The Dark Fear (22 page)

              ‘It’s glorious up here and I actually feel okay,’ James called over his shoulder.

              ‘Good. I’m glad it’s working. The more you face and accept fear, the less of a hold it takes over you.’

              ‘I understand.’ James shuffled around the summit of the tower, gaining strength with every step, becoming gradually adjusted to his surroundings. He could make out his friend’s footsteps just behind. ‘What about you, Aiden? You seem to know a lot about conquering fear. Have you ever suffered from a phobia?’

              The man was quiet for a moment. ‘Yes, I supposed I did. But the object of my fear took a human form. When I was a boy, I was small and not very well built. Quite different than I am today. I got picked on at school. One lad in particular terrified me. I lived in fear of him for a long while.’

              James had stopped shuffling and turned to face his companion. ‘How did you overcome it?’

              ‘I learnt that you have to fight back. Running away from the thing you fear will only make it more powerful. I took on my adversary and I won.’

              James tried to gauge the man’s expression, but his face was in shadow. ‘I’m not quite sure I follow.’

              Aiden stepped closer. ‘I thought that up here, you might find it easier to recognise me. I can’t believe you haven’t up to now.’

              James felt his chest begin to tighten. Non-existent flashing lights were blurring his vision. ‘
Rory
?’ Strangely enough, he could see it now, in the shape of those pale blue, watchful eyes.

              ‘That’s right. I’ve changed a bit, haven’t I? Well, that’s because I had to. After I’d caused the death of Galloway’s son, I didn’t have much choice.’

              ‘But Rory Burns is dead. There was a coach crash in India.’

              ‘That’s right. I went travelling after university, that’s why I was in Asia. As soon as Gerry Cormac fell off that tower, I knew I’d never be safe. His father was a gangster. Cormac had been untouchable. For a few years, things went quiet. Perkins and Dewar got the blame. I kept my head down and studied. But nothing was really the same after that day at Dornie Castle, was it?’

              ‘No, it wasn’t.’ James could feel his stomach churning. He was desperately trying not to let his vision drift towards the edge.

              ‘The other boys, including you, behaved differently with me. I’d never been popular. Now I was treated with suspicion. I knew that plenty of the others thought I’d engineered the accident deliberately. So as soon as I passed my exams, I went off to college. I got holiday jobs and saved some money. My plan was to get as far away from here as possible.’

              ‘So you went travelling?’ James’ throat felt so tight he could barely get the words out.

              He nodded. ‘I met a companion, another recent graduate. We became friends. I found out everything about him as we travelled through the Middle East. His parents had died when he was very young. They both had cancer and it was tragic. He’d been brought up by his grandmother, who had now passed away herself. I thought that this young man was a kindred spirit. We planned to settle abroad together – share a flat, maybe.’

              ‘Then you went to India.’

              ‘We were on a tour bus. There were lots of other western tourists. It had actually cost us quite a lot of money for the trip. A lorry hit us head on, about half way along the road to Agra. I don’t recall much about the collision. I woke up by the side of the road. Someone had pulled me out. I was remarkably unscathed. I ran around the wreckage looking for my friend. At first, I thought he must have been thrown free because I couldn’t find him anywhere. Then I saw his body. The impact had tossed him through one of the bus windows. His face had been ripped to shreds by broken glass.’

              ‘Was he dead?’

              ‘Oh yes, thankfully. I wept for a long while. He’d been my only friend in the world. Then I realised the gift he could give me. My good friend could allow me to return to Britain and live in peace. I wouldn’t be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my days. I kissed his bloody hand, then I slipped the bag from out of its rigor mortis grip, substituting my own in its place.’

              ‘You took his identity.’

              ‘It was astonishingly easy. Rory Burns’ body was shipped back to Scotland. By then, it was utterly unrecognisable. But he’d been carrying all my documents.’

              ‘What about your poor parents? Are they still alive?’

