Read Online The Black Crow Conspiracy by Christopher Edge - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Christopher Edge
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man, but these experiments are turning me into a ghost
. These experiments…
“This is the place,” Penny murmured, staring up at the elegant façade. The high windows lay in darkness, blinds drawn to keep out the early-evening sun. “It’s time to find the thief who wasn’t there.”
She climbed up the stone steps that led to the front door, Alfie following uneasily behind. He glanced nervously up at the grand portico.
“Are you just going to knock on the door?” he asked.
Penny shook her head, reaching up to the black ceramic bell push, set high on the wall.
“I think I’ll try the doorbell.”
In reply, a faint tinkling sound came from within. They waited, Alfie shuffling uncomfortably in his shoes as the seconds ticked by into minutes. The front door remained resolutely shut.
“Perhaps we should try the tradesmen’s entrance,” Alfie suggested.
With a nod of agreement, Penny followed him as they retraced their steps. Behind a small gate in the railings, a narrow flight of steps led the way below stairs. Reaching the bottom, Penelope wrinkled her nose in the gloom. To her right, beneath a recessed porch, stood the tradesmen’s entrance, a sign fixed to the black-painted door proclaiming, “No hawkers or pedlars. All deliveries must be made between the hours of 8.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m.” A strange smell of chemicals hung in the air, the most likely source the four tall dustbins standing in the shadows near the door. Next to these bins, stacks of empty bottles and beakers were arranged with geometrical precision in open wooden cases. Penny’s gaze ranged over the scene, taking this all in with a novelist’s eye. If the radiant boy had come from this place, then the initial evidence seemed to suggest that there might be a scientificexplanation for this rather than any supernatural cause.
As Alfie skulked in the shadows, Penny rang the bell next to the door. The clang of this sounded louder down here, but there still came no answering reply. It looked like the Society for the Advancement of Science had closed for the night.
“We’ll have to come back during office hours,” Alfie suggested, glancing down at his watch. “There’s bound to be someone here then.”
Disappointed, Penny looked down again at the map in her hand. Next to each of the ink crosses where she had recorded the sightings, she saw that every single one of these had occurred after dark. A slow smile of realisation crept across her lips. Of course, who had ever heard of a ghost who chose to walk in daylight?
“I think we should stay.” She glanced around in the gloom, searching for a place where they could hide out of sight. “Let’s wait to see what darkness brings.”
IX
Penelope sniffed, a disdainful expression curling her lip. An unsavoury smell was emanating from the depths of the dustbins they were hiding behind, a strange brew of chemicals and decay. Beneath her feet she could feel a sticky residue clinging to the soles of her summer shoes and she tried not to think how much they had cost her from the Regent Street shop only weeks before. Peering past the stacks of wooden crates, she saw the door lay in darkness; still no sign of any shadowy comings or goings. She glanced down at her watch again. It was nearly ten.
Her thoughts turned to home. If Wigram had returned from the police station, he was sure to be worrying about her whereabouts now. Perhaps it was time to abandon this wild ghost chase and concentrate her energies on pursuing other ways of clearing Monty’s name. With a sigh, she leaned against the wall of the building, almost ready to admit defeat. But then, through the coolbrick, she felt a distant shudder, followed by an almost imperceptible whine at the very edge of her hearing.
Penny turned towards Alfie, her friend still skulking in the shadows.
“Did you hear that?” she asked.
Alfie’s stomach rumbled in reply, the mutton pie he had consumed for lunch long forgotten.
“I’m sorry,” he
. These experiments…
“This is the place,” Penny murmured, staring up at the elegant façade. The high windows lay in darkness, blinds drawn to keep out the early-evening sun. “It’s time to find the thief who wasn’t there.”
She climbed up the stone steps that led to the front door, Alfie following uneasily behind. He glanced nervously up at the grand portico.
“Are you just going to knock on the door?” he asked.
Penny shook her head, reaching up to the black ceramic bell push, set high on the wall.
“I think I’ll try the doorbell.”
In reply, a faint tinkling sound came from within. They waited, Alfie shuffling uncomfortably in his shoes as the seconds ticked by into minutes. The front door remained resolutely shut.
“Perhaps we should try the tradesmen’s entrance,” Alfie suggested.
With a nod of agreement, Penny followed him as they retraced their steps. Behind a small gate in the railings, a narrow flight of steps led the way below stairs. Reaching the bottom, Penelope wrinkled her nose in the gloom. To her right, beneath a recessed porch, stood the tradesmen’s entrance, a sign fixed to the black-painted door proclaiming, “No hawkers or pedlars. All deliveries must be made between the hours of 8.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m.” A strange smell of chemicals hung in the air, the most likely source the four tall dustbins standing in the shadows near the door. Next to these bins, stacks of empty bottles and beakers were arranged with geometrical precision in open wooden cases. Penny’s gaze ranged over the scene, taking this all in with a novelist’s eye. If the radiant boy had come from this place, then the initial evidence seemed to suggest that there might be a scientificexplanation for this rather than any supernatural cause.
As Alfie skulked in the shadows, Penny rang the bell next to the door. The clang of this sounded louder down here, but there still came no answering reply. It looked like the Society for the Advancement of Science had closed for the night.
“We’ll have to come back during office hours,” Alfie suggested, glancing down at his watch. “There’s bound to be someone here then.”
Disappointed, Penny looked down again at the map in her hand. Next to each of the ink crosses where she had recorded the sightings, she saw that every single one of these had occurred after dark. A slow smile of realisation crept across her lips. Of course, who had ever heard of a ghost who chose to walk in daylight?
“I think we should stay.” She glanced around in the gloom, searching for a place where they could hide out of sight. “Let’s wait to see what darkness brings.”
IX
Penelope sniffed, a disdainful expression curling her lip. An unsavoury smell was emanating from the depths of the dustbins they were hiding behind, a strange brew of chemicals and decay. Beneath her feet she could feel a sticky residue clinging to the soles of her summer shoes and she tried not to think how much they had cost her from the Regent Street shop only weeks before. Peering past the stacks of wooden crates, she saw the door lay in darkness; still no sign of any shadowy comings or goings. She glanced down at her watch again. It was nearly ten.
Her thoughts turned to home. If Wigram had returned from the police station, he was sure to be worrying about her whereabouts now. Perhaps it was time to abandon this wild ghost chase and concentrate her energies on pursuing other ways of clearing Monty’s name. With a sigh, she leaned against the wall of the building, almost ready to admit defeat. But then, through the coolbrick, she felt a distant shudder, followed by an almost imperceptible whine at the very edge of her hearing.
Penny turned towards Alfie, her friend still skulking in the shadows.
“Did you hear that?” she asked.
Alfie’s stomach rumbled in reply, the mutton pie he had consumed for lunch long forgotten.
“I’m sorry,” he
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