Kaleidoscope by Ethan Spier Read Free Book Online Page A

left the room to get them both a glass of wine, she had grown impatient of waiting and curiosity had presumably led her to see what was on the screen. He had been stupid and careless to leave it right there for her to find. But find it she did, and...
    But that doesn't matter now , Hellam thought as the car cruised through the streets. That situation had been taken care of and he wouldn't make the same mistake again. No one knew about the videos, and although that might be something that could change within the next few weeks, he would be very careful with whom he shared that particular portion of his business; there were very few people who could understand those videos for what Hellam knew they were - violent, macabre, beautiful works of art.

    ***
     

    The next afternoon, Langton knocked on the door to Hellam's office, walked in and took a seat.
    "I've got some good news," Langton said, smiling.
    Hellam looked up from some papers he was working on and stared at him, but said nothing.
    "It's about Deacon."
    "Go on," Hellam said, placing his pen on the desktop, suddenly interested.
    "Kelser has been in contact with me, they've found out where he's been hiding. Apparently he's been with some girl he met a few months ago. They've been staking out her flat and yesterday they saw Deacon leave to buy a packet of cigarettes."
    "That's good news, tell them to proceed. That bastard has tested my patience, he's lucky I'm not sending the others round." Hellam noticed the slight frown of disapproval from Langton. "Just tell them to get on with it and get my money back."
    Langton nodded then stood and left the room. Hellam pushed the papers on his desk aside then walked over to a filing cabinet in the corner of the office. He pulled out a folder then returned with it to his desk. He opened it up and looked at the handful of papers inside, reading portions then flicking through to the photographs on the final sheet. The pictures were of an old farm house, seemingly derelict and in a poor state of maintenance. They showed interior shots of the brick farmhouse and then external and internal shots of a large barn that stood next to the building.
    Hellam scrutinised the images for several moments then flicked back to the first sheet of paper where he found the number for the estate agent. He punched the number into his phone.
    "Hello, Morley estates, Katie speaking, how can I help? ” came a bright female voice.
    "Yes, hello Katie, my name is Joseph Hellam, I spoke to you a few days ago regarding Clements Farm outside Surrington."
    "Yes, Mr Hellam. I remember.   Have you made a decision about the property?"
    "I think so, but I'd like to take one final look if possible. Can I arrange a meeting for this afternoon?"
    "Not a problem," replied Katie tapping something into a keyboard on the other end of the phone. "Let me see... can you make it at
4pm
?"
    "Absolutely, I'll see you there."

    ***
     

    George Langton checked his watch as he pulled into the carport. He was glad to see it was only 6pm. Home early tonight , he thought as he got out and walked up to his front door. He stepped inside, picked up the post from the floor and went into the lounge. He dropped the envelopes onto a coffee table by the sofa, threw his briefcase into a chair and sighed deeply as he rolled his head backwards around his shoulders and attempted to work the tension free.
    His mobile phone suddenly buzzed into life as a text message came through. It was a message from Miller, a police officer who was on Hellam's unofficial payroll. Langton read the message and smiled; he would have some interesting news for Hellam on Monday.
    Langton had been living alone ever since his wife had left him a few years before. He had been glad to see the back of her; at least that was what he told himself every day. She had found out about an affair he was having and had told him that their marriage was over. It wasn't the first affair Langton had had, and it certainly wouldn't have