by Cavan Scott
The Doctor fixed the police officer with a doom-laden stare. ‘Time’s catching up with him. I can smell it.’
‘Smell what?’
‘A wasted life. Harold Master has lived out his three score years and ten in one morning. No wonder his heart’s broken.’
Chapter 17
A Groove in Time
The Doctor rushed back into the house, finding Rob standing in the hallway. ‘There you are. Tell me, where was Harold when he vanished?’
The builder shook his head. ‘I don’t know. I grabbed a hard hat for him, went into the living room and—’
‘And found it empty. Show me.’
‘Just hang on a minute,’ PC Schofield said, pushing through the plastic. ‘This isn’t your investigation.’
The Doctor stepped up to the police woman. ‘Constable, did you ever meet Mr Marter before today?’
Schofield sighed, already used to the Doctor’s whims. ‘Yes. There was a break-in at his warehouse a month or two ago.’
The Doctor pulled the plastic sheeting aside so they could see the stretcher in the back of the ambulance. ‘And did he look like that old man out there?’
‘No,’ she admitted. ‘But that’s not Harold Marter. It can’t be.’
‘It looks like him,’ Bill said. ‘Well, sort of.’
Schofield was approaching the end of her tether at speed. ‘That man must be 90 if he’s a day.’
‘Older,’ the Doctor agreed. ‘But he wasn’t when he woke up this morning.’
‘People don’t age in the blink of an eye.’
‘He did,’ the Doctor said, producing a black wallet, its leather cracked and brittle.
‘What’s that?’ Schofield asked.
‘Evidence,’ the Doctor told her. ‘I took it from Marter before they put him in the ambulance.’
‘You pickpocketed a man on a stretcher?’ Bill asked. ‘Classy.’
‘How could you do that?’ Schofield said, her face creased in disbelief.
‘He was strapped down,’ the Doctor explained, ‘It’s trickier when they’re moving about.’
Bill wanted to kick him. This really wasn’t the time to be provocative, but he just couldn’t help himself.
Schofield snatched the wallet from his hand. ‘I could have you arrested.’
‘But you won’t. Not when you look in there.’
The police officer opened the wallet and examined the contents. ‘Cash … Credit cards …’
‘In what name?’ the Doctor asked.
Schofield sighed as she answered. ‘H. Marter.’
‘Any photos?’
‘You already know there are.’
‘Show me.’
She held up the wallet, showing a photo behind a plastic window. It was a holiday snap, a family of four on a glistening white beach. Happier times. There was no mistaking the man. It was Harold Marter. The young Harold Marter.
‘That’s the man you met a few weeks ago, isn’t it, Constable?’
‘Yes,’ Schofield confirmed through gritted teeth.
‘Who is exactly the same man that was just wheeled out of here.’ He shook his head. ‘Nobody blames you.’
‘For what?’ she said, chin jutting out.
The look he gave her was kind, but firm. ‘You’re out of your depth, but I’m not. I swim these waters every day. I know what I’m talking about.’
Schofield turned to Bill. ‘Is that true? Does he?’
Bill looked at the Doctor and then back to the police officer. ‘It’s hard to believe sometimes, but yeah, he does.’
Schofield held up a hand, either in surrender or as a marker of time, Bill couldn’t tell. ‘Five minutes,’ she said, standing out of the Doctor’s way. ‘That’s all you have. Any longer, and I’ll remember how you got hold of this wallet.’
‘Thank you,’ he said, before asking Rob to take them to the back room.
‘And you didn’t actually see him disappear,’ the Doctor asked as soon as they were inside.
‘No, we were in the hallway.’
‘But how did you feel?’
Rob frowned. ‘You what?’
‘How did you feel? Nervous? Scared? Like you couldn’t move?’
The builder shook his head. ‘No, nothing like that. Just confused. We didn’t know where he’d gone.’
The Doctor stepped over to the patio windows. ‘And this is where he reappeared?’ he said, pointing down at the concrete floor. ‘Right here.’
‘That’s right. He was lying on his face.’
‘And again, you weren’t scared at all. No trepidation or dread. No sudden attack of the collywobbles?’
