Lair

by James Herbert

  The rectangular hall was cluttered with single-panelled ex-hibition stands displaying pictures of various animals and plants, accompanied by written information on each subject. The area was empty but there was a reception window to his right. He peered into the room beyond; a woman was at one end typing busily and a man sat reading a book at a table nearest the window. The man, youngish, intense-looking, glanced up at Pender.

  ‘Yes, sir, can I help?’ he asked.

  ‘My name's Pender. I've come to see Mr. Milton.’ Pender had learned to be discreet about his profession: people were still nervous of ratcatchers

  ‘Oh yes. From Ratkill, aren't you?’

  Pender lifted his eyebrows in surprise.

  The man grinned as he got up from the desk and came over to the window. ‘It's all right, there's no secrets among the staff.

  I'll just see if he's in his office.’

  The young man disappeared through a door and reappeared a few seconds later.

  'Yes, he's there. If you'd like to go through the door round to your right, I'll take you to his office.’

  Pender followed the instructions and was met in the corridor beyond.

  ‘I'm not sure we really need you people,’ the young man said as he led the way. We've seen signs of vermin, but they haven't done any bad damage yet. It's just the uh, law, you know?’

  Pender nodded and went through the door which had been opened for him. The Warden of the Conservation Centre stood and offered his hand across the desk as Pender entered.

  ‘Mr. Pender? I'm Alex Milton. Didn't take Ratkill long to get someone up here, did it?’

  Pender shook the proffered hand and sat in the seat opposite.

  ‘Thank you, Will,’ Milton said to the man at the door. ‘I'll see you about the arrangements for tonight's lecture a little later on. Would you like some coffee, Mr. Pender?’

  The ratcatcher felt like something stronger after the wearing drive, but he smiled and said, ‘Coffee'll be fine.’

  ‘Would you mind asking Jan for me, Will?’

  ‘Right.’ Will closed the door behind him.

  The two men faced each other across the desk, Milton smiling and slouched back in his seat. He seemed to have forgotten why Pender was there.

  ‘Interesting place you have here,’ the Ratkill man said, breaking the silence.

  ‘Yes, it is,’ the Warden agreed enthusiastically.

  ‘Have you been here long as Warden?’

  Milton thought for a moment, his smile still beaming. ‘Just over two years, I think. The Centre itself - the Epping Forest Conservation Centre, to give it its full title - was only opened nine years ago, so it's still in its youth.’ He gave a small almost embarrassed laugh. ‘In fact, most of my staff are rather youth-ful - apart from myself and my wife, of course.’

  Pender nodded politely, smiling at the man's self-deprecating humour. He hoped the Warden would soon get to the business in hand. Tell me about your rodent problem,’ he prompted.

  ‘Oh yes. Mustn't waste your time.’ The Warden leaned forward, elbows on the desk, his face serious and his tones hushed.

  ‘It started a couple of days ago, actually. Nothing much, just signs, you understand.’

  ‘What kind of signs?’

  ‘Well...’ A light tap at the door interrupted the Warden's next words.

  ‘Yes, come in,’ he called out.

  The door opened and a small, thin girl, clad in jeans and sweater, entered the room. She carried a tray bearing two coffees, milk and sugar, which she placed on the Warden's desk.

  ‘This is Jan,’ said Milton and the girl pushed her gold-framed glasses back towards the bridge of her nose, giving Pender a nervous smile.

  ‘Jan saves our lives every day by cooking our meals and providing us with gallons of coffee,’ the Warden said as Pender smiled back at the young girl. ‘She's only filling in a year between school and agricultural college, actually, but I must say, she'd make an excellent chef. Perhaps we can persuade you to remain one, eh, Jan?’

  The girl shook her head and said in a quiet voice, ‘I don't think so, Mr. Milton.’ She left the room, keeping her face low to hide a blush. Pender hadn't seen a girl blush for quite some time.

  ‘You were saying?’ he said as Milton handed him a coffee from the tray.

  ‘Saying?’

  ‘About the rodent signs.’

