New Title 1 (23 page)

“But you already seem to know some of it. I wonder. Can I trust you to keep our little secret?”

“You can trust us, honest,”
Izzy
said, still looking at the floor.

“I can, can I. And what do you think, Mr Drake? Can we trust them?”

Drake sneered, his harelip giving him a macabre countenance.

“Well there we have it. For the time being, I think we will have to keep you here.”

“But you said we could go home.”
Izzy
looked up. Fresh tears welled in her eyes.

“Yes you can, eventually. When we have finished our work, it won’t matter what you know or what you’ve seen.”

“But I want to go home now. We won’t tell anyone anything. I promise.”
Izzy
started to cry.

“You can’t keep us here,” Ratty said, his voice trembling.

“And why’s that Peter?”

“Because you’re not allowed to.”

“I see. Did you hear that Mr Drake. I’m not allowed to keep them here. Now let me see, where’s that piece of paper?” He rummaged over his desk. “Here it is. Ah yes.” He briefly held the piece of paper in front of Ratty. “Would you like me to read it to you? Of course you would.” He coughed for dramatic effect. “Due to the recent volatile behaviour of Mr
Rathbone
, it has been deemed necessary to place his son, Peter
Rathbone
in the custody of Storm Enterprises for his own safety ... Would you like me to read on?”

“You can’t do that,” Ratty protested. “My mum wouldn’t send me away.”

Moon skimmed his finger down the page. “Ah, here we are. Mary
Rathbone
. That’s her signature I believe. She indicates that in the circumstances, it is in your best interests to be placed into care while she ministers to her husband.”

“No, I don’t believe you.”

“It’s all there in black and white. Signed sealed and delivered. So I can keep you here as long as I want.” Moon grinned.

“What about me?”
Izzy
said. “That doesn’t stop me going home.”

“Where’s that other piece of paper. Ah, here it is. Isabelle Adams social report. Unsociable. Moody. Depressed. Liable to excessive mood swings. Classic case of drug dependency.”

“You what? That’s not me,”
Izzy
protested.

“Well your parents would beg to differ, especially after the drugs they found in your bedroom.”

“Drugs, what drugs?”

“Your parents agreed to a period of rehabilitation, courtesy of Storm Enterprises.”

“You’re lying. They wouldn’t believe that.”

“But they do. Teenage angst can easily be modified into drug dependency in the eyes of those who don’t know the truth.”

“But why? Why keep us here?” Ratty asked.

“Because after you tell people what you’ve seen, people will start asking questions, and we can’t have that, not now.”

“But we won’t tell anyone,”
Izzy
sniffled.

“I know, because you won’t have the chance. Take them away, Drake.”

“You can’t do this,” Ratty shouted.

“Can and have, Peter.”

“Well, what about when you do let us go? What will stop us telling people then?”

“Well, then it’ll be too late. The experiment will have finished and we’ll be gone. People won’t even know we’ve been here.”

“Experiment? What experiment?”

Moon tapped his nose and shook his head.

“People already know something’s going on. Fog doesn’t hang around for nearly two years.”

“People will believe whatever they’re told. They prefer it that way. Let someone else worry about it.
Paradise
is too far off the beaten track for people to bother about. It’s a village selected for its high propensity of older residents, most of which have no relatives outside of the village. It’s a unique place in that the people who live there, stay there. Generations of the same family live side by side, never falling far from the nest. Any relatives outside the village, like your father, are, shall we say, placated. We didn’t stick a pin in a map.
Paradise
is ideal for our experiment. Secluded and close-knit with little possibility of outside interference.”

Experiment! The word conjured images Ratty would rather not see.

“Then why has someone been brought in to live in my granddad’s house from outside the area?”

“Ah, Miss Black. Now that’s another matter entirely ...”

CHAPTER 16

Chase woke with a start. She opened her eyes and looked around to find she was lying in a double bed in unfamiliar surroundings. She frowned, confused. Where was she? And how did she get here?

She threw back the duvet to find she was wearing checked pyjamas, which were at least two sizes too big for her. She rolled the pyjama sleeves up and slipped out of bed. The curtains were drawn, but enough daylight filtered through to allow her to see clearly. At the foot of the bed stood a wardrobe and an ottoman on which her clothes had been neatly folded. She undressed quickly, momentarily inspecting the small swell of her stomach before dressing in her own clothes.

