles in five minutes. I was on my way here when I got the call, so I ran the rest of the way. Nothing we can do though, we can’t get there in time.”
“So why not just tell us? Why all this talk about him conceivably being anywhere?”
Marius shrugged, not even seeming all that certain himself.
Baronaire had heard enough. He was already halfway through the door.
“Wait!” Lin called. “Even you can’t do a mile a minute.”
Baronaire turned back and stared hard into her eyes. Lin closed her mouth as she realised that yes, he probably could. “Call Stockwell,” he told her. “Get me the girl’s name, house number and anything else you think might be pertinent to the case. And then get in the car and get the hell over to Cornerstone Road. I’m going to need backup on this one.”
And then he was gone.
Marius, Milton and Lin were left staring at the door. “He serious?” Marius asked, not even blinking.
“He’s always serious,” Lin said, pulling out her phone. She had a task to perform, and she did not want to disappoint. Otherwise the poor girl’s ordeal following the not-guilty verdict would be only just beginning.
*
There should have been no reason for Baronaire to have revealed anything of his abilities to the two men back at the pub, but in order to rescue the girl he had had no choice. That he had abandoned Lin was also preying upon his mind, although he sensed that neither man would harm her, that Ilium was the only true threat here. And he at last had the opportunity to find Ilium, to meet him face-to-face and sort this out for good. That he could also save the life of an innocent young woman who had already been put through too much by Ilium was not lost on him. Baronaire was no hero, he would have been the first to scoff at the very notion, but he did possess a strong sense of right and wrong. He liked to read books where good and evil were very clearly defined, perhaps because his life was never so neat. They offered Baronaire something to which he could aspire and never achieve.
They were hope for the hopeless.
There were various ways in which Baronaire might have made those five miles in as many minutes, but he knew the area well enough to go via rooftop. London may have been Sanders’s city, but Baronaire was born and raised there and the streets were his hunting ground. He knew precisely how to make it to Cornerstone Road by the direct route. His legs hammered furiously in leaps and bounds as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. There was frost forming upon the slates, but his tread was so light he knew he would not chance slipping. He moved faster than anyone had any right to, the wind whipping at his face, sending shivers of exhilaration down his spine. He should not be enjoying this, yet this was precisely the time that Baronaire felt most alive. He had a purpose, and he had the means to achieve his goal when no one else could. He was invincible and a necessary evil for this city to thrive. No doubt there would be startled reports upon the morning of a strange blur leaping from roof to roof, although even if someone had been quick enough to capture him on film he knew he would not show up after development. People would not even be able to see that he was a man, would think him only a strange shadow darting from one place to the next. It would be put down as a weather phenomenon, and even Sanders would not grump too much about it.
Baronaire made it to Cornerstone Road just as Lin phoned him. He perched upon the edge of the roof and gazed at the street, but could see no sign of anyone suspicious. There were a few people about, but no one he would have thought was Ilium.
“The woman’s name is Charley Greene,” Lin told him. “She lives at number seven.”
Baronaire turned his gaze to number seven, but again nothing was amiss. He narrowed his eyes, staring harder. “The door’s ajar.”
“Get in there. I’m on my way, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Baronaire did not like to think that Ilium had been faster than him, but there was no sense in berating himself over it now. Dropping to ground level, he walked briskly to the front door, not wishing to attract any further attention, and pushed it open as though he owned the house. Immediately he was greeted with sounds of a scuffle; a woman’s screams being stifled and a man growling angrily. Something broke, sounded like pottery, and Baronaire clo
sed the door behind him before hastening into the living room.
It was a warm, cosy place, possibly owned by the woman’s parents if Charley Greene was only a young intern. Photographs dotted the shelves, and fresh-scented flowers sat nursing clean water in a vase upon the mantelpiece. A small collection of toby jugs was arranged beside the fireplace, and it was one of these which Baronaire noticed had split upon the floor. In all the warm friendliness of the living room, it seemed almost sacrilege to have a broken ornament lying untended upon the thick carpet.
There were two people in the room. A young attractive woman of probably no more than nineteen years was struggling with a man in his mid-twenties. He wore dark trousers and shirt, and a scowl to turn aside any nun collecting for orphans. He had his arm about the woman’s chest, holding her so her back was pressed to him while he used his free hand to cover her mouth. Whether he was attempting to choke her to death or just stop her from screaming Baronaire could not say. Nor did he much care.
“Donald Ilium,” Baronaire said dryly. “Let her go.”
Ilium froze at the voice and stared hard at Baronaire. Baronaire looked into the eyes of a man who thought himself superior to all other men. There was anger bubbling within Ilium, a rage Baronaire could not even explain. His eyes were almost shaking and Baronaire would have put it down to lunacy; yet he knew Ilium was power-crazed, not insane. Ilium wanted things to go precisely as he planned, and cared nothing for anyone who stood in his way. That did not make him insane. It just made him a jerk.
“Who are you?” he boomed as though he was used to speaking to masses. “How dare you interfere!”