The Dark Side of the Road

by Simon Green

  ‘When Ishmael and I came back from our walk, with James’ body, the front door was locked!’ said Penny. ‘If Jeeves hadn’t heard us yelling and let us in …’

  ‘We could have died,’ I said.

  No one admitted to locking the door.

  ‘Wait a minute!’ said Walter. ‘I’ve just thought of something! The killer could be hiding in one of the outbuildings! In one of the guest cottages!’

  ‘We already looked at the cottages, Daddy,’ said Penny. ‘We didn’t see anyone.’

  ‘But we only looked inside the tithe barn,’ I said. ‘We didn’t go inside any of the cottages. There were no lights on, no obvious signs of occupation or forced entry … but the cottages should certainly be searched at some point. When the weather permits.’

  ‘I will do that, if it needs doing,’ Jeeves said immediately. ‘I am a professional bodyguard. And I have a gun.’

  ‘But you work for Walter,’ I said. ‘Who, I regret to say, could be a suspect. Who knows what orders you’re following? I worked for the Colonel, which means I am the only one here with no motive to want him dead.’

  ‘How do we know that?’ said Khan, his voice rising. ‘We have no idea what your real relationship with James was like! A lot of people have good reason to want their boss dead. What did you do for the Colonel? What exactly is your job, Ishmael?’

  ‘I protect the innocent and punish the guilty,’ I said.

  ‘Oh, that’s not vague at all,’ said Roger. ‘Who are you really, Ishmael?’

  ‘If you find out,’ I said, ‘let me know.’

  Melanie turned abruptly to Jeeves. ‘Lock all the doors, front and back! And make sure all the windows and shutters are properly secure! I don’t want anyone outside getting into the house!’

  ‘I have already done that,’ said Jeeves.

  ‘Well … do it again!’ said Melanie.

  Walter nodded to Jeeves. ‘Probably best to check. If only to reassure people … And you’d better go down to the kitchen and tell Cook what’s going on.’

  ‘Of course, sir,’ said Jeeves. He strode off down the hallway, disappearing into the dark depths of the house. Everyone looked at everyone else, trying to decide whether they felt safer or not, now the man with the gun was gone.

  Walter just sent his bodyguard away, I thought. Leaving him unprotected. And Jeeves didn’t even argue. I just missed something … What did I miss?

  ‘I think we should all go to our own rooms, and lock the doors, and barricade ourselves in, and wait till the police arrive!’ said Melanie.

  ‘No,’ I said immediately. ‘Not a good idea. Being on your own is the best way to get picked off. The killer could go quietly from room to room, kill everyone, and then just leave.’

  ‘That’s a horrible thought!’ said Sylvia.

  ‘What do you suggest, Ishmael?’ said Penny.

  ‘We should all stay together,’ I said. ‘In one room, with one easily defended door. Where we can all watch and protect each other.’

  Everyone seemed to like the sound of that. Safety in numbers is always a comfort.

  ‘Wait! I just thought!’ said Sylvia. ‘The murderer could already be gone! I mean; if he killed James out in the garden, he might never have come inside the house. He could have murdered James, hidden the body, and then left the gardens by … whatever way he got in! Why would he hang around? The snow would cover up whatever tracks he left …’

  ‘She’s got a point,’ said Walter. ‘Good thinking, girl!’

  They all began to smile, and relax, for the first time. Everyone liked the sound of this new idea. They wanted to believe it. Because it meant the killer was gone, so they didn’t have to worry any more … and because it meant one of them didn’t have to be a killer, after all.

  Khan looked at me, scowling thoughtfully. ‘James did have enemies. Someone could have followed him here.’

  ‘Yes,’ I said. I was about to point out that the Colonel couldn’t have been killed where he was found, because there was no blood pool, but I decided to keep that to myself. Let the killer think themselves safe.

  ‘I think we should have dinner as planned,’ Walter said loudly. ‘And talk things through. Don’t you, eh? All of you? I think we’ll all feel a lot better with some good hot food and drink inside us.’

  They were all nodding and smiling. I was quietly amazed they could contemplate just sitting down to dinner, so soon after a sudden violent death. But I said nothing. Let the killer think suspicion had passed. I’d still be watching.

