Authors: Kevin Ashman
Mortuus Virgo (9 page)
‘But you said the cult was huge.’
‘It was, but to these people the Black Sea basin was the centre of their universe. Let’s not forget this area was more than twice the size of modern day Britain and proportionately was probably the most advanced and populated areas of that time. There would have been hundreds of thousands of people living around the lake. Remember, this was before the pyramids of Egypt were built, before Rome existed and even the islands of Greece were still inhabited by hunter gatherers. The Mediterranean Sea was much lower, as indeed were all the sea levels as a lot of water was being held encapsulated in the ice caps of the north. The people of Isis were probably one of the most advanced peoples of the world at this time and had things worked out differently would have become the epicentre of a great civilisation.’
‘Would have? Why what happened, a war of some sort?’
‘No on the contrary, though there was a disaster, the majority would have survived but they just moved out of the area.’
‘Why?’
‘The great flood.’
A silence fell in the darkened room before Brandon finally spoke.
‘Please don’t tell me you mean Noah’s flood.’
‘I do!’
‘Oh this is getting ridiculous,’ he said and stood up, switching on his torch.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked.
‘Getting out of here,’ he said, ‘Before these torches run out.’
‘I thought we had agreed we would wait for the manager.’ she said.
‘It’s been over an hour,’ he said, ‘If anyone was coming they would be here by now.’
‘Surely he wouldn’t just leave us down here, that would be stupid.’
‘Unless he was the one who locked us in!’
‘What?’
‘Think about it,’ he said, ‘There’s only one way into these tunnels and that’s through his office. Only he knows we are here so who else can it be?’
‘What are you going to do,’ she asked picking up her own torch.
‘Those cables,’ he said, pointing at the old electricity supplies piercing the walls, ‘They must lead somewhere, pass me that crowbar.’ He climbed on a chair and started to hit at the rotten wood with the tool. The sixty year old wooden panel broke easily and within a few minutes he had made a hole wide enough for him to peer through. ‘There’s another panel a few yards along,’ he said and made the hole in the panel as wide as he could. Eventually it was big enough to crawl through and he jumped down off the chair. ‘Come on,’ he said, ‘I’ll help you up.’
‘I’m not going in there,’ she said.
‘You have to,’ he replied, ‘You are smaller than me, I’ll never fit through.’
‘I can’t’ she said, ‘I suffer from claustrophobia. This room is bad enough but at least I had you here with me. It looks like that hole is barely big enough for me to crawl through. I can’t do it.’
‘It’s only a few yards, India,’ he said, ‘Drop into the next room and come and open the door from the outside. It’s probably our only chance.’
‘I can’t,’ she said again.
‘India, you can,’ he said, ‘I’ll help you up and you go in feet first on your back. Just keep your eyes closed. Two minutes max and it will be over. I will be only a few feet away at all times.’
‘I don’t have an option do I?’ she asked.
Brandon just smiled grimly.
‘We could wait for help to arrive.’ he said, ‘But somehow I think that could be quite a while, if ever.’
‘Okay,’ she said, ‘I’ll do it.’
‘That’s my girl,’ he said and dragged the table across to below the cables. ‘Come on, Ill help you up.’
She climbed in the hole feet first and wriggled until only her head and shoulders still remained in the room.
‘Good girl,’ said Brandon, ‘Keep going until your feet touch the board on the other side and kick it as hard as you can, it should give way easy enough. When it does, turn over and lower yourself into the room.’
‘Here goes,’ she said and wriggled into the tunnel. ‘Keep that light on,’ she called as she went and Brandon shone the torch into the conduit behind her. Within a few minutes he heard the sound of banging and a sudden shout of ‘Yes’ as the board fell away.
‘It’s gone,’ she shouted, ‘I m just going to drop down.’
‘Be careful,’ he called and watched as she disappeared from view.
A second later she called again.
‘I’m in,’ came her muffled voice, ‘Just looking for the door, just a second there’s someone….
Oh my God’
she screamed, ‘
Brandon……Help me!’
Her terrified scream chilled him to the bone.
‘India!’ he shouted, ‘What’s the matter, India, answer me, are you okay?’
Apart from her crying there was no answer and Brandon looked around frantically for the crowbar. He laid the torch on the table and started to smash at the door with little success. He looked around again and picked up the solid bench, hardly managing its weight. Swinging it back he smashed it against the hinge side of the door and had the satisfaction of seeing it move. Straining every muscle he hit the door over and over again until at last the door frame fixings gave way and the whole doorway fell outwards in a cloud of dust. Brandon climbed through and taking his torch, made his way the few yards to the next door coughing as he went. The door was also locked but this time he could see it was a very old padlock and probably hadn’t been opened in years. He returned to the linesman’s room for the crowbar and a minute later, after smashing the lock off the second door, ran in to the darkened room. His torch cut through the darkness and he immediately saw India sat in the corner, still crying and shaking in terror.
‘India,’ he said grabbing her by her arms, ‘India, it’s me Brandon what’s the matter.’
She looked at him, realising who he was and threw her arms around him sobbing.
‘Okay India,’ he said, ‘you’re safe now, the darkness must have got to you quite bad.’
‘No she sobbed, ‘Look…there!
He turned his head and pointed the torch in the direction she was staring and his blood ran cold.
Leaning against the wall was a primitive crucifix, and tied to the cross was the rotting remains of a young girl!
----
Brandon stared in disbelief at the heart stopping horror in front of him. The girl seemed to be less than ten years old and by the state of the corpse and lack of smell must have been there for months if not years. The rotting fabric hanging from her skeletal frame had once been a white nightdress of some sort but the thick dust layer had transformed it into a morose dirty grey.