  ‘Oh, yes, forgive me. Yes, the signs. Well, we keep examples of forest wildlife in pens outside the classrooms- the children love to see the animals, you know. Rabbits, hares, squirrels -

  even had a fox until recently. A couple of nights ago, the pens were broken into.’

  Pender poured milk into his coffee, then looked steadily at the Warden. ‘Were the animals killed?’

  ‘Good gracious, no! Nothing like that'

  Pender relaxed in his seat.

  ‘No, it was just their food that was stolen. But the animals, when we found them next day, were in a state of shock, do you see? Absolutely terrified. Hadn't even attempted to escape through the holes in the wire left by whatever broke in.’

  ‘It could have been anything. Maybe the fox you had before returned - it would if it knew it could find food here.’

  ‘Oh, no, the fox died.’

  ‘Then another.’

  ‘Yes, it could be possible. There are about fifty foxes that we know of still living in the forest. But we found droppings, you see. And they certainly weren't those of foxes.’

  ‘Did you keep them? Can I see them?’

  ‘Of course you can. That's why you're here. I'll take you along to the laboratory in a moment.’

  ‘What shape are they?’

  ‘Roundish, spindle-shaped, I'd say.’

  ‘Were they in groups?’

  ‘Yes, yes. Small groups.’

  Milton could read nothing in Pender's expression.

  ‘Anything else?’ the ratcatcher asked.

  ‘We have an outhouse round at the back of the buildings where we keep the refuse. All the kitchen waste is put there.

  Yesterday morning we found the bottom of the door had been gnawed through.’

  Pender sighed. ‘Yes, rats would do that.’

  ‘Of course. But you must understand we are in the middle of the forest and are used to night-time marauders. The Centre was built to keep out our more persistent friends. The bottom of the outhouse door is reinforced with a metal strip. A corner of the strip had been completely pulled away.’

  Pender sipped his coffee.

  ‘The metal was securely attached to the door, Mr. Pender. It would have taken a crowbar for a man to tear it loose.’

  ‘I'll have a look at it. Have you laid any poisons?’

  ‘No, we thought that best left to you. The rule is to inform the Ministry immediately rodent signs are found. We're still not sure it's rats, of course, but we thought the two unusual events warranted investigation, don't you agree?’

  Pender nodded. He placed his coffee cup back on the Warden's desk and began to rise. ‘I'll look at those droppings . . .’

  The loud rap at the door startled both men. It burst open without waiting for a reply from the Warden, and a young girl dressed in denims and a loose-fitting cardigan entered the room, closely followed by the man called Will. The girl looked breathless and she leaned with two hands on the Warden's desk, her long dark hair falling across her face. Milton was too surprised to speak.

  ‘I've seen them, Mr. Milton,’ the girl said, trying to keep her voice calm. They're down by one of the ponds.’

  ‘What are, Jenny? What are you talking about?’

  ‘Jenny's seen the rats, Mr. Milton,’ Will said anxiously.

  Milton glanced at him, then back at the girl. ‘You have?’

  ‘Yes, yes. I'm sure they were rats. But they were so big,’ the girl said, her face earnest.

  ‘Sit down, Jenny, and just tell us exactly what you saw.’ The Warden indicated a chair opposite Pender's and as she sat, the girl noticed the ratcatc
her for the first time.

  ‘It's rather opportune, really,’ Milton said. This is Mr. Pender, Jenny. He's been sent from Ratkill. I'm sure he'd very much like to hear what you have to say. Jenny Hanmer is one of our tutors.’

  Pender looked at the girl and, now that he could see her face fully, realised she was very attractive, not at all 'tutorish'. She brushed her shoulder-length hair back and gave Pender a faint smile, her mind too busy with what she had just witnessed to pay him much attention.

  ‘Now, Jenny, tell all.’ Milton smiled benignly at the tutor.

  ‘I took my class down to the small pond the one before you get to the Wake Valley Pond. We'd only been there a few minutes when one of the boys saw something swimming across the water. I couldn't make out what they were at first, but there were three of them.’

  ‘Not necessarily rats, then?’ said the Warden.

  ‘We got a better look at them when they were climbing out.