 
The recollection of the vicar suddenly flashed through her head like a bullet and she keeled over, clutching her abdomen as though she had been shot. She thought she was going to be sick. When the pain and nausea subsided, she walked to the door and quietly opened it to look out on a dark landing with two doors leading off it and a staircase leading down.

The sound of a toilet being flushed made her start and a door opened. Adam stepped out, smiling as he rolled the sleeves of his black top down.

“Back with us I see. How are you feeling?”

“The vicar, did you find the body?”

Adam shook his head. “Come on, let’s go downstairs.”

“Did you find the vicar?”

“Yes. The vicar’s fine.”

“But I saw him ...”

“Chase, you’re emotional at the moment. A lot has happened to you in the last week. You’ve moved house and found out you’re pregnant. These two events both rate highly on the stress scale. Having them both together, it’s no wonder you ...”

“But I saw him.” She didn’t understand.

“The mind is capable of playing cruel tricks.”

“But he was dead.” Hadn’t she seen him? She thought about the diary and the madness within its pages.

“Come on, let’s go downstairs. You need a drink.”

Chase meekly followed him, unable to believe what she was hearing. Could she really have imagined it? Was her mind conspiring against her? Was that image of the vicar in her head just a phantom, a moment of madness?

They walked through a small hall and into a pleasant lounge. Chase collapsed onto the settee. Her head was spinning.

“Did the pyjama’s fit okay?”

Chase’s cheeks reddened. “Fine.”

“Don’t worry, I’m a doctor remember. I’ve seen it all before.”

Not mine you haven’t, she thought, inspecting the ornaments on the mantelpiece to avoid looking at him.

“Would you like a drink?”

Chase nodded and watched him leave the room. Looking around, she admired the paintings on the wall. They seemed to be abstract images of
Paradise
, but there was something dark about them, as though painted by someone whose palette consisted of only black and grey.

A few moments later Adam returned holding two cups of tea. “I hope you’re not going to break this one,” he said, hesitating before handing her the cup.

Chase shook her head. She was too thirsty to refuse anything at the moment. She sipped at the drink, absently looking out of the window. Adam’s house was lower down the hill and his garden was overgrown with weeds. She could just see the church spire above the nettles. Had she really seen the vicar or not? Was he dead? When she dropped her gaze, she noticed Adam staring at her.

“How are you feeling now?”

“Better. Thank you.”

Adam smiled. “Tea, best drink of the day. I don’t function without one.”

“Me neither.” Although she was still confused and distressed, Chase smiled back.

“I’ll bet you’re hungry aren’t you?”

Chase nodded. When had she last eaten?

“Well, we could always go to the pub and get a bite to eat.”

Chase remembered the last meal she’d had in the pub and she shook her head.

“Well I’m no Jamie Oliver, but I can rustle up a mean
spag
bol
.”

She couldn’t believe she was even thinking about food with everything that had happened. “Perhaps I should just go,” she said.

“Nonsense, you sit there and relax and I’ll go and make it. Put the television on if you want.”

Chase looked at the television in the corner of the room. She hadn’t noticed it before. How long was it since she had last seen one? It seemed like forever. Turning it on, she settled back on the settee as
Hollyoaks
started.

“The pictures a bit grainy I’m afraid,” Adam shouted. “I think it’s atmospheric, caused by the fog.”

Chase wasn’t bothered. It was heaven to see people she knew, even though they did have ghost images following them across the screen. She sipped at her tea and settled back.
 

When Adam called her through to the kitchen, she was loath to leave the television behind but the smell of food caused her stomach to grumble and she followed the Pied Piper aroma.

Two steaming plates of spaghetti were set on the table, along with two glasses of wine. “Just the one won’t hurt after what you’ve been through,” Adam said, pulling out a chair so she could sit.

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you. It’s not often I get to entertain.” He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled before sitting down on the other side of the table.

As she ate, Chase absently noticed the empty cans of chopped tomato on the draining board. Unlike the white cans sold in the village shop, they were the regular brand named variety found in most supermarkets.

“Don’t you shop at the local store?”

Adam looked at her and screwed his nose up. “No, I
erm
... no.” He looked embarrassed.

“Don’t blame you. They aren’t exactly top cuisine.”

Adam laughed.

When she finished the meal, Chase said, “You weren’t lying.” She wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and licked her lips.

 
“Wasn’t I?” He frowned.

“You really do rustle up a good spaghetti Bolognese.”

The frown relaxed into a smile. “Why thank you.”

“No, it should be me thanking you. You’re the only person I feel at all comfortable with. You’re the only one that’s made me feel welcome.”