Mean Spirit Part 38

'You believe that?'

'What difference does it make? Where are you at present, Bobby?'

'Staying with friends, out past Hereford.'

'You and the lady?'

'Just me. She had some business.' Maiden decided there wasn't going to be a better time to pump Ron on the subject of Clarence Judge. 'Leaving me with lots of free time to read Gary's book. Oh ... I take it you know about the new paperback the reward for a name on Judge?'

'You what?'

He had Ron's full attention. He took the phone into Marcus's study, found the book, read out the relevant part of the Preface.

'I may be wrong here, Ron, but do you think maybe he doesn't trust you to investigate it properly?'

'I don't doubt that would be true, if it was my case, Bobby, but Clarence was found on a building site down near Abingdon. Where he was done, that's another matter, but Abingdon was where they found him, so it's Kiddlington's migraine. Especially now. Well, the cheeky c.u.n.t.'

'Still a big shortlist, is there?'

'Extensive. Not counting the ones excluded on account of having fingers too arthritic to hold the gun steady.'

'Is Seward really that upset?'

'Think of Clarence as a not-over-bright brother Gary felt responsible for. Vicious as a cobra, but not over-endowed up top. You gave him a gun, knife, spanner ... pointed him in the right direction, waited for the screams. And he never knew when it was over. The one time I nicked him, I sent six bobbies in with batons. When I got there, four of them were sitting on Clarence, the other two getting helped into an ambulance with half an ear in a paper bag and that much blood around they weren't sure which of 'em's it was. Never a domestic animal, Clarence Judge.'

'What was it he went down for last?'

'Rape and attempted murder sadly, nothing to do with Seward. Clarence's night off. Took the barmaid home, but she changed her mind. Naturally, the Met offered him a deal for Seward, but Clarence is too loyal.'

'Matter of honour, for Seward, then, seeing the killer go down?'

'Seward has no honour,' Ron Foxworth said coldly. 'Matter of pride. And talking of pride ... let me say one thing, my son, and let me say it very clearly. If it were to turn out to be your delicate, artistic fingers on Seward's collar, as distinct from my gnarled old digits, I just can't tell you how upset I would be. Just can't begin to tell you.'

Marcus s.n.a.t.c.hed up the phone. 'Yes!'

'Mr Bacton, it's Nancy Rich. My secretary's done some checks with the school, where there are still people who remember you. Having spoken to you herself she says you simply have to be the same person. I'm therefore inclined to accept that you have Seffi's best interests at heart.'

Marcus grunted. Could imagine how people at the b.a.s.t.a.r.d school had described him.

'So perhaps I can ask you some questions,' Rich said. 'What was Seffi's state of mind when you last saw her?'

'Erratic,' Marcus said. 'Confused. She stayed here for a few days, now she's missing. Listen, I do know the background. I just don't know how much of it you know, but I understand you spoke to Persephone on the phone yesterday morning.'

'Yes. But that was about a contractual arrangement. It's not something I would normally discuss.'

'Look,' Marcus said. 'I don't know what other clients you have-'

'Let's just say that none of the others are in this particular line of work.'

'Quite. And I don't suppose any of them would find themselves in the position of being used by a man with an extensive criminal record to try and contact a violent psychotic who's been in his grave for over a year.'

A considerable hush.

'Oh my G.o.d,' said Nancy Rich. 'Are you serious?'

'No.' Marcus eased himself on to the desk. 'I'm entertaining my f.u.c.king self.'

'That's impossible.'

Underhill came into the study then. And Maiden.

Marcus was inspired.

'Look, Rich, this is a police matter now. I have a detective with me. Would you like to speak to him? Name's Maiden. Inspector. I can put you-'

'Absolutely not!' Rich said, aghast.

The sun struggled against heavy, muscular clouds, strings of vapour twisting like tendons. A meshwork of illusion and lies obscuring the light.

Lies. Lying to himself. Sheltering behind the confusion of his ident.i.ty, flailing in the dark and swirling soup of his motivations, his impulses, his ambivalent s.e.xuality. This way, that way, insubstantial, capricious. His bangles rattled cheaply, his pearls were paste, his Oxfam shop woolly jumper a ma.s.s of plucks, his bra full of bubble-wrap.

'I hate that Cindy now for what he's caused. It's like he's sneering at ordinary people's good luck.'

Taunting voices carried on the wind.

'I must say, I never liked him myself. People like that, they've always got a chip on their shoulder, haven't they?'

'Angel of f.u.c.king Death ...'

'... chosen as G.o.d's tool to break the hold of the National Lottery on the public's consciousness?'

Cindy's mouth stretched into a silent scream. What if this flip remark was on target? What if he had become a channel, a conduit? But not for G.o.d, not for good. He thought of Colin Seymour, who planned to introduce handicapped youngsters to the thrills of flying, rising above nature's blackest jokes.

Cindy laid his hands on the collapsed capstone, ma.s.saging its ancient heart, until the stone and his hands grew warm.

Give me knowledge, give me inspiration, give me truth, give me direction, give me clarity of mind.

He straightened his spine, breathed deeply into his abdomen for a hundred seconds. Then he closed his eyes and set up an earth rhythm on the drum until it began to sound in his solar plexus beneath the waistline of his blue skirt. The beat vibrating directly through his body, emerging in his spine. Ascending the spine (dummm) ... to her head (dummm) ... to his shoulders (dummm) ... down her arms (dummm) ... into his fingers (dummm) ... and into the stone.

'Old stone.'

(dummm) 'Strong stone.'

