Outcast (The Darkeningstone Series Book 2) (32 page)

The corridor opened onto a small museum, the space crammed with glass display cases. Cally exchanged a wave and a smile with the woman behind the gift shop counter. “Hi, Margaret,” she called, but she didn’t wait for a reply, didn’t even stop walking. The museum was busy. Children swarmed through a fibreglass replica of a tunnel, while others pulled furiously on the levers that worked a demonstration water pump. Proud parents looked on or took photos with their phones. A few middle-aged couples wandered among the glass cases, browsing the displays.

Cally and Andrew bustled across the room, finally stopping by a swing door. Cally peered in through the door’s porthole. “It’s OK,” she said, “it’s dark in there so they can’t have been in long.” She turned to Andrew. “They turn the lights off while they watch a video, then they get ready. We’ll just slip in quietly and stand at the back. OK?”

“Sure,” Andrew said, “but, you know, I would’ve been quite happy to pay.”

Cally grinned. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Andrew chuckled softly. He hadn’t done anything like this since…well, he couldn’t think when he’d ever done anything like it. “I have to admit, it is kind of fun.”

“Come on,” she whispered. “If we go in now, no one will notice.”

But she was wrong. As they crept in through the door, the video came to an end and the lights were switched on. Every head turned. Most of the group were just mildly interested, perhaps thinking the new arrivals were part of the entertainment, but others frowned, annoyed at the interruption. The tour guide, a smartly dressed young woman, glared at Andrew, but her expression softened as soon as she saw Cally. She smiled and raised her eyebrows before turning her attention back to her audience. “It’s all right, ladies and gentlemen,” she said. “We’ve just been joined by a colleague. Now as I was saying, we’ll go through and put on our hard hats. The passages are well lit, but they’re narrow and the ceilings are low so we’ll all have to watch our step. So if you’d like to follow me, we’ll go and get ready.”

The group followed her out through a door on the far side of the room, and Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that was embarrassing.”

Cally wrinkled her nose. “It’s all right,” she said. “Helen’s OK. She knows you’re with me.”

“Did you see the way she looked at me? I was sure she was going to throw me out.”

Cally nodded. “Normally, she would.” She grinned. “Arriving late isn’t allowed. Good job you’ve got me here to protect you, isn’t it?”

Andrew looked at her. He’d always hated being teased, but Cally had a twinkle in her eye.
With that smile
,
you can get away with anything. Anything at all
.

“Let’s catch up,” Cally said. “I’m afraid we have to wear hard hats, too.”

“Fine,” Andrew said. He forced a smile.
Great
,
now I’m going to look stupid in a bright yellow plastic hat. What next?
He sighed and followed Cally to the door, but Helen was waiting for him.

She held up her hand. “I’m sorry, but you can’t take that bag into the passages.”

Andrew stared at her. “What? Why?”

Helen set her mouth in a firm line. “
No one
is allowed to take bags in. The passages are very narrow. It’s too dangerous.”

“But, it’s got my phone and things like that in. I can’t just leave it here.”

Helen folded her arms across her chest. “There are secure lockers against the wall. They’re free to use and your bag will be safe there. Just make sure you lock it and bring the key with you.”

Andrew hesitated. A whirl of worst-case scenarios raced through his mind. What the hell should he do?

Cally looked at him and bit her lip. “Sorry. I should’ve told you. We were in such a hurry. But Helen’s right. You can’t take it in.”

Andrew glanced at the metal lockers lining the wall. They looked sturdy enough. But even so.
What if someone breaks in, looking to steal a few wallets or snatch a few phones?
He grimaced. It didn’t bear thinking about.

Helen glanced over her shoulder. “It’s now or never. Everyone else is nearly ready.”

“Go on, Andrew,” Cally pleaded. “Your bag will be fine in the locker. No one’s even allowed in this room once the tour starts.”

Andrew sighed. “OK, I’ll do it, but give me a minute—I need to take my phone out.”

