by Hilary Green
Chapter 6
Swancombe House had been built shortly before the First World War. The Farnabys had made their money in shipping in Southampton. It was large, rambling, rather pretentious and set in a couple of acres of grounds which sloped gently down to the River Hamble. Leo stood by the windows leading out onto the terrace and looked across the dark lawns. It was easy to imagine the doomed youth of 1914 playing tennis and taking tea on those apparently endless golden afternoons; or the bright young things of the twenties driving down from London for weekend house-parties. Any of that would have seemed more fitting than what was going on behind her. She turned and looked back into the room. It was in darkness except for the pulsating disco lights and the noise level produced the same physical sensation as being beaten over the head with a steam-hammer. Leo began to edge her way through the writhing, jerking bodies towards the opposite door. Faces advanced towards her and receded again, expressionless, many of them dead white except for the dark gashes of eyes and lips, wild-haired, open-mouthed. It occurred to her that if Dante had witnessed the scene he would have come to the conclusion that Virgil had spared him the sight of the worst torments of the damned until that moment. Yet she knew, too, how easily, in another place and another mood, she could have given herself up to the ancient, ritualistic power of rhythmic movement.
She gained the far door and went out into the hall. Here, with the door closed behind her, it was possible to think again. She looked around. On the stairs four or five couples were exchanging languid kisses or simply gazing silently into space. From their wide, vague eyes Leo guessed that they were spaced out on something; but where were they getting it from? She had seen plenty of evidence so far of drugs being used but nothing actually changing hands. To her right, through an open door leading to the conservatory, she could hear the voice of the girl croupier who had been imported from London intoning her endless ‘rien ne va plus’. Motto for the evening, Leo thought. Nothing’s going for me, either.
Opposite her another door led to the library. This one was closed but from behind it she could hear a murmur of sound. She moved across towards it but as she reached it a large man in a dinner suit which had definitely seen better days lounged out of a chair nearby and casually interposed himself between it and her.
She gave him a steady look. ‘What’s the matter? Afraid I might see something I haven’t seen before?’
He shrugged and moved aside. ‘Up to you, miss. Just don’t want anyone upset, that’s all.’
Leo went inside. Her guess had been more accurate than her bluff to the man at the door. Up on the screen at the far end of the room people were doing things she had not seen before and did not want to see again. She stayed long enough to register who was in the room and then slipped out again.
‘Too strong for you?’ the doorman leered.
She lifted her shoulders. ‘I wish they wouldn’t keep rerunning these old movies.’
She went over and stood watching the roulette from the doorway of the conservatory. There was no sign of Farnaby. He had been attentive to her for the first half-hour or so of the party and had then left her with a group of his ‘artistic’ friends, including the boy from the corps de ballet, and disappeared. She reflected that, if she had not come as his guest, it would have been useful to have a partner—Stone, perhaps, or Nick Marriot. He would probably have been more at home here. On the other hand, perhaps not. The room where the music was might be filled with the trendy young, but out here the dinner suits, except for the bouncer by the library door, were hand-made in Savile Row and the diamonds were genuine—well, most of them. She had already compiled in her head an extensive and quite surprising guest list.
In the dining-room there was nothing but the remains of the excellent buffet supper and two young men who seemed to have arrived with the express purpose of getting as drunk as possible and succeeded even beyond their own expectations. Leo wondered if she should investigate the kitchen regions, or possibly upstairs. She had seen couples drifting in that direction from time to time but had assumed that she knew for what purpose, and the idea of lurking outside bedroom doors did not appeal to her. Nevertheless, it was clear that Guy Farnaby was not in any of the public rooms. She decided to try upstairs and picked her way over the supine bodies to the galleried landing above. Just as she reached it she heard Farnaby’s voice from the passageway below her. He spoke quietly, but with a harsh edge which she had only heard hints of before.
‘Nothing is for nothing, little girl. Just remember that. Let me know when you’ve thought it over.’
Then a girl’s voice, very young, very desperate.
