A Death Displaced (16 page)

Finally she spoke. ‘It should have been your manager to deal with it.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You didn’t tell your manager about it. It’s
her
store and
her
items. She had a right to be told.’

‘Erm … Alan has worked with her for years. I couldn’t just tell her.’ His eyes shifted. ‘She’d have been devastated.’

Juliet sighed. ‘You don’t have a right to coddle people like that. She can deal with her own problems like the rest of the world does.’

‘I was just …’

‘I know, I know,’ she interrupted and held up a hand. ‘I understand why you didn’t tell her. But, as a manager myself, I would want my staff to tell me.’

‘Mmm … well, you’re not Mora.’

‘Look,’ she said sternly, ‘it’s better for someone to know the truth, or else you’re depriving them of the chance to grow and learn in their own way. You think you’re protecting people, but it’s insulting to treat someone like a child when they’re not.’ Her voice had risen steadily, almost to a shout.

Nick was hurt. As mortifying as it was to be easily beaten up, this was worse. He’d assumed she’d understand.

For a long while it was silent, until the tension noticeably lessened.

‘I’m sorry I got you involved in this,’ he said honestly.

With a half-smile, Juliet replied, ‘Okay. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that, like you’re a child yourself. I know you’re not. It was your decision to make, and I’m probably just on edge from having a knife waved at me.’

Nick chuckled and his bruises throbbed across his back and chest. Surprisingly, Juliet returned a gentle laugh that reassured him.

‘Who was Carl?’ she asked in a relieved tone.

‘Carl was Alan’s brother. The whole time I’ve worked with Alan, he only mentioned him once. But Mora told me about what happened. It was summer, and Alan, Carl, and their parents went to Eradon Lake. Alan and his brother went swimming, and Alan was fine, but Carl got his legs tangled in some weeds and drowned. I think he was only nine.’

Juliet’s face fell, she shook her head weakly. ‘That’s awful.’

‘I know,’ he said, but his mind drifted and thought about Alan. He felt sorry for him. If Alan was struggling with money, he didn’t have to resort to stealing. He had friends; Mora would have helped him out if he’d come to her. That was the most regrettable part. Maybe there were signs that Alan was in a bad way, and Nick had simply failed to see them.

‘I feel weird now, knowing I saw the spirit of a boy who died in such a sad way.’ Juliet moved her shoulders about. ‘Actually, I don’t know how to feel lately.’

‘I think you did a good thing,’ Nick offered. ‘What you can do is amazing.’

‘It’s also frightening.’

‘Yeah, I suppose it would be.’ He imagined ghosts appearing to him, and wasn’t sure how he’d react. ‘We should get back on the road.’

‘I agree.’

He began to drive again, his forearms aching where they’d taken the blows intended for his face.

A sign that read ‘Private Road’ came into view, and Nick assumed it led to the manor. He drove up the muddy path, a steep hill where he could see nothing from the bottom, and his car embarrassingly churned and whined on their ascent.

When they reached the top, the manor could be seen in the distance.

‘Wow,’ he said.

‘This is the first time I’ve seen Grendel Manor,’ said Juliet.

Grendel Manor was built in an Elizabethan style, although Nick knew it was definitely less than a hundred years old. The manor was perfectly symmetrical with enormous rectangular windows. There were four chimneys that protruded a grey slate roof. Ivy covered some of the golden walls and there were surmounted rooms at the top, shaped by semicircles and spirals.

The weather was cold and dry; the sun’s weak effort to warm anything was offset by the strong wind on the northwest of the island. But the sun at least achieved a sublime glow on the manor walls.

As they drove down the private road it curved to the right and transformed into a gravel parking area. There were no other parked cars, but the gravel suggested that one had visited recently.

Nick thought it was strange how the manor wasn’t secured off in any form. He’d been expecting to come across a giant iron gate and a wall surrounding the perimeter, but there was nothing. Though, the hill featuring the private road offered some seclusion.

On approach he’d seen a mass of land behind the manor, a group of trees and the cliff edge beyond that. It was like a private valley, shielded by the surrounding hills.

He parked up, then got out at the same time as Juliet. His body protested, yearning for rest, but for a second he pressed his eyes shut and ignored the hurt.

‘I hope someone’s in,’ he said and looked over at Juliet.

