Penny turned to me. ‘You talk to them. Before I start throwing things.’
‘I strongly advise all of you to stay in this room,’ I said to the four principals. ‘Lock yourselves in. You’ll probably feel safer keeping an eye on each other, and I can station guards outside the only door. Admittedly that didn’t help much the last time, but you’ll know better than to open the door now, won’t you?’
‘And, of course, you’ll always be sure where we are,’ said August.
‘That too,’ I said.
‘What will you be doing?’ asked December.
‘I need to examine the murder scenes,’ I said. ‘See if there’s anything the guards might have overlooked.’
‘While they were panicking and puking,’ said Penny.
‘Well, quite,’ I said.
January and March looked like they might be about to object, but December glared them into silence. August looked at the Major Domo.
‘I want to stay with you,’ she said, ‘but I can’t. I have work to do. To keep you safe.’
‘Then go,’ said August. ‘We’ll be fine here.’
I thought for a moment they might kiss, but I don’t think they liked to in front of so many people. The Major Domo left the room without looking back. And I looked after her and wondered how far she would go to help free August from the Group he hated.
As I climbed the stairs, heading yet again for the top floor, I realized I could smell blood on the air. I didn’t hurry. It wasn’t as if there was any point. And Penny was already growling under her breath as she grew short of breath. The smell became stronger once we reached the landing on the middle floor.
‘You’re smelling blood, aren’t you?’ said Penny. ‘I know that look. Did you smell it before, when you were breaking up the gunfight?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘With so much cordite on the air, it masked all other scents. I’m beginning to think that might have been the point.’
‘You think our killer knows about you?’ said Penny. ‘I mean, what you are and what you can do?’
‘I don’t see how,’ I said. ‘But there’s a lot about this case I don’t understand.’
We finally reached the top floor, and I pretended to look around for a while as Penny got her breath back. She finally nodded curtly, and we headed for the principals’ rooms. The corridor was almost unnaturally quiet. All the doors had been left standing ajar. Bloody footprints stood out clearly on the carpet outside some of the doors, from where guards had gone in and come out again. The stench of blood and death was now so heavy even Penny could smell it. She wrinkled her nose, but said nothing. I led the way slowly down the corridor, carefully pushing open one door after another so we could peer in. Every room was the same. Furniture wrecked, and deep claw marks gouged into the walls. Bones and body parts, organs and viscera, human insides reduced to a crimson and purple mess. And blood splashed over everything. This was more than murder, it was butchery.
The stench was almost overpowering. Penny had to put a hand over her mouth and nose again.
‘All this destruction was deliberate,’ I said finally. ‘To conceal any evidence the killer might have left behind.’
‘You really think a human being could do something like this?’ said Penny. ‘What about the creature that chased us out of the cellar?’
‘I’m still thinking about that,’ I said.
‘Could the creature be some kind of … supernatural attack dog?’ said Penny, just a bit desperately. ‘Something that could appear out of nowhere, do its work, and then disappear again? That would explain how it could do all this and never be noticed. Are there such creatures; in your experience?’
‘I’ve heard of such things,’ I said carefully. ‘But it seems to me … that what happened here is too deliberate to be the work of any animal. Someone, or something, went out of their way to tear these bodies apart beyond any hope of recognition. And then smashed up every bit of furniture in every room. They didn’t miss a thing. The destruction speaks to a creature’s strength and savagery; but an animal would get tired, or bored, long before it finished this many rooms. And it wouldn’t do exactly the same thing, every time; that speaks to human planning, and forethought. Add to that the missing heads …’
‘Which has to be connected to Jennifer’s missing brains,’ said Penny.
‘No,’ I said, ‘That was only done to distract us. To make us think about what kind of creature would suck out someone’s brain; so we wouldn’t think about other things. Like why everyone here is dying. The missing heads don’t necessarily mean anything.’
I chose one room at random and stepped carefully inside, bending right over to examine the wreckage and the scattered body parts up close. I tried to identify the various organs, so I could be sure exactly how many bodies I was dealing with, but most of them had been crushed to a bloody pulp. Presumably deliberately. Penny stayed in the doorway, doing her best to breathe through her mouth. No matter how carefully I examined the murder scene, I couldn’t find a single piece of evidence to prove a creature had been present in the room. No tracks, no tufts of hair or shed scales … Even the claw marks in the walls weren’t distinctive enough to point to a particular species.
‘Could those marks have been made artificially?’ said Penny, following my gaze. ‘I saw a film once where they had this really big club with claws sticking out of it …’
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘There’s no shortage of evidence in this room, but none of it adds up to anything. Are you sure you wouldn’t care to join me?’
‘No thank you,’ Penny said firmly. ‘These are new shoes.’
I understood. Penny had seen her share of blood and gore when her family and friends were murdered; but the brutal slaughterhouse atmosphere of this whole corridor was too much, even for her. There was a terrible casualness to all the death and destruction, as though whoever was responsible didn’t actually care. There was no sense of delight in the slaughter, no personal satisfaction; just someone doing a thorough job. A professional. Like me. I went back out into the corridor, and Penny and I stood together for a while, thinking our separate thoughts.