(dum-dummm) 'Strengthen me.'

(dum-dummm) 'Hold me hard.'

(dum-dummm) 'Against the dark.'

(dummm) Marcus put down the phone.

Maiden and Underhill were standing on either side of the unlit woodstove. Marcus shook his head.

'Surprising how educated, law-abiding people are so reluctant to get involved with the police. Oh, she said, that would put her in a very difficult position. Client confidentiality, all that b.o.l.l.o.c.ks.'

Underhill said, 'They found Justin, Marcus. The cops finally found Justin. Bobby just talked to-'

'Where's Lewis?'

'Up at the Knoll.'

'Hmm,' Marcus said. 'How much do either of you know about this fellow Kurt Campbell?'

x.x.xIX.

IN THE EARLY EVENING BOBBY MAIDEN BORROWED MARCUS'S TRUCK and drove down to the village, to Grayle's cottage. He'd never been here before. The windchimes gave it away two sets, hanging either side of a lantern over the old, studded door.

The cottage was in the middle of the terrace which lined one side of the short street, with the church wall on the other. The tiny forecourt s.p.a.ce was filled by the Mini. Maiden parked the truck in the rutted road.

It was dark; the wind had died but the air was colder. There was a dim light in the squat-towered church. It was all very quiet, no kids around, no dogs barking. The lantern came on and by the time he reached the front door Grayle had it open.

'Isn't New York, is it?' Maiden said.

'Guy in the shop says the last time the council retarred the village street it was for Queen Victoria's carriage.'

She wore a dress tonight: woollen, red, long-sleeved. Maiden guessed that after today Grayle in the baseball jersey, Cindy in the twinset she was reclaiming her gender.

He paused on the threshold. 'You really feel you belong here?'

Grayle frowned. 'You know how much I hate small talk, Bobby. Why don't you ask something heavy?'

'You annoyed with me?'

She didn't smile. 'I'm annoyed with everybody. Why I came home early. Put it down to time of the month. Like, it isn't, but it tends to satisfy guys, you tell them that.'

'There many guys around here?'

'Sure. Farm guys. Retired guys. Rich guys with weekend cottages and two kids. Who needs guys anyway? All guys are stupid. Come in.'

He saw crystals on the windowsill, a bra.s.s Buddha in the small inglenook fireplace next to a bed of ash. Reflected in a long mirror opposite, he saw, to the left of the front door, a plaster statue of Anubis, dog-faced Egyptian G.o.d of the dead, wearing a jewelled poodle collar.

Grayle said, 'Cindy still up there with Marcus?'

'Examining the psychic history of Overcross Castle. Driven men. It's like they're planning a siege. I needed to get away for a while.'

'Maybe this is a good thing for Marcus, I don't know. Anyhow, welcome to the bijou dwelling. Siddown, grab a crystal, strengthen your vibes. I have water boiled for herbal tea. Or you can have coffee.'

'Herbal tea? Wonderful.'

'New Age freaking cop. Oh boy.'

Maiden didn't sit down; he followed her into the kitchen, where bunches of dried hops hung from the ceiling beams.

'Speaking as a cop, I don't know whether it's a good thing for Marcus or not. A psychic festival run by a TV hypnotist doesn't worry me a lot. But if the spiritual input somehow involves Gary Seward ...'

'You feel that, in spite of two killings and all that horrific violence surrounding Clarence Judge, Cindy and Marcus are not taking him seriously enough.'

'The whole nation doesn't take him seriously enough any more. If you smile on TV, people think you're their friend. As for Marcus and Cindy, is there an age after which you just don't care any more?'

'It's my fault.' Grayle poured boiling water into a small brown pot. 'I wish I'd never remembered we'd had an invite to that thing.'

How YOU can be part of

The Overcross Experience...

Grayle had found the leaflet in the boxfile she'd marked Probably junk, but who knows?

The leaflet said the organizers of the Festival of the Spirit were offering the magazine a unique opportunity to meet its public face to face by taking a stand at the most prestigious event of its kind ever staged on British soil.

Marcus had gone ape when he saw what they were charging for a stand. b.l.o.o.d.y grasping little con-man all this and more. Which was just as well, far as Grayle was concerned. The way she saw it, if they took a stand at the festival, readers would indeed have a unique opportunity to meet with Marcus. After which The Vision would have no circulation worth a d.a.m.n.

The leaflet promised a world-famous medium for the re-creation of a Victorian seance. Today Callard's agent had confirmed to Marcus that she was the one and now under heavy pressure from Kurt Campbell not to renege Campbell even suggesting he might be able to solve her problem.

How did he know what the problem was?

Because he used, until recently, to sleep with her. Ah. Right. Well, no big surprise there, given Callard's reputation and that they were both tied into the entertainment industry tight enough in the States, over here it was claustrophobic. Also, Campbell was a male person under ninety years of age with links to paranormal research.

And also, in a negative kind of way, to Cindy.

Oh boy. When Cindy came down from the Knoll and heard about Callard and Campbell and Overcross, he became real weird, weirder than last night when he'd come out with all that stuff about getting old and washed up. It swiftly became clear that Cindy figured it was Campbell who had f.u.c.ked him over with the papers.

The upshot was that Cindy had offered to pay half the fee if they could still hire a stall for The Vision at the Festival of the Spirit. Which started, as it happened, in two days' time, Wednesday through to the weekend.

Like this was part of his destiny. He'd been up to the Knoll to ask for an answer, and when he got back to the farm, there they all were around a marketing circular headed, Overcross Castle:

The Veil is Lifted