The Student, page 18
He reached up on tiptoes, pulling himself up, reaching in and unfastening the metal clasp, but he couldn’t get his arm far enough through the gap to open the more substantial window beneath. Baptist looked around, searching for something to stand on, but there was nothing suitable. He ground his teeth together, increasingly frustrated with every new obstacle, but then he remembered the slide. It was as if a light came on in his head, a revelation. All he had to do was lean the slide against the conservatory wall, use the steps like a ladder, and then utilise the additional height it provided to reach down inside to gain entry. An inspired idea that couldn’t fail.
Within a few minutes, Baptist was inside the conservatory and approaching an interior sliding glass door, the cotton bag held tightly in a large and sweaty hand. To his immense relief, the door wasn’t locked, enabling him to enter a dimly lit modern kitchen, fitted with cream-coloured units and various up-to-date electrical appliances to either side of the stainless-steel sink. Baptist stood and waited as his eyes slowly adjusted to the semi-darkness. He moved on into the lounge, and then the small blue-tiled hall, where he paused at the base of the staircase, listening for the even slightest sound. For one awful moment, the big man feared the house may be empty. That the pig detective was at work or sleeping somewhere else entirely. He reassured himself that he’d been careful, that he’d followed her to the property, that lights had shone, and that he hadn’t seen her leave. But the fear of failure still sent him reeling. She couldn’t have sneaked away, could she? No, no, of course she hadn’t. She was up there somewhere, blissfully unaware of her pending fate, lost to sleep. He heard the master’s voice urging him on. Encouraging him to seize their sacrificial lamb. To show no mercy. To ignore any misgivings planted by the vile demons of hell.
Baptist took a deep breath, removed his white leather sandals, and began climbing the stairs one wary step at a time, flinching at the slightest creak, and repeatedly adjusting the position of his feet in the hope of a silent approach. He reached the landing and stopped, listening as the faint sound of intermittent snoring came from a bedroom to his left at the back of the house. Baptist confirmed the contents of the bag – the cloth, the chloroform – and then crept towards the open door.
Baptist placed one foot in the bedroom, as Kesey rolled over, adjusting her position, sleeping on her back as opposed to her side. He waited for her to settle, removed the top from the bottle, poured approximately twenty-five per cent of the liquid contents onto a white cotton cloth, and approached her sleeping form. He threw the bag and bottle aside as Kesey opened one eye, and then the other.
He went to grab her, but she moved quickly, jumping from the bed, drawing her arm back and striking him a powerful blow to the throat, sending him stumbling backwards and gasping for breath. Kesey kicked out, snap, but he caught her foot, throwing her sideways. She hit a wall, hard. She was dazed, bruised and shaken, but she wasn’t ready to give up the fight.
As Baptist loomed over her with the drug-laden cloth in hand, she kicked upwards, bang, striking his groin with the ball of her foot. The big man groaned as he sunk to his knees. But he reached out and grabbed her trailing ankle as she attempted to dodge past him and out of the door. Kesey pulled away, but she stumbled and fell, giving him just enough time to throw himself on top of her, his massive frame pinning her down, face first. Baptist coughed, catching his breath as he raised his upper body, pulling back on her hair, and holding the cloth to her nose and mouth.
Kesey’s scream was silenced almost as soon as it began, as he held the fabric still tighter, pressing it firmly to her face until the sweet-smelling compound began to gradually take effect. Kesey continued to struggle, attempting to twist her body, trying to throw him off one way and then the other, but Baptist was too big, too heavy, too strong. Within five minutes, her frantic movements had slowed to a stop. Kesey was alive but unconscious.
Baptist rolled aside, clutching his aching testicles and resting until he eventually felt ready to continue. He dropped the cloth and then looked across at Kesey’s sleeping form and smiled. She had no idea what was coming. No comprehension of the personal hell she’d unleashed on herself. Soon she would be a sacrifice. Her blood a life force, offered to God.
