‘Good. Zachary, release him.’
Lonsdale fell back down to his knees, choking and spluttering gobs of blood onto the carpet. ‘Oh, God. What have you done to me?’ he wheezed, clutching his throat.
Stone dabbed at his wound with a silk handkerchief. ‘Congratulations, Jeremy.
You’ve just taken your first step into a whole new world. I hereby nominate you as my replacement servant, bonded to me henceforth. From now on, until the day of your death or such time as I release you from my service, whichever comes first, you will act as our personal assistant. Living with us, travelling with us, organising our external affairs and acting as our human liaison officer.’
‘That’s a fancy name for a ghoul,’ Anastasia explained helpfully.
Lonsdale choked out an unintelligible reply.
‘Needless to say,’ Stone added, ‘we’ll have open access to all your bank accounts, all your resources and your homes here in Surrey, in London and in Tuscany.
I think that’s reasonable.’
‘But…the twenty million you t — I gave you,’ Lonsdale gibbered.
‘It’s a grand vision we are working to realise,’ Stone replied. ‘An expensive business. I’m afraid we need all the support we can get. You’re not objecting, are you, Jeremy?’
‘No way this one could ever take Seymour Finch’s place,’ Anton spat. ‘I mean, just look at him. How can this pathetic piece of shit ever make the grade? He’s let us down already.’
‘True,’ Stone said, smiling down at Lonsdale. ‘But he’s a politician, and that fascinates me. Never before have I come across a human so delightfully corrupt, so utterly devoid of moral fibre. He has but one scruple, his love of his bastard offspring –
but that will pass soon enough. I believe that, in time, he will make a very fine ghoul indeed.’
Lonsdale was wild with shock, his hair sticking out at all angles and his face shiny with tears and blood.
‘M-my career,’ he stammered in a high-pitched squeal. ‘I could have made Prime Minister. I could have been European President one day.’ He clasped his hands together. ‘Just think how useful I could be to you, with so much power.’
They all laughed.
‘You just retired, motherfucker,’ Zachary said.
‘You’ll adore living with us, dear Jeremy,’ Anastasia purred.
‘He seemed to enjoy his stay at the castle last time,’ Anton muttered, shooting a sly look at Lillith. Zachary stifled a giggle.
‘You get to eat our leftovers,’ Lillith said. ‘After a while, you’ll come to love them as much as Seymour did.’
‘And maybe he can get Toby to come and stay with us, too,’ Anastasia added, warming to the idea. ‘I so much like the younglings.’ She licked her lips. ‘Tender and sweet. Hmmmm.’
Stone grabbed Lonsdale by the hair and hauled him to his feet. ‘Enough of your self-pitying bawling, ghoul. Call your air crew.’
Lillith wrapped her arms around her brother and kissed him tenderly on the mouth. ‘And so, we move on to Stage Two,’ she whispered.
He nodded, smiling. ‘We’ll drop you and Zachary off en route as planned.’
‘This is the part I’ve been looking forward to the most,’ she said.
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Joel skidded the Ford to a halt outside the Maddon house, went running up the drive and hammered on the front door. The street was in near silence, just the light patter of the rain on the slick pavements. After a few moments he saw an upstairs light come on behind blue curtains. Seconds later, the downstairs hall lit up and a shape appeared behind the frosted glass of the door.
‘Who is it?’ said a rasping voice.
‘Police,’ Joel replied. ‘Open the door, please.’
The door opened slowly. Behind it stood a man who looked like a heavier, hairier and balder version of Dec. He was wrapped in a tartan dressing gown and didn’t look too happy to be disturbed.
‘Mr Maddon?’
Dec’s father ran his eye up and down Joel. ‘You don’t look much like a policeman to me, so you don’t,’ he said gruffly. ‘Let’s see some ID then.’
‘Mr Maddon, I came to see Dec.’
‘Right. Where’s the ID?’
‘My name’s Joel Solomon.’
‘I don’t care what you call yourself. Show me your warrant card or get the fuck off me doorstep. It’s almost one in the friggin’ morning. People are trying to get some sleep here. We work for a living.’
A middle-aged woman Joel took to be Mrs Maddon appeared in the hallway with her arms folded. She was about two feet shorter than her husband but looked twice as hard.
‘Who is it, Liam?’
‘Some joker says he’s a cop,’ Liam Maddon said, still staring at Joel. Mrs Maddon’s brow creased.
‘Is this about our Dec? Has something happened?’
‘Isn’t he here?’ Joel asked her.
‘We’re telling you nothing, mister, until we see some proper identification. This bastard could be anybody, Beth.’ He turned back to Joel. ‘Understand? Now fuck off.’
And he slammed the door in Joel’s face.
Joel stood on the doorstep for a moment, then sighed and started heading back to the car, wondering what to do next.
As he was about to get into the Mondeo and drive off, he heard footsteps behind him and a voice said, ‘Psst! Officer?’
Joel looked round to see another version of Dec Maddon sneaking down the drive towards him. He looked about five, maybe six years older than his brother, dark and unshaven and was built like he did a lot of weights.
‘I’m Cormac,’ he whispered.
‘Joel.’
‘I know who you are. Dec’s talked about you. I’m sorry me da sent you away. He can be a right wanker sometimes, so he can.’
‘Where is Dec? I need to talk to him.’
‘That’s what I came out here to tell you. Dec’s gone funny.’
Joel glanced up at the house. The upstairs light had gone off again and the house had fallen into darkness, but someone could still be watching from the window.
‘Let’s talk in the car.’ He slung the metal case into the back seat as Cormac climbed into the passenger side.
‘Cameras, is it?’ Cormac asked, pointing at the case.
‘Yeah,’ Joel said, shutting his door. ‘Now, I think you’d better explain. How has Dec gone funny?’
‘Ever since the wee girl next door died.’
Joel stared at him. ‘Kate Hawthorne? Dead? When?’
Cormac shrugged. ‘Couple of days ago. Terrible, isn’t it? She just faded away, like. Family’s in a right state. I never liked them much. Bunch o’ snobs, especially that Gillian. But you have to feel sorry for them.’
‘Where’s Dec now?’
‘Gone to stay at a mate’s. Won’t come back to the house. He’s just acting weird, like.’
‘Have you seen him?’
