Missing Years ( Part 30 )

It was 20.45; they decided it was time to leave the pub.

“Granddad I think it’s best if you come home with me”

Eddie looked relieved.

“Thanks love, I never thought I’d say this but I don’t feel safe in my own home anymore”

Stacey took out her mobile and made a call.

“Hi Ray, it’s Stacey, Granddads going to stay with me tonight, we’ve just left mum at the hospital and it’s getting a bit late, I’ll take him home and give him some dinner, we’ll see you tomorrow, big day tomorrow!”

“Everything….. Ok……. Stacey?”

Rays voice was deep and he spoke the words very slowly.

“Yeh, everything’s fine Ray, he’s getting old and he gets a bit tired that’s all, so best he comes home with me”

“OK”

Stacey didn’t have a chance to say anything else, Ray put the phone down.

Spencer stood up and shook Eddie’s hand.

“I think it’s important that we all keep in touch over the next twenty four hours, I’ll call you in the morning if that’s OK”

“Sure Inspector, thank you”

Eddie and Stacey said goodbye to Spencer and James Conroy, then left the pub.

“I’d like to keep close by if that’s all right with you Inspector, I checked out of the Travel Lodge on the A40 earlier today, is there somewhere round here you could recommend”

“The Coach House is just a five minute walk from here, I stay there a lot these days, just say you’re a friend of mine, they’ll sort you out a good room at a reasonable rate”

Spencer was looking anxious, it was obvious to James that he wanted some help.

“Look James, now the other two have gone, what’s our plan now, I mean, if what you say is true how do we beat these fuckers”

“Ever heard of the phrase, Fight fire with fire?”

“Of course, I suppose everyone has”

“Do you know its origin and meaning?”

“Well, it just means, you know, if someone comes at you with a knife then you should go back at them with a knife, doesn’t it?”

“Sort of, Shakespeare used the phrase in his play King John back in 1595. But it has been mentioned in many religious scriptures as a way of fighting demons. Demons come from hell, a place engulfed in flame and some say the only way to send them back is with fire. Hence fighting fire with fire. I mentioned earlier about an exorcism that I witnessed many years ago, it was a seventeen year old boy. I attended with a catholic priest, I was there simply to document what went on, I was convinced that the boy was in some way mentally disturbed, but I saw something that day which changed my mind. The priest was going through his ritual when the boy turned to me and asked me if I missed Stephanie, he laughed as he said it. Stephanie was a girl I went out with at University, I always wondered what happened to her after we split up, there was no way the boy could have possibly known that. I showed no emotion just let the priest get on with the ritual. The boy looked at me again and told me that my mother screamed in pain when she died and that she hated me because I wasn’t with her at the end. I lost my temper, jumped up and went for him, as I did so I knocked over a candle on the bedside table, the sheets caught fire and the demon, not the boy, started to scream, within a second the priest and I witnessed a ball of fire appear above the bed, then it simply vanished. We put out the fire and the boy was unmarked, not a burn on him, he was also back to his normal self”

“And was he right about your Mum?”

“I always regretted that I wasn’t there when she died, I got a call from the hospital saying she had taken a turn for the worst, I was about thirty minutes away by car, but by the time I got there she had already gone, it’s something that I will never forgive myself for, I should have been there!”

“So you’re saying that the fire got rid of the demon, I don’t see how that helps us, I mean we can’t just go round there and set them on fire can we!”

“If I’m honest, I don’t know myself yet, I’ll do some more research tonight and then we’ll meet again in the morning, shall I come to the station?”

“No, I’ll meet you at the Coach House for breakfast about 8.30?”

Spencer’s Mobile rang.

“Inspector Spencer, my name is Colin Garner; I’ve taken over from Swan. I’m on my way to Romford now can you meet me at the station in about half an hour, I need to be brought up to speed with the Samuels case”

“Of course Sir, I’ll meet you at reception”

“Got to go James, top brass is on his way, see you in the morning”

They shook hands and Spencer left. James sat back down to finish his pint. He hadn’t told Spencer everything; the exorcism story was true, every single word of it, but that demon was a minion, a low level servant, these demons were powerful, very powerful, Jezebeth would be one hundred times more powerful and Balan even stronger. If the scriptures were true then Balan was almost as powerful as Satan himself. If they are allowed to get together, it could be that the world is about to witness something extreme, much bigger and more horrific than Hiroshima, the Twin Towers or the 2004 Tsunami, this could make them look like a kid’s tea party!

James finished his beer, left the pub and walked up the road towards the Coach House. He wasn’t sure whether he was imagining it or whether there was something or someone following him. He turned round, there was no one there. He continued walking a bit quicker this time, he reached the entrance to the Coach House and went inside. He was glad to be off the street, he was sure that he was being watched and there was this strange smell in the air, like the drains were backing up, a damp rotting smell.

Just a few miles away in Eddie Samuels’s house, Ray and Trevor were sitting quietly staring at the TV. The news was on; they were talking about next day’s protests set for two o’clock. It was estimated that more than five million people around the world would stop working for thirty minutes.

They smiled. Trevor went over to the window and looked outside. There were still journalists outside and a few film crews were working late so they could get everything in place for tomorrow.

“It’s working, the plan is set, it’s almost time”

But Ray was now frowning and looking up at the ceiling as though he could see something.

“Conroy!”

He said it over and over again.