Desolation Read online

  Amber smiled at them, then swung her legs out of bed and laced up her sneakers. Her fingers were practically back to normal. Milo was already awake, and sitting with his back against the wall like there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

  The door clicked and Amber stood. She shivered, and noticed Kelly hugging her bare arms to keep warm. She had an intricate tattoo sleeve all the way down to her left wrist. The sleeve on her right was a work in progress.

  Chief Novak walked in, uniform as crisp as ever and his shoes as polished. Accompanied by a younger officer, he ignored Amber and Milo and focused instead on Kelly and Ronnie.

  “Good day to you,” he said.

  “Hi,” said Kelly.

  “I’d welcome you to our town, but I believe my officers have already done that.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Kelly. “That nice lady officer. Lucy, her name is?”

  “I believe you are referring to Officer Thornton.”

  “That’s right,” said Kelly. “Officer Thornton. She welcomed us as she was putting on the handcuffs.”

  Novak nodded. “When you were arrested for the destruction of public property.”

  “We’d prefer not to say anything about that,” Ronnie said, “until we speak to a lawyer.”

  “Understandable,” said Novak. “But I don’t think we need to go that far, do you? In Desolation Hill we frown upon the frivolous waste of taxpayers’ money.”

  “Does that mean we’re not being charged?” Kelly asked.

  “It could,” said Novak. “But there’d be conditions.”

  Ronnie glanced at Kelly. “Such as?”

  “You’d have to pay for the box you wrecked to be replaced. I’d say for materials and time, it’ll come to forty dollars.”

  “We can pay that.”

  “That’s good to hear,” said Novak. “Second condition is that you leave town. Today. That one’s non-negotiable, I’m afraid. If you can’t agree to it, you’ll be brought up on charges.”

  “No, no,” said Ronnie, “there’s no need for that. We’ll leave.”

  Novak nodded. “Gone by midnight, then. In that case, Officer Ortmann here will sign you out. You can pay the fine at the desk.”

  “Thank you for being so understanding, Chief,” Ronnie said as Ortmann unlocked the cells. They were led out, and Kelly waved at Amber as she went.

  When they were gone, Novak turned to Amber and Milo. “The mayor is busy for most of the day,” he said. “He’ll see you when he’s done.”

  Amber shifted. “You know about us,” she said, “about demons. We’re not here to cause any trouble, I swear. Those bikers on the edge of town, they’re the ones you have to worry about. They’ve been chasing us—”

  Novak walked for the door.

  “Hey,” said Amber. “Hey! We’re not your enemy here!”

  Novak didn’t even glance back. “Anyone who’s not us,” he said, “is our enemy.”

  An officer named Duncan brought them their breakfast, and Amber recognised Fast Danny’s bacon. Fragments of her dream came back to her, like eating part of her own face, but it didn’t put her off her food. All this fresh air was giving her an appetite.

  They sat in silence for most of the morning – apart from asking the other to turn round while each of them used the toilet – and Amber started wishing that Kelly and Ronnie had stuck around. Even if she’d had to revert in their presence, it would have been worth it.

  “I wish you were better at conversating with,” she said, taking the bandages from her hands.

  Milo cracked one eye open from where he lay. “I’m sorry?”

  “Talking,” said Amber. “I wish you were better at talking.”

  He waited a few moments before responding. “Where’s this coming from?”

  “We’ve been sitting here for three hours and you haven’t said one thing.”

  “We’ve driven for days without speaking.”

  “That’s different,” she said. She flexed her fingers. “That’s in the car. You could just listen to the engine and that’d be enough. You can look out the window and … I don’t know. Think, or whatever. In here it’s different. Silence means something in here.”

  “What does it mean?”

  “I don’t know. Like we have nothing to say to each other.”

  He sat up. “I see,” he said.

  “Yeah, well …”

  “There something in particular you want to talk about? Idle conversation is hard to come by when you’re in a situation like ours.”

