‘How far is Great Portland Street Hospital from here?’ the Frenchman asked, guiding the Fiat into traffic.
‘Not far,’ she told him.
Joubert glanced at her but Kelly was looking out of the side window.
If they could get to Blake’s body, perhaps they still had a chance to stop the horror he had released.
Perhaps.
‘There,’ Kelly shouted, pointing to the dimly lit sign over the hospital entrance.
Joubert waited for a break in the stream of traffic then swung the Fiat across
the street and parked it outside the large building. Apart from the dozen or so lights which burned in the big windows, the hospital appeared to be in darkness. Kelly scrambled out of the car and hurried up the stone steps to the main entrance, Joubert following closely behind.
The entry-way was bright but the light was not welcoming. It reflected off the polished floors as if they were mirrors, causing Kelly to wince. There was a desk directly opposite, a steaming mug of coffee perched on it. Whoever it belonged to was nowhere in evidence. For fleeting seconds a terrifying thought crossed Kelly’s mind.
What if one or more of the patients had seen the programme earlier in the evening? Even now, the wards could be full of butchered, helpless invalids.
She shuddered and tried to push the thought to the back of her mind but it refused to budge.
‘Kelly, here,’ said Joubert, pointing to a blue sign which proclaimed: MORTUARY. A white arrow pointed down a flight of stone steps and, moving as quickly and quietly as they could, the two of them made their way towards the morgue.
As they descended, the darkness seemed to grow thicker until it swirled around them like a cloud, hardly broken by the low wattage lights set in the walls.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs a long corridor faced them and, almost unconsciously, both slowed their pace, suddenly not so eager to reach their destination. The lights in the corridor flickered ominously for a second then glowed with their customary brilliance once more. Kelly swallowed hard as she advanced
towards the door of the morgue, her heels clicking noisily in the cloying silence.
They drew closer.
It was Kelly who noticed that the door was ajar.
There were some spots of dark liquid on the polished floor which Joubert knelt and touched with his finger. He sniffed it.
‘Blood,’ he told Kelly, softly.
Inside the morgue itself, apart from the half-light coming through the street-level window, everything was in darkness.
The door opened soundlessly and the two of them stepped inside, glancing to left and right for any sounds or movements.
There was a faint humming in the background which Kelly took to be the hospital generator. Other than that, the morgue was unbearably silent. She heard the blood singing in her ears, her heart thumping noisily as she tip- toed towards the one slab which bore a body. . Covered by a sheet, it looked shapeless in the gloom.
They both approached it slowly, their eyes not leaving the motionless body.
There was more blood on the floor beside the slab.
A dark shape suddenly passed over them and Kelly spun round in panic.
It was a second or two before she realized that it had merely been the shadow of a person walking by outside.
Joubert looked at her and she nodded slowly in answer to his unspoken question.
The Frenchman gripped one corner of the sheet which covered the body.
Kelly moved closer.
There was a soft click behind them and, this time, Joubert felt his heart skip a beat. He squinted through the gloom to see that a slight breeze had pushed the morgue door shut. The Frenchman used his free hand to wipe a bead of perspiration from his forehead.
He took hold of the sheet more firmly, aware of the biting chill which seemed to have filled the room.
Kelly nodded and, gritting his teeth, he whipped the sheet away.
Lying on the slab, glazed eyes bulging wide in terror, was the body of Bill Howard.
Kelly and Joubert exchanged anxious glances, the Frenchman touching the face of the dead man with the back of his hand.
‘He hasn’t been dead long,’ he told Kelly, keeping his voice low.
She took a step back, allowing an almost painful breath to escape her lungs.
Bill Howard had obviously died in agony and it showed in his contorted features. A long metal probe had been rammed into his mouth, puncturing his tongue before being driven through the base of his skull above the hollow at the back of his neck.
A question burned brightly in her mind.
Where was Blake’s body?
As the two of them emerged from the stairway into the hospital entry-way, they were surprised to find it still deserted. Once more Kelly wondered if the patients had been butchered in their beds, maybe the staff as well. She slowed her pace slightly, her eyes shifting to the solitary mug of tea which still stood on the desk. It was no longer steaming. Whoever had put it there had not returned to claim it.
‘Kelly, come on,’ Joubert urged, making for the main door. She hesitated a moment longer then followed him out to the car.
‘Where to now?’ he asked.
She gazed ahead of her, her voice soft but determined.
‘There’s only one place left where the body could be.’
Joubert understood.
The traffic was surprisingly light in the city centre. The drive to Blake’s house took less than thirty minutes. Joubert brought the Fiat to a halt and switched off the engine, peering through the side window at the large building.
Rain coursed lazily down the windows of the car and, overhead, a loud rumble of thunder was instantly answered by a vivid but soundless flash of lightning.
Kelly brushed fingers through her hair, noticing that her hand was shaking.
She clenched her fists together for a moment, drawing in a deep breath.
‘What if the body isn’t in the house?’ asked Joubert, cryptically.
‘It has to be there,’ she said. ‘Blake would feel safe hiding it there.’
They both clambered out of the Fiat, ignoring the rain as they stood facing the house. A single light burned in the porch. Far from looking forbidding, Blake’s house seemed positively inviting. It beckoned to them and they responded, moving quickly but cautiously towards the dwelling, never taking their eyes from it. Once more Kelly felt a shiver run up her spine.
They paused at the end of the short driveway.
‘It’d be better if we split up,’ Kelly said. ‘That way we’ll have a better chance of finding the body. And it won’t take so long.’
Joubert regarded her warily for a moment.
Til check inside the house,’ she said, producing her key ring and showing him the key to Blake’s front door which she still possessed. “You search the garden and garage.’
The Frenchman nodded.
A particularly brilliant flash of lightning iashed across the rain-soaked heavens, bathing the two investigators in cold white light. For fleeting seconds they resembled ghosts, their
faces distorted and white in the flash.
Kelly hesitated a moment longer then, with a final look at Joubert, she headed towards the front door.
He waited until she was inside then he moved cautiously forward, his sights set on a door at the side of the garage.
Kelly stepped into the hall and quickly looked around her, searching the darkness with uncertain eyes. She
