The Eighth Witch (31 page)

“But chosen for what?” Holly said, unable to keep the frustration from her voice.

“I’ve no idea, but she has some kind of plan and we’re integral to it.”

“Why us?”

“Me, because I was seduced by her. When I met her I had no idea of what she was.” She turned away from the window. “I fell in love with her, shared that love with her, shared my bed and my body with her. When she asked me to come away with her it seemed like the answer to a prayer, an escape if you like. All I escaped to was another prison. Ironic really, and I suppose no more than I deserved. I should never have left my mother. She can’t really cope without me. I knew that and I still ran away with Diana. I guess this is my punishment. How did you meet her?”

“I didn’t. I’d never set eyes on her before until last night.”

“No,” Laura said. “That’s not true. You may have thought you’d never met her, but you had. Maybe not in that body though. She has many guises. She can change her appearance in an instant. As I said, she’s a witch. You’ve probably met her but never realized it. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if Diana is someone you know very well. You just don’t recognize her in this form.”

Holly’s mind went back to the previous evening. Sarah Bennett, or a woman she thought was Sarah Bennett, picking her up in the car, and the frightening transformation that followed. Could Sarah, someone she considered to be one of her best friends, really be the evil Diana? She refused to believe it.

“This is insane,” she said. “It’s the twenty-first century for fuck’s sake, not the Middle Ages! Witchcraft doesn’t exist.”

Laura reached out and stroked Holly’s hair. “Poor you. You just don’t get it, do you? Diana is a witch, whether you accept it or not. And I’ll let you in on another secret you’re going to find hard to accept. The dog, our guardian, isn’t really a dog.”

“What is it then?”

“Just pray you never have occasion to find out,” Laura said.

Holly sucked at her lip pensively. She felt like she’d stepped into a nightmare. “We can’t just sit here and wait for her to kill us.”

“So would you be willing to try?”

“Try what?”

“To escape. To get away from here. She showed you what would happen if you tried to escape. Would you be willing to face that again?”

Holly’s mind conjured up an image of the dog’s jaws, dripping saliva, closing over her head. She shuddered. She shook her head. “I can’t,” she said hopelessly.

“Well I suppose we could wait here to be rescued, but the main problem with that, as I see it, is that nobody knows where we are.”

“You said you’d tried to escape. Obviously you failed. Why should it be any different now?”

“I tried, yes, but that was just me, on my own. What would our guardian do if we both made a break for it? What if we ran in opposite directions?”

Holly gazed at her bleakly. “You’re mad. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“I disagree,” Laura said. “We do have a chance. We must do, mustn’t we? A slim one, I grant you, but if we don’t try we have no chance at all. If we can make it to the trees there’ll be plenty of cover.”

Holly considered it for a moment, but she was far from certain it would work, and the thought of encountering the dog, or whatever it was, this time in reality, made her quake.
 

“I have friends out there who are probably looking for me, even as we speak. They know about witchcraft and that kind of stuff. If I make it I’ll bring them back here. We’ll stop Diana and all her nonsense once and for all.”

“But what if you don’t? What if it’s me who escapes?”

“Do you know Annie Ryder?”

“Yes. I was having dinner with her a few nights ago, before all this kicked off.”

“Head for her place. I know she’s dealt with some weird stuff in her past, when she was in the States. She must still know people who can help.”

“She has someone staying with her now. He works for the government, some weird department or other. They investigate paranormal phenomena.”

“Even better,” Laura said enthusiastically. “What’s his name?”

“Robert Carter.”

“I’ve never heard the name.”

“I’m sure he’ll help us.”

“So you’re coming around to the idea?”

Holly was silent for a moment. Staring into space while her fingers plucked at the threads of the candlewick bedspread. “I’m scared,” she said.

“That makes two of us. But I know one thing for certain. If we stay here we’re both going to die. And I’m sure as hell not ready for that.”

“When do you want to try?” Holly said.

“Now,” Laura said. “We’ll do it now, before we have a chance to change our minds. Well, are you up for it?”

Holly Ireland took a deep breath. Laura was absolutely right. Their lives were on the line. This might be a wild and reckless plan, and its chance of success was slim to say the least. But there wasn’t really an alternative. “Okay,” she said softly.

