Others by James Herbert

Author:James Herbert [Herbert, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Private investigators, Missing children, Fiction - Espionage, Horror, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Fiction, General & Literary Fiction, Nursing homes, Mystery fiction, Espionage, Thrillers, Modern fiction, Intrigue, Thriller
ISBN: 9780812579048
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2006-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

23

The Ford’s tyres squealed, burning rubber as I pulled to the right and jammed on the brakes, the car coming to a juddering halt by the kerbside. Strolling pedestrians turned in alarm to see what the emergency was, then continued on their way, shaking their heads and muttering something about idiot drivers who should never have been given a licence. A figure detached itself from the shadow of a doorway and hurried over to me.

Louise Broomfield peered into the open side window. ‘I’ve only just arrived myself,’ she said, taking in short breaths between words. Thank God you’re all -‘ She noticed my companion.

‘Louise, this is Constance Bell,’ I said quickly, already beginning to open the car door and forcing the clairvoyant back on the pavement. ‘Constance, this is Louise Broomfield. She’s a friend of my client.’

Still crouched, Louise’s gaze lingered on Constance a moment longer than necessary. She straightened as I emerged from the car.

What the hell is up?’ I almost barked at her, annoyed that my precious moments with Constance had been interrupted, but concerned with the urgency in her voice when she had phoned.

Louise grabbed my arm. ‘I thought it was you! The voices weren’t clear, but I was sure they meant you! It was only when I spoke to you on the phone that I realized the trouble was here.’

‘You’ve never been to my office before.’

‘I didn’t need to. Once I heard you speak and you told me you were all right, I understood the message.’

I was rapidly losing patience. ‘Come on, Louise, what’s this all about? You didn’t explain anything, you just said there was a problem at my agency.’

‘You didn’t hear them yourself? The voices, the whispering?’

‘Maybe I was too preoccupied with other things.’

It was meant as a jibe, but I immediately wondered if it were true, that my thoughts had been directed solely on Constance to the exclusion of all else that night. Could everything else from outside sources, other thoughts, other sensings, be blocked by the sheer power of a person’s emotions? In the light from a nearby cafe’s windows I could see Louise’s eyes were wide and staring, her trepidation genuine; even the fierce grip on my arm was an indication of her inner turmoil. Further along the street, people were spilling from the old Regency theatre’s open doors and for a moment I thought I might be going crazy. Among the departing audience were odd figures, people so bizarrely garbed they might have escaped from one of my own weird dreams. They played and giggled amidst their ordinary companions, masked and painted faces grotesque in the streetlights. Fishnet stockings and sequined cloaks, humped backs and demented eyes - the exotic adornments of fools and funsters. With relief I remembered that the all-new, revised and improved Rocky Horror Show was back in town.’ Even so, even though I knew this was the audience’s ritual pantomime of affinity with the show, I shuddered at the sight of all those grotesques mingling with the usual theatre-goers.

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