by J. F. Penn
"The company behind the evictions and the security company at Cross Bones is called Vera Causa. I found your pen at their offices."
Cameron raised an eyebrow. "I've been doing a lot of community work for the Mayoral campaign. I must have left it there. Thanks for returning it." He paused for a moment, leaning back in his chair. The shadows shifted and for a moment, he was shrouded in darkness.
He pointed to a staircase in the corner of the room. "Let's go up to the roof. There's something I want to show you. Something I think you'll appreciate with your love for the city."
He pushed his chair out and walked up the stairs without looking back.
Jamie sat for a moment. Cameron was dangerous and following him was a risk, but she needed evidence to stop him. She grabbed the silver pen from his desk and slipped it back in her pocket before following him up the stairs.
Chapter 30
Blake woke in the darkness of his room. His heart pounded as he emerged from a nightmare of gleaming knives and blood.
Jamie.
She had been here when he had fallen asleep and now she was gone. A coldness swept over him as he realized that she must have gone to meet Cameron. After his reading last night, she had decided to face him alone.
Blake jumped out of bed and grabbed his phone, dialing Jamie's number quickly. It rang and rang and then switched to voicemail.
"Damn it, Jamie," he whispered. He needed to get down there, but he needed local help.
"Magda, it's Blake Daniel. We met at O's flat earlier this week. I'm sorry to call so late."
"Oh, not at all." Magda's voice was dull. "I'm back at the hospital and O is recovering from surgery. Maybe Jamie told you?"
"Yes," Blake said. "It's about Jamie. I need your help."
He explained about his reading, his suspicions that Jamie had gone to meet Cameron.
"I'm coming," Magda said, her voice stronger now, galvanized into action. "This has gone too far. I will not have another of our number hurt tonight. I'll meet you on the corner of Stoney Street next to Borough Market."
***
Jamie emerged from the stairwell onto one of the very top floors of the Shard. The view was stunning, a 360-degree panorama of London with the river a dark ribbon running through its heart. This level was still under construction with glass panels enclosing three sides of the structure, but the east side and the roof were partially open to the elements, with only a safety barrier blocking access.
A gust of wind whipped through and Jamie pulled her jacket close about her shoulders. The metal girders creaked a little and the glass rattled, the sound of the building shifting in the sky.
Cameron stood looking north over the city, his nose inches from the glass. He turned at Jamie's approach.
"Isn't it amazing up here?" His grey eyes shone with passion. "This is where I come to get some perspective, and I hope that you will be able to see as I do." Jamie stepped slowly towards him, needing to get closer to record his words. He pointed out, sweeping his arm in a wide arc. "This is London, as far as you can see. The city is not just Southwark, it's not just your Kitchen or Cross Bones Graveyard. It's millions of people who deserve a city where they can thrive. A city that has been cleaned of those who don't deserve to be here. Like a cancer, they must be cut out so the healthy body can survive."
Jamie looked down into the streets of Southwark. She thought she could see Cross Bones Graveyard below them, a patch of dark in the bright orange spectrum of streetlights.
How insignificant our lives are, Jamie thought. The Shard was built upon the ground of an ancient borough and the blood of two millennia had been spilled here. Now the anger of the Outcast Dead rose up, the shades of those buried by the advance of the rich and powerful over the years.
She placed a hand on the glass.
"I don't see the city as you do," she said softly. "I see people who need help, communities that need leaders who will stand up to your plans." She turned. "Like we did at Cross Bones."
"And look how that ended for your friends," Cameron spat as he walked behind her and stood at the top of the stairs.
"I will clean up London, Jamie," he said, his eyes cold, a steel grey as hard as the girders that surrounded them. "I have powerful backers who have the money and power we need for rejuvenation and redevelopment."
"But you'll destroy the diversity that makes this borough a unique historical community," Jamie said.
"Local color is overrated." Cameron chuckled. "People would rather have more wealth. They've demonstrated that in the way they voted and it's time your 'community' moved on. I'm only helping them move on faster."
Cameron cocked his head to one side, regarding her as if she were a problem to be solved. Jamie tensed, realizing how much of a mistake she had made in coming up here.
She darted sideways, ducking under his arm as she rushed for the stairs.
He caught her arm, swinging her back around. Her phone fell out of her pocket, the case smashing on the concrete floor as it spun towards the open edge of the building.
She struggled against him, bringing her arms up fast to break his hold. But he was quick and strong, punching her in the solar plexus sharply with a broad fist.
Jamie dropped to her knees, winded and gasping for breath.
"You should have died that night in the Hellfire Caves," Cameron hissed as he grabbed her hair. "You should have burned alongside your daughter's body."
He dragged her over to the open east side as she struggled against him. Cameron kicked her phone out, sending it spinning into the void.
"You won't be needing that anymore."
In the split second he watched it fall, Jamie grabbed his fist with both hands, forcing her thumbs into the pressure points and twisted hard.
Cameron grunted, releasing his grip for a second. Jamie turned away on her knees, scrambling for the exit, trying to get up.
His boot crunched down on her ankle and strong hands grabbed the back of her jeans, tugging her towards the opening.
