Colm & the Lazarus Key (9 page)

C
olm used to love libraries. He loved finding books he had never heard of before and taking them home like some secret treasure. He was beginning to change his mind. Every time he’d visited this library bad things had happened.

‘When are you going to tell me?’ he asked.

‘Just a couple more minutes,’ Lauryn replied.

‘What are we waiting for?’

‘Please be quiet,’ she said.

Lauryn got out of her chair and began pacing up and down.

‘Look, if you’re not going to tell me, then I’m leaving,’ Colm said.

The library door creaked open and a man appeared. He had long dark hair and a beard, and he wore a tweed jacket over a check shirt and a pair of jeans. He looked about forty years old. He held a cigarette between his yellow, stained fingers, the smoke curling up towards the ceiling.

‘Hello, Colm
,
’ he said.

Colm had never seen the man before in his life, so he assumed Lauryn must have told him his name.

‘Hi
,
’ he replied.

The man stood in front of him and Colm had to arch his neck just to look him in the face. The man was tall. Very tall. Thin too – the fingers that wrapped themselves around the cigarette were long and bony.

‘My name is Peter Drake
,
’ said the man in a deep, rich voice. ‘There’s no need to be afraid
.
’

Colm hadn’t been afraid. Not until the man had men-tioned it. Now, he began to wonder if there was yet another thing to worry about.

‘Professor Drake will explain everything
,
’ Lauryn said.

‘Actually, Lauryn, I won’t. We don’t have time for ex-planations
,
’ Drake replied.

‘What’s going on?’ Colm asked.

‘Colm, I know you don’t know me, but I’m going to ask you to go out on a limb and trust me,’ Drake said.

In Colm’s experience when someone asked you to trust them it usually meant you shouldn’t. The Brute was always saying things like that: ‘Trust me, this won’t hurt a bit
.
’ But it did. It always hurt.

‘Can you come with me, please
,
’ Drake said. It was more of a demand than a question. It wasn’t the words he used, it was the way he said it.

‘Where?’ he asked.

‘Somewhere safe.’

‘I’m fine here,’ Colm said. He looked around. No exits other than the door and Drake was blocking that. He wasn’t making a big deal of it, he was acting all casual, but Colm knew by the way the man shifted the weight from his left foot to his right that he was preparing himself in case Colm made a run for it. What did they want with him?

His mouth went dry. He would have killed for a glass of water.

Lauryn sensed his discomfort.

‘It’s all right, Colm. Just do as he says
.
’

She said it like she was on his side. If she really was then why had she told him that lie about
The Book of Dread
? Why had she slipped the note under the door? Why had she let The Brute go into the woods?

In the past he would have just done what he was told, but if he’d learned one thing from The Brute, it was to act on his instincts. No point waiting. Go now.

‘OK, I’ll go with you,’ he said.

The man had heard what he’d wanted to hear. His shoulders relaxed. Just for a split second. But it was enough time for Colm to make his move.

He sprinted to the man’s left. Drake’s jaw dropped and the cigarette fell from his lips. Colm had caught him off guard. But the tall, thin man was quick, quicker than he looked. His long arm snaked out.

Not far enough.

Colm dodged to man’s right. Sold him a dummy. The man lurched in the wrong direction. Too late to catch him.

The door was only three yards away. Already he was thinking ahead. Grab the key on the way out. Lock them in the room. He’d have to be fast.

The blur of movement came from his right. He saw it out of the corner of his eye.

Lauryn diving through the air.

Her shoulder hit him in the fleshy part of his stomach. Colm heard a soft sound.

Oomph.

Then he felt the pain surge through his body and realised he was the one who’d made the noise.

They crashed to the floor in a heap of arms and legs. Before Colm had the chance to untangle himself from the mess Drake had grabbed him by the collar. He picked him up as if he weighed nothing at all and flung him onto the armchair.

‘We tried to be nice about this
,
’ Drake snarled.

‘What are you doing? Are you crazy?’ Colm shouted.

‘It’s not what it looks like,’ Lauryn said. She seemed sad. Almost ashamed.

‘It looks like you’re trying to take me prisoner
,
’ Colm said. ‘Can I leave?’

She shook her head.

‘Then it’s exactly what it looks like
,
’ he said.

‘We’ll put him with the others
,
’ Drake said. He took a length of blue rope from his pocket.

‘What others?’ Colm asked, but he knew the answer before he’d even finished the question. His mam and dad. ‘You two are nuts.’

‘Your opinion on this matter is entirely redundant
,
’ Drake said. ‘Put your hands out. Like this.’

Drake held his arms out in front of him and pressed his wrists together.

‘What if I say no?’ Colm asked.

‘Then it’ll hurt more when I tie you up.’

How did he know Drake was going to say that?

Colm wasn’t sure what to do. He thought of making a break for it again, but they’d be expecting it this time. The element of surprise was gone. Reluctantly, he put his hands out.

Drake tied the knot tightly, then triple checked it wasn’t going to loosen. Typical professor. Leaving nothing to chance. The rope was rough and scratchy and it tore at Colm’s wrists. Not much hope of getting out of this, he thought.

‘Stand up
,
’ Drake said.

Colm got to his feet. It wasn’t easy with his hands tied up. He shuffled about in the chair until Drake lost his patience, grabbed the rope and hauled him up.

‘Where are you taking me?’ he asked. Great question Colm, he thought.

