CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
‘Okay, everyone, listen up,’ Jane began, and waited while attention switched onto her. She had a glass of brandy in one hand and took a tentative sip, hoping she wouldn’t choke on its strength.
‘Dutch courage, Jane?’ Raj joked.
She smiled. ‘We may need all our courage for this one. You’ve all volunteered, and you’ve got my thanks for that. As volunteers you’ve had the briefing so you know the position. Missing people, not experts on survival, nothing heard from them now for weeks. Our job is to find them.’
‘Dead or alive,’ John McKinley murmured.
Jane turned to face him. ‘It’s not a “missing presumed dead assignment,” John. We’re here to find them, but if we can’t then we have to learn everything we can about what may have happened. People can’t just disappear from an island in the twenty-first century.’
She took a sip of her brandy and looked at their faces. No, if she was honest she didn’t look at the faces of all of them. Raj was smiling, as usual, and returned her glance with a grin; McKinley gave a curt nod that acknowledged his understanding of the task; with Carter, she avoided eye contact. She looked at a place on his forehead somewhere between the eyes. It was technique she had perfected years ago when she and her father played staring games for fun—look as if you are staring the other in the eyes but avoid direct eye contact. Except Carter knew the method and employed a counterstrategy; he stood up and walked across to her.
Jane involuntarily turned away, then instantly aware how unprofessional that was, swung back round just as Carter stood next to her. Jane’s hand knocked his arm, and for a moment they started to apologize to each other for mutual clumsiness. It was Carter who took her arm, smiled ruefully and shifted his position so that his back was to the others.
It was in her thoughts as they stood together. Everything they had shared and yet here they stood saying sorry about a clumsy greeting, almost like strangers at a train station, muttering sorry while thinking about the menu for the evening meal. Surely, she thought, we are closer than that. Then she realized it wasn’t a casual thought, they had been close, and her random thought was nearer to hope than she wanted to admit.
‘You don’t believe all that?’ Carter said quietly to her.
It took her a second to adjust to what he was saying; her mind was preoccupied with more sensual matters. ‘About what?’
Carter was watching for her reaction. Surely Crozier hadn’t kept the facts from her, not if she was being asked to lead the team. But it wouldn’t be Crozier’s call; Jessica Anderson would have the final say, and she would want Jane to come in unprepared. Not as a simple ploy, not as a maneuver, but so she would argue for his own inclusion in the team. That would be the reason; he wouldn’t be allowed to lead a team himself, not directly, not with his maverick reputation, but if the mission was sold subtly enough to Jane she would, despite their personal track record, insist he was included.
When he didn’t reply Jane looked away. ‘I’m sorry about Sian.’
She heard his intake of breath. ‘They’re probably all dead anyway,’ he said.
Jane knew whom he meant but didn’t understand what made him think that. ‘Crozier gave me the dossier. Waincraft haven’t heard a word from them. There’s been no news.’
‘Not officially,’ Carter said tightly. ‘I get my information from a variety of sources, and because of Sian’s disappearing act I’ve been doing some checking; recent missing persons in certain circumstances, possible department links, you know the type of thing.’
Jane understood what he was saying, and she remembered the various whispers and snaps of information that seemed to come his way as if by magic; although it was actually of course from a very sophisticated intelligence network that he set up gradually and slowly so no one was aware of it, and no one could infiltrate it. ‘I can’t say for certain about all of them, but at least half of the “missing” group is dead.’
He turned and walked out of the room.
She caught up with Carter on the patio. He was sitting at one of the tables, sipping a glass of lager, staring out across the garden. The sun was high in the sky and she could feel its welcome warmth on her face.
‘Do you mind if I join you?’ she said, pulling up a chair.
He shook his head. ‘Something very bad happened here.’
‘Here in general, or here specifically?’ He handed her an open bottle of beer. He had anticipated she would join him.
‘Here, on the patio. There.’ He pointed at the ground not two yards from where they sat.
‘Do you know what exactly?’
‘I can’t get a fix on it. Just random impressions.’ He turned to look at her. ‘ We shouldn’t be here, Jane. It’s too dangerous.’ There was serious concern in his face.
‘We’re here to do a job.’ Jane had become used to her role of persuader.
He took another mouthful of lager, swilling the beer over his tongue before swallowing. It did nothing to take away the coppery taste in his mouth. It was the taste of fear and he was all too familiar with it.
‘I want you to hold a séance tomorrow,’ she said. The sudden change of immediate subject was designed to deflect any further anxiety.
‘Yes, I think I should.’ Carter nodded vigorously.
‘Pardon?’ His quick agreement took her by surprise.
He drank some more beer. ‘I think I should. And I’m not going to wait for tomorrow. I’ll hold one to night. After dinner.’
Jane frowned. ‘I thought you’d object.’
‘Why should I?’ Carter said. ‘I’m as anxious as you are to know what’s going on here.’ He swilled the beer around in his glass. ‘Have you noticed the gloom hanging over this place? You can almost taste it. There’s something here.’
‘I was saying as much to Crozier earlier. Kirby seems quite badly affected.’
‘So’s McKinley. He’s even more morose than usual. What about you?’
‘It’s not too bad, but I’m not completely immune to it.’
‘Me neither, but I know how to protect myself. As does McKinley. He hasn’t opened up since we got here, and quite honestly I don’t blame him. But I’m not sure the others are as prepared as us. Kirby especially—she’s like an open nerve. It’s like we’re sitting in a lion’s den, and the lion’s watching us, biding its time until it’s ready to pounce. It’s unnerving.’
‘We’ll have to watch out for each other,’ she said, remembering the conversation with McKinley earlier. ‘Crozier raised the possibility that what happened here could be a case of mass suicide.’
‘No,’ Carter said. ‘He’s wrong. It’s nothing like that. These people didn’t choose what happened to them.’
‘Can you be sure? Another beer?’ She got two more bottles from the bar and waited for his reply.
‘Oh, yes, I’m sure. There’s something evil on this island, Jane. Something more evil than anything I’ve encountered before.’
‘Very reassuring considering some of the cases you’ve worked on.’
‘And I’ll tell you something else.’ He pulled two cigarettes from the pack on the table, lit them and handed one across to her. ‘It wants something from us.’
‘What?’
‘I wish I knew,’ he said. ‘Maybe we’ll get some answers to night. I’ll have a word with Kirby and tell her we want to eat early. The longer we have afterwards the better.’