“Thirty seconds,” Helen said and turned away to tend to her group.

Andrew rolled his eyes and moved over to the lockers. He made sure he had his back to Cally, then unzipped his rucksack and reached inside, running his hands over the aluminium case containing the extraction kit. For a second, he thought about taking the Taser with him, but it was too bulky to conceal in his jacket pockets, and if the tunnels really were very narrow, then it could cause problems. Still, it didn’t seem right to leave
all
the equipment behind.

“Come on, Andrew,” Cally said. “You can leave your phone, can’t you?”

“Coming,” Andrew called. He made his decision. There was one thing in the kit he could definitely conceal. As quickly as he could, he flipped open the catches and grabbed the injector. The anaesthetic it contained wasn’t much of a weapon, but it was better than nothing. He slipped it into his jacket pocket, then fastened the metal case and zipped up the rucksack. Seconds later, the bag was safely locked away in a locker on the top row, and Andrew was striding across the room to join Cally, the locker key stowed safely in his trouser pocket. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said. He hesitated. Cally was holding her hands behind her back and grinning from ear to ear. “What?” he asked.

“You were last in the queue, so Helen said to give you this one.” She held out her hands, and showed Andrew what she’d been hiding.

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

But Cally shook her head. “Sorry, but it’s the last one, and you’ve got to wear it—it’s a rule.”

Andrew groaned and took the hard hat from her hands. “I didn’t know they even made them in pink.”

“Oh yes,” Cally said. “They usually keep this one for anyone who might be nervous of the tunnels.”

“And the pink is meant to help is it?”

Cally chuckled. “Well it does—although they usually only give it to a woman.”

Andrew’s face fell. He looked down at the hat, turning it around in his hands, and when he saw the huge sticker on the back, his face fell even further.
Fantastic
. He held it up to show Cally. “What the hell is this?”

Cally giggled. “Don’t you know? It’s Peppa Pig.”

Andrew knew when he was beaten. He plonked the hard hat onto his head and looked at Cally with a straight face. “What do you think? Can I pull off this look?”

Cally put her hand over her mouth, but her giggling was now out of control. “Oh yes,” she gasped. “It’s very…very you.”

Andrew shook his head. “Go on. Let’s get on with it.” Then, as Cally turned away, her shoulders still shaking with laughter, he ran his hand over his face.
It’s just one disaster after another
, he thought.
Isn’t it about time something went right?

Chapter 30

2014

THE MAN TOOK HIS HAND from his pocket, and Tom reached out expectantly. But the man was empty handed.

Tom groaned.
I can’t believe it. I can’t believe this is happening.
“Come on,” he pleaded. “You said you’d give me my phone back, now give it.”

The man grimaced. “Did you honestly think, even for one minute, that you could get away with telling me that pack of lies?” He shook his head. “I don’t know how you can stand there and expect me to listen to that load of rubbish.”

Tom lowered his hand. “It’s the truth,” he said, emphasising every word.

The man tutted. “It’s nonsense. Drivel.”

Tom almost laughed.
I’ve tried
.
I really have tried
. He threw his head back and looked up into the sky. A streak of dark cloud moved slowly across the sky and for a moment, Tom wondered what time it was.
This day has stretched on forever
. He looked back at the man. “I’ve never told anyone about the stone,” he said. “I always knew no one would take it seriously.” He let out a short, derisive laugh. “Turns out I was right about one thing.”

The man stared at Tom. “You’re bluffing. There must be more. There must be something you aren’t telling me.”

Tom’s only reply was to shake his head.

The man let out a growl of frustration and rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ve gone about this the wrong way. I’ve made a mess of the whole damned thing.”

Tom snorted, but the man carried on speaking. “Even so, you’ve got to understand—I
have
to know what happened.” He paused and stepped toward Tom. “Look, we’ve got off to a bad start, and that’s all
my
fault, I know it is.” He forced a thin smile. “Maybe…maybe we could start again.” He held out his hand as if for a shake. “My name’s Alan.”

