The Red King by Russell Proctor

Author:Russell Proctor [Proctor, Russell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mashup, red king, alice in wonderland, through the looking glass, Horror, serial killer, horror fantasy, wizard of oz, Crime Fiction, historical crime
ISBN: 9781618684837
Publisher: Permuted Press
Published: 2015-03-24T06:00:00+00:00

***

‘I’m not arguing further, Miss Gale. There’s no way I’m permitting you to go upstairs.’

Dorothy rolled her eyes. If this wasn’t an adventure, what was? Alice would have to take her seriously if she did something more than just guard duty.

‘You were brave enough when you saved me in the park,’ she said.

‘That was different. That was saving you. This is keeping you out of danger in the first place.’

‘What danger? It’s just Sam and Ralph.’

Above them, a door slammed, followed by loud thumps on the stairs, made by booted feet.

‘Get back outside!’ called Cartwright, pulling Dorothy away. They exited onto the street, where the second cabbie still sat, dozing.

‘Behind the cab!’ said Dorothy. ‘We can watch what happens!’

But even as they reached the other side of the hansom, peering around the back, the front door opened again and Ralph’s wife, Connie, looked out into the street.

‘Bring him out!’ she hissed.

Sam and Ralph appeared, carrying something between them wrapped in a blanket. The dozing cabbie didn’t even look at them, his head still sunk on his chest. The two men went to Ralph’s hansom and lifted the bundle to shove it into the back. Connie glanced up and down the street.

‘Hey! Someone here!’ she called.

The men dumped their bundle back onto the footpath. It unwrapped enough for Cartwright and Dorothy to see it contained a young boy, unconscious, his head twisted awkwardly in the gutter. Sam stepped forwards, his hand reaching for the cosh in his pocket.

‘Come out of there!’ called Sam, and Dorothy and Cartwright slowly emerged from behind the cab, Dorothy with her fists clenched tightly, mouth set in a hard line. Cartwright wiped his hands on his trousers nervously.

‘Ah, good evening,’ he said hesitantly, nodding towards the cab. ‘We were just about to engage this –’

Sam chuckled. ‘Well, this is a mite inconvenient,’ he said drily. ‘Look who it is. You do have a habit of interrupting our work.’

Ralph pulled out his gun. ‘It’s them,’ he said. ‘Them from the park!’

‘I know who it is, you idiot!’ said Sam. ‘Point is, what do we do with them?’

The woman stepped over to Dorothy and grabbed her from behind, gripping her hair tightly while whipping some rope from her pocket. The girl struggled, thrashing out with her legs.

‘Let me go!’

But it was over in a moment. Cartwright lay grunting on the footpath, winded by a heavy blow from Sam’s cosh into his stomach. Ralph slapped a cloth over Dorothy’s face and she collapsed as the stench of chloroform overwhelmed her.

‘Second time lucky,’ muttered Sam. ‘No fight in him after all.’

Cartwright groaned. Ralph kicked him. ‘What do we do with this one?’ he said. ‘Shoot him?’

Sam shook his head. ‘Not in the fucking street, you moron. We take the girl and the boy. Leave this one. The King wants witnesses. Clear out,’ he said to Connie. ‘We can do the rest.’

Connie licked her lips as she stared longingly at the unconscious girl.

‘Pretty,’ she said, staring down at Dorothy’s small breasts and stroking one hand up the girl’s leg under her skirt.

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