‘Vodka. Straight.’ Jessica stood in front of the large mirror hanging above the fireplace and tidied her hair. ‘They’ve only been on Kulsay for a couple of hours. I’m waiting for Jane Talbot’s first report.’
‘What’s she like, the Talbot woman?’
‘Not your type,’ Jessica said. ‘Not my type either, for that matter. Takes life far too seriously.’
‘And you don’t?’
‘Life’s a game, Celeste; an adventure. It doesn’t pay to treat it too seriously. I learned that lesson a long time ago.’
‘As long as you’re not treating the Kulsay project as a game. The Sorority has a great deal invested in this project. As have I, personally. As your sponsor my reputation is indelibly linked with yours. You mess up and my credibility with the other women goes down the toilet.’
Jessica opened her purse and took out a compact and a silver tube of lipstick. Moving closer to the mirror she repaired her makeup. Celeste came up behind her with a glass half filled with vodka and set it down on the mantelpiece.
‘Thanks,’ Jessica said. ‘And you needn’t worry. Nor should they. No one’s invested more in this in terms of time and effort than me. Kulsay is one project that will be receiving my undivided attention.’
‘How do you think Carl will react when he realizes he’s been duped?’
‘I should imagine that he’ll be very disappointed in me. But by then it will be too late, far too late. For the moment though, he thinks he’s on top of things, acting as my safety net, and it’s better to let him think that way.’ Sliding the compact and lipstick back into her bag, she took the glass from the mantelpiece, filled her mouth with the spirit and let it swirl over her tongue. She gave a small shudder as she swallowed. She stared at Celeste’s reflection in the mirror. The woman was smiling at her, but the eyes were dead. A very dangerous woman, like the rest of the Sorority. ‘I’d better get back, before I’m missed,’ Jessica said.
‘I’ll be in touch soon,’ Celeste said, pecking her on the cheek and stroking the downy hairs at the nape of Jessica’s neck. ‘Very soon.’
Jessica tipped the glass and poured the rest of the vodka down her throat, gave a tight smile and let herself out of the study.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Bayliss stood on the jetty, staring at the departing bow of the lobster boat. He raised his hand to wave, but no one on the craft was looking back at him. Cameron Whyte had said barely two words to him on the crossing, and the small crew of weather-hardened lobstermen had said even less; their surly attitudes leaving him in no doubt that he wasn’t welcome on their boat. He shrugged and hefted his rucksack onto his shoulders and made his way inland.
The cottage he’d used as a base last time he was here was one of a group of three, each in varying states of dilapidation. He pushed the door but it didn’t give. When he looked closely he could see it had been secured by a row of heavy screws. The MOD had obviously sealed the place after they’d turfed him off the island. He went round to the rear of the cottage, but the same technique had been used on the back door. Idiots! Did they really think that was going to deter him? He found a rock and smashed a window, reached in and unclipped the catch. Seconds later he was inside.
The camp bed he’d used the last time was still against the wall where he’d left it, but the canvas had been slashed several times, making it unusable. He smiled. He must have really pissed them off. The bed didn’t matter. Assuming they would have destroyed his original bed, he’d brought one of lightweight aluminum and nylon with him, stowed in his rucksack. He dragged the old bed out of the way and quickly erected the new one. He lay down on it and stared up at the broken ceiling. In the back of his mind he could hear his grandmother’s hectoring voice, berating him for coming across to the island; for consorting with the ungodly. ‘No good will come of it. You mark my words.’
The salt-sea air had given him a thirst. He rolled over and reached into his rucksack, pulling out a can of beer and flipping the ring-pull. The liquid hissed and bubbled out of the can, spilling over his hand and dripping to the floor. Quickly he closed his lips over the opening and took a long pull. The beer fizzed on his tongue and all the way down his throat. Halfway through the can he belched loudly. From somewhere in the cottage he heard a fluttering of wings. He obviously had company.
