THE CODE. Intrigued, he continued reading. You hold the key to unlocking your future, your power, your potential. ʻThe Code

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3 Prologue THE CODE He opened the cover and found the fi rst page. The book felt substantial and had a good weight to it, despite being slim enough for the casual reader. The cover had a striking symbol and a catchy title: The Code. It felt both old and new. He rarely read outside of the classroom, but this book was strangely inviting. Besides, he d heard it was good from all the buzz on the internet. He traced his fi nger over the fi rst sentence. It was clear and concise: Change your life now. Intrigued, he continued reading. You hold the key to unlocking your future, your power, your potential. ʻThe Code has been handed down over thousands of years 1

4 in order to f ind its way into your hands right now. Lee clamped his knees tightly around the school bag at his feet, and shuffl ed into a private corner between two book displays. He didn t want to be interrupted. He looked around, making a brief survey of the other customers. What if one of his classmates saw him? It was a self-help book after all. He could always blame it on his mum and Christmas wasn t far away. She might want to read it too. He loosened the tie of his school uniform, twanged his dental braces and kept reading. The wise always listen to their inner voice, because it s the sound of the universe speaking to you. And it never lies. The voice is te - ing you that whatever you want can be yours, if you want it enough... Inner voice? His mum would have a fi t if she found this on his bedside table. But it felt good. And as the book said, if it feels good, it must be right. His eyes scanned over the sentences, faster and faster, flicking from left to right and back again. He could almost 2

5 feel it working on him, sending tiny electrical charges around his head, unlocking his potential and delivering a pleasant shiver of excitement at the same time. He suddenly saw it all clearly: success, fame and his wildest dreams come true. This was the moment he would remember when he was lying on a beach somewhere, with perfect teeth. He kept reading voraciously, covering the first few pages in less than a minute, consuming every last piece of wisdom the text had to offer. Then he stopped. Ouch! He felt a sting as he turned the page. A paper cut? But there wasn t any blood. Then he noticed it, crawling away from the spine, towards the corner of the page: a scorpion. Just like the one from biology class. He blinked. It couldn t be. But the black creature continued scuttling across the margin, making a clicking sound, and dropped over the edge. He stared at the book, transfi xed, as another bug emerged from behind the cover; then a centipede calmly headed in the opposite direction. A spider followed it: a big one, draped in brittle hair. And another insect he didn t even recognise. And another. Wha? Lee dropped the book as a swarm of insects fell out of the pages, turning it into a black, moving mass. It hummed with activity, the chorus of a hundred tiny 3

6 clicks, as all manner of creatures came spilling out of it. Someone... help! He backed away from the display stand, tripping over his school bag, splaying his arms to regain his balance. He looked down at his hands and saw more insects appearing from his shirtsleeves, running up the arms of his school uniform. Help me! He half fell through another display, sending rows of new releases collapsing to the fl oor. His yells escalated to full-blown screams as the insects covered his whole body, racing up his tie, inside his collar, secreting themselves on his person, burrowing into every corner. Other customers spun round, confused, awoken from their browsing. A shop assistant quickly moved away from the cash register to locate the source of the disturbance. Lee was writhing on the fl oor, surrounded by books, clawing at his clothes and kicking his legs in all directions, fi ghting off an unseen enemy. The shop assistant broke through the circle of onlookers, quickly assessed the situation, then knelt down and tried to place a book between the boy s teeth. G-get them off me! Lee cried out, desperately pointing all round himself. The onlookers stared down at him, baffled, then 4

7 exchanged concerned glances because he was pointing into thin air. There was no enemy attacking him. There was nothing there. Away from the gathering crowd and the overturned displays, a copy of The Code sat forgotten on the fl oor, clean and inviting, its glossy cover and symbol refl ecting in the fl uorescent lighting. 5