              ‘Oh aye. I don’t expect they grieved for very long. They didn’t much care that they’d sent me away to a boarding school, where I was subjected to a living hell. It served them right. I got the job here at Langford Hall not long after returning to the UK in 1997. Thanks to Aiden, of course, who had a degree in Estate Management.’

              James almost laughed. ‘I never suspected. Does Tilly know?’

              ‘Not at first. Tilly liked me because I’d travelled, like her, she thought I was a free spirit. It was Aiden Newton she fell in love with. But I was forced to tell her everything, after Galloway found me.’

              James mind was ticking over fast. ‘How did he do that?’

              ‘I underestimated him. Galloway wasn’t the knuckle-headed fool his son had been. He employed an investigator to look back into the circumstances of Gerry’s accident. A few of my old classmates pointed the finger at me. Galloway tried to hunt me down. He found my death certificate. But he didn’t leave it there. He went to talk to my parents in Fife. The bloody idiots told him how my body was all mushed up and only my passport indicated it was me. Galloway was immediately suspicious. He knew all the tricks, I suppose.’

              ‘But how on earth did he track you down to the Langford Estate?’

              ‘It was surprisingly straightforward, James. There was an inquest back here in Scotland in 1997 and several newspaper reports, although nothing that hit the front page. Galloway found out fairly quickly that two young British men had been involved in the bus crash and only one had come back. Imagine his excitement when it turned out that Aiden Newton was living and working just down the road from his house in Gullane?’

              ‘Galloway contacted you?’ James was shivering violently in the cold.

              ‘Yes, he called me, out of the blue. At first, I thought I’d persuaded him that I really was Aiden Newton. He seemed satisfied. But then he came to Langford Hall one day. Galloway had made an appointment with David March. He pretended he wanted to organise a shooting weekend. By the way Galloway stared at me throughout the meeting, it was clear he knew the truth.’

              ‘What did you do?’

              ‘I told Tilly everything. I was beside myself with terror. She took charge of the problem. Tilly said the man was evil and had to be stopped. I hadn’t deliberately hurt anyone and we didn’t deserve to live in fear. It was Tilly’s idea that we use a gun. We couldn’t have taken any of the shotguns from the estate. It would have been too easy to trace. But I had another weapon. Mr March gave it to me years ago to look after for him. It had been left here when the army had the place in the war. I knew it was untraceable.’

              ‘The Browning HP.’

              Rory nodded. ‘I called Galloway and told him I wanted to meet. I was prepared to tell him everything about what happened to his son. I chose the spot by the bents. I know how quiet it is at that time of day. Tilly kept watch from the woods across the road, with her binoculars. I told him that I’d enjoyed killing his good-for-nothing boy. I explained that the world was a better place without him cluttering it up. Then I forced him to his knees in the sand and shot him in the temple.’

              ‘What about DC Calder? He was observing from the hill and called out for you to stop.’

              ‘Tilly heard the detective shouting and ran out of her hiding place. She picked up a rock and struck him on the back of the head. We both fled across the road and back into the estate.’

              James had an abrupt realisation. ‘Dani! Where is she? What have you done with her?’

Chapter 43

‘I
always liked you, James. Even when we were at school. When you first came to look around Oak Lodge, I was certain that you would know who I was immediately. I was just waiting for you say something. You never did.’

              ‘I’m not terribly observant.’

              ‘When it became clear you really didn’t know who I was, it was such a relief. I wanted you to stay. It was like finally having a connection to my past. I was drawn to you.’ Rory moved closer. ‘The problem arose when you introduced your girlfriend - a Detective Chief Inspector. That wasn’t good.’

              ‘What have you done with her?’

              ‘She’s okay for now. Tilly is looking after Dani.’

              ‘We can talk about this, Rory. Dani can put your case for you to the local police. A jury would be sympathetic. We can end this here.’ He was trying desperately to control his panic.

              ‘I don’t think so, James. I’m not going to prison, somewhere crawling with bullies like Gerry Cormac. That isn’t going to happen. You and Dani were the only ones getting close, asking too many questions.’

              ‘Only about the Gascoignes, not about you!’

