Absolution - The First Book Of The Vampire Immortalis Trilogy (11 page)

“We'll try again on our way home. We really need to find him, Adam. He's our only lead to the Hundeprest.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Okay, settle down. Thank you all for coming back in.” Buchan was addressing the detectives who had been hastily summoned to the incident room.

“As you'll no doubt be aware, two people were killed in Kelso this evening at approximately 6.10pm. Gordon Russell, better known to you all as the hairdresser, Gordon Rousseau, was killed along with one of his employees, Chloe McDonald, at his salon on Horsemarket. It looks like the murders are connected to the two we are already investigating and we might have a breakthrough. A 999 call was made from Chloe McDonald's mobile phone while the attack was in progress. She gave the operator a name. Cameron.”

“Cameron?” asked DS Grant. “Liam Cameron? The lad we had in for questioning yesterday?”

“That's the lead we are following,” said DS Carver. “Uniforms were called to an incident at Mr Rousseau's Melrose salon yesterday evening, shortly after Liam left the station. A bottle had been thrown at the shop's front window and Rousseau said Liam was responsible for throwing it. He also claimed that Liam threatened to kill him with a knife a while ago, but didn't press charges at the time.”

“Why wasn't Liam brought back in yesterday,” asked Buchan.

“We are still looking for him, sir,” said Carver, “but he seems to have disappeared. Officers went to his place of work last night to question him about the shop incident, but he hadn't turned up for his shift. He had phoned in saying he was sick. Wasn't at home either.”

“Sick doesn't even begin to describe this psycho if he is the murderer,” said Buchan. “I want him found. Get his photo circulated, get the press involved, find out if any of his goth pals are hiding him.”

News of the murders in Kelso meant that there was a smaller number of goths than usual down by the abbey. Only Lisa, Muckle, and Heather, had been allowed out, and then only because they had each told their parents that they were going round to Liam's house, that they would stay indoors, and that they would be back home by nine o'clock. Liam, of course, hadn't been seen all day and his phone remained switched off. Lisa had sent a text to Adam to say they were on their way to the abbey and he'd met them down there.

They had been there about quarter of an hour when Heather thought she saw something moving in the abbey's graveyard. “What was that?”

Everyone looked in the direction of her gaze, but nobody could see anything. “Probably just a rabbit or something,” said Lisa.

“Aye that or old man Cameron digging for buried treasure again!” added Muckle.

“What do you mean?” asked Adam.

“Oh, Liam's Dad was in there the other night with his metal detector. Liam said he found an old cross or something.”

“What night?” asked Adam with an increased sense of urgency.

“Dunno. Thursday or Friday I think.”

“Listen, I've forgot something. I've got to go. Lisa, I'll phone you later.” With that Adam was gone, leaving the three goths perplexed by his sudden departure.

“Was it something I said?” asked Muckle.

As soon as he was out of sight of the park, Adam called Henry with the news that Peter Cameron had been at the abbey when the Hundeprest returned. It was the breakthrough they had been waiting for.

“We will keep this between us for the moment,” said Henry. “This could be the opportunity we've been waiting for. Remember, Adam. You are a Knight Perennius. God will give you the strength to triumph.”

Anna was sitting on the edge of her chair, glued to the late evening news on the television, when Adam walked in. The Kelso murders were the headline story and the police had taken the unusual step of issuing details of the man they wanted to question in connection with the murders. “Lothian & Borders Police are appealing for information to help locate a man who is wanted in connection with a double murder in Kelso on Saturday evening. Eighteen year old, Liam Cameron, from Melrose, is described as five foot nine inches tall, of medium build, has brown eyes and dyed black hair. He has not been seen since yesterday evening and is thought to have connections throughout the Borders and Edinburgh area. Members of the public are advised not to approach him. If you have information contact your local police station or call 999. Alternatively, ring Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.”

“We need to find him before the police do, Adam.”