8 Chapter 1 THE KNIGHTLEYS In a private room in a quiet garden suburb outside London, Alan Knightley slept a dreamless sleep. This condition was not unusual for a patient who had been asleep for over four years. Experts said he was somewhere between a coma and a trance. Some such patients dreamed and some did not at least, that was according to the ones fortunate enough to wake up. Although he was forty-eight years old, Knightley still had a freshness and youth about his face, with no grey hair to speak of. The doctors assumed this was due to the sheer amount of uninterrupted rest he d enjoyed during his interminable stay at Shrubwoods Hospice. Despite an occasional fl utter of the eyelids, or an even more occasional grunt, he showed no sign of waking up any time soon. Several tubes and wires protruded from the sleeves of his gown, running along the side of the bed, connecting 6

9 to an intravenous drip and an ECG machine, which displayed a pulsing green line resembling a distant mountain range. At the end of the bed, a clipboard read: Knightley, Alan. His hair was neatly combed back to reveal sharp, if not conventionally handsome, features. He had a wide, knowledgeable brow; an angular nose interrupted by two slight bumps that indicated he had, on occasion, encountered opponents who could not be reasoned with; and a jaw that was proud and composed even while unconscious. His room had an old TV angled the wrong way, and beyond that a window looked out over neatly manicured lawns, hedges and a dense outcrop of trees. There was only one picture on the wall: a child s painting of a father and son, which made up for its lack of formal skill with its bold use of colour and unusual attention to detail. Both fi gures wore a suit and tie: the father s suit was red and the son s green. Darkus Knightley, the smaller fi gure from the picture, sat patiently by his father s bedside. He was older now, but he wasn t embarrassed by the painting that hung over him. It reminded him of how far he d come in the past four years, leading up to his thirteenth birthday a hollow affair that had taken place a month earlier. His father, on the other hand, was still lying in the exact 7

10 same position he always did, impervious to the passage of time, hardly moving a muscle: the cause of his condition as yet unknown. As chance would have it, Darkus was wearing green, just like in the picture; to be precise, it was a forestgreen tweed waistcoat and jacket ensemble that was somewhat ahead of his years. His shoes were highly polished brogues. His sharp blue eyes, neatly parted hair and angular nose and ears also seemed in advance of his years certainly different from your average thirteen-year-old. Without warning, he began to speak aloud, apparently from memory, for there was no printed matter in evidence. Last week I examined the Curious Case of the Amber Necklace, Darkus began. I found the line of reasoning clear and well laid out, but its conclusions were lacking. He paused and watched his father s closed eyelids for any kind of response. Seeing none, he continued. If there was a larger organisation responsible for its disappearance, I see no hard evidence to prove it... He paused again, watching his father the way a fi sherman watches the still surface of a lake, waiting for a ripple that means the bait has been taken. He received no such ripple. What he did receive, however, was an audible signal 8

11 from outside the door: a minute squeak from the linoleum, as if someone had been standing outside, possibly even eavesdropping on him. Darkus turned his head to the door and saw a small circle of mist on the porthole window. Someone had most certainly been watching him, but he told himself that in all likelihood it was only a concerned member of the nursing staff. He checked his simple Timex watch, which confi rmed his time was up. Besides, he had an event to attend that evening. That concludes my report for today, he announced. Then he added gently, Sleep tight, Dad. On cue, a female nurse opened the door with no attempt to be quiet. She had stopped bothering with details like that a few years ago. Same time next week then? she asked Darkus. Yes-yes, he answered softly, then collected his herringbone coat and Donegal tweed walking hat and quietly left the room. 9

12 Chapter 2 WORDPLAY By that evening, a thick fog had rolled across the southeast, moving through the dense woodland and over the substantial grounds of Cranston School. The classrooms were empty, the rows of desks faintly lit by lamp posts standing along the perimeter. The fog gathered around the facade of the main building, creeping over the railings towards a modern structure set back from the rest. The assembly hall stood out like a beacon, its windows giving off a good-natured glow. A murmur of activity came from inside as some two hundred pupils and parents sat facing a wide, raised stage. The pupils were all in civilian clothes, including a small group in designer hooded tops skulking near the back of the room. A male teacher in a patterned sweater stood at the side of the stage holding a microphone. Behind the lectern, three teenage pupils sat waiting their turn: a boy in jeans and a T-shirt, a girl in leggings and a black 10

