C S Lewis and the Body in the Basement (C S Lewis Mysteries Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

His explosive arrival set us on a path that was to lead to violence and murder.

FOUR

    ‘Ravenswood!’ shouted the young man, spotting the manager. ‘You’re the one! Don’t turn around and go back into the strongroom. You’ll answer to me!’
    With these words he bounded down the stairs, pushing Warnie and me roughly to one side. Franklin Grimm stepped forward to block the newcomer’s path. They were both beefy young men with the build of rugby backs.
    ‘Mr Proudfoot!’ said Grimm firmly. ‘You’re not allowed in the cellar.’
    The two of them stood toe-to-toe for a moment, glaring at each other. ‘I’m not leaving until I’ve spoken to Ravenswood, so either stand aside or I’ll knock you aside,’ growled the visitor.
    ‘There’s no need for violence,’ said the manager. ‘I’ll speak to Mr Proudfoot alone. You take these other gentlemen back upstairs, Mr Grimm.’
    The teller stepped out of the way of the angry young man and slowly, with backward glances over his shoulder, as if doubtful that he was doing the right thing, walked towards the foot of the stairs.
    Angry young Mr Proudfoot advanced towards Ravenswood with both hands clenched into fists and his muscles tensed. The manager stood his ground.
    ‘I’m not going to hit you, Ravenswood,’ hissed Proudfoot through tightly clenched teeth. ‘I’d like to thrash you until you’re bleeding and broken, but . . . I’m not going to do that.’
    He stopped speaking and breathed heavily, as if making a massive effort at self-control. He looked like a man who had a dozen angry bulldogs snarling inside his chest, and he was pulling hard on their leash to keep them under control. Those of us standing on the stairs were riveted by this drama and stood frozen where we were.
    ‘If I gave in to my emotions,’ Proudfoot continued, ‘if I did what I feel like doing to you, I’d end up in a police court on an assault charge. And I’m not going to give you that satisfaction.’
    There was another long, tense silence, and then Proudfoot resumed, ‘You’re going to be the one who ends up in the police court, Ravenswood—not me.’
    The bank manager swallowed hard and then said, ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
    ‘You’re a cool customer, I’ll give you that,’ growled Proudfoot with barely controlled fury. ‘But you know you’re a worm, a snake, something less than a human being. You’re something disgusting that belongs in the gutter.’
    As these words were spat out, Franklin Grimm started to move back down the stairs as if to intervene, but Jack laid a restraining hand on his arm and shook his head. I could see what Jack was thinking: namely that an intervention by a third party might only inflame an already volatile situation.
    ‘All the way here I’ve been thinking about how you’ve got away with it,’ Proudfoot said in a voice just above a whisper, ‘and I think there must be evidence . . . evidence that could be found . . . a trail of some sort . . . oh, yes Ravenswood . . . I’m not going to hit you . . . but I want you to know that I’m going to the police . . . and to your head office . . . and to my solicitor . . . and you will lose your job . . . your career . . . that’s why I’m not thrashing you now . . . because I want
you
behind bars . . . not me.’
    This speech came out in machine gun bursts of words, with breathy, panting gaps in between. Proudfoot was clearly having great difficulty controlling his violent emotions.
    ‘Now look here, Proudfoot,’ Ravenswood said. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about—’
    ‘Shut up! I won’t listen to your lies! I’m not interested in what you say . . . so I suggest you say nothing.’
    As he spoke these words Proudfoot raised his fists again, and Ravenswood responded by remaining silent while stepping back half a pace. A look of sheer terror flickered for the barest moment across the bank manager’s stony face.
    ‘Your world is about to come crashing