‘Going well, so far,’ he said, picking up the mug and taking a long swill of the dark brown liquid. ‘Christ, you make good coffee,’ he said, wiping his lips with the sleeve of his shirt. ‘What’s your secret?’
‘Cardamom seeds,’ she said. ‘No secret; just a few in the pot. Gives it an edge, doesn’t it?’
‘Damned right.’ He took another long drink, the heat of the liquid not troubling him at all.
She pulled up a chair and sat down next to him, watching the changing images on the screen as he tested the cameras. ‘Where’s McKinley?’
‘Said he was going up to wire the attic.’
She nodded slowly. ‘I wonder if he’ll want coffee.’ She liked everybody, and enjoyed working with each of them, but McKinley was the most difficult to get to know so she guessed she liked working with him least. She couldn’t ever feel totally relaxed with him.
‘Couldn’t say,’ Raj said, shifting his attention back to the computer and tapping a few keys to bring up a menu.
‘What do you think happened to the Waincraft people?’ Kirby said.
He shrugged. ‘That’s what we’re here to find out.’
‘But you must have some idea. You’ve been on so many of these investigations. You’ve seen so much.’
‘Too much, I think sometimes.’ He clicked the mouse and the screen went blank. ‘That’s downstairs done. Do you want to give me a hand with the rooms upstairs?’
She shook her head. ‘I’ve got food to prepare. Robert wants an early dinner to night. Apparently he’s holding a séance afterwards.’
Raj’s eyes narrowed. ‘Have you ever sat in on one of Carter’s séances?’
‘No. What are they like?’
‘Unlike any séance you’ve seen before. For a start four out of the five of us sitting there have some kind of psychic ability. It tends to make things interesting.’
‘No table rapping and trumpets?’
‘Hardly.’ It was difficult to explain to her how unorthodox Carter’s methods were compared with most people’s. The fact that he did things differently every time made explanation impossible because you couldn’t second-guess him.
‘I’m disappointed. I was hoping to get in touch with my late Uncle Horace.’ It was a lame joke that did nothing to assuage the mounting apprehension she was feeling.
Raj didn’t smile, which made her feel worse. ‘It’s no joking matter, believe me. You’ll need to protect yourself. If you’re not able to, then I suggest you have a word with Jane, or Carter himself, and give it a miss.’
Kirby bristled. ‘I’m not a child. I know how to protect myself.’
‘Then make sure you do so. I’ve seen things get pretty ugly in the past. Carter may be an asshole, but he’s an incredibly powerful medium. He sometimes gets some startling results. Did he say where he’s holding the séance?’
‘In the library.’ Why would Raj suddenly express doubts about her ability to see this through?
Raj reached out for the mouse and brought the screen to life. Seconds later he was looking at the library through the lens of the camera. Wall-to-wall books, a low-slung couch covered in faded gold brocade, and a table in the center of the room; round, five feet in diameter. ‘Ideal,’ he said. ‘I dare say he’ll want some special cameras set up in there. Infrared, even thermal imaging.’ There was an edge of excitement to his voice.
Kirby looked at him curiously. ‘You’re looking forward to it, despite what you just said.’
‘Of course I am. A séance raises challenges that only another photographer would fully appreciate.’ He started to scribble notes down on a pad beside him.
Kirby felt as if she’d suddenly become invisible. She sighed. ‘I see. You’re entering geek mode. I’ll leave you to it.’ She caught something out of the corner of her eye and looked back at the screen. Something was moving in the library; a small ball of light was bouncing off the walls.
She opened her mouth to speak, to tell Raj about it, when the light-ball hurtled towards the lens of the camera. It happened so fast and so suddenly that she flinched, but she kept her eyes on the screen. In the split second before the light vanished, it changed into a face; white, eyes wide open in terror, mouth stretching into a silent scream.
She must have cried out because Raj grabbed her arm and brought his face to within inches of hers. ‘Kirby? What is it?’
She could hear his words, but they seemed to be coming from a very long way away, his mouth working in slow motion to form them.
‘Kirby?’ Someone was calling her name; she could hear it as if it was behind several sheets of linen.
Gradually everything slipped back to normal. She shook herself. ‘It’s okay. I’m all right.’
‘What happened?’ Raj said. ‘Why did you cry out?’
‘Did I? I wasn’t aware…’ She looked from him to the computer screen. The library was still displayed, but no lights, no face. ‘I thought I saw something.’
‘Saw what?’ He glanced back at the screen.
‘Don’t know.’ She pulled away from him and ran a hand across her face. ‘Are you recording this?’ she said, pointing to the image of the library.
‘I’m recording everything.’ Professional pride tinged his voice.
‘Can you play back the last couple of minutes?’
He reached out for the mouse and brought up a series of sub-menus. ‘Just the last few minutes?’
She nodded. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go through with this but in truth she had no choice. Like everyone she had effectively chosen to be here. It was her job to investigate what they found, what they saw, what they heard.
Raj scrolled and clicked a few times. ‘Okay. It’s rolling.’
She leaned forward, a frown of concentration creasing her forehead. The minutes ticked by.
Nothing.
‘Do you want me to repeat it?’ It was clear from his tone that he considered that suggestion to be a waste of time.
‘Yes.’ She must have missed it the first time. The ball of light, the face. It had all been so clear when she saw it.
She watched it through again, willing the light to appear. Even wishing that dreadful face would appear.
‘What did you see?’ Raj said, studying her closely. She was seriously affected by something she thought she had seen in the computer scrutiny of the library. Trouble was the computer, the cameras and the microphones, had picked up absolutely nothing.
‘I thought…I saw…light. A ball of light.’
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Nothing’s been recorded.’ He kept his voice level, an even tone, so that she couldn’t detect any judgment from him. She had made a mistake, and at this level, on an investigation such as this, that was serious.
‘Not much point having all this state-of-the-art equipment if it doesn’t work,’ she said. The attempt at humor died at birth.
‘Hey, that’s not fair. I didn’t see anything. Perhaps you imagined it?’
She looked at him steadily for a moment, a riposte twitching on her lips. Then something went out of her. She maneuvered herself out of the chair. ‘You’re probably right,’ she said. ‘This place has got me a little jittery.’
‘Yeah, me too,’ he said.
‘Catch you later,’ she said and walked from the room.
He watched her go, then shrugged and went back to his notes.
Back in her room Kirby threw herself down on her bed. Her face felt hot, flushed. She’d just made a complete fool of herself, crying out like that. And in front of Raj, of all people! It would give him the ammunition to ride her about it for weeks. But she was certain she’d seen something in the library. That face! That screaming face! She lay back on the pillow and closed her eyes, trying to recapture the image in her mind’s eye. Seconds later, she sat up and reached for the file on the bedside table. She opened it, turned to the dossiers on the Waincraft team, and flicked through the pages. When she reached Jo Madley’s page she stopped. She took the page over to the window where the light was better.