13 leather jacket, and a familiar fi gure in a green tweed waistcoat and jacket ensemble. Darkus Knightley, prepare to spell, the teacher announced. Darkus stood up and approached the lectern. He looked upward and to the right, unconsciously holding the mic stand for moral support. The teacher held his own microphone close. Your word is... He paused enigmatically, then said, Zarzuela. The audience whispered the word to each other, exchanging glances. The teacher repeated it once more for dramatic effect: Zarzuela. The audience went quiet. Darkus focused his gaze on the upper right of the auditorium, briefl y closed his eyes, then responded: Z-a-r-z-u-e-l-a. Zarzuela. A Spanish opera noted for its spoken dialogue and comic subject matter. The teacher nodded. Correct. The audience applauded, except for the hooded tops who remained indifferent near the back of the room. The teacher added, The defi nition is not strictly necessary, Darkus, but I won t object. Thank you. Darkus nodded and returned to his seat, unmoved by the applause. He made brief eye contact with his mum and stepdad, who were seated in the middle of the 11

14 audience, dressed in smart casual clothes. Darkus returned his attention to his waistcoat as the teacher announced the next name. Gary Evans, prepare to spell. The boy in the jeans and T-shirt approached the microphone. Your word is... yosenabe, said the teacher, then repeated the word for effect. The boy gripped the mic stand and stared dead ahead into the crowd. Y-o-s-... he stammered, e-n-a-b-y? Yosenaby? The teacher paused then shook his head. I m afraid that is incorrect. The correct spelling is: y-o-s-e-n-a-b-e. A soup consisting of seafood and vegetables cooked in a broth. You can leave the stage, Gary. The audience clapped respectfully. Gary hung his head and exited the stage, avoiding the gaze of his parents huddled together applauding in the front row. Tilly Palmer, prepare to spell. The thirteen-year-old girl in the black leather jacket approached the microphone, and a murmur rippled through the crowd, as if her reputation preceded her. Her hair was jet black with blue lowlights although it had a tendency to change colour dramatically and without warning, for no reason that Darkus could deduce, and to the consternation of the school authorities. Darkus s relationship with Tilly was complicated for 12

15 several reasons. Firstly, she was the daughter of his father s former assistant, Carol. Secondly, Carol had died in a tragic car accident six years ago a year before Darkus s own parents split up. Thirdly and most unexpectedly the world had conspired to bring together Darkus s divorced mum and Tilly s widowed father. As a result, Tilly had become his stepsister. Tilly, your word is... logorrhoea, the teacher announced. If you answer correctly, you re in with a chance to win the competition. Tilly narrowed her eyes in concentration. Darkus watched from his seat, feeling no sense of competition quite the opposite in fact. Tilly had performed admirably throughout the heats; she had a broad, often incisive knowledge of a variety of subjects, drawn from many long hours spent browsing the internet. This was partly down to the fact that her father had temporarily confined her to Cranston as a boarder after she ran away from home once too often. More than anyone, including himself, she deserved to win. Darkus interlaced his fi ngers and waited for her to answer. L-o-g-o-r-... r-h-o-e-a. Logorrhoea, she recited. Pathologically incoherent and repetitious speech. The teacher nodded. Correct. The crowd rippled with applause, which was quickly overtaken by the customary murmuring that followed 13

