I felt sick. ‘You’ve no idea how messed up you are, have you? I dread to think what the police are going to make of what’s in that pit.’
‘Not a lot,’ he replied, smiling. ‘I’ll see to that. You know, not all the bodies are in there.’
‘I know. You dumped some in the lake.’
‘That’s right.’
‘Soames also said that you inherited the house. But you told me earlier that you bought it from an old guy.’
‘Yes, I did say that, didn’t I?’ Mather chuckled, scratching his chin absently and staring up at the night sky. ‘My, my – you poor man. I’ll bet you don’t know what to believe.’
‘Well, let’s just say I’m taking everything you say with a pinch of salt from now on.’ I’m not sure what kept me talking. Perhaps I was still trying to delay the inevitable.
‘As a matter of fact, I did take the house from an old gentleman – Mr West. But I didn’t exactly buy it from him.’
‘And did he end up on the operating table too?’ I gave Mather a nasty look, but it didn’t seem to bother him.
‘No – the theatre wasn’t set up then. Besides, I wanted to deal with the problem quickly and get back home. I didn’t like the idea of Soames being alone with the Lady.’ For a foolish moment I actually believed Mather was showing concern for his late accomplice. The moment didn’t last long though. ‘I had complete faith in her power, but Soames was resourceful when he needed to be. I was worried that he might find some way of escaping – or worse, of harming her.’
‘I’ll bet the previous owner was completely fooled, wasn’t he? Until it was too late.’
‘Well no . . . not quite. I knew of the island because I’d been to Lake Languor in my youth. The house was just being built then, and I remember thinking how wonderful it must be to live somewhere like that. The peace, the seclusion, the lack of distractions. To be able to carry out one’s work away from the prying eyes of an ignorant, unsympathetic society is a dream. My experiments were increasing in frequency – I admit it’s always been an addiction. When the Lady came into my life, I decided it was time to move away from London to a location not only where I could work with complete privacy, but where the Lady could feed without the remains of her meals being discovered.
‘I remember the weather was beautiful when I arrived at Tryst that day. I’d visited a few weeks before, to scout out the area and take a look at the island. I doubt Mr West had noticed me on the occasions I chartered a boat and sailed around the lake taking pictures and watching him when he moved about outside the house. You can build up a pretty good picture of a person’s psychological make-up, just by observing them. That day felt right for the business at hand. I made a deal with the harbour master to keep any other visitors off the water until I’d returned, just to be on the safe side. I had the measure of that man from day one. No morals. His only concern was pleasure. I could tell you things about him you wouldn’t believe.
‘Anyway, Mr West was, at the very least, surprised to see me. I think hearing someone at his front door must have been as unsettling as it was unexpected. He appeared after some moments, a look of befuddlement on his old face, and demanded to know what I was doing on his island. I was polite to begin with. I didn’t want my business on that day to be unpleasant, and it would have been nice to have moved into the house on a high note. But I had too much trouble getting Mr West into a position where I could deal with him quickly and painlessly. I told him I had a proposition for him, that I wanted to buy the island for a very high price and would like a tour. The idea was to get him away from the house and take him out quickly. Burying him would have been quite a task, but a small price to pay. Unfortunately he was most unwelcoming. He kept demanding that I leave the island, trying to shut the door in my face . . . Eventually I quite lost my temper and pushed the door in, knocking him to the floor of the hall. I – I had the dagger with me. My temper doesn’t often get the better of me, you know, but . . . I think Mr West brought out the worst in me. It was so infuriating that he should make things difficult when they could have been so easy.’
Mather looked at his feet, rolling his tongue around his teeth thoughtfully.
‘Such is life, I suppose. Once I’d finished with him I dragged his body into the forest and dumped it where it couldn’t be found, while I returned to London to arrange the move. That’s when I found the research centre. I pulled his corpse into the building and down into the basement. The pit used to have a ladder that went down to the floor below. At the bottom was a drain that led to the lake which could be used for disposing of waste. And that’s exactly what I did. I pulled the ladder off the wall and pushed his body down there to decompose and fall away into the drain. Perhaps there is still a part of him down there – at the bottom.’
‘You sick bastard. How could you enjoy killing people like that?’ I wanted Mather away from me. He was making my flesh creep, and I couldn’t help wishing I’d made sure that he was dead after pushing him into the pit earlier.
‘It occurred to me long ago that what scares us most isn’t death, disease or nuclear war. What’s most terrifying isn’t the world outside, but the world inside.’ He let this hang in the air a while. ‘We are what we see in the mirror. But we are also what we don’t see. The organs, the flesh, the . . . gore. But we ignore that, because it’s horrible.
We
are horrible. You see? Turned inside out we’re the most horrific sights imaginable. I’ve always been fascinated by that. That’s why I do it, if you must know. I want to understand why we are so truly abominable once the skin is peeled away.’
‘You’re a lunatic!’
‘And you are young, still to understand the complexities of nature.’
Mather zipped up his jacket, then walked to the edge of the clearing and into the trees that led down to the beach. I was still baffled. Why did he feel the need to give me all this information? Was he trying to confess? He couldn’t possibly be suffering from guilt.
I couldn’t hear any noise from the beach. Despite the shadow of doom that lay over my predicament, I still felt detached and slow. Perhaps the blow to the head had deadened my alertness. As I was fighting another wave of nausea, I heard a voice calling me. My eyes closed and I was consumed by a welcoming darkness.
I’m here
. It was a female voice again, sweet and beguiling.
‘Where?’
Close
.
‘What do you mean?’
