Leave the Last Page (7 page)

He looked down at his hands and flexed his fingers. He could make them grow at will, which was a neat trick, and something not common with this type of physical form. He had only been the man in the black suit for less than a day but he knew enough to realise that normally that shouldn't happen. Other humans couldn't do it. Of course, there were plenty of things they couldn't do that were in his power, and trying them out was going to be fun.

He remembered he had been a man once before, but it had been many hundreds of years ago. Still, the suit fit – so to speak – and he was adjusting to the body nicely.

He was still troubled though by the fact that it had not been his decision to appear in this way, in this guise. He had been somewhere else, and then he was here, with a mind to get up to all kinds of mischief. But who had put him here?

He looked at himself in the rear view mirror. He noted the red flecks in the eyes with a smirk of appreciation. But who had given him that face?

He didn't like not being in full control. Yes, he would deal with the grandmother and her stupid stick. Yes, he would deal with the grandson and his newfound legs. But if he wanted to be the ruin of someone else then he would be. There were the parents to consider, after all. Then his mind turned to the man he had helped up in the park after his interaction with an intoxicating fungi. Here was someone else that was getting involved in this scenario, and he knew that it wouldn't be too long before the detective (was that right? he believed so) turned up here. The man in black did not like meddlers, particularly those that stood for law rather than chaos.

He grinned. Destroying him would be his own little project, an added little bonus. He didn't care if that wasn't what he was here to do; if he wanted it, then it would happen.

Nobody,
nobody
pulled his strings.

AS THEY PULLED UP AT THE WAREHOUSE ANOTHER CAR DROVE AWAY. Ben thought he recognised the driver in the black sports car; he was pretty sure it was the gentleman from the park that had helped him to his feet.

The gentlemen that seemed to disappear behind the pavilion.

His attention turned back to the warehouse. It was probably the right one, even though there were a few to choose from. There were broken windows, which he supposed wasn't unusual, but flickering lights could be seen inside, suggesting that it was occupied or at least had been recently.

Oh, and then there was the fact that a peculiar pink powder was rising off the entire building, like there was an invisible vacuum cleaner hovering just above it, sucking it up into oblivion.

‘I hope we're not too late,' said Alex, turning off the ignition.

‘If so, we're not too far behind judging from that strange dust. That must have something to do with the world this story creates. I reckon this is the closest we've ever been,' said Ben. ‘Come on.'

The two of them got out. Charlotte had opted to stay home and man the phone, just in case either Tom or Patty called.

They got inside, just in time to see the outline of a man against one of the walls, made in what appear to be ash, fade from sight. Then all the power went, and the cables and damaged lights ceased to be live. The calm that descended on the scene was palpable.

‘I think we've just witnessed the story moving on,' said Ben. There might have been that dust before, in the park maybe, but as they didn't know what to look for then it could have been easily missed. However, a full building's worth…it was a new clue.

‘I think there's the next bit,' said Alex. He jogged across the room to some copper piping and pulled out some pages. He came back and they read it together: a cave, a beach, a hammer monster, a skeleton, and victory by electricity.

Ben glanced down at the snaking cable across parts of the floor. It was harmless now, but closer inspection revealed many exposed wires that would have been very dangerous when the power was on. ‘I think they've already had that adventure.'

Alex stood in front of him, holding a hammer he'd found. ‘Let's hope they won.'

They looked around and found nothing else, other than the fading graffiti that proclaimed that life was a beach. Once they got back outside they consulted the story again.

‘There's nothing at the end of this that gives us a clue as to where they might be heading next,' said Alex, the dismay evident in his tone.

‘It looks as if they're heading for where the villain is based. Any thoughts on where we might find an evil lair?'

‘I've known some evil
liars
in my time, but that's about it.' Alex tucked the sheets of paper inside his jacket.

Ben stumbled across a thought. ‘Perhaps we should be looking to find
him
, rather than them.' He recalled the man in the car, the man from the park, the man who had disappeared like everything else to do with this story. ‘I think I know who he might be. I think I've met him.'

‘
Met
him?'

‘I also think he was just here. He pulled away in a car the moment we got here.'

‘And you've only just realised this now? I thought you were a detective.'

Ben locked eyes with Alex. ‘I'm sorry, but this is a unique kind of situation. I've not a lot of experience of pursuing
imaginary
people. At least I know what he looks like.'

Ben's phone buzzed in his pocket, helping to break the tension between the two men. He turned his back on Alex and took the call. It was his colleague, Edwards. Ben had asked him to keep him up to date with anything he heard connected with the case.

‘Enjoying your holiday?'

‘Ha ha. Although I have just been to a beach. Long story. What have you got?'

‘Not much. No one's following anything up until there's a sighting or more vandalism. I have seen the report from the old folks' home though. When they did an inventory of the old dear's room they discovered that a necklace was missing. Staff at the home reckoned that it had some precious stones in it, could be of some value. Maybe that's your motive. Perhaps they stole it from Granny?'

‘Perhaps.' He remembered the first page of the story. ‘I'm sure it's connected. I'm with the father so I'll run it past him. Thanks, buddy.'

He hung up and turned to discuss it with Alex. However, he was faced with the man's back. Alex was pointing into the distance, above the skyline of the nearby buildings. ‘Look there,' he said. ‘Could that be the same as what we've just seen?'

