The Grotesques (13 page)

“Ella! Ella! Ella, are you there?”

She snatched up the phone. “Adam? Adam, is that you?”

“I heard you scream. What’s happening?”

“Get over here. Don’t hang up. Just get over here.” She rattled off her address.

“I’m on my way. I’m already out the door.”

She was breathing hard. Adam had to be hearing her panic.

“I have to put the phone down while I drive. The volume’s up. I’ll still be able to hear you.”

Above her, the creature skittered across the roof. She followed the sound of its path across the kitchen and over her bedroom.

“Ella?”

“I’m fine. Just get here. I need you to see this.” She needed him to confirm she was not going mad.

“Keep talking to me.”

“You talk. Tell me about bats. Are you sure there aren’t giant varieties lurking in the Daintree or somewhere? I mean people rarely spot the giant squid.”

“Until a few days ago, I’d have said quite.”

“Adam, what we saw at the church that night. It’s here. It’s trying to get in the house.”

“It wasn’t a bat. I’ve spent the day researching genetic engineering.”

“Quiet.”

“What’s wrong?”

Ella removed the phone from her ear. The silence was unnerving. She went into the passage and toward the front bedroom. The curtains were open. Opposite and two doors down, a porch light burned, illuminating the brick house behind. In the other direction a street lamp, not visible to her, kept pure darkness at bay. With the passage unlit, nobody should have been able to see her standing in the bedroom. She peered into the darkness, scanning the shadows for movement.

The porch light winked out. Ella bit her lip. A small shape scuttled haphazardly across the window. She gasped then remembered the daddy long-legs. She followed its path until it was lost in shadow and shook her head. How could she have ever been wary of a creepy crawly that size?

Electricity buzzed. The street lamps went out in quick succession. Breathing heavily, she lifted the phone and interrupted Adam’s concerned queries.

“Where are you?”

“About ten minutes away.”

“Bats don’t like light, right?”

“They’re nocturnal.”

The scraping returned, directly overhead. Ella studied the air conditioning vent. It appeared too small for the creature to fit through but she wasn’t taking a chance. Returning to the kitchen, she flicked on every light she passed before seizing the carving knife her mother had given her last Christmas and the torch she kept handy in the top drawer. She thumbed the switch and was relieved to see the batteries hadn’t gone flat. Armed and ready to defend herself, she crept back to the dining room and peered into the study. Whatever was out there might not be a bat, but light was the only defence she had.

The garden was dark. Unable to recall turning the spotlight off, she edged to the sliding door and flipped the outside light switch. Nothing happened. She rocked the switch, not caring that the knife slashed through the air. Nothing.

The light in the study twanged off. The logical part of her mind asked when she had last changed the globes. Another, more emotional part set warning bells ringing. Through the arch, the light in the dining room hissed. An instant later, it exploded, shattering glass across the room and plunging the house into darkness.

Brandishing the knife, Ella tiptoed into the passage. “Adam, the lights have gone out.” She readjusted her hold on the phone and resisted the urge to switch on the torch. It was her last defence, and she wanted the battery charged.

“I’m almost there.”

A faint glow emanated from the bedroom. Fearfully curious, Ella crept forward. Through the window she saw a blinding light burning at the edge of her lawn. She screwed her eyes shut and massaged her lids with her hand. As the pain died she cautiously cracked her fingers apart and opened her eyes. The brilliance had muted into a ghostly reptilian head. Evil radiated from that cold blue light, penetrating the bricks and mortar she had always considered a haven from the outside world. The ghost creature opened its mouth, revealing sharp, jagged teeth. Ella reeled.

“Dragon,” she squeaked down the phone even as she spotted a coal-black silhouette at the edges of the glow, tall, thin, and definitely human. Whoever it was had to be playing some sick joke, projecting a hologram, using pyrotechnics, whatever. He threw back his head, laughing—a hideous, malignant sound she imagined—but what she heard was the furious growls of the winged creature as it swooped on the man. As its claws grappled, the dragon head surged toward the window, belching a stream of fire. The walls began to smoke, then flame. Whatever else was transpiring outside, the heat left her in no doubt the fire was real.

She raced from the bedroom, turning into the laundry before realising the back door was deadlocked. She dashed to the office door, released the lock, and tugged. It wouldn’t open. She threw her weight behind it. It refused to budge. Beyond the arch, the living room was bathed in yellow. She forced herself toward it.

A black shape darted around the table. Ella jumped before realising it was Tilly. Wide-eyed and cowering, the cat had begun a plaintive meow that rivalled the winged creature’s spine-tingling cry. Dropping knife, torch, and phone, she grabbed her distressed cat and juggled her into the living room. A wall of heat barricaded the way. She turned her head and hoped she could make it out the front door. Two steps in, the furniture ignited. The cackle of flames forced her back. Tilly, hackles raised, scratched her face and jumped from her arms as the fire alarm began screeching a late warning.

Giving up hope of reaching her keys, Ella retreated through billowing smoke. Coughing, she retrieved the knife and a chair. Back in the office, she smashed the chair into the sliding door. The wood cracked as the glass vibrated. As car tyres screeched outside, she hit the glass again. She drew back for a third strike. When the broken chair contacted the door, a massive, clawed paw struck from the outside. A shiny eye appeared before her face. Then the paw beat again.

Gasping for breath, Ella retreated before being wracked by coughs. The house was becoming a smoky oven. The fire was now licking at the dining room door. Left with no choice, she renewed her attack on the sliding door. Smoke and fire would definitely take her life; facing the creature she had a chance. She ran at the glass. It shattered, and she fell through. Lying on the ground, she was dimly aware of flapping wings. Rolling onto her side, she slashed up and outwards with the knife, felt it contact something hard. A screech told her she had found her mark. She felt liquid drip onto her arm and knew it was blood. She picked herself up, expecting to fend off the unnatural monster but the injured creature had gone.