"You're only leaving one way," he said, yanking Jamie over and then kicking her in the stomach, his face contorted in a snarl.
She curled inwards, trying to protect herself, pain shooting through her. Her fingers scrabbled for the pen in her pocket, clutching it in one fist.
As he kicked again, Jamie grabbed for his foot and pulled it towards her, tugging him off balance. She scrambled on top of him, using the pen to stab him in the groin. Once. Twice. He howled in pain and doubled over.
She took her chance. Jamie got up and ran for the exit.
A crackle behind her.
A burning pain in her back.
The shuddering agony of electricity shot through her and she crumpled to the floor, limbs jerking. Jamie's mind was screaming even as her body was frozen by the shock.
Cameron stood over her, the police-issue Taser in one hand.
"It's been so hard for you lately, hasn't it?" He straightened his tie then bent to her feet. "First you lose your daughter, then your job, then you're evicted. Your community is crumbling around you. It's no wonder you had to end it all. But at least you chose to jump from somewhere with a great view."
He picked up Jamie's feet and dragged her paralyzed body across the floor towards the east opening.
Chapter 31
Jamie counted in her mind, knowing that the complete paralysis only lasted a few seconds. She could start to feel a tingle in her limbs again but she remained still, only hoping that she would get her strength back in time.
Cameron dropped her feet and swept aside the safety barrier. The wind was stronger now, buffeting them as he dragged her closer to the edge.
"Bracing, isn't it?" He grinned, and Jamie saw a mania born of addiction to power there. Cameron was used to getting everything he wanted, destroying lives in the shadows while he stood squeaky clean in public. He bent to pick up her feet again.
Jamie felt tingling in her arms and legs. One more second, she thought. Don't move too soon. The gaping
hole in the building was only a meter away now and she struggled to relax as Cameron dragged her closer.
Then she saw it.
A blowtorch ready for the next day's welding. It was within reach, but she only had one chance.
"I'll make sure the papers write something good about your death," Cameron said. "Perhaps I'll even do the eulogy at your funeral." He turned and smiled. "Fitting, don't you think?"
Jamie lunged for the blowtorch as she kicked out with both feet.
Cameron fell backwards, teetering on the edge. He grabbed for the side girder, pulling himself back in.
Jamie pressed the switch on the blowtorch, sending a spurt of flame into his face.
Cameron screamed in rage and pain, protecting his face with his hands. The smell of singed hair and burned flesh filled the air. He charged her, bellowing his anger, blocking her path to the exit as he ran at her like a bull.
Jamie dropped the torch, ducked away. She just needed to stay out of his reach.
Thick metal girders led up to the next level. Jamie ran for them and began to climb, fixing her eyes on the rivets in front of her, trying to ignore the sheer drop beneath, one thousand feet to the ground below.
"Come back here, bitch." Cameron's voice was rough and he breathed heavily as he pulled himself after her.
Hand over hand, Jamie climbed. She reached the next level only to find the floor hadn't been finished and there was no way to get down again. She could only go up.
The Shard tapered as it rose into the night sky, the girders getting thinner the higher she climbed. Jamie could hear Cameron's breathing below her. Her arms shook with effort as she pulled herself up another inch.
***
Blake arrived at Borough Market to find Magda gazing up at the Shard through binoculars.
"The Mayor's new office is up there," she said, focusing the lenses on the upper levels. "If Jamie's up there, we might be able to see her."
Blake stood, his fists clenched as Magda slowly scanned the building. Every part of him wanted to be with Jamie now. He'd been crazy to sleep after telling her about Cameron. He should have known she would take action.
"Oh no." Magda's voice chilled Blake with its dark intensity.
"What is it?" he said, grabbing the binoculars from her and training them on the upper levels.
"Look at the east corner," Magda said. "That must be her."
Blake could make out a lone figure clambering up one of the exposed metal girders on the open east side of the building.
Behind her, another figure climbed with strong movements, gaining on her quickly.
"Jamie…" Blake whispered. "Hold on." He spun to Magda. "How do we get up there?"
She shook her head. "There are so many levels of security. We won't get in that way." Her eyes narrowed. "But there might be something."
"Anything," Blake said. "Please. We have to help her."
"You have your gift," Magda said. "I have my own."
She pulled one of her sleeves up, revealing the tattooed ravens that whirled on her arm. Pulling a small penknife from her bag, she cut a symbol into the feathers of one of the birds, tracing three whorls into her skin. A bead of blood welled and dripped down her arm to the ground.
As it splashed on the earth, Magda began to whistle.
The tune was soft at first and then stronger, the notes a Celtic refrain of growing power.
The wind changed and the cold made Blake shiver as Magda called on the Morrigan, the shape-shifting goddess of war, fate and death. She who roamed the battlefields in the shape of a raven, choosing those who would live and who would die.
As Magda whistled into the wind, her hands held high, Blake heard the beat of wings on the air. A flock of ravens appeared out of the night and flew overheard, wheeling about her. They were strangely silent, their beady eyes looking down on the one who called them.
