Heathen/Nemesis

Forty-Four

Perhaps it was her imagination, she thought.

Maybe she didn’t really feel a chill in the air. After all, the sun was out and high in the sky. It was just her imagination working overtime.

Donna tried to convince herself of that as she walked slowly around the ruins of Mountpelier Lodge. Perched high on a hill, the remains of the place overlooked Dublin like some skeletal sentinel. The whistling of the wind was low, disappearing as quickly as it came, ruffling her hair. She pulled the collar of her jacket up. Evil places were said to retain an aura of Evil and, from what she had learned of this place from Mahoney, if ever that aura was present then it would dwell easily here.

The stone walls, what remained of them, were weather-beaten but untouched by overgrown weeds. In fact there were no plants anywhere near the ruins. Nothing grew in or around the stonework and, as she wandered around, she was aware also of the silence. A stillness which seemed to bear down on her like a physical presence.

No birds nested here.

Nothing living, it seemed, would come anywhere close to this long abandoned dwelling.

Mahoney had told her that the lodge had been built on the site of a demolished cromlech, a tower erected for the worship of native Irish Gods. Parsons and his followers had found it ironic that their place of depravity should be built on what had previously been Holy Ground.

As she walked, inspecting the ruins, she thought of Mahoney. Of their evening together, of how forthcoming he’d been with his information. How easy to talk to he’d been, generous in his desire to tell her what she wanted to know.

So why the change of attitude? What had happened to make him treat her so badly? It was another in a growing catalogue of mysteries and unanswered questions. Donna feared they might remain unanswered forever. At least some of them. One thing she was sure of was the purpose of her husband’s visit here. Donna was convinced that he was investigating The Hell Fire Club or some organisation like it. What she didn’t know was why.

Christ, there were so many whys and where-fores.

Why had he been having an affair?

There was always that question.

She crouched and picked up part of the brickwork that had crumbled away from a supporting pillar. Holding the stone in her hand, feeling its texture, she looked around the hilltop. Still she felt that breeze ruffling her hair, biting at her nose. Donna shivered and decided to head back to the car, not even sure why she had come here in the first place. Perhaps Mahoney might have been able to point out something to her, tell her more about the site. But Mahoney wasn’t here, was he? She tossed the stone aside and headed back to her car, looking round again, even more aware of the silence and lack of birdsong. The only bird she saw was a crow flying high above, its black outline alien and unwelcome against the clear blue of the sky.

Donna slid behind the wheel of the Volvo and sat there for a moment, looking back at the ruins. She wondered exactly what kind of depravities had occurred inside that place when it was standing. She tried to imagine what an imposing building it must have been in its time. Ironic that so noble an edifice should house so vile an organisation.

She started the engine and swung the car around, catching a last glimpse of the place in her rear-view mirror.

Inside the car it seemed to warm up. In fact the further from the ruins she got, the warmer she grew.

Imagination?

Donna adjusted the fan inside the car and headed back towards Dublin. She glanced into the rear-view mirror, convinced that hers was the only car on this lonely road.

Exactly where the black Audi had come from she had no idea.

There were numerous dirt tracks leading off from this road, but she didn’t recall seeing it parked in any of them as she passed. All she knew was that the vehicle was behind her now. And, as she peered more closely into the mirror, she could see that it was drawing closer.

Accelerating.

Donna frowned and put her foot down, coaxing more speed from the Volvo, her eyes flicking back and forth from windscreen to rear-view mirror.

The Audi was still gaining on her.

She tried to look over her shoulder, to see the face of the driver, to mouth some kind of warning to him but she could see nothing. A combination of the sun on the windscreen and the tinted glass made it impossible.

The Audi was only yards from her now and Donna decided to pull in and let it pass.

It was then that it slammed into the back of her.