‘Appreciated. Is there anything else we can do for you before we go?’

‘No. I’m going to be all right. At least, I think I am. Right now, I can’t really say for sure.’

‘Yes, you are,’ he said. ‘You’re going to be fine. Goodbye, then, Clarissa. Under different circumstances it would have been a pleasure meeting you.’

She said, ‘I don’t know your names, and I don’t think I want to. But I do want to thank you both for being here tonight. Now please go and send the rest of those fiends to hell, where they belong.’

Chapter 56

Surrey

The next evening

The night of March 29th had brought even more clement weather than that of the spring equinox. Not a breath of wind stirred the leaves on the oaks and beeches and sycamore within the wooded parkland of Karswell Hall; the glow of the waning gibbous moon reflected over the rippling surface of the lake and illuminated the lawns that surrounded the fine old house. It was a perfect night for the predators that dwelled among the forest. The haunting twoo and answering kee-wick of a pair of tawny owls sounded from the treetops as they surveyed their territory for likely prey. But the avian hunters weren’t the only beaked killers intent on claiming victims in that particular idyllic patch of English countryside that night.

The first vehicles had started arriving soon after eleven p.m., filtering in single file through the gates of Karswell Hall and pausing at the checkpoint where drivers handed admission passes to the security employees before being waved through. One at a time they proceeded around the side of the house, their headlights sweeping over the grand stonework, to park in their designated spaces at the rear. While the VIP guests exited their cars and made their way inside the stately home via a special entrance, all drivers and bodyguards were required to report to a separate lodge house on the estate, a distance away from the main building. The lodge was soundproofed and surveilled with cameras to make sure the staffers remained cocooned in there for the duration of the evening and witnessed nothing untoward. The general belief among them was that their employers must be up to some kinky stuff at the big house. A lot of knowing grins, nudges and winks were exchanged, but nobody had any cause to complain because they were getting paid double-time and provided with plenty to keep them entertained: a big-screen television with all the movie and sports channels on tap, pinball machines, pool table and computer games.