Carruthers Demise, Chapters Thirty Four & Thirty Five

Chapter Thirty Four

‘I can’t understand it,’ Carruthers grumbled. ‘It’s not so long since I’ve had the damned thing serviced.’
Casey hadn’t taken her eyes off Adrian, as he stood motionless in the centre of the barn, with his fixed smile. ‘It’s him,’ she said through clenched teeth, ‘he’s behind this.’
‘Don’t talk nonsense,’ Carruthers said irritably. ‘Your novelist imagination is running riot.’
‘He’s standing right in our path. I tell you he knows it won’t start.’
‘For goodness sake, Casey…’ Carruthers swept a hand across his face, rubbed it against his chin. ‘I’m no expert on engine technology.’ He jumped down from the Range Rover as Adrian angled his head. ‘Having a spot of bother, old chap?’
‘Won’t start.’ Carruthers scratched his head, eyed Adrian hopefully. ‘I don’t suppose you’re a dab hand with…’
But Adrian was shaking his head before he’d finished speaking. ‘Not in the slightest. I can’t help you there, I’m afraid.’
‘Damn.’ Carruthers raised the bonnet, gave the engine a cursory examination and shrugged. ‘I’ll call the breakdown service, I’ve got the number logged on my mobile…’ but he grimaced as removing the phone from his jacket he studied the signal indicator. ‘I’m never going to get a signal out here. I’ll use your landline if that’s okay.’
‘Sure,’ Adrian called back, already several yards into a walk towards the farmhouse.
‘Two birds with one stone.’ Casey’s voice was so quiet that Carruthers wasn’t sure he’d caught her at first. ‘Two birds with one stone,’ she repeated a little louder, and then in her normal tone, ‘oh it’s nothing. Something from a book I’m engaged on just flashed before my eyes.’
Carruthers frowned, shook his head. ‘You never told me about that; you sure are strange sometimes.’
‘Maybe I am,’ Casey mused, eyes still hooked on Adrian. ‘But I’m not half as strange as him.’
‘ Come on down,’ Adrian yelled, arcing his arm in the direction of the barn. ‘It could take some time in this neck of the woods. I’ll make us all a nice cup of char…’
Casey glanced around, looked at the dark contour of the barn, like a huge yawning mouth in the gloom, and listened to the rain pounding on the roof and windows. She muttered incoherently, slowly stepping away from the Range Rover, staring fiercely at Adrian who simply met it with his vacant, humourless smile. ‘Excellent, follow me my merry people, just momentary discomfort but all in a good cause, and all worthwhile.’
Adrian led the way through the barn, the white patches on his otherwise filthy sneakers like dancing specks in the murk.
Carruthers made to march alongside but felt the resistance of Casey’s restraining hand. ‘I don’t know what you’re getting us into, but keep your wits about you. The Adrian I knew was abhorrent but this one’s totally off the planet.’
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake…’
Carruthers’ derisive reply was louder than he’d intended but Adrian appeared not to have heard, leading them into the gathering dusk and following the track sharp left where it became increasingly muddy and heavy underfoot.
In the distance a faint orange glow emanated from a downstairs window of the big old house, appearing to flicker and stutter. Casey shivered and gripped Carruthers’ arm with considerable strength as Adrian ploughed on ahead, seemingly impervious in his inappropriate attire to the rain-drenched conditions.
They passed the shed they’d seen earlier, heard the rain battering against a roof in danger of subsiding through neglect, the largest of a cluster of farm outbuildings apparently long abandoned – and then somewhere a dog barked, causing Casey’s eyes to shoot to her left. ‘I wonder if...’ she broke off, coughing rainwater from her mouth.
‘You wonder if what?’ Carruthers glanced at Casey but she shook her head. ‘Oh nothing; thinking aloud again. Mind you, the old Adrian wouldn’t be seen dead in a place like this, let alone walk round in those soaking old clothes.’
Carruthers bit his lip, managed to free himself from Casey’s hold and forced himself through the packed mud to Adrian’s side. Casey’s last words had hit home, this wasn’t Adrian’s habitat at all. ‘What on earth possessed you to abandon suburbia for a wilderness like this?’ he spluttered, sweeping rain from his mouth with the heel of a hand.
‘I haven’t abandoned it old chap,’ Adrian announced casually, his eyes fixed dead ahead. ‘I was invited as I told you – I’m a guest visiting a friend.’
‘We need to talk about finding Chelsey,’ Carruthers said, his tone suggesting irritability and impatience. ‘You said you were prepared to help.’
‘Indeed I am, old chap - indeed I am - but let’s get in the dry first. Conditions are just too bloody inhospitable to enable me to think.’
The house loomed over them, stark and uncompromising as they approached, and Carruthers gave an involuntary shiver at the rain cascading from an overflow pipe down its brick walls.
In the darkness, he made out a rough concrete road leading from the building’s frontage, disappearing into woodland to the west. Adrian’s car stood alongside the portico and Carruthers vented his frustration.
‘I take it there’s a more civilized method of entry to this goddam place, in which case why have you made us trail a mile or more through the mud?’
‘More chance of you getting lost, old chap, and I couldn’t have that.’ Now Adrian did turn to Carruthers, the whites of his eyes large in the gloom. ‘And I couldn’t have vouched for the conditions, either, now could I?’
Except that the soggy conditions hadn’t simply materialized as a result of the current rain, they’d obviously been evident for some while but Carruthers didn’t press the point, there would be precious little purpose in it. But he was beginning to feel a certain unease as Adrian pushed open the warped, green wooden door, and it wasn’t all attributable to Casey’s overactive imagination.

