‘It must have been used,’ said Technogeek. ‘How else could he have been moved?’
‘It’s like a spectre’s in the house, a murderous spectre,’ said Monkeyboy. He hefted the cleaver.
Scaredycat saw the movement and cringed away from him.
‘Stop it,’ said Mayfly. ‘You’re scaring her.’ She hugged Scaredycat. ‘Christ, you’re scaring me!’
‘I think we all need to be scared,’ observed SpeedKing. ‘There’s something very strange going on here. A healthy dose of scared might just keep us alive long enough to find out what.’
‘What we need,’ said BlackWidow, ‘is a plan of action. Any suggestions, anybody?’
‘Did you check the buttons in the lift?’ said SpeedKing.
‘What do you mean?’ said Indigo.
‘Well, Scaredy says the lift went up. You and JunkieScum searched the second floor and Reaperman wasn’t there. Looking at the building from the outside, I think there’s another floor. So, the question is, is there a button for it?’
JacktheRiffer and Indigo looked at each other, then turned and left the room. They jogged up the stairs and opened the lift door again.
‘Look,’ said Indigo. There were clearly marked buttons for the ground, first and second floors, plus two more buttons – one marked ‘B’ and the other ‘3’ – each with a slot in it.
Back downstairs, Indigo described what they’d seen and added, ‘So it looks like there’s a basement, as well as the third floor that SpeedKing spotted the windows for, and the lift goes to both of them – but you need a key to unlock the buttons.’
‘What do we do now?’ said Mayfly.
‘Well,’ said SpeedKing, ‘it seems we have an extra guest who has better access to the house than we do. Also, there’s no way we can communicate with the outside world from here; none that we’ve found yet, anyway. So, it seems to me that we have three choices. One, we all walk out of here together and find the nearest town or village and call for help from there. Two, a small group of us goes to raise the alarm and the rest stay here. Three, we all stay here. We stick together until Monday, when we know help is going to arrive.’
‘I vote either one or three,’ said JacktheRiffer. ‘Safety in numbers and all that.’
‘Leaving, though,’ said Technogeek, his green eyes luminescent in the bright lights of the kitchen. ‘It’s a bit risky, isn’t it? Reaperman said there was nothing within walking distance, remember?’
‘We don’t know whether that’s true, though,’ said JacktheRiffer. ‘He might have just been saying it.’
‘I have to stay here,’ said DeadManWalking. ‘I’m in no shape to go hiking through the heather.’
‘I don’t think we could get Scaredycat through a hike to nowhere, either,’ said Mayfly.
Scaredycat shook her head. ‘I don’t want to go out there.’ She gulped. ‘Mind you, I don’t much want to stay in here, either.’
‘Are we agreed, then? For now, we stay put.’ BlackWidow glanced around the room. ‘But we stay safe, we don’t take risks and we don’t go off exploring on our own.’
‘Yes. I think that’s best for now,’ said SpeedKing.
‘Okay, then,’ said BlackWidow, ‘that’s settled. It’s just turned ten o’clock; let’s finish breakfast and get cleared up.’
Chapter 19
Later that morning, Indigo and Mayfly were in her room, listening to music.
‘What’s your name?’ she said. ‘Your real name, I mean.’
‘Jimmy Wilson. What’s yours?’
‘Anna Mayfield.’
‘Pleased to meet you, Anna.’
‘Pleased to meet you, too, Jimmy.’
‘So, while we’re in here, we can be “Jimmy” and “Anna”, but when we’re out there, we’ll stick to “Indigo” and “Mayfly”,’ he said.
Anna raised herself up on her elbows so she could look at Jimmy. ‘If things hadn’t changed, if Reaperman hadn’t died, would you still have wanted to leave the way you’d planned?’
Jimmy took his time and considered his answer. Years of misery had worn him down and eroded his spirit. He thought of the impending anniversary of the death of his family and realised that if things had gone ahead as intended, he would have died on that same date. ‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘if things hadn’t changed, I’m sure I would. How about you?’
‘To be honest, I’m not sure. I might have bottled out.’
‘Really? In the time we’ve known each other, you’ve always seemed so certain.’
‘In the time we’ve known each other, I’ve secretly been getting less certain.’