Ben's gaze followed his finger. At first he wasn't quite sure what he was looking for, but then once he tilted his head so that the colour of the background changed he saw it in front of a brick building.

A column of pink dust, rising up and then disappearing. ‘The story?' he suggested.

‘Tom and my mother,' said Alex.

It was close enough to get there on foot. They set off in a sprint.

They ran around the circumference of a large square building before finding an alleyway that would take them nearer to where they'd seen the dust. They ran down it before being confronted with a flight of stone steps. Alex led the way and flew up them without bothering with the hand rail. They came out onto a street; a quick calculation based on where they'd come from suggested left, and then just around the corner should be…

The pink dust was gone, but stood on the pavement twenty yards away were Patty and Tom. They were reading through Tom's notebook and hadn't noticed Ben and Alex burst onto the street.

Alex called out, but they didn't hear. Ben noticed Alex smile and shake his head. The relief lit his face. They jogged over to the errant couple. Ben was amused by Patty's tartan and tie-dye style.
I'm sure she'll tell quite a tale,
he thought.

Only, when they got nearer, they still weren't spotted. Tom and his grandmother continued to study the next set of story pages.

‘Tom!' shouted Alex. There was no reply.

They were now stood on the same pavement. It allowed them to see that although Tom and Patty were there, they were not fully realised. Not wholly complete. Ben stood on the opposite side to Alex, and in a slight crouch he was able to make out Alex's outline through the torsos of the other two huddled together, sharing a notebook.

Alex went to put his hand on his son's shoulder, but it went straight through. They were like holograms. Alex dropped his hands to his knees, hanging his head.

A chap walking his dog came by, and gave Ben and Alex a quizzical look, but didn't seem to notice Patty and Tom. However, the terrier was whimpering slightly, paused near Tom's feet and sniffed uncertainly. ‘Come on, boy,' said the man, giving a gentle tug on the lead. It was clear he didn't see the two in the middle and was a bit confused by his dog's need to check out a blank space. With a bit of a yank, man and dog got going again.

Ben helped Alex upright. ‘I think this is a good sign,' he said.

‘How? How can this be good? They're here, but they're
not
here.' There were tears in the man's eyes. Patty and Tom were fading in front of them.

‘I think it means they're in the story, further on from here. This is like a shadow of what happened, or a print, made by the dust. Only we can see it.'

‘Yesterday you said there were witnesses who saw them cross the park. Other people saw wolves. Why are we the only ones to see this bit? It doesn't make sense!'

Ben shrugged. ‘It's been borne from the imagination of an eleven-year-old boy. I don't think it has to make true sense. My theory, for what it's worth, is that we can see what others can't because we're becoming part of the story. The closer we get, the more chance we've got of breaking through the pages.'

The remaining outline of Tom closed the cover of his book and began to walk away with his grandmother. Alex groaned. His cheeks were streaked with tears.

‘It's alright,' said Ben. ‘We'll catch up to them.'

‘It's not that,' he said through the sniffles. ‘Look at him. He's
walking
.'

They had a last look before the pair faded completely.

Alex's phone rang in his pocket. ‘It's Charlotte,' he said, wiping his face. He turned his back on Ben to take it.

Ben tried to take stock of what was going on. Yesterday they were further away, and only saw the aftermath of what was happening in the story. However, the wayward couple had been sighted by strangers, so this holographic
echo
of the two of them that was only meant for certain eyes was a new development. He thought he was right with his theory though – they were reading the story, they were literally
following
the story, so it meant more from the story was closing in on them, as they closed in on it. He thought back to the near miss with the wolves. It could get more real the deeper they went.

In fact, if they were to successfully reach Patty and Tom, they needed to be swallowed up by it at some point. Either that or just wait helplessly and see if the two of them got through to the end safely. He knew that the Hollidays wouldn't be up for that option. He just hoped that Tom had written a happy ending.

The issue now though, was where to go next. They could walk in the direction that the shades of Patty and Tom had gone and hope for more pink dust…

Alex came off the phone. He looked visibly redder.

‘What's up?' asked Ben.

‘There's been a man round at the house. He said he'd be back shortly when I'm home. Apparently I'm expecting him.'

‘I take it from the look on your face that you're not expecting anyone?'

He shook his head. ‘He said he was from a debt management company. He knew all about my struggling business and wilting finances. God knows how. He told Charlotte stuff that I hadn't even got round to telling her yet.'

‘Ah. That's awkward.'

‘Yeah, but that's not it. He's left her a business card. You'll never guess the company name.
Greensphere.
'

Ben started. ‘Wait, but that's-'

‘-I know. But here's the important bit. His name is Eric Kildare.'

‘Kild
are?
What did she say he looked like? Tall, black hair, long face?'

‘That sounds about right. Is that your man?' Alex head sunk a little when Ben confirmed that he thought it was. He must have driven there straight from the warehouse.

It looked like they had their next destination already picked out for them. Finding the man in the black suit had seemed the right next step; they just hadn't counted on it being so close to home. Literally.

Ben knew that Patty and Tom had read the next bit of story – he'd seen an echo of them doing it. He wondered now whether or not he and Alex had missed an opportunity to lean over and see some of those pages themselves. He'd rather have read some of what was coming next instead of going in blind.

In the end that didn't matter; Alex was already heading back to the car, eager to get back to Charlotte. They were definitely going to have to tackle the next step without knowledge of the story.

And this time, they were more than likely going to find themselves caught up right in the thick of it.