Chapter Thirty-Three

“Do you think it’s possible that Diana is trying to bring the Yardley sisters back from the dead?” Harry Bailey said.

Carter and Jane Talbot exchanged looks.
 

“I suppose it’s a possibility,” Jane said.

“It would explain a lot,” Carter said. “What makes you think that?”

“Well it’s partly based on the research Jane’s done, each of these women being killed on the exact day a Yardley sister perished. A life for a life is classic necromancy, and that ties in with something Peter Wright told me. Elinor Yardley ran a coven and, as Wright said, they engaged in rituals from plain devil worship to necromancy. One of the rituals apparently was to raise Satan himself. Needless to say it was a disaster. They appear to have raised a demon of some kind—whether it was Satan himself is unclear—the result was that Elinor Yardley was raped and impregnated by the demon. Once pregnant Elinor rejected Satanism and embraced the church before Diana was born, but there was the coven itself. They may have had some influence on Diana as she was growing up. When Elinor was killed by Barker’s men, Diana was aided in her escape from the country, and it’s possible it was members of her mother’s coven who helped her.”

“That’s pure speculation,” Carter said.

Bailey ignored him and continued. “Wright said that Diana was something of an outcast as a child, and that it was reported that she had strange powers. What if Diana’s powers came not from Elinor, but from her father?”
 

Carter ran a hand over his unshaven chin, memories of the demon in the green dress still vivid in his mind. “I suppose it makes some kind of sense,” he said.

“Well, I’m glad it does to you,” Lacey said. “I’m lost, and I’m not even sure what necromancy means. I’ve heard the word before but never really know what it is.”

“Necromancy is the black art of raising the dead,” Jane said. “In some form or other it’s common to almost every culture in the world.”

“Okay,” Carter said to Bailey. “Let’s say you’re right. It does give us another question. If the five women Diana killed have been some kind of sacrifice and Diana has been successful in bringing five of the Yardley sisters back to life, then where the hell are they?”

“I think there’s another, more pressing question,” Lacey said. “How does Diana know so much?”

“What do you mean?” Jane said.

Lacey took a mouthful of coffee and swallowed. “She always seems to be one step ahead of the game. She knew Norton was digging deep into the Yardley mythology and we can assume, from what Rob glimpsed of his notes, he was making the same connections we’ve just made. She knew Ollie Tucker would be trying to fix Norton’s computer, giving us access to his files, and she killed him. She knew about Department 18’s involvement, hence the attack on Martin Impey, and she was aware Norton had regained consciousness and killed him before he could tell us what he knew. So how does she do it?”

“And why hasn’t she done anything to stop our investigation?” Bailey said.

Annie suddenly slammed her hand down on the table. “For Christ’s sake! Theories and questions! Is that the best you can do? I think it’s safe to assume that the evil bitch is holding both Holly and Laura, and the odds are she’s going to kill them unless we do something to stop her. And all we seem to be doing is sitting around, drinking coffee and speculating. Is this how Department 18 conducts all its investigations?”

“Hardly,” Jane said, taken aback by Annie’s outburst. “But we have to do the groundwork or else we’ll all be running around like headless chickens.”

“Jane’s right, Annie,” Carter said. “At the moment we’re still in the dark. We don’t know where to find Diana, and we still don’t know exactly what she’s capable of. We know she kills without compunction, and it seems she’ll kill anyone who threatens to stand in her way. Yes, we’re speculating about her, but it’s the only thing we have.”

“Rubbish,” Annie said, still distraught. “We could be out there hunting her down.”

“And where would you start looking, Annie?” Bailey said. “We don’t even know for sure what she looks like.”

Annie Ryder glared at him but said nothing, staring sullenly down. The hand with which she’d slapped the table was stinging like hell.

Jane attempted to defuse the situation. “We could try the farm where Rachel and Rebecca Yardley were killed,” she said.

“Does it still exist?” Carter said.

“It’s local. Annie might know.” She flicked open the book and riffled through the pages. “Pett’s farm. Annie? On the Burnley Road?”

