The Eighth Witch (40 page)

“But what does she want, Rob? Why is she doing all this?”

“Because she can, Annie. I suspect that vengeance was a motivating force for her at first. What Jacob Barker did to her family was barbaric, and I can understand her wanting to avenge them, but I think her focus was skewed along the way.”

“Once she realized what she could do with her power,” Annie said.

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Carter said. “Lord Acton wrote that in a letter to Bishop Creighton in 1887. He wasn’t wrong. Power is an intoxicating drug. Many famous and infamous figures in history have been ruined by it. Why should Diana be any different? I think she knows now that she can almost have anything she wants.”

“Almost?”

“She needs the other two witches, Rachel and Rebecca, to complete the cycle. Once she’s absorbed their powers she’ll be unstoppable.”

“So how do we stop her before that happens?”

“We track her down and we kill her,” Carter said.

“As simple as that?”

Carter shook his head. “I didn’t say it was the simple option. It’s our only option. We have to succeed. Rachel and Rebecca Yardley know it. That’s why they keep contacting me.”

“Keep contacting you?”

“They appeared again tonight, in the bedroom. I think they’ll keep appearing until we’ve beaten Diana.”

“And if we don’t?”

“Then they’ll be lost forever. And I’m not going to let that happen.”

“Is this a private party or can anyone join in?” Jane said as she walked down to the kitchen.

“Insomnia seems to be the norm tonight,” Carter said.

Jane was clutching a bottle of sparkling water. After unscrewing the top, she took a swig and sat down at the table.

“Did you hear from Harry after I turned in last night?”

“I tried calling him to tell him what we’d discovered about Penny and to ask if they’d had any luck finding Martin, but he wasn’t picking up. The same with Crozier—no reply there either.”

“I got through to the girls,” Jane said. “They were in bed, but David took the phone upstairs so I could say goodnight to them.”

“I envy you, Jane,” Annie said. “I would have loved to have had children.”

“It’s never too late,” Jane said.

“Oh, I think for me it is. That boat sailed a long time ago and nobody was on it.”

“How was David?” Carter lit a cigarette as he asked it, avoiding eye contact with Jane.

“Remote,” Jane said. “He’s still furious with me for going away again.”

“So he still cares?” Annie said.

“Only about the disruption to his plans. He forgets that, as the girls’ father, he has responsibilities too. Why couldn’t you two sleep?” she said, changing the subject abruptly. She had no desire to discuss the state of her marriage, especially with Robert Carter.

“Too much going on in my head,” Annie said.

Carter drew on his cigarette. “The same. What about you?”
 

“I was trying to think of ways to lure Diana out into the open, to get her to show herself,” Jane said. “So far she’s setting the timetable for all this. All we seem to be doing is reacting to whatever she does. We’re always on the back foot, playing catch up. If we’re going to defeat her I think we need to take the initiative away from her, to take control of the game.”

“I agree totally,” Carter said. “Have you had any ideas how we actually do that? Because if you do, I’d love to hear them.”

Jane took another swig of water. “As far as we know Diana isn’t aware that we have uncovered her masquerade as Penny Chapman. I wondered if we could use that in some way. Perhaps feed her some information that she will have to respond to. Draw her out that way.”

Carter frowned and stubbed out his cigarette in the glass ashtray. “It’s a good plan, but it would involve Annie getting in touch with her to pass on that information.” He turned to Annie. “Can you bring yourself to do that?”

“Yes. I think I can,” Annie said. “But really it’s more a question of whether I can actually get in touch with her again. Remember she wasn’t taking my calls earlier yesterday.”

“You could text her,” Jane said. “I always read my messages, even if I don’t always answer my phone.”

“I’m the same,” Annie said. “Good idea. I’ll get my phone.”

“Text her later,” Carter said. “She’ll think it odd getting a text in the middle of the night.”

“Any suggestions what I should write to her?” Annie asked.

Both Jane and Carter thought for a moment.

“Something simple,” Carter said.

“Something she won’t be able to ignore,” Jane said. “How about, ‘We know how to stop her’?”

“And arrange to meet her somewhere local. Somewhere that you know well,” Carter said.

“There’s Leo’s. It’s a coffee house on the high street. We often meet there for lunch.”

“Perfect,” Jane said.
 

Carter checked his watch. “I think we should all go back to bed and try to grab what sleep we can.”

“Sleep?” Annie said. “I assume you’re joking.”

“Well, at least we should rest up. We don’t know what today’s going to bring, but I think we’re going to need our wits about us.”

“You two go on up. I think I need a drink. Something stronger than a tea. Any takers?”

Both Jane and Carter shook their heads and left Annie to raid her drinks cupboard.
 

Chapter Forty-Three

Harry Bailey’s face was aching badly as he passed the sign for Ravensbridge. He pulled into a lay-by and took two more painkillers, swallowing them dry. Before going to bed the previous evening, he’d tried to phone Carter to tell him that Martin Impey was safe but the call hadn’t connected. There wasn’t even a diversion to a messaging service. The phone simply went dead.

It bothered him.
 

He’d tried again and again throughout the night, and in the morning asked Simon Crozier to try but with the same result.

“Don’t forget, they’re in a valley. Topography can play merry hell with mobile phone signals,” Crozier said.

Bailey frowned. “You could be right,” he said. “But I still think I should get back to Yorkshire as quickly as possible.”

Now he was here all he wanted to do was to crawl into a bed and crash out for a week. The combination of lack of sleep and drugs were conspiring to make him woolly-headed and slightly nauseous. “Pull it together, Bailey,” he told himself. “You’re no bloody good to anyone like this.”
 

