The Raggedy Man's Revenge

Extracts from the Personal Diary of Dr Elisa Jamieson MD

Thursday August 3^rd:

Adam and I finally have reached the end of our week of hell with Mavis Endercott. The woman is clearly not dealing from a full deck as beside her habit of slinging us out as soon as the sun has set. She holds us as virtual prisoners during the day locking the door so we cannot leave. I have noted that some of the bugs are quite considerable in size and my bug repellent is virtually useless. While I am not aware of the genealogy of bugs I feel that it would be advisable to identify some of the species. I manage to sneak a few photos of the bugs using my Blackberry while Mavis is relieving herself in the bathroom. I suppose that is something at least she doesn’t do it in her clothes, which is a godsend.

I fully intend to take these photographs to the Entomology department in the British Museum and hopefully they will be able to identify the species. It is also virtually assured that were the Environmental Health to see the state of Mavis’ apartment not only would the woman be correctly sectioned but also the building itself would be fumigated and condemned. (Perhaps this needs reporting but I should maybe talk to Lionel first.)

Upon leaving on the third I am listening to the radio when the news reveals that there has been further developments and a rather grisly discovery after the attack by the creature on the Royal Berkshire, namely the skin of the unfortunate nurse Sue Mornington have been found neatly in a drawer in the morgue together with her head and the skinless headless body of a medical student by the name of Harvey Charlton. It would appear that the creature has used the identical modus operandi as was used back in Swindon

As to how the information regarding this has leaked out we have no idea as usually the police are more sacrosanct about the more grisly details. It is without a doubt that one of the papers has a source working inside the hospital - it’s dreadful what some people will sell for a handful of silver.

From the reports we can ascertain that the creature was desperately in need of a new body as the Mornington body was found to be in a very sorry state with numerous contusions and tears in the epidermis. Obviously the skin was too small to contain the creature. At present the location of the creature is unknown to us but unfortunately it would appear that the creature has now found a more suitable body as Harvey Charlton is 6’4” and a rugby player too boot, a strapping young man in relatively good shape.

As we leave Mavis’, Adam and I retire to he rooms that MI13 have set up for us and start to mull over the recent developments. It would appear that the creature is genuinely hunting us down and we need to rid ourselves of this thing as soon as humanly possible. Judging from what we can ascertain, Barbara Smythe and her family appear to be the most vulnerable. I phone her straight away but she informs me that Belinda has already warned her and the family have moved to a hotel in Battersea.

Adam and I then spend a few hours working out how we are going to cast the spells Mavis has given us. It becomes clear very early on that we do not have the magical power to be able to cast all three spells so other means will be required.

Unfortunately it would appear the only way we are going to achieve the necessary power is by using very questionable and unethical means, as the only way to create the magical points required involves blood sacrifice. According to what we have been taught this may require several animals - to whit, chickens. (My god I feel like I’m going to be a Voodoo priestess in some second rate movie but just so long as I don’t have to put a bone through my nose then I am quite sure I can pull it off.)

We quickly check on the Internet and find a farm in Cambridgeshire selling live birds. I will need to hire a transit van and go and buy some chickens. It looks like we are going to be doing this in Barbara’s new house so we are going to need her permission, plus we will probably have to get the place decorated afterwards as I am fairly positive that the walls and ceiling will acquire scatter.

Friday August 4^th:

Adam and I head off for Cambridgeshire in the morning after a couple of quick stop offs at the mobile phone shop and the Budget Van rental shops. We arrive at the farm by midday and I begin negotiations with the farmer (I finally end up buying twelve chickens and a sack of feed - naturally I do not inform the farmer of our intensions for the birds, as I am quite sure that not only would he not sell them to us but that we would be very likely be ensconced very quickly into the next cell to Toby Higginbottom). I have of course been keeping all of my receipts and to be honest I can’t wait to hand in my expenses claims to the ministry.

Outside the negotiations Adam checks his messages and discovers two messages from Belinda Durham. (Must get my phone replaced as no-one can contact me presently as they do not have the number for my Blackberry.) The initial message is that she appears to have been burgled. Thankfully the Police are there within the hour and while her chequebook, a small digital radio and her spare jewellery was stolen (as well as surprisingly a jar of 50p pieces), Belinda’s passport, which was adjacent to the chequebook, her keys, DVD player, television and stereo were not taken.

The police seem convinced it was most likely drug users after things they could sell. Maybe I am a sceptic but I somehow do not believe this is the case. It also appeared that her bookshelves had been ransacked. I think that this is akin to the thief in the hospital a few days ago. They are certainly looking for something and I think they are convinced that Belinda has what they are hunting for.