Tilly dashed past. Ella let her go. The poor thing would have cuts to her pads but instinct would find her a safe place to take refuge until Ella could tend to her. The house creaked. Blaring sirens drew closer. Her eye caught a stout wooden beam wedged between the door and wall. Someone had wanted her trapped.

Inside, beams crashed down. Ignoring the glass embedded in her skin, Ella turned and ran for the back fence. She clambered over, delaying only long enough to check the neighbours had been alerted by the alarm before winding her way around to find Adam.

BRIGHT FLUORESCENT LIGHTS
and the strong smell of disinfectant clashed with the horrors of the night. Ella winced as the nurse pulled another piece of glass from her body, momentarily breaking off her description of events to Adam. They were talking openly, she ignoring the medical staff’s advice to rest and refusing to take any sort of sedative.

She had been in the hospital for three hours now and its mundane workings had allowed her to gather her wits. She hadn’t wanted to come. Had Adam, who had followed in his own car, seen the arsonist she would have insisted they give chase. As it was, he had had to calm her down and point out she needed medical attention. Her protests had amounted to nothing when he herded her to the paramedics. They had slipped an oxygen mask over her face while she watched in shock as her home was engulfed in flames despite the best efforts of the fire crew. Before the firefighters were done, the paramedics had insisted on bringing her to the hospital. Somewhere in all that unwanted attention she had found the presence of mind to wipe the creature’s blood from her arm before she was cleaned up. She had barely stuffed the hanky into Adam’s jacket pocket with a “Keep it safe. Tell you later,” when she was bundled into the ambulance for a short trip to Modbury Hospital where she had been fussed over against her will.

“So someone tried to kill you,” Adam said. He had stayed at the scene long enough to find Tilly and take her to an emergency veterinarian. The grief that had earlier simmered below the surface was gone, replaced by a hard, unforgiving tone that suggested he would not rest until the monster involved in his cousin’s disappearance and Ella’s attempted murder was brought to justice.

“All done,” the nurse declared. Ella got up. The nurse looked scandalised. “We need to keep you in for observation.”

“Not tonight.”

As they moved out of the treatment area, Ella saw Rob and Detective Danes striding toward them.

“Are you all right?” Rob asked, taking her aside.

“I’m fine.”

“What happened?”

Ella and Adam spoke at the same time.

“I don’t know.”

“It was arson.”

Rob looked from one to the other of them. “I want to know what’s going on. Now.”

As Adam came to stand protectively behind her, Ella repeated her story, omitting details that sounded like they belonged in one of Matt Hayes’s videos. She had seen someone stand outside her window and use some sort of weird flame thrower to torch the house. A wooden beam had jammed her exit, forcing her to smash her way out. She hesitated, then sketched in fuzzy details of lashing out with the knife and probably hitting someone, but being too dazed to act further. Rob scribbled on a pad while he listened.

“You were extremely lucky. We’ll get a bulletin out to the other hospitals in case the arsonist is burnt. Can you describe him?”

“No. It was dark outside.”

“Approximate height? Weight?”

“Tall, thin.” A lot like Genord. “What did the neighbours say?”

“Unfortunately, nobody saw or heard anything.”

“Nothing?” Ella almost choked.

“It’s not unusual. Experienced arsonists can work fast.”

Ella didn’t know how to respond. She avoided looking at Adam. Unfortunately, Rob fixed an accusatory expression on him.

“Where were you when this was happening?”

“On the phone to Ella. She’d heard a commotion and rang me.”

Rob’s expression became pointed. “And your relationship is?”

Not a question that needed to be asked.

“I asked El—Ms Jerome to see if she could find out anything more about Cecily.” Adam stared at Rob, challenging the detective to deny the police had no pertinent information.

“I see.” Rob pretended to note down details. Ella could tell by the scratchy way the pen moved he was upset she had not chosen to ring him when her life was in danger. She hadn’t known the extent of her peril and, anyway, could hardly mention flying gargoyles to Rob. She still felt guilty.

Rob looked up, and she felt like she’d been caught in some duplicity. “What do you know about the murders that you’re not telling me?”

Her eyes widened slightly. “You think this is related?”

“Don’t play dumb with me.”

Ella sighed. A rookie would have made the connection. She owed Rob more but his admonition at the press conference was still ringing in her ears. “The only place we’ve been snooping is the church.”

“I find that hard to believe. You’re too good to rely on only one source.”

“Okay, so we’ve talked to Matt Hayes, but there’s no way he’s up to anything like this.” She didn’t see the need to complicate Matt’s life further by revealing he had had a fight with Bekka Todd.

Rob’s eyes flicked to Adam. Ella saw him digest the
we
part of the sentence.

“Have you analysed the blood yet?” she asked to distract him.

“DNA testing takes at least three days. And that’s only because we have a rush on it and promised the technician a few beers.”

Ella felt sorry for him. He was obviously overworked, and she had just added to his load. “I wiped some blood off my arm. It fell on me when I lashed out with the knife. It might belong to the arsonist. Adam?”

Adam fished for the bloodied hanky in his pocket and held it out.

Rob took it but looked less than impressed. “I suppose it’s useless telling you to keep away from the case at this point?” Ever prepared, he dropped the hanky into an evidence bag he took from his pocket.

“Completely.”

Danes chose that point to decide his courteous non-involvement was not in his best interests. “Ms Jerome, if your activities compromise this investigation or you are in any way withholding information, you will be prosecuted.”