Holy Island Trilogy 02 - Nowhere Man (13 page)

She’d toyed with the idea, on and off through out the night, between her wide awake nightmares, of sending her brothers and Danny a postcard. They would be worrying about where she was. Well, she knew her brothers would - she was hoping that Danny would be, too. Hoping that eventually things would come right between them. But, frightened in case the postcards fell into the wrong hands, she’d decided not to.

Best stay on my own, she’d thought as she counted out the cash for the bill, and thanked the old man for a delicious breakfast, before heading for the train station.

After criss-crossing most of the midlands, by thumb and by train, and one foray further south, using only hard cash, Shelley was certain that she had not been followed. She knew she would be dead by now if she had.

Now, though, she had to find the Leader. She was certain that he was in this part of the country, but where exactly was another matter. Could be this city, or it could be a village around here that no outsider had ever heard of. But she knew without doubt it was somewhere in this area.

Giving the crowds around her a quick once over, she stepped down from the train. In moments, she was swallowed by the sheer mass of moving people. Nipping into the ladies' toilet, she hurried into the first empty cubicle and injected her insulin. That done, she moved to the sink and splashed cold water over her face. She stared into the mirror, still unused to the short blonde crop. She looked from side to side.

It’s OK, she thought. Definitely different, anyhow.

Back outside, she grabbed a carton of orange juice and a chocolate biscuit from the cafe. Not what her doctor would recommend at all, but it would keep her sugar levels up and help keep her going until the next proper meal.

Now the hunt begins, she thought. Her plan was to find the lowlifes in the city. No matter how nice the place, or where it was, there were always people who, mostly through no fault of their own, had slipped through the cracks and were living on the edge. It was mostly these young ones that the Families targeted, and leached from society for their own uses, so it was where they hung out that she would get her first lead.

Outside the station, she looked around once more. It was the first time Shelly had been to Norwich, and she was surprised at the mix of lovely old buildings and impressive new ones. Danny would love this place, she thought, with the usual sinking feeling in her heart every time she thought of him.

‘Wonder what he’s doing now?’ she muttered, leaving the station and crossing the road.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Danny was standing beside his mate Evan, at the graveside of Evan's girlfriend Alicia, having just undergone the most harrowing two hours of his life. He knew Evan partly blamed Shelly for Alicia’s murder. He didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was Alicia who had been the one to introduce Shelly to the bastards. Or so Shelly had told him, though if he was honest with himself, he didn’t trust anything Shelly said any more. He was missing her terribly, though, and knew if he saw her now, he would probably cave in. The last time he’d seen her, apart from dropping her stuff off at the hospital, while she’d been sleeping, she’d been a mess, lying on the floor covered in her own blood.

He remembered that first day in the hellhole, watching her stumbling towards the packing table, looking years older than she really was.

No, I won't. I’m not gonna start feeling sorry for her, he said sternly to himself. She’s well gone, outta my life forever. And that’s the way it’s staying.

But God help her, she looked such a friggin' mess, the evil  bastards!

He yelped as Evan leaned on his bad side.

‘Sorry,’ Evan muttered.

‘No, it’s all right.’ Danny gently rubbed his ribs through the borrowed black suit he wore. ‘Are we going back in yet?’

The bar where Alicia’s family had laid on food and drink, to see their daughter off, was just around the corner from the churchyard. They had gone there after the funeral, but then Evan had wanted to come back, and Danny wouldn’t let him come on his own. For the last hour, they had been silently staring at Alicia’s grave.

He wondered again at the phrase 'see her off'. Strange one that, but he guessed it had been around for years. Shrugging, he looked at Evan, who still hadn’t answered him, but was staring at the beautiful array of flowers.

‘Come on, mate, let's get going.’

This time Evan nodded, then surprised Danny when he spoke. ‘She should have been here.’

‘Who should have been here?’ Danny blurted out, giving Evan a puzzled stare, a split second later realising who he meant just before Evan said loudly, ‘Shelly, that’s who.’

Danny sighed. ‘I know, mate.’

‘So where is she?’

‘I don’t know… Look, I’m sorry, honestly, I really haven’t a clue where she is, and I don’t think I want to. She’s more bother than she’s worth.’

‘Danny, did you know what they were all up to in this…this cult thing they were into?’

