by Ruth Rendell
Still, it was only a matter of time, of short time, before that body would be found. He must get away, not linger, not yield to the temptation to steal softly around to the other side of the block and peer into that dark well, check what light must go on or which door open to reveal its occupant …
He resisted. As he was driving down Dartmouth Park Hill, coming up to the traffic lights at Tufnell Park Station, he heard the wail of a siren. But there was nothing to say it was an ambulance summoned for Martin Urban, it could just as well have been a fire engine or a police car. He put the van away in the garage at the corner of Somerset Grove and walked home along the street where the sulphurous light laid a pinchbeck gleam.
The house smelt of cannabis and wastebins. Finn went on up to the top, taking two stairs at a time with his great loping stride. He felt a surge of confidence and contentment. This time it really had been an accident, he could face Lena without dread. And there was no possibility now of anyone suspecting Martin Urban might not have been alone in the flat, not a soul who would know of any connection between himself and Martin Urban. He was sure no one had seen him or would know him if they had. Yet Martin Urban was out of harm’s way, silenced, taking the secret of Finn’s mistake with him into the dark spaces or losing it in oblivion as he began on a new cycle of life.
The green bird began a shrill twittering when he came into the room. Mrs. Gogarty, who had been making forecasts with the aid of the Tarot, got up and threw the shawl over its cage.
“Well, well,” said Finn, “we are cosy.”
He pulled off his gloves and put them in his pocket and took Lena’s hand. She was as transparent as an insect tonight and dusty like a moth. Her dull leaden eyes met his silver eyes and she smiled.
“The picture of devotion!” said Mrs. Gogarty with admiring sighs. She studied the cards, laid out now for Finn. “There’s a lot of death here …” she began.
Over Lena’s head Finn gave her a warning look.
“Ah!” She slid the cards together and the Death card, Scorpio’s Death card-Death cloaked and riding a pale horse-came out on top. She covered it with the Queen of Wands. In her mechanical gypsy voice she said, “There’s money here, my darling, a lot of money. But wait … no, it’s not coming your way, you’ll have a disappointment.”
The hand that held Lena’s grew cold and limp. He bent down, he looked unseeing into the soothsayer’s face.
“What? What did you say?”
“A disappointment over money … Why are you looking at me like that?”
Finn saw, not the cards which Mrs. Gogarty’s hands now covered in fear, not Lena’s face, apprehensive, growing stricken, but a cheque that lay on a writing desk, locked up in Martin Urban’s flat. The date had been written-had his name?
The women’s eyes fearfully upon him, he stood upright yet trembling in that tiny room, listening to the distant sound of a siren crying through the dark, a herald of the one that must cry for him.
ALSO BY RUTH RENDELL
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In this dark and compelling tale, a lonely paranoid sneaks into the basement to visit the object of his affection and slips his hands around her throat, but one day he goes down there and she is gone, and he comes unhinged.
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THE FALLEN CURTAIN
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HARM DONE
After two girls have disappeared, the people of Kingsmarkham are understandably alarmed. The situation becomes even more ominous when the father of one of the children is stabbed to death, and Wexford finds that in the case of the inner life of families, justice is never as straightfoward as the letter of the law.
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A JUDGEMENT IN STONE
In this raw and powerful psychological thriller, it only takes housekeeper Eunice fifteen minutes to kill her employer and his family, but for the police to find out why may be a trickier matter-that the tragedy began with a secret Eunice has guarded her whole life.
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MURDER BEING ONCE DONE
A young girl is found murdered in a gloomy cemetery. The authorities, commanded by Inspector Wexford’s nephew, can’t find out who the victim was: the dead girl has no possessions, no past, and a name that seems patently false. And so Inspector Wexford defies doctor’s orders and the big-city condescension of the London police to take a look for himself.
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NO MORE DYING THEN
Years as a policeman in the placid village of Kingsmarkham have taught Inspector Wexford that the most unlikely people are capable of the most appalling crimes. But what kind of person would steal-and possibly murder-two children? Wexford’s search is complicated when his colleague falls in love with the mother of one of the missing youngsters.
Crime Fiction/0-375-70489-2
ONE ACROSS, TWO DOWN
Two things interest Stanley Manning: crossword puzzles and his mother-in-law’s money. One afternoon, he lends death a helping hand, but after the deed is done, he realizes that he may get more than he bargained for: a victim who may outsmart him from the grave.
Crime Fiction/0-375-70494-9
SHAKE HANDS FOREVER
Probably, Angela Hathall had picked up a stranger. Probably, the stranger had killed her. It was that simple. Or was it? Inspector Wexford had his doubts-especially after meeting the loved ones Mrs. Hathall left behind.
Crime Fiction/0-375-70495-7
A SLEEPING LIFE
Her corpse is unremarkable, her handbag devoid of clues. But as Inspector Wexford tracks down the few people who knew Rhoda Comfrey before her death, he discovers that even an obscure soul harbors extraordinary secrets.
Crime Fiction/0-375-70493-0
SOME LIE AND SOME DIE
In spite of the dire predictions, the rock festival seems to be going off smoothly. Then a hideously disfigured body is discovered in a nearby quarry. The victim is a local girl who lied about her friendships with celebrities. But she had a very real connection with the festival’s charismatic star, a singer who inspires an unwholesome devotion in his followers.
Crime Fiction/0-375-70490-6
VINTAGE CRIME/BLACK LIZARD
Available at your local bookstore, or call toll-free to order:
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Copyright © 1,980 by Kingsmarkham Enterprises Ltd.
Vintage is a registered trademark and Vintage Crime/Black Lizard and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Rendell, Ruth, 1930—
The lake of darkness / Ruth Rendell.—1st ed.
p. cm.
I. Title
PR6068.E63 L34 1980
823′.914 79-006087
CIP
eISBN: 978-0-307-55729-2
www.vintage.com/poetry
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