16 Tilly like a shadow. She returned to her seat without expression, imperceptibly glancing at Darkus as she went. Darkus, prepare to spell. Your word is... abalone. Darkus arrived at the microphone, staring up and to the right again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tilly behind him, shifting in her seat. The teacher repeated, Abalone. Darkus began, A-b-a-l-o-n. Abalon. He turned to the teacher. The teacher looked up, surprised. I m afraid that is incorrect, Darkus. Abalone is A-b-... As the teacher correctly spelled the word, Darkus noticed Tilly react, bemused, from behind him. The teacher read the definition and Darkus unconsciously whispered the words along with him, for he was well aware of both the meaning and spelling of abalone. A mollusc of the genus Haliotis with a bowl-like shell and a row of respiratory holes, the teacher advised him. Darkus nodded and returned to his seat, closely examined by Tilly. Tilly, prepare to spell for the competition. Your word is... vivisepulture... As Tilly approached the mic, Darkus s mind drifted off a bit. He knew she would get this one. Vivisepulture: the act of being buried alive. Hardly the most uplifting end to the competition, but a common occurrence in 14

17 the annals of crime, at least according to his research. In fact, he had only just read about the heinous custom in his father s account of the Incident of the Missing Headstone. V-i-v-i-... she began, then glanced off at Darkus with some suspicion, then continued,... s-e-p-u-l-t-ur-e. Vivisepulture. Before the teacher could confi rm the result, Darkus had already started clapping. That is correct, the teacher announced. The audience reluctantly broke into applause, temporarily drowning out the murmuring. Darkus quietly made his way offstage, away from the commotion. Tilly squinted behind the lectern as flashbulbs captured the moment. A second teacher arrived carrying a trophy. Audience members began fi ling out of the auditor ium. Darkus made his way up the aisle towards the back of the room. Hey, Dorkus, said one of the hooded tops, leering at him. Better luck next time. Thanks, he answered politely. Unfortunately his name was perfectly suited to a number of less than flattering alterations and abbreviations. If it wasn t for this moniker he could have faded even further into the dull backdrop of school life, which was his preferred position: out of sight, out of mind. The name was 15

18 by all accounts his father s idea, not his mother s as she reminded him on a regular basis. Perhaps by way of apology, his father had abbreviated it to Doc, which was marginally less of a problem, although Darkus preferred to reserve that name as a term of endearment between him and his dad rather than share it with the school. For that reason, he hadn t heard the name Doc in almost four years. See you around, the hooded top threatened. Not if I see you fi rst, Darkus whispered to himself, until a hand grabbed his shoulder. Hey A voice accompanied it. He turned to fi nd Tilly facing him. You let me win, she said. Darkus paused a moment, then shook his head. There s no empirical proof of that. I don t need proof. I know you did. You were an excellent competitor, Tilly. You won on your own merits. He bowed his head a little. I for one am looking forward to half-term, he embellished. How about you? She examined him with her overpoweringly dark eyes, unconvinced by his story. Kids...? A booming male voice broke the moment. Darkus turned to see his stepdad, Clive, emerge from the crowd. The waist of Clive s jeans appeared to be even 16

19 higher than usual, leaving a gap of several inches between the hem of his trouser leg and the tongue of his loafers. This being an occasion of sorts, the sock was an argyle. The outfit was completed by a silver nylon jacket that resembled something an astronaut might have worn during the early days of lunar exploration. Meeting Tilly s stare, Clive modified his tone a bit and unconsciously ran a hand through his nest of curly salt-and-pepper hair: Er, Darkus? Your mother wants to get back for the telly, he lied. Unlucky on the spelling test, he added with a shrug. Tilly, you ve earned yourself some reward points. I ll reconsider my position on the Xbox. Tilly looked at him, unfl inching, then reluctantly turned and followed Darkus out of the assembly hall. At Shrubwoods Hospice, Alan Knightley s chest heaved and sank at long, excruciating intervals, while his eyelids remained defi antly and terminally closed. The female nurse rhythmically raised and lowered Knightley s feet at faster intervals, bending his legs at the knee joint with a loud clicking noise: a thankless ritual she had to perform several times a day to maintain adequate circulation to his extremities. Behind her, a male doctor entered and examined the patient warily. 17

