he arrived at their flat, Lauren was sitting at her laptop. She got up and gave him a welcoming smile, and he realised that what with all this business with Guy and Gareth it had been ages since they’d spent real time together.
Jake made coffee for them and they shared their day’s experiences.
‘Did you see Gareth?’ asked Lauren.
‘He wasn’t in the office,’ said Jake. ‘And I’m pretty sure there’s something going on. Something weird. But if he is in any kind of trouble, I’m pretty sure that MI5 will already be swinging into action.’ He gestured towards Lauren’s laptop. ‘How did you get on with checking out our missing friend, Guy.’
‘You still think it was Guy who texted you?’
‘Yes, I do. Call it a hunch, but he’s the only person I can think of who’d do it.’
‘Even though, according to the police, Pierce Randall say he’s safe?’
‘ Because Pierce Randall say he’s safe,’ said Jake sarcastically. ‘So, what did you find out?’
‘That the de Courceys are definitely heavily involved in the Malichea books,’ said Lauren.
She went to her laptop and began to flick her fingers over the keys. A genealogical family tree appeared on the screen.
‘The de Courcey family tree,’ she said. She scrolled down until the screen showed a date of 1539. She pointed to two names. ‘Edgar de Courcey. He was the librarian of the Order of Malichea from 1536 until 1539.’
‘The year that Glastonbury was destroyed and The Index and the Journal vanished,’ said Jake.
‘And Edgar de Courcey died that same year. It wouldn’t surprise me to find he was a victim of Henry VIII’s purge of the monasteries.’ Lauren’s finger moved to the other name on the screen. ‘Earl William de Courcey, brother of Edgar. Direct ancestor of your cellmate.’
‘So it looks like it fits. Edgar de Courcey realises what’s about to happen, and gives The Index and the Journal of the Order of Malichea to his brother, William, for safe keeping. And the books get put away in the library at de Courcey Hall, right up until . . . when?’
‘Until very recently, if I’m right,’ said Lauren. ‘Earl William died in 1563 and the title continued to be passed on down the line, right up to the present day.’
‘Right up to the new earl, our vanished friend, Guy,’ murmured Jake.
Lauren nodded.
‘According to what I’ve been able to find out, the family lived in their ancestral home of de Courcey Hall in Kent right up until 2012, when the hall was given to the National Trust by Guy’s father — Earl Edwyn de Courcey.’
‘Yes, that’s what Guy told me.’ Jake nodded.
‘Shortly afterwards, Earl Edwyn died, and Guy inherited the title,’ added Lauren. ‘But, as Guy was away at the time, he didn’t immediately claim it. It’s possible he didn’t even know his father was dead. Apparently there was no love lost between Guy and his father.’
She typed in the words ‘Guy de Courcey’, and selected one of the entries that came up. It was a brief biog telling them that Guy de Courcey was the last surviving member of the de Courcey family, that he was twenty-two years old. Lauren flicked the keys again, and a series of reports came up, mostly from gossip columns. They learnt that Guy had been expelled from his public school, had been arrested on different occasions for smuggling contraband into foreign countries, but had usually been released after ‘judicial compensation’ had been paid.
‘Bribes,’ commented Jake. ‘He told me his solicitors had paid to have him bailed out, but he also said they weren’t the sort who paid bribes.’
‘So who did pay them?’ asked Lauren. ‘He told you he was broke.’
‘He told me quite a few things,’ said Jake. ‘I’m still not sure how true they all were, especially now he’s vanished.’
‘According to the internet gossip, Guy’s last known address was in Brazil,’ said Lauren.
‘But Pierce Randall traced him to Mexico,’ said
Jake made coffee for them and they shared their day’s experiences.
‘Did you see Gareth?’ asked Lauren.
‘He wasn’t in the office,’ said Jake. ‘And I’m pretty sure there’s something going on. Something weird. But if he is in any kind of trouble, I’m pretty sure that MI5 will already be swinging into action.’ He gestured towards Lauren’s laptop. ‘How did you get on with checking out our missing friend, Guy.’
‘You still think it was Guy who texted you?’
‘Yes, I do. Call it a hunch, but he’s the only person I can think of who’d do it.’
‘Even though, according to the police, Pierce Randall say he’s safe?’
‘ Because Pierce Randall say he’s safe,’ said Jake sarcastically. ‘So, what did you find out?’
‘That the de Courceys are definitely heavily involved in the Malichea books,’ said Lauren.
She went to her laptop and began to flick her fingers over the keys. A genealogical family tree appeared on the screen.
‘The de Courcey family tree,’ she said. She scrolled down until the screen showed a date of 1539. She pointed to two names. ‘Edgar de Courcey. He was the librarian of the Order of Malichea from 1536 until 1539.’
‘The year that Glastonbury was destroyed and The Index and the Journal vanished,’ said Jake.
‘And Edgar de Courcey died that same year. It wouldn’t surprise me to find he was a victim of Henry VIII’s purge of the monasteries.’ Lauren’s finger moved to the other name on the screen. ‘Earl William de Courcey, brother of Edgar. Direct ancestor of your cellmate.’
‘So it looks like it fits. Edgar de Courcey realises what’s about to happen, and gives The Index and the Journal of the Order of Malichea to his brother, William, for safe keeping. And the books get put away in the library at de Courcey Hall, right up until . . . when?’
‘Until very recently, if I’m right,’ said Lauren. ‘Earl William died in 1563 and the title continued to be passed on down the line, right up to the present day.’
‘Right up to the new earl, our vanished friend, Guy,’ murmured Jake.
Lauren nodded.
‘According to what I’ve been able to find out, the family lived in their ancestral home of de Courcey Hall in Kent right up until 2012, when the hall was given to the National Trust by Guy’s father — Earl Edwyn de Courcey.’
‘Yes, that’s what Guy told me.’ Jake nodded.
‘Shortly afterwards, Earl Edwyn died, and Guy inherited the title,’ added Lauren. ‘But, as Guy was away at the time, he didn’t immediately claim it. It’s possible he didn’t even know his father was dead. Apparently there was no love lost between Guy and his father.’
She typed in the words ‘Guy de Courcey’, and selected one of the entries that came up. It was a brief biog telling them that Guy de Courcey was the last surviving member of the de Courcey family, that he was twenty-two years old. Lauren flicked the keys again, and a series of reports came up, mostly from gossip columns. They learnt that Guy had been expelled from his public school, had been arrested on different occasions for smuggling contraband into foreign countries, but had usually been released after ‘judicial compensation’ had been paid.
‘Bribes,’ commented Jake. ‘He told me his solicitors had paid to have him bailed out, but he also said they weren’t the sort who paid bribes.’
‘So who did pay them?’ asked Lauren. ‘He told you he was broke.’
‘He told me quite a few things,’ said Jake. ‘I’m still not sure how true they all were, especially now he’s vanished.’
‘According to the internet gossip, Guy’s last known address was in Brazil,’ said Lauren.
‘But Pierce Randall traced him to Mexico,’ said
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