 
Chapter Thirty Five

The musty, damp odour struck Carruthers immediately, soiling his lungs. Above, one solitary light bulb dangled from a cord providing the only illumination in a large, square hall. The gloom on the inside seemed little improvement on the dark evening sky.
‘Mind if I call breakdown?’ Carruthers didn’t wait for consent, checking the number and then grabbing the old-fashioned phone from its mounting on the wall. ‘There’s no line,’ he complained. ‘Where’s the phone that works?’
Adrian spread his hands. ‘Sorry old chap, didn’t I tell you? Bad storm the other day, apparently; seems it could be some time…’
‘Now there’s a surprise,’ Casey murmured, the trace of a smile creasing her mouth.
‘What the blazes is going on here?’ Carruthers slammed the receiver back in its ancient wall-mounting. ‘You know bloody well you didn’t mention it. You had ample opportunity.’
‘Calm yourself, man. Let’s go through to the front lounge.’
Casey thrust herself between Carruthers and Adrian – ‘If you’ve got nothing useful to say, we’re leaving right now.’
Adrian’s lips snaked in a bitter smile as he eyed Carruthers. ‘Would you leave without discussing our beloved Chelsey?’
Carruthers mopped his rain-sodden brow. He didn’t like the sudden acidity in Adrian’s tone. ‘If you’ve got any useful suggestions, let’s hear them now.’
Adrian sauntered through the dim hall, casting a thin shadow across the peeling green paintwork, and stopped at a closed door. ‘Let’s see what I can do to help. Come through.’
Carruthers caught the glare from Casey’s ebony eyes, he knew she was opposed to spending any more time in the place but something in Adrian’s demeanour strongly suggested that he should be here – that this was the starting place to locating Chelsey.
Adrian appeared relaxed as he settled into a worn winged armchair, impervious to his wet clothing; only his sharp, restless eyes negated the impression, as he waved an arm for them to seat themselves on the tatty Chesterfield opposite. Carruthers, however, unsettled by the darting eyes shook his head. ‘No, I think we’d rather stand. Just what is there to discuss?’
‘We need to discuss, old chap, exactly what might have transpired to cause my sister’s disappearance.’ Adrian took a deep breath. ‘I mean to examine the circumstances in their entirety and act accordingly.’
‘We know the circumstances for heaven’s sake, she left for another man,’ Carruthers blustered with undisguised impatience. All I want is to see her free of any damned murder charge. Whatever else, she’s killed nobody.’ He paused, drew sour air into his lungs. ‘Now we’ve made an unpleasant journey into the middle of nowhere and unless you’ve any light to cast on the subject…’
‘I might have.’ Adrian stretched his legs, sunk deeper into the lumpy chair and steepled his fingers beneath his chin. His eyes stopped roaming, became more focused, moving slowly between Carruthers and Casey. ‘You know, even if Chelsey can’t be here, it’s a bonus to be in the company of two of her most intimate soul-mates. It provides one a certain solace, to say the least.’
‘I’d hardly call my relationship with Chelsey intimate – and as for soul-mates…’ Casey screwed her eyes. ‘What planet are you on?’
‘Look, where’s this leading, Adrian?’ Carruthers snapped. ‘I’ve had just about enough of this – if you’ve nothing useful to contribute…’
‘Oh, but you disguise yourself so well, Miss Casey Jennings.’ Ignoring Carruthers Adrian lofted his head, his eyes widening, no longer shifting but locked on her. ‘I’ll bet our friend Carruthers has no idea of your sexual leanings towards my sister. Have you, old chap?’
‘He’s talking rubbish!’ Casey yelled. ‘I tell you he’s lost it!’ As Carruthers directed an astonished glance at her Casey snatched his arm. ‘Come on, we’re out of here. I knew this was a mistake.’
‘You’ll hear me out, Carruthers, if you want re-uniting with my beloved sister – I’m the only one who can help you with that.’
Adrian’s voice had deepened in tone yet risen a notch in severity – he remained in his chair in a room lit only by a pungent oil lamp throwing its wavering glare into the darkened recesses, but that voice had developed a sinister authority and Carruthers experienced the coils of tension gripping him.
Managing to free himself of Casey’s strong hand he turned on Adrian. ‘I don’t know what the blazes you mean by that but are you intimating you know something of Chelsey’s whereabouts? I mean, for heaven’s sake you seem to have lured us here…’
‘Lured? Ha-ha. I like the dramatic edge.’ Adrian’s thin lips curved into a smile without mirth, which lasted but an instant – ‘So much you don’t know Carruthers. So much you’ve yet to learn.’ Adrian angled his thin face at the agent, his pupils like piercing brown dots, settling on him. ‘So if you really care about Chelsey, you’ll sit down and hear me out.’
‘Dammit Marty, you can sit and listen to this crap but I’m out of here…’ Casey screamed, stomping towards the door.
‘Casey please…’
‘Let her go.’ The humourless smile was back on Adrian’s face. ‘It’s not as if she can get far – out here in uncharted territory, on this pitch black, inhospitable night.’
Casey stopped at the door, turned, crossing her arms, fixing Adrian with a glowering stare that screamed defiance. ‘You’re enjoying this, you moron!’
‘I don’t derive any enjoyment from my sister’s demise.’
‘Demise? What do you know? You’d better level up Frampton-Williams and quick…’ Carruthers bunched his fingers into fists, closed on Adrian.
‘Steady on, old chap…’ Adrian’s hand lowered to a trouser pocket. ‘I think you’d best sit down, both of you. I’m done with playing the genial host.’