Ash (45 page)

‘Okay, then I’ll make out a full report on this place, advising it should be shut down immediately.’

‘They would never do that, no matter what you say. Sometimes I think Comraich is the heart of their empire.’

‘Empire? Aren’t you exaggerating a little?’

She gave a small, bitter laugh and shook her head. ‘Do you really think you could go up against the Inner Court? Do you understand the vast wealth that is theirs? The contacts, the people – dictators, despots, wealthy Arabs, financial wizards who’ve taken a step too far. Then there’s the disgraced politicians, not only British, but from all over the world, individuals who are supposed to be dead but with inside knowledge of the affairs of their own countries – the businessmen, the diplomats, the billionaires – people whose very existence would be under threat should it be discovered they’re still alive because of the hidden knowledge they have, the contacts they hold, these failed ministers of state and business tycoons who have to hide because of their corruption. David, I thought you realized just how powerful the Inner Court is. The IC has power over life and death.’

‘I didn’t realize you knew so much about the organization,’ Ash said, a little disappointed that she was not quite the innocent he thought. ‘Are you part of it, Delphine?’ The question was bluntly put, his mind almost numb to the prospect.

‘No, David, I’m not part of it. I only know what my father told me long before he died. He said I should never betray the Inner Court because my life would be over. And I’ve learned things during the last few years that have truly frightened me. But the only reason I do stay is because of Lewis. I think if I left – if I was
allowed
to leave – poor Lewis would no longer have any future. Can’t you understand that, David?’

‘I understand you can’t stay here,’ he said. ‘Look, once my assignment is over, we’ll take him with us.’

‘It would be impossible. We’d never get out the gates.’

‘Then I’ll do it alone and come back for you. I’ll bring the police if I have to.’

She shook her head in frustration. ‘Don’t even think about it, David. It’s far too dangerous, and if Sir Victor found out you’d . . .’

She paused.

‘Yes?’ he prompted.

‘You’d be ruined.’

His shoulders slumped. ‘Yeah, I’d forgotten that. My boss and I have signed pretty solid contracts. The whole might of the organization would come down on us like a ton of bricks. I’m not worried about myself, but for the Psychical Research Institute itself. It would break Kate.’

‘Kate?’

‘Kate McCarrick, my boss.’ He raised his shoulders again, his back straightened. ‘Okay, we’re both trapped here for the time being, and Kate and I are contractually bound, so let’s at least fulfil the contract. I’ve got an idea about the castle and where these dark forces are emanating from. I’ve got a feeling that events are about to reach a climax as far as these hauntings are concerned, and Comraich, guests
and
staff, might be forced to abandon the place completely whether they like it or not.’

Delphine smiled. ‘Well, I can’t fault your optimism.’

‘I’ve got something in mind that I want to investigate before I put in my first report and recommendation,’ he went on, ignoring her restrained amusement. ‘We’ll see how things go today and tonight and we might even find that the problem will resolve itself.’

It might – might
easily
– be a false hope, but right then, Ash had nothing else to offer.

The rocks along the seashore were slippery and lethal – a bruised knee or a twisted ankle was always a strong possibility. Ash cautiously followed one of Comraich’s rangers, Jonas McKewin. He was a fit young man – in his early thirties, Ash guessed – and while somewhat brusque in manner, his grey eyes had a softness about them that tempered his attitude.

McKewin turned as the investigator let out a sudden curse. Ash’s booted left foot was ankle-deep in a small pool of water.

‘Have a care, Mr Ash,’ the ranger advised unnecessarily. ‘This shoreline is treacherous and not truly suited to sightseeing.’

Ash grinned back at him. ‘Yeah, I already got that impression.’

He pulled his foot free and balanced precariously for a moment on the rock he’d just slipped from. His hands stretched outwards to steady himself as he took another step forward.

‘You’ll get better when you’re used to it,’ the ranger told him. ‘You’ll see, you’ll get more confident. Just don’t be afraid of ’em.’ He pointed around at the rocky beach. They set off once again, for this hadn’t been the first time Ash had stumbled or had his boot slip off a mossy stone.

Ash and Delphine had earlier breakfasted together in the staff canteen, less sumptuous than the dining hall, of course, but the only facility available so early in the morning. The place had been buzzing with gossip about the previous night’s invasion.