“I called in at his house again on the way back from the abbey, but no one was home.” What Adam was keeping from Anna was that it was Peter Cameron, and not Liam, he had hoped to find at home.

From the moment she saw her boyfriend's picture on her television screen, Lisa had been frantically calling and texting his mobile phone, but it was still switched off. She hadn't heard from him since Friday evening and now he was the prime suspect in the Kelso murders. She knew he hated Gordon, but surely not enough to kill him, let alone someone else. Liam could be short-tempered with a drink in him, but she knew he wouldn't kill anyone.

Then at quarter to eleven that night, she finally received a call from him. He had handed himself in at the West End Police Station in Edinburgh after seeing himself on the news and was phoning from there.

“I was at the Hearts game and so have 10,000 witnesses plus CCTV to say that I wasn't in Kelso. Then I went straight to the Tynecastle Arms with Tom and his flatmates, just down the road from the ground. Plenty of witnesses there too!”

“I was so worried, Liam, especially when I saw your picture on the television!”

“Aye, well, seeing myself on the pub's TV sobered me up pretty quickly! Anyway, Tom and a few others came with me to the police station and gave statements to say that I was with them all afternoon and all evening. So that's me off the hook.”

“When are you coming home?”

“That's another story. I'm spending the night in the police station here and being brought back to Melrose in a police car in the morning. Something about Melrose CID wanting to have a word with me about a certain shop window in the town and a bottle of Buckie...”

As soon as she was off the phone to Liam, Lisa texted everyone, including Adam, with the good news.

Liam's safe in Edinburgh. With police now but nothing to do with Kelso murders. Was at Hearts game! Be back tomorrow! XXX.

“That's Lisa,” Adam said. “She's heard from Liam and he's on his way home.”

“What, now?” asked Anna.

Adam hesitated. It was as if he needed to read the text again. “Yes, now. Look, I'll go to Lisa's and see if he shows up there. You go to his house and see if he turns up. I'll meet you there.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

When Anna reached Liam's house, it was in complete darkness. She rang the doorbell and rattled the letterbox, but didn't really expect an answer. She then tried to look in the ground floor window of the terrace cottage, but the curtains were drawn too tightly. The ones on the upstairs window were closed too – a telltale sign that either a recluse or a vampire lived at this address.

She was about to phone Adam, when an older man, presumably Liam's father, approached the front door, house key in hand. He looked rather the worse for wear which Anna put down to drink.

“Are you looking for Liam?” he asked while fumbling to get the key to open the door.

“Yes I am,” said Anna. “Do you know where he is or when he is expected home?”

“An American eh?” said Peter Cameron, commenting on her accent. “Well, I've no idea where he is, but he will be home soon enough. Come on in out of the rain. You can wait for him in the front room and I'll put the kettle on.”

Peter walked into the house without waiting for a reply. Anna wasn't sure about following him in, but thought that she would at least have the element of surprise when Liam did come home, something that she wouldn't have hanging around outside. Liam certainly wouldn't expect to find an enforcer from the Immortalis sitting in his front room having a cup of tea with his unsavoury looking father.

“Come on in, hen,” shouted Peter from the back kitchen. “I don't bite.”

No, but I do
, Anna said to herself as she stepped into the dingy hallway, closing the door behind her.

She was immediately hit by the stuffy odour of a house that hadn't been aired in ages. The hallway itself appeared to be a receptacle for all manner of unlikely items including a lawnmower, an empty fishtank, and a car tyre. There was the unmistakable smell of vampire too.

“It's the door on your left,” said Peter. “Go on in and make yourself comfortable. The tea will not be long.”

Anna found the light switch as she entered the front room and looked around. It was as chaotic as the hallway, with this room also apparently doubling as a wheelie bin that never got emptied. Crushed beer cans and pizza boxes were everywhere and definitely more student than family. Despite the debris, she had to wonder when it was last used. It too had a musty smell and the coffee table in the centre of the room was thick with dust. God only knew what was living in the settee and two armchairs that surrounded the table, but she opted to sit on the settee because it was closer to the door.

