The Scarlet Coven: A Simon Finch Crime Thriller by David Stuart Davies

Author:David Stuart Davies [Davies, David Stuart]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Sharpe Books
Published: 2020-01-06T00:00:00+00:00

SIXTEEN

The next morning I made my way to the New York Public Library, one of my favourite buildings in the city. I gave the two guardian lions a nod of greeting as I went up the steps to the entrance. The foyer was decorated for Christmas: a large fir tree with tinsel, baubles and fairy lights dominated the area. Normally such a sight would have lifted my spirits but in my current mood and situation, the festive season seemed so incongruous, at odds with the dark business in which I was involved, that I barely gave the tree a glance. I took the lift to the reference section and with the help of a very efficient assistant I soon had accumulated pile of books on the subject of witchcraft, demonology and Satanism to peruse at one of the study booths. In turning the pages of the first volume, I realised what a mammoth task I had taken on. It was obvious I could merely skate across the surface of the subject in the time allotted to me. It was only ten in the morning, but already, as my eyes ran over the small print, I felt in the need of a drink. I gritted my teeth and attempted to focus my brain on the text, making the odd note of anything I thought would be relevant. As I read on, the words and phrases bergan to dance crazily before my eyes. The whole thing seemed ridiculous, fantastic, Halloween nonsense. Details of sabbaths, rituals, potions, sacrificial ceremonies, demons and pacts with Lucifer seemed the stuff of schlock novels rather than the subject of learned academic books. But here it was presented to me in these dusty ancient tomes in a serious and understated manner. One book in particular grabbed my attention. This was a fairly recent publication, written sometime in the nineteen twenties by a man called Oscar Gruton. The book, The Devil in New York, asserted that there had been groups worshipping the Devil and practising witchcraft in the city since the early nineteenth century and there still were. I felt my blood run cold as I read this simple statement. The claim was undramatic and matter of act and coincided exactly with what old Prof Stoddart had asserted. Frustratingly, Gruton gave no further details of their activities or purpose, claiming his life may be placed in jeopardy if he revealed any more information. I bet it would! An image of the dead body of Carleton Ross flashed into my mind.

After only a few hours of poring over these books, my mind was spinning, my brain hurting and my nerves tingling with dark apprehensions. I really did not want to find out more. I really wanted to forget about the whole damned business and wipe any thoughts of witches and demonology away with a couple of martinis. But I knew I couldn’t. I had to go on. Apart from anything else I had to report back to my darling wife. The thought of Laura brought a smile to my face and a brief respite from my angst.

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