Read The Invisible Assassin for Free Online Page A

burgled!’
    ‘What?’ said Jake, his mind in a whirl. His first thought was one of relief that she wasn’t angry at him over what had happened, but her next words put an end to that feeling of relief.
    ‘Who have you been talking to about me?’ she demanded.
    ‘What?’ stumbled Jake. ‘No one? Why?’
    ‘Because they took my laptop! And my notepads with my notes!’
    ‘What notes?’
    ‘All of them. Including my notes on the Order of Malichea! Why would anyone do that?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ stammered Jake.
    ‘Because they knew what you were asking me!’ said Lauren accusingly. ‘You must have told someone!’
    ‘I swear, I haven’t told anyone!’ insisted Jake. ‘I only picked up the word Malichea this morning for the first time, at my department. The only person I mentioned it to was the librarian in the archives library . . .’
    And immediately afterwards, Gareth turned up in the library, thought Jake. Gareth, who never ventures below the third floor. Gareth, who if he wants anything from the archives sends a minion to get it.
    ‘Jake . . . !’ came Lauren’s voice. ‘Are you still there?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Jake. ‘Lauren, I don’t think we should say anything more over the phone right now. There’s something going on.’
    ‘And you think my burglary’s proof of it?’
    ‘Yes. I think it could well be.’
    There was a pause, and Jake could hear Lauren talking, but muffled, and someone more distant replying. She wasn’t alone.
    ‘Lauren . . .’ he began.
    ‘Wait a minute,’ she said.
    There was more talking at the other end of the phone, too muffled for him to hear, then she said, ‘The South Bank. One of the benches near the Festival Hall by the bridge.’
    ‘Got it,’ he said. ‘When?’
    ‘An hour. We’ll see you there.’
    ‘We?’ he queried.
    ‘After this, I’m not coming to see you on my own. If you’re right, I’m going to need protection.’
    With that she hung up. Jake wondered who she would be bringing with her. She’d said ‘protection’. That suggested Robert, that huge hulking rugby player cousin of hers. The big question was: who had burgled Lauren’s flat? Circumstances pointed to Gareth being involved in some way. But why? And why take the stuff on the Order of Malichea?

Chapter 7
    Jake sat on the bench on the South Bank in front of the Festival Hall and looked at the familiar landmarks along the Thames. The tower of the OXO building. The Savoy. The three bridges nearby spanning the Thames: the ancient rusted metal of the Hungerford railway bridge; the gleaming new shininess of the footbridge, and, further away to his right, the white stone walls of Waterloo Bridge. He remembered times when he and Lauren had sat here at this very spot, watching the lights sparkling on the waters of the Thames. Those had been the early days of their relationship, when they had been so happy together.
    He shook his head to shake the image out of his mind. Stop thinking of her like that. A hand on his shoulder made him jump, and he half rose, half turned, and there she was, as beautiful as ever. But the man with her wasn’t Robert the rugby player. He was much smaller. Thinner, with a wisp of a moustache, and in his early twenties.
    ‘Jake, this is Carl Parsons.’
    Of course. The new boyfriend. The Mature Brainiac.
    Jake stood up and shook Parsons’s hand, though something inside him wanted to crush it. He was surprised at how firm the handshake was, coming from such a weedy-looking individual.
    ‘I’ve told Carl the story you told me,’ said Lauren as they both joined Jake sitting down on the bench. ‘About the building worker turning into something.’
    ‘Yes.’ Parsons nodded. ‘Intriguing.’
    ‘Carl’s in the same department as me, studying Theoretical Sciences,’ explained Lauren.
    Jake couldn’t resist thinking sarcastically: He’s your protection? Aloud, he said, ‘Did you report the burglary to the police?’
    ‘Of course,’ said Lauren.