The Devil's Evidence
Page 43
The Archdeacon rose and, in silence, went out. On the table in front of where it had been sitting was a new uniform, folded neatly, and on top of this was his gun. He picked it up, feeling its weight, looking at its burned and scorched barrel. Would it still fire? He turned it and pointed it at the wall, but Mayall stepped in his way.
“No,” the angel said. “There’s time for that. No more for now. There has been enough shooting.” He nodded at Fool and then turned to go, wings already unfurling.
A moment later, the room was empty and quiet. Fool was alone, would live in a silence born not of peace but of war, was an outcast thing.
He was Thomas Fool, Commander of the Information Office of Hell, and knew what he had become.
Pariah.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
No book is ever written without help, and the following all deserve a touch of the hat brim and a nod, and probably medals for putting up with me:
Mum and Dad, for everything.
Rebecca and Adam, for the same everything as Mum and Dad.
Rob Bloom at Doubleday and Michael Rowley at Del Rey, for still taking a chance and for all the excellent editorial suggestions.
John Berlyne at the Zeno Agency, for still having faith and being a great agent.
Steve Marsh, for the friendship and the support and the music.
Andrew Worgan, for the friendship and support and the nights before the hangovers.
The owners of Duo Café in Sedbergh, where most of this book was written, deserve a particular mention for serving excellent coffee and never apparently minding my sitting in the corner, muttering to myself, groaning, and then typing in frenzied bursts.
During the writing of this book, two of my heroes died: Rik Mayall and Robin Williams. Both were huge influences on me as I grew up, and without them I’d see the world and relate to the things around me very differently. Although I never met either of them, their losses made me feel the lurch of unstable ground beneath my feet, and I miss both of them still. Whatever you’ve gone on to, gentlemen, travel safe.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Simon Kurt Unsworth was born in Manchester and lives in a farmhouse in Cumbria, in the United Kingdom. He is the author of The Devil’s Detective and many short stories, including the collections Lost Places, Quiet Houses, and Strange Gateways.
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