Tom let his mouth hang open in utter disbelief. For a moment, he stared at the man in silence. “
A bad start?
” he said, the words catching in his throat. “’A bad start’? That’s what you call it? A bad bloody start? Christ! Now I’ve heard everything.”

Alan tilted his head. “Like I said, it was all my fault, but maybe we can move on. Maybe I can make amends somehow.”

“I’ll tell you what you can bloody well do,
Alan
. You can give me my phone back so I can get out of this bloody dump.”

Alan scowled and lowered his hand. “All right. If that’s the way you want it. Perhaps this will get through to you.” He took out Tom’s phone and held it up for Tom to see. “You want this?”

Tom strode forward and grabbed for his phone, but Alan was ready for him. He snatched his hand away and stepped back across the ledge, not stopping until he stood at the very edge. He extended his arm, dangling the phone out over the long drop down to the quarry floor.

Tom stopped dead in his tracks. “Don’t.” He held out his hands, pleading. “Don’t drop it. Just…just be reasonable. I need that phone. My head’s killing me—I’ve got to get to a hospital. I need a doctor.”

Alan narrowed his eyes. “I know. You’re running out of time.” He shook the phone in the air, holding it loosely between his fingertips.

“Come on. You’ve got to be joking.”

“No,” Alan said. “I’m deadly serious. This is your last chance. Tell me the truth or I
will
drop your phone.” He threw a quick glance toward the quarry floor. “And it’s a long way down.”

Tom curled his fingers into fists. “You wouldn’t do it. You know you wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I’ll do it all right. I’ll drop your phone over the edge, and then I’ll walk away, leave you here.” He nodded toward the slope they’d stumbled down earlier. “It’s a steep climb out of here,” he went on, “and the state you’re in, you’ll never make it.” He paused to let his words sink in, “Especially not on your own.”

Tom stared at his phone, and as a last desperate burst of adrenalin coursed through his veins, time seemed to slow down. He watched the phone turning and tilting as it dangled from Alan’s fingers. The screen flashed as it caught the light. That phone was his only chance of survival and it hung in the balance, only a careless word away from vanishing forever. “OK,” he said. “OK. Whatever you want. Just don’t drop it. OK?”

“Fine,” Alan said. He stopped shaking the phone and held it more firmly in his hand, but he didn’t take it away from the long drop. “All you’ve got to do is tell me the truth.”

Tom pressed his palms together and took a deep breath. “I did tell the truth. I swear. I know it sounds stupid, but it is true.”

Alan snorted. “Try again,” he said. He uncurled his fingers from the phone. It lay in his open palm. “And this time, don’t bother with your stupid stories. Just tell me the truth. Yes?”

Tom covered his mouth with his hand.
What the hell can I say?
Nothing would satisfy this man but the truth, and the truth was the one thing he’d never believe. But there he stood, waiting for an answer.
I’ve got to say something
. Tom did his best to look the man in the eye. “All right.”

Alan nodded and held the phone more securely, lowering his arm and bringing the phone back over the relative safety of the ledge. “But don’t leave anything out,” he said. “Tell me everything. Tell me what you did to my son.”

For a second, Tom thought of giving the man the story he wanted to hear; admitting he’d killed the boy and buried him in a shallow grave.
No! I’ll never say that
. Tom chewed the inside of his cheek. The truth was bad enough, there was no need to make it worse. He shook his head slowly then looked over to the stone slab. He had to find some way to make this crazed man believe him, but what could he say? He closed his eyes for a moment. There had to be some way to describe what had happened to the boy without it sounding ridiculous.
I don’t know—I need time
. He looked at the man. “All right,” he said, “just, put my phone somewhere safe, OK? Put it in your pocket or something.”

“And if I do that?”

Tom glanced at him then turned his attention back to the dark stone slab. He almost didn’t want to admit it, but at last, he’d had an idea. He knew it would work, but it sickened him to the pit of his stomach. “I’ll give you your answers.”