It doesn’t matter. Listen to me. You mustn’t give in. This will all be over soon
.
‘I’m not sure I like the sound of that.’
You will come to no harm. He will only do what I allow
.
‘Mather?’
Yes
.
‘Who are you?’
I am Nhan Diep
.
‘What? I must be dreaming.’
No. You are not even asleep
.
To confirm this, I opened my eyes and saw that I was still in the damp clearing. Nothing suggested I was dreaming.
‘You can’t be the mosquito. That’s just not possible.’
But it is. I have been in this form for a long time. Thankfully that will soon end
.
‘Why?’
Because you are here
.
‘Me?’
Yes. I’ve been waiting for you
. There was a pause, as though something was holding her back.
He would have killed you in your sleep the first night, if I’d let him. He would end your life right now, but he can’t. Though it torments him greatly, he cannot overcome my will
.
‘But why have you been waiting for me?’
You are very rare, Ashley Reeves
.
‘Rare?’
I thought I might never find you, but here you are at last. My salvation
.
I could hear voices outside my head now, from the direction of the beach. I sensed her presence wane, and before long she was gone.
XII: INCARCERATION
The first voice was undoubtedly Mather’s.
‘This isn’t the time! What the devil’s the matter with you?’
‘I came to get the boat. He won’t be needing it any more will he?’
The second voice was familiar, though I couldn’t place it to begin with.
Is that Soames?
I thought. Perhaps he’d survived Mather’s attack after all. Perhaps Mather had lied to me about killing him. There was a pause, then the same voice, louder.
‘This is getting silly you know. You can’t do this for ever and expect no one to notice. I’m doing all I can, but I can’t keep it up much longer.’ If it was Soames, he sounded calmer, more self-assured than before.
‘The boat was wrecked so you’ve had a wasted trip.’
Despite the awkwardness and discomfort, I twisted my neck to the left and saw by the light of the moon Mather and the newcomer enter the clearing. They both walked towards the house but stopped halfway there. The second man noticed me. He was surprised, but still managed a weak smile as he turned to Mather. It wasn’t Soames after all. It was Derringher, the harbour master.
‘Smashed it up, did he? That’ll cost you. What are you going to do with him?’
‘What do you think? He’s going to help me with my research. Some day soon it’ll all pay off. There’ll be books written about me, mark my words. You should feel honoured to have been given a part in all this. You should be grateful, and it is essential that you continue doing your job, otherwise this will all be for nothing.’
At this the other man just shook his head and laughed. It was a hoarse, dirty sound that I didn’t like. Mather seemed to feel the same way.
‘There’ll be books written all right,’ the harbour master said. ‘You’re off your head. And don’t think I don’t know what you’re playing at. You’re sick . . .’ His lack of respect for Mather wasn’t surprising, yet it caused the other man to round on him.
‘Just hold your damned tongue! You’ve no idea what I’ve done, what I’ve discovered. An ignorant fool like you couldn’t conceive of the wonders, the miracles the human body has yet to yield. I don’t need peasants like you coming here and making a mockery of my life’s work. You just do what you’re told or you won’t get paid.’
The other man paused for a while, then turned and grabbed Mather by the collar. ‘You’d best be the one watching your mouth or I’ll be doing some experimenting of my own!’ He let the squirming Mather go, pushing him away sharply. ‘As for getting paid, I want more. A grand for the boat he wrecked, and another two for keeping my trap shut.’
‘What? A thousand pounds for driftwood? Listen, you! I’m not parting with that kind of money just to fuel your greed.’
‘Oh, I think you will, my friend.’
‘Oh do you?’ Mather laughed, something that didn’t go down very well with the other man. ‘You have some sense of humour. Do you think I’m going to just throw money at you every time you ask for it?’
‘Yes. I do, as a matter of fact. ’Cos if you don’t, I’ll have a word with my friend Sergeant Strutt, and I don’t think you’d like that.’
‘You don’t intimidate me, you odious man.’
‘What?’
‘Forget it. I’m not explaining everything to you.’
‘Well then, I might just go and pay our local constabulary a visit after all. It’s not like you’ve got nothing to hide, is it? They’ll have a field day if they come over here.’ His eyes revealed a gleeful malice. ‘What do you reckon?’
‘Nice try, but I know you only too well. You’ll do what I tell you or you won’t get another penny.’
The electricity in the air was palpable. The two men stood there, staring each other down. Then, unexpectedly, I heard the voice again.
Prepare yourself. This will not be pleasant
.
‘What?’
If something had triggered the action, I didn’t see it. In a flash Mather brandished the wicked dagger and lunged at the harbour master, stabbing the blade deep into the man’s thinly shirted belly. The big fellow just stood there, staring at Mather for a few cold seconds, before looking down at the hand, the knife and the spreading red stain on his shirt. He began coughing horribly. Mather withdrew the snaking blade as Derringher staggered backwards.
I turned to my right and threw up into the grass. Seeing Mather’s butchery at close hand made me realize how near I was to my own demise. I would be next unless I could do something to save myself.
When?
I pleaded.
When will this nightmare end?
Soon
, came the answer.
Very soon
.
I looked back to see Mather rushing towards me.
Oh my God, she’s right, it’s going to end now. He’s going to kill me
.
But he didn’t. He cut through the ropes binding my hands and waist and hauled me to my feet. Pain shot up my legs and for a panicked moment I thought I wouldn’t be able to walk. Mather swiftly marched me to the front door, then inside the house. We went past the living room and along the hall to his bedroom. He turned on the light, pushed me down on the floor by the window and tied my hands behind my back again, before turning to leave.