The Dark Side of the Road

Eight

Penny and I were halfway down the corridor when another door swung suddenly open, and Alexander Khan looked out. He was wearing a stylish and very colourful dressing gown, entirely ordinary slippers, and a confused look on his face. His normally slicked-back hair was all over the place. He’d clearly managed to get some sleep and was only half awake now.

‘What’s going on?’ he said roughly. ‘Did I hear … Did somebody scream?’

I didn’t have the time to answer him, and Penny didn’t seem inclined to. We ran on down the corridor. Khan stumbled after us. Jeeves and Leilah were already pounding up the stairs, gun in hand, their faces professionally focused. They reached the top of the stairs just as Penny and I got to the end of the corridor. A quick glance back past them showed me Walter and Melanie, standing together at the foot of the stairs in matching battered old dressing gowns. Walter was demanding to know what was going on, his voice loud but his eyes vague, while Melanie did her best to hush and comfort him. Walter would have none of it. He started up the stairs, moving as quickly as he could, leaning heavily on his walking stick. Melanie followed him up, if only because she didn’t want to be left on her own.

And finally, I looked at the door at the end of the corridor. Sylvia was staring through the open doorway into a room full of darkness, her face full of horror. She turned abruptly to look at me with wide shocked eyes. She’d stopped screaming now, but probably only because she had both hands pressed to her mouth. I took a moment to look her over, to make sure she was unharmed. Sylvia was wearing an expensive silk wrap, but no curlers in her hair or cream on her face. She didn’t look like she’d been sleeping. She gestured frantically at the room before her, unable to force the words out. I took her by the shoulders and moved her gently to one side. She stumbled and almost fell, but Penny was there to catch her and hold her up as I peered through the dark opening.

‘Stay with her, Penny,’ I said.

‘Hell with that,’ said Penny. She checked Sylvia could stand unsupported, and then moved quickly forward to stand beside me, peering into the dark beyond the doorway. Light falling in from the corridor didn’t travel far.

Jeeves and Leilah finally arrived.

‘Stay where you are!’ I said sharply. ‘You need to keep everyone else out of this room. We can’t risk contaminating a crime scene.’ I turned to Penny. ‘Whose room is this? Who’s in there?’

‘This is Roger’s room,’ she said steadily. ‘He invited me in, earlier, but I didn’t want to go. This isn’t going to be good, is it?’

‘No,’ I said.

‘Is Roger dead, do you think?’

‘It seems likely,’ I said. ‘Someone in this room is dead. I can tell.’

The light was off in Roger’s room, and with the shutters closed over the window there was no interior light at all. Just the darkness, hiding something, like a child with a nasty secret. I could smell burnt meat, clearer than ever. I could hear flames crackling, quietly, but there was no light from the room’s fireplace.

Penny crowded in beside me, but made no move to push past me. ‘I can smell something burning now,’ she said quietly. ‘Where’s the light switch?’

I reached inside the doorway and fumbled around till I found the switch. I turned the light on, and Penny cried out, despite herself.

A blackened, charred body sat in a chair by the cold fireplace, facing the door. The body’s clothes had mostly burned away, and the exposed flesh was scorched and cracked. The face was an unrecognizable mess. Teeth gleamed whitely in the ragged mouth. The eyes were gone. I moved quickly forward into the room, ripped the top blanket off the bed, and threw it over the body. I pressed down hard, but I already knew it was too late. I heard bones crack, from where I pressed down too hard. I let go of the blanket and stepped back.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said to Penny.

She swallowed hard. Her face was pale, but when she finally spoke her voice was steady. ‘This is Roger’s room, but can we be sure that’s him?’

‘Good point,’ I said. ‘It’s getting so I don’t trust anything in this house.’

I pulled back one side of the blanket, just enough to uncover the charred right hand. A little smoke rose up. I found a gold signet ring; huge and flashy. I showed it to Penny, and she nodded quickly.

‘Yes. I know that ring. He was so proud of it, always so keen to show it off, and I was always rude about it because it was ugly. That’s Roger.’ She stopped talking and shook her head briefly, her mouth compressed into a flat line, and then she looked unflinchingly at the body. ‘I won’t cry now. Not when there’s so much that needs to be done. I’ll cry later, when there’s time. I promise you, Roger.’ She looked angrily at me. ‘Who would want to kill Roger, of all people? He isn’t important, not like your Colonel. I don’t think Roger had an enemy in the world.’

‘He did say everyone in his family hated him,’ I said carefully.

