Keening Country Read online

  The front gate stood ajar, rocking in the breeze. Its loud squeak called desperately for someone to oil the hinges.

  Abi rolled onto the gravel driveway, disgusted and embarrassed at the extent of dilapidation. “For fuck’s sake, Melissa. The place is a state,” she muttered.

  At first, she knocked gently, but when she got no reply, her knocks turned into frustrated closed fist thumps. “Melissa… Melissa!”

  After a while, she gave up and resigned herself to the fact that there was nobody home, then rummaged around in her pocket for her phone and attempted to call. It was useless.

  The breeze felt slightly colder now and the sound of the sea was interrupted by engines coming up the road. She thought to herself, what now?

  The vehicles turned sharply, speeding up the driveway and she saw they were police cars. Within seconds, numerous men jumped out, forming a perimeter around the house. She stood in shock at the frenzy of movement, struggling to decipher what was going on as they sealed off the house.

  A tall man ran to Abi, shouting at her to move away from the porch. She froze on the spot as he came closer. Despite the confusion, she noticed that he wore plain clothes and assumed he was an inspector.

  “Miss, are you Melissa Power?” he demanded.

  “No… No. I’m her sister.”

  “Are you the one who called us?” his gaze shifted from her towards the house.

  “No. I just got here? What is going on?”

  The inspector pulled a firearm from a holster that hung from his belt. “He’s still inside,” he shouted to his men, all of whom snapped into action and readied themselves to engage. “Miss, I’m going to have to ask you to go down the path and wait outside the gate. We have a serious situation here.”

  “But—”

  “This is not a request. Go. Now!” he roared, his body language shifting to an almost primal state, telling her everything she needed to know – he was ready for combat.

  “Miss, I said, GO!” he bellowed, prompting Abi into action.

  Abi ran down to the end of the path, grabbing hold of the squeaky gate and hiding behind it. Watching the events unfold, the policemen kicked in the door, entering the house with their guns drawn. Inside, she could hear shouting and screaming, but no gunfire – thankfully. She realised her hands were clasped together and she was praying, begging for her sister’s safety.

  The standoff felt like an eternity. The commotion inside fell silent, the remaining policemen outside, armed and ready.

  When figures emerged, Abi could make out the inspector easily, his silhouette cut an intimidating presence. There was another figure beside him: slender, timid and resisting arrest. And as they came into view, the inspector signalled to his men that they’d got him.

  Abi recognised the unmistakable face of Edward Power.

  What has the prick done?

  Abi started up the driveway slowly. She could see Edward being dragged out in cuffs, covered in blood. The surrealism caused her head to spin. Where was Melissa? What did he do? She wanted to call to him, but the words stuck in her throat.

  Edward was shouting at all the policemen, “I didn’t do anything. I swear, I didn’t do anything.” But they ignored him as they opened the back of a van and placed him inside. While his ankles were being secured to the floor, Abi stood looking in at him.

  “Abi? Abigail! What are you doing here? I didn’t do anything. Tell these men I didn’t do anything.”

  The words once again stuck in her throat. By the time she cleared the rawness, the door had slammed shut. She’d never seen Edward in such a state of panic.

  The inspector stepped between her and the van. “I thought I told you to wait outside the gate?”

  “That’s my brother-in-law. What has he done? Where is my sister? Where is Melissa?” Abi cried, finally able to blurt some words out, but as soon as she said her sister’s name, she started to shake with panic. “Please. What is happening?”

  “Please, miss. Try to relax. We still have a situation here,” he replied with a calmer voice.

  “Please, tell me, what is happening?”

  “Mr. Power is under arrest for—” He stopped abruptly and placed a hand on Abi’s shoulder, ushering her to step aside. From behind, an ambulance made its way up the driveway.

  “For what?” Abi cried.

  The inspector switched his attention to the paramedics,,moving quickly as he informed them where to go as they entered the house.

  Abi tried to follow, but was stopped by one of the armed policemen. Shortly afterward, her fears came to pass as the paramedics emerged, wheeling out a stretcher. A body lay covered in a blanket. Without looking, she already knew.

  “Melissa! No. Melissa, please talk to me,” Abi cried.

  The inspector grabbed hold of her, forcing her into a hug. He whispered into her ear to shush, but it was no use – Abi was hysterical.

  She watched the body being loaded into the ambulance, her head spinning. Her knees wobbled, then gave way and vomit dashed the driveway.

  Abi called her sister’s name over and over, to no avail. When her face hit the ground, sky and sea began to blur and she passed out.

  Abi hadn’t fainted since she was a child. It felt strange to be plunged right back into her childhood in one afternoon. And as much as she wanted to focus on the fond memories of those dog days, the crushing and brutal reality was always a couple of seconds from flooring her. She could not help but think that she was being trampled on by the gods above. She wanted to live a quiet life, off the grid, but now was overwhelmed with guilt for doing so. How could she have left her little sister alone with this man? If only she had stayed, then an eye could have been kept on Melissa and none of this would ever have happened. They could be walking along the beach now, creating and sharing fond memories. But that time had now passed, leaving Abi to combat the ever-changing wall of emotional grief, hurt, and anger.

