The Midnight Men and Other Stories Read Online Free PDF

at him, his brow creasing in curiosity. “Who’s Francis Gallagher?”
    Nathan could only smile. “No one you’d know, my good man.”
    ***
    He went to the safe and put together an envelope for the young man, slapping it in his hand at the front door.
    “Thank you, Kane,” he said. “That’s the best ten thousand I’ve ever spent.”
    And, he thought to himself, if I’m careful I might even get it back after they find this lad dead, and I tell the police he stole it from my house . . .
    Predictably, Kane opened the envelope and quickly flicked through the fifty pound notes, before stuffing it into his inside jacket pocket. Nathan yanked the door open for him, and the boy was about to step through when he paused on the threshold.
    “Oh, one little thing, Mr P,” he said. That cocky grin had returned to his sallow features. “If you’re thinking of using that last piece on me, forget it.”
    Nathan’s face froze in a trembling smile. “What?”
    “The juju doctor, the one I got it from, he said a few words over the merchandise, protecting me from its effects. Just thought I’d mention it.” Kane reached up and patted Nathan’s cheek. “Catch you later,” he said and then slipped out into the night.
    Nathan held the door open for a few seconds, before slamming it shut on Kane and his ten thousand pounds.
    Finally alone in his house, Nathan stood in silence for a moment, letting the knowledge of what he had achieved in the last hour wash over him. He wished he could know now if his second victim had succumbed to the juju magic, but it wasn’t as convenient as it had been with Terry Carson. He noted, with a wry smile, that much of the silence he was enjoying now was due to the removal of that obnoxious force from next door. For that, he could pat himself on the back. He walked over and wrapped the remaining piece of meat in its cloth, slipping the pouch into his trouser pocket.
    The time was quarter past ten. Maria was late again. He decided he wouldn’t wait up for her. And besides, he felt a sudden wave of exhaustion come over him. Climbing the steps to bed, Nathan felt certain he would get a good night’s sleep.
    ***
    His peaceful slumber was shattered at one o’clock in the morning with the sound of thunder. He sat bolt upright, and realised instantly that he was still alone in bed. The bright light of an angry storm flashed outside the curtains, bathing his room in an unearthly white glow. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and then he heard the noise which had woken him.
    BANG! BANG! BANG!
    It was the front door.
    Maria!
    He pulled on his dressing gown and slippers and raced out onto the landing, descending the stairs three at a time.
    When he yanked the door open, he found his young wife standing on the porch, and the sight of her forced a sharp cry from his throat. Her dress, sodden with rainwater and clinging to her slender frame like a second skin, showed several tears. Bright swatches of blood glistened all over her body. There were deep scratches all over her face; blood and dirt in her hair. She was sobbing like a child, and as she came toward him, she fell. He caught her in his arms and carried her into the living room.
    “Oh, Maria,” he cried, sitting her on the sofa, and smoothing long strands of wet hair from her face.
    Her sobs began to tail off, but he could see she was in terrible agony.
    “Maria, my love, what happened?”
    She looked at him with her big brown eyes, one tainted red, and she began to explain. “I don’t know,” she said. “I was walking home, and . . . someone must have attacked me.”
    “Attacked you!” His hands pulled into fists. “Who?”
    She shook her head, blowing hard into a tissue. “It was dark, and he came from behind. I didn’t see anything.”
    Nathan felt the stripping away of his power. This beautiful, sweet girl, who had made his life finally mean something after a disastrous first marriage, had been brutalised on the very night he had taken