Although there were a couple of hours of daylight left in the sky, the cottage was dark, filled with shadows that shifted under his gaze. He shivered and pulled out a blanket, draping it over his legs, letting the fleecy material warm him. For all his bravado Kulsay still had the power to spook him. There was something unwholesome about the place that affected him on a deep, almost subconscious level, making him feel that every action he took, every move he made, was being watched and recorded by hidden eyes.
Setting the can down on the floor he reached into the rucksack again and took out a large, leather-bound journal in which he kept his notes on Kulsay. The notes were copious, detailing the island’s history, the events that had happened here, as well as biographical details of the key players in Kulsay’s colorful past.
The previous evening he’d added the name of Robert Carter, and the others Carter had brought with him. Only Carter himself had a few paragraphs after his name. The others he’d find out about while he was here. He was one of the few people aware of the Department’s existence, and not at all surprised that they had been called upon to investigate the island. Whether they’d have more success than the Ministry of Defense remained to be seen.
‘We’re ready to start,’ Jane said. ‘Are you?’
Carter was sitting on the patio smoking a cigarette, staring across at the garden. The sun was starting to die in the sky, its light rendering the trees and shrubs in muted tones. He screwed out the cigarette in the ashtray. ‘As ready as I’ll ever be. You’ve never attended one of my séances before, have you?’
‘I’ve never had the pleasure.’
Carter laughed gruffly. ‘Some pleasure. I should point out though that I won’t be going into a trance or speaking in tongues or any of that mumbo jumbo. I’ll simply be opening up and seeing what impressions I get. The point of us all sitting around a table and linking hands is so that I can connect with the others and draw on their powers as well as my own. I expect everyone to open up as fully as me, otherwise there’s no point. If someone’s blocking, then it will disrupt the flow. I want everyone to open their mind and become as receptive as possible. One skeptic at the table can ruin an entire sitting.’
‘I’d hardly describe myself as a skeptic.’ Jane was very conscious she was about to get defensive with Carter again. What was it about him that made her so argumentative?
Carter smiled and touched her face. ‘What makes you think I was talking about you?’
‘Well, weren’t you?’ She pulled away even though at that moment, right now, she wanted to grab him and kiss him.
He got to his feet, scooped up his packet of cigarettes and slipped them into his pocket. ‘Not exclusively but, as you raised it, I’d like to see you rein back the analytical side of your mind until the séance is over.’
‘Just go with the flow you mean?’
‘Precisely.’
‘Deal,’ she said.
‘I want to have a word with Kirby as well before we get started. If she’s too scared to open up fully, then I see no point in her taking part,’ Carter said, as they headed towards the French doors.
Jane took hold of his sleeve. ‘She won’t be in any danger, will she?’
He shook his head. ‘As long as she stays linked to the group, and to me, I can protect her.’
The way you protected Sian? The words flashed into her mind but she bit them back before they reached her lips. ‘I’ll hold you to that,’ she said instead.
‘Yes,’ he said, holding open the door for her to enter. ‘I thought you might.’
When they entered the library the others were already seated at the table. Carter took his place at the head whilst Jane sl
otted herself in between Kirby and McKinley.
Jane leaned in to Kirby. ‘Are you certain you want to do this?’ she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Kirby nodded her head but didn’t answer.
‘It’s not compulsory, you know. Robert says that if you can’t open up fully then you could spoil the sitting.’
‘I’m fine, Jane,’ Kirby said. ‘Honestly.’
‘If we could all link hands…when we’re all ready,’ Carter said, staring at Jane, a question in his eyes.
Jane took McKinley’s hand and reached out for Kirby’s. The girl gripped Jane’s hand fiercely, making her wince. ‘We’re ready,’ Jane said.
‘Okay,’ Carter said, leaning back in his chair. ‘Let’s get this show on the road.’
‘Do you want me to get the lights?’ Raj said.
Carter looked around the room, at all the dark corners, the shadows potentially lurking. ‘No. We’ll keep it as bright as possible. I like to see what’s happening and I don’t like surprises.’
‘But I’ve put infrared film in the camera,’ Raj protested. He had assumed the lights would be out.
‘You’d better change it then,’ Carter said reasonably.