  Six

  Predators and Prey All Drink from the Same Pool

  Walter and Melanie led the way down the hall, and we all just followed on behind. As though it was just another dinner, and just another day, and no one had died who mattered. Roger was still sticking close to Penny, who didn’t have the heart to brush him off. Khan was right behind them, trying to attract Roger’s attention so they could continue their conversation. To his credit, Roger was having none of it. Not as long as he thought Penny needed him. Everyone was all talking loudly and cheerfully, as though they could drive back the dark if they only made enough noise. Diana and Sylvia walked together, apparently inseparable, until Diana stopped abruptly and looked back at me, bringing up the rear. She gestured for me to wait, and then smiled apologetically at Sylvia.

  ‘You go on ahead, dear,’ said Diana. ‘I need to talk privately with this young man.’

  Sylvia glowered at me, openly suspicious. ‘Are you sure, Diana? I could hang around, at a respectful distance, just so you’re not left alone with him …’

  ‘No; you go on, Sylvia,’ said Diana, and there was enough authority in her voice that Sylvia just shrugged quickly, turned, and walked on.

  Diana came forward, to stand before me. She had to tilt her head back, to look up at me. And in her old face, I could see a young face I used to know. She stared at me with something like wonder. ‘You look just like the young man I used to know, back in Paris.’

  ‘But that was 1969,’ I said gently. ‘All those years ago. So it couldn’t have been me, could it? That would have to be my grandfather, Adam.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Diana. ‘That was his name. You look like him, sound like him, move like him. Every time I look at you, something you say or do brings back an old memory. Like the Ghost of Christmas Past; when the world and I were both so very much younger.’ She reached up to touch my face, with a trembling old hand. I stood still, and let her, doing my best to keep my smile nothing more than polite and respectful. Her fingertips trailed across my face, like the hand of a blind woman searching for truth.

  ‘My dear Adam,’ she said. ‘In Paris, in the spring. Such a time to be alive. But mostly what I remember now was how badly I treated him. I was young and foolish, and I thought I had the world at my feet. I told him to his face that my career had to come first. That I was one of the leading dancers of my generation, and I had a duty to pursue my art. And then I was surprised when he walked out on me. I never saw him again. So I could never tell him how wrong I’d been, and how sorry I was. Could I tell you, instead?’

  ‘I’m sure he knew, then,’ I said gently. ‘And I’m sure he knows now. But yes, you can tell me. If you like.’

  ‘I’m so sorry, Adam,’ she said, her voice cracking as old unshed tears glistened in her eyes.

  ‘It’s all right, Diana,’ I said. I took her in my arms and held her. And she clung to me like a drowning woman.

  After a while, I gently pushed her away from me. ‘Take my arm,’ I said. ‘And I’ll lead you into dinner.’

  ‘Thank you, Ishmael,’ she said. ‘Sometimes, as you get older, you have to take your comforts where you can find them. My son is gone, my first love is gone, and all that’s left is some old woman whose face I don’t even recognize in the mirror. Getting old … is all about leaving things behind.’

  ‘That’s not getting old, girl,’ I said. ‘That’s just life.’

  She laughed, briefly. ‘You sound just like him.’
/>
  She slipped an arm through mine, and I led her down the hallway. She was smiling.

  Of course I remembered her, from Paris, in the spring, when we were both so very young. I’d only been human six years then, and I was still learning what that was. Diana taught me everything I needed to know about love; about joy and happiness and shared good times. About the importance of caring more for someone else than for yourself. I didn’t leave Diana because of her career. I left because I couldn’t be who and what she needed me to be. Because I couldn’t grow old alongside her.

  I remembered Diana, dancing. Like the Goddess of Dance come down to blaze among mere mortals. I thought … She doesn’t need me. She needs a good man. I hoped she’d find one, after I was gone. Instead, she found Walter Belcourt, which didn’t last, and then apparently a succession of cheerful young women like Sylvia. Who were never meant to last. I wondered how long it had been since Diana last danced, throwing her body across a lit stage like the music itself come to life. And then curtsying deeply to an audience driven to its feet by wild appreciation.