He raised himself to his feet, a growing sense of achievement filling him with pride and puffing out his chest. As he picked Kesey up, resting her over one shoulder, he was calling out his praise, no longer fearful of discovery, confident of ultimate success. Baptist collected his discarded items and descended the stairs two steps at a time, performing a tight pirouette at the bottom, spinning Kesey around as she slept, her feet bumping the wall as he turned. He laughed as he slipped on his footwear and opened the front door.
The clouds had cleared now, blown away by a wind that cooled his skin. It was a good sign, a sign of God’s approval. He thought it and believed it as he strolled down the path, out of the gate, onto the pavement and towards the Transit van, a few minutes’ rapid walk away in a nearby street, parked under a faulty lamp. Baptist threw Kesey into the back on reaching the vehicle, slamming the rear doors shut and locking them, just in case she woke prematurely and tried to escape.
As he drove back in the direction of Llandeilo, Baptist was chanting, ‘God is great. I am nothing. All praise to the master!’ His euphoria was virtually orgasmic as he shouted out the words, anticipating his master’s happy approval with explosive glee. It was the greatest achievement of his life. His ultimate triumph. Now, all he had to do was get the pig detective back to the compound. And then God would smile on him. Karma in its purest form. Soon there would be a sacrifice. And he’d get his reward.
25
Three adult male members of the community were busy constructing an eight-by-four foot wooden cross on the dry earth to the side of the parade ground, when Baptist drove back through the commune’s high-security gates in the early hours of the morning, with Kesey still lying drugged and senseless in the rear of the van. The big man slowed, wound down the window and waved to a group of women and children cheering on the construction process. The group continued cheering as they waved back, becoming increasingly animated by the thought of the sacrificial ceremony to come.
Cameron watched from a lounge window, on tenterhooks, as Baptist slowed almost to a stop and parked on the grass about twenty-five yards away. He rushed out of his private quarters, running towards the van in the glare of the spotlights, as the big man switched off the diesel engine. Baptist was opening the rear doors when his master approached with a wide-eyed look of unbridled anticipation lighting up his features.
‘Have you got her?’
Baptist stood aside, repeatedly nodding his confirmation. He had never felt more accomplished or validated. It was the high point of his life. He stood aside and beamed, enabling Cameron to peer into the back of the vehicle.
‘There she is master, at your mercy. It all went better than I could have hoped. The pig tried to struggle, but I got her. I did exactly what you told me to do. I am forever your humble servant.’
Cameron looked in at Kesey’s sleeping form and performed a little jig of delight. He threw his arms in the air and jumped up and down, first one foot and then the other, raising his knees high, his entire body wobbling with the effort of it all. He continued dancing for thirty seconds more before suddenly stopping, panting hard as he strived to catch his breath. He turned to Baptist after sufficient recovery time had elapsed, and smiled. ‘You have done well, my child. God will reward you for your obedience and devotion. Now, let’s get the bitch into my quarters. The spare bedroom will serve as an ideal prison cell until the time of the sacrifice.’
Baptist shuffled back a step as various members of the community gathered to look on despite the early hour. ‘Am I right in thinking that you don’t want me to put her in the hole, master?’
Cameron hissed his words while waving his followers away, ordering them back to their sleeping quarters with small movements of his hand. ‘Are you questioning my wisdom?’
Baptist fell to his knees, as the other white-clad members of the community scuttled away to their beds, their earlier feelings of enthusiasm replaced by fear. Baptist looked up at his master with pleading eyes. ‘Please forgive my impertinence, master. I simply thought that time spent in the ground may provide her with the opportunity for reflection and prayer before making her final journey.’
Cameron reached out, jabbing a finger towards Baptist’s face. ‘If I’d meant the hole, I’d have said the hole. Now get the bitch out of that van and take her exactly where I told you to take her. Do not ever question me again, or it may be your turn to seek absolution. You did well, my brother. But don’t sully that achievement by doubting my infallibility. Always remember I speak for God. Doubt is the work of the devil.’
