‘Why?’ She pulled herself up in bed and looked at the time. ‘Jesus, David, it’s four in the morning! What’s going on? You’re scaring me.’
‘You just have to go, okay?’
‘David, I am not waking up our daughter at this ungodly hour until you tell me what’s going on.’
He stopped and took a breath, wondering how to put this in a way that wouldn’t make her think he was going mad. ‘I think Ardwyn and Everett are dangerous,’ he said. ‘I think they’re hurting people and I think we might be in danger too.’
‘That’s ridiculous! They’ve been nothing but lovely and friendly to us since the day they arrived! What makes you say that they’re dangerous?’ Then she must have remembered that he’d just come off-shift. ‘Oh Jesus, have you heard something from the police?’
‘Becky, for God’s sake, have you ever known me to overreact to anything?’ He was trying not to shout, with only partial success.
‘No, never.’
‘Well then. There will be time to explain everything when you’re safe at your folks’.’
As he said this, Alice appeared at the door, puffy with sleep and disturbed by the conversation. ‘Daddy, what’s going on?’ she asked.
‘Yes, Daddy,’ echoed Becky. ‘What’s going on?’
David knelt down by Alice. ‘It’s a surprise holiday, darling.Mummy is going to take you to stay with Nanna and Pops and I’m going to join you later.’
Alice’s eyes lit up. ‘Can we go to the beach?’
‘Yes, of course you can. Go and find your best sand-castle building outfit.’
Alice ran back to her room.
‘But aren’t you coming with us?’ Becky asked.
‘I can’t. I have to stay here and help sort this out.’ Because I should have said something before, but I didn’t, and now if that girl dies it’s on me. But before Becky could round on him and make this any more difficult – because she was obviously confused and scared by his behaviour – he simply took her by the hand and said, ‘Please.’ She must have seen the naked terror in his face because she just replied, ‘Okay,’ in a very small but calm voice and started getting dressed.
4
SUNDAY
AT A LITTLE AFTER EIGHT THE NEXT MORNING BECKY messaged David to tell him that she and Alice were safely at her parents’ place in Southend. He called Dennie Keeling to tell her what had happened and then had to drive around for a while before he found a working payphone; all the pubs, including the Pavilion bar, were closed at this time of day and what few red telephone boxes still existed had mostly been converted into ATMs or miniature libraries.
‘Hello?’ he said to the police operator at the other end. ‘I have information about the missing girl, Lauren Jeffries. No, I don’t want to give my name.’
* * *
Ardwyn watched the police car pull up in the farmyard and had the front door open in welcome for the two uniformed officers before they reached it. Both were men, one large and with a beard like a shovel and the other slimmer, darker, and younger.
‘Two visits in as many days?’ she said. ‘This is unusual.’
The officer with the beard must have been well over six feet tall. ‘I’m Sergeant Ryland and this is Constable Lennox, Staffordshire County Police. Are you Miss Ardwyn Hughes?’
‘Yes, officer,’ she replied, demure and deferential. ‘Can I help you?’
‘We have a warrant to search these premises for a Miss Lauren Jeffries. Do you know her current whereabouts?’
‘I don’t even know who she is, officer. She’s certainly not here.’
‘Is there anybody else currently on the premises?’
‘Only my partner, Everett, and our farm hand, Matthew.’
‘Please take us to them now.’
‘Of course.’
She led them around to the long stone barn at the back, the doors of which were wide open. Inside, Everett and Matt were putting the finishing touches to a second coat of whitewash that covered the sigils of Moccus. The slaughtering frame and chains had been removed and redeployed as ordinary-looking agricultural equipment about the farm, and the skull of Moccus, the carnyx, the moon-knife, and the vessel itself were all safely with Gar in the van, parked off the road and under heavy tree cover. The chest freezer was still there and plugged in, but as far as the police were concerned it should have been perfectly harmless. A lot could be done in ten hours if one were committed enough.
‘As you can see we’re in the process of converting the outbuildings into bed-and-breakfast accommodation,’ she said.
Sergeant Ryland raised an eyebrow. ‘Really?’
‘Yes – why, is there a problem?’
‘Well, it’s just that we have reason to believe that you’re not the legal residents of this property. How did you get planning permission for that?’
She allowed her smile to thin; Ryland had obviously taken a dislike to her and there was no point trying to butter him up. ‘I thought you were looking for a missing girl,’ she said, ‘not coming to evict us, because if so I’d very much like to see the court order for that.’
‘Miss, you’re squatting,’ said PC Lennox. ‘We don’t need a court order.’
Sergeant Ryland merely grunted and went straight for the chest freezer. He opened it and shifted the parcels of frozen meat around, but there wasn’t enough to either hide or comprise a human body, so he closed it again. ‘It’s all good, healthy, organic produce,’ she said to Constable Lennox. ‘Feel free to take some, if you like. It’s perfect barbecue weather this weekend.’ Ryland and Lennox had a good look around, but other than the freezer the building was completely vacant. The younger man peered at the large black stain on the floor where the god had been bled, but Matt had covered it with engine oil so that it looked like the