‘How could all this have happened without the security guards hearing something?’ Penny said finally.
‘Good question,’ I said. ‘With only one answer that makes sense. All these murders must have taken place during the gun battle. The sounds were drowned out by the constant massed gunfire.’
‘Seven murders?’ said Penny. ‘And the wrecking of the rooms?’
‘The gunfight went on for quite a while,’ I said. ‘Time enough for a professional killer who’d planned it all carefully in advance. I think the gunfight was deliberately started to provide a cover for the murders. The security guards were so taken up with shooting at each other and trying to stay alive, you could have rehearsed a brass band in these rooms and the guards wouldn’t have noticed. It must have begun with the killer being invited into a principal’s room, passing as one of the escorts. That principal would have been killed immediately. Then the killer tricked the guards into opening fire on each other and set to work. Slipping in and out of one open door after another, unnoticed in the general chaos.’
‘I hate the thought of the first victim actually inviting his killer in,’ said Penny, shuddering briefly. ‘I mean, that’s just creepy …’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘It is. The kind of cold-bloodedness you only get with a professional assassin.’
‘You’d still expect experienced security guards to notice something,’ said Penny.
‘They were ducking in and out of doors up and down the length of the corridor,’ I said. ‘Firing at each other, dodging return fire … It would have been easy enough to miss one more figure, experienced in the ways of not drawing attention to himself.’
‘He’d still have needed ice-cool nerves,’ said Penny. ‘And balls of solid brass.’
‘Like I said, a professional.’
‘But after everything that happened in these rooms
, he would have been soaked in his victims’ blood! Wouldn’t he?’
‘You’d think so, wouldn’t you?’ I said. ‘I don’t have an answer for that yet. But that’s why only four principals appeared when I called for them to show themselves after the gunfight was over. The other seven were already dead. Along with their escorts.’
‘And Baron?’ said Penny.
‘Almost certainly,’ I said. ‘I was really hoping he might have got away, but that’s looking more and more like wishful thinking. You know … the killer was probably standing right here in the corridor when we arrived. Hiding in plain sight among the guards. I could have looked right at him and never known it.’
‘So now we’re assuming our killer is a man? And not a creature?’ said Penny.
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘Given the state of the rooms and the bodies, and the strength and savagery involved …’
‘Oh, come on!’ said Penny. ‘You can’t have it both ways!’
‘I think you’ll find I can,’ I said. ‘Right up until some final piece of evidence decides it, one way or the other.’
‘But your theory depends on the killer being human, disguised first as an escort, so no one would react to him entering the principals’ rooms, and then as a security guard. Even though the creature we heard down in the cellar was big. Really big.’
I thought about that. ‘The Major Domo was quite emphatic about there being no other usable hidden doors or secret passageways in Coronach House, but she took her own sweet time telling Baron about the door to the cellar and the tunnel connecting it to the grounds outside. She might be hoarding other secrets, for her own reasons.’
‘Maybe she’s doing it to protect August?’ said Penny. ‘You saw the way she was with him.’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Well spotted there. What do they see in each other? She has all the warmth and emotional appeal of a dead fish, and he’s such a grey little man. Clearly they’re using each other to get what they want, but still …’
‘It’s probably just sex,’ Penny said wisely. ‘There’s nothing like having one birthday too many, and noticing that the equipment’s getting a bit old, to make you want to use it while it’s still working. And anyway, even the shallowest personalities can find room for deep emotional waters.’
‘It’s possible, I suppose,’ I said. I looked up and down the empty corridor, and nothing of any value looked back. ‘We need to track down the missing heads. If only so I can count them and assure myself of the exact number of people who died here. I wouldn’t put it past one of the principals to have staged all this, just so he could pull a disappearing act.’
‘Like Baron?’
‘Baron is dead,’ I said. ‘He loved that jacket.’
‘All right,’ Penny said steadily. ‘What do we do now?’
‘We locate the surviving escorts and question them. It’s always possible they saw something …’
‘You like that big Scarlett woman, don’t you?’ said Penny.
‘Are you kidding? She scares the crap out of me.’
Penny grinned. ‘I think that’s part of her job description.’
We started back down the corridor, heading for the stairs. Penny stared straight ahead, so she wouldn’t glance into any of the open doorways we passed. The stench of so much spilled blood filled the air, like so many silent screams.
‘How could any man do this?’ she said finally.
‘You’d be surprised what some people are capable of,’ I said.
‘No,’ said Penny. ‘I meant how physically could any one man do all of this. The sheer strength and stamina involved in tearing so many people limb from limb, and then going on to totally destroy seven rooms …’
‘You have a point,’ I said. ‘Even I’d be hard pressed to cover this much ground in the time available …’
‘Are we back to thinking it must be a creature?’ Penny said dangerously. ‘Only I’ve had to change my mind so many times, my thoughts are getting whiplash.’
‘I don’t know what to think,’ I said. ‘There’s still no clear motive for any of this. If someone hired a professional killer, how would they stand to profit? Could this be down to revenge? Someone who was ruined by the Group’s business decisions? Or some conspiracy freak who thinks he, or she, is saving the world? Or … possibly some rival Group, running a power play and hoping to take the Baphomet Group’s place as secret masters of the financial world? Have I missed anything?’
