Page 23 of Go Now
‘Are we okay to bag up the… thing?’asked one of the techs, indicating the clay idol which had been placed, like the first, above and slightly to the left of the victim’s head.
They went over to take a look.
‘Thing’ wasn’t a bad effort, in the circumstances.It was similar to the one that had accompanied Ashworth’s murder: approximately the shape and size of a human head, but with the entirety of the face taken up by a gaping, silently screaming mouth.
‘Like the other one,’ Kate said quietly.‘What did Chen call it?Agony in 3-D?’
Marcus said nothing.He stared at the effigy for a while, then gave a shudder.
‘I kind of can’t stop looking at it.I mean… it’s ugly, but… I feel like it doesn’t want to let me go.’
‘I feel exactly the same,’ said Kate.‘I felt it about the first one, too.’
‘Did you?Why didn’t you say?’
She shrugged.‘I don’t know.It felt like a crazy thing to say.’
‘It isn’t,’ Marcus said, continuing to stare.He took a deep breath and snapped his gaze to the waiting tech.‘We’re good to go, thanks.’
They moved aside to let their co-workers proceed.
‘Why does he make them?’Marcus asked, almost to himself.‘What’s he trying to say?’
‘Maybe he wants us to know how horribly they died.’
‘Isn’t that obvious from the state he leaves them in?’
Kate shrugged.‘If it is something to do with breaking the second commandment, maybe he’s sending them to Hell.And that’s what he’s showing us.The eternal torment they’ll be suffering in Hell.’
‘Still think it’s nothing to do with Cox?’
‘So far, I’ve seen no clues to be deciphered, no codes or ciphers.I’m keeping an open mind.But it strikes me that, if Cox was involved, he’d want me to know it.He’s not the shy and retiring type, after all.’
‘True.’
‘We need to go downstairs now.’
Understanding just what she meant, Marcus nodded grimly.
The next task was going to be gruelling, but it was vital.They stripped out of their paper suits on the landing and headed in silence downstairs.Chen was making coffee in the kitchen, having just interviewed the very traumatized neighbor.On the sofa, a gaunt-looking man sat, staring into space.His eyes were red, his hands fidgeted, the sleeves of his hooded zip-up ended a good four inches above his slim, bony wrists.Kate had a suspicion it had belonged to his wife.
‘Mr Shinwell,’ Kate said, quietly.
He looked at her, but he seemed to be a great many miles away.‘I came home a day early,’ he said, blankly.‘To surprise her.It’s our wedding anniversary.’
‘Where were you?’Marcus asked.
'I'm a partner in a small architectural practice,' he replied.'We were bidding for the contract to design a row of zero-impact family homes in Philly.That's where I was.'
‘Did you design this house?’Kate asked.‘It’s beautiful.’
‘It was a farm,’ Shinwell said, faintly.He looked at her, wearily; despite the redness surrounding them, his eyes were a very striking blue.‘What do you want to ask me?’
‘Have there been any unwelcome visitors to the property recently?’Kate asked.‘People scoping the place out, parked up nearby?’
He shook his head slowly.‘I’m sorry.’
‘Do you have CCTV?A doorbell camera?’
