Into the Thinnest of Air

  ‘Didn’t you hear that?’ she said.

  We all looked at each other.

  ‘Hear what?’ said Jimmy.

  ‘A voice, calling my name,’ said Eileen.

  ‘Oh hell!’ said Jimmy. ‘Are you hearing Voices now?’

  ‘No!’ said Eileen. ‘It came from the Castle, not inside my head.’

  ‘I didn’t hear anything,’ said Valerie, but her voice wasn’t as certain as it might have been.

  ‘Whose voice do you think it was, Eileen?’ I said.

  She shook her head slowly. ‘I couldn’t tell. But I think … it might have been Thomas, calling out to me. Afraid because I was going off and leaving him. I’m sorry, Ishmael, but I can’t go with you. I can’t leave Thomas here, on his own. The rest of you should still go, and send help once you’ve reached the town.’

  She took her hand off Jimmy’s shoulder and stepped out of the line. Then she took a deep breath and headed back to the front door.

  ‘Oh hell!’ said Jimmy. ‘That’s torn it.’

  ‘We can’t go off and leave her here,’ said Valerie.

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘We can’t. You and Jimmy had better go after her. Penny and I will be along in a minute.’

  Valerie and Jimmy hurried after Eileen.

  ‘I didn’t hear anything,’ Penny said firmly. ‘And I was right at the back of the line, closest to the open front door. Did you hear anything with your amazing augmented senses, space boy?’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘Of course, I was concentrating on where we were going. Damn it, Penny! We were so close to getting out of here.’

  ‘Someone really doesn’t want us to leave,’ said Penny.

  ‘I’ll make them regret that,’ I said.

  ‘Of course you will,’ said Penny.

  We shared a quick smile, linked arms, and went after the others. Back to the inn, and what lay in wait for us.

  When we stepped through the open door, Eileen was standing in the middle of the dining room, looking fiercely about her and listening hard. The room was empty, and there wasn’t a sound to be heard anywhere. Jimmy and Valerie stood on either side of Eileen, being supportive. And to make sure she didn’t go running off on her own. They were listening too, but it was obvious they weren’t hearing anything. I closed the front door and jammed the coat stand back in place. More for the feeling of security it provided than because I had any faith in it.

  ‘Hello?’ Eileen said suddenly. ‘Thomas, it’s me! Eileen! I came back … Can you hear me?’

  There was no reply. Eileen shook her head slowly, then turned to look back at me.

  ‘It was just another distraction, wasn’t it?’

  ‘Probably,’ I said.

  ‘If someone is so determined to keep us from leaving, then we should go. If only to spite them,’ said Eileen. ‘But I can’t. Not as long as there’s a chance Thomas is still here and still needs me.’

  ‘That’s what the demon is counting on,’ said Jimmy.

  ‘But we can’t leave Eileen!’ Valerie said to him, pointedly.

  ‘Of course not,’ Jimmy said quickly. ‘Old friends, together. One for all, and all of us screwed.’

  ‘You had to go and spoil the moment, didn’t you?’ said Valerie.

  ‘It’s what I do best,’ said Jimmy.

  ‘I wish you were joking,’ said Valerie.

  And then she laughed and hugged Jimmy and Eileen, and they hugged her back. Old friends after all, that no one was going to separate.

  ‘I suppose we’d better sit down at the table again,’ I said, ‘since we’re clearly not going anywhere.’

  ‘Don’t be such a grouch,’ said Valerie. ‘Just because you weren’t included in the hug.’

  We sat down round the table again. I was getting pretty tired of looking at it. No one said anything for a while. So I decided I might as well get the ball rolling, if only by thinking out loud.

  ‘If we can’t escape the puzzle, we have to solve it. We have to figure out who is behind all of this, and what we can do to stop them.’

  ‘You have to admire the man’s blind optimism,’ said Jimmy.

  ‘They didn’t have to stay,’ said Valerie. She looked thoughtfully at me, and Penny. ‘You could have walked back to Black Rock Towen and left us here to our fate. You’re not scared of the dark, like we are.’

  ‘I couldn’t go off and leave you,’ I said.

  ‘Why not?’ said Eileen.

  ‘I feel responsible for you,’ I said. ‘How long do you think you’d last without me – and Penny, of course?’