‘Well, yes, but they’re not here,’ said Penny. ‘And why would any of them want to kill James?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I can’t see any obvious connection between the two murders. It doesn’t make sense.’

Jeeves leaned in through the doorway, looked at the body, and scowled. ‘Did I hear right; that’s Roger?’

‘Yes,’ said Penny. ‘He’s dead.’

She went back out into the corridor, Jeeves moving quickly to get out of her way. I went after her and stood in the doorway, blocking it off.

‘Roger’s dead,’ Penny announced loudly. ‘The killer set him on fire.’

A small crowd had gathered together in the corridor. They all made sounds of horror and distress, and huddled together. Everyone present seemed honestly shocked by the news. Khan was comforting Sylvia, who was weeping quietly against his chest. She looked like a child who’d just discovered how harsh and cruel the world can be. Khan looked lost and bewildered, even as he patted Sylvia’s shoulder automatically. Jeeves and Leilah stood close together, their guns in their hands. Neither of them seemed sure what to do. Walter and Melanie had finally made it up the stairs to join the rest of us. Walter was breathing hard, and the colour in his face wasn’t healthy. He leaned heavily on his walking stick and on Melanie’s arm. She looked wildly about her, as though expecting to be attacked at any moment.

‘I can’t believe it,’ said Walter. ‘Two of my guests dead, in my own home … First James, and now Roger? What the hell is going on? Somebody tell me what’s going on!’

‘Hush, dear,’ said Melanie. ‘For God’s sake.’

Walter seemed to realize for the first time how upset his wife was, and he patted her hand, on his arm.

I stepped forward, to address Sylvia, who was still leaning heavily on Alexander Khan. ‘I know you’re upset, Sylvia, but I have to ask you some questions. How did you happen to be here?’

Sylvia slowly turned away from Khan to answer me. Her voice was higher than usual, but still reasonably steady. Tears ran down her face, though she didn’t seem to notice.

‘I heard those footsteps again. Just … walking up and down, going nowhere. But this time when they stopped, I heard a door open. And I thought: that’s different. So I went to my door and stood there and listened for a while. No voices, and I didn’t hear the door close. So I unlocked my door and looked out. I couldn’t see anyone, but I didn’t want to think I was just imagining things, so I stepped out into the corridor. And that’s when I realized Roger’s door was standing open. So I came down here, to see what was going on. I knew I shouldn’t, I knew it wasn’t a sensible thing to do, but … I couldn’t seem to help myself. I had to know … And then I looked in through the door … And saw Roger-’ She broke off, unable to go on.

Khan took her in his arms again. He glared at me over her shoulder. ‘Can’t this wait?’

‘I suppose so,’ I said. ‘It’s not as if any of us are going anywhere.’ I looked round at the others. ‘No one is to go into this room. We finally have an actual crime scene, and I don’t want anything disturbed. We never did find out where the Colonel was killed, but it seems clear Roger died right here.’

Jeeves and Leilah nodded, reluctantly. ‘All right,’ said Jeeves. ‘We’ll talk to these people, while you check out the state of the room and the body. You probably have more experience with dead bodies, anyway.’

‘Excuse me,’ said Melanie. ‘Can I just ask; why is Cook carrying a gun?’

I left Jeeves to explain and went back into Roger’s room. Penny was immediately right there, with me.

‘I know he was your friend,’ I said. ‘But I have to examine the body pretty thoroughly. You don’t have to …’

‘Try and keep me out,’ said Penny. ‘I want to know everything. I need to know.’

‘If you have to throw up, go out into the corridor to do it,’ I said, as kindly as I could.

I removed the blanket from the body in the chair and tossed it back on to the bed. Penny swallowed hard, but didn’t turn away as I looked the body over. The charred remains were still smoking, here and there, but the flames were all out. The body was sitting upright, and apparently relaxed, in the chair. Nothing to indicate any movement while he burned. For all the damage the fire had done, it didn’t seem to have consumed much of the body. And then I looked round sharply as Penny made a noise behind me.

She had both hands over her mouth and nose, to keep out the smell. From the expression on her face, that wasn’t working too well. She saw me watching her and waved one hand impatiently, for me to continue. I studied the body carefully from top to bottom, leaning in close where necessary, careful to touch nothing. The smell didn’t bother me. Or the state of the body.

‘I suppose you’re about to say you’ve seen worse,’ said Penny.

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I have.’

‘Working for the Colonel? For dear mysterious stepbrother James? Exactly what kind of work did you do for that man, Ishmael?’