  The inspector advised her to book in somewhere and rest up as it could take a few days to process everything. Abi didn’t argue, she badly needed rest. She wanted to follow the ambulance to what she assumed would be the morgue, but was advised that it could be hours before they’d let anyone in to identify her sister.

  Instead, she drove aimlessly around Portrane, her concentration dipping in and out, looking for a place to park up for the night. But every time she thought about her sister, the car pulled over and a rancid pile of bile was left on the side of the road.

  How did this happen? My sweet little sister. How could I let this happen to you?

  She ran her forearm over her face, lifting her long blonde hair up, flicking it back behind her head. The sky opened up above, and she quickly found herself in the grip of a miserable, wet cold night; a sure sign that winter was on the way. It was time to get some focus and regroup.

  At the edge of town, a bed and breakfast would provide her with what she needed – a warm meal, hot shower and somewhere to lay down for a while. Once she’d recouped, she promised to go get answers out of Edward.

  The fucker has to answer for this.

  The roads surrounding Portrane were poorly lit, making it hard for her to see more than a few feet ahead in the dark, but she couldn’t help noticing large antennae that lined the streets – every few miles, one stood tall. Camouflaged as trees, they blended in with the landscape. Near the top of each mast, a red light blinked, signalling operation. She thought, this must what them guys from One-X were trying to put outside my house, and supposed they didn’t look like the monstrosity Shane had initially feared. Still, they seemed to be everywhere around the city and suburbs.

  Shane – she hadn’t emailed him – he must be worried sick. She didn’t have time to dwell on it now, the weather was getting worse. Shelter was her top priority and she’d call him with the bad news once she was inside.

  At the edge of town, the B&B she remembered from her childhood was no longer in operation. The old house stood boarded up,
struggling to repel the winter rain. Thankfully there was a new hotel a little further up the road and that would have to do. When she arrived in reception, she looked a mess: hair windswept, make-up running, emotionally bankrupt. After booking in, she found her room and fell asleep as soon as she hit the pillow.

  Abi woke to the sound of vacuuming outside her door. Christ, housekeeping starts early in this place. She checked the time and saw she had slept late. After a ten-minute ordeal getting the phone connected to the Wi-Fi, she finally emailed Shane, informing him of everything that had happened. I wish we had more than one goddam phone between us. She supposed this was the downside of life off the grid, then skipped breakfast in favour of a long walk in an effort to clear her head.

  Everything from her childhood in Portrane was familiar, but yet, in a strange way, very different. And that’s when she noticed it…

  It wasn’t the town that was different, it was the people; most of whom avoided her. Why wouldn’t anybody look her in the eye? Even the receptionist in the hotel barely spoke more than two words to her.

  She took the long way back to Melissa’s house on purpose, just so that she could see some familiar faces in the shops and post office. Even then, when she said hello, there was no response.

  The post office was run by a man called Arthur, who she’d known since childhood. She walked up to the counter and said hello, but got a grunt in reply. He didn’t recognize her, nor did he care when she tried to jolt his memory. She couldn’t help but think the man was present in body, but completely void in mind.

  Abi left the office and walked to the house to fetch her car. What was going on here? Had she been off the grid for so long that she was now the strange one? The engine fired up first time. She checked her phone – no activity. It was time to go get some answers.

  Driving slowly and scanning the area en route to the station, Abi noticed that everyone was behaving oddly. Pedestrians walked slowly, with a vacant look in their eyes, almost as if they were high, or zombified. It was all too much for her to process. She figured it must have been all in her head, with grief for her little sister playing the major role. She pulled up outside of the police station, wondering how she could get to see Edward. She was determined to get answers from him. All she knew was that her sister was dead; he’d denied doing it, but he was the one currently detained.

  In reception, she was greeted by a large man wearing thick framed glasses. “Can I help you?” he asked, clearly short of breath.

  “I would like to speak to the inspector who arrested Edward Power yesterday,” she said.

  The man allowed his glasses to slide down his nose so that he could look over the top of them. “And you are?”

  “My name is Abigail Steward. I’m Melissa Power’s sister.”

  The man didn’t reply; instead he picked up the phone, punched in a few digits and told whoever it was on the other end that the sister of the victim was here.

  While waiting in the lobby, Abi grew impatient and was about to let rip at the man, when a door behind where he sat flew open and the inspector walked in.

  “Ms. Steward, nice to see you. What can I do for you today?”

  “I never caught your name yesterday at my sister’s house.”

  “I’m sorry about that, it was a tense scene, I had no time for formalities. How are you holding up?” he asked, his concern seemingly genuine.

  She hadn’t noticed it yesterday, but she realised now he looked very young to be an inspector. And he was very handsome in a rugged sort of way.

  “I understand, Inspector…?”

  “Deegan. Daniel Deegan,” he answered before offering his hand, which Abi shook as firmly as she could. “What brings you here today, Ms. Steward?”

  “Abi, please. Call me Abi. I need to speak with Edward Power.”

  Deegan eyeballed her. “I’m afraid that is out of the question.”

  “Please,” she begged. “He was screaming that he didn’t do anything.”

  “And you believe him?”

