The provided text, excerpts from the novel Hell to Pay by Simon R. Green, chronicles the investigation of private eye John Taylor in the supernatural realm known as the Nightside. Taylor is hired by the ancient and powerful Jeremiah Griffin to find his missing granddaughter, Melissa, leading him to Griffin Hall, a sprawling and protected estate surrounded by a sentient, menacing jungle. The narrative explores the dysfunctional and immortal Griffin family, including the society-obsessed Mariah and the entitled adult children, William and Eleanor, all of whom resent the missing Melissa. Taylor's search is complicated by the Nightside's bizarre inhabitants, interference from rival powers like Walker, and the tragic death of Melissa's gender-fluid cousin, Paul (Polly), before revealing that Melissa, a Bride of Christ, was hiding with the Salvation Army Sisterhood. The climax details a confrontation in the Hall's cellar where Taylor modifies a demonic contract to save the family from the Devil's agent, Hobbes, culminating in the destruction of Griffin Hall and Taylor's subsequent refusal to join Walker in ruling the Nightside.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.