Comes the Dark Stranger - Jack Higgins [60]
‘Have you any idea where the burial is to take place?’ Shane said.
‘St Augustine’s, I believe,’ the porter replied. He frowned suddenly as Shane half-closed his eyes and swayed a little. ‘Are you all right, sir?’
Shane nodded. ‘Nothing to worry about. I’m not long out of bed, that’s all.’ He moved down the steps quickly before the porter could inquire further and waved for a cab from the nearby rank.
When they reached the church, he told the driver to wait for him and walked slowly through the gate and along a narrow path lined with poplar trees which led to the cemetery.
He could hear Father Costello’s voice as he went forward and then he saw them. There were no more than half a dozen people grouped round the grave and the priest’s voice sounded brave and strong as the rain fell on his bare head.
Shane moved off the path and stood behind a large, marble monument. Laura was standing on the far side of the grave. She wore a black, close fitting suit and there were dark smudges under her eyes. The Dobermann sat beside her and Shane saw that she had one hand fastened firmly about the dog’s collar as if he were the last friend she had left on top of earth.
Shane recoiled at the horrid sound the first spadeful of wet earth made as it rattled against the coffin. He shivered and turned away and walked quickly between the gravestones that reared out of the clammy earth, back towards the gate.
He sat in the cab and waited and after a while they came through the gate. Father Costello talked to her for a moment or two, holding her hand, his face kind and gentle and then she got into a hired car with the dog and they drove away.
Shane told his driver to follow and leaned back against the cushions and lit a cigarette. His body was trembling slightly and the smoke made him feel sick. He tossed the cigarette out of the window and wiped cold sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. He had no idea of what he was going to say to her. He was only sure of one thing. He needed her more than he had ever needed anything or anybody in his life before.
The hired car dropped her at the gate of the house and Shane waited until she had disappeared through the gate before paying off his driver and following her.
The place seemed more derelict than ever and the curtains were drawn across the windows, giving them somehow the appearance of great, sightless eyes that looked blindly down at him.
He walked round the side of the house and down towards the studio. The rain increased with a sudden rush into a torrential downpour and a rook lifted out of the trees above the river, protesting shrilly. Shane mounted the steps to the studio and opened the door.
The Dobermann moved across the room like a dark shadow, a growl dying in its throat and unexpectedly nuzzled his hand. Laura Faulkner had been standing by the great glass window and she turned quickly.
Her eyes looked somehow too large in her fine-drawn face. She gazed incredulously at him and then a tiny moan escaped from her mouth and she took a hesitant step forward.
In a moment she was in his arms and he held her close as a storm of weeping engulfed her. After a while she stopped crying and looked up at him with a wan smile. ‘Should you be out of hospital?’
He grinned. ‘They’re probably going crazy at the moment, but that doesn’t matter. I wanted to see you.’ There was a slight pause and he said, ‘I’m sorry about your father.’
She sighed and moved away from him. ‘I’m not, now that it’s all over. It hasn’t been much of a life for him during these last few years.’
‘Or for you,’ Shane said.
She took a deep breath. ‘Before we go any further there are one or two things you should know. I knew that Charles Graham was really Simon.’
‘I know,’ Shane said gently. ‘Simon told me just before he died.’
‘But there’s one other thing you should know,’ she said in an expressionless voice. ‘The night you came here after making Steele give you the key to his safe and told me you intended going to his office for the letters. I warned Simon.