There was no trigger Harry could jam, so he simply wrapped the entire mechanism in a fragment of Wellesley’s blanket. The job took as long as it takes to tell and then he was out again. And he was satisfied that Clarke’s guardian angel had been gagged, for the time being at least.
‘Is that it?’ Darcy frowned. ‘Are you satisfied I’ll do you no harm?’
Absolutely, Harry said to himself, while outwardly he merely nodded. Because if you try you’ll have no protection, which means I’ll at least be able to protect myself.
And then he heard another voice in his head, Jordan’s saying: Which means he’s no longer protected from anything. Won’t you at least tell him what you’ve done?
No, Harry answered. You know Darcy: he’d become paranoid about his safety in a moment. That was always his paradox, that despite this weird talent of his, still he looked after himself like he was accident-prone or something.
I hope he’ll be all right, that’s all, said the other.
‘Well?’ Darcy prompted Harry.
‘I’m satisfied you won’t go against me,’ the Necroscope told him. ‘And now we have to be on our way.’
Jordan said, ‘It strikes me as likely that the Branch will know we’ve been here. If you want to stay on their good side, Darcy, you might like to call the Duty Officer and confirm it. Let them see that you’re not in collusion with us. And at the same time you might use your good offices to clear me.’
Darcy pulled a wry face. ‘Actually, my “offices” aren’t looking any too hot right now,’ he said. ‘But certainly I’ll give it a try.’ He looked at Harry. ‘So where are you two off to now? Or shouldn’t I ask?’
‘You shouldn’t ask – ‘ Harry answered. ‘ – but I’ll tell you anyway: we’re tracking your serial killer. I sort of got hooked up on it. That’s the job I want finished before I move on.’
Darcy nodded. ‘That way you’ll leave a clean sheet behind you, Harry, which is the way it should be. You’ll always be the right sort of legend: famous instead of infamous.’
Harry said nothing. Fame, even infamy, didn’t concern him. All that mattered was his obsession. What was more, he knew why it had become an obsession. He was being chased off his territory, forced to vacate his very own world, which he had fought for. Not physically driven out – not yet, anyway – but soon. And the vampire, especially one of the Wamphyri, is tenacious and territorial. Frustrated almost beyond endurance, Harry was fighting back. But if he must take it out on someone, then at least let that someone be a fiend in his own right. Namely, the serial killer, the necromancer, the torturer of Penny and those other poor innocents. Even Pamela Trotter, innocent, yes. Compared to him, anyway.
It was time Harry and Trevor Jordan were on their way. They said the usual farewells, very simply, and Harry told Jordan to close his eyes again. Darcy Clarke watched them go and when they were no longer there held out his trembling hand into the space where they’d passed through a Möbius door into nothing.
And that was all he found there.
Nothing . . .
2
Finding Johnny
In Edinburgh it would soon be dawn, but Harry Keogh knew that things – all sorts of things – were rapidly coming to a head and he wasn’t nearly ready to ease off now. Now that he’d started this job his one thought was to get it finished. In darkness or, if needs be, in light.
Early-summer sunlight would be a problem from now on in, but it was more an inconvenience than a threat proper. The sun wouldn’t kill him – not yet, anyway – but taken in large doses it would sicken and weaken him. His glasses helped keep its glare out of his eyes; his floppy hat protected his head and face but was a dead giveaway; he must keep his hands in his pockets for long periods, which gave him the slovenly look of a delinquent youth or a Labour politician but was absolutely necessary. Only the British weather, almost invariably mean, was on his side. Trevor Jordan, on the other hand, suffered no such restrictions and could come and go as he pleased; and with Harry’s help, go as far as he pleased and instantly.