‘But you can’t do this to me! Guy, you’ve got to help me. Please, Guy!’
‘Shut up!’ he hissed. ‘Do you want everyone to know? I’ve told you what to do. When you’ve made up your mind to co-operate you’ll get what you want. Now leave me alone.’
Leo saw him cross the hall and go into the conservatory. A few seconds later a girl appeared and came blundering up the stairs, tripping over the legs of the lounging couples who stared up at her with blank indifference. As she passed Leo saw that she was a pale, painfully thin child with mousy hair frizzed out in an attempt to emulate current fashion, and a bone structure which seemed all nose and collar-bones. Something at the back of Leo’s mind queried—anorexia? The girl had her hand pressed across her mouth as if she was about to be sick and seemed unaware of Leo as she rushed past. Leo watched her go down the passage and saw the door of one of the bedrooms close behind her.
A gentle tap on the door produced no response so Leo opened it and went in. A bathroom led off to one side and through the open door of this she could see the girl leaning against the wall, her arms clutched about her fragile body, shivering convulsively. Leo went across to her and took her gently by the shoulders. The girl showed no surprise but stared up at her with the huge, supplicating eyes of a wounded animal. Leo led her over to the bed and wrapped a blanket round her and then crouched in front of her, one hand clasping hers, which was icy to the touch, the other gently stroking back the dishevelled hair from the burning forehead.
‘Listen,’ Leo said. ‘I know what you’re going through, and I know why. It’s bad, but I can help you. You must believe that. No matter how terrible it all seems now, I can help you if you trust me. Will you trust me?’
The girl stared down at her in silence.
‘My name is Leonora,’ she went on. ‘What’s yours?’
A long silence, as if she had forgotten—or forgotten how to speak. Then, in a husky whisper, ‘Mandy. Amanda Clifton.’
‘Mandy,’ Leo repeated. ‘OK, Mandy. If I’m going to help you I need to know the whole story.’
The girl shook her head violently. ‘I can’t tell you. I can’t tell anybody!’
Leo took her by the shoulders. ‘Yes, you can! You can, and you must, because you can’t handle this by yourself any more. You need help. I can help you, but only if you tell me everything. You’re on drugs, right?’
The girl dropped her head and nodded faintly.
‘Heroin?’ Leo persisted.
Again the faint nod.
‘And Guy Farnaby gave it to you. Right?’
Once again the girl’s eyes were fixed on her with that terrified animal stare.
‘Look,’ Leo said, ‘I know all about Farnaby. You’re not giving anything away. It was him, wasn’t it?’
Again the girl nodded and whispered, ‘Yes.’
‘But now he won’t give you any more?’ Leo probed. ‘You’re suffering from withdrawal symptoms. Why has he stopped your supply?’
The girl twisted restlessly, trying to get out of Leo’s grip, her tongue passing feverishly over her lips. Leo held her firmly.
‘Why, Mandy?’
The girl took a deep, shuddering breath. ‘Because he’s trying to blackmail my father.’
‘Blackmail him how?’
Mandy appeared to come to some decision and take a grip on herself. Her voice grew st
ronger.
‘My father is the chief constable. Yesterday, Guy wrote to him and told him about me—anonymously, of course—and threatened to tell the newspapers if my father didn’t do what he wanted. Daddy got the letter this morning. He made me tell him the whole story—except Guy’s name. I pretended I didn’t know who he was—said I used to meet him in pubs and cafes and places. I was terrified if I told him that I wouldn’t get any more stuff. He’s been keeping me short for days now, so I knew how awful it would be. My father said he wasn’t going to give in to blackmail and he was planning to send me away to some clinic or something. He locked me in my room, but I got out and came here to see Guy, to beg him to give me a fix. He says he won’t give me any more until my father agrees to do as he says.’
‘But if your father is determined not to give in to blackmail…’ Leo began.
The girl shook her head despairingly. ‘He’ll have to give in in the end. You see, Guy didn’t tell him everything. If he goes to the police, I shall go to prison!’
