Candleman Read Free

said Foley.
    Theo watched, scared and fascinated as the two crooks set to work with a combination of sly know-how and crude violence. Screws were eased out, locks oiled and hammered, and the bolts studied and shattered. The thick inner door creaked open, revealing a dark chamber beyond. Using a tiny torch, Foley located a light switch. They stepped into the room, and Theo gazed around him, astonished.
    The forbidden things.
The room was littered with newspapers, magazines, photos – all the things that told you about
the real world.
Theo was not allowed to see such information. Dr Saint had always told him that knowledge of real-life events, news and history would only excite and confuse his mind.
    But Theo could not help looking. Yellowing old newspaper articles were pinned to boards on the wall. There were maps of London, snapshots of crumpled bodies, pictures of sinister figures with strange names. Theo peered at the dark, illustrated image of a monstrous, misshapen man:
the Dodo,
a caption read.
    ‘This can’t be right. It’s just a study or something …’ said Brady.
    Unnoticed, Theo was looking through a pile of pictorial newspapers. He looked at the dates. They were over a hundred years old. There was so much to see, read and drink in …
    Crime Ring broken by Unknown Crusader
one magazine read. Another headline proclaimed:
New Hero of the Night
– but the picture with it had been removed.
    Foley was staring about him like a frightened rabbit. His graveyard teeth nibbled nervously on his lower lip.
    ‘Well, say something, you old fool!’ shouted Brady. Instead, Foley stepped towards a shadowy alcove at the far end of the room and switched on a lamp. They all stared. Theo’s jaw dropped.
    A pale, long-haired man in a smart cape was peering out at them from a sepia photograph in a golden frame. The man had a haunted, tragic face. Yet there was something strong and resolute in its lines too – the angular nose, tough chin and those unfathomable eyes. Beneath the portrait was the legend:
The Candle Man.
    Theo stared. There was no mistake. For a moment time seemed to stand still. But there was no denying, his first startling impression had been correct.
The man in the picture looked exactly like Theo.
    ‘Candle Man? Never heard of him!’ said Brady. ‘Have you?’
    Foley nodded. ‘We should get out of here!’ he whispered.
    ‘You what?’
    ‘It’s unlucky, you see …’ Foley was almost as white as a sheet. ‘Especially in our game,’ the old man said. ‘It goes a long way back. People hear about the Candle Man and not long after … they disappear.’
    ‘Then why haven’t I heard of him?’ Brady asked.
    ‘It was all covered up – made into a secret. It was too horrible …’ the old man was distracted, ferreting around nervously at the piles of papers. He looked at some random photos and blenched.
    ‘What a terrible way to go!’ he gasped, putting the photos back face down. He switched off the alcove light and tried frantically to replace everything they had touched.
    ‘We’ve got to get out of here, now!’ he urged. He was no longer the hardened housebreaker, but more like a terrified child. ‘This is way over our heads! We came to the wrong house tonight.’
    The old man headed straight out of the room, and Brady followed.
    ‘This is crazy! Get a grip!’ the younger man roared, but Foley was bounding down the stairs now with a speed hard to believe for his age. Brady was slower, dragging Theo by the arm. In the downstairs hallway, Foley turned to stare at Theo.
    ‘We’re in dark waters,’ Foley said. ‘No one must know we’ve been here!’
    ‘That means offing the boy!’ shouted Brady, pulling a heavy metal wrench out of his kitbag.
    ‘I – I don’t like it,’ stammered Foley. ‘Kill the mad kid? That’s too much bad luck! We’ll have to take him with us!’
    Suddenly a police siren was heard in the Gore outside, followed by a rending crash from a side door and the bark