when I was done, I returned here … t o put my theories to the test. ”
Even in this deep pit of horror, Craddock felt a new chill at these words. He scanned as much of the ballast as he could, half-expecting to see the pale outlines of corpses. No such vision came to him, but now Burnwood’s grin broadened into something maniacal.
“ Initially it was the obvious sort I went for,” he said. “Runaways, drunks, street-whores. Society’s flotsam, who no-one would miss, ’til I was absolutely sure my notions were correct. But that took longer than you might expect. You see, some of them it drained dry without hesitation, even absorbed the remains. Yet others … well, it had no appetite for them. It seems there are good people on those grim backstreets as well as bad. That unfortunate bunch had to go down the coast, to a spot where the stronger undertow would carry them away.”
“ You …” Craddock could hardly bring himself to form the correct words. “You … murdered people … in the name of some imaginary thing ?”
“ Imaginary?”
“ Of course imaginary! A creature that feeds on evil, for God’s sake!”
“ Don’t get so excited, major. There’ll be a scientific explanation. This ‘thing’ as you call it, this sea-creature, this jungle-beast, wherever it happened to get spawned – this is no fiend of the abyss, no figment of the supernatural. It’s real. It lives, breathes. It has organic systems that must be nurtured and maintained, just like you and me.”
“ And it feeds on evil? Burnwood, are you deranged?”
“ Really major, I thought you’d be more intellectual about this. It can’t feed on evil, as such. How could it? Evil has no substance, it’s an abstract concept. But that doesn’t mean it can’t feed on the cause of evil.”
“ What?”
“ On the biological imbalance that causes it.”
“ Biological imbalance?”
“ The chemical component – whatever it might be – which probably exists in all of us, but which, for some reason as yet unknown, overflows in those whom society now mistakenly terms ‘evil’.”
“ Mistakenly?” Suddenly the implications of what Burnwood was saying became clear, and they were so shocking that at first the major couldn’t give voice to them.
“ Major Craddock, you’re a man of reason. I know you understand this. No doubt you’ve even wondered about it, yourself. There must be an explanation for evil. And it’s probably a perfectly natural one. Unless …” and now it was Burnwood’s turn to sound scornful, “unless you believe in Adam and Eve.”
“ And your belief is less nonsensical? Your belief, which you think will be proved by the existence of some invisible monster?”
Burnwood shook his head. “It won’t be invisible for long, if you’ll allow me to dig. Though I warn you, it won’t be a pretty sight. It wasn’t pretty several years ago, when I first came back here … when it was weak and starving. Thanks to me, it’s grown since then.” He reached inside his coat again. “Now, it’s likely to be hideous beyond belie …”
“ Keep your hands where I can see them!”
The felon glared at the major with irritation. Very slowly, he produced a trowel from his pocket. “Major Craddock, you surely don’t think I intend to present my case to the world without some physical proof?”
“ And you surely don’t think I intend to let you present anything to the world just because you’ve told me a fanciful tale that Mr. Edgar Allen Poe would be embarrassed to have written?”
A new look came into Burnwood’s eyes; one of uncertainty and maybe disappointment. “I know that you’ve experienced wider things in this world,” he said.
“ And I know you for a liar and a rogue, Burnwood. And I’m telling you now, I’ve had enough of this cock and bull. Lay down that gun, and that bloody trowel as well, and surrender!”
The criminal’s mouth twitched. His finger tightened on the trigger of the
Even in this deep pit of horror, Craddock felt a new chill at these words. He scanned as much of the ballast as he could, half-expecting to see the pale outlines of corpses. No such vision came to him, but now Burnwood’s grin broadened into something maniacal.
“ Initially it was the obvious sort I went for,” he said. “Runaways, drunks, street-whores. Society’s flotsam, who no-one would miss, ’til I was absolutely sure my notions were correct. But that took longer than you might expect. You see, some of them it drained dry without hesitation, even absorbed the remains. Yet others … well, it had no appetite for them. It seems there are good people on those grim backstreets as well as bad. That unfortunate bunch had to go down the coast, to a spot where the stronger undertow would carry them away.”
“ You …” Craddock could hardly bring himself to form the correct words. “You … murdered people … in the name of some imaginary thing ?”
“ Imaginary?”
“ Of course imaginary! A creature that feeds on evil, for God’s sake!”
“ Don’t get so excited, major. There’ll be a scientific explanation. This ‘thing’ as you call it, this sea-creature, this jungle-beast, wherever it happened to get spawned – this is no fiend of the abyss, no figment of the supernatural. It’s real. It lives, breathes. It has organic systems that must be nurtured and maintained, just like you and me.”
“ And it feeds on evil? Burnwood, are you deranged?”
“ Really major, I thought you’d be more intellectual about this. It can’t feed on evil, as such. How could it? Evil has no substance, it’s an abstract concept. But that doesn’t mean it can’t feed on the cause of evil.”
“ What?”
“ On the biological imbalance that causes it.”
“ Biological imbalance?”
“ The chemical component – whatever it might be – which probably exists in all of us, but which, for some reason as yet unknown, overflows in those whom society now mistakenly terms ‘evil’.”
“ Mistakenly?” Suddenly the implications of what Burnwood was saying became clear, and they were so shocking that at first the major couldn’t give voice to them.
“ Major Craddock, you’re a man of reason. I know you understand this. No doubt you’ve even wondered about it, yourself. There must be an explanation for evil. And it’s probably a perfectly natural one. Unless …” and now it was Burnwood’s turn to sound scornful, “unless you believe in Adam and Eve.”
“ And your belief is less nonsensical? Your belief, which you think will be proved by the existence of some invisible monster?”
Burnwood shook his head. “It won’t be invisible for long, if you’ll allow me to dig. Though I warn you, it won’t be a pretty sight. It wasn’t pretty several years ago, when I first came back here … when it was weak and starving. Thanks to me, it’s grown since then.” He reached inside his coat again. “Now, it’s likely to be hideous beyond belie …”
“ Keep your hands where I can see them!”
The felon glared at the major with irritation. Very slowly, he produced a trowel from his pocket. “Major Craddock, you surely don’t think I intend to present my case to the world without some physical proof?”
“ And you surely don’t think I intend to let you present anything to the world just because you’ve told me a fanciful tale that Mr. Edgar Allen Poe would be embarrassed to have written?”
A new look came into Burnwood’s eyes; one of uncertainty and maybe disappointment. “I know that you’ve experienced wider things in this world,” he said.
“ And I know you for a liar and a rogue, Burnwood. And I’m telling you now, I’ve had enough of this cock and bull. Lay down that gun, and that bloody trowel as well, and surrender!”
The criminal’s mouth twitched. His finger tightened on the trigger of the
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