Will felt a rush of affection for his friend. He really cared. ‘Okay, mate. But, please—’
‘Say no more. Leave it to me, and I’ll see you shortly.’
Will ended the call and trained the binoculars on the lone figure, now walking slowly back towards the house. He swallowed. He wanted to run out and walk back with her, but he couldn’t face that leering doll.
* * *
After his disastrous night on the watch, Matt was determined to get to grips with the problem at Little Anchor and help Will to cope with the situation at Holland House. Whisper Fen had always been a good place — lonely, yes, but tranquil. All those children lost on the marsh — he had never even heard of most of them. Their disappearances had never impinged on his life, and he didn’t understand why they would now.
He gathered up the materials he had selected for Kate, and called out to Liz, ‘I’ll be about an hour or two, darling! And don’t forget, Laura will be here at around four thirty.’
Liz was busy on the computer, searching for whatever she could find on Nigel Foreman’s shady brother-in-law, Kelvin Smith, the village store manager. ‘I’ll be here, sweetheart. Take care!’
Matt drove across to Holland House. As soon as he drew up, Kate came out to meet him. ‘Matt! How lovely! Have you managed to get hold of your old Amos?’
‘I certainly have, and he’s going to meet us in the Crossed Keys in Tanners Fen at midday tomorrow.’ Matt smiled. ‘A pint or two should jog his memory, I reckon. I had some trouble stopping him chattering on about the marsh and Holland House, so he’s going to love talking to the new owner.’
Kate positively beamed. Matt suddenly noticed what it was about her that Will had tried to describe. Her eyes took on an unnatural gleam whenever she mentioned the house. It wasn’t a happy light either, more a kind of fervour.
The Kate of today was a far stretch from the gentle soul who had painted fairies for children. He wondered how long it had been since she’d visited a hairdresser.
Her gaze alighted on the folder he was carrying. ‘More photos?’
He nodded. ‘And some other stuff that you might find interesting. It goes back to when Mrs Holland was a young married woman — just village stuff, but it gives a good insight into what life was like on Whisper Fen back in those days.’
‘Oh, that’s marvellous, Matt, just the kind of thing that interests me. Come on into the kitchen. I can’t wait to see what you’ve found.’ She turned and hurried inside. ‘Will’s just gone to the garage for fuel. He shouldn’t be long.’
It was clear it was the photos that she was desperate to see, so he gave her the folder. ‘You can keep them, Kate. Liz has scanned them all into our computer for when we start our research in earnest.’
‘But these are the originals, Matt. Are you sure?’ She held them to her chest, tightly.
‘Of course, especially as they pertain to here. I think you should have them.’
She laid them out on the table and leafed through them. ‘Oh, look at all these wonderful people! I’ll need to identify them somehow.’
‘I can tell you a few. Luckily, my mother had a habit of scribbling names and dates on the backs of pictures, but obviously not all.’ He sat down and picked one up. ‘See this man? He was the local bobby who policed this area on his bike. His name was Constable Frank Herring, and I happen to know that his great granddaughter, Penny, still lives in the area. I’m told that she is very much into genealogy. I’ll bet she’d be happy to talk to us if I asked.’
‘Oh, really? That would be amazing!’
They spent about half an hour discussing the photos, until Kate said, ‘I really have to go and do some work, Matt. I’m almost done with my illustrations for the last but one book in the Fairy Dreams series. I can’t wait to get rid of them.’
She spoke of the paintings as if she hated them. Matt said, ‘I’m sure they’re amazing, Kate. I remember all the earlier ones you did, and they were so beautiful. I don’t suppose I could see them, could I?’
For a moment she hesitated, then, ‘Yes, yes, of course you can.’ She led the way upstairs.
It came as a shock to see there was a lock on the studio door, but Matt didn’t comment. He knew that this hurt Will terribly and seeing it for himself brought it home to him. Poor Will. He must be living in a nightmare.
Kate’s desk was covered in illustrations, with two larger studies displayed on easels. They were indeed brilliant, but even Matt, who had no eye for the finer points of art, noticed something different about these pictures. They were far more powerful than the earlier depictions of the Magical Garden of Gort and had none of their insouciance. ‘They’ve evolved,’ he stated, slightly in awe.
‘They needed to,’ she said flatly.
‘They’re breathtaking.’ While he was examining one of the larger pictures, he heard the doorbell ring.
‘Oh, that will be Dougie, the farmer. Will said he’d be dropping off a sack of potatoes. I’d better go and pay him. I won’t be a minute.’ Kate hurried out and ran down the stairs.
Matt looked around. Where were those other pictures, the ones that Will had told him about? He knew he had little time. Then he saw a series of larger paintings stacked at the back of the studio and covered in dustsheets.
He sprinted across and lifted the sheet from the first one. And gasped. Will had been right.
Matt was looking at a nightmarish painting of some hideous creature digging what looked like a grave out on the marsh. Next to it, lying on the muddy ground, was a bundle wrapped in filthy dark material. Lantern light just managed to catch a tiny, child’s foot sticking out from the folds of the covering. It was brilliantly executed — yet horribly disturbing.
He replaced the sheet exactly as it had been and was back at Kate’s table, just in time to hear her mount the stairs.
A few seconds later, she came in. ‘Sorry about that, Matt. Have you had a chance to look at them?’
Oh yes, thought Matt, and I’ve seen far too much. ‘They’re quite incredible, Kate. You’re a very talented artist.’
He had no idea how he managed to keep his voice steady. All he wanted to do was run from that room and out into the fresh air.
As they made their way back down the stairs, Matt was struck by the realisation that it wasn’t Holland House that was affecting the sensitive Kate with its sinister history — it was the other way round. It was she who was polluting the house with her unhealthy obsession and dark thoughts. Seeing that picture caused the freshly decorated lounge to reek of malevolence, where previously, Matt had seen a delightful room full of light, with a wonderful view of wild marshland.
Back in the kitchen, he said, ‘I’ll let you get on, Kate. Tell Will I called, and I’ll pick you up at a quarter to twelve tomorrow, okay?’ He hoped he sounded casual enough. At least he was good at concealing his feelings — you had to be in his old job. He even waved cheerily as he pulled away, until, out of sight of the house, he floored the accelerator.
* * *
Laura Archer arrived punctually at four thirty, to be greeted by a warm hug from Liz. Laura, and her friend Sam Page, had helped Liz enormously when she was recovering from her traumatic last case and she owed them a lot.