He remembered how strange it was that Clarke had spoken with him, for almost no reason. Then, he hadn’t been here when he’d returned from the kitchen.
Nah, Clarke would never do that. He took his job far too seriously, a kindred spirit. Still, this was an avenue he had to explore.
Placing the card on his desk, he ran a duster over it. If Clarke had taken his card, then surely his prints would be everywhere.
+++
Jones’s Residence, Bicester, England
Turning off the main road, Karl raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the streetlight. As each house moved towards him, he strained to read the number on the door. Half way along the street, he slowed right down and came to a halt outside Ronnie’s.
“Right, let’s get on with it.” Back to his ornery self, Karl glanced at his watch. “Nearly three. I might get to have some sleep after all.” He looked at Scarlett. “I’ll be expecting you in the shop, bright and early as always, Scarlett.”
Scarlett nodded. “I didn’t think anything else, Karl.”
Scarlett gave him a polite smile. It was true that she had been expecting Karl to tell her he was opening up the shop as normal, but part of her, a very naïve part, had hoped that he’d show a kind-hearted side and give her the morning off. No such luck, it seemed.
Tarquin stepped out onto the sidewalk. “Come on then, Ronnie. Time to go to bed. You’re home.”
Ronnie snapped out of his trance and swiveled round. Putting one foot in front of the other, he staggered, prompting Tarquin to lunge forward and steady him before he fell flat on his face.
Tarquin tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. “Hello?” He called out through his hands.
A light illuminated the living room.
Tarquin thrust out his arm behind him. “Shhh!”
They held their breath, standing in the darkness until they heard someone padding around in the room beyond the door in front of them.
The door burst open and Amanda appeared, wearing her dressing gown, looking like she hadn’t slept for days. “Ronnie? Is that you?” She rubbed her eyes.
Tarquin switched the hallway light on.
“Ronnie!” Amanda ran towards him, arms wide open in front of her. Flickering a half-hearted smile at Scarlett as she passed, she flung her arms around him, pressing her nose against the zip on his tracksuit top. “Ronnie, I’m so glad you’re safe.” She stood back. “Look at you. What on Earth has happened?”
“It’s a long story,” Tarquin said.
Karl glanced at his watch. “Come on Ronnie, let’s get you up the stairs to bed. Tarquin?”
“Ronnie!” Amanda called, running up the stairs to catch them up.
Scarlett stood at the foot of the stairs, watching them help Ronnie up to bed. A cold, wet nose pressed into the back of her leg, followed by a scratch. “Raven, I forgot all about you.”
“Oh, forget it. It happens all the time,” Raven replied, laughing.
Soon they were all congregated in the small space that separated the living room from the kitchen.
Scarlett turned to smile at Amanda. “Glad he’s home safely at last. You must have been worried sick.”
“You can say that again.”
“Amanda?”
“What?”
Scarlett leaned in and sniffed her breath. “Amanda, have you been drinking?”
“Never mind that now. What happened with Ronnie?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Well, I’ve got all night and think I deserve an explanation, don’t you?”
“Tell you what, why don’t I make us all a coffee? And I’ll tell you all about it.”
“I think that is a very good idea. I will help.”
Scarlett nodded. “Aunt Tabitha? Karl? Tarquin? Want a coffee?”
They nodded their heads.
“Sure, the things are in that cupboard, there.” Amanda pointed into the kitchen at a wooden cupboard on the wall above the worktop where the kettle stood, plugged in.
“Well, you all go in the living room now and make yourselves comfortable. I’ll bring the coffees in soon.”
Scarlett walked into the kitchen, switched on the light and set about making the coffee. Amanda stood by pulling mugs from the cupboard.
“Amanda, are you okay?” Scarlett asked, taking a sniff of the coffee grinds. She grimaced. “Errgh. Where does he get his coffee from?”
Amanda waved a hand. “There’s some of mine in the cupboard. Use it, much better in my opinion.”
Scarlett grabbed the other coffee canister and prepared the water.
A few moments later they went with a tray of hot mugs into the living room.
“So, go on, what in God’s name happened with Ronnie?”
Scarlett glanced at the others who were sprawled out on the couch.
Tarquin coughed to clear his throat. “Apparently, the other night, he was out running and collapsed.”
“Collapsed? That doesn’t sound right. He’s been running for years and that’s never happened before.”
Scarlett leaned forward to place her mug on the table. “Well, he did have a fever, didn’t he? Had to be why.”
“Okay, well that’s true, but still doesn’t explain where he has been?”
Scarlett took over. “Tim was out on an investigation and spotted him lying on the ground. So, he put him in his car and took him to the base.”
“He didn’t think to bring him here, isn’t that strange?”
“Well no, he was busy with his work. Nothing gets in his way, you know what he’s like.”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
Tarquin continued with his yarn. “But no one knew who he was until he woke up.”
Scarlett smiled at Amanda. “He was in a really bad way, by all accounts. That fever had really taken its toll. Tim wanted to get him to a doctor and the base was the easiest place to do that.”
“I can see how that could have made sense to Tim.”