Baptist rose slowly to his feet. ‘Please forgive me, master. I am unworthy of your pardon.’
‘Get her out of the van, take her to my private quarters, strip her naked, bathe her, apply essential oils, and then tie her up with the ropes I’ve left on the spare bedroom floor. I want her at her very best when offered as a sacrifice. God expects nothing less.’
‘Yes, master, your word is my command.’
‘And you’ll find a white cotton hood next to the rope. I don’t want the bitch seeing a thing. That will be darkness enough. The inability to see will increase her suffering. She deserves that. We can remove the hood as she’s led to the cross. Can you imagine? Can you picture the drama of it all? I can’t wait to see the look of shock on her smug face when she sees it facing her, and realises her fate.’
Baptist dragged Kesey from the rear of the van by one arm, lifted her and carried her toward the building, as Cameron strolled close behind, calling out his encouragement, ‘That’s it, my child, that’s it, you know what to do with her. Get her ready as instructed. Come on, no dawdling. It’s time to get on.’
Baptist took Kesey directly to Cameron’s private bathroom, lowering her to the white tiled floor, as his master stood watching from the open doorway.
‘Have you decided on a time for the crucifixion, master? I’m looking forward to what’s going to be a wonderful day.’
‘I must spend time in meditation and prayer. God will tell me when the time is right.’
Kesey began to stir as Baptist started to unbutton her pyjama top. She opened one eye, and then closed it again, bemused by the residual effects of the drug. ‘What the… what the… what the hell’s happening to me? Janet, is that you, love?’ She opened both eyes for a beat, drifting between a confused dreamworld and consciousness. ‘Get off me! What the fuck are you doing? Get the, get the fuck off!’
Kesey bucked wildly, but Baptist held on tight. He shoved her away and then punched her hard, using all his immense weight and strength, knocking her senseless with one mighty blow to the chin. It loosened a tooth.
Cameron patted Baptist on his broad back as he rose to his full height. ‘Very well done, my child. Your quick reaction was to your credit. I will mention your achievements when I next speak with the Almighty. No doubt He will reward you when He deems it appropriate.’
‘Thank you, master, I’m deeply honoured.’
‘It is no more than you deserve, my child. Now, I’m tired, continue with your work.’
Baptist tossed Kesey’s pyjama top aside, and then moved on to her trousers, tugging them off at the ankles as she lay motionless. Cameron stepped into the bathroom, looking Kesey up and down, studying her naked form. He quickly decided that she was a little old for his tastes. Somewhat long in the tooth. In her early thirties, maybe, or even more. He thought it regrettable, such a terrible shame. She may have provided some sport if a little younger. But look on the bright side. She’d make a more than adequate sacrificial lamb, nailed up on that cross for all to see and appreciate, a silver lining in a dark world of woe. Cameron took one last look at Kesey, concluding she really wasn’t to his taste, however vulnerable. It was time to get some rest.
Cameron reached up to tap Baptist on his shoulder, as he carried Kesey towards the walk-in shower in a corner of the room next to the frosted glass window. ‘I’m going to head to my bedroom for a few hours of sleep, my child. Continue with your work and ensure our guest is adequately restrained before you head to bed yourself. I have some thinking to do. I don’t want to be disturbed under any circumstances. Have I made myself clear?’
‘I’ll ensure she’s properly secured, master. You can count on me.’
‘Oh, and one more thing before I leave you.’
Baptist stifled a yawn, tiredness starting to get the better of him. ‘What is it, master?’
‘I want you to bring young Shadow here to see me at precisely nine o’clock in the morning. As I said before, I have an important task for him to perform on behalf of our happy group. I’m not entirely persuaded that he’s fully accepted his new life here, despite his time spent in the hole. What I have in mind will be the ultimate test of his loyalty. Tomorrow we will find out if we can truly trust Shadow, or not. He’s your responsibility, Baptist. For both your sake and his, I’d like to think we can.’