              ‘Oh, but it’s all connected my friend. Can’t you see that yet?’ Rory slipped his hand into the pocket of his jacket and brought out a small, dark object.

              James felt his head swim and his legs start to buckle. He took several deep breaths and counted backwards from a hundred in his head. If he fainted now, he was a goner – and so was Dani.

              ‘You don’t look very well. Never mind, it won’t last much longer.’ Rory pointed the gun at James. ‘All you need to do is go over the edge. Don’t worry, Dani’s coming with you. She’ll be unconscious and won’t know a thing about it. Tilly will see to that. We can say that we were all drunk. You and Dani came up to the tower. We’ll explain how you got into difficulties, like you did before. You fainted and Dani tried to catch you, sadly, in the process, you both fell…’

              ‘I’m not going to jump, Rory. I won’t leave Dani behind. You’ll have to shoot me first – but that won’t fit with your little scenario, will it?’

              Rory shrugged. ‘So be it, I’ll just concoct another. You were walking in the woods and those faceless intruders began shooting again. I’d leave your bodies in amongst the trees to be found. By the time the police get involved the mystery culprits will be long gone, away across the railway tracks like before.’

              James began edging backwards. ‘Dani’s colleagues are hardly going to believe that. They’d come for you. She’s very much loved. It would be worse than being hunted by Galloway.’

              ‘I sincerely doubt that.’ Rory raised the weapon, aiming straight at James’ chest. He squeezed the trigger.

              There was a hollow click, but nothing happened.

              James took the opportunity to shift round the bend in the turret, so he was temporarily out of view.

              ‘God Dammit!’ Rory shook the gun and hit the barrel hard with the palm of his hand.

              James pressed his face against the cold stone, waiting for the worst. He couldn’t see anything but he heard the noise that immediately followed. It was a loud crack, like a firework going off.

              Then there was absolute silence broken only by a soft, quiet whimpering. It didn’t sound as if it was being made by anything human.

              James leaned out of his hiding place just a fraction, to see what was going on.

              He gasped.

              The gun had exploded in Rory’s hands. In the moonlight, the scene was all too clear. James could make out the raw, pink flesh, hanging from the man’s face and arms. His eyes were wide and unseeing. The blast had blinded him.

              Rory rocked back and forth, barely able to remain upright. He gave one more animal-like howl of pain before he pitched to the side, his weight making him topple over the battlements.

              He was gone.

              This time, James didn’t look over.

              Instead, he pounded down the spiral staircase, not pausing for breath until he was standing in the grand entrance hall. He could hear people talking in the kitchen.

              ‘Dani!’ He called. ‘Where are you?’

              ‘She’s in here, Mr Irving,’ replied a voice he didn’t recognise. ‘It was you we’ve been concerned about.’

              He rushed through the rooms, until he reached the old scullery, where a detective with blond, curly hair had Tilly restrained in cuffs. A couple of other officers were attending to Dani, who was slumped in an armchair by the back door.

              ‘It’s okay. She’s received a nasty bump to the head and she’s groggy, but the DCI will be alright,’ Sharon explained. ‘Where’s Mr Newton?’

              ‘We were on the tower. He had a gun. It was the same one that killed Galloway. He tried to fire it and the thing exploded in his hands. Newton fell, he’s dead.’

              Tilly let out a cry of grief and tried to wriggle free of Sharon’s grasp. ‘Let me go to him!’

              ‘No you don’t, sweetheart.’ Moffett got on her walkie-talkie and called for an ambulance and uniformed back-up. She handed Tilly to one of her DCs. ‘Put this one in the van would you, Steve?’

              James fell to his knees in front of Dani. He clasped her hands. ‘Can you hear me?’

              She murmured something.

              He pulled himself up, so his face was next to hers. ‘What did you say?’

              ‘You’re alive. Thank God, you’re alive.’

*

James spent the night at Dani’s bedside. The medics insisted she stay under observation at the Infirmary, just to make sure her concussion wasn’t more serious.