The glass-and-brick annexe was built on the west side of the castle, out of sight to anyone arriving at Comraich through the ‘ruined’ archway entrance, and the sea, rough and surly this morning, could be seen stretching out to the grey land mass that rose from it like a smudge on the horizon.

Before heading to the canteen, Delphine had, as promised, arranged for one of Comraich’s khaki-clad rangers to show the investigator the cavern at the foot of the cliff on which the castle stood.

They had made love again after Krantz had left – less wild, more tender than in the earlier hours of that morning – which had left them comfortable in each other’s arms. When Ash had removed the tilted chair from beneath the door handle, he’d half expected to find Krantz lingering in the corridor outside, one hand holding a blood-sodden handkerchief to her swollen nose, a meat cleaver or butcher’s knife held high in the other, ready to bring down on whoever left Delphine’s room first. Of course, it hadn’t happened, Krantz hadn’t been there, and Ash couldn’t help an inward smile.

He’d returned to his own room and showered, wincing at the bruises that had bloomed overnight, then dressed awkwardly because of the stiffness of his entire body. He’d returned with his equipment bag to Delphine’s room, where she’d been ready and waiting for him, wearing a heavy coat over her skirt and high-necked jumper, even though she wouldn’t be accompanying him on this morning’s venture. They had hugged and kissed in the entrance of her room, regretfully preparing for the day ahead of them.

The warm memory did little to dispel the wind chill coming off the troubled sea. It was freezing, causing Ash to pull the muffler up high under his stubbled chin. He began to wish he’d worn a thick woollen scarf too as he took a pair of black leather gloves from his pocket and slid them on. He carried a bright yellow hard hat at the ranger’s insistence, to be worn when they entered the big cave that Ash had asked specifically to inspect as part of his investigation. McKewin had warned how easy it was to bang your head on the low roof, and the area was prone to rock falls.

As he picked his way across the slimy rocks, Ash noticed a long metal pipe, about a foot in diameter, that ran from the foot of the cliff face and into the sea.

‘I take it that’s an old sewage outlet from the castle,’ he called out to the ranger, who was a few yards ahead of him. He reminded Ash of a mountain goat, sure-footed and swift.

Jonas paused for a moment to look around at the investigator.

‘Aye,’ he returned, ‘it runs a long way out, as you can see. These are dangerous waters, Mr Ash, and every summer we have to warn swimmers not to go too far offshore. Mostly we tell ’em not to swim at all in the sea. Fortunately, it’s normally too chilly to swim in these parts, summer or winter.’

As Jonas looked out, hands on his hips, booted legs set apart for balance, Ash could not but feel there was something noble in the man’s stance. The investigator followed his gaze and could just make out the darker haze of the land mass in the distance.

As if reading Ash’s mind, McKewin said, ‘That’s the Isle of Arran you can just about see. Beyond is Kintyre.’

‘Like the song?’

‘Aye. Mull of Kintyre. McCartney got it so right.’

‘I can’t imagine anyone wanting to swim around here, no matter what the season.’

‘You’d be surprised. But honestly, it’s to be avoided.’ He pointed a finger at the angry tide, then lifted his hand to point a little further out. ‘Y’see, just about twenty, mebbe thirty yards out there’s a deep shelf, full of rip tides. Y’could almost walk out to it with your head just above the water. Then you’d step off the shelf and sink down further than you might imagine. The sea’s black down there, it’s so deep, and the currents could easily drag you off the ledge; then you’d be swallowed into the depths, your body probably never found again.’

‘Just as well I didn’t bring my trunks, then.’

The ranger grinned at Ash. His weather-beaten face became serious once more. ‘Just don’t say you haven’t been warned,’ he said with a false scowl. Then: ‘Well, there’s the cave you’ll be wanting. You can see the opening easily enough from here.’ Hard hat in hand, he waved it in the general direction ahead. ‘Take no notice of the smaller ones: they go nowhere.’

Ash peered towards the large black cave entrance, which was closer than he’d thought. That was a relief at least, for the journey down to the rocky shoreline had been arduous enough, by short flights of zig-zagging wooden steps. With a mute groan, he wondered how tiring it would be climbing back up.