The second message we receive from her is even more disconcerting for it appears that St John has contacted her regarding a very worrying development (not least of all that St John is actually using a phone - my god it must be serious!) Now we have a dilemma as we were hoping to get everyone to London so we could banish the creature.

Belinda says that she will travel to Avebury to see if she can sort out what our next step is going to be. In the meantime, Adam and I will head back to my place. When Belinda arrives she contacts St John and reports that he appears to be in a dreadful state and it looks as if he hasn’t eaten in days.

It also would appear that Alphonso Rodriguez has kidnapped Jules and that once again he is making a play for Geoffrey Baxter’s binoculars, demanding them as her ransom payment. Adam contacts MI13 to try and arrange some back up.

In the end it is decided that after much discussion we will all sort out St John’s problem first we can only hope that in doing so we do not miss the creature as this thing is notoriously hard to track. I park the van near my place in Reading and throw some food into the crate; hopefully it’s enough as I am not exactly trained for this. We then decide that we should travel down using my old Mini Cooper so I grab my car keys and travelling bag and off we go to whatever fate has in store for us.

As we arrive in Avebury, Adam contacts Belinda to ascertain were everyone is only to find that they are presently in St John’s caravan, which to be honest was were I was heading for anyway. While we are there St John gives us some further information about what has occurred.

It appears Rodriguez is presently staying at the Lodge near the Red Lion and that he sent his pet policeman, Moynahan, to kidnap Jules. Somehow St John also appears to have acquired Imelda Harris’ diary; we do not ask for the diary at this time on the account that St John already appears extremely distressed, which is perfectly understandable, considering the circumstances.

We still do not know why Rodriguez wants the binoculars but I am quite sure that we do not want him to have them as I am fairly certain that it something to do with the creature. St John still appears to acting irrationally and attempts to use the binoculars to observe the kidnapping in the hope that he can follow Moynahan to where he has stored Jules. This fails as, I have noted, do many attempts to manipulate these binoculars to aid our goals, instead I suggest another plan.

I suggest that perhaps we should try using the bone mask that I have in my possession to attempt to contact Imelda Harris’ ghost. I first suggest trying near were her body was discovered but the consensus appears to be that her spirit would much more likely be with her body in the mortuary. So once again I find myself on the way to the mortuary in Swindon. St John will come with me while Belinda and Adam remain in Avebury.

I am allowed to pass through the hospital reception with no problems as they have seen me previously. However, I have to pass St John off as my assistant before he can accompany me. It is decided that St John should use the mask as he is better known to Imelda than I. We do have one problem though, as the mortuary attendant does not leave us, something will need to be done.

I do a cursory examination of the body and note that the autopsy has already been carried out. This gives us the opportunity we need as I request the autopsy report, taking the attendant and I to his office while St John uses the mask. The report appears to have no glaring omissions and the organs, including the brain, are present and of the correct weight for a woman of Imelda’s age - at least that makes a pleasant change. The body was stripped post-mortem and most likely killed within metres of where it was found.

St John is able to contact Imelda Harris using the mask but she is unable to furnish us with an address for Moynahan. She also confirms what we already know, that Rodriguez is obsessed with obtaining Geoffrey Baxter’s binoculars and furthermore we are to ascertain that, while not mad, he is clearly evil and has entered into some sort of deal with the creature.

Moynahan on the other hand appears to be clinically insane and we are to discover that it was he that strangled Imelda. I suppose we could report him to the Police complaints committee but to be honest I could not see how that would help as by the time they got their act together Jules would be long dead. A more direct method will be required if we want this to finish well.

I noted that after the use of the mask St John appeared pale and sweaty symptoms indicating that he was suffering from a slight case of shock, however once he was in the fresh air he appeared to recover so I thought no treatment would be required.

It appears that only way that this is going to finish satisfactorily is if Rodriguez is taken out. Adam contacts MI13 to begin the process. From the information we have gathered it appears that Rodriguez is a sorcerer of some kind and therefore a serious threat. However he is not presently on the database at MI13; obviously this is quite a recent development.

We are told that someone will be sent to meet us in our hotel. We are presently residing in a hotel just south of the A4. The man they send arrives shortly after 11pm and I am surprised to find that I recognise him from the incident on Gallows Hill. His name is Andrew Price and he, like me, is one of the few survivors from that fateful night. We brief him on what we require, to whit that Rodriguez needs to be taken down with extreme prejudice and that Moynahan will need to be disabled. (Assuming, of course, that they have not brought Jules with them, which Andy confirms to be the most logical move.)