‘Somewhere safe
,
’ Drake replied giving him a shove in the back.

Colm took a few steps forward. It was weird walking with his hands tied up. It was weird just being tied up. He caught Lauryn’s eye, but she quickly looked away. Definitely feeling guilty, he decided.

As she held the door open twin beams of light swept through the room. Headlights outside. They heard the crunch of tyres on gravel as the car turned in the courtyard.

‘Stay here with the boy. Don’t let him out of your sight,’ said Drake hurrying towards the front door of the hotel.

Lauryn shut the library door and switched off the light. Moonlight streamed through the only window without curtains, the one at the opposite end of the room to the door. The light cast strange shadows on the walls like monsters from a nightmare. At any other time in his life this would have unnerved him, but shadows were the least of his worries now.

‘Lauryn, can I tell you something?’

‘No. Not now
.
’

Colm ignored her. He wanted to say something smart. Something cutting. Something witty like James Bond would say if he was in the same situation.

‘You’re not going to get away with this,’ he said.

Good one Colm, he thought, that was worth the wait.

Drake peered through the door viewer as the car came to a stop in front of the hotel. Two people got out. A man and a woman. Cedric Murphy and Kate Finkle.

·•·

A grey mist shrouded the hotel in a ghostly gloom. Kate shivered. And not just because it was cold. At least the rain has stopped, she thought. She was sitting on the bonnet of the Ford Focus puffing on a cigar when Cedric returned.

‘There’s a car parked round the back of the hotel. A navy BMW. The registration matches the one Mark gave us
,
’ he said with a smile.

‘Great. Can we go now?’ Kate said. ‘This place is giving me the creeps.’

‘It’s a hotel, Kate. How can a hotel give you the creeps?’

‘I dunno, all this mist and trees and stuff. Something’s not right. I can feel it in my waters.’

‘There’s a pleasant thought,’ he said.

‘Believe me, Ced, humans aren’t meant to live in the countryside. Not any more. Give me the city and crowds of people any day. So, can we go?’

‘Not yet. I’m not ringing our client until I’ve made a positive ID. If I send him on a wild goose chase who knows what he might do to me.’

‘You want to meet the man in the photo?’

‘You got it in one
.
’

They crossed the courtyard. Somewhere in the woods an owl hooted. Kate almost leaped into Cedric’s arms.

‘What was that?’ she asked in a tiny voice.

‘Only the most terrifying creature ever known to man,’ Cedric said.

Kate’s eyes opened wide.

‘It’s an owl, Kate. Just an owl. I thought you liked animals.’

‘Owls are birds, not animals. I like cats and goldfish, Ced. Things you can keep indoors. You can’t keep an owl indoors.’

‘You could try
.
’ Cedric turned the brass door knob. Nothing happened. ‘That’s strange
,
’ he said. ‘It’s locked. Why would a hotel be locked up at night?’

He banged on the door three times with the heel of his fist.

‘Maybe the hotel staff are worried that strange creatures will sneak in and savage them. You know, I saw this film once –
The Birds
– where all the birds turned evil and started attacking
…
’

The door opened a little and Peter Drake poked his head out.

‘Can I help you?’ he asked coldly.

Cedric pushed past him into the lobby, much to Drake’s annoyance. ‘No point in chatting out on the steps. It’s freezing out there
,
’ Cedric said.

‘The hotel’s closed
,
’ Drake said. ‘For renovations.’

‘That’s a shame. We were looking for a room for the night.’

Drake looked at his watch. ‘It’s gone midnight.’

‘Well, we were looking for a room for the morning then. We’ve been travelling for hours
.
’

‘As I said – we’re closed. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave
,
’ Drake said.

‘No problem. Could you recommend somewhere else to stay?’

Kate looked around the lobby. Seemed like a nice hotel. If you liked old places. She half heard Cedric ask the man for a phone book to look up numbers for bed and breakfasts. What was he playing at? The tall man was the one they were looking for, wasn’t he? She glanced at the paintings on the wall. Wow, some ugly old geezers up there. Wouldn’t have liked to have hung around with them
. One-way ticket to boredom city and … whoa, who was that guy with the red eyes? Kate was glad she wasn’t around in his time. He looked mad and dangerous. She walked up a few steps to get a closer look at the painting. Yup, definite bad guy.

‘Excuse me. Where do you think you’re going?’

Kate turned around. Drake and Cedric were looking up at her.

‘Yes, I’m talking to you. This is a private dwelling and you’re trespassing. Please leave immediately
,
’ Drake snar-led.

‘Sorry. Just looking at the paintings,’ Kate said. ‘They’re beautiful. They take my breath away
,
’ she lied.

‘You take my breath away, darling,’ Cedric said with a smirk. ‘Why don’t you wait for me in the car while I get the telephone numbers from Mr
…
’

‘Smith,’ said Drake.

‘Smith. Very popular name,’ Cedric replied.

·•·

Colm could hear the voices outside and wondered if he should shout for help. Lauryn seemed to read his mind.

‘Don’t say a word, Colm,’ she warned him.

He took a step towards the door. Lauryn immediately stood in front of it, blocking him.

When he heard the front door slam he ran towards her. She put her hands out to stop him, but he turned on his heel – not easy with his hands tied up – and ran in the opposite direction. He looked like a toddler taking his first steps.

‘You can’t get out that way,’ Lauryn said.

But he wasn’t looking for a way out.

He darted towards the window. She saw what he was going to do.