‘What if the death and destruction is an end in itself?’ said Penny. ‘Could the Coronach creature be trying to drive everyone away from what it still thinks of as its home?’
‘My head is going round and round in circles,’ I said. ‘And I have a horrible suspicion it’s about to disappear up its own medulla oblongata.’
‘Or …’
‘Enough!’ I said. ‘One more theory and I will run screaming from the House, plunge into the loch, and head-butt the monster in the face!’
‘I’d pay good money to see that,’ said Penny. ‘So what approach are we going to take with the escorts?’
‘I’ve changed my mind,’ I said. ‘I think before that we need to talk to the servants holed up in the dining hall. The reporter Emily said it first and the Major Domo confirmed it: servants often overhear things they’re not supposed to. It’s always possible the staff know something that they don’t realize is significant but we might.’
‘Show me your hands,’ Penny said sweetly. ‘I want a good look at these straws you’re grasping at.’
When we got to the dining hall, the door was still firmly locked. Beyond it I could hear a steady murmur of voices arguing among themselves. I knocked politely. There was a sudden hush, as all the voices broke off. A single set of footsteps approached the door, cautiously.
‘If that’s the Major Domo again, you can piss right off!’ said a harsh voice. ‘After what you said the last time, we’re not talking to you any more. Apart from this bit, obviously.’
‘This is Ishmael Jones,’ I said winningly. ‘Representing the Organization and investigating the murders. I need to talk to you.’
There was a pause, and some really agitated muttering, before the voice spoke again.
‘This is … John Smith. Chauffeur. Go ahead and talk. We’re listening.’
‘Smith and Jones,’ I said. ‘What a coincidence! You know, this would all go a lot easier if you’d just unlock the door …’
‘Not a hope in hell,’ said Smith. ‘This door is staying locked until you’ve found the murderer and done something appalling to him. Don’t even think of trying to force the door; we’ve barricaded it. All of us chauffeurs have guns, along with a complete willingness to use them on anyone who surprises us.’
‘Please come out,’ I said. ‘Or I can’t guarantee your safety.’
‘You can’t anyway,’ said Smith. ‘And anyway, we don’t feel like answering questions. About anything. We don’t want to be involved. We don’t know what’s happening, but whatever it is it’s nothing to do with us. We’re quite happy to just sit it out here until it’s over. One way or the other.’
‘Seven more principals have died,’ I said.
‘We know,’ said Smith. ‘The Major Domo told us. The general feeling in this room is better them than us. And we want to make it very clear that no one is going to pin the blame on us for anything that’s happened here.’
‘Why would anyone want to blame you?’ I said.
‘Because they always try to blame it on the little people! They think that’s what we’re for.’
‘He has a point,’ said Penny.
‘Thank you!’ said Smith. ‘Whoever you are. Who is that?’
‘I didn’t hear anything,’ I said. Just to mess with his head.
I looked the closed door over carefully. I was pretty sure I could smash it in, barricade or not, but I didn’t see the point. And I really didn’t like the idea of jumpy chauffeurs with guns. There was always the chance innocent bystanders might get hurt. I
didn’t need to question anyone in the dining hall that badly.
‘All right,’ I said. ‘Stay put. I’ll send someone to let you know when it’s safe to reappear.’
‘You couldn’t send out for some pizza, could you?’ said Smith. ‘Only we’re starting to get a bit peckish in here.’
‘How would we deliver it to you?’ said Penny.
‘You could always shove it under the door.’
I was about to say something unfortunate when a familiar industrial-strength perfume came wafting my way. I looked round and there was the escort Scarlett, striding determinedly down the corridor. Still dressed up in her smart business suit, but looking tired and worn down and not especially glamorous any more. As I moved away from the door to greet her, Penny put a possessive arm through mine; I gave her an innocent smile, and she gave me a “You’re not fooling anyone!” look.
Scarlett crashed to a halt in front of me. ‘There are only a few escorts left,’ she said flatly. ‘We need to talk to you.’
‘Suits me,’ I said. ‘Where are the others?’
‘Holed up in our private bar again. Staying well out of everyone’s way and hoping not to be noticed.’
‘By the killer?’ said Penny.
‘By anyone,’ said Scarlett. ‘This has turned out to be one hell of a weekend.’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘So many dead.’
‘And we probably won’t get paid,’ said Scarlett.
‘I thought you people always got paid in advance,’ Penny said sweetly.
‘It’s the extras,’ said Scarlett. ‘They mount up.’
We followed Scarlett back through the deserted corridors. Penny made a point of still hanging on to me firmly. Just in case Scarlett’s perfume drove me mad with lust, instead of making my eyes water. The heavy quiet made the corridors seem disturbingly sinister. Scarlett was more than a little jumpy, though she was trying hard not to show it. She breathed a sigh of relief when we finally reached the door of the private bar, where she gestured for Penny and me to stand back while she performed a special knock and then announced herself loudly. Someone unlocked the door and opened it just the barest crack to look at Scarlett, before finally standing back and letting us in.