Alex Palmer - Blood Redemption

‘I am not an agent of death. Others are the agents of death. Why don’t you harass them?’

‘Your agents. Would you kill Lucy Hurst if she was a danger to you?’

‘I am not an agent of death. I am a preserver of life.’

‘Haven’t you ever wanted to kill someone? Wouldn’t you like to have a go at me now?’

The preacher drew himself up with the same fastidious movement, and the same brief expression of savage joy crossed his face.

‘You are not my concern, Paul. Your fate will be decided by a force far stronger than you, or me for that matter. I may be its agent. But I am not an agent of death. I offer eternal life.’

‘Careful what rubbish you say there, mate.’ Trevor spoke very softly and very angrily, words that had been forced out of him.

The tension snapped like a piece of fine and brittle glass. The preacher jumped from his seat. ‘How dare you talk to me!’ he roared.

Harrigan was on his feet and in the preacher’s face before anyone else could move.

‘You will not talk to my officers like that!’

The force of his words pushed the preacher back into his seat.

There was silence. The preacher’s face had been transformed by fury.

He sat there shaking.

‘Am I under arrest?’ he asked.

Harrigan shook his head.

‘I wish to leave now in that case or I will bring a complaint of unlawful detention.’

‘You agreed to come down of your own accord, Graeme. But you can go anyway. I’m finished here. But I’m sure we’ll talk to each other again soon.’

This time the man did not speak or smile. He stood up, the doors were opened and the four of them walked to the lifts. At a nod from Harrigan, Dea phoned for an escort to see the preacher out. No one spoke. The escort took his time.

While they stood there, they heard the sound of female voices: Louise and Grace returning from some girls’ only coffee break. They appeared in the foyer on their way back to work. Harrigan and Grace looked at each other without intending to. Then he saw her look at the preacher with that steel in her expression she sometimes had.

Fredericksen watched her go, his face impassive. The lift doors opened and the escort arrived.

‘Do you know, Paul,’ the preacher said, turning to him, ‘it’s never wise to be arrogant. Pride does go before a fall.’

Harrigan placed himself between the preacher and everyone else and spoke quietly and affably. He was smiling.

‘Who are you threatening, Graeme? Me or one of my people?

Because that would be a very stupid thing for you to do.’

‘I am not threatening anyone, Paul. I never do. Everything is in the hands of God. Does that worry you? Would that make you step outside your own limits?’

‘This man will organise you a lift home,’ Harrigan replied. ‘Thanks for coming in.’

They looked at each other and then the preacher turned away.

‘Good day to you,’ he said to no one in particular.

He was gone and they all breathed.

‘Fuck me,’ Ian and Trevor said, simultaneously.

‘Snap,’ Trevor said. ‘Sorry, Dea.’

‘That’s okay,’ she said, with an unconcerned wave of her hand.

‘He’s a first for me, I’ve got to say that,’ Harrigan said, damping down the fact the interview, and Fredericksen, had disturbed him much more than was usual.

‘Why did he scream at you like that, mate?’ Ian asked.

‘Who gives a shit?’ Trevor shrugged.

‘Why did you say that to him?’ Harrigan asked.

‘Because of all the crap he was going on with. What would he know?

I need a smoke.’

‘Take a break and then come and see me in my office, the both of you,’ Harrigan said.

He went back into the main part of the office and saw Grace about to disappear into the computer room. He walked up to her.

‘My office,’ he said, ‘now.’

‘What is it?’ she asked, surprised.

‘Work.’ The comment was overhead by Jeffo who, Grace noticed, grinned at them both and made a face behind Harrigan’s back.

‘What is it?’ she asked as she sat down on the other side of his desk.

‘I need to know — would the preacher or anyone connected with him have any reason to know anything about you?’

‘Why are you asking me that?’

‘Because if they do, I would have to say you are in considerable personal danger as of now. I’m going to ask you again. Do they know anything about you? Your address, anything. Anything you tell me is confidential, Grace.’

Grace pictured herself sitting in this chair telling him how she had had an abortion eight months ago, or even confining her information simply to describing how the preacher’s hangers-on had tracked her down and leaving it to him to fill in the gaps. She could not bring herself to say any of this, the confession stuck in her throat. What would it matter if she did say nothing? What could she tell him that he didn’t already know? He would finish the investigation soon, within days at the most. She shook her head without speaking.

‘Are you sure?’

She shook her head again. He tapped the desk with his fingertips.

‘Have you sent out an email to the Firewall?’ he asked.

‘Yeah. I haven’t got anything back yet.’

He was silent for a little longer.

‘I’m going to take you at your word, Grace,’ he said. ‘You’re responsible for what you do in here — ’

‘I’ve never seen it any other way.’

‘I’m not saying anything different. We were talking about murderers the other night. You just saw the genuine article standing in the foyer. He gets a kick out of it. Think about that. Let me know as soon as you get anything back online.’

‘Okay,’ she said and left, meeting Trev and Ian at the door.

‘Hi, guys,’ she said and headed back to the computer room.

‘Did we interrupt anything?’ Ian asked disingenuously.

‘No, mate, there’s nothing to interrupt,’ Harrigan growled. ‘Let’s get on with it.’

In the computer room, Grace sat in front of the monitor waiting to see if the Firewall would come online, asking herself, what could Harrigan do to protect her anyway? Take her off the job, lock her away? She concentrated on her work. Work was her only possible relief at the moment. She decided that even tedium could have its uses when you needed it enough.

Hunger woke Lucy. She lay considering that she had hours to wait before her next action and nothing to do between then and now.

She went to the sink and drank water to ease her appetite and then looked at her computer and mobile phone, wondering how long either of them could last now that she had no means to recharge their batteries. In the garage, there was a suicidally dangerous and illegal electrical connection which ran the lights but no usable outlet. Even so, she logged on and went out onto the Net.

Various messages were waiting for her. From Turtle: Are u outthere Firewall Come amp; talk 2 me please . She ignored the tug of feeling that said, yes, talk to him, there is nothing you need more.

She deleted his message. Then there was an email from someone she did not know, with the subject line: Message from Greg . She opened it at once.

This is to the Firewall. You don’t know me but my name isGrace. I’m going to tell you straightaway that I’m with the police.

But I have a message for you from Greg. What I am telling you isword for word what he said to me. I talked to him once just beforethey took him up to Kariong and then later he rang me and he leftme this message on my answering machine. It’s for you. I havethe tape if you want it. If we can find a way to get it to you, we’lldo that so you’ll know that what I’m telling you is true. Onceyou’ve read it, if you want to get back to me, you can email me oryou can chat to me. Whichever way you want to do it. But if youdo want to talk to me, I’m here to talk to you. Just come and findme. Grace.