‘No, mate, I was as much in the dark as you were,’ Danny said, defending himself from Evan’s accusing tone.

Evan sighed. ‘OK. I believe you. But hasn’t it occurred to you how strange all of this is?’

‘Cults are strange. Full of fucking weirdoes.’ Sorry! He looked down at the grave, then up at the sky, as if waiting for a thunderbolt to strike him dead for blaspheming at a graveside.

‘No, what I mean is, Danny, none of this has made the news,  either the papers or the telly… For God’s sake, it should be screaming out at us every time we switch the box on. Look at the way Alicia died - now that alone is worth newsprint. So why aren’t they here now, shoving mikes into our faces, demanding to know what we know?’

Danny shrugged again. Looking around the empty graveyard as if expecting half a dozen reporters to jump out at them, he thought, he’s right-why?

‘Want to know what I think?’ Evan went on before Danny could answer. ‘I think there’s some pretty high up bigwigs mixed up in all of this crap. I mean governments, world leaders, that kind of people, you know the sort I mean. That’s why it’s not in the papers or anywhere else, not even the internet. They can afford to keep it out. Same as it’s always been, one rule for them, a different rule for us. I mean, the internet-how the hell can they keep it off there? Pretty spooky if you ask me.’

‘True, mate.’ He didn’t mean to blurt out what he said next. As usual, he let it out before thinking it through. ‘It’s a fucking disgrace, that’s what it is. I mean, the state of her body, and what the bastards did to her, it should have made world news, for Christ’s sake!’

He forgot all about the bolt of lightning from above, and looked at Evan for confirmation. But Evan was staring at Alicia’s grave again, seeing nothing but her ravaged body, her beautiful skin turned the colour of white marble and hanging in tatters. Tears dropped from his eyes and landed on the soil. He sobbed at the thought of what she had gone through. The pain must have been beyond belief.

‘Oh, dear God, please look after her. She’s good, my Alicia, please take care of her. No way did she deserve to die the way she did.’  Gasping for air between sobs, his whole body shook.

‘Right, that’s it.’ Danny pulled out his handkerchief and handed it to Evan. ‘We are going to the pub now to toast Alicia’s life, say goodbye to her folks and friends who came, and then we’re going looking for Shelly, and I’ll shake the fucking truth out of her. You mark my words, God damn it. Just you wait till I get my hands on her. She’ll spill the beans then all right.’

Evan looked at him. Slowly he nodded, as a stubborn look stole over his face. ’Bet your fucking life we will.’

Reaching down, Evan snapped the head from one of the many floral tributes. Crushing the petals in his hand, he scattered them across the grave.

‘Goodbye, Alicia. I love you. I promise to find the bastard. You’ll see your day, I promise.’

Danny nodded. ‘You bet, Alicia pet.’ Together they turned and left the churchyard.

An hour later, after saying good bye to Alicia’s family and promising that he would not under any circumstances be a stranger, Evan was walking to his flat with Danny.

‘Why did they dye their hair black, Danny? I never understood that. Did they all have to look the same, every single one of them? And why weren’t Alicia and Shelly in the monastery? Were they his…his…you know what I mean?’

Danny shrugged. ‘I guess he did make them dye it black. Maybes the fucking creep has a thing for black hair. Who knows, with them sort of control freaks, could be any amount of reasons. Maybes his mother was blonde, and she beat him up. Maybes she had had black hair, and he fancied her. He was fucking crazy, man.’

‘But why weren’t they in the monastery like the others?’ Evan repeated.

‘I think that-just guessing here, mind, mate-they were sort of recruitment officers. Like encouraging young kids to become addicted, sort of dealers.’

‘Drug dealers, you mean?’ Evan's voice held the disgust he felt at the thought of Alicia and Shelly having anything at all to do with drugs, never mind dealing them.

‘Can’t think of any other name for it.’

Evan thought this through for a minute, then said, ‘You were in the monastery. How bad was it?’

‘Bad, mate. Real fucking bad.’

‘Tell me.’

But Danny’s face had glazed over, remembering the state most of the kids were in. Dead souls looking out of eyes that were way too old for them. The eagerness with which they greeted the pill delivery every day. The scraps they were forced to eat. They way they all huddled together on a night for warmth. He shuddered.

