The Hypogeum Ch. 02-03

As he approached it, he couldn't help but feel an itch between his shoulder blades, like he was being watched. Nervously he reached into his pocket to retrieve his car keys, but dropped them as they caught on the hem of his pocket. Richard bent down to collect them and as he stood up he saw a man approach.

The stranger was walking from the direction of the street, dressed casually in jeans and a rugby shirt and whistling tunelessly to himself. The man stopped near Richard and asked, "Excuse me mate, do you know how I get to Wilton from here?"

Richard knew that Wilton was a small village just to the south of Salisbury, too far to walk... This seemed wrong. Richard could feel the jaws of a trap springing closed so he decided to strike first. He balled his hand into a fist and kept his voice light as he answered, "Of course, you need to head back towards the Cathedral and then-" He swung his fist and felt it connect with the stranger's jaw; the man staggered slightly but didn't fall.

Almost as quickly as Richard had attacked, the other man had rolled his head to try and ride the punch, not altogether unsuccessfully. His own arms came up and he adopted a fighting stance. Richard could see the glint of metal in his right hand as light from a nearby lamppost shone on the blade of a flick knife.

Before Richard could react, another pair of arms grabbed him tightly from behind and a foot drove into the back of his knee, forcing him to the ground. The man in front of him took the opportunity to step forward and slowly push his blade in and up between the third and fourth rib on Richard's left side. Pain exploded in his ribcage, then the blade was removed and blood started to pump out of his body, dimly he saw the man smile as he whispered, "Sir Nigel considers you dispensable."

That was the last thing that Richard Hardacre ever saw or heard.

Early the next morning, Sir Nigel Winthrop spooned some scrambled egg onto a slice of toast and added a sausage and two slices of bacon from a silver tray. Then he sat down at the great dining table and waited as his butler poured his coffee. After he replaced the coffee pot on the burner on the side table, the butler returned and said, "The local paper, Sir."

Sir Nigel answered, "Thank you Harvey," as he accepted the newspaper and flicked his eye over the headline story about a local man who had been stabbed to death, apparently during a robbery. A theory supported by his missing wallet and his burnt out Jaguar being found in a field just outside Amesbury.

The paper was laid to one side and Nigel took a bite out of his bacon. It was cooked perfectly; he was content that the local police would not be looking in his direction as they investigated Hardacre's death, so he turned his attention to other matters.

He would have to ensure that the development of DataVault continued apace and also wait for orders regarding the Baines woman. Then Sir Nigel started eating his breakfast with enthusiasm.