Magda turned towards the Shard and her whistling song switched to a harsher refrain.
She pointed at the top of the spire and the birds streamed away from her, cawing loudly now, a jarring cacophony that drowned out the sound of the city.
They flew up and soon a dark cloud obscured the top of the Shard. Blake could only pray for the outcome above.
Chapter 32
Jamie's arms burned as she tried to haul herself up a little further, inching away from Cameron into the highest reaches of the building. The wind buffeted her and she clung to the metal, heart pounding as she hung above the void, vertigo making her head spin.
She looked down to see him inches below her foot, his hand stretched out to grab her.
"I will see you fall tonight," Cameron said. "So give in to it, Jamie. Lean out and you will see your daughter again."
Jamie stamped down on his grasping fingers.
"Polly never gave up," she said, panting with the effort of holding on and trying to kick him away. "Neither will I."
Cameron grabbed her foot and twisted it. Jamie gasped in pain as he forced her leg sideways off the side of the girder. Off balance for a second, she grabbed for another hold and slipped down a few inches.
Cameron reached for her and Jamie saw her death in his eyes.
As his hand stretched out, a stream of ravens swirled up in a vortex into his face, beaks and claws ripping at his skin.
Cameron screamed, his arms waving at them, trying to beat them off even as they pecked and shredded his flesh.
Jamie put her hands over her face, clinging to the girder as the birds dive-bombed Cameron, bodies repeatedly thunking against his. Individually the ravens were nothing, but together, they forced him from the girder inch by inch.
Two birds landed on his hair, claws ripping it away in bloody chunks. He raised both his hands, losing his grip, and for a moment he teetered on the edge of the girder.
The flock wheeled, and together they pounded into him.
Dale Cameron plummeted off the Shard, his dying scream drowned out by the triumphant cawing of the ravens.
Jamie couldn't move.
She clung to the girder, eyes closed, as the wind whipped about her. The birds were gone, Cameron was gone, but she was still at the top of the building, hanging above certain death. Her strength was fading, her limbs ached, and she only wanted to close her eyes and let it all go.
Climbing down seemed like an overwhelming impossibility – but perhaps she didn't have to. With Cameron gone, the circle could be closed on the cases she'd been involved with. She could be with Polly if she just relaxed. The end would be swift, she knew that.
But then Polly's voice came to her in the wind. Dance for me, Mum.
Jamie held on. One more minute, she thought.
It seemed like a long time later when she heard a voice calling her name.
"Jamie," the voice called softly. Blake's voice. "It's OK. You can come back now. It's safe. Please, Jamie. Look at me."
He was here.
Jamie opened her eyes and looked down through the girders to the platform below. Blake stood there, his hands outstretched towards her. Behind him, Magda stood like a dark guardian angel.
"Inch back down towards me," Blake said. "Just a little way and then I can reach for you."
Blake's voice was soft, but in his tone she heard a promise. "Please, Jamie."
Slowly, she stretched out a leg, her muscles shaking as she gripped the metal with all her strength, easing backwards down the girder.
She inched her way down as her friends called encouragement, every step a huge effort.
Finally, she felt Blake's hand on her foot.
"I'm here," he said. "A little closer and then I'll help you in."
She pushed herself with every last bit of energy she could summon. Then his arms were pulling her into the safety of the tower, into his embrace.
Chapter 33: A week later
A train rattled along the tracks high on the over-bridge, the rhythmic sound a back note to the folk band playing below in Cross Bones Graveyard. Jamie strolled through the open gates, sti
ll hung with ribbons commemorating the dead but today flung wide to welcome the community. Towering above her, the Shard rose into a blue sky, its glass panels reflecting the sun like a beacon for the city.
Families walked around the flowerbeds and Jamie watched as one little girl bent to smell a pink rose, her little face lighting up with pleasure as the petals stuck to her nose. Jamie smiled. Polly would have loved it here, she thought, but the pang of grief for her daughter was more a dull ache than a sharp pain now. It was settling, she realized. This community and the purpose she had found here gave her something to live for.
Applause rang out across the green as the band finished one song and then launched into a reel. The dancing began again, bare feet pounding the ground where the dead lay beneath. Jamie thought that the women and children who rested under this earth would relish the celebration. Perhaps they had danced here long ago, a moment of pleasure that connected across the generations.
Magda and O spun together in the crowd, laughing as they danced. O wore a flowery summer dress that floated around her and Magda was her dark opposite in customary tight black jeans and t-shirt. Jamie looked around and realized that she knew many of the people there. This was her community too now.
O spotted Jamie and walked over, her blonde hair shining in the sun. She grabbed Jamie's hands and spun her around to the tune.
"Isn't this wonderful?" O said with a delighted laugh. "Everyone has come out to celebrate. Finally, Cross Bones can be an official memorial garden."
The last few days had been crazy. Dale Cameron's death had officially been ruled a suicide after the contents of his locked room had been leaked to the press. His part in the Southwark murders was still being established, but Jamie had heard from Missinghall that there was evidence from years of criminal activity to go through and the scandal had rocked the upper echelons of power.