‘What were you gonna offer him, Brigid?’
‘Not The Nant and not sex. Peace of mind? A way of making peace with the past? On one level, that seemed very naive, but, yeah, it was worth a try.’
‘Good God.’ Merrily sat up. ‘You were going to invite him to the White Company gig.’
‘I did. I told him there were some people who’d like to help him with his... paranoia. I said we should attack it. As a family unit. Bite back.’
Merrily nodded. ‘You and him.’
‘And the White Company. And you, maybe. Deal with it – for Clancy’s sake. And by then, I’d also been made aware that I needed help on a personal level if I was going to survive here.’
‘Nathan?’
‘That was a shock. It happened quicker than I could think.’
Bliss leaned back, arms folded. ‘What exactly happened with Sebbie, Brigid?’
‘In Sebbie’s view of things,’ Merrily said, ‘there would be only one reason for a direct female descendant of Hattie Chancery to invite a man to Stanner Rocks.’
‘I thought we’d got way beyond all that,’ Brigid said. ‘Twenty-first-century Chancerys. I didn’t realize, even then, how far he was sunk into it.’
‘Jeremy said Sebbie was resigned to there being a death in the wind, and he thought it was going to be either him or you.’
‘I don’t believe these hicks,’ Bliss said.
‘We use words like “superstition” in a loose, disparaging way,’ Merrily said, ‘but when superstition meets mental instability it can get way out of hand. And that’s why neither you nor Howe is going to get a motive that makes complete sense. That is, of course, unless—’
‘What?’ Bliss said.
‘Sebbie was drunk when he arrived, right?’
Brigid nodded.
‘Did he attack you?’
‘Not in any... I don’t know. It got stupid, all right? It was never really civilized from the start, but it got... When I said to him that there were these people who were trying to follow the whole curse thing back to Vaughan and wanted to deal with it once and for all, he just... exploded. Went totally berserk. This is in the van, right? How dare these fucking outsiders think they can come in and meddle, take over other people’s lives, other people’s pasts... ? And it’s snowing heavily now, I’m standing in the door of the van, trying to stay upright, and I’m going, “You stupid, drunken pig, we ARE the outsiders who came in and meddled and took over... it’s our fault!” ’
Brigid closed her eyes.
‘The Chancerys,’ Merrily said.
‘Yeah.’
‘Do you think he saw what you were proposing as an attempt to destroy his whole... power base, if you like? The Vaughan in him?’
Brigid nodded. ‘All the baggage that history and folklore had inflicted on the Vaughans, including an exorcism, a snuff-box and a big black ghostly dog – he disowned it all, and he loved it all. It was everything. It was who he was. Mr Sebastian Dacre, JP, Master of the Hunt, Sebbie Three Farms. He needed it like Hattie did. If there is a curse, they gave in to it, they clutched it all to their bosoms. Whoop fucking whoop. It’s like hunting – they know some of it’s vile, but it’s part of their... yeah, their power base.’
‘But it took a lot of booze to live with a curse.’
‘Yeah.’
‘What happened on the rocks, Brigid?’ Bliss said quietly.
‘Well, he started by breaking up my humble power base, as he saw it. He threw the oil lamp at the wall, and it went on the bed. He was set on a course by then, he made sure it all caught fire. After that, I don’t even... I don’t even remember how we got there...’
‘At the edge of the rocks?’
‘He was pretty drunk. I was thinking, what if he goes up with the petrol tank? Selfishly, I assure you, because I’d get the blame...’
‘What happened, Brigid?’ Bliss said again.
‘What happened?’ Brigid started to laugh and then choked on the smoke. ‘The last of the Chancerys – the last of the Vaughans – out on the edge like Holmes and Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls, that’s what happened. And the snow’s coming down heavily – you couldn’t even see where the edge was. And he’s going, “I’m having you out of here!” He’s going, “I’ll have the whole of the fucking press here by the morning, if not before. You can’t go anywhere, you can’t get out in this weather, but they’ll get in when they know. They’ll hire helicopters.” This kind of madness. Then he just starts backing away towards the edge, and he’s shouting, “What you gonna do now? Gonna push me over like our esteemed granny?” And I’m like, “Are you crazy?” ’Cause the snow’s built up this kind of ledge that projects beyond the edge, so you think it goes back further than it actually does.’
‘And he was crazy,’ Merrily said.
‘Oh yeah. But I mean, me too. I pushed the bastard over.’
‘You pushed him or he slipped?’ Merrily said.
‘I pushed him. I’m Brigid Parsons, granddaughter of Hattie C. What do you think, I’m going to try and save him?’
‘Yes,’ Merrily said.
Bliss said, ‘Merrily...’
‘He grabbed at your hands, your wrists, and you tried to hold on, and his nails tore your wrist...’
‘I don’t remember.’
‘You don’t want to remember.’
‘Merrily, this is not what we do,’ Bliss said.
‘This is not the interview room, I can do what I like.’ The heat was in Merrily’s spine again, all the way up. ‘This is Brigid taking responsibility again. She’s putting her hands up and she’s saying, “Yes, it’s me, I take full responsibility, it’s me, the flawed human being... it’s not the other thing.” ’
‘Merrily,’ Bliss said gently, ‘you’re forgetting the rest.’
‘No, I’m not. Brigid, did you go down that slippery, treacherous path to the bottom of the quarry in the blinding snow and beat Sebbie Dacre’s head in with a rock? Did you do that?’
Brigid rocked back in the chair, eyes tight shut.
‘I don’t remember.’
‘She doesn’t remember,’ Merrily said to Bliss. ‘You need to get Ben Foley in here.’
55
Sky’s Come Down
ON THE TV monitor, watched by Bliss and Ben Foley, Brigid was talking about life in a detention centre for young offenders where her peers regarded her with a kind of awe.
‘I was pretty much heartbroken for months. Couldn’t talk to anybody for fear of breaking down. That was seen as me being aloof and cool and dangerous. Nothing’s ever how it looks, is it?’
Merrily, crouching next to Brigid at the desk, murmured, ‘Mark and Stuart. Did they try to rape you?’
‘Get off my back, Merrily. Why would I give the parents any reason to like evil Brigid any small amount better while thinking less of their sons?’
‘You’re not evil, Brigid.’
‘Natalie,’ Brigid said.
‘Brigid...’ Bliss was sitting on the edge of the desk. ‘Do you say anything about Dacre on this video?’
Brigid shook her head. ‘He didn’t want any of the spooky stuff.’