Muttering curses under his breath Raj forced himself out of his seat. There was a small delay while he put regular film in the camera. He then checked the light settings on the video. ‘Wish you’d told me earlier,’ he said as he resumed his seat.
Carter shrugged.
‘I think we’re ready now,’ Jane said. She checked the time by the long-case clock in the corner. ‘First sitting commencing at nine p.m.,’ she said for the benefit of the microphone.
‘Right,’ Carter said. ‘What ever you do, don’t break the circle.’ He directed the comment at Kirby who glared at him and gripped Jane’s hand even tighter.
Jane closed her eyes and started to take deep, even breaths. Gradually the pain in her Kirby-crushed hand receded, to be replaced with a soft tingling sensation. She was getting the same feeling from McKinley. It was like being plugged in to a low voltage battery. Soon she was aware of the silence in the room, broken only by the sound of the others’ breathing, and slowly even that faded away until she was focused only on her own heartbeat.
For a long moment her mind became a void; a deep pool of blackness; bottomless and vast. She felt she was teetering on the edge of it and that at any moment she might pitch forward and fall. And then images crept into her mind, filling the void, making the darkness recede. Gemma and Amy playing in the garden; David’s face, softly candlelit, gazing at her lovingly across a restaurant table; her fingers tracing erotic patterns on Robert Carter’s smooth, well-muscled back; a helicopter slowly sinking, inch by inch, into the ground. She gasped but kept her eyes tightly closed and tried to steady her breathing.
As she settled herself again more images burned their way into her mind. Tiles dropping silently from a bathroom wall; a hand reaching down, fingers forcing their way into her mouth, gripping her tongue; damp and dirty sacks reeking of stale urine smothering her face, making it difficult to breathe.
She tried to push the images away, forcing her mind to concentrate on happier thoughts. The birth of Gemma; her first bath — soft fingers smoothing soap over even softer skin. The indescribable smell of baby. Gemma lying in her cot, staring up in blue-eyed wonder at the Winnie the Pooh mobile hanging from the ceiling above her head; bony white hands gripping her tiny arms and dragging her down through the mattress.
‘No!’ She was on her feet looking about the room wild-eyed. The others were staring at her in puzzlement. Jane stared down at her hands. She had broken the circle.
She took a breath and tried to gather herself, but the image of Gemma being dragged through the mattress was hard to shift.
‘Are you okay?’ Carter was at her side, his arm sliding around her shoulder.
She gulped and nodded. ‘Yes. I think so…I…I’m sorry I broke the…’
‘It’s okay.’ He stroked her back.
‘I saw…’ She was finding it hard to breathe.
‘Not now. Don’t say anything now.’ This wasn’t the time for reporting impressions; they needed to draw more out.
‘But…’ She had calmed now, the feel of Carter’s hand on her back soothing her, making her heart feel less like a roller coaster coming down the final track.
He put a finger to her lips. ‘Do you feel up to trying again?’
She nodded.
‘We can leave it until tomorrow,’ he said, but she could tell he didn’t want to postpone. Neither did she.
‘No.’ She sat down again. ‘Sitting recommencing at…’ She glanced across at the clock in the corner, and then looked back at Carter in confusion. ‘One minute past nine? But how? I don’t understand.’
‘You only had your eyes closed for a few seconds, Jane. I hadn’t even started the séance when you broke the circle.’
‘Impossible. It must have been longer than that! Must have been.’ She backed away from the table. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t do this.’ She walked out of the room.
John McKinley rose to follow her.
‘Leave her,’ Kirby said. ‘She needs to be on her own.’
‘How the hell do you know what she needs?’ McKinley said, anger flashing in his eyes.
‘I know Jane. She has things she needs to work out.’
‘Such as?’
‘Such as the fact that out of all us here to night she is the most powerful psychic.’
‘That’s rubbish,’ McKinley said. ‘Jane’s always insisted she’s not psychic. She says it’s what gives her objectivity.’