‘Ask me later,’ I said. ‘For now, just accept I’m the best chance for revenge that Roger’s got.’

The more I looked, the more convinced I became Roger hadn’t died from the fire. He’d been killed in his chair, and then set on fire to destroy the evidence. To cover up what had actually happened to him. And so far, it was working; I couldn’t see an obvious death wound anywhere.

‘The fire happened after the murder,’ I said to Penny. ‘Presumably to hide the method. So I have to assume that’s significant, in some way. Or informative. Perhaps when we know how Roger was killed, the manner of it will point to one person in particular.’

Jeeves leaned in through the doorway. ‘Hate to interrupt the deep thinking,’ he said, ‘but I really think Leilah and I need to come in and see what’s happened for ourselves.’

‘Of course,’ I said. ‘Tell everyone else to stay put, though. Professionals only for the moment.’

‘And me,’ said Penny.

Jeeves and Leilah stepped cautiously into Roger’s room, wrinkling their noses as the smell hit them. They’d both put their guns away.

‘No sign of any struggle,’ I said. ‘And nothing to indicate he was killed somewhere else and his body dumped here. I would say Roger died sitting in his chair.’

‘Sylvia found the door open,’ said Jeeves. ‘Roger would have had his door locked … so he must have opened it to let his killer in.’

‘Why would he open the door to anyone, under these circumstances?’ said Leilah.

‘He knew his visitor,’ I said. ‘And felt safe inviting them in.’

Jeeves looked at Penny. ‘He would have opened his door to you, Miss Belcourt. When he might not have to anyone else.’

‘I’m a suspect?’ said Penny.

‘Everyone’s a suspect,’ said Leilah.

‘Ishmael!’ said Penny. ‘Say something!’

‘Everyone’s a suspect,’ I said.

‘That’s not what I was hoping for,’ said Penny.

‘Everyone in this house is a suspect,’ I said. ‘Including Jeeves and Leilah.’

‘Well,’ said Penny. ‘That’s better. I suppose.’

‘At least now we know for sure the murderer is still in this house,’ said Jeeves. ‘Leilah and I did a complete tour of the Manor. Checked all the doors and windows. Everything’s secure.’

‘The doors and shutters aren’t just locked; they’re bolted,’ said Leilah. ‘You can pick a lock, or force it, and not leave a trace, if you’re a professional. But no one gets past a bolt. I’m a great believer in bolts.’ She moved over to check the room’s single shuttered window and nodded quickly. ‘Told you. The only way in is through the door.’

‘But … why is he sitting in his chair?’ I said.

‘To make it look like a case of spontaneous combustion?’ said Leilah.

We all stopped what we were doing, to stare at her in pretty much the same way.

Leilah glared defiantly back at us. ‘Well it could be! Come on; we’ve all seen stranger things!’

‘I haven’t,’ said Penny.

‘You have now,’ I said. ‘But no; there was nothing spontaneous about this. Roger was deliberately set alight.’

‘How?’ said Jeeves. ‘The fire’s out in the fireplace. What could the murderer have used to set a man on fire so completely? I mean, Roger was burning from head to foot. Some kind of accelerant?’

I looked at him, almost pityingly. ‘You could say that … Get closer to the body. What else can you smell, apart from the expected?’

Jeeves and Leilah looked at each other, leaned in and sniffed hard, and then recoiled quickly, coughing hard.

I took pity on them. ‘The killer doused the body in brandy. See the empty bottle, standing by the fireplace? Soaked him in the stuff, from head to toe. That’s why the clothing went up so quickly and completely. It would only take a match to set it off; then just stand well back, and let the body burn. And it’s clear this was done after Roger was already dead. Because no one would have sat quietly in their chair and burned.’

‘Hell no,’ said Jeeves, shuddering suddenly. ‘He’d have been running round the room, screaming his head off, banging into the furniture, throwing off hot fat and setting fire to the furnishings …’

He stopped then and looked apologetically at Penny, who just nodded quickly. Leilah hit Jeeves hard on the arm. He shrugged quickly.

‘Could there be a connection?’ Leilah said slowly. ‘In how both the bodies were treated? Cold for James, heat for Roger? Could this be some … elemental thing?’

‘Serial killers do like to send messages,’ said Jeeves.

‘Can we call him a serial, with only two killings?’ said Leilah.

‘You think he’s going to stop at two?’ said Jeeves.

Leilah looked at Penny. ‘He … or she.’