‘Me too.’ The wind played with her hair as she nodded and smiled politely.

Leading ahead, Nick passed through a foliage archway and then found a chalky path with green grass either side in the front garden. Grendel Manor loomed taller with their approach. Juliet, walking confidently, kept distance from Nick and didn’t try get in front of him.

‘Whoa,’ expressed Nick. ‘This place is so big.’

Juliet gave a courteous glance towards the manor but didn’t seem all that impressed.

After using the heavy door knock a few times, they waited. A moment later Nick heard movement from inside, and then the large door swung open. The man who answered eyed them suspiciously. ‘Can I help you?’ he asked.

‘Hi, yeah, we just wanted to ask some questions if that’s okay?’ Nick said as reasonably as possible.

‘Of course. Would you like to come in?’ The man looked Juliet up and down, then smiled.

Nick received an uncertain look from Juliet, but he turned back to the man and answered,
‘Please. Thank you.’ He walked inside and Juliet followed.

The entry hall was enormous with a staircase leading to an indoor balcony. To the left was an open cabinet with various ornaments on it, including a statue head of Alexander the Great. Portraits and art covered the walls, pictures of winged devils, horned beasts, and headless angels.

The style indoors was Hellenistic, which Nick found odd after viewing the Elizabethan style from outside. He thought maybe every room had a different theme. Why not? The manor was certainly big enough.

A large iron chandelier hung metres above, and Nick tilted his head to look up at the ceiling. ‘I think this room is larger than my entire house,’ he said and laughed. When he smiled, the man gave him a curious look.

‘Hmmm. I designed everything. My name is Aldrich Grendel,’ he said eminently.

Nick noted how Aldrich’s name didn’t match his accent or appearance. His English was good, but he had a muddled speech of some sort, possibly Egyptian Arabic mixed with other accents …? Unsure, Nick decided to quit guessing.

Aldrich’s skin was a light tan leather colour, and his curly hair was deep mahogany with a heavy fringe resting to one side. He had dark eyebrows and shadowy stubble that shaped his masculine face.
His short frame was adorned with a tweed jacket and a burgundy jumper underneath, dark cord trousers, and tan brogues. He also sported a wooden cane with an oval brass head, although he didn’t seem to use it for support. Age-wise, he looked in his mid-thirties, but gave off a cultivated air of someone who’d seen many years.

‘I’m Nick, and this is …’ He gestured towards Juliet, but she cut him off.

‘I’m Juliet Maystone; it’s nice to meet you.’ She shook Aldrich’s hand.

‘How long have you lived here?’ Nick asked out of curiosity, trying to ease into the bigger question on his mind.

‘Why?’ Aldrich replied brusquely.

‘Oh, never mind, just curious.’

‘It’s none of your business.’

‘Erm, sorry. Please forget I asked; it’s not why we came here anyway.’

‘I don’t care 
why
 you came here,’ Aldrich said with contempt and looked at Nick quizzically, as if trying to place him.

‘Erm … have I offended you somehow?’

Then Aldrich said, ‘I’m bored of this.’ He stared at Juliet, into her eyes, and then did the same to Nick. The stare was piercing, intimidating. It seemed to have a strange effect on Juliet; her posture slumped and she stood zombie-like.

‘Give me whatever valuables you have on you. Leave here. Forget this place,’ said Aldrich. He shifted his gaze from Nick to Juliet and back.

Wondering if Aldrich was joking or not, Nick’s heart quickened. He turned to see Juliet’s reaction and found her reaching into her pockets. Her movements weren’t natural, she moved methodically like she was sleep walking. She took out her mobile and walked towards Aldrich, offering it to him.

‘What are you doing to her?’ Nick shouted.

Aldrich jumped, and Juliet paused in her sleepwalk. She stood still. Aldrich looked at Nick fiercely, as if studying his face. He even seemed a little frightened, maybe confused.

‘
You!
’ he pointed. ‘
You
 should not have come here.’ He turned to Juliet and stared into her eyes again. ‘Kill your friend. Kill this 
Nick.
 Do it now!’ he ordered vehemently.

After a slow pivot, Juliet released her mobile and it bounced on the floor. When she looked up at Nick, her eyes were distant and uncaring. Then she charged. Nick stepped backwards, but she was on him before he could do anything. She went for his throat, trying to strangle him, and her nails dug into his skin and drew blood.

