Page 57 of Inbetweeners
“That’s better than fungus.”
“Is it? It’s much more invasive.”
“Really hard to get rid of.”
Emmett chuckled.
“Well, we know the grey-haired guy is behind all this,” Phoenix said. “And that he’s a murdering fucking bastard. So is the woman. We just don’t know why. If we find out the why, maybe we have a chance to stop them.”
“Harry’s a problem,” Emmett whispered. “I’m worried about him.”
“I have no idea how tomakehim go.”
“Nor do I. I’m not sure we should leave him on his own.”
“I don’t think he’d let us.”
Emmett lowered his voice. “Maybe we can do a little matchmaking. Find someone for Harry to leave with. Someone with two legs rather than four.”
“Maybe. Though you’re assuming they’d both be heading for the same place, and in Hell, I doubt they’d be allowed to stay together.”
“Harry has to be Heaven-bound, surely.”
“We only know what he’s told us. He could have been a little bastard. Though, yeah, he seems like a decent kid. Aggravating but… I don’t like the idea of taking him with us when we go to these addresses. It’s like dangling a piece of meat in front of a tiger. Couldn’t we just leave him here watching TV? The killer doesn’t know where we live. He’d be safe.”
“I wonder if there’s any way to…ward the flat.” Emmett blinked. “I say that as if I have some idea of what that actually means. I don’t. I’ve just dredged the memory up from some book I read when I was a kid.”
“Memory?”
“Bits are coming back. But I’ve always remembered the books I read. They’re not a trigger to other memories.”
“Google how to ward against demons.”
“Fine, then how areyougoing to get into the flat?”
“Google how to take off wards against demons.”
A moment later, Emmett laughed. “Almost forty million hits. Even Amazon is in on it. You can buy an oil to ward them off. A one-star review saying it didn’t work and that a strange cat came through the cat flap. Though plenty think it did work.” He kept reading. “Dill, lavender, oregano and parsley are mentioned as demon repellents, but what do you do with them? Eat them, hang them round your neck, up at the windows, around the doors? And how much do you use?”
“And we don’t know that our guy is a demon.”
“Necromancer.” The word had just slipped into Emmett’s head. “Someone who can manipulate the dead.”
“He’s not bringing them back to life, though. Isn’t that what a necromancer does?”
“Maybe that’s what he wants to do, and then use them in some way.” Emmett sighed. “Tar hasn’t sent us any more addresses, has he?”
Phoenix checked his phone. “No.”
“I’ve not remembered my surname, but I’ve remembered where my parents live. I want to go and see them. I know they won’t know who I am, but I want to see them anyway.”
“Where do they live?”
“Caterham. Forty minutes if I use the motorway.”
“You want to go now?”
“Yes. I suppose I better call and see if they’re in.”