‘Yes …’ said Jeeves. He turned the full force of his natural authority on Penny. ‘Do you have an alibi, Miss Belcourt?’

‘How the hell should I know?’ said Penny, entirely unfazed. ‘We don’t know when Roger died, do we?’

‘No one has an alibi,’ I said. ‘Just like the Colonel.’

And then I stopped and looked thoughtfully at the floor. ‘Hold everything … Someone else was quite definitely in this room. I can see footprints in the carpeting.’

Jeeves and Leilah looked at each other, and then at the carpet. In the end, they had to get down on their hands and knees and study the carpet close up, before they finally nodded agreement. They got back on to their feet again, helping each other considerately, and then looked at me.

‘You have really good eyes,’ said Jeeves.

‘You’re weird,’ said Leilah.

‘At the very least,’ I said. ‘Comes with the territory. No marks of spiked heels, to indicate a woman; just flat imprints. Basic slippers. From the size, it could be male or female.’

‘So, not really helpful after all,’ said Leilah.

Jeeves hushed her. ‘Is there anything else we’ve missed, Ishmael?’

‘Yes …’ I said. ‘I can smell something else in this room, something out of place. Apart from the obvious. Under the burnt meat, and the brandy, I can smell blood.’

‘You can smell blood?’ said Leilah. ‘What the hell are you; part bloodhound?’

‘He smelled blood before,’ said Penny. ‘Just before we found James’ body, hidden inside the snowman.’

‘What kind of training does the Organization give you people?’ said Jeeves.

Leilah looked at Jeeves. ‘You believe him?’

‘He’s been right about everything else, so far,’ said Jeeves.

‘I think you should take the others downstairs,’ I said. ‘This floor doesn’t feel safe. Take them down, fill them in on the situation, or at least as much as you think wise, while Penny and I finish looking the scene over. I would suggest you hole up in the drawing room. Just the one door, easily defended, and there’s food and drink. Should be safe enough for the time being.’

‘I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe again,’ said Penny. She glanced at the body. ‘Or hungry again. Ever.’

Leilah looked at me bullishly. ‘We don’t take orders from you! We only answer to the client. Why should we be the ones who have to guard the sheep?’

‘Because you’ve got guns,’ I said.

‘And because that’s our job, Leilah,’ said Jeeves. ‘We don’t solve murders; we protect the client. Right?’

‘Still say he’s weird,’ muttered Leilah.

They left the room, and I heard them speak politely and persuasively to the people in the corridor. And then they all went downstairs, Jeeves and Leilah in the lead, followed by Khan and Sylvia, and finally Walter and Melanie. I turned back to the body. Penny was staring into the ruined face.

‘I wanted to be free of him,’ she said. ‘But not like this. He wasn’t a bad sort, you know. Not really. He just fell in love with the wrong woman. He should have found someone who might have been … kinder to him.’

She turned abruptly and walked out of the room. She stood outside, breathing deeply of the somewhat fresher air. I went out to join her, and then hesitated in the doorway, looking back. I couldn’t help feeling I was missing something. Some important detail …

I went to shut and lock the door and found the key was still in the lock, on the inside of the door. So the killer … left it there? And left the door open, so the body could be discovered? Why would the killer do that, after going to such pains to hide the Colonel’s body? Or, could it be that the killer was in such a hurry that they didn’t have time to lock the door? Suggesting … what? That the killer murdered Roger almost immediately after being admitted into his room? Why the rush? And how would the killer have overpowered Roger so quickly? Roger wasn’t what I would have called a fighter, but surely he would have put up some kind of struggle … Unless he was caught completely by surprise … Or drugged.

I reined in my thoughts. Far too many questions, and hardly any answers.

I locked the door and slipped the key into my pocket. I didn’t want anyone else having access to the body until I’d had time to think some more. I moved over to join Penny. She was still breathing deeply, but a healthier colour had come back into her face. She looked at me squarely.

‘You don’t think I killed Roger, do you, Ishmael?’

‘I can’t see any reason why you would,’ I said.

‘That’s not what I asked,’ said Penny.

‘I don’t believe you are capable of such an act,’ I said.

Penny smiled. ‘Thank you.’

She hugged me suddenly. I let her.

‘Of course,’ I said, ‘I have been known to be wrong about people.’

‘It was a lovely moment,’ Penny said into my shoulder. ‘Don’t spoil it.’

‘Sorry,’ I said.

