Black Cathedral

Once he’d left the room she poured coffee into the cups and slid one across the desk to her father.

‘Are you sure you don’t want a sandwich?’

He shook his head.

She took one from the plate and bit into it, savoring the tender turkey smothered in creamy mayonnaise. ‘It’s good to eat,’ she said as she swallowed the mouthful.

‘Evidently,’ Anderson said, watching her with an expression of mild amusement.

‘I hate England,’ she said. ‘It’s so buttoned down. Everything’s so precise, so formal. Everywhere feels constipated.’ A vision of Crozier crossed her mind and she quickly tried to dispel it.

‘I did warn you, but it was your choice to get involved with the Kulsay venture. Nobody twisted your arm. I could have given it to Levy or Baxter, and then they’d be suffering now. But you seemed so insistent.’

‘It appeared to be a golden opportunity,’ she said, a trace of bitterness in her voice. She knew what she was doing, thought she knew what she was doing. She just wished, for once, her father could show his approval of something she achieved.

‘Golden opportunities often hide demons that come up and bite you on the ass when you’re not looking.’ Anderson had collected a variety of truisms during his business life and enjoyed sharing them with those he was mentoring.

‘Then I’ll consider myself well and truly bitten,’ she said. ‘What’s been happening here?’

Anderson leaned back in his chair. ‘Nothing much. There are a few civil cases pending. The helicopter pilot’s family has lodged a negligence suit against us, but Legal don’t think it’s got legs. The fact that both Harrison and the helicopter disappeared and no wreckage was found doesn’t give their lawyers much to work with. What’s to say he didn’t just fly off somewhere? For all anyone knows he could have flown out to the Caymans or the Bahamas, sold the chopper and is now living a life of luxury. The only other pressing matter is the party tomorrow.’

‘Is everything ready?’ She was making short work of the sandwiches.

‘My secretary’s dealing with it, but I understand the caterers and the pianist are booked; thirty-five guests have confirmed.’ He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. ‘I still think it’s impolitic to be going ahead with the party,’ he said.

Irritation flared in Jessica’s eyes but it was gone in an instant, to be replaced by an easy smile. ‘We’ve got nothing to hide, and nothing to be ashamed of,’ she said. ‘No one will be looking at what happened on Kulsay and blaming us for it. Hell, hardly any of them will have heard of Scotland, let alone a remote island.’

‘Except Harrison’s family,’ Anderson said. Voicing remorse for an employee was uncharacteristically humane for the notoriously hardhearted Anderson. Jessica wondered whether he was unwell.

‘They won’t be here,’ Jessica said, her voice cold. ‘I’ve told you before; you worry too much about what people think.’

‘Now, listen. I’ve spent forty years building my reputation. I’m not prepared to sit back and see you destroy it. I’ve given you every advantage; the best schools, a Harvard education, but in some ways you’ve learned nothing. Your arrogance will be your undoing. You think you’re fireproof, but this Kulsay fiasco has proved you’re not. You’re out of your depth, Jessica. My only decision is whether to throw you a lifeline or let you drown.’

She regarded him coolly, but inside her emotions were writhing. ‘We’ve let it be known that we’re doing everything humanly possible to get to the bottom of what happened on the island. If we cancel the party, at such short notice, the media will be all over us. They’ll take it as an admission of culpability.’

‘They might see it as a demonstration of restraint and humility.’

‘We’ve nothing to hide,’ she said again, desperately trying to stand her ground. ‘Our hands are clean. The party will show that.’

He shrugged and got to his feet. ‘If you say so. But if there’s any flack flying around I may not be in a position to protect you.’

‘I wouldn’t expect you to. I’m a big girl now,’ she said.

‘Not to me,’ he said, laying a hand on her shoulder. ‘It’s good to have you home.’

She covered his hand with her own. ‘It’s good to be home,’ she said. At that moment they were both sincere.

She watched the door close behind him and bit her lip. She was scared; more scared than she’d been in her life. Everything now rested on the collective shoulders of Jane Talbot, Robert Carter and the rest of the team on Kulsay. She prayed they wouldn’t let her down.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Carter awoke in a circular stone chamber with rough-hewn walls and a ceiling so high it was lost in the darkness above. His thoughts were hazy. He couldn’t remember how he had gotten here. The stone floor was cold, freezing cold, and the chill seeped through his clothes and into his body, taking up residence in his bones and making him shiver.

There was enough light in the chamber for him to see the walls, but he couldn’t make out where the light was coming from. There were also soft noises — the muted sound of someone crying.

He manipulated himself up into a sitting position and realized his clothes were sopping wet, as were the stones on the floor around him. It was a small wonder he felt so cold.

He wasn’t alone in the chamber. Sitting on the floor, twenty feet away from him was a naked figure; a girl, head bowed, arms wrapped around her legs, face pressed against her knees, crying softly.

‘Where are we?’ he said to her.

She didn’t respond, but sniffed and continued to cry. He got up and moved slowly across the stone floor, not wanting to alarm her. When he was within a few feet of her he saw something that made him pause. On the girl’s naked shoulder he saw a tiny tattoo of a rose. He recognized it. ‘Sian?’ he said.

Still the girl didn’t look up. She hugged herself tighter as if trying to hide her nakedness. He put out a hand and stroked the spiky black hair. ‘Sian, it’s me. It’s Robert.’

The girl said something between sobs that sounded like, ‘Go away.’

He crouched down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She shuddered at his touch but didn’t pull away.

‘What is this place?’ he said.

‘Hell,’ the girl said, her voice muffled.

‘Sian, look at me. It’s all right. I’m here now.’

For a moment the girl’s body tensed, as if she might spring away from him, then the tension left her body and she leaned into him.

‘Look at me,’ he said again, cupping his hand under her chin, trying to lift her face.

‘No,’ she said.

‘Please, Sian,’ he said, his voice gently insistent.

Slowly the girl raised her head from her knees and turned her face to him.

‘Jesus Christ Almighty!’ Carter couldn’t help the involuntary exclamation.

The face he was looking into belonged to Sian Davies, but there was something horribly wrong with it. Where the eyes should have been there was nothing but empty holes, bloody sockets. The eyes had been ripped out.

He pulled her close, hugging her tightly, as if holding her could repair the damage to her ravaged face. ‘Oh Christ, Sian. Who did this to you?’

‘They did.’ She started to cry again, harder this time, her shoulders heaving as the sobs wracked her body.

‘Who are they?’ Carter looked around but couldn’t see anyone.

She took a lungful of air, struggling to control her breathing. ‘The ones who took me from the car! The ones who brought me here!’

‘I don’t understand, Sian.’