‘Mandy,’ Leo said gently, ‘they don’t send people to prison just for using heroin.’
‘No,’ she said bitterly, ‘but they do for bringing it into the country.’
‘You carried H through customs for Farnaby?’
‘Yes.’ The girl sighed despairingly. ‘I started using it about a year ago. He made it easy for me at first. Then, when I was hooked, the price started going up. When I told him I couldn’t afford it he suggested I could make some extra money when we went away on our summer holidays. We have a villa in Greece, you see, where we go every year. He arranged it all. He told me to buy a doll in traditional costume—you know the sort of thing. Someone must have swapped it for another one, I don’t know when. When I got back I took it to Guy and he showed me the hollowed-out place in the centre where the heroin was. So you see…’
She broke off, shaking her head and beginning to shiver again. Leo said urgently,
‘You were forced into it, Mandy. No jury would really blame you. If you help me to catch Farnaby and get him put away I’m sure you will be all right.’
Mandy looked at her. ‘Are you a policewoman?’
‘Not exactly, but I work with the police,’ Leo told her. ‘We want to stop Farnaby before he hurts even more people like you. Now tell me what was it that he wanted your father to do?’
‘Do?’ the girl repeated vaguely.
‘He threatened to tell the papers about you if your father didn’t do what he wanted. What was it?’
‘He said something about “your men have been snooping around boat-houses on the river. Tell them to keep away”.’
‘Just ‘boat-houses’? He didn’t say anything more specific?’
‘No. But Guy has a boat-house.’
‘Here?’
‘No. On the opposite side. I saw him there one day when I was sailing with a friend. There’s a big old house that’s used as an old people’s home or something. The boat-house is in the grounds. I suppose he rents it or something.’
Leo took the girl’s hands in both her own and squeezed them. ‘Good girl! That’s just the sort of information I needed. Now listen. Are you staying here for the night?’
‘I suppose so.’ Mandy shrugged and choked back a sob. ‘There’s nowhere else to go. Guy always lets me stay when I come to parties.’
‘Right,’ Leo said. ‘This is what you must do. Now listen, Mandy. You must do exactly what I tell you if I’m going to help you, no matter how bad you’re feeling. Do you promise?’
The girl nodded bleakly.
‘I’m going to leave you here for a little while because we can’t get out of the house without being seen until the party is over. When I go I’m going to lock the door, not to keep you in but to make sure nobody comes bothering you.’
‘Why can’t I lock it?’ Mandy asked.
‘Because you might fall asleep and I don’t want to have to rouse half the house trying to wake you when I come back. I’ve got some friends near here. I’m going to contact them and ask them to bring a car. Then, when everyone is asleep, I shall come and fetch you and take you to them. They will see that you get to a place where you’ll be looked after and helped to kick your habit. That is what you want, isn’t it?’
‘I suppose so,’ Mandy muttered uncertainly. ‘What about my parents?’
‘I’ll see that they are informed of where you are. I should think they’ll be able to come and visit you tomorrow. Now, you lie down and try to get some sleep. I’ll be back in an hour or so, when things have quietened down.’
Leo settled the waif-like little figure on the bed and tucked the blankets around her.
‘Now try not to worry. Just lie quiet. Everything’s going to be all right.’
She moved softly to the door and slipped out into the passage. There was nobody in sight. She locked the door, praying that Mandy would not panic and start hammering to be let out, and went swiftly to her own room. There she unearthed the radio transceiver which, after some heart-searching, she had agreed to include in her luggage, and switched it on.
‘Delta One, this is Omega. Come in please.’
There was a brief silence. Then to her relief she heard Nick’s voice.
‘Delta Two, actually. The watch has changed. And yes, I have had supper, but I can always eat another one.’
In spite of her tension Leo found herself smiling.
‘Stop fooling, Delta Two. This is business. I shall have a passenger for you in an hour or two. Where shall I find you?’
‘You’ve seen the stretch of woodland opposite the main gate? About two hundred yards east of the gate there’s a bridle-path. I’m twenty or thirty yards in off the road.’