After a while she let go of me and stood back. She smiled brightly. ‘Since you and I are the only people in this house we can trust, I think we should work together to solve the mystery and identify the killer. We both have good reason to bring this bastard down. I want to avenge Roger, and you want to avenge James. Your Colonel.’

‘Why do you trust me?’ I said. ‘You barely know me.’

‘I don’t know,’ said Penny. ‘I just do. Sometimes you only have to look at someone and you know.’

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I know.’

And then I looked around the corridor sharply. ‘Hold it! Hold everything! I knew I’d missed something … Where’s Diana? She wasn’t here before, with all the others.’

‘You’re right!’ said Penny. ‘She wasn’t here, and I never noticed … Why didn’t I notice? And why didn’t she show up with the others? Oh, wait a minute. Sylvia could have given Diana something, to help her sleep.’

‘Then why did Sylvia go downstairs with the others, leaving Diana on her own up here, dead to the world in her room, and not say anything?’

‘Shock?’ said Penny. ‘Finding Roger like that must have-’

‘Why didn’t we notice Diana wasn’t with the others?’ I said. ‘Something’s very wrong here. Which is Diana’s room?’

‘Daddy put her in the Primrose Room,’ said Penny. ‘Diana always insists on the same room, every year.’

She led the way. The door to Diana’s room was closed, and when I tried the handle it was locked. Penny rapped loudly on the door and called Diana’s name. There was no response. I sniffed at the air.

‘Blood,’ I said. ‘I can smell blood.’

‘Through a closed door?’ said Penny.

I smashed in the door, with one hard shove of my hand. The lock exploded, and the door was blasted right off its hinges. It fell forward into the room, measuring its length on the carpeted floor.

Penny looked at me. ‘OK, I am now seriously impressed.’

‘All part of the training,’ I said.

‘Really?’

‘No.’

The room was in darkness. I found the light switch and turned it on. Penny wanted to rush in, but I gestured for her to hold back. I stepped cautiously inside, and then stopped. The bed was empty, all the bedclothes perfectly in place. Nothing to show anyone had slept in it. The room was still and quiet. I could smell Diana’s perfume, half hidden under half a dozen other smells. She was here, somewhere. I moved forward, following the scent across the room, with Penny sticking close at my side. I ended up standing before the fireplace. It was a lot bigger than the one in my room. Someone had piled the fire high with coal, and it was burning fiercely, throwing off a lot of heat. I dropped down on one knee, thrust both my hands into the fire and pulled it apart, hauling out the burning coals and scattering them across the grate. It only took me a few moments.

Penny watched all this from a safe distance, only moving occasionally to kick a burning coal back into the grate, if it rolled too far and tried to set light to the carpet. With the fire gone, I forced myself into the grate and looked up the wide chimney. The smell of Diana’s perfume was suddenly stronger.

Penny made a sudden shocked sound. ‘Ishmael; no! She can’t be …’

I forced my shoulders into the chimney gap, reached up into the dark, and found a single dangling hand. I took a firm hold and pulled Diana’s body down out of the chimney and into the grate. She’d been pushed a fair way up and packed in tight, which spoke of a great deal of strength from the killer. But I was stronger and more determined.

I backed away, hauling Diana’s body out of the grate. Penny fell back, making shocked noises as I laid Diana out on the carpet. Exposure to heat and smoke had seriously distorted the skin, but it was still Diana. I recognized the clothes and the perfume. I sat on the floor beside the body.

Penny crouched down beside me. ‘Ishmael; let me see your hands.’

‘They’re fine.’

‘They can’t be; you just pulled a fire apart. Let me see how badly you’re burned.’

‘They’re fine!’ I showed her my hands. They were flushed red, but not burnt.

‘I don’t understand,’ said Penny.

‘Concentrate on what’s important,’ I said. ‘Diana’s dead.’

Penny looked at me dubiously, and then gave her attention to the body. ‘It’s just like the old Edgar Allan Poe story,’ she said. ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue! But in that story the killer turned out to be an orang-utan. No. I can’t believe that … Are you sure that’s Diana? I mean, the face is …’

‘It’s her,’ I said. ‘I know her. Her clothes, her perfume, her body. I know everything about her.’

I gathered Diana up in my arms and held her close, rocking her back and forth, like a parent with a sleeping child. I didn’t cry, but there must have been something in my face, because Penny knelt in close beside me. She didn’t try to touch me, didn’t say anything; just stayed with me, giving me what comfort she could with her presence. Diana felt light, almost weightless in my arms, as though everything that mattered of her was gone.

