Nightfall

70

Nightingale climbed out of his MGB and looked at his watch. It was eleven o’clock. One hour to go before midnight. He pressed the speakerphone button. It buzzed and he waved up at the CCTV camera covering the gates. ‘Mr Nightingale, if you do not leave the property immediately we will have no choice other than to call the police.’

Nightingale bent down to the speaker. ‘Nice to talk to you too, Sylvia,’ he said. ‘Tell Mr Mitchell it’s important. Tell him I know how to deal with Proserpine. Tell him I have the answer to his problems.’

‘You’re wasting your time, Mr Nightingale. He doesn’t want to see you.’

‘Just give him the message, Sylvia.’ The moon was full and dark clouds moved slowly across its face. ‘Nice night for it,’ he muttered to himself. The gates buzzed and began to open. Nightingale climbed back into the MGB.

When he arrived at the house Sylvia was waiting for him with four of Mitchell’s heavies. Nightingale got out and went to the boot. He opened it and took out the metal suitcase Wainwright had given him.

‘We’ll need to check that,’ said Sylvia.

‘It’s locked,’ said Nightingale. He handed it to her. ‘You can keep hold of it until I need it.’ He smiled at her look of apprehension. ‘If it was a bomb, sweetie, I’d hardly have been driving it around in an old banger like my MGB, would I?’

Sylvia turned on her heel and walked up the steps to the entrance. The four heavies moved aside to allow Nightingale to follow her, but he stayed where he was. ‘Which one of you scumbags pointed a gun at my friend?’ he asked.

The four men stared at him, their eyes hidden behind the dark lenses. One drew back his jacket to reveal a submachine pistol in a nylon sling.

‘Cat got your tongues?’ said Nightingale, looking at them one by one. ‘You were very chatty when you were scaring a young woman, but now you’re coy, aren’t you? When this is over, we’re going to have a chat about what you did to her and I’ll explain the error of your ways.’ He smiled brightly. ‘Right, let’s go and put the world to rights, shall we?’ He jogged up the stairs after Sylvia.

She took him into the hall and pointed at the bathroom door. ‘You know the procedure, Mr Nightingale.’