“And then they called us, and we went to pick him up.”
“And that’s all there to it?”
“That’s all there is to it.”
Amanda took another sip of coffee. “I’ve been worried sick.”
Scarlett frowned. “For no reason. I told you earlier, no need to worry, didn’t I?”
Amanda blinked, screwing her eyes as tight as they would go. “Thank, God,” she said, tears streaming down her face.
Raven brushed against Amanda’s leg. “What is this cat doing here?”
Scarlett, and everyone else, laughed. “Oh, Ronnie got to know her at the base.”
“And, what, it followed him home?”
“Well no, not exactly.” Scarlett lowered her voice. “He insisted we bring her home with us.”
Amanda looked perplexed. “What? That doesn’t sound like Ronnie. Not at all. Thought I knew everything about him.”
“Well, do we ever know everything about anyone?”
Amanda shrugged. “Suppose not. I had no idea you were thinking of going off on your travels until the other day.”
Raven tickled Scarlett’s leg with her paw.
Scarlett bent down to pat Raven’s head. “Ahh, poor cat.”
Raven meowed.
“Think she’s hungry.”
Scarlett bent right down to pull Raven into a hug. Resting her chin on top of her head, she whispered, “Don’t worry, I’ll fix you something to eat as soon as I get a chance.”
Tabitha glared at Amanda. “Now come on, that’s not fair. Scarlett obviously cares a great deal about you and Ronnie or else she’d never have been so concerned.”
Amanda looked at Scarlett. “Were you? Concerned?”
“I was worried sick.”
Amanda smiled. “Well, I suppose that’s all that matters. Thank you all ever so much for going to pick him up. I was going spare here, all on my own, imagining all sorts. My boyfriend ran off and left me and my best friend’s thinking of doing the same. Why can’t
people ever appreciate the things around them?”
They all nodded.
Leaning across, Tabitha patted Amanda’s leg. “If only more people had that kind of attitude, the world would be a much better place.”
Raven gave Scarlett another tickle with her paw.
“Right, come on then Raven. Let’s see what there is for you to eat.” Scarlett got to her feet.
Tabitha pushed herself up off the couch and sniffed the stale air. “I’ll come with you.”
Tabitha, Tarquin and Karl followed Scarlett into the kitchen. They stood in the center of the room, around a worn-out table, watching her root through the cupboards for something that Raven might find tasty.
Amanda poked her head around. “I’ll just go upstairs and see if Ronnie needs any help.”
+++
Base Commander’s Office, RAF Bicester, Launton
Moseley knocked twice, staring at the label on the back of the door that read, Group Captain Brian Lefton
“Yes, yes, come on.”
“Good morning, Captain. I’ve just come to give you a report on last night’s events.”
“Last night’s events? What the devil are you talking about?”
Moseley smiled.
“Well, come on, take a seat. Don’t stand there at the door, you’ll catch a chill.”
Making himself comfortable on the leather office chair, Moseley extended his legs until his toes collided with Lefton’s under the table. “Sorry, sir, force of habit.”
“Not a problem. Now, what is it that you wanted to report?”
“Last night, sir. I was working late at my desk, when the alarm went off.”
“Good Lord. I had no idea. Where?”
“In the basement sir, you know, the research facility.”
“Of course, where else? What caused it?”
“We don’t know sir, that’s just the thing. I walked up and down half the night trying to find something, but in the end, I had to give up.”
Someone knocked.
Lefton looked at the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s me, sir, Gregory.”
“Gregory? Gregory who? I don’t know any Gregorys.” Haha, he chuckled.
“Daniel Gregory, sir. Your assistant.”
“Oh, just the man. In that case, come on, do come in.”
Gregory entered and, finding his seat occupied, stood loitering by the door.
“Oh, there’s a seat over there, look—by the window. Come on, do join us.”
“Yes, sir. By all means.”
Gregory placed the chair in front of Lefton’s desk, leaving a good three feet between himself and Moseley.
“Now then Gregory, Moseley here informs me there was some kind of incident at the base last night. He tells me that the alarm went off and no one has much of an idea why. Do you have anything to add to that, Gregory?”
“Well, yes, sir, I believe I might be able to shed a bit more light on the situation.”
“Well, come on then, don’t keep us all guessing, for heaven’s sake.”
“Very well, sir. It’s the personnel, sir, the people that were around last night.”
“What about them? Can they shed any light on the matter?”
Gregory shook his head. “No, I’m afraid not.”
“But that doesn’t make sense. If they were at the scene, that would surely make them the best people to ask.”
“In theory, sir.”
“In theory? What do you mean by that?”
“Well a good few of them are suffering from some kind of amnesia problems.”
“Amnesia problems? What kind of amnesia problems?”
“The kind where your memory goes blank, sir. Not only that, they’re suffering from some kind of… disorientation.”
“You mean half the personnel don’t know where they are and can’t remember a thing about last night?”
“Something along those lines, sir, yes.”
“Have they been drinking? Was there some kind of party in the ranks that we were not aware of?”