Andy suggests that we set up the arrangements that night but unfortunately we are unable to contact Rodriguez as he has retired for the evening and the Lodge are unwilling to wake him up. We suggest various methods for getting to him but each seems more unethical than the last. It is finally decided that we will be unable to proceed to we retire to bed.

Friday August 5^th:

Early on the 5^th August I am woken to find that St John has acquired Rodriguez’s number. St John informs us that he had a visitation in a dream by Tutankhamen (the boy pharaoh) who told him the number. However I feel that it was in fact his mind playing tricks on him as he was later to inform us that the figure introduced itself as Djehuti (Thoth) but the actual truth was that he was a figure known as Nyalothotep, a name I recall from Toby Higginbottom’s rantings.

It appears Nyalothotep wishes us to use both the mask and binoculars more than we have been doing, stating both are supposedly facets of the same thing. Once again I am extremely sceptical about these artefacts, perhaps they need to be buried and forgotten?

Adam reports that he was woken by the sounds of St John screaming and bouncing off the walls, plus I note that the dream has sent his hair white! While this in itself is not unusual (many times I have heard reports that a scare can turn the hair white) it is usually a gradual process, beginning from the roots, and there has never been a report of it happening in a single night as far as I am aware. Once again he appeared to be suffering from shock but I chatted to him and he was determined to continue.

The number is rung and arrangements made for the exchange of Jules for the binoculars. The exchange was to occur in the car park of the Red Lion. Adam and St John were to go in my Mini to take part in the exchange while Andy was to secrete himself nearby. Belinda and I were to be on standby in Belinda’s Landrover to ensure hopefully that Moynahan would not die from his injuries.

We are listening in when we hear that both Rodriguez and Moynahan have arrived. There is, however, no sign of Jules so Moynahan needs to be taken alive. We hear the ricochets if not the bullets themselves. Surprisingly it takes three bullets to put Rodriguez down. I don’t know if that is because he is inordinately tough or due to the fact that Andy used too powerful a rifle.

As we approach, we hear another four reports in two groups of two. We are later to find that two were to Rodriguez’s head, to ensure he would not be getting up again, and the final two were to Moynahan’s leg. Belinda moved in swiftly and we manoeuvred Moynahan into the Land Rover, speeding away before the awaking townsfolk could ascertain what had just occurred. As I treated Moynahan’s wound, I used my bluetooth to contact MI13 to inform them that Rodriguez was down.

Once we were safely out of town we got out of the Land Rover and began questioning Moynahan about Jules’. However he appeared to be reluctant to divulge her location so I had to resort to some reprehensible behaviour. (Oh God! I hope the joint medical council never hear of this or I may as well shred my medical licence!)

I offered Moynahan a choice stating I had a syringe of morphine for the pain if only he would reveal her location. He flatly refused so I kicked his wounded leg causing the stitches to burst and him to scream in pain. (I must feel more for Jules than I ever thought.) Moynahan still refused to talk so I placed my foot on his wound and exerted pressure. This made him talk and as it turned out helped close his wound again. He gave the address as the house he had in Marlborough and that the keys were in his pocket.

As we arrived the others went into the house while Andy and I took care of Moynahan. We also arranged for MI13 to pick him up, as it appeared his colleagues in the police were unaware of his nocturnal activities. We decided thus that it would be better to place him outside of the area.

Well I’ll certainly have a busy time in the confessional this week I just hope that Father Ryan will understand. One can only hope . Of course, tomorrow night is certainly not going to help.

As I understand it Jules was found in the basement of the house. She had been restrained and her clothes were heavily soiled from the waist down. We wrapped her in a blanket before getting her into the car and taking her back to the hotel. I took her to my room where I bathed her and got her a fresh change of clothes. Fortunately she appeared to be my size so I provided her with a pair of jeans and one of my jumpers together with some clean underwear from my bag. Her own clothes we destroyed as they were beyond redemption and I am quite sure that she would not have wanted to wear them again anyway.

During my examination of her condition it became clear from my assessment that she would require extensive psychological treatment due to the extended abuse imparted on her by Moynahan. I also surmised that she would also probably be for the best for her to be away from male companionship for the next couple of days.

I will try to convince her to stay with me for the next couple of days so I can better look after her and assess what the she requires by way of treatment. I suggested that I could leave her with my brother and his wife while we went after the creature but it was decided that she would instead stay with Barbara’s family in the hotel.