The pains of the previous attack swelled in the fumbling.

A rage developed Juliet’s eyes, and Nick could 
see
 that she wanted to kill him. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he had to get free from her tightening grip. Struggling to breathe, he brought his elbows up and wriggled his fingers between Juliet’s hands and his neck.

Managing to overpower her, he heaved in a breath. He used the anger his body had built up from all the pain it had
already
endured, and pushed her hard. She fell backwards onto the floor. But Nick could see the determination in her eyes.

Aldrich looked panicked that Nick was loose, but he stared at Juliet and shouted, ‘Kill him,
kill
him!’

Nick did the only thing he could think of. He ran to the open cabinet, picked up the statue head of Alexander the Great and launched it at Aldrich. It smacked him in the temple, and he fell. The statue cracked on the floor beside him, and Aldrich’s cane fell and clanked about before rolling away from his body.

Still on the floor, Juliet seemed dazed now. ‘Why am I down here?’ She looked up at Nick. ‘What happened?’ Standing up, she peered across to Aldrich on the floor. A small pool of blood formed around his head. ‘What happened to him?’

The thudding in Nick’s chest was overwhelmingly painful. It took him a moment to locate his voice. ‘We have to leave.
Now!
’ His voice came out raspy from strangulation.

‘What? Shouldn’t we call an ambulance?’ She pointed at Aldrich’s body.

‘Trust me, we have to leave.’ Nick ran out the front door, and Juliet shuffled behind him. His bruises burnt with rapid blood coursing through him.

‘Why can’t I remember anything?’ shouted Juliet, hurrying up the chalky path.

‘I’ll tell you in the car. But we have to leave.’ He struggled unlocking the car door, his hands shaking too much. And once inside he waited for Juliet to get in and then drove back over the hill and down the private road, away from Grendel Manor.

‘Nick, slow down. You’re driving like a mad man,’ Juliet appealed.

Once they were over the hill and onto a public road, he slowed his driving. Instinctually, he had driven towards Amiton, taking a different route from the way they came.

‘Where are we going?’ asked Juliet. ‘Please tell me what happened.’

‘Sorry, we just need to get away from there. I need to think.’

‘Pull over soon then, please. I don’t feel safe, and you shouldn’t drive like this.’

He drove for a couple more minutes and then found somewhere to stop. Juliet looked at him, at his neck. Shock ran over her face. ‘What happened to your neck?’ she asked, and leant closer to see the damage. ‘Did Aldrich do that?’

‘Not exactly ...’ He looked in her eyes.

She appeared bemused, and then looked down at her hands and inspected her nails. There was dried blood under some of them.

Juliet gasped and began to cry. ‘I don’t understand. Did I do that to you? My hands ache, there’s blood under my nails. Look at the scratches on your neck.’ Her voice broke up.

Nick began to explain what had happened. When he put one hand on her shoulder, she didn’t seem to mind the physical contact. Her face went through a series of expression when he described the way she’d obsequiously handed over her phone and then charged at him in a rage.

‘My phone; I left it there. I didn’t realise.’

‘Don’t worry. We’ll think of something,’ said Nick, unsure.

Juliet closed her eyes and sighed. She kept going to say something but then would stop, apparently to think some more. Nick gave her a while to compose herself as if she’d silently asked him to.

Even in his panic he was amazed over Aldrich’s ability. Not only did he
need
to know the man’s link to his mother’s death, but also he wanted more information about Aldrich himself. Would Aldrich know how Nick’s ability had come about? Could he teach Nick how to gain control of it?

His mind continued to reel out questions until Juliet plainly asked, ‘So Aldrich can control people with his mind?’

 ‘I think so.’

‘How does he do that?’ Her eyes squinted in horror.

‘How would I know? How do you see ghosts? How did I see the future?’

‘But what are we going to do now?’

‘I just need to think.’ He tapped the steering wheel impatiently, waiting for lightning to strike, but nothing came to mind.

‘We have to go back,’ said Juliet. ‘I left my phone there. He knows my name, and he knows you’re called Nick. You’re saved in my phone as Nicolas Crystan. If he can control people, then he could have us killed.’

‘I agree, but what if he gets you to attack me again?’ Nick saw a guilty look on her face.