‘Kirby’s right,’ Carter said. ‘Jane’s powers are incredibly strong, but she’s been in denial for years and blocked them out. Self-delusion is a very cunning inhibitor. But she needs to learn to accept what she is and learn to use it to protect herself. If she doesn’t this place will rip her apart.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
‘Can I come in?’ Carter said from the doorway of Jane Talbot’s bedroom.
She was lying on the bed, her eyes wet with tears. She sniffed, rubbed a hand across her face and turned her head away from him.
‘I’ll take that as a yes then?’ He sat down on the bed next to her. ‘You can’t keep running from it, Jane.’
‘How long have you known?’ Was she the only one who didn’t know?
He shrugged. ‘Since I first met you.’
‘Why have you never said anything before?’
He reached out and stroked her hair. ‘It wasn’t my place to question you about it. I figured you had your reasons for blocking. I know better than anyone how hard it is to deal with a gift like this.’
She rounded on him. ‘It’s not a gift; it’s a curse! I’ve spent my life trying to force it out of my mind. Do you realize how difficult that is?’
‘I think I can appreciate it. What I don’t understand is why you felt you had to.’
She turned away from him again and lapsed into silence, her fingers picking at a loose thread on the counterpane.
He pulled out two cigarettes, lit them and handed one to her.
She sucked smoke greedily into her lungs. ‘Thanks.’
‘Look, Jane, you need to talk about this.’
She rolled over onto her back. ‘I never wanted it. Even when I was very small I realized that I was different from everyone else, and I hated it. I remember playing in the park with some friends. I couldn’t have been much more than ten. We were on the swings. There was another little girl there, Melissa. We never really liked her, but she used to hang around with us because no one else would play with her. She was on a swing; Freddie Carpenter was pushing her. I was on a seesaw with another girl bouncing up and down. All of a sudden I felt a piercing pain in my head and everything sort of shifted out of focus. But in my mind’s eye I could see Melissa reach the apex of her swing and let go of the chains. I saw her fly through the air and hit the ground, her arm twisted underneath her. Gradually the
image cleared. I looked across and Melissa was still on the swing, squealing with delight as Freddie pushed her higher and higher. Then, suddenly, when she was almost level with the top of the swing she let go. I saw her fly through the air, heard her scream. And then she landed. I can still hear the snap of bone as her arm broke. It was horrible.’
‘Horrible, I agree, but not your fault.’
‘Wasn’t it? I didn’t like her, and I was angry that Freddie was paying her so much attention.’
‘So, you’re saying you made it happen?’
‘I don’t know. Not for certain. It may just have been a premonition. But it might have been something more. All I know is that I started to block out the feelings, the visions. And I was pretty successful…until I hit puberty. I was fourteen when my grandmother died. I killed her.’
Carter stiffened. ‘What do you mean?’
Jane rose from the bed, walked across to the wardrobe and stared at her reflection in the fu l l-length mirror. The room behind the reflection shrank away and she was looking at herself in her teens; small and slight; big, dark eyes enhanced by the ultra-short elfin haircut.
‘She’d been with us for a few weeks. My grandfather was in hospital and my mother suggested she come and stay with us. Gran didn’t drive so she was reliant on my mother to take her to and from the hospital for visiting. We’d never gotten on. She was like my mother in many ways, but more so. More dogmatic, more prudish, more unpleasant. She came home from the hospital one evening and just started in on me, criticizing my clothes, my hair, my schoolwork, my friends…She told me I’d never amount to anything, and that I would always be a disappointment to her.’ Jane laughed harshly. ‘My mother’s continued that theme ever since. Anyway, I started to answer back. As I said, I was fourteen and my hormones were in turmoil. She slapped me and I slapped her back. After that I was sent to my room. Christ, I was furious; furious with her and furious with my mother for taking her side. I sat there, seething, angrier than I could ever remember being before. My head was pounding, almost pulsating. I think I must have blacked out, because the next thing I remember I was lying facedown on the floor and there was a terrible buzzing in my head, like a fly was rumbling around behind my eyes. I couldn’t think straight; I certainly couldn’t get up off the floor.
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