The Last Enemy(34)

The boy gave them a look filled with bitterness and suspicion.

‘You’re planning to sue them as well, are you?’ he demanded.

‘No, absolutely not!’ Lauren hastened to assure him. ‘We were interested in the old library at the hall, that’s all. Gemma offered to tell us about it.’

‘We met her at the solicitor’s,’ added Jake. ‘We’d gone there to see Mr Ainsworth.’

Dan sighed, and then sank down on to the seat his sister had just left.

‘Then you heard the row?’ he asked.

‘Yes,’ said Lauren. ‘It was a bit of a shouting match.’

‘I don’t know what to do about her,’ he said, forcing a small smile at them. ‘I’m Dan, by the way, Gemma’s brother.’

‘We guessed that,’ said Lauren. ‘Family resemblance.’

‘Only in looks,’ sighed Dan. ‘We’re pretty different. She’s always flying off the handle, losing her temper. Me, I prefer a quiet life. Yeah, I was angry over what had happened with us being kicked out of our cottage and ending up in a caravan, but you can’t go on being bitter all your life. It just eats at you. Like it’s doing with Gemma.’

‘What did Gemma mean when she spoke about getting some real lawyers?’ asked Jake.

Dan shrugged and let out a heartfelt sigh.

‘Yesterday we had a phone call at home from this firm of solicitors in London. Pierce Randall, they called themselves.’

At the mention of the name Jake tensed, and he felt Lauren fidgeting beside him.

‘What did they want?’ asked Jake, doing his best to make his voice sound casual.

‘They wanted to talk about the de Courcey family.’ He frowned. ‘In fact, it was something about a book.’ He looked questioningly at Jake and Lauren. ‘Is that why you’re here? You mentioned the library at the hall. Are you after the same thing?’ Suddenly his questioning look turned into one of suspicion. ‘Are you from Pierce Randall?’

‘No,’ said Lauren. ‘I promise.’ Swiftly she changed the subject, asking, ‘How did Gemma know about them if they phoned you?’

‘She was listening. She’s always does that, eavesdropping. They said there could be money in it for us. She heard me tell them I wasn’t interested, and she got angry. She said I was an idiot to turn down the chance of getting what we were owed. I bet that’s what she’s doing now. Getting on to these Pierce Randall people.’ He shook his head. ‘No good’s going to come of it. I told her, she’s only going to get us in trouble, but she won’t listen to me.’





Chapter 16




As Jake and Lauren walked back to Sevenoaks railway station, they talked about Gemma and Pierce Randall.

‘Once she tells them about Jasper Brigstocke, they’ll be moving in on him,’ said Jake. ‘We need to get to him first.’

‘I still think it’s all too simple,’ insisted Lauren. ‘There’s no way we’re just going to walk into his bookshop and find The Index on his shelves.’

‘There is if he doesn’t know what it is,’ said Jake. ‘Think about it. If it just looks like a book with a list of place names, as far as he’s concerned it’s nothing more than finding an old phone book. It’s nothing special. Not like a first edition of Dickens, or an original Shakespeare.’

‘So why would he have bought it in the first place?’

‘Because he’d have seen that it’s from the fifteenth century, so it’s bound to be worth something to some book collector.’

Lauren thought it over and then said, ‘Maybe you’re right.’

Jake was already checking out Jasper Brigstocke on his iPhone.

‘Got him,’ he said. ‘Jasper Brigstocke, antiquarian books. His shop is in Notting Hill Gate.’

Jake dialled the number. It rang, and then went to voicemail. A man’s voice said, ‘This is Jasper Brigstocke. I’m afraid I’m not available at the moment, so do leave a message and I will get back to you in due course.’

Jake hung up.

‘He’s not there,’ he said. ‘Or, he is, but he’s not answering the phone.’

‘Then let’s hope we get to him before Pierce Randall do,’ said Lauren.



Sue Clark sat at her desk, scanning a row of figures on a balance sheet. They were from the accounts of a large multinational company, which the tax authorities were accusing of fraud and tax evasion. Of course it was tax evasion; her job, along with the firm’s accountants, was to prove this was a case of tax avoidance, an entirely different and perfectly legal situation. Her desk phone rang. It was her secretary.