Baptist propped Kesey up in the shower, positioning her at the furthest point from the sliding door. All of a sudden, he wasn’t feeling quite so confident. ‘Can I ask what Shadow is to do, master? I could wake him now and prepare him in advance. I could ensure he completes whatever is required of him to an acceptable standard.’
Cameron bared his teeth, snarling. ‘You will tell him nothing! Do you hear me? The surprise is an essential element of Shadow’s challenge. I want to study his face up close when I tell him exactly what’s expected of him. That will tell me all I need to know. If he passes the test, he lives, and if not, we’re going to need a second cross.’
‘That is truly inspired, master, a true reflection of your genius.’
‘Thank you, my child.’
Baptist bowed, bending at the waist, lowering his head and staring down at the tiles at his feet. ‘God is great. I am nothing. All praise to the master!’
26
Harry entered the master’s spare bedroom to be met by the sight of a naked woman, gagged and hooded and tied to the side of the double bed. Baptist slapped Harry hard when he stood to stare. Harry made every effort to hide his feelings of revulsion for fear of another assault.
‘Stand to attention, newbie. Stand and wait for the master’s arrival. He has important news to share with you. This is an exam you have to pass.’
Harry shifted his weight from one foot to another, unable to settle, as Kesey emitted garbled calls for help, the tight gag rendering her words close to incomprehensible. Harry wanted to help her, as he had River on that terrible day, but he knew the potential consequences of disobedience. And so he stood there, hating himself for his failure to act, following orders, until Cameron entered the room about ten minutes later.
Cameron ignored all present, climbing onto the bed, feigning sleep for almost five minutes before finally opening his eyes and speaking. ‘It’s a pleasure to see you again, Shadow, my child. It’s good of you to come so very promptly. I would introduce you to our new guest, but she’s not going to be with us for very long. I don’t think it’s in your interest to get to know her.’
Harry’s earlier doubts were resurfacing to a greater degree with every word Cameron uttered. He looked at Cameron, avoiding his eyes, and then at the woman again, feeling nothing but sympathy. Should he say something? Should he ask? ‘What is it you want from me, master?’
Cameron laughed. ‘What indeed? What indeed? What do you make of what you see here, Shadow?’
Harry didn’t reply.
‘Not to worry, my child. I understand the nature of your confusion. Our guest is an agent of evil. A pig who interfered in our business. She is not a woman, despite her shape-shifting appearance. She is a she-devil, inhuman, a demon from hell. Should we let her live or send her to the netherworld? What do you think, my child? What would you do if you had the power to decide?’
Harry wondered why his mouth felt so parched. He searched his mind for something to say. But no words came. He stood there opening and closing his mouth, guppy-like until Cameron eventually spoke again.
‘Nothing to say for yourself, my boy. No? Then I’ll tell you what I require of you. At precisely eleven o’clock this morning, the she-devil will be taken from this place and nailed to the wooden cross you will have seen outside, as a sacrifice to God. Steel spikes will be driven through her hands and feet, and you, my child, will do the hammering.’
Harry staggered backwards as Kesey fought to free herself, yanking at the ropes to no avail. Harry lost his balance, falling, and sitting on the wooden floor until Baptist dragged him to his feet seconds later.
‘I can’t, I can’t do, I can’t do that. Please, I’ll do anything, anything but that.’
Cameron fixed Harry with a look that left him cold. ‘You will do exactly what you’re told, or you will suffer the same fate. Think hard, my child. You have time to pray. Are you on the side of good or evil? You can choose life or death. It really is up to you.’
27
Janet dialled and waited, tapping the sole of her shoe against the floor until she heard Sandra say, ‘West Wales Police, how can I help you?’ what felt like an age later.
Janet gathered her thoughts before speaking. ‘Hello, Sandra, it’s Janet, Janet Oldfield, Laura’s partner.’
‘I don’t think she’s in, sorry. I haven’t seen her since yesterday.’
Janet closed her eyes for the briefest of moments. ‘Oh, shit, that’s the last thing I wanted to hear.’