  Throwing flowers and cheering themselves hoarse, and pounding their hands together till they ached.

  Of course I remembered Diana, in that wonderful year, with the best films and the best songs ever. Of course I remembered being young, and in love. But what would be the point of saying anything? What could I say that wouldn’t be cruel?

  We came at last to the dining hall door, and there was Walter, waiting for us, with Sylvia at his side. He fixed me with a stern look.

  ‘Just need a quick word with you, Ishmael,’ he said briskly. ‘You go on in, Diana my dear. I kept Sylvia here with me to walk you in, so you wouldn’t have to be on your own, even for a moment.’

  ‘How very kind of you, Walter,’ said Diana, disengaging her arm from mine. ‘If you’d been this thoughtful when we were married, we might still be together. I was just talking to Ishmael about my old dancing days. You never did see me dance, did you, Walter?’

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘But I am told, you were a wonder to behold.’

  She was. Oh, she was.

  Walter pushed open the dining hall door, and Diana and Sylvia went in together. Walter shut the door, very firmly, shutting off a brief clamour of raised voices from within. And then he hesitated, not sure where to start.

  ‘What is it, Walter?’ I said, as kindly as I could.

  ‘We need to talk,’ said Walter, but still he hesitated.

  ‘Tell me,’ I said. ‘Why did you bring in Jeeves as a bodyguard for this particular weekend gathering? Were you expecting trouble?’

  Walter nodded, slowly. ‘Not much gets past you, does it, boy? I’ve had bodyguards before, that neither Diana or Melanie needed to know about. But this is the first time I felt the need for an armed guard so close at hand. I hired Jeeves after Alex told me there had been a series of threats made against the company. More serious threats than usual. The company has been having cash flow problems, of late, and we had no choice but to lay off a whole bunch of people. The Board made the decision, of course, but I went along. These things happen … You do what you have to do, to keep the company going. We would have hired them all back, as soon as things improved … Or at least, I like to think we would.

  ‘Anyway, Alex brought these latest threats to my attention because they were death threats. You destroyed my life so I’ll destroy yours … Aimed not just at me, but my family as well. Nasty stuff … Alex turned them over to the police, of course, but they couldn’t offer much in the way of reassurance, or protection. So I felt it best to err on the side of caution.

  ‘Jeeves isn’t just here to look after me; he’s here to protect Melanie and Diana and Penny. I didn’t know James would be here too … I didn’t tell Melanie, because I knew she’d only be upset. I didn’t tell Diana, because I knew she wouldn’t take it seriously. And I didn’t tell Penny … because she would only have insisted she could take care of herself. I wanted them protected. It isn’t the first time I’ve lied to them, to keep them safe. And in the end, it turns out the threat wasn’t to any of them, after all. The bastard went after my son, James.’

  ‘You still think this is aimed primarily at you, rather than the Colonel?’ I said.

  Walter reached into an inside pocket with an unsteady hand and brought out an envelope with familiar handwriting on the outside. He hefted the envelope in his hand, as though it was something precious that he didn’t want to give up.

  ‘James left a letter with me, to give to you as soon as you arrived. It was the very first thing he did, yesterday evening. Before he even said hello. I told him he could give it to you himself, but there was something in his eyes … He didn’t look scared; more, resigned. I should have pressed him for details … but there were so many things I wanted to say to him, so many things I needed to talk to him about. So we sat in my study, together, and we talked for hours and hours. Just the two of us. He couldn’t tell me anything about his work, of course, and I wasn’t really interested. This was all … father and son stuff. I wanted to be sure he was happy, content in his life. That he was living the kind of life he wanted. He said he was. I like to think we made our peace … I’m glad we had that chance, at least.’

  ‘He couldn’t tell you about his work,’ I said. ‘Who he was, what he did. But if he could have, you would have been proud of him.’

  ‘Of course I was proud of him!’ said Walter. ‘I was his father …’ His voice cracked on that last word, and he thrust the sealed envelope at me.