  “I’m not sure what to believe. But I do think he’ll talk to me,” Abi claimed.

  “I doubt that, he’s not talking to anybody. He’s been silent since arriving at the station and we’re waiting for his solicitor to arrive.”

  Abi refused to take no for an answer and continued to beg the inspector for five minutes alone with her sister’s husband. Eventually, he agreed to a supervised ten-minute meeting, but he made Abi promise to only talk about what happened in the house. She agreed and was promptly escorted into a meeting room.

  The walls were dull and grey with a dank smell in the air. A table with a few black chairs around it stood in the middle of the room. She sat down and waited while the guards fetched their suspect.

  As soon as she was left alone in the room, she started to get nervous. What if he did murder her sister? Would she be able to detect the truth?

  The door opened, Edward shuffled in and sat across from her. He had a fearful glint in his eyes and a quiver in his voice when he said hello. Not the usual confident and dapper man she once knew. She pitied him. When Deegan sat next to him, she listened as he explained that the interview had a time limit and that now was the time to be honest, otherwise, it would go past a point of no return for him to be able to help.

  Edward nodded in agreement.

  “My God, Ed, what the hell happened?” Abi asked.

  “I didn’t do anything, Abigail. I swear.”

  “Well, something happened. Melissa is dead!” she snapped back at him.

  “You mean my wife is dead,” Edward replied, before breaking down into tears.

  Deegan shot Abi a stern look – which she interpreted as keep probing.

  “Okay. You’re right, you’re right. My sister was your wife, but what happened?”

  “I don’t know. She came from work flustered and panicked. She wouldn’t say why. But she seemed detached, you know? Not herself at all.”

  “Did she say anything?” Abi pressed.

  “Not really. I gathered something happened at work, but couldn’t get it out of her. Next thing I know, she is lying on the floor and I am standing over her,” Edward continued.

  “What did you do?”

  “Nothing, I swear. But I blacked out… that window in time is completely blank.” He wept.

  Deegan scoffed at the statement.

  “Ed, what do you remember just before your blackout?” Abi asked again.

  “Nothing. Just a strange noise. Almost like a droning, then nothing.”

  Deegan wasn’t buying it and signalled to Abi to wrap it up, but she felt they were getting somewhere and begged Edward to elaborate on the noise.

  “It was intense…”

  “Go on.”

  “I can’t remember everything,” he snapped, “I think I had a migraine.”

  “From the noise?”

  “I think so. I can’t be sure. It was all a daze…” he replied, explaining that he didn’t feel himself moments before blacking out. But when he came back round, his head felt crystal clear.

  Edward tried his hardest to remember with flashes drip feeding back into his memory. His only explanation was an out of body experience and how he watched his hands wrap around Melissa’s neck, squeezing and choking until her lifeless body collapsed onto the floor in front of him. “That’s it, I remember now. It was the noise!” Edward shouted. “It triggered me. That fucking sound took over me. It controlled me and they made me do whatever they wanted me to do.”

  “Who did? Who’s they?” Abi said, clearly startled by his sudden eagerness.

  “I don’t know. The people who operate those new aerials!” Edward shouted, almost becoming hysterical.

  Deegan had heard enough and stood up from the table. “The interview is over. Christ, this was a waste of time.”

  “No, wait, he’s telling the truth,” Abi begged.

  “He’s insane!” Deegan shouted as he turned
for the door to summon guards to take the suspect back to his holding cell. But in the split-second he let his guard down, Edward lunged forward and somehow whipped a firearm from Deegan’s holster.

  Edward pulled the hammer back and pointed the gun, shouting, “Stay back. Stay the fuck away from me!” as he backed himself into the corner of the room.

  “Ed, please,” Abi pleaded, “think about what you’re doing. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

  “I’m already dead, Abigail. Don’t you get it? They’re in my head. They can make me do whatever they want me to do.”

  “Who can? Ed, you’re just overwhelmed. Please, put the gun down and let’s talk about this.”

  Armed guards lined up in the doorway, waiting to burst in and take him out. Deegan held his hands up and slowly moved towards the door.

  “It’s happening again, Abigail. The noise, it’s coming back!”

  “What noise? I can’t hear anything.” Abi shouted, trying her hardest to get him to calm down. “Everything is going to be okay, Ed. Trust me.”

  “There is only one way out of this nightmare, Abi. I’m sorry,” he said as he raised the gun and pointed it at her. “I’m so sorry. But I can’t let them win.” Then he rammed the barrel of the gun into the roof of his mouth.

  “No!” Abi screamed, but it was no use, the sound of his skull popping open reverberated in her ears, the sight of the blood and brain splattering across the walls and ceiling turned her stomach. Deegan acted quickly, shielding her eyes from the horrific scene as he pulled her out of the room. For the second time in two days, she fainted.

  A low winter sun disappeared behind grey cloud as day entered night. Abi was recovering from fainting in the police station. On the side of her head, a large lump swelled and throbbed. As distracting as it was, it wasn’t enough for her to forget the whirlwind couple of days that she had just lived through. But despite grief and confusion eating away at her, she couldn’t bury the burning desire to know what had happened to her sister.