Rob looked at Bill for support. ‘Does he always talk like this?’
She nodded. ‘’Fraid so.’
Rob looked down at the floor, reliving the moment. ‘We were surprised. I mean, you’ve seen him …’
‘But not scared?’
‘No.’
The Doctor dropped to a crouch, running his hand across the concrete. ‘Two more questions. When did you lay this floor?’
‘Beginning of last week.’
The Doctor pulled the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and used its light to illuminate a large circle, about a metre wide. It was scored into the floor, like someone had taken a knife to the concrete. ‘And what about this? Noticed it before today?’
Rob dropped down beside the Doctor, feeling the groove in the concrete himself. ‘That definitely wasn’t there. I skimmed this floor myself.’
The Doctor pointed across the room with the sonic. ‘There’s another over there, probably where Marter vanished.’
‘What are they?’ Bill asked, bending over to take a closer look.
The Doctor stood up, tapping the sonic against his lips as he explained. ‘They’re usually found in woods; circles in the grass, marked out by either a ring of mushrooms or scorched earth where nothing can grow. In France, they call them sorcerer rings, in Germany, a witch’s circle. Here, they’re known as elf or goblin rings.’
‘Goblins?’ Bill asked. ‘Like Boggarts?’
‘What’s a Boggart?’ Schofield asked from the door.
The Doctor held up a finger towards the police officer without looking at her. ‘One thing at a time, Constable. I’m on a tight schedule, remember.’ He turned back to Bill. ‘Back in the time of the Fairy Finder, the locals of Huckensall village would have believed that the rings were caused by the passage of elven feet, the Fair Folk cavorting with witches and warlocks.’
‘And was it?’
‘What?’ Schofield half-laughed behind them.
‘Not exactly,’ the Doctor said, ignoring her. ‘Elf rings are like scorch marks on a launch site. They’re what’s left behind when a portal opens in the veil.’
‘Between the Invisible and the Visible,’ Bill realised.
Beside them, Rob Hawker turned to Schofield. ‘I’m sorry, but is this guy soft in the head? What’s he talking about?’
The Doctor grabbed Bill’s arm and glanced at her watch. ‘Sorry, would love to explain, but my time’s up.’
‘Your time?’ Schofield asked.
He guided Bill out of the doorway, ignoring the stunned looks of the others. ‘Five minutes. That’s what you gave me and, would you believe it, I’ve rattled on for six minutes and twenty-three seconds. Shocking.’ He called over his shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll throw myself out.’
Schofield went to call him back, but was interrupted by the builders, who wanted to know what they should do – carry on working, or down tools? The Doctor made good of the distraction and a few minutes later he and Bill were across the planks and walking down Brownie Hill.
‘Doctor, slow down,’ Bill said, chasing after him.
‘I can’t,’ he replied. ‘This is bad. Worse than I thought.’
She grabbed his arm, stopping him. ‘Worse how?’
‘You heard him back there, didn’t you? Rob the Builder.’
‘Yes, but—’
; ‘But you didn’t listen. He wasn’t scared. When Harold Marter was dragged through an elf ring, Rob’s colly wasn’t even wobbled. Now, remember how you felt when we came face to face with the Shining Men in the woods. You were frightened out of your wits.’
‘You know I was.’
‘Exactly: overwhelming anxiety, the sensation of being paralysed. Plus, there’s the elf rings in the wood.’
‘What about them?’
‘There weren’t any. All those Shining Men popping up between the trees and not a mark on the ground. No elf rings. No portals. Conclusion?’
Bill’s eyes widened as realisation dawned. ‘The Shining Men aren’t Boggarts.’
‘Got it in one.’ He gave her that special smile he reserved for moments when she got things right, although this time the pride was tinged with self-recrimination. ‘I thought I had it all worked out, that Shining Men were Boggarts breaking into this realm. But what if I was wrong?’
‘I thought you were never wrong?’ Bill joked, wanting to make him feel better.
It didn’t work. ‘Everyone’s wrong from time to time,’ he snapped. ‘Being wrong is the first step to getting things right. As long as it’s not already too late.’
