“I thinkyoudid. What happened?”
“He knocked at your door – Joe Kemp. Had his rifle over his arm like he was off shooting rabbits. Soon as I let him in, he cocked it and pointed it at me.”
“Why’d you let him in? Did you know...”
“That he was the faceof the monster?” Lee glanced anxiously at the child, but she was still half-drugged, resting her head on Gideon’s shoulder. “As soon as I saw him, yes. And I saw that he meant to bring me to where she was, so I did as he said.”
“He made you tidy your things away, so it would look like you’d just gone.”
“Yeah. I thought if I left the bed in a mess, though – ”
“I understood. I got your signal.” They both smiled at the nature of it. “I don’t get it. His quad bike and truck are still down in the sheds.”
“He walked me up here. It was misty and there was no-one about. I thought about knocking him down and making a run for it a couple of times, but I wanted to go with him. I didn’t know how else we’d find the kid, not after I’d drawn that blank on Wheal Catherine, and – ”
“Wheal Catherine!” Lorna jolted and woke up. She looked from Lee to Gideon in bewilderment, as if they’d roused her from a dream. “I don’t want to go back there.”
Gideon stroked her hair. “You won’t. Is that where you were at first, though?”
She nodded. “Yes. We used to go on picnics there. He put me down one of the holes, and he... heleftme.”
“But he came back?”
“Mm-hm. But the holes weren’t deep enough. He said they might find me there. But they’d already looked up here by the crags, so if he brought me here, they’d never... they’d never...”
She crushed her face back into Gideon’s shoulder. He covered her exposed ear with one hand and said quietly to Lee, “If I ever get my hands on the bastard... He told the Prowse kid he was the Beast of Bodmin, for God’s sakes. So that’s why he came after you, then – he overheard Sarah saying you’dguided us out to Wheal Catherine. That was when he made a run for it.”
“I thought he seemed a bit scared of me, for a man with a hunting rifle in his hands. He told me to stay out of his head. The Prowses did know something, then?”
“Hell, yeah. You were right about that – the window, the roses, everything. He came and took her out of Bill Prowse’s house in the night. I’ll tell you all about it, but we should get going – can you walk?”
“Yeah. Whatever he uses, it wears off fast, but...” Lee made a face and rubbed at the back of his head. “I think it’s meant for sheep. The kid needs a doctor.”
“I know. Soon as we’re out of here and I can get a mobile signal. Come on.”
The uphill route out was tougher than the way in, but Gideon hardly felt it. To him it was a triumphal procession, Lee’s warmth at his side and the weight of the child in his arms the spoils of a war he’d never imagined could be won. Lee took a breath of relief when they emerged from the cramped passage into the cavern’s open space. “There’s dozens of caves like this under here,” he said, steadying Gideon and Lorna up a sharp rise. “You can’t even see the entrance to this one from up top, not unless you know what you’re looking for. How did you find it?”
“I didn’t. Will you believe it was the dog? She...” He fell silent, drawing Lee to a halt. As if on cue, he had picked up a faint sound of growling. “She wouldn’t come down here with me. She was scared, or...” The growling pitched up into snarls, then a wild volley of barking. A yelp terminated the sounds, sharp as a knife through wire.
“Or she knew he’d come back,” Lee finished grimly in the ensuing silence. “He’s dangerous. I think there’s a body down here already, though I couldn’t see – ”
“There is.” Gideon left it at that: perhaps the kid would never have to know. She was alert again, eyes wide in fear at the sounds from above. Gently Gideon detached her limpet grip and held her out to Lee. “Take hold of her. Then I want the two of you to stay behind me.”
“That doesn’t sit too well with me, Gideon.”
“I know. But I’m a police officer, and... Listen. Whatever happens, just look after her, okay?”
A shape was moving down from the top of the scree-covered slope. Its gait was odd, and the shadows cast behind it by Gideon’s torch leapt into strange vulpine shapes. There was no chance of concealment, so Gideon stepped out. “Joe Kemp!” he called, because what else could it be? He tuned out the thin shrieks of the child, who could see what he did but didn’t share his adult agenda to force the monster into human form. “Kemp, stay where you are.”
The creature came to a halt. It hunched down on the scree. Its voice was thick and rough, but a run across the misty moor would do that. “Ah, Gideon. You found my cave, then.”
“Yes. What have you done, Joe?”
“If I told you nothing, would you believe me?”
“If you can explain – with all my heart.” Somehow Gideon still meant it. His knowledge of the man refused to run in tandem with the evidence. Nevertheless he held his position between Joe and the child. “Explain to me.”
“Oh, I’ll explain. Maybe a lonely bastard like you will even get it – hiding away like a toad under a stone until your lad got sick of you and walked away. I’m just back from seeing Sarah. I thought I’d give her one last chance.”