  The boy threw something at them and they changed direction and made for the bank. We saw their whole bodies then.’

  ‘But it is rather, er, gloomy down there, isn't it? I mean, are you sure they weren't some other animal? A water-vole would be the obvious choice.’

  ‘That was my first thought. They were too big, though.’

  ‘Big enough to be dogs?’ said Pender. Black dogs, mistakenly taken as the giant Black rat, had caused several scares over the past few years.

  ‘No, I'm sure they weren't,’ the girl said, looking directly at Pender. They had long pointed heads, and their ears were long too, and pink. Their tails . . . their tails were horrible.’

  ‘Did the children see them?’

  ‘Yes, and their teacher, Miss Bellingham. I didn't imagine them, Mr. Pender.’

  ‘Where are the children now?’ The Warden had a worried look on his face.

  ‘I brought them back right away. Miss Bellingham's with them in Class Two. It's all right, they're not frightened; we played it down, told them they were coypus.’

  Pender grinned. ‘And they believed you?’

  ‘Most of them did it was rather shady down there. It's not so unlikely anyway. Coypus live mainly in Norfolk and Suffolk, so it's not improbable that some should find their way south. A few of the children were a bit doubtful, though.’

  ‘I think I'll just go along and have a word with them,’ said Milton, rising. We don't want them spreading false rumours about the forest until we've checked this out.’

  ‘We may have to stop people coming into the forest anyway,’

  Pender said quickly.

  ‘Stop them? That would be impossible, Mr. Pender. Have you any idea how wide an area the forest covers? And what about those who live here?’

  ‘They'd have to leave.’

  ‘Now just a moment, let's not jump the gun. Let's find out if these monsters really do exist first.’ Milton looked down apologetically at the girl. ‘Not that I doubt your word at all, Jenny.

  It's just that you may have been mistaken.’

  ‘I wasn't. They were rats and they were over two feet long.’

  The tutor's face was set firm.

  ‘Yes, well, that's what Mr. Pender is here to find out. I'll have to inform the Superintendent of the Forest, Mr. Pender. No doubt he will want to see you.’

  ‘Fine. But first I'd like you to take me back to this pond, Miss Hanmer.’ All eyes turned towards Pender.

  ‘Do you think that's wise?’ asked the Warden.

  ‘These . . . animals, whether they're rats or not, haven't attacked anyone yet. I don't think there's any danger in going to the spot where Miss Hanmer last saw them - they'll be well away by now. We might find some evidence which would help identify their species.’

  ‘It's up to you, Jenny,’ the Warden said.

  ‘I'll take Mr. Pender there, I know the pond,’ Will volunteered.

  ‘It's okay, Will,’ Jenny said. ‘I'll go. I can show Mr. Pender the exact place.’

  ‘I'll go with you then,’ the young man offered.

  ‘No, you'll have to take charge of Jenny's class,’ said Milton.

  ‘I really don't want the children or their teacher to think there's a problem.’

  ‘But Miss Bellingham . . .’ Jenny began to say, before Milton interrupted.

  ‘I know Miss Bellingham quite well. I don't think her eye-sight is all that reliable, do you?’

  Jenny was lost for words for a moment. ‘Now just wait a minute . . .’

  The Warden held up a restraining hand. ‘Please, Jenny, let me handle this. You go along with Mr. Pender, will you?’

  The tutor stood, glanced at Pender, and walked from the room. Milton grinned feebly and Pender followed the girl.

  She was halfway down the narrow gravel path before he caught up with her.

  ‘Just wait a minute, Miss Hanmer,’ he said, taking her arm and bringing her to a halt. He self-consciously dropped his hand when she pointedly looked down at it. ‘He is right, you know.

  These things can snowball into panic if they aren't handled carefully.’

  ‘But I saw them,’ she said resolutely.

  ‘No one's doubting that. But it has to be checked out before the alarm bells go off.’

  She began striding down the path again and he kept pace, walking on the grass beside her.

  ‘Look, ever since the Outbreak people have been panicking over real or imagined rats. Usually, the ones we've found have been normal, either Black or Brown, but no giants. More often than not, they've been animals of a completely different species.