‘Is Delta One with you?’
‘No, but I can raise him.’
‘Do that. I shall want both of you. I can’t tell exactly when. Just be there. Omega out.’
Leo hid the radio again amongst her clothing and went back to the party, which showed no signs as yet of breaking up.
* * *
Stone’s car nosed its way up the dark bridle-path and came to rest beside Marriot’s. He got out and slid into the passenger seat beside Nick.
‘What’s going on?’
‘Nothing so far,’ Nick told him. ‘Just a message from Leo telling us to stand by and saying she’d be bringing us a “passenger”.’
‘You don’t suppose she’s decided to pick up Farnaby, all off her own bat, do you?’ Stone asked.
‘Wouldn’t put it past her,’ Nick said with a grin, ‘but what would be the point?’
‘Oh well, we’ll just have to wait and see, I suppose,’ Stone yawned. ‘But it had better be good. I was on my way to bed.’
‘With or without that blonde barmaid?’ Nick asked.
‘What barmaid?’ Stone countered innocently.
Half an hour or more passed before they heard a car approach, slow down to turn out of the drive and then accelerate to pass the end of the track. It was followed by another, then a whole convoy, their lights briefly illuminating the trees as they hummed away into the darkness.
‘Party’s breaking up at last,’ Stone commented.
‘Yeah. Fancy getting in among that lot with a breathalyser!’ Nick grinned.
‘You know your trouble,’ Stone told him. ‘You think like a policeman.’
A long silence followed the passing of the last car. Nick stretched.
‘She’d better make it soon. It’ll be dawn before long.’
He got out of the car and moved a few paces towards the road. The May night was mild, with a milky sky that had never become really dark. Apart from the faint, constant hushing of the wind in the leaves overhead the silence was complete. Then he heard the sound of footsteps and a faint murmur of voices and a second later Leo appeared, silhouetted for a moment against the paler surface of the roadway, clutching another huddled shape which she appeared to be half carrying. Nick went forward quickly and helped to support the shuddering, sobbing girl back to where
the cars were parked. Stone got out and came to meet them.
‘Who is she, Leo?’
‘Her name is Amanda Clifton. Her father is the chief constable.’ Leo turned Mandy towards her and looked into her face. ‘Mandy, these are friends of mine. This is Stone, and this one is Nick Marriot. He’ll look after you and take you to somewhere safe.’
The girl stared helplessly at Nick and caught her breath on a strangled sob. He reached out and took her in his arms, holding her head against his shoulder, where she nestled as if she had found a refuge.
‘Don’t worry, love,’ he said gently. ‘I’ll see you’re all right.’ Then, looking over her head at Leo, ‘Some of Farnaby’s handiwork?’
Leo nodded. ‘I’m afraid so. Now he’s trying to blackmail the father. Nick, she needs to be taken somewhere where they have experience of this kind of thing, but somewhere where she’ll be safe and where they can keep their mouths shut.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Nick told her. ‘I know just the place. It’s a private clinic in Surrey. They know me there. I’ll take her straight away.’
‘Good,’ Leo’s voice expressed considerable relief. ‘Can you contact her parents when you’ve got her settled? She’s run away, so they’re probably going spare.’
‘Will do,’ Nick agreed. ‘What then? Do you want me back here?’
‘Yes,’ said Leo. ‘I think the balloon’s going up here fairly soon. I’ll fill Stone in with all the details. You contact him as soon as you get back. Have you got a base down here?’
Stone nodded briefly. ‘We’re booked in at the local pub. If I’m not there when you get back, Nick, wait until you hear from me.’ ‘Right.’ Nick turned towards his car, his arm still tight round the girl. ‘Come on, Mandy. The sooner we get you to someone who can help you the better.’
Leo helped him to tuck her up on the back seat with a rug over her and she and Stone stood and watched until the rear lights disappeared on the road.
‘Good old Nick,’ Leo said quietly. ‘He was very sweet with her.’