‘That doesn’t sound good.’
‘It wasn’t supposed to. Different forces are at play, and if we’re not careful, this entire neighbourhood will be caught in the crossfire. Maybe even the entire world.’
‘So if the Shining Men didn’t take Marter, who did? And why’d he look so old?’
‘Time’s a funny thing,’ the Doctor said, wringing his hand together. ‘Depending on where you are, it doesn’t always follow the same rules. Ultra-terrestrials like fairies and Boggarts exist on a different plain of existence.’
‘Like a different dimension.’
‘More like a different groove, running alongside our own.’
‘And time works differently there?’
‘A minute in our universe can be a year in theirs. Sometimes even longer. If Marter was taken into the Invisible …’
‘He lived out the rest of his life in the fairy realm. Fifty years …’
‘Whereas only an hour or so had passed here.’
‘Is that what’s happened to Mum?’ said a voice from behind them.
They turned to see Masie and Noah, looking up at them, tears in their eyes. ‘Has she been taken away by fairies?’
Chapter 18
Clues
The Doctor dropped into a crouch, putting his hands on the children’s shoulders. ‘How long have you been listening?’
‘Long enough,’ Masie said, stepping back to break away. ‘So is that what’s happened?’
‘Has your mum jumped a groove in time?’
She nodded, her eyes fixed on him.
‘I don’t think so.’ The Doctor glanced over her shoulder, seeing both police officers and builders emerge from Marter’s house. ‘Come on,’ he said, standing and holding out his hands. The children took them and he led them across the road and back into Bugs Close.
‘Where are we going?’ Bill asked.
‘Away from Constables Schofield and Turman. I have enough questions of my own without facing more from them. That should be far enough.’
He sat himself on a garden wall two doors down from the children’s house and patted the brickwork, urging them to join him. Noah complied, but Masie remained standing, her hands crammed in her jean pockets.
Bill glanced along the close, looking for Velma, but Charlotte’s camper van was nowhere to be seen. She probably didn’t want the Doctor to know where she was, which was wise, although at the moment he was giving his full attention to Sammy Holland’s son.
‘Noah,’ he said, softly. ‘Your dream that wasn’t a dream …’
‘What about it?’ Masie answered sharply for her brother.
The Doctor continued, his impossibly old eyes looking at the boy with genuine compassion. ‘She wasn’t really there, your mum.’
‘I thought you believed me,’ Noah whined, eyes brimming.
‘I do,’ the Doctor told him quickly. ‘You saw her, but that wasn’t her body, only her mind.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Your mum reached out to you from wherever she is.’
‘Like astral projection,’ Bill offered.
The Doctor glanced up at her, both shocked and impressed. ‘Well, yes. Exactly that.’
She shrugged, giving him an embarrassed smile. ‘Doctor Strange. You should watch it. It’s good.’
‘It is,’ Masie agreed begrudgingly.
The Doctor raised his eyebrows. ‘In which case, I’ll give it ago. Praise from Masie Holland is a rare thing indeed.’
The girl dropped her hair in front of her face, trying not to smile.
‘Now,’ the Doctor continued. ‘Tell me more about this footprint in Noah’s room. You both saw it.’
Masie nodded. ‘And the leaf.’
‘What kind of leaf was it?’
‘I think it was oak,’ Noah said, scratching his eye.
The Doctor was nodding, taking it all in. ‘The tricky thing to understand is that neither the footprint or the leaf was there either. Not really. They were … echoes of her cry for help, that faded over time.’
‘Which is why they were gone when you brought us home,’ Masie said.
‘I could still taste it, though, when I licked the carpet.’
Noah screwed up his nose. ‘That was disgusting.’
‘You’re telling me,’ said the Doctor, prodding Noah in the stomach and making him laugh. ‘Someone needs to wash their feet more often.’
Bill was still trying to get her head around all this. ‘So their mum was, what, calling out to them from the Invisible?’
‘You mentioned that before,’ cut in Masie. ‘What is it?’
‘The Invisible?’ The doctor replied. ‘A world just beyond our own.’