‘You should have seen her dance, Penny,’ I said finally. ‘When she was young and talented and so full of life. Featured dancer at the Crazy Horse, in Paris. When she moved on that stage … she was a wonder to behold.’

‘What?’ said Penny. ‘I’m sorry, Ishmael; I don’t understand.’

‘She didn’t deserve to die like this,’ I said.

‘Neither did Roger, or James,’ said Penny.

I stood up, still carrying the body effortlessly in my arms, and moved across the room to lay Diana out respectfully on the bed. I crossed her hands on her chest. Mercifully, her eyes were shut.

Penny hovered beside me. ‘Why did the murderer do this?’ she said. ‘Why kill poor old defenceless Diana? She didn’t have any money, or … And why is the killer doing these awful things to the bodies?’

‘So many questions,’ I said. ‘Why didn’t Sylvia notice Diana was missing?’

‘I suppose … all she could think of was Roger and the terrible thing that had been done to him,’ said Penny.

‘Could Diana have been killed after Sylvia left the room?’ I said slowly. ‘Could Diana have been murdered here, while we were all distracted with Roger?’ I looked at Penny. ‘Did you notice anyone missing from the group, at any time?’

‘No,’ said Penny. ‘I was totally focused on what had been done to Roger. Anyone could have come and gone …’

‘Same here,’ I said. ‘And again, look around the room. No sign of any struggle. No overturned furniture; not even any scuff marks on the carpet. As though the murderer just … killed Diana, and then stuffed her straight up the chimney. All in a few moments …’

‘But why put her up there?’ said Penny, almost desperately. ‘Why stoke up the fire afterwards? Why saw off James’ head and set Roger on fire? Why do all this, after they were already dead!’

‘Assuming there is a reason,’ I said, slowly. ‘Not just some psychotic, sending a message that only makes sense to them … Why did the killer need to go to such lengths with the bodies? All of them hidden, disfigured … Yes! That’s it! All the bodies were damaged, disfigured, to hide some specific injury to the bodies! Snow, fire, heat and smoke … To hide the true method of murder! I’ve smelt the same thing at all three bodies, Penny: blood. But there’s never been a trace of spilled blood, anywhere near the bodies. So where did all the blood go?’

I leaned over the bed and examined Diana’s body up close. It took a while, but finally I found what I was looking for. Teeth marks, on her throat. Right over the main veins. And not just pin pricks, or a pair of puncture marks: a full set of human-sized teeth, sunk deep into the meat. Heat and smoke damage would have disguised and hidden the marks from a cursory examination. And after two or three days stuck up that chimney, you’d have needed a full autopsy to uncover the wounds. I straightened up and stood a while, thinking. Penny looked at me anxiously.

‘What do all three bodies have in common?’ I said finally. ‘Marks of violence, but no blood spilled. Because there was no blood left to spill …’

I turned and ran out of Diana’s room, all the way back down the corridor. Penny sprinted after me, trying to keep up. I didn’t stop to unlock Roger’s door, just kicked it off its hinges and burst in. I leant over the chair and pushed the burned head back to expose the neck, ignoring the loud cracking from the bones. Now I knew what to look for I soon found teeth marks, disguised by the burns. I pointed them out to Penny, but she didn’t want to get that close.

‘All right!’ she said, just a bit breathlessly. ‘I’ll take your word for it. Teeth marks on the necks. The killer bit them. What for; to leave his mark?’

‘Not as such,’ I said.

I let go of Roger’s head and stepped back from the body. I looked at Penny for a long moment, and then drew the slender dagger I keep in a sheath on my left forearm, hidden up my sleeve.

‘I thought you said you don’t like weapons?’ said Penny.

‘I don’t,’ I said. ‘But they can be useful, sometimes.’

I knelt down and made a long incision in Roger’s left wrist, where it rested on the arm of the chair. The razor-sharp edge sliced easily through the charred flesh, severing the main veins, but not a drop of blood fell out.

‘This body has been drained of blood,’ I said to Penny. ‘So was Diana. And the Colonel was beheaded not to kill him or hamper identification, but to preoccupy people. So they wouldn’t realize the whole point of beheading was to damage the neck so much that teeth marks wouldn’t show. The killer was still expecting to get away, then. He had time to mess with the body and move it outside into the grounds, and then hide it in the snowman; he didn’t expect the body to be found until the thaw, by which time he’d be long gone. He didn’t know a storm was coming to trap him here. He’s having to improvise now to hide his feeding.’