He ran a hand through his hair. ‘What’s different, Anna? What changed?’
She glanced at him then looked away. ‘It was you,’ she said, eventually. ‘You made things different.’ She shot him a shy smile. ‘All those hours in the chat room. I was talking to you about dying, but as time went on, I was starting to wonder what you looked like, what music you listened to, what books you read.’
It had been an odd experience, an increasing sense of closeness but with an apparently insurmountable barrier between them, like trying to touch fingertips through glass.
Jimmy shook his head. ‘All I wanted to do was sort out an exit strategy.’
‘What about now, though? Now that everything has changed. How do you feel now?’
He pulled Anna to him, kissed the top of her head. ‘Now, I think it might be worth giving things another couple of weeks. See what happens.’ He snorted. ‘Assuming we make it through the weekend, anyway.’
***
The group had agreed earlier that they would all meet back downstairs at one o’clock to check everyone was okay and to organise the rest of the weekend. Just sitting it out seemed cowardly; deciding what to do for the best, impossible. Even though she hadn’t told them so directly, as far as BlackWidow was concerned the morning had been time for people to get used to what had happened to Reaperman and to think things through. Over lunch, she wanted them to decide to do something, even though she wasn’t sure what.
Anna turned the key in the lock to open the bedroom door, prior to going downstairs. ‘Let’s call for Scaredycat, shall we?’ she said. ‘See if she’s ready to come down. Poor love was shaking when we saw her into her room earlier.’
Jimmy nodded, and Anna locked her door behind them before rapping on the next door along. ‘Scaredy? It’s Mayfly and Indigo. It’s about ten minutes to one and we’re going downstairs now, love. Do you want to come down with us?’ She stopped and listened. ‘Scaredy? You in there?’
She waited a minute then turned to Indigo, who occupied his now usual place at her side. ‘I can’t hear a thing in there. She must have already gone.’ They headed off to meet up with the others.
***
Inside the room, Scaredycat trembled on her bed. A man was pressed up against her back, one hand holding a knife to her throat, the other covering her nose and mouth. Above his hand, two unblinking saucer eyes peered through the curtain of hair. As the footsteps headed away from the door and then faded into silence, he relaxed his grip.
‘You poor, sweet thing,’ he murmured, stroking her hair. His breath whispered across her skin, his caress soothed her. She felt his lips on her neck, a gentle kiss that promised kindness. ‘This is going to be a very frightening time for people. In some ways, you’re the best prepared. You’ve been scared for so long, haven’t you?’
Scaredycat nodded her head, but only as far as the knife at her throat would allow.
‘Your whole life. You poor baby.’ His breath warmed her skin. ‘I listened to your interview. I heard every word you told Reaperman. No wonder he agreed to put you down. No wonder you’ve had enough of this life.’ He ran the back of his index finger down the side of her face. ‘But don’t you worry, you sweet thing. I’m going to take care of you.’ His voice was honey, his caress a velvet glove … despite her fear, Scaredycat felt herself relax. She leaned back against him.
‘All of those people taking from y
ou … all I’m going to take away is your fear,’ he murmured. ‘I’ll give you peace, instead. Would you like that?’
‘Yes.’ The word whispered out of her.
‘You won’t ever be afraid again.’
‘No.’
‘Do you trust me?’
‘Yes,’ she murmured. ‘Yes, I do.’
‘Good girl. I promise I won’t hurt you.’
Scaredycat hadn’t seen him, but he felt like a big man. Tall and broad. He would be heavy if he lay on her. She shivered. She felt his erection pressing against her back. She felt his mouth on her neck, kissing and licking and teasing. She didn’t feel the blade of the knife whisper in between her ribs, had no idea it had happened until it cut deep and her blood flowed hot and fast down her body and soaked into the bedclothes. She whimpered.
‘There now, shhh, there’s a good girl.’ He soothed her as he put down the knife and gently laid her back against the pillows. ‘It’s okay, it’s almost over.’ He stroked her hair and smoothed her brow.
Scaredycat’s eyes flickered open and she looked at him for the first time. She held his gaze – he had such beautiful eyes, they peered out at her from the slit in the balaclava he wore – then her sight dimmed and she closed hers for the last time.
‘Thank you,’ she whispered.
