The Chemistry of Death (29 page)

I finished off and stood up as he slouched into the room. He was wearing a pair of dirty jeans and a tight T-shirt. His upper body was pallid but powerful, corded with wiry muscle. He fixed me with a venomous look, then nodded at Scarsdale with something approaching grudging respect. He reminded me of a sullen schoolboy confronted by a stern headmaster.

'Good morning, Carl,' Scarsdale said, taking over. 'We're sorry to disturb you.'

His voice held an element of disapproval. Hearing it, Brenner seemed to become conscious of his appearance.

'I've just got up,' he said, unnecessarily. His voice was still thick with sleep. 'Didn't get in till late last night.'

Scarsdale's expression said he would overlook it. Just this once. 'Dr Hunter wants to ask you something.'

Brenner didn't try to hide his hostility as he stared at me. 'Why should I give a f--' He caught himself. 'Why should I care what he wants?'

Scarsdale held up his hands, the patient peacemaker. 'I realize this is an intrusion, but he feels it might be important. I'd like you to hear him out.' He turned to me, signifying he'd done as much as he cared to. I was conscious of Scott and his mother watching as I spoke.

'You know Ben Anders has been arrested,' I said. Brenner took his time answering. He leaned against the table, folding his arms across his chest.

'So?'

'Do you know anything about it?'

'Why should I?'

'The police had a tip-off. Was it you?'

Belligerence was coming off him like heat. 'What's it got to do with you?'

'Because if it was I want to know if you really did see him or not.'

His eyes narrowed. 'You accusing me?'

'Look, I just don't want the police wasting their time.'

'What makes you think they are? It's about time people woke up to that bastard Anders.'

Scott stirred uneasily in his chair. 'I dunno, Carl, perhaps he's not--'

Brenner turned on him. 'Who fucking asked you? Shut it.'

'This isn't just about Ben Anders!' I said, as his younger brother flinched and ducked his head. 'For God's sake, can't you see that?'

Brenner pushed himself off the table, fists balled. 'Who the fuck do you think you are? You thought you were too good to talk to us when we stopped you last night, and now you come here telling me what I've got to do?'

'I just want you to tell the truth.'

'So now you're calling me a fucking liar?'

'This is someone's life you're playing with!'

He gave a savage grin. 'Good. They can hang the bastard for all I care.'

'I don't mean him!' I shouted. 'What about the girl? What happens to her?'

That took the grin off his face. He looked as though it had never occurred to him. He shrugged, but he was defensive now.

'She's probably dead already.'

Scarsdale put a restraining hand on my arm as I started towards Brenner. With an effort I made a last appeal.

'He keeps them alive for three days before he kills them,' I said, fighting to keep my voice steady. 'He keeps them alive so he can do God knows what. This is the second day, and the police are still trying to get Ben Anders to confess to it. Because someone said they saw him outside the house.'

I had to stop. 'Please,' I went on after a moment. 'Please, if it was you, tell them.'

The others were staring at me, stunned. No-one outside the investigation knew the victims had been kept alive. Mackenzie would be furious if he knew I'd told them. I didn't care. All my attention was focused on Brenner.

'I don't know what you're talking about,' he mumbled, but I could see the uncertainty in his face. He wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.

'Carl?' his mother said, hesitantly.

'I said I don't know, all right?' he snapped, suddenly angry again. He turned on me. 'You've asked your question, so now fuck off!'

I don't know what would have happened then if Scarsdale hadn't been there. He stepped quickly between us. 'That's enough!' He faced Brenner. 'Carl, I appreciate you're upset, but I'd thank you not to use language like that in my presence. Or in front of your mother.'

Brenner looked far from happy at the rebuke, but Scarsdale's conviction in his authority was absolute. The reverend turned to me.

'Dr Hunter, you have your answer. I don't think there's any reason for you to stay here any longer.'

I didn't move. I stared across at Brenner, more certain than ever that he'd incriminated Ben out of spite. Looking at his sullen features I wanted to batter the truth out of him.

'If anything happens to her,' I told him, my voice sounding like a stranger's, 'if she dies because you were lying, I swear I'll kill you myself.'

