Archie's Battleflat Adventures: The Harriman Mystery (19 page)

The
memory of the coin falling from Mr Harriman’s death grip the night
before was enough to convince Edward, who stuffed it down his shirt
while Archie carefully replaced the tiles.

“
Wait!” Edward gasped, grabbing Archie painfully by the
shoulder. The panic in his voice was enough to make Archie jump,
and he turned wide, horror-filled eyes toward the window just in
time to see the black mass flicker past.

Someone
was outside.

Someone
tall and dressed in black.

“
Do you think –” Whatever else Edward had been about to say
was cut off by Archie’s hand as it clamped over his lips. Archie
dragged Edward across to the wall on the opposite side of the
window. Their eyes were glued to the door as it slowly swung
inward.

Was it
Archie’s dad? Had he woken, found both boys missing and decided to
look for them at Mr Harriman’s house?

Or was
this someone else?

Whoever
it was, they moved stealthily. The door swung silently inward. For
one horrifying moment, the doorway was almost full with the
towering presence of the man in black. The tall, broad shouldered
figure was heavily garbed in a long, flowing cloak that was blacker
than the night.

Archie’s stomach dropped to his knees and he began to
tremble. He knew without seeing the gnarled face and yellow teeth,
that the new arrival was the man who had murdered Mr Harriman. He
was suddenly very sorry that he had involved his friend, Edward, in
this whole thing. Now matters had turned very serious, and very
dangerous, he suddenly wished he hadn’t gotten
himself
involved in any of
it.

They
watched the figure slowly enter the house, and be swallowed by the
inky blackness as the door closed behind him. Archie’s heart began
to pound until he was certain that the murderer could hear it. He
closed his eyes and began to pray, only then he found himself
afraid to open his eyes in case the murderer appeared in front of
him. As long as the intruder walked across the middle or the far
side of the cottage, they had a chance. If he walked directly in
front of them, both boys would be caught, especially if the moon
chose that moment to make a valiant attempt at
reappearance.

Sweat
began to pop out on Archie’s brow.

His
knees began to buckle, every sense locked onto the heavy footfall
of the man’s boots as he moved away from the door. Archie wasn’t
sure he wouldn’t have preferred the man to stay before the door, at
least then he couldn’t be seen. Archie wasn’t sure what was worse,
listening to the heavy footsteps, or seeing the tall, black shape
move across the cottage mere feet from them.

He felt
rather than saw Edward jump when Archie clamped a hand on Edward’s
wrist. They couldn’t risk whispering. Although it was windy
outside, it wasn’t enough to hide any noise they made, so instead
Archie could only hope that Edward would understand and not
hesitate.

While
the figure was making his way toward the hearth, Archie bent down,
dragging Edward with him as he tiptoed toward the door. Standing
within the shadows, he could only hope that they were swallowed by
the darkness, just as effectively as the man had been moments
earlier. Both boys knew that they wouldn’t be able to open the door
and leave without being seen. As soon as the door opened, they
would have to run for it.

With one
hand wrapped firmly around Edward’s wrist, Archie lifted a hand to
the latch on the door, his gaze locked on the dark shape as it
began to make its way around the cottage. It was clear from the
furtive movements that the man was also searching the small room,
presumably for the packet Edward now carried. It was imperative
that they keep it safe. The words hung in Archie’s throat and he
wished he could caution his friend.

Lifting
the latch silently was easy enough. With urgency clawing at him,
Archie swung the door inward, not waiting until it was completely
open before slamming it back against the wall and lurching after
Edward. Together both boys broke out of the house at a fast run.
The loud banging of the door behind them rang in their ears and was
abruptly followed by a loud curse and another slamming of the door
as the intruder followed.

“
Run! Don’t stop,” Archie gasped, pushing Edward ahead of
him.

Although
the man’s legs were longer, Archie and Edward were quicker. Fear
nipped at their heels as they were swallowed once again by the ink
blackness of the forest. Twigs crackled and popped beneath their
boots; crinkly leaves rustled and crunched as they sped in the
general direction of home. With the winds echoing hollowly around
them, it was impossible to tell if they were being followed. Archie
couldn’t hear the heavy thump of booted feet behind him, but that
didn’t mean he wasn’t there.

Memories
of that fateful afternoon of Mr Harriman’s murder ran strongly in
his mind. But unlike last time, he wasn’t alone. Edward was with
him, and it was the familiar sight of his friend’s back that
stopped Archie from pausing briefly to sneak a quick peek over his
shoulder. He couldn’t risk losing sight of Edward in the darkness.
How Edward was managing to find his way, he couldn’t be entirely
sure, but he was certainly very glad that he was following and not
leading.

“
Come ‘ere!” The low growl was all too close to Archie, who
gasped and turned fear-filled eyes on his friend.

“
Run, Edward!” Archie yelled, watching as Edward slowed enough
to glance behind him. The horror on Edward’s face was all that
Archie needed to know that the man was close behind him – very
close behind him. Lengthening his stride, Archie dodged around a
tree. If he could use the trees to distract the murderer from
Edward, his friend could find his way back to Archie’s house and
safety. Hopefully he would alert Archie’s dad, who would come in
search of him. Until then, Archie just had to stay alive. Again,
the memory of Mr Harriman’s mottled face as he lay dying swam
before Archie’s vision, and made his jaw clench in determination
not to become the murderer’s next victim.

Archie
didn’t need to slow down. He could hear the man’s laboured
breathing. Jumping over a fallen log, he ignored the sharp stab of
pain in his ankle and dodged and wove his way around the thick
trees. He had lost sight of Edward and could only hope that he was
on his way home and hadn’t fallen over any of the gnarled tree
roots that seemed to litter the forest floor. Within seconds,
Archie was involved in the chase of his life.