  Bad light, optical illusions, over-nervous people - all sorts of things account for the sightings. It's become as popular as spotting UFOs.’

  ‘I am not over-nervous. Nor do I imagine things. Nor do I believe in flying saucers.’

  ‘Then you're a better person than I am.’

  ‘Possibly.’

  He grinned at the sarcasm. ‘Probably,’ he said.

  She stopped and faced him. ‘I'm sorry, Mr. Pender . . .’

  ‘Luke,’ he told her.

  ‘Luke?’

  ‘Short for Lucas.’

  ‘Lucas?’ She couldn't help smiling.

  ‘Not my fault. Parents. I was conceived on honeymoon in a place in lower Italy. Lucania.’

  She laughed aloud.

  ‘I was lucky. They could have gone to Ramsgate.’ His smile broadened as she laughed again.

  ‘You sound like something out of a bad western,’ she said.

  ‘The way certain people regard my profession, I sometimes feel like it.’

  ‘Okay, I'm sorry, Luke. I didn't mean to get huffy with you.’

  ‘It's all right. You've had a shock.’

  Jenny frowned. ‘I meant it, you know, I wasn't mistaken.’

  ‘Let's check it out, then, eh?’

  They began walking again and the tutor glanced down at Pender's feet. ‘You're going to get awfully wet.’

  ‘I've got boots in my car, and an old leather jacket. I have to be prepared to get mucky in this job.’ He pointed towards his Audi and they headed in that direction.

  ‘How did you get into rats?’ the girl asked as he opened the back of the car and reached in for a pair of hefty high-ankled boots.

  ‘I wouldn't say I'm into them, exactly,’ he replied, removing his shoes and lacing up the boots. ‘It's just a living. I was an entomologist until an old friend of mine from Ratkill told me rodent control was the thing of the future. Big money, he told me, and all the vermin you can eat.’

  Her reserve was beginning to break down. People were usually wary of him because of his profession, even though he and his colleagues had become latter-day heroes due to the 'dangerous' work they carried out, but he sensed a natural wariness in this girl, as if she rarely took people at face value. Maybe she had learned not to the hard way.

  ‘And is it? The thing of the future?’ she asked.

  He took off his coat and reached for the short, worn leather jacket inside the boot. ‘Well, it'
s big business now, but I suppose the fear of rats will fade with time.’

  ‘It'll be a long while before people forget what happened in London.’

  ‘Yes, it will. But that was a freak. They'll forget it eventually.’

  ‘Unless it happens again.’

  He said nothing and lifted up a folded bundle of silver material that lay on the floor of the boot. He pulled out two pairs of large gloves made from the same tough fabric and handed one pair to the tutor who looked quizzically at him.

  ‘Just a precaution,’ he told her. ‘If by any chance we do run into your friends, slip these on. They'll give you some protection.’ He saw the fear in her eyes. ‘Don't worry. It really is just a precaution; nothing's going to happen. If I thought there was any real danger I'd make you put the whole suit on here and now.’

  ‘I hope to God you're right.’

  So did he.

  ‘Over there, the other side of the pond.’ Jenny pointed towards the opposite bank and Pender scrutinized the area.

  ‘We'll have to go round,’ he said. ‘Get a closer look.’

  The tutor wasn't happy about the situation, but nevertheless she followed him as he skirted the pond, their boots sinking into deep mud at the water's edge. As they walked, he pulled on the heavy gloves and told Jenny to do the same. The undergrowth was much thicker on that side and he trod warily, brushing aside foliage and examining the ground before him as he went. Jenny kept close behind.

  ‘It's just a little way ahead, I think,’ she said, looking over towards the side they had just come from to check their position. ‘Look, you can see where they disturbed the reeds when they climbed out.’

  Pender approached the spot with even more caution and crouched down to examine the mud for tracks. The splayed claw marks told him what he wanted to know. ‘Let's see where they lead to.’ Keeping low, he pushed his way through the undergrowth, but soon he stood upright. The tracks have run out