A spider, annoyed by the sudden intrusion of light, scuttled from the web suspended between her nailed wrist and her head, seeking the safety of her straw like hair.
‘Oh my God,’ he whispered and walked over to inspect the body more closely.
‘Brandon, get me out of here,’ said India quietly.
‘Wait a minute,’ he said and shone the torch slowly over the whole body. The skin was stretched tight over the skeleton and her head hung down onto her chest. He used the torch to raise the head up, swallowing hard as he saw the empty sockets of her eyes.
‘Brandon, for Christ’s sake, lets get out of here,’ said India, unaware of the ironic reference of the link to the cross.
Brandon leaned closer and using his other hand, broke through the cobwebs to get a better look at something underneath.
‘Brandon, I need to get out of here,
now
?’ she said looking nervously over his shoulder at the dead girl.
He fumbled with something before answering.
‘Okay,’ he said, ‘Let’s go.’ He led her from the room and they made their way back as quickly as possible to the entrance to the station. A few minutes later they reached the door and Brandon was pleasantly surprised to find it slightly ajar.
‘Wait here,’ he said.
‘Why?’
‘If this guy locked us in that room he is probably the one responsible for those poor girl's deaths. Who knows how he will react when he knows we are alive?’ He picked up a broken piece of wood and wielding it like a club, pushed the door slowly open, his eyes squinting in the bright light of the workroom within. India waited outside in the maintenance tunnel shining her torch around her nervously as she waited. A few moments later she jumped as she heard him call her name. ‘India,’ he shouted, ‘Come here, quickly.’
She ran in and found him crouched over the body of the station Master laying in a pool of blood.
‘Oh my God,’ she said, ‘Not another one?’
‘He’s still alive,’ said Brandon, ‘Find a phone and call an ambulance, this is getting ridiculous!’
----
An hour later an ambulance disappeared into the shiny distance of the wet London road, its blue light reflecting in the shop windows as it went. India sat in the back of a police car watching as teams of white clad technicians carrying their bags and briefcases made their way through the police cordon towards the admin area. Crowds of people had gathered around the end of the street curious as to the cause of the commotion. Brandon stood talking to someone in a long black coat and after a few minutes, shook his hand and joined India in the back of the car. A police constable got in and started the engine.
‘Where are we going?’ asked India.
‘Home,’ said Brandon.
‘But why?’ she asked, ‘Surely they want statements from us.’
‘It’s been sorted,’ he said ‘They’ll have to wait. We need to get to get you home, get a good nights rest and start again in the morning. There’s a serial killer on the loose and we have work to do.’
Though she started to ask questions Brandon was strangely unforthcoming during the ride back to his house, spending most of the time on calls or sending e mails from his mobile. They stopped briefly to pick up a curry on the way, the smell making her mouth water and within forty five minutes she was sat facing Brandon across the wooden farmhouse table, her empty plate testament to how hungry she had been. She pushed a half empty lager can away from her to nestle between the empty foil takeaway containers.
‘I know it's traditional to drink lager with curry,’ she said, ‘But could I have a nice cup of tea?’
‘Aren’t you tired?’ he asked.
‘You have got to be kidding,’ she said, ‘You think I could sleep after the last four hours.’
‘Fair point,’ he said, ‘I’ll put the kettle on.’
‘So what happens now?’ she asked.
‘We need to take stock,’ he said ‘And analyse what we know.’
‘We don’t have anything as far as I can see,’ she said, staring in frustration as he opened and closed several cupboard doors, ‘For heaven’s sake what are you looking for?’
‘Teapot.’
‘Teapot, who makes tea in a teapot?’
‘Trust me,’ he said and ten minutes later she was watching with fascination as he poured the tea through a strainer.
‘You’re a strange family,’ she said as he poured the tea, ‘Your mother carries a touch screen phone, yet you make tea with leaves.’
‘Fashion is fleeting,’ he said ‘But class is eternal. Some things just can’t be bettered, now, get your laughing gear around that.’ He passed over the tea and she sipped cautiously. ‘Nice?’
‘Okay, I suppose,’ she acknowledged.
‘Right, I know it’s been a tough day but I’ve gone over and over this and nothing makes sense. The police investigations are getting nowhere and the only thing that all the deaths have in common is this.’ He placed something on the table.
She picked up the necklace and looked at the familiar profile spinning slowly before her.
‘The Macedonian necklace,’ she said, ‘Or at least a copy, where did you get it from?’
‘The girl on the cross,’ he answered
She looked at him in horror.
‘You stole it from a dead body?’
‘It’s the only thing we have to go on,’ he said, ‘It was necessary.’
She stared at the coin, turning it over and over in her hand, searching for anything new.
‘Doesn’t help much,’ she said, ‘It’s exactly the same as the picture we saw earlier,’ and passed the coin over to Brandon.
Brandon held the coin in one hand while sipping his tea. Suddenly he stared closer at the coin, with his cup halfway to his mouth.
‘Hang on,’ he said, ‘Pass me that magnifying glass, there’s writing on the edge of the coin.’
‘Where?’
‘Just get a pen,’ he said ‘And write this down. The first letter is U, then U again, the next letter is worn, I can’t make it out, then there’s a space followed by U again, the next is worn, then R and G. The next one is O. I think the next one is M,’ he continued, ‘Then O and R and the last one is missing.’
India wrote the letters down on the back of an envelope.
‘What have we got?’ he asked.
She held out the envelope for him to see. UU_ _U_RGO_MO_