Read Online Fade to Black by Steven Bannister - Free Book Online

weight of a thousand books—mostly historical tomes about the British Isles, although she spotted one about Normandy. There were huge, ancient-looking Bibles, mysterious leather-bound books with faded engraving and in the corner, and surprisingly, there was some modern fiction. She was amazed to see The DaVinci Code crammed next to a book about Faeries. She smiled to herself. Even the venerable Professor St. Clair was not immune to a great bit of escapism. It was the room in which Allie had always felt most comfortable as a child. But at this moment, it seemed slightly different to her. She thought she remembered it being bigger than it now appeared. The perspective of children often distorted reality.
    David St. Clair was an impressive man—even Allie could see that. He was tall, silver-haired and good-looking in that St. Clair way. Allie looked a lot like him; everybody said that, apart from the height. She was the same, average stature as her mother. There had been rumors in past years of female undergraduates finding Professor St. Clair very appealing indeed, but nothing ever seemed to come of it, at least that Allie was aware of. His voice was his chief asset though, deep, relaxed and cultured—he’d sounded authoritative on radio and it hadn’t been long before television executives had noticed. His Celtic Myths and Legends series for BBC2 had been a huge hit. “You’re on your way, Allison,” he said, raising his brandy in salute.
    “Thanks, Dad,” she replied. “It seems so.”
    “How’s life generally, though? Are you happy with… everything?”
    She knew what he was alluding to. As with all fathers, he was concerned that, at thirty, she hadn’t found a partner or made babies.
    “Yes, all good,” she said, trying to head off an inquisition.
    He hesitated a moment. Here it comes, Allie thought, something’s on his mind.
    “You know you can always move back here if you were inclined, don’t you?”
    This was such surprise that she didn’t quite know how to respond.
    “What’s brought this on?”
    He smiled and swirled his brandy. “Nothing, really. I just wanted you to know that if life was to become a bit tough or threatening, you’re always welcome here.”
    “Well, thank you, but I guess I’ve never thought about it. Are you worried about me for some reason?”
    David St. Clair looked hard at her and she felt a little alarm going off.
    “I am, to tell you the truth. And I’m not going to explain quite why, mysterious as that sounds.”
    “It does sound mysterious. Now you’re starting to worry me,” she laughed. “What’s going on?”
    “Let me ask you this,” he said. “Have you been contacted by anybody recently? Has anybody new come into your life…?”
    “No, I’ve not met anyone new… there’s no time for that at present. You basically just asked me that a few moments ago, didn’t you?”
    He got up out of his big chair and walked to the bookshelf, scanning a section about head high and to his left. He took down a pale volume and placed it on the desk.
    “It was a slightly different question, Alison.” He smiled. “So you’re saying that apart from the wonderful promotion, life goes on to your satisfaction?”
    “Yes, absolutely. If you’re worried about my breaking up with Alan, don’t be. It was never—”
    He chuckled and told her it was nothing to do with Trout boy. They both smiled at that. He asked whether she’d seen his interview on BBC4 about the Glastonbury Tor sightings.
    “Sorry, I didn’t. When was this?”
    “Monday night. That airhead, Roseanne Palmer, called me to talk about new lights seen orbiting St. Michael’s Tower.”
    “ Really? Anything to it?”
    He looked closely at her. “There just might be. I played down the sightings, of course, but you never know.”
    Allie was intrigued. She remembered the Tor very well—it had played a big part in her childhood. She’d spent many summer days climbing that funny bump in the landscape. She