Страница 61 из 94
The outrage he expected didn’t come. The curtains were closed, the lights off, giving the room a dim, twilit appearance. It even disguised the untidy mess of clothes and magazines on the floor and bed. At first, Chadwick couldn’t see Yvo
She didn’t react at first, and he sat patiently waiting, remembering when she was a little girl and came to him when she had nightmares. “It’s all right,” he said, “you can tell me. I won’t be angry with you. I promise.”
Her hand snaked out from under the eiderdown and sought his. He held it. Still she said nothing, then she slowly slid the cover off her face, and he could see even in the weak light that she had been crying. She was still shaking, too.
“What is it, love?” he asked. “What’s happened.”
“It was horrible,” she said. “He was horrible.”
Chadwick felt his neck muscles tense. “What? Has somebody done something to you?”
“He’s ruined everything.”
“What do you mean? You’d better tell me from the start, Yvo
Yvo
“What is it?” he asked. “Did somebody hurt you?”
Yvo
“Start at the begi
“I was at Brimleigh Festival, Dad. I want you to know that before I start. I’m sorry for lying.”
“I knew that.”
“But, Dad?…How?”
“Call it a father’s instinct.” Or copper’s instinct, he thought. “Go on.”
“I’ve been hanging around with some people. You wouldn’t like them. That’s why… why I didn’t tell you. But they’re people like me, Dad. We’re into the same music and ideas and beliefs about society and stuff. They’re different. They’re not boring, not like the kids at school. They read poetry and write and play music.”
“Students?”
“Some of them.”
“So they’re older than you?”
“What does age matter?”
“Never mind. Go on.”
Yvo
“In what way?”
“He’s got this horrible, twisted sort of smile that makes you feel like some sort of insect, and he keeps quoting things – T. S. Eliot, the Bible, other stuff. Sometimes he just paces up and down with his knife.”
“What knife?”
“He’s got this knife, and he keeps just, you know, tapping it against his palm as he walks.”
“What kind of knife is it?”
“A flick-knife with a tortoiseshell handle.”
“Which palm does he tap it against?”
Yvo
“They say… Steve says, he’s a bit weird because he had electroshock therapy. They say he used to be a great blues harmonica player, but since the electric shocks he can’t play anymore. But I don’t know… He just seems weird to me.”
“Is this the man who bothered you?”
“Yes. I went over there this afternoon to see Steve – he’s my boyfriend – but he wasn’t in and only McGarrity was there. I wanted to go but he insisted I stay.”
“Did he force you?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say he forced me, but I was uncomfortable. I was just hoping Steve and the others would get back soon, that’s all.”
“Was he on drugs?”
Yvo
“Okay. Go on.”
“He said some terrible things.”
“About what?”
“About the girl who was killed. About those dead people in Los Angeles. About me.”
“What did he say about you?”
Yvo
“All right. Stay calm. Did he touch you?”
“He grabbed my arm and he touched my face. He was just so frightening. I was terrified he was going to do something.”
Chadwick felt his teeth grinding. “What happened?”
“I waited until he had his back turned to me and I ran away.”
“Good girl. Did he come after you?”
“I don’t think so. I didn’t look.”
“Okay. You’re doing fine, Yvo
“But, Dad, what if he…”
“What if he what? Was he at Brimleigh?”
“Yes.”
“With you?”
“No, he was wandering around the field.”
“Did you see him go in the woods?”
“No. But it was dark most of the time. I wouldn’t have seen.”
“Where did it happen this afternoon?”
“Just down the road, Springfield Mount. Look, Dad, they’re all right, really, the others, Steve. It’s just him. There’s something wrong with him, I’m sure of it.”
“Did he know Linda Lofthouse?”
“Linda? I don’t… yes, yes, he did.”
Chadwick’s ears pricked up at the familiarity with which Yvo
“Promise?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die.”
Yvo
Chadwick paused a moment to take it all in. Bayswater Terrace. De
“You met Linda, too?” he asked.
“Yes.” Tears filled Yvo
“I don’t know, sweetheart,” Chadwick said, stroking his daughter’s silky blond hair. “I don’t know.”
“Do you think it was him? McGarrity?”
“I don’t know that, either, but I’m going to have to have a talk with him.”
“Don’t be too hard on Steve or the others, Dad. Please. They’re all right. Really they are. It’s only him, only McGarrity who’s weird.”