The Hanging Psalm by Chris Nickson

Author:Chris Nickson [Chris Nickson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Published: 2018-08-07T16:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

Jane stood by her window, staring down at Swinegate. The street was dark, the only light coming from cracks in shutters or a night walker holding up a lantern. She stayed in the shadows, out of sight.

The man wasn’t there. She couldn’t spot him, couldn’t feel him. But something about him worried her. The way he took his time and studied the house, then wandered easily away. It meant something, she was sure of it. But she didn’t know what.

It was a bad dream, a nightmare. She woke, gasping for breath as she sat up in the bed. But it clung to her, little shards hooked in her mind. No details, just images, fragments. A feeling like a shroud. She knew if she closed her eyes again it would return, and she’d plunge deep into it once more.

Still the middle of the night, blackness outside. She picked out footsteps running hard along the street. One man, no one behind him. A small pause and then a hammering on the door. Jane slid out of the bed and stood, watching out of the window.

He was warm, Rosie was twined around him, but the knocking woke him instantly. Gently, Simon untangled himself, pulled on his trousers and crept downstairs, making no noise, the knife ready in his hand.

He took hold of the handle and pulled the door wide, ready to strike. But he knew the man on the doorstep. Lizzie Henry’s servant. Her guard. A big, brutal man. Now his eyes were wild with fear.

‘What is it? What’s happened?’

‘She’s dead.’ He had to place a hand on the frame to steady himself. His voice was shaking with grief. ‘Someone got in and killed her.’

‘How?’ She knew White was after her; Lizzie had been so scared she’d have kept her rooms secure.

The man tried to collect his thoughts. ‘I found her … I don’t know … not long. She was already dead.’

No question who’d done it.

‘Go back there,’ Simon ordered quickly. ‘Get all the customers out. Give them some story, it doesn’t matter what. Send them home, and make sure the girls are safe.’

The man nodded. He craved instructions, someone to make the decisions.

‘I’ll do that.’

‘After that, wait for me. I’ll be there in a few minutes.’

Simon locked the door and took a breath. He saw Jane at the top of the stairs, coat gathered around herself, the blade tight in her fist.

‘Did you hear all that?’

‘Yes.’

‘Let me dress and we’ll go.’

A clear night. Even the haze that hung over the town couldn’t block all the stars in the sky. Enough of a chill in the air to bring a bloom to their breath as they walked quickly through the streets. The town was almost silent, eerie, just the snuffle of a dog in a midden, the bark of a fox off on a hill somewhere. No human sounds. A time for all good people to sleep or stay out of sight.

On Black Flags Lane, the door to the house stood ajar. The mistress was dead, the men with money gone; no reason to lock it any more.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.