The Last Enemy(6)

‘You’ve been taken into custody because we had information that you may be able to help us with our enquiries,’ said Bullen.

‘What information?’ asked Jake.

Bullen was silent for a moment, looking at Jake thoughtfully. Then he asked, ‘Where were you at two o’clock this afternoon?’

‘Why?’ asked Jake. ‘Was that when Munro was killed?’

Bullen seemed to soften his attitude a little.

‘Look, Mr Wells, we can counter questions with questions all afternoon and just go round in circles, or — if you’d prefer — we can wait and see what happens about your solicitor. Although, with it being Saturday evening, my guess is that might take some time. Or, as I said, we can treat this as an initial interview to find out if there might be any substance to the suspicions concerning your involvement in the death of Mr Munro.’

‘I had no involvement in it,’ said Jake firmly. ‘I haven’t seen Alex Munro for months and months. I certainly didn’t see him today.’

‘But your name is in his dairy with an appointment for today. At 2 p.m.’

‘I didn’t have any appointment with Alex Munro, or with anyone else from Pierce Randall, today, or at any time recently.’

‘Do you know a Guy de Courcey?’ asked Bullen.

Jake shook his head.

‘No,’ he said. ‘And I’ve never heard that name before, either.’

‘According to Mr Munro’s diary, he was due to meet you and Mr Guy de Courcey at the Red Hen Café in Crouch End Broadway at 2 p.m. this afternoon.’

Crouch End! The shock of it hit Jake. He was being set up! Framed!

Bullen gave Jake a questioning look, then said, ‘You look as if that’s triggered something, Mr Wells. Were you around the Red Hen Café in Crouch End Broadway this afternoon?’

‘No,’ said Jake. ‘But I was driving past it.’

‘And you didn’t notice any disturbance in that area?’

I should wait until my lawyer gets here, thought Jake. But, as Bullen said, that could take ages. He didn’t know if Lauren had even managed to get hold of Gareth. And, if she had, would Gareth want to get involved in this? Jake was sure he would once he knew it was Alex Munro who had been killed, but for all Jake knew, it had been Gareth who had had Munro killed.

‘Mr Wells?’ prompted Bullen.

‘I’m being set up,’ said Jake, reaching a decision. If he came clean with the police at this early stage, they might see he was innocent and let him go.

‘Being set up?’ repeated Bullen.

Jake nodded.

‘I had a phone call telling me that if I went to Muswell Hill Broadway at half past one, I’d be contacted by someone who had some information that would help me.’

‘What information was this?’

‘About a book called The Index. It’s an old book that was compiled by the Order of Malichea.’

The door opened and all eyes turned towards DS Aziz as she came back into the interview room.

‘For the tape, DS Aziz returns to the interview,’ said Bullen.

‘I’ve told Ms Graham where you are,’ Aziz said to Jake. ‘She said she’s arranging legal representation for you.’

‘Did she say if she’d got hold of Gareth Findlay-Weston?’ Jake asked.

‘She didn’t volunteer that information and I didn’t ask her,’ said Aziz.

‘I should have made the call!’ said Jake angrily.

‘The phone call has been made and she’s been notified,’ said Bullen flatly. ‘Now, can we return to the matter in hand. You were talking about something called the Order of Malichea.’

Jake glared at him. He wanted to pursue the business of his phone call, demand that he be allowed to speak to Lauren, but he knew arguing about it would just slow things down. He needed to get out of here as fast as he could.

‘Yes.’ Jake nodded.

‘Are they a religious order?’ asked Bullen.

‘They were,’ said Jake. ‘They died out in 1539.’

‘And this person you went to meet, they had a copy of this book?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Jake. ‘I doubt it. It’s very rare, and people have been searching for it for years.’

‘Why?’ asked Bullen.

‘Because of the information it contains.’

‘What information?’

‘It’s said to be a list detailing where each of the books from the Library of Malichea were hidden,’ said Jake. ‘You see, the books in the library were forbidden.’

‘Dirty books?’ asked Bullen.

‘No,’ said Jake. ‘Nothing like that. They were scientific texts, written over hundreds and hundreds of years. Right up until the library was hidden in 1497 by the monks. They hid the books because the sort of sciences described in them were considered heretical by the Church at the time, and if they were found . . .’