CHAPTER 15 – BACK TO PERCY'S
Dennis Uppington called Dr. Orchard. "There's a snag concerning my getting back to the office, sir," he said.
"What? Tell me as much as you know," Orchard said, hastily closing the blinds so no one in the outer office could watch his face or demeanor as he talked on the phone.
"Well, I, I've been snagged by the labs people. They needed someone to return a civilian vehicle before it got missed. I really didn't know how to say no, sir. It all happened so fast, you know, and suddenly I've got this responsibility, and no one to shunt it off on. I, I could be there about nine-ish tonight, I think, if you needed anything more today?"
"No, Dennis. That will be all right. The delivery I sent you on – that got done, of course?"
"Yes, sir. Went like clockwork, right up to the handoff at the cottage."
"Very good, Dennis. Very good. I'll see you tomorrow, just like usual."
"I'll be there."
Orchard rang off.
Dennis turned to Felicity.
"You'll do," she said.
-
Orchard flattened his hands on the cool, solid surface of his desk, and tried to convince himself that he wasn't going mad. If Dennis hadn't been there at the bombing, who had?
Not that he'd really trusted the earlier reports. Or the newscasts. Or that ninny of a desk officer he'd called to ask how the police investigation was going. Of course, villages had to take whatever second-rate talent they could get, usually (he guessed) women who got bored with staying home. The obnoxious woman had been no help whatsoever, and was way, way too inquisitive about who he was and why he wanted to know. He didn't have time for all these petty annoyances.
He crossed the room to a bar he kept hidden in a modified roll-top desk. He poured himself enough whiskey to make a difference.
-
"All right, now. We do need to get this car to its owner," Felicity said, admiring the refurbished vehicle. "I called, and he's expecting us."
"Was that wise?" Dennis asked.
"What?"
"Calling?"
"How better to know if he'll be home?" She laughed. "It's all right, really. All rookies get terribly suspicious of everyone off and on. It goes with the territory, you know. But this fellow's all right. He's a bit more nosy than we'd like, and doesn't miss much from all accounts, but if we keep our wits about us we should be all right."
Dennis got in Percy Terwilliger's car and Felicity got in hers and they headed out, Dennis feeling good about being allotted the lead position. Behind him, Felicity tried to keep a straight face; no point getting caught smirking at the psychologist pretending to know what he was about.
He had been difficult, back at the labs, wanting to explain away what they were doing. But once people found out that he worked for Orchard, they'd avoided and ignored him as much as possible, which had solved that. She broke into song, reasoning that it would be better if he saw her singing instead of laughing if he thought to check his rear view mirror. As annoying as Dennis was, she didn't want to hurt his feelings unnecessarily.
Dennis took a wrong turn. She gave him time to correct the mistake on his own. Seeing no indication that he knew he was well on his way to becoming lost, she finally called him on their encoded radios and had him change course.
He consoled himself by feeling smug about having been entrusted with a cutting edge handheld encoded communications system.
-
"Hey, now, you're prettier than I expected in a delivery person," Percy said to Felicity, by way of hello.
"Flattery is unnecessary but appreciated," she teased back.
Percy seemed well pleased.
He looked in his car. "My goodness," he said.
"We went ahead and got you new seats. I hope you don't mind. It just worked out better that way," Felicity said.
Percy walked appraisingly around his car, pausing to admire and run his hand over a fender (wing, in Brit-speak). "New seats, dent on the wing's gone, paint's been retouched where it had a scratch, everything spic and span. It's almost like I have a new car," he said.
"Ah, well, we owed you something, we thought," Felicity said.
Percy harrumphed. "Didn't expect a thing, you know. Don't need payment to help my country."
"No, sir, and no one was saying that you did. We were just grateful, for one thing. And for another it's faster and easier and sometimes less expensive to replace seats than work and work on hard stains, if you get my drift."
"Oh, I see," Percy said. He dropped his voice. "Quite right. Speaking of which, will someone be coming by to finish up at Colin's? I left the bullet holes and such alone. I hope I was supposed to. Assumed they were evidence. I could go get rid of the furniture, if you need me to? The pieces with holes or lead, I mean."
"Here, let's take a look, shall we?" Felicity said. "I'm in charge of determining what we do with the scene from here."
"Smart, responsible, professional, and pretty. You give me hope for England, child."
"Thank you, Mr. Terwilliger. Are you coming, Mr. Uppington?"
Dennis flinched. Surely they shouldn't be using names? Well, two could play that game. "Coming, Mrs. Findlater," he said, somewhat testily.
Percy whispered something in Felicity's ear.
"Oh, no sir, not really," she replied. "He was rather too close to a bomb that went off earlier. That would make anyone grumpy, sir. Some fellows would have gone home to stew or cower under the covers after a close call with death. This fellow's showing pretty good fortitude considering his experience, I'd say."
"Young man, I owe you an apology," Percy said, hand outstretched. "Rather dangerous world we live in today, isn't it? Glad you're all right, and all that." Having got Dennis's hand in a clasp and given it a solid pumping, Percy added back slaps to drive home his point.
Dennis thought the woman seemed sincere in her praise. He didn't know what to make of it. Nor did he know what to make of Percy's hearty apology and sincere good wishes. These were not people like the people he was used to. They made him more than a little nervous with their enthusiasm.
Not Exactly Allies Page 15