Cry of the Hunter - Jack Higgins [60]
Fallon relaxed and reached for a cigarette and then there was a sound behind him. He turned to find Hannah holding a lamp standing in the doorway. She was in her nightclothes and Anne was at her shoulder. ‘What’s going on here?’ Hannah said.
Fallon smiled as she came forward and put the lamp down on the table. ‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘I heard a noise down here. I thought it might be our friend returning so I came down to investigate. It was only Charlie. I saw him crossing the yard. I wondered where he’d disappeared to when he didn’t show up for supper.’
Hannah raised a hand and said, ‘God knows where he gets to – I’m sure I don’t. He comes and goes throughout the night. I leave him to please himself, poor lad.’
Anne sat down on a chair by the table. ‘I’m glad it was only Charlie,’ she said. ‘I was scared stiff when I heard that door crash open.’
‘And so was I.’ Murphy appeared in the doorway. He yawned and scratched his head. ‘Is everything all right, Mr. Fallon?’
Fallon nodded. ‘Only Charlie up to his usual nocturnal tricks, prowling off into the night with a shotgun. Going to do a bit of poaching I expect.’
Hannah was filling the kettle at the sink. She turned quickly. ‘Did you say he had the shotgun?’
Fallon nodded. ‘That’s right – carried it over his shoulder. I saw it distinctly in the moonlight.’
She moved across to the cupboard and opened it quickly. ‘That’s funny,’ she said slowly. ‘He’s taken a box of cartridges as well.’
There was a little moment of silence and Fallon said, ‘What’s so unusual about that?’
‘I don’t let him use the shotgun at all,’ Hannah Costello said. ‘It’s a strict rule. He never touches it.’
Fallon had been leaning against the wall. He straightened up and took a pace forward and then the door was kicked open and a voice cried, ‘Stand where you are – everybody!’
Rogan stood just inside the door holding the shotgun at his waist. The barrels were shaking slightly and he was trembling. Fallon took the beginnings of a step towards him and Rogan said sharply, ‘Stay where you are. I’ve only got to press these triggers and you’ll get both barrels and that’s enough to finish the lot of you off.’
Fallon’s throat had suddenly gone dry. ‘What do you want, Rogan?’ he said.
The small man’s lips curled back from his teeth. ‘I’m going to kill you, Fallon.’ A slight line of froth began to appear on his lips and he giggled, high-pitched and horrible, like an old woman. ‘I’m going to stand you against the wall and I’m going to give you both barrels in the belly. How does that sound?’
‘You’re mad!’ Anne Murray said in horror. ‘You’re out of your mind, Rogan.’
She took a quick step towards him and Fallon shouted, ‘Stay where you are, Anne! Don’t move.’
At that moment Charlie appeared in the doorway behind Rogan. There was a big grin on his face and he laughed and said, ‘Are we playing the game now, Mr. Rogan? Is this the game?’
Rogan spoke without turning round. ‘Come in here, Charlie, and go and stand by your mother.’ He giggled again. ‘I met Charlie along the road after you threw me out. We had a nice chat, didn’t we Charlie? I asked him to get me the shotgun so we could have some fun – play a little joke on you all.’
He began to laugh horribly and Charlie laughed with him. He shambled closer to Rogan and said, ‘Let me hold it for a while, Mr. Rogan,’ and reached for the shotgun.
‘Get away!’ Rogan snarled. Charlie’s smile disappeared. An uncertain expression appeared on his face. For a moment he hesitated and then he reached out towards the gun. Rogan stepped back and smashed the boy across the head with the butt, then he turned and covered the rest of them again.
Charlie slipped to the floor, moaning and clutching his head. Blood began to seep between his fingers. ‘You damned swine!’ Hannah said. ‘I’ll pay you out for that.’
Charlie crawled across the room and huddled against her skirts like a hurt dog and Rogan