“Here we go,” said Peter, putting a filthy tray down on to the table. “Help yourself to sugar and milk.”

The milk smelled off and the sugar bowl resembled a petri dish so Anna suddenly developed a taste for black unsweetened tea and pretended to take a sip from her cup.

“So what do you want our Liam for then? Not his good looks anyway!”

“I just need to speak to him, Mister Cameron. It is Mister Cameron isn't it?”

“Peter. Call me Peter.” Liam's Dad finished stirring his tea and sat himself down right next to Anna on the settee. The smell of stale alcohol from his breath made her turn away in disgust.

Anna could sense where this was leading. “Look, thanks for the hospitality, but I'll catch up with Liam another day,” she said getting to her feet.

Peter stood up too and reached out to grab her by the arm, but within an instant she was over at the door and out of reach. “As I said, I'll catch Liam another...”

Before she could finish her sentence, Peter Cameron had shot across the room and slammed Anna into the wall, momentarily winding her. He then picked her up clean off her feet and threw her across the room as if he was throwing a child's ragdoll. She landed awkwardly on the coffee table, breaking it clean in two, and sending pieces of broken crockery in every direction.

Shocked and slightly stunned, Anna tried to get to her feet, but Cameron kicked her back down. “You're not going anywhere, you harlot.”

He went to kick her again, but this time Anna was ready for him. She grabbed his foot and used it to push Cameron hard backwards, causing him to fall over what was left of the coffee table and come crashing to the ground.

Anna frantically tried again to make it to the door, but Cameron was that split second faster. He slammed it shut, trapping her in the room before she could make good her escape. Anna turned to confront her attacker, but as she did so he punched her in the face with such ferocity that she immediately crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

Grabbing the now lifeless Anna by the hair, Cameron dragged her into the hallway and up the stairs. “How dare you enter the house of the Lord, you whore!” he screamed, as he threw her down on to his unmade bed.

Spotting his whisky flask on the cluttered sideboard, Cameron took a long swig as he looked down at Anna's body. Her face was bloody and bruised, but there was no denying that there lay a beautiful woman. A beautiful woman who was a prostitute and who needed to be taught a lesson.

Anna was beginning to come around, but kept her eyes shut rather than alert Peter Cameron to the fact. She could smell his foul breath coming closer, his laboured breathing inches from her own face. That's when she struck out, gouging at his eyes with her sharp finger nails. Peter Cameron recoiled in pain, screaming blue murder as he did so. Blood dripping from her fingers, Anna tried to get up off the bed, but the half-blinded Cameron wasn't finished yet. He grabbed hold of Anna and launched her towards the corner of the room, smashing her aching body into a wooden chair with such verocity that it splintered into firewood on impact. Anna slumped to the floor, two or three ribs probably broken, both arms limp by her sides.

As she looked up, Cameron gave an almighty roar, and from his body appeared the most hideous of creatures, half grotesque man, half snarling wolf. The Hundeprest leapt at her, its mouth open, ready to sink its teeth into her neck.

At the last possible moment, Anna grabbed the metal cross that had fallen onto the floor beside her and thrust it deep into the advancing Hundeprest's heart. The beast screamed in agony as she continued to drive the cross into its body, twisting it cruelly as she did so. “May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you, you bastard!”

The monster gave one final death throe and then was still. The Hundeprest had been vanquished. Anna struggled to push its carcass from off of her battered body and then somehow managed to summon the strength to get to her feet. Peter Cameron lay unconscious on the bed.

As she staggered out onto the top landing, Adam began beating frantically on the front door. “Anna! Anna!” he shouted.

He didn't wait for a reply before kicking the door clean off its hinges. As he entered the hallway, he saw her standing at the top of the stairs, holding onto the bannister for support.

“It wasn't Liam, it was his father,” said Anna, her broken ribs making it difficult to breathe let alone talk. “But you knew that already, didn't you.”