‘Tell me,’ Evan prompted.

Danny shook his head. ’Another time, mate.’ If Evan knew half of what had gone on in the monastery, it would probably be the tipping point that sent him right over the edge. ‘We’ve got a lot of things to do. One thing though, if I ever catch that Leader twat, I’ll rip his lips off, throw them in the fucking frying pan and make him eat the bastards.’

Evan stopped walking, picturing what Danny had just said. He looked at his friend, and shook his head. Only Danny could come up with something like that. ‘Gross!’

‘He is that. Look, I’m gonna pop off home for a few minutes, grab some clothes and stuff, OK?’

‘OK. Catch you in a bit.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Brother David took the key from Aunt May’s outstretched hand and opened the door. He frowned when he had to put his shoulder to it and push.

‘What’s the matter?’ Aunt May asked, just as the door swung open. ‘Oh my God,’ she gasped. ‘We’ve been bloody burgled.’

Brother David held his hand up to stop her rushing in. ’Careful. I’ll go in first.’

‘What have they done?’

‘Just a minute.’ He moved an old wooden coat hanger that had fallen across the doorway. It must have been the reason he hadn’t been able to open the door. He stepped into chaos.

‘What’s wrong?’ Smiler asked, coming up the path behind them with Aunt May’s bags.

White-faced and shaking, Aunt May turned to him. ‘We…we’ve been burgled, son.’

‘No way!’

‘Yes.’ She nodded.

Stepping in front of her, Smiler followed Brother David into the house. For a moment he stood as transfixed as the monk, until a loud gasp from behind him broke the spell. Quickly, he turned and put his arm around Aunt May, who was sobbing into her hands.

‘Who would do this?’ she kept repeating.

‘Morons,’ Smiler stated.

Brother David moved into the kitchen, which was in pretty much the same state as the sitting room. Smashed furniture everywhere, the floor littered with broken crockery, hardly a bare place left to stand on.

In the sitting room, Smiler cleared a chair of torn pictures from three photograph albums. Being careful not to damage them further, he placed them on the table, leaving the chair clear for Aunt May to sit on. He looked around. Everything was broken, from the television to the ornaments on the sideboard. Nothing had been missed out. Plant pots had been smashed, their contents scattered everywhere soil was even clinging to the lampshade. And some of the flowered wall-paper was torn and hanging.

Smiler had a feeling that nothing had been stolen. Somehow this looked like a warning. He’d seen houses ransacked like this before, over drug money or if the person was a grass. He frowned, what the hell had Aunt May done to deserve this?

A moment later, he froze as Brother David came back in from the kitchen, stopped dead and, mouth hanging open, stared at the far wall. Slowly, a feeling of dread rising from his feet and spreading rapidly, Smiler turned.

On the wall, the outline of two horses back to back had been painted in gold paint.

Aunt May swung round. She stared at the outlines for a moment, her body stiffening.

‘Aunt May,’ Smiler said, his voice showing the worry that he was feeling.

As if Smiler’s voice had brought her back to the here and now, she said, ‘Why would somebody paint two unicorns on me bloody wall? If I get my hands on the sods, I’ll strangle the life outta them.’ Aunt May was shaking with anger as she looked around her ruined home, then back up at the paintings on the wall.

‘They are unicorns,’ Smiler muttered, seeing the horns he had missed at first. ‘I thought they were horses.’ Turning back to Brother David, he said, ‘What does it mean?’

Brother David swallowed, looked at Smiler and said, ‘In the Leader's apartment at the monastery, he had two gold back to back unicorns on the ceilings.’

Smiler shivered. ’He’s warning us, isn’t he?’

‘Looks like it. Never did understand the reason for them.’ Brother David's mind was in a turmoil. How to keep Aunt May safe? How to keep Smiler safe? Was the message actually from the Leader, or from the ones who had hurt Aunt May? They were obviously connected in some way to the Leader, but they seemed to have their own agenda.

Smiler pulled his phone out and dialled Kristina Clancy’s number. Hearing what had happened, she promised to be there as soon as possible, and told him not to touch anything. As he put his phone away, he looked guiltily at the photograph albums.

‘Er, sit down, Aunt May. And we, we…er, she said don’t touch anything, OK?’