Chapter 20
‘I’m worried now,’ Mayfly said. ‘Nobody’s seen her. Where on earth could she have got to?’ She checked her watch; it was almost twenty minutes past one.
‘Are you sure she wasn’t in her room?’ JacktheRiffer asked.
‘Well, I didn’t go in, but she didn’t answer and there was no sound.’
JacktheRiffer stood up. ‘I’ll go and check.’ He flicked a little smile at Mayfly. ‘She’s probably hiding in the wardrobe.’
‘I’ll go with you,’ said Indigo, and the two men headed out of the dining room. As they approached Scaredycat’s room, they could see that the door was unlatched and open just a fraction.
‘Was it like that before?’ said JacktheRiffer.
‘No, it was shut tight.’
‘Well, it looks like she’s gone either in or out since then … or someone else has.’ JacktheRiffer stopped with his hand on the doorknob. ‘Let’s find out, shall we?’ He pushed the door fully open and stepped into the room, steak knife held out in front of him, then stopped dead. ‘Oh fuck,’ he said, taking a step back and bumping into Indigo. ‘Christ, mate …’
‘What is it?’
JacktheRiffer moved out of the way, eyes locked on the tableau on the bed. Indigo stared, unblinking. Scaredycat lay on the bed, dressed not in the shapeless garment they were used to seeing her wear, but in a long white gown, her arms crossed over a spray of white lilies that she appeared to be clutching to her chest. Her eyes were closed and hair was brushed and fanned out on the pillow, a halo that framed her peaceful face. She was surrounded by red rose petals.
‘What the fuck? Is she dead?’ Indigo took a step closer. He reached out to check her pulse and couldn’t find it, then he saw that the rose petals were masking the blood that had soaked into the bedspread. ‘Holy shit.’ He turned to JacktheRiffer. ‘There’s nothing we can do here. Let’s get back to the others.’
JacktheRiffer nodded, more than happy to get out of there. Indigo pulled the door closed behind them and they raced down the stairs and back into the dining room.
***
‘She’s dead,’ said JacktheRiffer.
‘What?’ said Mayfly. She looked at Indigo.
He nodded. ‘Yes, Scaredy’s dead.’
‘How?’ asked BlackWidow.
‘Does that matter?’ said DeadManWalking. ‘Surely “how?” is the least important part of it; “why?” and “who did it?” are what matters.’
‘We’ll get to that, I’m sure,’ said BlackWidow. ‘I’d like to know if she was killed in the same way as Reaperman, or if she might even have killed herself.’ She looked at Indigo and SpeedKing. ‘What was your impression?’
‘She wasn’t hanged like Reaperman,’ said Indigo.
‘And I’m damn sure it wasn’t suicide,’ said JacktheRiffer. ‘Christ, you should see her …’
‘It’s creepy, the way she’s been laid out,’ said Indigo.
‘Laid out,’ said Mayfly. ‘What do you mean, laid out?’
‘She’s been dressed up and covered in flowers, like … Ophelia or something,’ said JacktheRiffer. ‘It’s really fucking strange.’
‘And you’re saying there’s no way she could have done it herself, is that right?’ said BlackWidow.
‘No way I can think of,’ said Indigo.
‘So, we’re being picked off one by one? Is that what’s happening?’ asked Monkeyboy. ‘We’re going to be killed off one by one by some … mental … fuck?’
Indigo hesitated. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on. I only know that Reaperman and Scaredycat have both been killed. Reaperman’s body has vanished and Scaredycat’s been laid out. I don’t know why any of this is happening, any more than you do.’
‘It seems like it, though. Like we’re being picked off, I mean.’ Monkeyboy persisted in his argument.
‘Remind me again why we’re all here?’ said DeadManWalking. ‘Isn’t it to die?’
‘Yeah, but not like this, man. Not as some kind of sick sport, for Christ’s sake!’ Monkeyboy was pacing the floor. ‘We’re fish in a barrel, we’re stuck here and no one’s coming until Monday. No one knows we’re here. Face it, we don’t even know where “here” is.’
‘It’s only a day and a half,’ said Mayfly. ‘So, from now until whenever it is on Monday that someone turns up, we stick together. No one goes off alone. At the very least, we pair up at all times.’
