Read I Know Who Did It (A Jack Nightingale Short Story) for Free Online

stupid? How old do you think I
am?’
    ‘We both know how
old you are, Mr Nelson.’
    ‘Are you mad?’
sneered the man.
    ‘I’m not mad
enough to do a deal with Paimonia,’ said Nightingale. ‘Not now I know what that
entails.’
    The man’s eyes
narrowed. ‘Who are you?’ he asked.
    ‘The name’s
Nightingale.’
    ‘Have you got a
card, Mr Nightingale?’
    ‘Why do you want
my card?’
    ‘I’m in a bit of
a rush right now, I’ll call you later.’ He looked over Nightingale’s shoulder
at the Audi. ‘The blonde, she’s with you?’
    ‘All I want is
for you to confirm that you used to run Rushworth School. And that you left
after Emily Campbell died.’
    The man thrust
his face close to Nightingale’s. ‘Who the fuck are you?’
    ‘I told you.
Nightingale.’
    ‘What the fuck do
you want?’
    ‘I wanted you to
confirm that you’re Charles Nelson. And you’ve pretty much confirmed that.’
    The man moved
even closer to Nightingale so that their noses were just inches apart.
Nightingale could smell the man’s breath. It was sour, like milk that had gone
off. ‘I’ve confirmed fuck all, now you need to get the hell out of my way or
I’ll rip your fucking arm off.’ His eyes went completely black and Nightingale
flinched as he saw his own face reflected in them. He took a step back and the
man pushed past. Nightingale watched him go, then walked over to the Audi.
Jenny looked over at him as he climbed in. ‘How did it
go?’ she asked.
    ‘Not great.’
    ‘He was looking
at the car, wasn’t he?’
    ‘Yeah. Sorry.’
    ‘If he knows my
registration number he can track me down.’
    ‘He’d have to
know the right people, Jenny.’
    ‘If he’s who you
think he is, he probably does.’ She sighed. ‘Jack, what the hell have you
done?’

 
    * * *

 
    Jenny stopped the Audi in front of the
gates to Gosling Manor and Nightingale climbed out to open them. She drove
through and waited while he closed the gates and got back into the car. She put
the car in gear and drove along a narrow paved road that curved to the right
through thick woodland and parked next to a huge stone fountain, the centrepiece
of which was a weathered stone mermaid surrounded by dolphins and fish. They
climbed out and looked up at the two-storey mansion, the lower floor built of
stone, the upper floor made of weathered bricks, topped by a tiled roof with
four massive chimney stacks .
    ‘ You should sell it,’ she said. ‘It’s not as if you’re living here.’
    ‘ I will,’ said Nightingale. ‘Once I’ve worked out what to do with all
the stuff in the basement.’
    Nightingale fished the key from his
raincoat pocket and unlocked the massive oak door. The hallway was huge, with
wood-panelled walls, a glistening marble floor and a large multi-tiered
chandelier that looked like an upside down crystal wedding cake. There were
three oak doors leading off the hallway, but the entrance to the basement library
was hidden within the wooden paneling. He clicked it open and reached through
to flick the light switch. Jenny followed him down the wooden stairs.
    The basement ran the full length of the
house and was lined with shelves laden with books. Running down the centre of
the basement were two lines of display cases filled with all sorts of occult
paraphernalia, from skulls to crystal balls. At the bottom of the stairs was a
sitting area with two overstuffed red leather Chesterfield sofas and a
claw-footed teak coffee table that was piled high with books.
    Nightingale waved at the bookshelves. ‘We
need something about summoning demons,’ he said. ‘Specifically a demon called Paimonia.’
    ‘Is there an
index or something that lists the books?’
    ‘Not that I know
of,’ said Nightingale.
    ‘So we browse
through, what, two thousand volumes?’
    ‘Do you have a
better plan?’
    She sighed.
‘Unfortunately not.’ She took off her coat and draped it over the back of one
of the sofas, then walked over to the