Annie dragged her gaze away from her throbbing hand. “I know it. It’s been empty for a few years, since the farmer died. He had no children so there was nobody to leave it to. The last time I drove past it looked pretty derelict.”

“Is it worth a look though?” Carter said.

“We have to start somewhere,” Annie said.

“Do you have a recent photograph of Laura Sallis?” Harry Bailey asked. “It might be good if we have some idea who we’re looking for.”

Annie went to a shelf in the corner and plucked a six-by-four color print out from behind a vase. She handed it to Bailey who studied it for a moment before passing it on to Lacey and Jane.

“It was taken last summer,” Annie said. “We drove up to Whitby for the day. It was beautiful. The sun didn’t stop shining and…”

The ring of Lacey’s mobile interrupted her. Lacey took it from his pocket and checked the caller ID. He got to his feet and walked to the bottom of the stairs. “Matt,” he said into the phone. “How did it go?” He climbed the stairs and went into the lounge, closing the door behind him to take the call in private.

“Annie and I will check out the farm,” Carter said. “What about you two?”

Harry Bailey considered the question for a moment. “Well, if Jane agrees I think we should try to find answers to some of the other questions.”

“I’ve no objections,” Jane said. “What about Lacey?”

“What about me?” Lacey said, descending the stairs.

“Rob and Annie are going to check out Pett’s farm, where Rachel and Rebecca were killed. Jane and I are going to see how many more links we can find.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Lacey said. “Do you mind if I pitch in with you two?”

“Feel free,” Harry Bailey said. Jane nodded in agreement.

“Did your sergeant get suspended as well?” Carter said.

“Matt escaped with a rap across the knuckles, but I think our days as a team are numbered. He’s been temporarily assigned to another partner, another DI.” He sighed. “We’ll see.”

The doorbell rang. Annie went to answer it.

“What’s this?” Penny Chapman said as she trotted down the stairs. “A council of war?”
 

Annie followed closely behind. “I’ll get rid of her,” she mouthed to Carter.

“Penny,” he said, getting to his feet and accepting her air kiss. “Good to see you again. These are some of my friends from London. Harry Bailey, Jane Talbot. Detective Inspector Lacey.”

“My word, a detective inspector,” Penny Chapman said. “Are the police taking this seriously at last, Annie?”

Annie nodded, giving her friend a patient smile. “What can I do for you, Penny?” she said.

Penny Chapman pulled up a chair and sat at the table, reaching out to feel if the coffee pot was still warm and looking up at Annie hopefully.

“I’ll get you a mug,” Annie said.

“Just a quick one,” Penny said. “I can’t stop. I’m meeting Adam in town. He has an appointment with the dentist. Root canal, so I’m expecting him to be fairly useless for the rest of the day.”

“So you’re just killing time?” Annie said.
 

“Yes,” Penny said. “And no. I heard something you, and especially you, Rob, might find interesting.”

Annie fetched a mug and poured the coffee.

“Thanks,” Penny said. “Anyway, I was in town earlier and dropped in at Blake’s, the hardware store. I got chatting to old Mr. Blake. You know him, Annie, but for the benefit of the rest of you, Mr. Blake is older than Methuselah and probably the biggest gossip in town. I happened to mention—stupid of me—that it seemed we had a witch in the area. ‘Another one?’ he said. I asked him what he meant and he told me a rather lurid tale. It seems that there’s a house up on the Tops, quite an isolated place, nothing around it but trees and grass. Well, old Mr. Blake still takes the van out to make the deliveries. Yesterday morning he was up on the Tops and he had to deliver paraffin to that very house. The woman who owns it, Florence Tibbs, is—how shall I put it?—eccentric, to say the least. Mr. Blake has had his suspicions about her for some time now, but then he’s a very superstitious man, old school, wrapped up in the past and convinced that Ravensbridge is a hotbed of witchcraft and the black arts. He drove up to the house, got out of the car and was confronted by what he said was the biggest dog he’d ever seen. According to him, it was a monstrous brute, with massive jaws and vicious-looking teeth. He tried to get back into the van but the dog had positioned itself between him and the driver’s door. The dog sank to its haunches and looked as if it was going to leap on him. He really thought he was done for.” Penny paused and took a sip of her coffee.