Clambering over the tide-dampened rocks and scrunchy shale, occasionally dipping a foot into trapped pools, also took some effort. He guessed those rough steps were kept in deliberate disrepair to discourage older ramblers from the castle making the descent. There were small crabs caught in shallow pools stranded by the outgoing tide, and bedraggled seaweed was everywhere, making the going even trickier as its slick strands endeavoured to trip him.

Ash and the ranger were near to the cave entrance when McKewin stopped again. ‘Time for the hard hats, Mr Ash,’ he said, fixing his own onto his bare head and buckling the safety strap beneath his chin. The investigator followed suit while the ranger regaled him briefly with the cave’s colourful history.

‘This particular cave is infamous for its smuggling and Comraich Castle was perfectly located for hiding contraband from the Revenue men. “The Running Trade”, smuggling used to be called back in the day, and the Ayrshire coast was ideal because of its nearness to the Isle of Man, which legally imported goods for small duties to the Lord of Man. Manx smugglers traded mainly in port, claret, spirits and Congo tea, would you believe? But the game more or less came to an end in the 1760s when the Revenue seriously cracked down on it. The irony was that the laird at that time had switched to the slave trade.’

There was an edge of excitement in Ash’s voice. It seemed that what Delphine had told him the previous day had been more than just hearsay. ‘Wait a minute. You’re telling me smuggled goods could be unloaded inside the cave, then carried up to the castle itself?’

‘Aye. Stored away in the dungeons, most probably. A stepped tunnel was carved out of the rock. That was a long time ago, though.’

‘Have you ever tried to get through it?’

‘No. I think the last time anyone used it was during the Great War. After that it was just allowed to deteriorate. It’s probably all fallen in by now. The ascent would have been too steep for most people, anyway.’

Ash studied the cave’s large entrance with even more interest. ‘Could boats actually navigate inside the cave?’ he asked.

‘Oh, aye. When the tide comes in, the cave is almost fully submerged, so the time has to be exactly right for unloading. Y’know, before the water level trapped the boats themselves. But with that deep underwater shelf just offshore, a large vessel could moor there while the contraband was rowed right into the cavern. There’s even a kind of natural raised dock inside that came in handy for unloading. Tricky business, though, and, as I said, the timing had to be right. The story goes that many rowing boats, filled with smuggled goods, were trapped inside and smashed to smithereens when the sea was stormy. Many a man was found drowned in the cave, others just washed out to deeper waters. It’s a bad place, Mr Ash. It’s only fair to warn you of that.’

‘But we’re okay with the tide right now?’ Interest had developed into concern. Ash had no liking for water.

‘Oh, aye. The tide’s on its way out at the moment. It’s nighttime you have to worry about, although it seems to go out again much more quickly than it comes in, but then there’s no need to be caught inside, is there?’

Ash buckled the strap of his hard hat under his chin as he and McKewin approached the opening to the cave. ‘Now watch your step here. It’s filled with seawater when the tide turns, which makes everything very slippery. Mind your head too – the ceiling isn’t even once you get towards the back; but that’s why you’re wearing a hard hat.’

The investigator took him at his word and slowly and carefully entered the capacious cavern, watching where he trod as well as keeping an eye on the ceiling height. The khaki-clad ranger already had his torch out and was shining it around the hollowed chamber. Ash took his Maglite from his shoulder bag and switched it on. Its powerful beam illuminated the cave considerably more effectively than the ranger’s torch. He noticed the ‘dock’, a wide ledge about five feet above the shingle-and-rock floor, now eroded in several places. Ash aimed the light towards the rear of the landing stage and was excited to see a small opening, its ceiling so low that a person would have to crawl through the gap. As he swept the light across the broken stone walls, he saw that above them, just beyond the entrance, the rock sagged, as if ready to collapse at any moment. The sight made him uneasy.

‘Seems like every year,’ said McKewin, ‘the cave shrinks a little more, the load above gradually becoming too heavy to bear.’

‘Let’s hope it holds a while,’ half joked Ash. ‘At least till we’re out of here.’

‘Oh, I think it’ll stay this way for a century or more. Providing the ground underneath isn’t shifted by an earthquake.’

‘Earthquake?’ Ash was surprised.