‘Fairyland,’ Noah offered.
‘More or less. But I don’t think that’s what happened. I’m not sure a human could call across the veil between worlds.’
‘You don’t know?’ Masie asked.
‘I can’t be expected to know everything. No one knows everything.’
‘Nan does,’ Noah said.
The Doctor considered this. ‘Yeah, I can believe that. Either way, wherever she is, your mum is linked to the Shining Man.’
‘He took her,’ Noah said. ‘Dragging her into a hole.’
‘Leaving behind an oak leaf.’ The Doctor pulled a small notebook from his jacket. ‘Could you draw it for me?’
‘The leaf?’ Noah asked.
‘Yeah. I have a pencil here somewhere …’ The Doctor patted down his pockets before reaching forward and pulling a stubby yellow pencil from Noah’s ear. ‘Ah. There it is!’
Noah chuckled and took the notebook and pencil. The Doctor winked at Bill as the boy knelt on the floor so he could lean the pad against the low wall.
Noah began to draw, first sketching a long stem and then adding pairs of narrow, oval-shaped leaves on either side. ‘There,’ he said, passing the notebook back to the Doctor.
‘And that’s the leaf you saw too,’ the Doctor said, showing the drawing to Masie.
She nodded. ‘Yeah, pretty much. But it wasn’t green.’
‘Yeah. It looked dead,’ Noah said. ‘All curled up and brown.’
‘What do you think?’ the Doctor asked, turning the notepad towards Bill.
She didn’t really know what to say. ‘It’s a good drawing.’
‘It is,’ the Doctor agreed, studying the picture. ‘A very good drawing. You’ve got talent, Noah, although I’d brush up on your botany, if I were you.’
‘Why?’ Noah asked, frowning.
The Doctor held up the notepad again. ‘Because that’s not an oak leaf. That’s either from an ash or more probably—’
‘A rowan!’ Bill cut in, excitedly. ‘It’s a leaf from a rowan tree, isn’t it?’
‘What differe
nce does it make?’ Masie asked.
‘The Doctor told me all about rowan trees,’ Bill told her. ‘The wood from the rowan tree interferes with fairy magic—’
‘Fairy science,’ the Doctor corrected her.
‘Whatever. It’s a natural defence. Something to put the world right.’
‘But what’s this got to do with Mum?’ Noah asked.
‘It’s a clue,’ the Doctor said. ‘You’ve read Sherlock Holmes, haven’t you?’
‘The guy on the telly?’
‘The world’s greatest detective!’
Noah looked confused. ‘I thought that was Batman?’
The Doctor looked as though he was about to argue but thought better of it. For once. ‘It doesn’t matter. Sherlock Holmes and Batman follow clues.’
‘And punch people,’ Masie pointed out.
‘Let’s stick to the clues bit for now,’ the Doctor said. ‘You two go with Bill.’
‘Why?’ Bill asked. ‘Where are we going?’
‘Back into the woods,’ the Doctor told her.
‘Where we saw the Shining Men?’ she asked. ‘You sure that’s a good idea?’
He rolled his eyes and pointed to the sky. ‘See that big ball of fire in the sky? It’s daytime. Shining Men only come out at night.’
‘And you’re sure about that, are you?’
‘No, but you can tell me if you see one.’ He thrust the notebook into her hands. ‘Go back to the woods and look for rowan trees.’
‘What about you?’
The Doctor looked back towards the end of the road. ‘Sammy Holland always liked fairy stories,’ he said. ‘I think it’s time I found out why.’
Chapter 19
Taking a Dip
‘Looking forward to writing this one up?’ Turman said, flashing Schofield a grin.
‘Thought I’d leave that to you,’ she joked, although it wasn’t funny. What the hell were they going to say?
Well, Sarge, it’s like this. The guy got old. Really, really quickly.
She didn’t want to believe it. How could she? But the Doctor was right. The old man on the stretcher was Harold Marter. She didn’t know how, and she sure as hell didn’t know why, but something terrible had happened to the poor sod.
She hadn’t liked Marter when she’d met him. He’d been too cocksure, too quick to tell her how to do her job, but still …