The Deadly Game(54)

‘Roger Bacon! This is even better than I’d hoped for!’

‘He’s good?’ As Jake asked the question, he felt stupid. He rummaged around in his memory for things Lauren might have told him about Roger Bacon. He dimly remembered her telling him something about the man, but that had been a long time ago, when they’d first been going out together, and at that time he hadn’t paid as much attention to her interest in what were called ‘unorthodox sciences’ as he should have; he’d been only interested in her: the way she looked, the way she laughed, the way she made him feel.

‘You don’t know about Roger Bacon?’ said Michelle, and there was a note of outraged accusation in her voice.

‘Well, I do,’ said Jake defensively. ‘But not as much as I should,’ he added lamely.

‘Thirteenth-century genius, philosopher and scientist,’ said Michelle. ‘He taught at Oxford, and in Paris, and elsewhere. He wrote some of the most important works on astronomy and astrology . . .’

‘Horoscopes?’ queried Jake.

Michelle shook her head.

‘Real astrology,’ she said. ‘Not the crappy fortune-telling stuff you see in the papers. Bacon was the real thing! He wrote the Opus Maju, which deals with things like microscopes, telescopes, hydraulics, steam ships, flying machines, long before someone actually produced them!’

More confirmation of Lauren’s theory that we’d have been in space hundreds of years before we were, if these books hadn’t been hidden, reflected Jake.

‘So this book . . .’ He gestured towards the observation window, at Lucy Waning slowly turning the pages of the book.

‘“Changing physical appearances by magic”,’ said Michelle, the note of awe still in her voice. ‘This is wilder than anything else he ever did, and if Bacon says it’s possible, then I bet you it is!’

‘So do I, Ms Faure,’ said a voice behind them.

Jake whirled round, and found himself looking into the beaming face of Alex Munro. The door had opened so quietly he hadn’t heard him come in.

Jake, open-mouthed in shock, stared at Munro. He turned to Michelle, expecting to find her as astonished as he was. Or rather, he expected her to look as if she was wondering who this strange man in the neat dark suit was. But Michelle just looked uncomfortable, and turned away from the bewildered Jake.

‘Good to see you again, Jake,’ said Munro pleasantly. ‘And thank you for bringing us the book.’ He gestured at the lab around them. ‘We own this facility. Through another company, of course.’

Jake continued to stare at Michelle, who wouldn’t look him in the eyes.

‘Michelle!’ he appealed.

She turned to him, awkward and ashamed.

‘Pierce Randall offered me a really good deal,’ she said. ‘Too good to say no to.’

‘A good deal?’ echoed Jake, still in a state of shock.

‘Money, and a very well-paid job with our public relations department,’ said Munro. ‘The sort of offer we tried to make to you. But you said no.’

‘But . . .’ burbled Jake, still stunned. He turned to Michelle and asked: ‘When did they offer this to you?’

‘Right at the start,’ said Michelle. ‘Before we even met.’

‘So, that business of me being kidnapped, and you finding me . . .’

‘Was a set-up,’ said Munro. ‘You weren’t harmed . . .’

‘You chloroformed me!’ raged Jake.

Munro shrugged.

‘A relatively harmless procedure,’ he said. ‘Our people knew what they were doing. You were never at risk.’

‘Oh no? Two men tried to kill me! They were going to shred me up and feed me to pigs!’

Munro shook his head.

‘They were nothing to do with us,’ he said. ‘Why should we do anything like that? We had you where we wanted you. And, if you found a book, you’d bring it here to us. There was no need for any violence on our part.’

‘So, who were they? Those men?’

‘I don’t know,’ Munro admitted. ‘Competitors, obviously. Possibly mercenaries, hired to get hold of any book you managed to find.’ He gave a slight smile. ‘Your reputation as someone who finds the lost books of Malichea has spread, Jake. You’re becoming quite famous among those who want the hidden library.’

Jake glared at him grimly.

‘This book is mine,’ he said.

Munro shook his head.

‘Officially, the book doesn’t exist. So it belongs to whoever has it in their possession. Right now, that’s us, Pierce Randall. Our employee, Ms Faure, discovered the book and brought it here.’