20 Any improvement? he asked. Nope. Speech function? Not a word. The doctor watched the patient, then shook his head. Let me know if anything changes. Will do. The doctor exited, walking down the corridor. The nurse waited for her superior s footsteps to recede into the distance, then roughly dropped Knightley s feet on to the bed and checked her watch. Without looking, her hand quickly located the remote control on the side table and pointed it at the TV set. She sat on the lone chair, leaned back and stared up. The TV fl ickered to life, showing a panel of judges sitting under a row of spotlights. One by one they rose up in a standing ovation. The nurse lowered the volume, so as not to be heard. On the screen, music reverberated through the studio, only to be drowned out by the cheers of the audience. Congratulations, the fi rst judge announced. The female contestant shrugged modestly. The second judge paused for effect. I think... you might have just the right combination to win this competition. The applause got louder. The nurse s eyes glittered as she watched the screen, 18

21 as if the praise was for her. Behind her, Knightley s eyelids appeared to fl utter, as if he was aware of the commotion. The fi ngers on his right hand tensed up, seemed to make a gesture for a second, then relaxed. On TV, the third judge took over: I agree. The combination of that voice and that performance could take you all the way. The crowd erupted into applause again. The nurse shifted on her chair, excited. Behind her, Knightley fl inched. Something the judge had said was having an effect on him. One eye seemed to open, then closed again. His mouth started gaping, as if trying to say something. Coh... he whispered, unheard. Coh... On TV, the music started up again as the contestant left the stage. The nurse watched, entranced. Behind her, Knightley s hand moved again. It was more extreme this time, pointing into space, his mouth clearly trying to articulate a word. On TV, the music began to die down. Coh... mm... Knightley s lips jutted out, taking all his effort. Combi Suddenly the nurse s pager beeped loudly, startling her. She quickly raised the remote control, clicked off the TV and marched to the door, her white shoes squeaking across the fl oor. She did not notice Knightley behind her, now 19

22 gesturing wildly with both hands, his tubes getting crossed, straining at their moorings. As she slammed the door behind her, Knightley sat bolt upright in bed and managed to get the word out in one go. The Combination! he said, sounding strangely surprised. He opened his eyes or tried to. His left eyelid was sealed shut, giving a sort of pirate impression, the eyelashes bound together by hundreds of hours of sleep. He rubbed them impatiently then both eyes opened, looking alarmed, taking in their surroundings. What...? He inspected the tubes running from his arms and chest. Without thinking, he quickly tore them out. Ouch!! he screamed, and looked around to see if anyone had heard him, but apparently no one had. The ECG machine was fl ashing an error, but as yet no one seemed to have noticed. He tried to move but found more tubes under the sheets, rooting him in place. He winced as he disconnected them, then smiled, relieved, and managed to swing his legs out of bed. His toes touched the cold linoleum and fl inched slightly. Unperturbed, he adjusted his gown, pressed his soles to the fl oor and took his fi rst steps. Knightley s knees buckled and he fell fl at on his face. He breathed slowly, performing a series of mental 20

23 diagnostics on his body. His hands were functioning, his arms were passable, but his legs were basically useless. There was adequate feeling, but no muscle mass. He reached out for the foot of the cupboard and used it to drag himself along the fl oor, creating a deafening squeaking noise of bare skin against linoleum. His features set into a look of grim determination as he reached the cupboard and then stretched out his hand to fi nd purchase on a wall socket. He continued traversing the room like a rock climber, only he was climbing across the fl oor. In a nearby corridor, the nurse s pager beeped again. She looked down at it, annoyed. Then a much louder beeping echoed through the whole building. She could not ignore this sound because it was the alarm. She took off down the corridor at a brisk clip, turned the corner and was confronted by something so inexplicable that it momentarily took her breath. The door to Alan Knightley s room was hanging ajar. She had not left it that way. She raced towards it, breaking into a sprint. She burst into the room to fi nd the bed empty, tubes discarded on the fl oor, a puddle of intravenous liquid gathering under the bed. The nurse stood gaping as the doctor burst through the door behind her. What happened? Where is he?! The doctor gripped the nurse s arm, breaking her trance. 21