  ‘Nice save, sweetie,’ said Penny. ‘I only had to kick your ankle once.’

  Jimmy was scowling. ‘You didn’t protect Olivia. Or Thomas or Albert.’

  ‘They didn’t listen to me,’ I said.

  ‘We can look after ourselves,’ said Valerie. ‘We’re not children.’

  ‘Except when we’re afraid of the dark,’ said Eileen.

  ‘I’m still half convinced you two are part of the problem,’ said Jimmy, switching his scowl from me to Penny and back again. ‘Nothing out of the ordinary ever happened to any of us until you turned up.’

  I started to say something, but stopped when Penny put a hand on my arm and squeezed it hard. She was quite right, of course. I’d already lost my temper in the kitchen, and it’s never good for anyone when I lose control. I nodded to Penny.

  ‘They may be annoying, but I still can’t leave them.’

  ‘Of course you can’t,’ said Penny. ‘It’s not in your nature. Even though they can be very annoying.’

  ‘It’s always possible someone was counting on that,’ I said. ‘That I wouldn’t do the sensible thing and walk back to town.’

  ‘Because, of course, it’s always all about you,’ said Jimmy.

  ‘Actually, usually it is,’ I said. ‘But not this time … I think they were counting on you being a group of old friends who would never abandon each other. I think it’s all about you. Only Penny was invited to join you at this special pre-opening meal, no one knew I was going to be here.’

  Penny looked at me sharply. ‘You think they were brought here on purpose? That they were targeted? Set up to be taken?’

  ‘Don’t you?’ I said. ‘Everything that’s happened has the feel of something carefully worked out in advance. That’s why the demon is taking people one at a time, to keep us off balance so we won’t work out what’s really going on. Someone wants to punish this group of old friends for past sins. You and I are merely collateral damage. In fact if we hadn’t been here, everyone might have been taken by now.’

  ‘So, we’re back to it all being all about you …’ said Jimmy.

  ‘You don’t believe there’s anything unnatural going on here, do you, Ishmael?’ said Penny.

  ‘No,’ I said.

  ‘Stop talking about us like we’re not here!’ Jimmy said loudly.

  ‘That is just a bit spooky, under the circumstances,’ said Valerie.

  ‘Just because we’re not all holding hands for extra security and hanging on to your every word …’ said Eileen.

  I smiled around the table. ‘I’ve been holding your hands for ages. That’s why you’re still here.’

  ‘You’re so full of it!’ said Jimmy. ‘In fact you are so full of it, it’s a wonder it doesn’t leak out of your ears when you cough.’

  Penny laughed, but quickly smothered it when I looked at her.

  ‘I’m missing something,’ I said, with quiet dignity. ‘Something about this place …’

  ‘You always feel that way just before you work out what’s really going on,’ said Penny.

  ‘I wish I had your confidence,’ I said. ‘This case is so different from what I’m used to. No bodies, no evidence, no clues … Nobody to interrogate and nothing to investigate. I feel lost.’

  ‘I still don’t like the way Albert just went off and left us,’ said Penny, frowning fiercely. ‘He must have known it was a dumb, even dangerous, thing to do … going into the k
itchen on his own. But he didn’t even hesitate. It almost seemed like he was in a hurry. Was he being influenced, do you think?’

  ‘He didn’t act like he was hearing Voices,’ I said. ‘And given how much we’ve discussed Voices this evening, I think he would have said something if he had been.’

  ‘You’re doing it again …’ said Jimmy.

  ‘Don’t ignore us!’ said Valerie. ‘If you want to know anything about Albert, ask us. He was our friend.’

  ‘Even if we didn’t always like him that much,’ said Eileen.

  ‘And what did you mean when you said we were brought here to pay for our past sins?’ said Valerie.

  ‘Let’s concentrate on Albert, for the moment,’ I said. ‘I’m still wondering what it was that he remembered so suddenly. Something about which he didn’t want to talk to us, and yet so important he was ready to go back into the room where his wife disappeared. Can any of you suggest what that might have been?’

  ‘Perhaps he saw something in the kitchen earlier?’ said Eileen. ‘Something he didn’t realize the significance of until now.’

  ‘I tore that room apart,’ I said, ‘and couldn’t find anything significant.’

