Выбрать главу

She thought suddenly of Greg, and tears welled up inside her. Poor Greg. She had loved him, and would love him, but she could not help him. Who could fight such a power as this unless it was with the grace of God?

She knelt down and said prayers for his soul, putting them far ahead of prayers for her own sake. It was the least she could do.

There was only one window of any size in the little church, a stained glass affair in a crescent shape just over the door. It suddenly shattered with a crash despite the muffled sounds.

“Red! Watch it! Move back towards the altar!” MacDonald cried, and the constable scrambled up and over the pews and out of the aisle, almost beating the young man to the pulpit.

They turned back to the gaping hole where the window had been and, in spite of the darkness, saw a shape come through. At first it reminded MacDonald of a snake, but then he realized that it was an arm—a massive arm that ended in a huge, clawed hand. It was almost too big for the opening, and wasn’t nearly long enough, but it did reach the back few rows and began groping, then ripping up pews and tossing them every which way like so many match sticks in the wind.

“Jesus Christ!” the old constable swore, hardly conscious of how it sounded from the altar of a church. “You sure can see that bastard now! What in the bloody hell is that thing?”

They ducked as a random pew flew and crashed into the rear wall just behind them.

“I don’t know, Red, but I’ll bet you one or more of those big dishes up on the hill are pointed right at us right now.”

“You mean the thing’s being broadcast here?”

“Nothing else makes sense,” he responded, when the crash and din allowed. “Somebody discovered one hell of a weapon up there and they’re using the computer to do their dirty work.”

“Then why in hell don’t he just zap you and be done with it? Them things got to be able to cover anyplace on the island!”

“Partly because he’s got a weird mind, and partly because, having finished off Sir Robert this way, he’s got to be consistent to keep everybody going crazy.”

The great arm withdrew, but the pounding did not resume. The respite allowed them a few moments to catch their breath, although they could hear the creature outside and knew that it was still there, trying in its apparently limited way to figure a different way in.

Greg looked around at the chapel, which was in shambles but still intact, and sighed. “They sure knew how to build ’em in the old days, Red. Thank God!”

The constable nodded. “You said, ‘he.’ You know who’s behind all this, then?”

“Yeah, I know, but I can’t prove a damned thing. That’s the hell of it.” He chuckled and hefted the briefcase, which he’d carried through all of the flight and the ordeal in the church as if it were attached to him. “I got it tonight, which is why they made for me. In one way it’s a good sign, since this is so stupid. He must know I can’t pin a thing on him, and he’s got all the cards up there. He panics too easily for his own good. If we’re lucky, that’ll be his undoing.”

“Who is it, lad?”

“Uh-uh. He probably doesn’t know you’re involved, Red, and if you get out of this you’ll be a witness to the monster. If you know, you’ll try something and get yourself splattered or worse.”

“I want t’know the name of the slimy bastard who’s doing this, boy! I don’t take kindly to it!”

“Relax. Let others take care of it. You got a family here, Red. They’re not gonna let you off the island, and there’s no way you could get away with your wife and youngest.”

The older man sighed, knowing it was true enough. “So how do you plan to get out of here? They got the damn computer, boy! Even if you get out, they can stick you on the most wanted list of fifty nations as the man who murdered the Queen and stole the Crown Jewels, and the stupid shits in every law enforcement body in the world will shoot first and ask questions later.”

He nodded. “I know. One step at a time, Red. John Tussey still have that little sailboat of his over at the fishing pier?”

“Yeah, but it’s beached and tied down ’cause of the surf.”

“I’ll get it in quick enough if I have to carry it out beyond the breakwater on my back. I have to get off, though, that’s for sure. Ross is one of those types who’d cheerfully obey a shoot-first order if he had written instructions in hand, particularly if it was me.”

“That’s right enough. But—say! Listen!”

The air was suddenly alive with sound. A stiff sea breeze blew through the broken window and cracked walls and loosened joints, whistling as it did so. The nearby surf crashed with regularity in the distance, and they didn’t have to shout any more. The awful sound-deadening effect was gone, and through the broken window they could see what might be the first light of dawn.

Red looked at MacDonald. “Gone? Or a trick?”

“I don’t know. Wait a couple of minutes, though, just to make sure. You might tell me why the night shuttle never came down and why you were riding up on horseback.”

“The first was the cause of the second, of course. I didn’t like it when Harry never showed, so I checked and found that none of the damned carts they left would start. Nothin’ to do but get one of the horses and go on up and find out. I was on my way when I ran into you.”

“Uh huh. Bet those carts work now. Hang on. I’m going forward. You keep a look at that window just in case.”

He approached slowly, tensely, stepping over debris and ready at any cause to dash back to the altar, but he finally reached the door. Gingerly, he pushed it open with a foot, half expecting something to grab it and pull him out to his death, but nothing happened. He cautiously peered out and saw, looking up the mountain, that all of the orange guide lights were illuminated.

Red was suddenly behind him, carryng a candlestick. Cautiously, they stepped out into the churchyard and beheld the flip side of their own ordeal. The exterior looked in bad shape, with parts of masonry fallen away and roofing tiles all over the place. The walk to the church was paved, and the area immediately around was cinder, so there weren’t any tracks as such to see, but almost none of the cinder remainded.

There was blood all over, and part of horse scattered this way and that, some in clumps that could not be recognized. The head, however, they spotted over in the cemetery.

“Stuck it right on Sir Robert’s grave, the bastard,” Red muttered. “Come on. Let’s get you away before they realize they failed and send down a few boys with guns.”

Although it was crudely chocked on the beach, the two men had no trouble getting the small sailboat into the water, although it took some effort and determination to get it far enough out to keep it from being immediately taken back in. Red was invaluable; MacDonald doubted that he could have managed it alone. Now, though, with it bobbing and under control, it was time for Red to leave. The sun was now up, and back in the village there could be seen lights in some of the windows and there could be heard the sounds of many people arising to the new day.

Red looked back uncertainly. “What’ll I tell ’em, Greg?”

“Just tell it exactly like it was. Don’t leave anything out. If anything, it’ll confirm what they think I know. Answer all their questions, submit to all their tests, even lie detector or drugs. And turn it over to them. Tell ’em it’s too big for you.”

“And where’ll you head?”

“I’m not going to say that, Red. I’m not out of the woods yet, either. I’m going to be hunted today, I think, and the odds are even they’ll find me. If I don’t—well, just hang loose. I’ll be back.”