An Air That Kills

by Christine Poulson

  “What was that?” she asked, bending close to Gemma’s face to catch the words. She tried not to flinch at the sour smell.

  Gemma’s hand clutched hers convulsively. “Mary?” she said, quite distinctly. Her eyes opened and sought Katie’s face. “Oh, Mary!” Her face softened. “Thank God you’re here.” She appeared lucid, but Katie knew that Gemma was mistaking her for someone else, someone she needed to see.

  Katie said, “Yes, I’m here.”

  “I’m sorry. Truly. I’m sorry. Can you tell Mother?”

  “Yes, yes, I will. I’ll do that. Try to rest now.”

  Gemma gave a little sigh and closed her eyes. Her hand relaxed in Katie’s.

  Katie heard the sound of an engine, and a few moments later Siobhan came in to say that the ambulance was there. The ambulance crew, two young women, brought with them an air of competence that was very reassuring. With relief, Katie handed over to the ambulance crew. Gemma had lost consciousness now and did not respond to her name. Katie, Siobhan, and Claudia watched as she was loaded onto a stretcher.

  On reflection, Katie thought that it was most likely Gemma’s illness had started as flu and she had gone on to develop some kind of bacterial infection. But Katie needed to find a way to tell one of the crew that she’d had medical training and in her view they should consider that it might be sepsis. She had taken the Hippocratic Oath when she graduated from medical school and had sworn to do her duty and use her knowledge for good. If her cover was blown, so be it. But maybe, just maybe...

  She touched Siobhan’s elbow and when she looked round murmured, “Can you get Claudia out of the way while I have a word?”

  Siobhan nodded. In a loud cheerful voice, she said to Claudia, “Why don’t we sort out the kitchen a bit? We don’t want Gemma coming back to a mess, do we?” She steered Claudia out of the room. Katie went out just as one of the young women was closing the door of the ambulance, and managed to deliver her message. The ambulance set off, swaying on the uneven track, and she watched it until it was out of sight.

  She went into the house and joined the others in the kitchen. Claudia was passing dirty cups and glasses to Siobhan, who was stacking them in a dishwasher.

  “Gemma is going to be alright, isn’t she?” Claudia asked. “It’s just a bad case of flu, isn’t it?”

  “I hope so.” Katie simply didn’t know and she wasn’t prepared to offer false hope.

  An alarm went off on Claudia’s phone. “Oh no!” she said. “I’d completely forgotten! My culture!” She dashed out of the room and a few moments later they heard the door slam behind her.

  Siobhan said, “What was it that you didn’t want Claudia to hear?”

  “I didn’t want to frighten her. It was just something that occurred to me and I didn’t want to make too much of it. I wanted to ask them if it might be sepsis.”

  “Is that what they used to call blood poisoning? That’s very serious, isn’t it? Do you really think –”

  “I only thought of it,” Katie lied, “because a friend of mine had it. But, yes, apparently it can be fatal if it’s not diagnosed in time. Luckily they did catch it and she had intravenous antibiotics and she was fine. I didn’t want to worry Claudia when it probably isn’t that.”

  Siobhan nodded and Katie thought perhaps she’d got away with it.

  CHAPTER 25

  As Katie entered the maze, nettles sprang out of the gravel path to seize her ankles. The maze was made of hornbeam. That was unusual, because it wasn’t an evergreen, but even in January it had kept its papery copper leaves, and there were only glimpses into the neighbouring corridors. The university hadn’t run to more than minimal maintenance. She pushed through cobwebs that stretched across the path, glinting with raindrops from an earlier shower. It was still overcast. The place was overgrown and unkempt, but that only added to its faded, melancholy charm. It was like an illustration to Sleeping Beauty from a child’s picture book.

  It was late afternoon. Half an hour ago in the lab Katie had straightened and realized that her shoulders were stiff and sore from hunching over her bench. Her temples were throbbing. Fresh air – that was what she needed, and a walk. She’d been meaning to explore the maze. There’d just be time to do that before it got dark.

