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‘Waste of time though. They’re convinced it was just some junkies breaking in looking for money for drugs.’
    ‘And taking your information on the Order of Malichea instead?’ commented Jake.
    ‘They homed in on Lauren’s laptop,’ said Parsons. ‘They said laptops were a prime target. Easily portable.’
    ‘And the notes you said they took?’ asked Jake.
    Lauren shook her head.
    ‘I don’t think they even bothered to write that down,’ she said. ‘They concentrated on the laptop and a CD player the burglars also took. For them that was proof it was just junkies.’
    ‘A CD player?’ queried Jake.
    ‘Obvious cover,’ said Parsons. ‘If they’d really been junkies they’d have taken the TV as well.’
    ‘Maybe it was too big?’ suggested Jake.
    ‘So, you believe what the police say?’ asked Lauren.
    Jake shook his head.
    ‘No,’ he said. ‘Your notes being taken is the crucial pointer. They want to eliminate everything about the Order of Malichea completely, make sure you have nothing.’
    ‘But that’s stupid!’ exploded Lauren angrily. ‘Stuff about the Order is all over the internet! All anyone’s got to do is a Google search and it’s there!’
    Jake frowned. He wished he’d thought of that before. But there was still one puzzle, if what Lauren said was true: why was the information on his department’s search engine restricted to Level 4 security and above? The answer had to be: because the information in the department’s archives was more detailed than anything anyone would find on the internet.
    ‘I think they’re trying to scare you off,’ said Parsons.
    They both looked at him.
    ‘It’s logical when you think about it,’ Parsons continued. ‘The information you had about the Order is on the internet . . .’
    ‘Not all of it,’ interrupted Lauren. ‘Basic stuff, the history of the Order, that sort of thing, but some of my research came from other sources. Old books, libraries . . .’
    ‘And you could get hold of it again,’ persisted Parsons. ‘And whoever these people were know that. So I think this is a message, and a not very subtle one, warning you to keep out of this.’
    ‘Why?’ asked Lauren. ‘Why send me that message and not Jake? He’s the one poking his nose in.’
    ‘They already sent me a message of sorts,’ said Jake. ‘Someone tried to kill me.’
    ‘What?’ Lauren looked at Jake, disbelief on her face. ‘Oh, come on . . . !’
    ‘No, I’m serious,’ said Jake hastily. ‘Someone tried to push me under a train this morning at Victoria.’
    ‘The platform must have just been crowded,’ said Lauren. ‘People always push.’
    ‘That’s what I thought,’ agreed Jake. ‘But someone definitely pushed me, not just a little push, but a hard push. And they did it twice.’ He looked thoughtful. ‘I must admit, I still wasn’t completely convinced it wasn’t just some accident, or some lunatic, until you told me about your burglary.’
    Lauren and Parsons exchanged looks. Then Parsons said, ‘I know it sounds far-fetched, but there have been instances of the government shutting people up by arranging accidents.’
    Jake looked at Parsons in surprise. This was support from a very unexpected quarter.
    ‘But why would they burgle my flat?’ asked Lauren.
    ‘Because you know about the Order of Malichea,’ said Parsons. ‘Jake doesn’t. It’s a warning. They don’t want you helping him to find out more.’
    ‘Why should they think I would help him?’
    ‘You already were,’ pointed out Parsons. ‘You said to Jake you’d email him the information you had about the Order, remember? You told me so.’
    ‘Yes, but I only told you and Jake,’ said Lauren. ‘So how would they know that?’
    ‘Bugs,’ said Jake. ‘Eavesdropping equipment. Telephone taps.’
    Parsons nodded. ‘That’s quite possible,’ he said.
    ‘No, it’s not,’ Lauren said. ‘I said that to Jake in the precinct in front of the British Library, out in