The threat seemed to soak up all the air in the room. I felt Scarsdale take hold of my arm and steer me towards the door. 'Come on, Dr Hunter.'

As I passed Scott Brenner I paused. His face was white and wide-eyed as he looked up at me. Then Scarsdale urged me into the hallway.

We went back to the Land Rover in silence. It wasn't until we were back on the road to the village that I felt able to speak again.

'He's lying.'

'If I'd known you would lose control of yourself I would never have agreed to come,' Scarsdale replied, heatedly. 'Your behaviour was disgraceful.'

I looked at him in astonishment. 'Disgraceful? He set up an innocent man without caring what might happen because of it!'

'You've no proof of that.'

'Oh, come on! You were there, you heard him!'

'I heard two men losing their tempers, that's all.'

'You're not serious? Are you telling me you don't think Brenner tipped off the police?'

'It's not for me to judge.'

'I'm not asking you to judge. Just come with me and tell them you think they should talk to him!'

He didn't reply straight away. When he did, it wasn't a direct answer. 'You said back there that the victims weren't killed straight away. How do you know that?'

Habit made me hesitate, but I didn't care who knew now. It didn't matter any more. 'Because I examined the bodies.'

His head snapped towards me in surprise. 'You?'

'I used to be an expert in that sort of thing. Before I came here.'

Scarsdale took a moment to digest the news. 'You mean you've been involved with the police investigation?'

'They asked me to help, yes.'

'I see.' It was clear from his tone that he didn't like it. 'And you chose to keep it a secret.'

'It's sensitive work. It's not the sort of thing you want talked about.'

'Of course. We're only locals, after all. I expect our ignorance must have amused you.'

Two points of colour had risen on his cheeks. He wasn't just displeased, I realized, he was furious. For a moment his reaction bewildered me, but then I understood. He'd enjoyed seeing himself in the ascendant role in the village, envisioned himself as Manham's leader. Now he'd found out someone else had been given a pivotal role all along, privy to information he was denied. It was a blow to his pride. And, even worse, his ego.

'It wasn't like that,' I told him.

'No? Strange that you should only tell me now, when you want something from me. Well, I can see now how naive I've been. I can assure you I won't be taken for the fool again.'

'No-one's been taking you for the fool. If I've offended you I'm sorry, but there's more at stake here than either of us.'

'Indeed there is. And from now on you can be sure I'll leave it in the hands of the "experts".' He said it with bitter mockery. 'I'm just a lowly minister after all.'

'Look, I need your help. I can't--'

'I don't believe we have any more to say to each other,' he said.

The rest of the journey passed in silence.

It was the noise that woke Jenny. At first the darkness disorientated her. She had no memory of where she was, why she still couldn't see. She always slept with the curtains open, so that some light fell into the bedroom on even the darkest night. Then she became aware of the hard floor, and the smell, and with that awareness came crashing in on her.

She tugged on the rope again. Her fingernails were already torn from working on it, and when she sucked them she tasted blood. But there was no more give in the knot for all her efforts. She slumped back. Now other discomforts were beginning to make themselves felt. Hunger, but more than that was thirst. Before she'd slept, at the extreme edge of her reach she'd found a tiny puddle of water that had seeped through the floor and walls of her cell. It was too shallow to drink from, but she'd taken off her vest top and used it to soak up what moisture there was. When she'd sucked it out it had been stale and brackish, but still tasted wonderful.

Since then she'd found two other patches where water had soaked through, and done the same with both of them. But it had done little to slake her thirst. She'd dreamed of water, waking to a throat that was more parched than ever, and a feeling of lethargy she couldn't shake off. She knew that both were early signs of insulin deficiency, but that was something else she didn't want to think about. To give herself something to do she set about exploring the floor of her cell once more, hoping the wet patches might have replenished themselves.

That was when she heard the noise again. It came from the cellar beyond the wooden planks.

Someone else was down here.

She waited, barely daring to breathe. Whoever it was, they weren't here to rescue her. The sound of their moving about continued, but nothing else happened. Now she noticed that more light was spilling through the cracks in the wooden planks. The pulse of blood in her head almost drowned out everything else as she edged slowly towards them. Feeling her way with her hands, as quietly as she could she put her eye to the same gap as before.