  She decided not to have a plan, but just to wander at will. In about ten minutes, she found herself back at the entrance. She set off again and this time she did better. Through the gaps in the hedges she began to catch glimpses of what she guessed must be the heart of the maze. Unusually it didn’t seem to be at the centre, but somewhere off to the side; a kind of metal cage with plants trained around it and a table and chairs inside – that white curly metal outdoor furniture that you see everywhere in France.

  At one turn of the path she thought she saw someone sitting on one of the chairs, but it was only a partial view and when she rounded the next bend and caught another glimpse, she saw that she’d been mistaken. There was no one there. A few more twists and turns and she had reached the little arbour. This must be delightfully shady in the summer, she thought, sinking into one of the chairs.

  She took a picture on her phone to prove that she’d succeeded, and tried to send it to Justin, but there was no service. She’d upload that to Caitlin’s Instagram account when she got back to the house and add another brick to the wall of her fictitious persona.

  Her thoughts returned to Gemma. No doubt they’d be giving her powerful intravenous antibiotics, and they’d take a while to kick in. They couldn’t really expect any news until tomorrow at the earliest. It was unusual for someone young and healthy to become so ill so quickly, but you did hear of it happening. And the onset must really have been very sudden, otherwise Gemma would have realized that she was ill enough to need help. Thank goodness they’d decided to go and see if she was alright. If she hadn’t been discovered for another day or two...

  Katie consulted her watch. There had been some debate with Julia as to whether Caitlin would wear a watch or if she would just consult her phone. In the end it had been decided that she could wear a watch as long as it was cool enough – the one Julia had chosen had a large face with roman numerals and a red silicon strap. She stared at it, surprised to see that an hour had passed since she entered the maze. She must have lost some time, must have zoned out again, but she had no idea when. While she was wandering around or sitting here just now?

  Whatever, it would be getting dark very soon. The air already had that granular appearance that comes just before dusk. It was time to get back to the lab.

  She got to her feet and it happened again – a wave of dizziness that brought starbursts and black specks before her eyes. She sat down again abruptly and put her head between her knees. The wave receded, leaving behind a sensation of heat in her head and chest. After a while, she cautiously raised her head and sat up. She was alright now, except that the throbbing in her head was more insistent. She still had the itchy patch behind her ear – eczema, perhaps. Strange... what could be the matter? Something viral, perhaps? What if she had whatever Gemma had? A cold finger seemed to run down her spine. But no, she didn’t have a fever. All the same, if this went on she’d have to register with a GP and get an appointment.

  It was definitely twilight now. She set off. Presumably turning consistently either to the left or the right would get her back to the entrance. But it didn’t. Neither strategy worked and she found herself wandering aimlessly, taking turns at random. This wouldn’t do. She must get out of here before it got dark. There was bound to be a formula if she could only work out what it was. But it was hard – her thought processes seemed to have slowed down. Her brain felt fuzzy. She stopped to think it through, and just for a moment, the crunch of her footsteps on the gravel continued – and then it stopped. The hairs went up on the back of her neck. That had to be some kind of echo, didn’t it? Surely there couldn’t be someone – or something – walking along the next alley in step with her? Had an animal somehow got in here? A fox? Or a badger? They
came out at dusk, didn’t they?

  “Hello,” she called.

  The stillness was absolute. And yet, somehow, she couldn’t be sure that she was alone.

  She checked her phone and found that she did have service now, thank goodness. She rang Maddie.

  Maddie laughed. “You’re not the first person to get lost in there and you won’t be the last. It happened to me the first week I was here. Hang on a minute.” Katie heard voices conferring in the background and then Maddie’s voice came back. “I’m in the middle of something, but Tarquin’ll come and get you out. He’s leaving right now.”