I stood up, still holding the dagger, and looked steadily at Penny. ‘I’m sorry. There’s no easy way to break this to you. Our killer isn’t human. We’re dealing with a vampire.’

Penny looked at me for a long moment, torn between shock and nervous laughter. ‘What? Are you serious? You really expect me to believe that, Ishmael? That’s your great deduction? We’re being picked off by Count Dracula? No. No! I’ve gone this far with you, but now you’ve jumped right over the edge. I want an explanation. Right now. About you, Ishmael. Who are you; really? Just what kind of work did you do, for your Colonel?’

‘I hunt monsters,’ I said. ‘Because I don’t want to be one.’

I explained, as best I could. About the star that fell from the heavens, in 1963. About the transformation machines, and being made human. About working for the Organization. Penny’s eyes grew wide, but she never said a word.

‘I am human,’ I said finally. ‘In every way that matters. It’s just that I was made, not born. I’m stronger, faster, than most people. My senses are sharper. I see and hear things that most people miss.’

‘You honestly expect me to believe this … bullshit?’ said Penny. ‘How can I believe something like this?’

‘Because it’s true,’ I said. ‘And you know you can trust me.’

‘That was when I thought you were a sane person!’

‘They say seeing is believing,’ I said.

‘You’re crazy,’ said Penny. ‘I’m sorry, Ishmael, but you’re crazy! You have to be.’

‘I did consider that option quite seriously, for some time,’ I said. ‘Until I had an accident.’

‘Ishmael?’ Penny said carefully. ‘Why are you still holding that knife?’

I set the dagger against my left wrist and made a deep incision. Blood ran down my wrist, and it was golden. Penny made a sound, deep in her throat, and backed away, putting half the room between us. The golden blood stopped dripping as the wound healed. I stropped the blade clean on my sleeve and slipped the dagger back into the sheath under my sleeve.

‘Seeing,’ I said, ‘is believing.’

‘All right,’ Penny said hoarsely. ‘You have … golden blood. How about that. If I hadn’t seen it for myself I wouldn’t … There’s no way you could have faked that. So … I’m still not sure I can accept … everything you just told me, but I’ll go along, for now. And have some seriously noisy hysterics later, when I’ve got time. A Close Encounter, in the middle of a country house murder mystery … Not what I expected, this weekend. Is everyone who works for the Organization an alien?’

‘No,’ I said. ‘I’d have noticed.’

‘Well, that’s something, at least. So! An alien passing for human is here to track down a vampire passing for human. Did the Colonel know about this …?’

‘Perhaps,’ I said. ‘Remember what he wrote in his letter: A horror has come to Belcourt … ’

‘Well, why didn’t he just say it was a vampire!’

‘Perhaps he wasn’t sure,’ I said. ‘Such things are rare. I’ve never encountered one before. Don’t know anyone who has. But the Colonel must have been given reason to … suspect something. That’s why he wanted me here so urgently. He needed one monster to take down another.’

‘So he knew … what you are?’

‘I never asked,’ I said. ‘I have gone to great pains to keep my true nature secret.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I don’t want to end up in a cage,’ I said. ‘Or on a vivisection table. This planet is not very welcoming to illegal aliens.’

‘Do we tell the others?’ said Penny.

‘Probably not a good idea,’ I said. ‘They’ve got enough on their minds as it is. And, I have to wonder, how is it that two of the people in this small gathering know me from earlier times in my life? Diana in the sixties, and Alexander Khan in the eighties.’

‘Wait a minute!’ said Penny. ‘You mean: when Alex recognized you … it was you and not your father? That was you? And Diana really did know you from Paris? You really are that old? Holy shit …’

‘I worked beside Alex, in a Government department known as Black Heir,’ I said. ‘And Diana and I were lovers, long ago.’

‘Lovers?’ said Penny. ‘Oh, ick …’

‘She was as beautiful as you, once,’ I said.

‘You seem to have got over her death pretty quick,’ said Penny.

‘I have learned to keep my emotions inside,’ I said. ‘Because they aren’t always, entirely, human. I will avenge her. And the Colonel.’

‘And Roger?’ said Penny, pointedly.

‘Of course,’ I said. ‘But I still want to know why two people from my past are here, for the same Christmas weekend. Coincidence? Or something the Colonel arranged? He always did think he knew how to run my life better than I did. I’ll never know, now he’s gone. He hid me from the world for fifteen years. Who’s going to protect me, now he’s gone?’

I was genuinely lost for a moment, not knowing what to say or think.