24 I don t know... she responded. In another wing of the hospice, Knightley staggered down a corridor bow-legged, his limbs barely supporting his body. At the end of the corridor, a walking frame stood discarded outside a recreation room and Knightley grabbed hold of the handlebars. With a lurch, he accelerated down another corridor, wheels rattling. He reached a staircase and paused, his legs wobbling uncontrollably. He heard voices from the bottom of the stairs. He s not in his room? Well, he s not down here. The voices were getting closer. Knightley saw a private room on his right and ducked inside. An elderly male patient reclining in the bed looked up from behind an oxygen mask. And how are we doing today, Mr...? Knightley cleared his throat and glanced at the man s clipboard. Jones? Mr Jones looked up at him, alarmed: this was most certainly not his doctor. He moaned loudly, trying to alert the nurses. Knightley spotted a pair of slippers by the bed. Mind if I borrow these? he asked. The patient groaned in complaint. Thanks. Knightley put them on and raised the sash window behind the bed. With some diffi culty he used both hands to lift his leg on to the mattress, stepped 22

25 over Mr Jones and slid himself on to the window ledge. Outside, a strong wind gusted through the trees, lifting Knightley s gown, which he held fi rmly in place. He stupidly looked down, seeing the manicured lawns and hedges some six or seven metres below. He shivered, feeling goose pimples popping up over his entire body. He willed his slippered feet to inch along the parapet ledge towards a rusted fi re escape at the corner of the building. His feet shuffl ed obediently as the wind kept up, ruffl ing his hair. He reached the fi re escape, swung his legs over the railing and awkwardly backed down the ladder towards a row of fl ower beds. Floodlights fl icked on across the grounds. The doctor and several nurses ran out of the main entrance, scanning the area. Mr Knightley! Mr Knightley, come back! At the edge of the lawn, just beyond the large circles of electric light, a white shape disappeared into a hedge. Knightley careered headlong through the undergrowth, tearing his gown. The heavens opened up, drenching him in heavy rain. Undaunted, he swung himself over a perimeter fence and found himself on a dimly lit local road. He stumbled along the grassy verge towards a row of neon lamps in the distance. 23

26 Chapter 3 THE CASE OF THE SCRATCHED QUARTER PANEL Clive pressed his face against the misted windscreen, peering through the fog as they drove home from the competition. Jackie, Darkus s mum, fi ddled with the heating controls. She was still attractive, even under a layer of sensible woollies, with her hair in a more conservative style than in her younger days. I can t get the demister to work, she complained softly. The climate control in this thing is pretty much nonexistent, Clive muttered. In your review you called it absolutely spectacular, said Darkus from the back seat, attempting light conversation. That was TV this is reality. Big difference, replied Clive. Besides, they gave us a deal on this! he said, gesturing dismissively at the car. Well, it s lucky you ve got your new jacket, Jackie reminded him. That ll keep out the cold. 24

27 It ll keep out a nuclear winter, remarked Tilly from beside Darkus, then returned to staring sullenly into the soupy darkness. Clive glanced at his daughter in the rear-view mirror. Well, if I wanted fashion advice, Tilly, you wouldn t be the fi rst person I d ask, that is unless I was going to a funer Clive, Jackie interrupted him. Sorry, love. He guided the estate car into a bend. Tilly smiled privately, shook her head and continued watching the trees go by. Her dad would feel worse about this last comment than she would. Darkus considered giving her a sympathetic glance, then thought better of it. He and his stepsister kept a safe distance; it was easier that way. They emerged from the mist on to a quiet residential street, signposted Wolseley Close, and pulled up to a neat, detached mock-tudor house. A large Jaguar coupe took up one side of the driveway. Clive switched off the car and Tilly was fi rst up the path and into the house, using her own keys. Jackie gave Clive a look and he returned his customary shrug. They continued up the driveway after her, with Darkus in tow, until Clive came to an abrupt halt. I don t believe it... Clive froze, then crouched down like a Neanderthal, approaching the Jaguar almost on 25