  Oh, great. She’d hoped that this could be kept between her and Maddie, and now everyone would know and would have a good laugh at her expense. She felt an absolute idiot, but all the same, the conversation was steadying her. Of course there wasn’t anyone else in the maze, but still – just in case – she raised her voice as she said, “Tell Tarquin thank you very much. I’ll be waiting for him.”

  “Tarquin says keep your phone on. He’ll ring you when he gets to the entrance.”

  She composed herself to wait. There was no point in continuing to wander around the maze and risk losing service, but she was getting cold now. She walked up and down, stamping her feet and rubbing her arms.

  There was a rustling in the hedge and she caught a movement low down among the leaves. A blackbird hopped out onto the path, nearly giving her heart failure, and turned a beady eye on her before darting back the way it had come.

  She seemed to be waiting for ages, but it couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes before her phone rang and she heard Tarquin’s voice: “Stay where you are. I’m coming in.”

  By now she was shivering with cold. By the time Tarquin reached her the light had almost reached that tipping point when it becomes too dark to see your feet in front of you. She could have hugged him.

  He clapped her on the shoulder. “The cavalry have arrived! Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

  They made their way back through the winding alleys by the light of their mobile phones. Tarquin was uncharacteristically quiet and Katie guessed that he was mentally counting the turns.

  It was dark now and the maze lay dense and silent around them. At last they reached the way out. Katie’s sense of oppression lifted.

  Even then the teasing that Katie had expected didn’t materialize. Instead, Tarquin said, “You look perished. Fancy coming back to mine for a cup of tea? Or – even better – a Scotch?”

  “That would be lovely,” she admitted.

  As they headed for the house, Tarquin said, “Someone should have warned you that it’s not a great idea to go in there on your own, especially at this time of day. Someone once got stuck in there overnight.”

  “No! Really?” Katie felt a chill.

  “Well, that’s the story. It was before my time, and over the years it’s probably gained in the telling. But I can well believe it. There’s something uncanny about that place. Gets my Gaelic hackles rising.”

  The thought of being stranded in there overnight got Katie’s rising too. Suppose she hadn’t had a mobile phone and had been wandering around in there for hours, with the temperature dropping, getting hungry and thirsty and cold? No one would have known that she was missing, and then that feeling she’d had...

  She blurted out, “It felt as if there was someone in there with me.”

  “Did it now?” Tarquin was thoughtful.

  “Of course it was just my imagination.”

  “Was it?”

  “It’s not very likely that someone followed me in there, is it?”

  “Someone or something?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The grounds are supposed to be haunted. Apparently when Arthur Benton didn’t come back from the war, his dog pined for him and searched for him in the gardens. People say that it’s still looking for him.”

  “What kind of dog is it supposed to be?”

  “A black dog. Not sure what kind.”

  “Someone’s being reading The Hound of the Baskervilles! Come on, Tarquin, we’re scientists, we’re rational beings.”

  “Shakespeare got it right when he said that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. And besides...” He hesitated, clearly debating whether to go on.

  “Yes, besides what?” Katie prompted.

  “I’ve seen it.”

  * * *

  “At least, I think I saw it.”

  They were in Tarquin’s sitting room, which turned out to be the room that Katie had seen from her own sitting room that first evening. It was nice to know who lived there and she was glad it was Tarquin.

  She had taken him up on the offer of a Scotch and they were sipping Talisker 10 Year Old Malt. Tarquin had produced a tin of shortbread, red with a tartan design and a picture of an extravagantly antlered stag on the lid. “A present from my mum,” he explained.

  The boost to her blood sugar and the sensation of warmth as the Scotch spread through her was doing wonders for Katie’s state of mind. She was inclined to think now that she had let her imagination get the better of her in the maze and felt sceptical about what Tarquin was going to tell her.

  “According to the story, it’s not supposed to be a big dog,” Tarquin went on. “Not a Great Dane or anything like that. Something more along the lines of a spaniel or a red setter. And that was what I saw.”