Jules was later to impart upon us what had occurred: Moynahan had abducted Jules by luring her from the caravan with the belief that she was to taken to Marlborough police station to give a statement regarding what she knew about the Imelda Harris case. Jules was only to discover this when he pulled up outside the house in which she was to held prisoner. As he stopped she turned to ask why they were not at the police station, only to find him pushing a foul smelling cloth into her face. (Chloroform or ether; hard to tell which.) Jules breathed the chemical in and passed out only to wake an indeterminate time later tied to the chair in the basement.

As I am led to understand, he then force-fed her but she stated that her body rejected most of it and it made her sick. When she was being fed appeared to be the only time that the gag was removed. If she asked him anything he would systematically beat her.

Moynahan also refused to allow her to use the bathroom and it is my belief that Jules will require treatment for having been sat in her own excrement for approaching five days. How they are going to pay for the treatment is a mystery however as I can be pretty sure that they do not have private medical insurance nor have they been making any of their National Insurance payments but I can only hope that something can be done for her.

I noted the local police had moved in swiftly to cordon off Avebury and begin looking at the evidence around the Rodriguez killing. But within two hours my phone call had begun to take its effect. A number of Special Branch detectives appeared and began systematically taking over pushing the local constabulary to the periphery. Protecting, one would hope, our friend Andy Price.

After we got back to the hotel, Andy excused himself and headed back to London for his debriefing. The rest of us decided to sleep through the day as we would need to be up all night and move to London in the late afternoon, via Reading to pick up the Transit van from outside my flat.

Two of the chickens had perished in the crate, as far as we could ascertain pecked to death by their comrades. Obviously I was in error regarding the food I had left. On the way back to London I had to phone Barbara to inform her of what we had planned including all the grisly details. As it turned out I had also forgotten to inform St John and Belinda of what we were planning so was able to kill three birds with one stone. Barbara insisted on being involved and agreed to meet us at her house.

After clearing all the furniture we began setting up, initially ensuring that we had an escape route just in case things went wrong. Adam laid out the salt for the circle of protection, placing everything we would need inside as once it was powered there would be no leaving the circle till the following morning. Adam then powered the circle, draining power from Belinda, Barbara, St John and himself. I was spared any draining of energy for these first two spells as all my energy would be required for the binding ritual.

As the night passed, St John fell asleep; understandable, I suppose, with all the shocks he has received in the last week or so. I also fell asleep. This was unexpected but I think that this seems to also natural as it is almost like being on call.

I missed the second spell as obviously I had already fallen asleep by then but I understood later that Adam had needed to sacrifice one of the chickens to acquire the energy needed. It required a large amount of willpower on his part as he is a pacifist.

Friday August 6^th:

Most of us had thus acquired a splattering of blood, myself excluded, as I had prepared for this by bringing plastic sleeves and an apron. I don’t know how long I had slept but was woken by St John shaking my shoulder. As is my want I woke instantly - a skill borne by practice I assume. As I stood I heard something moving towards the patio windows.

We then were able to observe a large figure entering the room. Without thought, I began the binding ritual. The figure standing before me revealed itself in the full light as young Harvey Charlton. However he was not the way he was when last I saw him. He appeared bloated around the face, was of a sickly green hue and was festooned in slime and weeds.

It came as no surprise to me when his eyes extended on stalks as I had seen this previously during my encounter with it while it was residing in Dr Treadle’s body. I was most surprised upon touching its mind to find my mind the stronger, even if it was only barely. My logical mind clicked then into gear, knowing that I required only two chickens to obtain the energy to bind this abomination.

The ritual went easier than I thought and my experience as a cutter meant that I could sacrifice the chickens without loosing a step. I could feel when I had control and the time came to speak the words of instruction I was able to keep my voice firm and clear.

“Back to whence you came to the hole under the hill!”

The creature then turned and left, moving swiftly back to the river. We estimate that it will take three nights for the creature to return to Silbury Hill. We will need to be there before it to remove the plaque from the base of the hill so that it may leave. Looks like that is going to have to be my job as looking at my companions it is quite clear that I am by far the most physically fit. I must remember to take my shorts and tee shirt.

It takes us most of the next day to clean up what we can in Barbara’s house. Unfortunately I feel she will need to have the entire room redecorated as we appear to have got blood on the walls and ceiling (forgot that chickens get a little squirty when you cut their heads off). Anyway I plucked the three birds we had killed, gutted them and put them in Barbara’s chest freezer. Hopefully they won’t go to waste.

Well I suppose if any of this gets out I’ll certainly be struck off and most likely be in the cell next to Moynahan. On another matter, if I loose my job I’ve always got seven chickens and most of a bag of feed, maybe I can start a farm?