He switched off the engine and leaned back on the headrest, closing his eyes. “Just five minutes,” he said.

He woke and checked the clock on the dashboard. He’d been asleep for a little over an hour. Swearing savagely, he stepped out of the car, rotated his neck through 360 degrees and pressed his fingers into the small of his back, trying to iron out the kinks. His head still ached but now at least it was manageable. He got back in the car and started the engine. Moments later he was back on the road and heading towards Annie Ryder’s house.

“You’ve just missed them, I’m afraid.”

“Annie’s friend, Penny, isn’t it?”

Penny Chapman was letting herself out of the front door. She closed it firmly behind her.

“Have you any idea where they were going?”

“Well, it was all very exciting,” Penny said. “They had a fresh lead. They’ve headed off to Pett’s farm again. They left here about five minutes ago. You can catch them if you hurry.”

Bailey shook his head. “I don’t know where it is.”

“That’s a shame. It looks like you’re just going to have to wait for them. I’d invite you back, you mind, but I have to go into town. I’m meeting someone for coffee shortly.”

“I have a key,” Bailey said. “I’ll just let myself in and wait for them to come back.”

“That’s a good idea,” she said. “It seems such a pity though, to come all this way and then miss the conclusion.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, like I said, it was all very exciting. Robert Carter thinks he’s found a way to stop Diana. He’s tracked her down to Pett’s farm and now they’ve gone there for the…the final showdown, was how he put it.”

Indecision played across Harry Bailey’s face. “They’re going to need my help if they’re going to face Diana,” he said. “Do you know where Pett’s farm is? Could you give me directions, perhaps draw me a map?” He searched through his pockets, hoping to find a pen and some paper.

Penny Chapman smiled. “I can do better than that. You drive, I’ll direct.”

Bailey shook his head. “I can’t let you come with me. It wouldn’t be safe.”

“Then let me out before we get there. I can call Adam to pick me up. He won’t mind. Actually he’s quite used to being my unpaid taxi service.”

“If you’re sure. I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”

Penny Chapman laid a hand on his arm. “It’s no trouble, I assure you. And if it helps rid the world of Diana and saves Laura and Holly’s lives, at least I’ll feel that I’ve helped, in a very small way of course.”

Bailey considered his options. Finally he said, “What about the friend you’re having coffee with?”

“She’s an old friend and knows what I’m like. She won’t mind if I’m a bit late.”
 

“Okay,” Harry Bailey said. “Get in. And thank you.”

Annie sat alone at the table in the window of Leo’s coffee house and tried to control her nerves. She knew it was going to be difficult meeting Penny, or Diana, but hadn’t realized just how nervous she would be. Robert Carter and Jane Talbot were nearby. She couldn’t see them, but they’d insisted that she sit by the window, so she assumed they could see her.

Penny was late.

Her text earlier was simple and to the point.

Hi hun. Rob’s found a way to stop Diana. Very exciting. Meet me at Leo’s at 11 and I’ll tell all. X

The response had been almost instant.

Ooh. V. Exciting. See you there. Can’t wait to hear all about it. P xx

They left the house not long after receiving her text, to check out Leo’s and possible vantage points.

Now she was sitting at her table, nursing a latte that was gradually growing cold. It was ten past eleven and there was no sign of her.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket.

She pulled it out and read the incoming text message.

Sorry. Been held up. Going to be late. Please wait for me. Anxious to hear all about it. P xx

She closed the message and called Carter.

“What’s wrong?” he said.

“She just sent me a text. She’s going to be late and asks me to wait for her.”

There was silence on the other end of the line.

“Rob, are you still there?”

“Yeah, sorry. Just thinking. Do you think she suspects anything?”

“I don’t think so. I think it’s just Penny being Penny, or should I say Diana being Penny. She’s staying in character. Penny’s always late for everything. Let’s give it a little while longer. At least give her a chance to show.”

“Okay, Annie, it’s your call.”

Annie hung up and ordered another latte from the barista.

“Problems?” Jane said.

“Diana’s just texted Annie to say she’s going to be late.” She and Carter were sitting in a burger bar across the street from Leo’s. From where they sat they could see Annie clearly but couldn’t themselves be seen from the street. “I don’t like it,” Carter said. “Annie said Diana was just keeping in character, but she must be eager to find out what Annie knows. Annie wants to give her more time.”

The French fries they had ordered to secure the table were getting cold and stiff. The burgers lay untouched, still wrapped in the greasy paper in which they’d been served.

“I like Annie,” Jane said. “She’s got guts.”

“She has, but I think this has taken a lot out of her.”

“You first met in Kansas, didn’t you?”

Carter nodded and smiled at the memory. “She was my lifeline. I think it was Annie who kept me sane while I was there.”

“If you hated it so much there why didn’t you leave? It’s not as if they were keeping you prisoner.”

“Simple answer. I had nowhere else to go. Besides, I wanted to try to understand the psychic powers I had. Understand them and start using them properly. Until I went to the research center in Kansas I’d been little more than a sideshow freak, an end-of-the-pier attraction. I was sick of that. I wanted my life to have more purpose. More meaning.”

“And you found that when you joined the department.”

Carter shrugged. “I thought I had.”

“Now you’re not so sure?”

“I’ve always struggled with it. You know I have.”
 

“You don’t like being pinned down, being pigeonholed,” Jane said.

“Do you? Isn’t David pinning you down? Aren’t you being pigeonholed as a wife and mother? Don’t you want to break out the cage and fly free for a while?”