  “So what happened exactly?” she asked.

  “It was around March or April last year. I hadn’t been here very long. Someone had mentioned that they thought they’d seen a peregrine falcon up on the promontory and I went up there, just as it was beginning to be dusk. It was a peregrine falcon – one of the breeding pair I was telling you about – and I managed to photograph it. I was thinking about that and feeling pleased with myself as I walked back. And as I went past the maze I saw that there was someone sitting in that cage. I couldn’t see very clearly. It was just at that point when the light’s beginning to go, but I could see it was a man and he had a dog at his feet. When I got back I mentioned seeing someone in there and Maddie went quiet. She said, ‘I think you’ve seen the ghost.’”

  “Wait,” Katie said. “This wasn’t at all scary?”

  “Nope. Just thought he was a regular guy with a dog.”

  “So maybe it was just a regular guy with a dog. Why did it have to be a ghost?”

  “Because there’s no one at Debussy Point with a dog like that.”

  In spite of herself, Katie’s eyes watered and the back of her neck went cold. “Are there any dogs here?” she asked.

  “One of the secretaries has a Pekinese that she sometimes brings to work. But this wasn’t a Peke. It was big enough to rest its head on the man’s knee. Think about it, Caitlin. No one can get onto Debussy Point without going past the porter’s lodge. A strange guy with a dog couldn’t just stroll in and wander round without anyone noticing.”

  “Did you see his face?”

  “Nope. He was turned away from me.”

  Katie wasn’t sure what to make of this. She didn’t actually believe in ghosts. Yes, it had been creepy in the maze, but now that she was in a warm, brightly lit room sipping whisky with Tarquin, it was very different. She hadn’t actually seen or heard anything specific. She really thought now that it had just been imagination, a product of the dim light and of getting lost and then, too, she was still a bit hazy – for want of a better word – from winter-over syndrome. That might account for the way she had got disorientated. In fact, it almost certainly did.

  She said, “But you didn’t think it was a ghost at the time.”

  Tarquin made an impatient gesture. “I’m not the only one who has seen him. There’ve been other sightings over the years. Once, someone passed a man walking down that path through the woods. He had a dog at his heels. Again, it was dusk and they didn’t see his face. Other times it’s just been the dog. It’s always the same. At the time the person thinks nothing o
f it and it’s only afterwards that they start to wonder.”

  Didn’t this seem to confirm that there was nothing supernatural about these sightings? Katie was pretty sure that in Tarquin’s case, at least, he had seen a real person who had somehow managed to get on to the island, but she didn’t say so, because it was clearly important to Tarquin to believe that he had seen a ghost. She found it a bit surprising that a scientist should be so superstitious.

  “About the maze,” he said. “If you go in again, there’s only one thing you have to remember. Keep one hand – doesn’t matter whether it’s the left or the right – in constant contact with the hedge. It’s not the quickest way to get to the centre and out again, but you won’t get lost.”

  “As simple as that?”

  “As simple as that.”

  Katie thought about it. She said, “But wouldn’t turning consistently right or left have the same effect?”

  “In theory. But people say they’ve tried that and still got lost.”

  CHAPTER 26

  Even though she could see her flat from Tarquin’s, Katie had to walk right round the front of the house to get home.

  As she walked along the path through the shrubbery, she was still under the spell of their conversation and found herself starting at every little noise. And it didn’t help that the bulb had gone in one of the uplighters, the one closest to her door. She got her key ready well before she got to her door, but all the same, she found herself fumbling in the dark trying to aim the torch on her phone at the lock.

  She still hadn’t managed to get the key in when she heard a rustling in the bushes. The path that led to her door continued on, curving through the shrubbery, and it was from that direction that the sound was coming – and it was getting louder. Someone – something – was blundering along the narrow passage, brushing against the leaves.

  Just as she finally got the key in, a large shape loomed round the corner. She gasped and put a hand to her chest. She swung the beam of light round and saw – Bill!