laid. Maybe it'll be better when the students come back.'
Dante shakes his head in exasperation.
'What?' Tom asks.
'Nothing.'
'Come on, Dante. We're on holiday, man. Why are we arguing?
All that is in the past, and this place is the shit. I just need to find my feet.'
Dante sighs. 'Don't break anything in the meantime.'
'I promise. You won't know I'm here.'
'Time for work,' he says, and returns his attention to the pile of Eliot's books, gathering dust in the corner of the room.
'Fuck that,' Tom says. 'Let's go for a walk, check out the beach –' he sniggers '– Who knows what we'll find? Then we can go out and eat tonight. Hit a few bars.'
'Nah, I have to read Eliot's books. I'm seeing him tomorrow night.'
'Why at night?'
'Dunno. And Tom, we have to save money. I'm not blowing the stash in some pub. I have to make a start.'
'We've been here three days and we've seen nothing.'
'And the cash won't last forever.'
'Don't worry, man.'
'Tom, are you deaf? I am going to read today.'
'Touchy. What's up with you?'
Dante shakes his head. 'I had no sleep last night.'
'You kipped in here. What's that all about?'
Feeling uncomfortable, Dante adjusts his slouch on the sofa and lights a second cigarette. 'Bad dreams.'
Tom laughs. 'So you were a fraidy cat and couldn't sleep in your own bed.'
'I kid you not, it was awful. A dream I used to have all the time as a kid. And after I woke up . . .'
'What?'
'You'll piss yourself, so I'm not telling you.'
'Sod that. Tell me.'
'I saw a ghost or something.'
Tom raises his eyebrows, but he doesn't laugh. 'No shit.'
'At the end of my bed. There was like this figure sitting on the floor. Then it stood up and walked straight past my bed, and went through the door. I freaked and came in here.'
'So that's why all the lights were on this morning. You must have been spooked.'
'I haven't shat myself like that since I was about ten. It's weird.'
Tom looks into the garden. 'Funny, that.'
Cocking his head at Tom, who now looks pensive, he asks, 'Why do you say that?'
'That scream. Remember that scream the other night?'
Dante nods.
'Well, I heard it again last night. Not the same voice, mind, but a different one. Right across the road from my room. Came from the cliffs or the castle. It was really faint, like it was far off or down by the sea. But it was awful. At first I thought it was the wind or something, then I swore I heard someone yell, "help me". They said "God help me" or something like that. Funny we should both get freaked.'
'I didn't hear anything in here, but I believe you. Something's up with this place. Last night when I was walking home, I heard this kind of dog or something, running on the other side of the wall by the Quad. And then I get the nightmare, and see that ghost thing.'
They look at each other, both faces serious for a moment, before each mouth breaks into a broad smile – a smile so broad Dante can see Tom's one gold tooth at the back of his mouth. Then they are laughing until tears fill their eyes. 'Edinburgh,' Dante says. 'We need to get out of town for a day. Let's take the Wagon up to Edinburgh.'
'Fuckin' A,' Tom cries. They punch each other's fists and Dante makes his way to the shower.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Hart sits on the couch and bites into an apple. Deep in thought, he gazes across the room at the orderly lines of buildings printed on his town plan. On the far wall of the lounge, between a mirror and lamp, he's tacked the large map of St Andrews and the surrounding country. Three red pins on the map represent night-terror activity. Having the map gives him what feels like a greater sense of control over the investigation, and it supplies him with something to focus on when idle.
And there have been a lot of idle moments since his first two interviews. Besides two inquisitive phone calls from students not suffering from night terrors, a spokesperson from a local Bible group, and someone who phoned three times and hung up without a word, the early momentum of his research has lapsed over the last two days. But he dares not venture too far from the flat in case he misses another call. Maria, the girl with a nervous voice, never showed for her interview, and neither Kerry