  “It doesn’t have to be idle. It can be … I don’t know. It can still be something. We can talk about something meaningful, can’t we? I’ve been having bad dreams.” She didn’t mean to say that. It just slipped out. “About my parents. And Imelda. Nightmares.”

  “Hardly surprising,” Milo said.

  “I’d just like to talk to someone about them.”

  He frowned. “And you think I should be that person?”

  “You are literally the only friend I have.”

  “You’ve got online friends.”

  “They don’t know about any of this stuff, are you nuts?”

  “Okay. You want to talk,” said Milo, “we’ll talk.”

  She sighed. “Never mind.”

  “Tell me about the nightmares.”

  “I just did.”

  He looked puzzled, and actually scratched his head. “I’m sorry, Amber, I’m really not getting what it is you want here.”

  “Never mind, okay? It’s fine.”

  He stood up, walked to the bars, and looked at her. “Then do you want to talk about last night? About Glen?”

  She didn’t answer.

  “Do you know why he’s still coming after you? Did he say anything?”

  “Nothing,” Amber said. “Not a word.”

  “Do you think he wants to hurt you?”

  “No. I mean, maybe, because of what he is … but no, I don’t think so.”

  The door clicked and opened, and Officer Lucy Thornton came in with two styrofoam containers stacked in her hands. Amber thought about reverting, then decided to stay as she was.

  “Chow time,” Lucy announced, passing them their lunch. She didn’t blink at Amber’s appearance.

  “You know about demons,” Amber said.

  Lucy cracked a smile. “We’re hard to find, but they do find us.”

  “We’re not here to cause trouble,” said Milo. “There’s something about this town, though – it stops certain types of people from entering. Do you know how?”

  “I’m paid to do my job,” said Lucy. “And right now that means giving our prisoners their lunch.”

  “We’re not the bad guys,” said Amber.

  “Maybe,” Lucy replied. “Maybe not. But here in Desolation Hill we have a zero-tolerance policy as far as strange demons and other supernatural phenomena go. If we see it and we don’t like it, we get rid of it.”

  “It’s not only demons you have to worry about,” Amber said, pressing her face to the bars as Lucy walked off. “The guy we were arrested with, he was a serial killer. There’s more on their way. We can help you.”

  Lucy opened the heavy door, but turned before she stepped out. “We deal with serial killers all the time,” she said. “We deal with demons and murderers and even vampires every once in a while. We are, as far as I know, the only police force in the world that deals with these kind of things on a regular basis, and we’re very good at our jobs. You two really did pick the last place on Earth that a demon would ever want to end up. Seriously.”

  Then she was gone.

  KELLY AND LINDA HAD lunch in the small dining room in the motel. Their waiter, Kenneth, was also their cook, and he was also on duty at the front desk. He wasn’t a very good waiter, and wasn’t a very good cook, but Kelly wanted to believe he was wonderful at checking people in.

  “Still thinking of going vegan, are you?” Linda asked as she watched Kelly pick at her food.

  “Meat’s never held
sway over me, you know that,” Kelly replied. “But how do I exist in a world without scrambled eggs? How do I do that?”

  “Unhappily, I’d imagine.”

  “Yes,” said Kelly, jabbing at the air with her fork. “Unhappily indeed. I’m gonna need support, you know. I’m gonna need someone there to make sure I’m sticking to vegan principles of … whatever the hell vegan principles are.”

  “Warrick would be good at that.”

  “Warrick thinks a vegan is an alien on Star Trek.”

  “Ronnie then,” said Linda.

  “Ronnie’s way too practical. Most of what we eat is junk food by necessity. He’d only tell me to eat what’s available. Picky eaters are hungry eaters. He actually said that to me once.”

  “You’ll have to tell him eventually,” said Linda. Then her eyes narrowed. “Oh, you’re sneaky.”

  Kelly smiled. “Speaking of which …”

  “Oh, you are a sneaky one.”

  “… when are you going to tell him that you’re leaving the gang?”

  “That was way too sneaky. You’ve got issues if you can be that sneaky to a friend. To your best friend, of all people.”

  Kelly shrugged. “I’m just untrustworthy, what can I say?”