  ‘We did notice …’ said Jimmy.

  ‘Albert’s behaviour didn’t make any sense,’ I said. ‘But then not much about this case does.’

  ‘I don’t have any past sins I need to be punished for!’ Valerie said loudly. ‘None of us do.’

  ‘At least nothing so bad that a demon would want to make us disappear because of them,’ said Jimmy. ‘Unless you’ve been holding back on us, Eileen.’

  ‘I wish!’ said Eileen. ‘Vicar’s wives don’t have the time to get any serious sinning done.’

  I looked around the dining room again, even though I knew I’d already seen everything there was to see. It didn’t seem like a dangerous setting. Every detail was almost aggressively ordinary. But there was still a very real tension in the air. Because we all knew we couldn’t trust anything about the room.

  ‘I’d made myself accept that Thomas was dead,’ said Eileen, ‘that I’d never see him again … And then I heard him calling my name.’

  ‘If it was Thomas …’ said Jimmy.

  ‘Someone called my name,’ said Eileen. ‘Called out to me for help. Who else would do that?’

  ‘If someone’s been lurking around listening to us …’ said Jimmy.

  ‘Or something,’ said Valerie. She glared at me. ‘Are you still not ready to admit there must be something supernatural after us?’

  ‘There’s no solid evidence …’ I said.

  ‘Exactly!’ said Valerie. ‘If this was just some crazy kidnapping stunt, there would be evidence. Clues as to what’s going on. It’s the complete lack of anything real and solid that proves this has to be a supernatural threat!’

  There was a long pause.

  ‘That really is pushing it a bit, Val,’ said Eileen.

  Jimmy grinned at her. ‘You’re back to your normal self.’

  ‘I lapsed, for a while,’ said Eileen. ‘But everything’s all right now.’

  Then suddenly the lights went out. Darkness fell across the dining room, relieved only by the dim yellow glow of the single lit candle on the bar top. And then its light was snapped out, too. Complete and utter darkness filled the dining room from end to end, like a living thing. Even I couldn’t see anything.

  ‘Everyone stay where you are!’ I said loudly. ‘Reach out and grab each other’s hands! Sing out when you’ve found someone!’

  They all called out, one after the other. Penny’s hand gripped mine tightly. I’d have known her touch anywhere.

  ‘Stay where you are,’ I said. ‘Penny and I will light the candles.’

  ‘It might be quicker if we all helped,’ said Eileen.

  ‘No it wouldn’t,’ I said. ‘The last thing I need is all of you stumbling around in the dark, falling over each other and getting spooked.’

  ‘Something is in the room with us!’ said Valerie, her voice rising. ‘Hiding in the dark!’

  ‘No there isn’t!’ I said, just as loudly.

  ‘How can you be sure?’ said Jimmy.

  ‘Because I’m not hearing anything moving about,’ I said. ‘Listen …’

  And while they were busy doing that I rose to my feet and, taking Penny with me, went straight to the nearest candle. My memory worked perfectly well even in the dark. I found the box of matches by touch and lit the candle. Jimmy, Valerie and Eileen cried out in unison as the little light appeared, pushing back some of the darkness. I could just make them out, sitting close together at the table, and was quietly relieved they were all still there. I moved quickly round the dining room, lighting one candle after another, keeping Penny close at all times, until finally a long row of small bobbing lights filled the dining room with a pale yellow glow.

  I’d been worried that Jimmy, Valerie or Eileen would silently disappear in the dark. That the blackout had been another distraction. But they were all still sitting round the table.

  Suddenly Eileen pulled her hands free from the others and rose to her feet.

  ‘That is it. That is the final straw that ruptured the camel’s back. I want a drink. And I want it right now!’

  ‘No you don’t,’ Valerie said immediately.

  ‘Yes I bloody well do!’ said Eileen. ‘And the fact that I am perfectly ready to walk right over anyone who gets in my way is all the proof I need.’

  She strode down the dining room to the bar and moved behind it to search for just the right drink. I didn’t say anything, but I was disappointed in her. She’d been doing so well up till now. Jimmy and Valerie stood together at the table, unsure what to do.

  ‘Please, Eileen, come back to the table,’ said Valerie.