28 all fours. He peered over at the neighbouring house whose garden was adjacent to theirs. That son of a Clive, Jackie interrupted him. Well, look! He gesticulated towards the back of the car. A thin silver line defi led the perfect midnight-blue paintwork of the Jaguar s rear quarter panel. Clive stared at the scratch in a stunned trance. It must ve been the wheelie bins. He s always moving those ruddy bins around. He took out his mobile phone and marched after Jackie into the house, angrily dialling a number. Darkus watched him go, then returned to the scene. He knelt down by the Jaguar and examined the scratch, slowly running his fi nger over it. Then he glanced at the grass around the edge of the driveway. Satisfi ed that he d observed everything he needed to, he walked into the house and closed the front door behind him. Clive was striding around the kitchen on the phone while Jackie stood patiently by the kettle. He s not picking up. Typical. Clive waved the phone in the air, awaiting an acknowledgement from Jackie, who instead set about making the tea. Well, we ve all had a diffi cult day, she said, nodding at Darkus, who had appeared from the other room and sat down at the kitchen table. Jam sandwich, sweetie? she asked him. 26

29 Yes-yes. Triangles not squares, Darkus answered automatically, nodded appreciatively and sat silent for a moment. Then he added, as if in passing, Er, Clive? Yes...? he hissed impatiently. I think you ll fi nd it wasn t him, Darkus stated frankly, then turned his attention to the cup of tea his mum had just set before him. He sipped it and raised his eyebrows. Perfect, thank you. What do you mean, it wasn t him? Clive demanded. It wasn t Mr Hanson, or his bins. Jackie, tell the boy to speak English, for crying out loud. Jackie and Clive watched Darkus, awaiting an explanation. Well...? Clive implored. Judging by the slightly deeper incision on the right side, you ll fi nd that the scratch moved from right to left, indicating that the perpetrator was moving in the direction of the house. That fact discounts the possibility of the wheelie bins being the weapon, as Mr Hanson s bins are still in the road and haven t been brought in yet. Clive gawped at Darkus, astounded. Behind him, Jackie carefully applied jam to four pieces of buttered white bread, sandwiched them together and cut them into triangles. Darkus watched her do this, took another sip of tea, then continued. I also noted only one set of footprints on that side of the car, and those are consistent with a 27

30 casual loafer, not the more formal shape of Mr Hanson s business shoe. Darkus refreshed himself once more with some tea before carrying on. Finally, I observed that the scratch was uniformly level at one metre from the ground. So I conclude that the only possibility is that you were in fact the culprit, Clive, by accident or misadventure of course. And I will hazard a guess that if you measure the position of the zip on your fashionable new coat, in all probability you will fi nd it s approximately one metre from the ground. Clive looked down at the oversized zip on his jacket which was positioned exactly as described then erupted: That s it! I ve had it with this detective stuff Clive, control yourself, Jackie admonished. Darkus selected a jam sandwich and took a bite, nodding his satisfaction. Excellent. You d better be careful he doesn t turn out like his father! Clive warned. I mean, he talks like Alan, he dresses like Alan. And look what happened to him... Jackie set down her cup of tea in protest. I think I ll retire to my room, said Darkus politely. Me too, said Jackie, glaring at Clive before following her son upstairs. Darkus s bedroom was simple and well appointed. A heavy oak bureau desk faced the window with a 28