After the pitch black of her cell, the brightness stabbed into her retina. She blinked away the tears until her sight adjusted. A bare light bulb was burning over the workbench, hanging on a long length of flex so that it was just above it. It was so low that it cast its light in a pool, illuminating only a small area and throwing everything else into unformed shadows. The dead animals suspended from the ceiling were lost in them.

The noise came again, and then Jenny saw a man emerge from the darkness. From her angle, close to the floor, her view was limited. There was a glimpse of jeans and what looked like an army jacket before he moved in front of the light. His silhouette gave an impression of size and bulk as he busied himself at the workbench. Then he was coming towards her.

She scurried away from the planks as his footsteps approached. They stopped. She stared into the blackness, paralysed. There was a loud scraping, then a vertical streak of light appeared. A moment later it flooded her cell as the planks were pulled back on a hinge. Jenny covered her eyes, blinded, as a dark shape towered over her.

'Get up.'

The voice was a low murmur. She was too scared to tell if it was familiar or not. She felt incapable of moving.

There was a sudden motion, then a quick, sharp pain. She cried out, clutching her arm. It was wet. She looked in disbelief at the blood on her hand.

'Get
up
!'

Clutching the cut on her arm, she scrambled to her feet. She stood shakily, pressing herself back against the wall. Her eyes were starting to adjust to the light, but she kept her head averted.
Don't look at hint. If he knows you can recognize him he can't let you go.
But her gaze was drawn of its own accord. Not to his face, but to the hunting knife he held, the tip of its curved blade angled towards her.
Oh, God, no, please...

'Get undressed.'

It was like the taxi driver all over again. Except this time was far worse, because she couldn't hope for rescue again.

'Why?' She heard the edge of hysteria in her voice, hated it.

She didn't have time to react as the knife slashed out again. There was a burn of cold on her cheek. Stunned, she put her hand to it, felt the wetness start to run out between her fingers. She looked at her hand, glossy with her blood, and then it started to hurt, a clean burning that took her breath away.

'Take your clothes off.'

Now she realized the voice was one she'd heard before. It seemed to echo down a well to her as she tried to identify it.
Don't pass out. Don't pass out.
The pain from her cheek helped her focus. She swayed but didn't fall. She could hear the man's hoarse breathing as he unhurriedly extended the knife. Its tip touched the skin of her bare arm, then turned so that the flat of the blade rested lightly against her. She shut her eyes as it slid like a feather to her shoulder, tracing the outline of her breastbone before coming to rest against her throat. Its point slowly drifted up until it reached the soft underside of her chin. The pressure relentlessly continued, forcing her to lift her head. When she couldn't move away any more it stopped, holding her poised on the needle-sharp tip, the full length of her throat exposed. Jenny struggled to keep still, her breath coming in ragged gulps. Then the knife was gone.

'Take them off.'

She opened her eyes, still avoiding looking at the man in front of her. Her arms felt leaden as she took hold of her top, damp and filthy from where she'd used it to soak up the puddles, and drew it over her head. For a moment blessed darkness engulfed her. Then the T-shirt was over her face, and she was back in the stinking room.

For the first time she began to take in her surroundings. Her cell was little more than a partitioned part of the cellar, walled off by the screen of rough planks. Beyond the glow from the light bulb, the cellar was a shadowed mess of old furniture, tools and junk, almost too much to take in. At the back were the steps she'd seen earlier, dimly illuminated by some out-of-sight light source as they twisted upwards.

And hanging above it all were the mutilated bodies of the animals.

Now she could see that the entire cellar was full of them, shrivelled bundles of fur, bone and feathers, swaying in some unseen current. Then the man was blocking out the light as he came towards her. She couldn't keep her eyes from the knife poised in his hand. Hurriedly, she began to undress, desperate to forestall another cut. When she came to her shorts she froze, then pushed them down, letting them puddle around her tethered foot. She was covered only by her pants now. She kept her head down, as scared to meet his eyes as she would have been a rabid dog's.