Penny moved slowly forward across the room, to stand before me. ‘This isn’t the time to get lost in the past, Ishmael. Concentrate on the present, on what’s happening right now. We’re in danger here. You and I, and everyone downstairs, is in danger from a vampire. There. I said the v-word. We’re all depending on you, Ishmael.’

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘It’s all right, Penny. I’m back. You’re quite right, of course. I won’t let you down.’ I stopped and looked at her for a long moment. ‘Penny … I’m still me. I haven’t changed. I’m still the person you believed you could trust.’

‘Yes,’ said Penny. ‘I do trust you. Whatever you are.’

We shared a smile. And then we left Roger’s room and went back out into the corridor, together.

We stood side by side at the top of the stairs, looking down. I could hear faint voices, from the drawing room. Just enough to know they were all there.

‘What do we know about vampires?’ I said. ‘I mean, really know? As opposed to what we think we know, from all those movies and television shows and weirdly romantic paperback novels. That always struck me as … odd. I mean, there’s nothing romantic about a leech.’

‘I know Dracula didn’t start out as an historical novel,’ said Penny. ‘I studied the book at college. We’re used to seeing it presented as a period piece. But when Bram Stoker’s novel first appeared, Count Dracula moved through the world of the reader, the world outside their windows. And the vampire is surrounded by all the latest technology of his time. Railways, motor cars, telegrams and blood transfusions. Dracula was a supernatural creature, invading a civilization based on science.’

‘I have encountered many strange things,’ I said. ‘Hell, I am a strange thing. And I’m still having trouble coming to terms with this. We need to sort out what parts of vampire lore are likely to be real, and what’s just superstitious folk lore and legend.’

‘Well,’ said Penny, ‘I know for a fact that everyone here has been outside in the daylight, at one time or another. And they certainly didn’t bring a coffin with them to sleep in. Jeeves would have noticed. We all ate and drank the same things; hell, we all had chicken kiev last night, with bags of garlic … No one’s reflection has been missing from a mirror …’

‘Crucifixes?’ I said.

‘I haven’t seen one hanging up anywhere,’ said Penny, frowning. ‘Daddy’s never been very religious. But no one’s been bothered by any of the religious elements in the Christmas celebration. What are vampires, really?’

‘A corpse that has risen from the grave,’ I said. ‘Broken out of its coffin and dug its way up out of the earth. To walk the world undead and feed on the living. A predator, hiding its true nature behind a glamour. A pleasing appearance. A telepathically-broadcast illusion. To make us see it as just another human being, instead of an undead walking corpse. Which is why I can’t see or smell anything different about them. Actually, I probably can; it’s just that I’m being prevented from noticing. Mentally compelled not to notice. That’s actually quite spooky. Like when we didn’t notice Diana was missing from the crowd outside Roger’s room.’

‘Until everyone else went downstairs!’ Penny said excitedly, bouncing up and down on the spot. ‘Does that mean the vampire’s range is limited?’

‘Could be,’ I said. ‘It must know it’s in danger now. In danger of being recognized and revealed for what it really is. It must know it’s going to have to kill all of us, to be safe. Pick us off, one at a time. Not for the blood; it must be sated by now. For the security. It can’t afford to leave any witnesses … Anyone who might spread wild stories about a vampire … People are actually more superstitious these days than they ever were. They’ll believe anything. No; it will kill us all, just to make itself feel safe, wait here for the storm to die down, and then head for the nearest village. And disappear. Nothing left behind but a house full of bodies. Or perhaps it’ll burn the Manor down. So no one will ever know what happened here. Just another unsolved mystery.’

‘Why hasn’t the vampire already left?’ said Penny. ‘Just, made a run for it? The cold wouldn’t affect the undead, would it?’

‘I don’t know!’ I said. ‘Really, I don’t know, Penny! Vampires aren’t my field. I never expected to run into one.’

‘What is your field, then?’

‘I’ll tell you later,’ I said.

‘You’d better,’ said Penny.

‘We have to identify which of the remaining people here is the vampire,’ I said. ‘And deal with it.’

‘But Ishmael, what if we’re wrong? We can’t just drive a stake through someone!’

‘Don’t worry,’ I said. ‘We won’t do anything until we’re sure. Beyond all reasonable doubt.’

I always was good at lying with a straight face.

‘Why is it picking us off one at a time?’ said Penny. ‘Why not just … wipe us all out?’

‘Probably because it isn’t nearly as powerful as it would like us to think,’ I said.

‘That’s the first reassuring thing you’ve said so far,’ said Penny.