  Kenneth came in and walked up to their table. “Can I get you anything else?” he asked.

  “No, thank you,” said Kelly, giving him a big smile.

  His eyes flicked to the tattoos that peeked out from beneath her jacket sleeve, and he sniffed and walked back the way he’d come.

  “What a nice man,” Kelly said, then raised her eyebrows at Linda. “You haven’t answered my question, by the way.”

  “I don’t know,” said Linda. “I guess I’ll tell him … soon. But what time is the right time? I mean, look at us. Look at where we are and what we’re dealing with. We actually crossed the country to be here and to do this. That’s not right. It’s not normal. Sane people run from bad situations, not to them.”

  “No one ever said we were sane.”

  “This is true,” said Linda, “but with me, I think it’s been a temporary insanity. I think I’m coming around to the idea of normal again. You know, after everything. After the Sol Foundation. After Boston.”

  Kelly’s smile faded. “Yeah.”

  “I’ll tell the other two when we’re done here,” Linda said. “The moment we get back on the road, no matter how this turns out. I just can’t do it anymore. You think I’m a coward?”

  “No way,” Kelly said immediately.

  “You think they will?”

  “Not a chance. It’s gonna suck though, being the only girl in the van.”

  “I’m sure you’ll pick up someone else to replace me. That’s how we work, right? We pick up strays along the way. What about the girl you were talking about, the one in jail? Think she’s mixed up in all this craziness?”

  “I got the distinct impression. But her friend’s a little on the surly side. We’ll have to keep an eye out for them. We don’t know yet if they’re allies or enemies.”

  “You’re so cynical,” said Linda. “When I first met you, you weren’t nearly this cynical.”

  “When you first met me, I was covered in blood and going into shock,” said Kelly. “People change.” Her phone buzzed and she looked at it. “Oh shit.”

  Linda’s face slackened. “What?”

  “The kid, Austin Cooke,” said Kelly. “He’s gone missing.”

  There was a cruiser parked outside the Cooke house on Brookfield Road. A few neighbours milled around on the lawn, looking concerned and chatting quietly. A reporter from the Chronicle newspaper was in there now, having walked very quickly past the van parked on the other side of the street. Kelly had flicked through the latest issue of the Chronicle and had not been impressed with either the stories or the spelling.

  The side door opened and Ronnie climbed in, then shut the door behind him.

  “The cops are saying he ran away,” he said, rubbing his hands together to get some warmth. Two went over immediately, and Ronnie warmed his hands on the dog’s fur instead.

  “What are his parents saying?” Kelly asked.

  “Nothing much, from what I’ve heard. They said goodnight to him and this morning he was gone. Mrs Cooke is distraught. Mr Cooke is shaken. That’s the full extent of what I’ve been able to pick up.”

  The door opened again and Warrick climbed in. “It is chilly out there, man,” he said, tossing a sealed bag containing one of Austin’s T-shirts to Linda before stealing Ronnie’s source of heat.

  “Hey,” Ronnie said to Two. Two looked back at him with those big brown eyes as if to apologise, and then Warrick picked him up and rolled back on the cushions with the dog in his arms.

  “Was it difficult?” Linda asked, putting the T-shirt in the strongbox.

  “Naw,” said Warrick. “Lot of folks around, leaving a lot of doors open. Got to the laundry basket and back again without anyone even seeing me. Weird bunch of people, though.”

  “In what way?”

  “Dunno.” Warrick endured a few seconds of face-licking before sitting up. “I’m not sure I’m buying their concern. It all seems like an act.” He looked at Ronnie. “You get that impression?”

  “I did, actually. To be honest, I’m not even buying his parents’ act. They’re upset, sure, but … I don’t know. I think it was more for show than anything else.”

  “Austin could have run away,” said Linda. “He was scared enough. If he didn’t think his folks were going to take him out of town, maybe he went by himself.”

  “Maybe,” said Ronnie.

  “But not after he met us,” Kelly said. “Right? Now he has a group of people on his side.”

  “A group of strangers on his side.”