  ‘When I’m ready,’ said Eileen. ‘When I’ve got a drink. You want me to bring you something?’

  ‘Well …’ said Jimmy.

  ‘No you don’t!’ said Valerie.

  ‘No I don’t,’ said Jimmy.

  Eileen peered at the bottles stacked under the bar, and then knelt down and disappeared from sight. Jimmy and Valerie cried out involuntarily.

  ‘Stop panicking!’ said Eileen, from behind the bar.

  ‘At least keep talking to us!’ said Jimmy.

  ‘Shut up, Jimmy,’ said Eileen. ‘I’m busy.’

  Penny leaned in close to me. ‘What was the point in cutting the power and plunging the whole place into darkness if the demon didn’t intend to take advantage of it?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘To show us it’s in control? To throw a scare into us … Hold it! Eileen, you’ve been quiet too long. You’re scaring us! Please say something.’

  But she didn’t. I hurried down the dining room and looked behind the bar. There was no sign of Eileen anywhere. Jimmy and Valerie could tell what had happened from the look on my face. They made low moaning noises and held each other tightly.

  ‘Poor Eileen!’ Valerie said finally. ‘I hope it isn’t dark where she’s gone. She was always so afraid of the dark, and what’s in it.’

  SIX

  Death and the Demon

  Jimmy and Valerie clung to each other like frightened children during a thunderstorm. Valerie didn’t cry over Eileen’s sudden disappearance, but Jimmy did. He just broke down suddenly, sobbing so hard his whole body shook. Valerie hugged him to her. The sound of Jimmy’s weeping seemed to fill the whole room.

  I looked everywhere behind the bar, but there was no sign of any struggle. Not even a scuff mark on the floor. I even knelt down to check the items stacked behind the bar, rummaged through the various bottles and usual boxes of snacks. Penny made an involuntary sound as I dropped down out of view and moved quickly forward so she wouldn’t lose sight of me, even for a moment. I didn’t know what I was looking for behind the bar. Whatever it was, I didn’t find it.

  I stood up and stamped hard on the floor, hoping for a hollow sound. All that happened was I hurt my foot. I grabbed hol
d of the wooden bar top with both hands, ready to tear the whole structure apart, but Penny made another sound. I made myself stop, and took my hands away. Smashing up the kitchen hadn’t got me anywhere, and it had seriously freaked out the others. I didn’t need Jimmy and Valerie even more upset than they already were. So I took a deep breath and stepped carefully back from the bar. I looked at Penny, and she moved quickly forward to be with me, comforting me with her presence.

  ‘Are you all right?’ I asked. My voice sounded harsh and strained, even to me.

  ‘Not really,’ said Penny. ‘But I’m coping. Which is more than you can say for them.’

  Jimmy had stopped crying, but he still looked like part of him had been torn away. Valerie was murmuring to him steadily. Low comforting sounds, like a mother with a child. I don’t think Jimmy heard them, but perhaps it helped Valerie to have someone else to concentrate on. She turned her head suddenly, to glare at me.

  ‘Why did Eileen disappear when she went behind the bar?’ she said loudly. ‘It was safe enough there before.’

  ‘It wasn’t the bar,’ said Penny. ‘It was the demon. Just waiting to carry Eileen off the moment she was out of our sight.’

  ‘How could it know that?’ said Valerie.

  ‘Because it’s watching us,’ said Jimmy. His voice was flat, almost lifeless. ‘It’s been watching us all along.’

  Valerie looked around her uncertainly. ‘Could it be here in the room with us right now? Intangible and unseen, like in the old stories?’

  I didn’t say anything, because I had no answer for her. But I couldn’t help feeling that, with my more than human senses, if anything unnatural was present in the room with us I would know. And I wasn’t picking up anything.

  ‘Is it too late to tie ourselves together with ropes?’ said Jimmy, trying for a lighter tone and not even coming close.

  ‘Albert said there aren’t any ropes,’ said Valerie.

  ‘Then feel free to keep hold of me,’ said Jimmy.

  Valerie pushed him away from her, not unkindly. ‘Looks like you’re feeling better.’

  ‘I’m not sure “better” is the right word,’ said Jimmy. He scowled at the bar, and his mouth tightened into a flat line. ‘I can’t believe Eileen is gone.’