“Not that I know of, sir. But it’s a possibility.”
“Well, there you are then. Mystery solved.” Lefton sat back and folded his arms.
“It would be a possibility sir, but…”
“But what, Gregory? Do spit it out.”
“But if people were hungover, as you’re suggesting, the doctor would surely have made the diagnosis.”
“The doctor knows about it?”
“Yes, sir. Sick bay’s been over run.”
“Mmm, well that does kind of scupper that theory.”
Gregory nodded. “Afraid it does, sir.”
“Well, what else do we know? What has the doctor found out?”
“Not much, sir.”
“Not much, but he must have found something, for heaven’s sake.”
“No, sir, but we do know that there are no toxins or pathogens involved. Meaning—”
“We can rule out poisoning.”
“Precisely, sir. And also, correct me if I’m wrong, inebriation.”
“Yes. So, we know drink isn’t to blame. Anything else?”
“Oh yes, and tests for radiation levels have shown everything to be perfectly normal.”
“How extraordinary.”
“Indeed, sir. I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of it in due course.”
“Yes, but let’s hope it isn’t too late. We’ll just have to put a lid on things for now, stop it leaking out to the press.”
“Most definitely, sir. Good idea.”
“So, what now?”
“Not quite with you, sir.”
“Well, with half the personnel neither here nor there, who’s going to run the place?”
“I’m already on to that, sir. There’s a new shift arriving from RAF Weston-on-the-Green.”
“Splendid.”
“Yes, they should help to stabilize things until we get to the bottom of the issue, sir.”
“Absolutely. I’ve had prior dealings with Weston-on-the-Green. First-rate fellows, the lot of them.”
“That’s good to know, sir. Really it is.”
“Anything else, Gregory?”
“No, sir. Think that’s about all I have to say on the matter.”
Lefton turned to look at Moseley. “You’ve been quiet, Moseley. Had the cogs whirring no doubt.”
“Yes sir, I have been listening to everything the wing commander’s had to say, giving things a lot of thought, sir.”
“Splendid, I thought as much. So, what conclusions have you come to?”
“Well, everything leads me to believe it’s some kind of system failure, sir. As far as the alarms are concerned, anyway.”
“Interesting. What leads you to conclude that?”
“Well, sir, last night—early this morning to be precise—I was walking about the facility, trying to figure out what went wrong, sir. Then when I came back, I fired up the system, sir—”
“And?”
“And, something strange was happening. The files were incomplete, taking an age to load. Showing all kinds of ridiculous numbers.”
“Mmm, now that is interesting, Moseley. Well done. Not sure how the memory loss fits in with this, though.”
“We don’t want that to distract us from finding out the truth. The two might be completely unrelated, sir. The amnesia might turn out to be some kind of red herring.”
“Good point, Moseley.”
“Thank you, sir.” Moseley replayed the image he’d had of finding the culprit and having a free license to do whatever he liked.
“You okay, Moseley? Looks like you’ve just lost a pound and found a tenner.” Lefton laughed at his own joke.
“Yes, sir. Sorry, was miles away.”
“Well, maybe it’s contagious.” Lefton glanced at both of them in turn. “Do either of you have anything else to add?”
Moseley nodded. “I suspect, sir, that the alarm was triggered because the system went down and not the ot
her way around.”
“You don’t think whatever triggered the alarm got inside the system, you mean?”
“Yes, sir. I mean exactly that.”
“Mmm. That’s interesting, rules out sabotage at least. Tells us that whatever affected the personnel didn’t manifest itself into the system too.”
“Exactly, sir.”
“And what makes you think that, Moseley?”
“Oh, just the timing of it, sir. When I was going through the records, I noticed that things started to go awry sometime before the alarm was triggered.”
“That is well-spotted and well-remembered, Moseley. That’s certainly prevented us from going barking up an extremely large wrong tree.”
“Thank you, sir, glad to be of service.”
“Okay, well if neither of you have anything more to add, I’m declaring this meeting adjourned. Get back to your posts, give the Weston-on-the-Green mob their instructions and report back to me the minute anything new arises.”
Gregory scraped back his chair. “Good day, sir.”
“Yes, yes, good day, Gregory.”
Moseley loitered for a second, waiting for the door to close before exiting the office himself. Marching along the corridor to the research facility, he smiled to himself. The meeting had gone well, they’d established much, the captain was impressed. Surely his hostiles would like to feel the benefits his high spirits? He grinned and turned towards the facility.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Kitchen, Jones’s Residence, Bicester, England
Scarlett frowned. “Sorry, Raven, doesn’t look like there’s much in for cats to eat.” She glanced at the fridge. “I know, how about some milk? We’ll get you some proper cat food soon, promise.”
“Thank you. That will do just fine for now.”
Scarlett sighed. “Glad all that’s over with.”
Karl was exhausted. "Yes, Scarlett, you’re right about that. It was an ordeal that I, for one, don’t want to go through again any time soon.” He looked at Tabitha. “You feeling better now, Tabitha?”
For the first time, Scarlett noticed how pale her aunt was looking.
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