It was
one of those twisted and tangled roots that proved to be Archie’s
downfall.

CHAPTER NINE

When
Archie thought about it later, it all felt as though everything had
happened at half speed. One minute he had been running through the
woods, heading toward home and the next, his foot was caught on
something large and unyielding that lay on the floor. He landed
with a heavy thump that took the breath from his body.

He lay
in stunned silence on the floor for a moment, his heart beating a
heavy tattoo in his ears as he waited for the long, cruel fingers
that would crush the life from his body. The heavy footsteps of his
attacker shook the ground beneath him, but no fingers clamped
around his throat. No cruel hands encircled his neck, ready to hand
him ruthlessly over to death’s waiting arms.

How long
Archie lay there, he wasn’t sure. It was only when the cold of the
ground beneath him began to seep into his chilled flesh, and
silence had settled that Archie dared take a peek around him. He
was certain that when he opened his eyes, he would be staring into
the gnarled face of the murderer and almost wept with relief when
all he could see was the dark shadows of the tree trunks beneath
the thick canopy of leaves and branches as they swirled and
collided high above.

Lifting
his head, he peered around him cautiously.

A scream
locked in his throat.

His
stomach churned. His mind wouldn’t focus. He couldn’t think about
anything other than the blank eyes staring back at him.

The dark
and empty eyes of Mrs Humble.

That one
look was all it took. In the blink of an eye, Archie lurched to his
feet and ran. Darting around trees this way and that, he grew
increasingly disorientated until he wasn’t certain if he was
running in the right direction or not. He tried to listen for
anyone following but couldn’t make anything out except for the
heavy thumping of his heart and the rustling of the trees around
him. Carrying the spectre of death on his shoulder, Archie locked
onto the blessed thought of home, and the safety it offered.
Suddenly, the adventure didn’t seem such an exciting prospect, and
he wished he hadn’t over-ridden Edward’s worries and insisted they
head out into the night.

He burst
out of the trees moments later, propelled by the certainty that
home wasn’t far away, only for disappointment to surge forward,
grasping at any relief he might have felt. Somewhere in the woods
he had become disorientated and was now at the far edge of the
woods, further from home than ever before.

“
Ar-ch-ie,” the soulless voice sing-songed around
him.

The
small hairs rose on the back of Archie’s neck as the softly sung
words penetrated his frozen fear. He knew he had heard that voice
before somewhere.

Refusing
to allow fear to render him useless, Archie took full advantage of
the ground being more solid beneath his feet and increased his pace
as much as he could. His eyes locked on the hedgerow lying further
ahead, like the shaft of an arrow in the darkness, it gave him
somewhere to aim for. For the first time in his life, he felt
completely alone and helpless, and he didn’t like it, but rather
than collapsing into girlish tears, he felt his anger
build.

He
almost wished the man would appear in front of him, so he could
give him sound kick - but then again.....

As his
legs pounded the uneven earth, he wondered where Edward was, and if
he had managed to reach home yet. At least the murderer hadn’t
decided to follow Edward instead, giving his friend a chance to
reach safety.

“
Ar-ch-ie,” the voice called again, this time
closer.

Archie
shivered at the emotionless voice carried hauntingly on the wind.
He didn’t know which was worse, the voice, or the awful howling of
the winds echoing around the trees. The trees that now held the
body of Mrs Humble.

Determined he wouldn’t be the murderer’s third victim, Archie
kept his eyes locked on the hedge – his goal was growing closer and
closer by the minute. Any second now he would be there, then he
could jump the hedge, run down the track and if the murderer
appeared in front of him, scream his head off and alert half of the
village. Hopefully the murderer wouldn’t have finished with him
before the villagers got themselves out of bed to see what all the
fuss was about.

Oblivious to the cold night air making his breath fog out
before him, Archie puffed and panted. Sweat popped out on his brow
through a mixture of fear and exertion.

If only
the moon would appear, it would be enough to light his way and he
could see further into the trees. As it was, he had no way of
knowing if the murderer was alongside him, or behind him. He could
be fairly certain he hadn’t managed to get ahead. The forest floor
was too uneven to run over with any speed and the man wasn’t swift
enough to overtake him.

Unfortunately, not being able to overtake Archie meant that
the man was able to draw alongside. He was aware of a brief flurry
of movement out of the corner of his eye a second before the now
familiar dark shape of a hooded figure appeared beside him. Archie
instinctively swerved away from the trees and out toward the open
field. He couldn’t afford for the man to drive him further away
from the village, and fought down the panic at the thought of being
so far away that nobody would be able to hear him
scream.

“
Leave me alone!” he shouted desperately, his voice thin with
fear.

“
I just want to talk to you,” the deep voice rasped. Again, a
sense of familiarity swept through Archie. He
knew
he had heard that voice before
– but where?
Whose
was it?

He
didn’t have the time to stop and think. With a deep breath, he
tried his hardest to quicken his pace, despite the deep ruts in the
ground underfoot.

The
sense of relief he felt as the hedge approached was so strong that
he wondered if he would be able to manage jumping it. He could only
pray he wouldn’t fall over when he landed on the other side. He
hadn’t thought the man would be so fit – he had certainly not run
this fast or so far on the afternoon Mr Harriman had been
murdered.

Taking a
deep breath, he sent a silent prayer heavenward and lunged over the
hedge, landing on the ground on the other side with a solid thump
that barely broke his stride. He took the opportunity to glance
behind him, surprised to see the figure standing in the field –
watching. Had he run out of steam? Archie slowed his pace a bit,
glad for the brief respite. His heart hammered in his chest, so
loudly that the rhythmic hammering nearly blocked out the constant
rush of the winds whirling ferociously around him.