  I took it from him and studied the inscription on the outside. Just my name, in the Colonel’s immaculate hand. I’d seen it before, on so many sealed orders. I looked up, to see Walter gazing at me expectantly.

  I just looked back, until it became clear to him that I wasn’t going to open the envelope until I was alone.

  ‘Security,’ I said.

  ‘Of course,’ said Walter. ‘I understand.’

  ‘I will tell you what it says, later,’ I said. ‘If there’s anything in it you need to know. It’s probably just my instructions. Explaining why he called me here, and what I’m supposed to be doing.’

  Walter nodded, reluctantly. He turned to the closed dining hall door, hesitated, looked back. ‘Will you be all right here, on your own?’

  ‘I’m always on my own,’ I said. ‘And I’m always all right.’

  Walter nodded again, trying to look like he understood. He pushed the door open, and once more there was a brief uproar of raised voices from inside, before the door shut them off again. I put my back against the door, so I could keep an eye on the empty hallway, and then I opened the envelope.

  It wasn’t a long letter. Just a hurried scrawl, rather than the Colonel’s usual perfect penmanship. Wouldn’t surprise me if he wrote it in his car, before he got out and entered Belcourt Manor. One last piece of insurance.

  As I read it, I could hear the Colonel’s voice in my head. Calm and assured, even in the face of danger. Because he was the Colonel.

  Ishmael; watch your back. I have returned to my old home to face a very real danger; because my family is at risk. I stayed away all these years, distanced myself from my family, so that my work wouldn’t endanger them. But now, everything has changed. A horror has come to Belcourt Manor. I don’t know if I can stop it, if I can protect my family. If it turns out I can’t, I must ask you to do it for me. I can’t even tell you what I think the danger is, because I have no proof; and I can’t risk pointing you in the wrong direction. It is possible that I am wrong. And if I am, then we’ll just have a jolly Christmas together. But that’s not the way I’d bet. Whatever happens, Ishmael, protect my family.

  And that was it. Not even a signature. Just one last note, from a man who believed he was going to his death and went willingly. Because he had always been a man who believed in duty. And in one last act of love for his family. I read through the letter again, looking for some clue as to what kind of danger I’d been brought here to fight. A horror has come to
Belcourt Manor …

  That suggested a danger from my world, not from Walter and his business. From the hidden world, and the dark side of the road. I had to wonder: how bad was this danger that a man as experienced in dealing with bad things as the Colonel could fall to it so easily? A man who’d shut down many a monstrous trouble in his time? I’d worked with him in the field on several occasions, seen him in action. The Colonel always led the way, because he was the best of us.

  I remembered the Murder Generals; the Dark Lady from Under the Hill; the Queen in Waiting and the Cathedral in Flames; and the High Orbit Ghosts. They all threatened the world, in their time, until the Colonel and I put them down.

  But I’d seen nothing at Belcourt Manor to suggest the touch of Outside Forces. Could the Colonel’s death really be nothing more than a disgruntled ex-employee? Sawing off the Colonel’s head spoke to human cruelty, to making a vicious point … I couldn’t rule that out. But I couldn’t believe the Colonel would call me in for anything so straightforward. No; this had to be linked to the Colonel’s past. All the enemies he made, all across the world, doing the Organization’s business.

  Except I would have sworn an oath they were all dead. The Colonel never did believe in leaving loose ends.

  I slipped the letter carefully back in its envelope and tucked it securely away in an inside pocket. And then I pushed open the door and went in to dinner.

  They were all sitting around one end of a really long table, in the grand old dining hall of Belcourt Manor. The room was huge, vast, overpowering. Big enough to play cricket in, with a high arched ceiling you couldn’t have reached with a stepladder. A great fire burned fiercely, in a massive stone fireplace. Two hanging chandeliers shed fierce electric light from one end of the dining hall to the other. The shutters covering the two huge windows at the far end were so heavy, I couldn’t hear even a murmur from the storm outside. The room was in a state of denial, like the people inside it.

  Everyone at the table made a point of not looking up as I entered. They all seemed very preoccupied, though the plates set out in front of them were all conspicuously empty. I slammed the door, on general principles, and strolled forward.