  “Better strangers who care than family who don’t. If he was going to run away, he would have told you last night when you were dropping him off. He would have asked us to drive him away from here.”

  “We should have done that, anyway,” said Warrick. “We should have driven him out of here the moment we thought he was in danger.”

  “We didn’t know,” said Ronnie.

  “We suspected,” said Warrick. “And when was the last time we were wrong about something like this?”

  They went quiet.

  “The Narrow Man has him,” said Warrick.

  “Okay,” said Ronnie. “Fine. Let’s all agree that the Narrow Man has Austin. The fact is, we don’t know what that means. He could still be alive. Raymond Carchi kept his victims imprisoned for a week before he killed them. We need to operate on the basis that Austin is alive, and we will believe that until we’re presented with evidence to the contrary. Linda, what’s our next move?”

  “Find the Narrow Man.”

  “Kelly, how do we do that?”

  “Talk to people. Check for witnesses.”

  “We have a plan,” said Ronnie. “But there is one thing we should all keep in mind. When Ricky’s brother was taken, the police blamed a vagrant. That vagrant was shot and killed on sight. We can’t trust the cops. They’re either covering their own asses, or they’re covering up for the Narrow Man. Whichever it is, they are not our friends.”

  “So keep a low profile,” said Warrick, nodding. “You got it, Fearless Leader …” His voice trailed off.

  “What?” Linda asked. “Warrick, what is it?”

  Warrick pointed at two old men standing on the sidewalk, watching the Cooke house. “That guy look familiar to anyone?”

  “Which one?” asked Kelly. “Actually, no, it doesn’t matter – neither of them do. Why? You recognise one of them?”

  “One or both,” Warrick said, frowning. “I think we should talk to them.”

  They got out and tried not to look intimidating as they approached the old men. Two bounded over to them happily.

  The one in the blue coat smiled down at him. “Hello there,” the old man said. “Who’s a good doggy? Huh? Who’s a good doggy?”

  �
�You sound like an idiot,” said the other old man.

  “Excuse me, gentlemen?”

  The old men turned, and Kelly gave them a smile.

  “Hi,” she said. “I was wondering if you could help us with something. My name’s Kelly. That’s Ronnie and Linda and that’s Warrick. The dog there is Two. He likes you.”

  “He’s a good judge of character,” said the man in the blue coat. “It’s why he’s not making a fuss of my miserable friend here.”

  Kelly laughed. “Could I ask your names?”

  “Sure you could,” said the old man in blue. “I’m Javier, this is Virgil.”

  “You kids aren’t from around here, are you?” Virgil asked.

  “No, sir, we’re not.”

  “Do you know the missing boy?” Ronnie asked.

  “Nope,” said Virgil. “As far as I’m aware, never even laid eyes on him.”

  “The police are saying he ran away.”

  Virgil nodded. “That’s what they’re saying, all right.”

  “We don’t think he did,” said Linda.

  “Well now, that is interesting,” said Virgil. “Javier, you hear that, you deaf old bastard?”

  “I heard,” said Javier, “and I’m not deaf.”

  “Have you shared this idea of yours with the authorities?” Virgil asked.

  “Not yet,” Ronnie said.

  Virgil nodded. “You’re smarter than you look.”

  “The police are covering it up, aren’t they?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. But this wouldn’t be the first crime they’ve covered up.”

  Ronnie frowned. “What else are they covering up, Virgil?”

  “We can’t talk here,” the old man said. “Too many eyes, too many ears. Come back to my house. I’ll make tea.”

  They followed Virgil’s car to a quiet street on the edge of town with a big garage and a neatly kept garden out front. It was a short trip, made longer by how slowly Virgil drove.

  “I love old people,” said Kelly.

  “You’re weird,” said Warrick.

  “They remind me of how my grandparents used to be. All wrinkly and decrepit.”

  “Charming,” said Linda.

  They got out of the van, joined Javier at the front door as Virgil let them all inside. Two went straight through to the living room, jumped up on the couch and went to sleep. The living room was normal. The rest of the house was not.