‘What if we pair up with the killer?’ asked Technogeek.
‘You don’t honestly believe one of us is doing this, do you?’ Monkeyboy looked around at the other people in the dining room, took a long look at each face.
‘I believe it could be him!’ JunkieScum pointed at DeadManWalking.
‘You can talk!’ he retorted. ‘I heard you say yesterday that you wanted to kill me. What were the other two; practice for the main event? Window dressing to take the heat off you? What?’
‘Fuck you, you sick old twat.’
‘Fucking skanky—’
‘Shut up!’ ordered BlackWidow. ‘We’re not going to get anywhere if we keep bickering among ourselves.’ She looked around at the group. ‘I propose that we all stay together in the same room as much as possible. If anyone wants or needs to go somewhere else for whatever reason, then at least one other person – preferably two – accompanies them. There are nine of us. We should be able to keep this up until Monday. As Mayfly says, it’s only a day and a half.’
‘What should we do about Scaredycat?’ asked Technogeek.
‘Nothing,’ said BlackWidow. ‘We can’t do anything for her, from what the boys have said it’s way too late for that, so we leave her in peace until help arrives.’
‘Oh, shit, she’ll rot and putrefy and flies will lay eggs and she’ll be riddled with maggots and she’ll stink and it’ll get through the house and we’ll have to breathe it in, all that dead, putrid shit, and it’ll rot our insides and we’ll choke on it …’ Technogeek was pacing the floor, wringing his hands, his face a mask of anxiety.
BlackWidow gripped his arms and held him still. ‘No. No, it won’t happen like that.’
‘It’s already happening, somewhere. Reaperman. We don’t even know where he is. Rotting and decaying …’
‘Maybe he isn’t dead.’ Monkeyboy made the suggestion. ‘Maybe he faked his own death and now he’s killing us.’
‘What?’ asked Indigo. ‘No chance. I found him, remember? Me and JacktheRiffer. He was dead, all right.’
‘So how many dead bodies have you seen?’ said Technogeek.
‘Wait a minute,’ said Monkeyboy, ‘that’s right!’
‘What?’ said Indigo.
‘Y
ou and JacktheRiffer. You found Reaperman and you found Scaredycat.’
‘So?’ said Indigo.
‘Well, it’s you two, isn’t it? You’re the killers. I bet if we go up to Scaredycat’s room, she’s not there. I bet you just made up this bullshit story about her being laid out to distract us, but she’ll be dumped wherever you dumped Reaperman, and when we find out she’s gone you’ll just act all surprised.’
‘You’re not serious,’ said Indigo. He looked at JacktheRiffer.
‘Go and see for yourself,’ said JacktheRiffer. ‘We’re in this just like everyone else, we haven’t killed anyone.’
‘Reaperman wasn’t killed by any of us,’ said BlackWidow. ‘We were all together last night, when it must have happened.’
‘You weren’t here, though,’ JacktheRiffer said to Monkeyboy. ‘How do we know it wasn’t you?’
‘Me? I was waiting for him to come and kill me!’
‘I know we asked this before, but are we absolutely certain that Reaperman was dead? There’s no way he’s creeping about doing this?’ said JunkieScum.
‘He was dead,’ said Indigo. He paused, then added, ‘And he was going to kill all of us, anyway. Every one of us signed a form telling him he could, remember?’
‘Indi’s right,’ said SpeedKing.
‘There was no doubt about it, folks,’ said DeadManWalking, ‘Reaperman was stone dead.’
‘If someone will come with me,’ said BlackWidow, ‘I’ll make sure that both the window and the door are locked shut and the heating is off in Scaredycat’s room.’ She looked at Technogeek. ‘Nothing will get in and start laying anything in that poor child. We do her that last kindness and then we leave her to rest in peace until someone who can offer practical help arrives. Agreed?’
Technogeek stared back at her.
‘Are we agreed?’ She gripped his arm. ‘Technogeek! Are you with me here?’
He shook his head as if to clear it. ‘Uh, yes. I suppose so.’
BlackWidow let go of him.
‘But I’m not going up there with you,’ he added. ‘No way.’
‘I’ll go,’ offered Indigo.
‘And me,’ said Mayfly.
The Last Weekend Page 10