Come the Fear by Chris Nickson

Author:Chris Nickson [Nickson, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: cookie429, Extratorrents, Kat
Publisher: Severn House Publishers Ltd
Published: 2012-07-22T14:00:00+00:00

Twelve

There was no more than a band of pale light on the horizon when the Constable walked up Kirkgate but already the day felt oppressive. The thick clouds in the sky seemed weighted and full, the air heavy. He could feel sweat in his armpits, and his hair was damp when he ran his hand through it.

Lister had the window open wide, but there was no breeze to flow and cool the place. Rob’s jacket hung on a nail, his long waistcoat unbuttoned and the sleeves of his shirt pushed up.

‘Morning, boss,’ he said. ‘It’s close out already.’

‘If it keeps up like this, tempers are going to flare sooner rather than later. People don’t take the heat well here.’ Nottingham poured himself a mug of small ale and drank it down quickly. ‘Anything worth knowing about? Did putting the man on the yard of the Talbot help?’

Lister sat back and laughed.

‘As soon as it was dark Walton climbed down the kitchen roof and was off down the back way. Johnson was on him. He said the only time he’s seen anyone move faster was when a husband’s come back without warning.’

Nottingham grinned with satisfaction. ‘Where did he go?’

‘A place off Currie Entry. There’s a small court there.’

‘I know it. About as wide as your arm to get in, then just a few houses back there. Was Johnson able to see which one he went into?’

Rob nodded. ‘He did a good job. Walton stayed there almost half an hour by the church clock, he said, then went back and climbed up to his room. Johnson found me and showed me where Walton had gone.’

‘Good. I think we’d better take a look at this place. Somehow I doubt our thief taker was just visiting an accommodating widow.’

The Constable carefully avoided the other subject that hung between them. He’d talked to Mary the night before, waiting until Emily had gone to her room to work after arriving home in a flustered, sour mood. They’d discussed it in low voices, Mary’s anger at Rob’s father brittle and bitter, his own sadder, tempered by experience. But finally he’d convinced her that there was nothing they could do. Everything depended on the decisions Rob made. He’d put no pressure on the lad. He wouldn’t even hold it against him if he caved in to his father. The lad needed time to make up his mind fairly.

By the time Sedgwick arrived, yawning and stretching so his fingertips almost touched the ceiling of the room, Nottingham knew what he wanted to do about Walton.

‘The three of us are going in together,’ he told them. ‘If we do it soon they’ll still be asleep. Look for anything of worth. Those houses are poor, so it’ll stand out. John, you watch whoever’s in there while Rob and I search.’ He opened the cupboard and took out three swords. ‘Let’s hope we don’t need them.’

Full light had arrived as they left the jail, the clouds low in pale shades of grey.

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