The Last Enemy(25)

Jake turned to Lauren, his face alight with inspiration.

‘No, we need the book!’ he said. ‘The Index! The reason Pierce Randall brought Guy back! That’s what this is all about!’

Lauren sighed.

‘We don’t know where The Index is. No one knows where The Index is.’

Jake smiled at her.

‘I think I do! It just hit me!’

Again, Lauren shook her head.

‘You’re dreaming, Jake,’ she said. ‘If The Index was that easy to find, Pierce Randall would have got hold of it by now. Or Gareth and MI5. Or every other organisation who’ve been looking for it.’

‘I’ve been thinking about that,’ said Jake. ‘Ever since I met Guy and heard his story. And the answer’s only just hit me right now. Why did Pierce Randall bring Guy back to England?’

‘Because, like we said, his ancestor was quite likely given the Journal, and possibly The Index, for safe keeping.’

‘And where would those books have been kept?’

Lauren stared at him.

‘Jake, you’re not seriously suggesting . . .’

‘Yes, I am! In the library at de Courcey Hall in Kent.’

‘But the National Trust would have cleared the library out.’

‘Not necessarily. Have you ever noticed that in lots of these National Trust places, the libraries are still filled with old books that look as if they’ve been there for centuries?’ said Jake. ‘Say that was the case here.’

‘My God!’ breathed Lauren. ‘If it is . . .’ She looked stunned. ‘You surely don’t think it can be that simple? That The Index and the Journal could have been sitting there on the library shelves at de Courcey Hall all this time?’

‘It’s possible.’

‘But if The Index has been there all this time, why would Pierce Randall need Guy to get it? They’re powerful enough to be able to get it without him.’

‘Perhaps Pierce Randall has already searched the library but couldn’t find it. Plus, they probably don’t know what it looks like. Guy lived at the place. I reckon that they thought he might be able to pinpoint it for them. There could be a hidden compartment in the library that Guy might remember from childhood?’

‘So you think The Index might still be there at the hall?’

‘There’s only one way to find out,’ said Jake.





Chapter 12




As Jake and Lauren drove along the narrow winding lane that led to de Courcey Hall, Jake was desperate to believe this trip would lead them finally to the end of their long and painful quest. The Index, the list of places where every one of the Malichea books was hidden.

The car followed the twists and turns, until they rounded a final bend and saw the hall ahead of them.

It was massive. OK, not as big as somewhere like Buckingham Palace, and it wasn’t many storeys high, like some stately homes, but it was a rambling Tudor mansion with additional wings, all in the same black timber-framed style bending this way and that.

‘Wow!’ said Jake. ‘That is some house! It looks like it’s got . . . what . . . a hundred rooms? And one family lived here?’

‘Plus their servants. And guest wings for important visitors. Royalty arriving with all their attendants and servants. A place like this needed to be big.’

They drove past a single-storey gatehouse towards the car park.

‘It’s huge!’ murmured Jake. ‘It must have cost a fortune to maintain this place!’

‘It still looks like it did way back in Tudor times,’ said Lauren, bringing up an image of an old painting of the house on her iPhone.

‘Let’s hope the library is still the same,’ said Jake.

He followed the signs for the car park. There were just two cars already there, and an SUV.

‘Not many visitors,’ he remarked.

‘Damn!’ muttered Lauren.

‘What?’

She pointed to a sign that read: ‘Public opening hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.’

‘Half past nine,’ she said, her voice showing how fed up she was. ‘We’ve got an hour and a half to wait.’

‘Maybe they’ll let us in early?’

‘On what grounds?’

‘We don’t actually want to see the whole house, just check out the library.’

‘So?’

‘We tell them we’re doing some research on a historical project about the library. Flash them your British Library card. That’ll impress them.’

‘It’s worth a try, I suppose,’ said Lauren. ‘They can only say no.’

She had opened the door and was just about to get out, when she let out a gasp of shock and pulled the door shut again.

‘What’s up?’ asked Jake.