31 comfortable offi ce chair behind it. Beyond the window was a view of the street and a single lamp post. Against the bedroom wall were a series of bookshelves and a fi ling cabinet, overshadowing a single bed. No posters were in evidence, only a whiteboard neatly arranged with handwritten Post-its. Darkus entered his room, placed a coaster on the desk and set his cup of tea on it. Jackie watched him, concerned, closing the door behind them. Sweetie, she said. Yes, Mum? Clive... she began, well, he just never understood your father. For that matter, neither did I. Alan s... complicated. He s not crazy, Darkus responded. Sweetie, your dad saw the world differently from the rest of us. He looked at things more closely than the rest of us. He often mistook fantasy for reality. That s why it didn t make sense to live together any more. He ll prove you all wrong when he wakes up. The doctors don t know when that ll be, Jackie explained gently, or if he ll even remember anything from before his... she chose her words carefully, from before his episode. I know what they said, Darkus replied, but they re wrong, he stated without anxiety. 29

32 Jackie sat on the bed, facing him. Look, I know you miss your dad, and, believe it or not, sometimes so do I. Darkus looked up hopefully for a moment, until Jackie qualifi ed her last statement. Not enough to ever consider turning back the clock, obviously. Darkus frowned and sipped his tea. And Tilly misses her mum... Jackie continued, and she ll never get her back. Darkus nodded solemnly. We may not be perfect, sweetie, but we re still a family, she concluded, and Clive and me are doing the best we can to make it a happy one. I know, Mum, said Darkus, hoping this awkward conversation was drawing to a close. And I m always here for you, Doc, she said, using his father s nickname. Her eyes unexpectedly welled up. Always. Thanks, Mum, replied Darkus sincerely. She stood up and gave him a brief hug. Don t stay up here all evening, OK? OK. Jackie smiled and closed the door behind her. Darkus watched the door for a moment, then rolled his offi ce chair towards the fi ling cabinet. He took a key from his waistcoat pocket and unlocked one of the metal drawers. He slid it open and reached inside. His fi ngers found a small leather case, secured with a 30

33 strap. He took it out, unfastened the buckle and slid out a computer hard drive. He rolled back over to the desk, opened his laptop, connected the hard drive with a USB cable, then clicked on the icon and brought up a series of fi les. He began to scroll through hundreds of pages of text, images and diagrams, all heavily annotated, with time stamps dating back to the 1980s. The fi le headings bore names like The Haverstock Hill Murders and The Salamander Incident. Photographs showed streets and buildings, and blurred faces that were obviously captured covertly. From the changing appearance of the buildings facades, and the style and dress of the characters, the document contained well over twenty years of detective work. Strangely, Darkus found that reading his father s macabre case studies made him feel closer to him, even if he didn t fully understand everything he was reading about. Darkus clicked through the pages, past detailed drawings of a lock barrel and the blueprint of a building, arriving at a sketch of an open hand with its palm up, and another with an extended fi st. The bluish glow of the computer screen cast a refl ection of him in the front window. He glanced at his image, then peered through it to the outside. The fog was still rolling in around the neighbouring houses. The 31

34 single lamp post produced a small circle of light in the murk, illuminating what Darkus realised was a shape standing underneath it. He drew closer to the windowpane, looking out. A massive bulky man in a long coat and a homburg hat stood beneath the lamp post, watching their house. A tiny red ember fl ashed from under the brim of his hat and a plume of cigar smoke billowed up, commingling with the fog. Darkus closed his laptop to watch unobserved. But the man had already seen him, for he turned and walked away from the circle of light with a heavy, waddling gait. Darkus quickly opened the window, letting in the cold, and poked his head out for a better look. But the stranger had already vanished into the gloom. 32

35 Bloomsbury Publishing, London, New Delhi, New York and Sydney First published in Great Britain in January 2014 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP Text copyright Rohan Gavin 2014 The moral right of the author has been asserted All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN Typeset by Hewer Text UK Ltd, Edinburgh Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY