Stone Message

by Peter Parfitt

  Inspector Morton-Farrell realised that there would have to be a formal police investigation into Tom’s disappearance. Members of the Special Branch of the Metropolitan Police were not allowed to be seen to lead investigations. Uniformed police would always lead or appear to lead and that would reduce the number of times that a Special Branch officer would have to appear in court. The Inspector had to make several telephone calls in order to get uniformed police support from London. There was no chance of getting a forensic team to the building before lunchtime the following day and that would be the soonest that a uniformed officer could arrive to take formal charge of the investigation. He did not want to ask for help from the military as their methods were quite different to those of the Metropolitan Police. There were no grounds to hold the Professor in custody, despite the probable assault on Tom earlier in the day. So, like all good leaders, he made a command decision.

  “Gentlemen, I am in charge of this investigation and I respect the fact that we find ourselves on Army soil. I am a police officer assigned to the MoD for special projects and you can rest assured that the correct protocols will be followed. I propose that you all go home or back to your duties and I will contact you as and when you might be required. I have further police support arriving tomorrow and I will provide you with updates as soon as there is any significant information to impart. Finally, can I remind you that this project is very sensitive and you are not at liberty to discuss anything that you have seen or heard in this building with any other person.” His authority was beyond dispute and, after ensuring that he had their various contact telephone numbers, he ushered all of the visitors out of the Dagger building.

  “What happens now, Inspector?” asked the Professor. The Inspector looked at the strain on his face and the lack of self awareness. “Well, Professor. Let me first do a little bit of housework. Do you have a fridge in this building?” the Inspector asked. “Yes, in the office over there.” The Professor pointed to the office door. The Inspector carefully slid the piece of shoe with the small slice of big toe inside, onto a piece of paper which he then placed in the refrigerator. “Now, I think that we should have a long chat about what you have been doing here and then we will have dinner together. I do not believe that you have done anything criminal Professor. I think that either some third party has kidnapped Tom or that he has faked his own disappearance for reasons that we have yet to discover. Perhaps we should be a little less formal, I am Brian.” The Professor looked a little better, but was nowhere near his normal self. “Call me James.” The Professor’s voice was still a little shaky. “That contraption over there is called the Beast. It is the test instrument for the project and we, Tom and I, have been setting it up over the last few weeks. The Professor described the background to Project Argus and told him how the design of the Beast had evolved. Throughout his explanation the Professor would refer to Tom in glowing terms and at one point he said, “Tom is such a lovely boy. We must find him.”

  The Inspector waited for the Professor to regain his composure before continuing the investigation. “Where is Alison right now?” “Do you commute back to Town daily or are you living locally?” “Perhaps you should call Alison and get her to visit the house in Durrington for a couple of days.” “Please do not say anything to her about what has happened over the telephone.” “Suggest she comes down tomorrow in time for supper.” “I will arrange for a car to pick her up at 3pm.” “How did she sound on the telephone?” “Is she happy to be picked up?” “Good.”

  “Now, James. Can you go through the events of today, starting from breakfast at the Durrington house, and all the way through until I arrived this afternoon.” The Inspector made notes and asked numerous questions to clarify the detail. “I don’t quite understand the significance of the tape rule. Why had Tom put it into the Beast?” The Professor felt uncomfortable as he was embarrassed by Tom’s lack of scientific sense. “The silly boy thought that we had created a time machine and wanted to prove me wrong.”

  After a lengthy discussion which included “the case of the extra screwdriver” the Inspector was a little confused. “You have to forgive me James but I am just a simple copper. All this science is a bit daunting for me. So Tom thought that the screwdriver found in the hole was his screwdriver that had been sent back in time. How come there were two screwdrivers for a period of time?” The Professor’s composure was benefiting from the need to explain simple logic to the Special Branch officer. He held up his pen. “Look Brian. Here I have Tom’s original screwdriver. If I send it back in time to, let’s say, last Monday then on that day I would have the original screwdriver which had been with me since I bought it but it would be joined by itself sent back from the future. The two would co-exist until we reach the time when the original screwdriver gets sent back in time.” Morton-Farrell appeared to be a little clearer about the logic involved.

  “Who else from Imperial is cleared for this project?” The Professor thought for a moment. “You may have forgotten, but nearly a year ago I told you that it was just Tom and me. It pleased you no end at the time. But since then I was able to borrow a young computer programmer who was already cleared for another MoD project being run by Professor McClean. He and Tom produced all of the programs that control the Beast and handle the sensors.” The Inspector looked at his watch. “It’s getting late. Shall we grab some supper? We will have to use your car I’m afraid.” He opened his small briefcase to put his notebook back. He held up a small cloth bag. “Luckily I grabbed my emergency wash kit as I left the office. Do you have a spare room in Durrington?”

  The Professor parked the car in the driveway of the house in Durrington and they walked to the pub nearby. They only drank soft drinks with their meal and were back at the house by 9 o’clock. They both needed an early night. The Inspector sat up in bed going through his notes and making various telephone calls. He had managed to find the home telephone number for Professor McClean. He was unable to give too much away over the telephone but it took little persuasion to get McClean to agree to visit Larkhill the following day. The Inspector’s final telephone call was to his office. Even at 10pm the telephone was answered. “Hello Steve. I’m going to be out for the rest of this week and possibly part of next. I’m afraid that you are going to be busy covering for me. If you go to my diary you will see that I have a project visit tomorrow afternoon in Bristol. It is one of Bill Winter’s teams at the Procurement Executive. Could you call him in the morning and postpone it for 10 days?”

  The following day the Inspector and the Professor arrived early at the Dagger building. It was rather an odd feeling for the Professor. At any moment he expected Tom to appear from behind a door or to come roaring up on his motorcycle. Everything had been left as it was when the Military Police had arrived the day before. Nothing had been switched off and so it would remain until the forensic team had finished. Out of habit, the Professor took off his jacket and put on his lab coat. The Inspector continued questioning the Professor. “I still don’t quite understand this business of the screwdriver. I forgot to mention yesterday that I have asked Professor McClean to visit us today. He is briefed on this project and I think that his knowledge of science should help me out.” The Professor was more of his usual self and corrected the Inspector. “It is physics and engineering, not just science. I never believed Tom when he said that he had an extra screwdriver. He was adamant that he only had 6 in the set and that the one found in the hole was the seventh. There are 101 ways of explaining the extra screwdriver and none of them rely on time travel or any other form of magic.” The Professor stood behind the chair over which Tom’s motorcycle jacket still hung. He gently touched the soft leather. “Who found the screwdriver James?” the Inspector asked as he turned a fresh page in his notebook. “It was one of the soldiers that the Quartermaster sent to help us. I don’t know his name I’m afraid. I would recognise him though as he had a distinctive tattoo. It was on the back of one of his hands and said Army Fist.”

&nb
sp; “What a silly thing to have tattooed on your hands,” said the Inspector. “I think that I agree with you but this was a joke really. There was an Army advertisement that had the words Army First in the strap line. So he had the tattoo, without the second R, on his fist.” The Professor thought that it was funny at the time but now it fell a little flat. The Inspector called the Quartermaster and asked for his help.

  The Quartermaster appeared within fifteen minutes and he brought with him Gunner ‘Smudge’ Smith and his tattooed hand. The two of them sat down with the Inspector and he explained why they had been called. Gunner Smith explained that he had spotted the bright gleaming screwdriver in the hole and had jumped down to recover it. He handed it to the Professor who then placed it on the workbench. When the Inspector was happy, he thanked the young soldier indicating that he was no longer required. “Right off you go young Smith.” said the Quartermaster, “and don’t think that you can take an early NAAFI break.” With that the young Smudge Smith beat a hasty exit. The Quartermaster did not get up and the Inspector waited for him to say something. “That screwdriver may not have been the only odd thing Inspector. I’ve got something in my safe in the office which I think you need to see.”

  The Quartermaster left and returned within ten minutes. In his hand, he had a small cylindrical device, made mainly of plastic and with some short wires protruding from the back. It had a small dent at one end where it had been dropped. The Professor was amazed. “Where did you get that? Who allowed you to remove that device from here? Look. It’s been damaged.”

  “Just a minute James,” said the Inspector. “Let Harry explain.” The Quartermaster put the device down on the work bench. “This was found on the floor of this building 3 years ago. Nobody knew what it was and so we sent it to the defence contractor that made the radar kit that used to be stored here. They did not recognise it but said that it was just a simple measuring device and not anything sinister.” The Professor stood up and went across to the instrument rack that Tom had removed from the Beast just before he disappeared. The Inspector turned to the Quartermaster. “Harry, do you have any other odd items or anything else unusual to report?” The Quartermaster could think of nothing else. The Inspector wanted to minimise the leaking of information from the Dagger building and therefore needed to get rid of the Quartermaster as soon as possible. After the usual caution about secrecy, he was invited to leave.

  “How many of these things do you have James?” asked the Inspector. “There are only four in the World. There are three here and there should be one left in the box inside that old chest of drawers.” The Professor went across to the chest of drawers. “Is it okay to touch this James?” he asked. “I think so. It’s probably better for you to touch the thing rather than me.” The Inspector walked over to stand next to the Professor. The box was removed and found to be empty. “I don’t understand this,” said the Professor, “it doesn’t make sense. If one of these was to be sent back in time, then surely it has to be one that was in the Beast.”

  “Maybe one went missing during the setting up phase and was replaced without a second thought?” offered the Inspector. “I think that we can be a little more rigorous.” The Professor took the D23 that the Quartermaster had brought and examined it carefully. “It should have a number on the outside. It must have rubbed off.” He opened it up. He took the various components out and laid them side by side on the work bench. On the inside of the plastic casing was an orange sticker which was looking grubby and had started to peal away. Despite this they were able to read the number “4” written in pencil. The Professor moved back to the instrument rack. “Can I take these out Brian?” He was given permission and quickly removed them. On the outside of each was a number written clearly in pencil which accounted for numbers “1”, “2” and “3”. “And what can you conclude from this James?” The Professor went back to the box that the D23s were kept in. “I have always been careful to note which ones are used for each experiment. Just in case of any anomalies.” He pulled a piece of paper out from the inside of the box lid. He looked at it and said. “Yes, as I thought. When Tom set these up he used numbers 1 to 3. It appears that number 4 should never have been removed from the box.”

  “I don’t follow, what are you saying?” The Inspector needed help. “It’s quite simple. Number 4 was never part of the sensor array. Therefore it has to have been placed in the Beast on its own at some point, when a test was being run. But, it was taken after I asked Tom to build the sensor array.” The Inspector caught up with the logic. “Okay. Do you remember when the sensor array was built?” he asked. “I can’t pin it down but I am pretty sure it was just after we assembled the Beast and definitely before the computer chap, Peter Boyde, arrived on scene.” The Inspector made a note that Peter Boyde had to be questioned. No sooner had he done this, than a loud banging on the outer door announced the arrival of Professor McClean.

  The Inspector remembered having met Professor McClean several years earlier. The three of them sat down and brought the new arrival up to speed. Just as James Gordon had found it difficult to contemplate the concept of travelling backwards in time, so too did Martin McClean. “I’m sorry James but this is nonsense, and you know it. The screwdriver business is pure coincidence.” The debate continued, but the evidence of the fourth D23 did not tip the balance. “I agree that provided you can prove that your Mr Brooker has not set up an elaborate hoax involving this Army major then I am prepared to consider, I mean only that, consider your proposition.”

  The next arrival was the forensic team who wanted to waste no time so that they could return to London that same day. The Inspector briefed them and then allowed the experienced team to go about their business. Every now and again they had to seek information from either Professor Gordon or the Inspector. They also had to take fingerprints and DNA samples from everyone in the room and later they would call for the other visitors to be tested as well. Meanwhile, the Inspector had asked Professor Gordon to go through every aspect of the project from the very first visit to Larkhill. He had asked Professor McClean to look at any technical elements of the evidence, so that nothing would be missed.

  By late afternoon, the Inspector had made nearly thirty pages of notes. There was one item that he wanted to examine in more detail. “You say that a gold coin was dug up by Tom just before the Beast was assembled. Where is that coin?” the Inspector asked. “I don’t remember. I know that I gave it to Tom. I think that he put it in his pocket at the time but I cannot be certain.” Professor Gordon was getting tired and suggested that they all have a cup of tea. “Just before we do James,” said the Inspector, “can you show me the gold disk from the sensor that you took apart?” Professor Gordon collected the item and handed it to the Inspector. “Would you say that this is similar to the coin or charm that was found?” Professor Gordon took the gold disk back from the Inspector and passed it from hand to hand. “I suppose there is a chance but it was in a pretty bad way and had taken a lot of knocks.” The thread was not deemed to be particularly significant but could be easily pursued if the coin were found. Professor Gordon put the gold disk in his lab coat pocket.

  The forensic team were nearing the end of their work and asked to examine the screwdriver set. Professor Gordon showed them Tom’s toolbox. “Do you know which screwdriver is similar to the one found by the soldier?” asked the forensic team leader. Professor Gordon was certain that it was a large flat headed screwdriver. In one of the compartments of the toolbox they discovered the gold charm which they bagged for detailed analysis. They also bagged Tom’s mobile phone which had switched itself off due to a flat battery. When they were satisfied with their work they reported to Inspector Morton-Farrell. He asked everyone to gather around for a final exchange of notes just in case anything had been missed. Before that began, he made a telephone call to try and establish what might have happened to the uniformed policeman who was to be notionally in charge of the case. It appeared that he would not be able to get there un
til the evening.

  “Right gentlemen,” the Inspector started his wash-up session, “I was hoping that Sergeant Stevens, who will be in charge of this case, might be with us by now. Never mind, I will brief him tomorrow.” He then went through his notes and asked everyone present to correct him on any factual matters.

  He invited the forensic team to give a ‘heads up’ of what obvious evidence they had found so far. “Thank you Inspector,” said the team leader. “We’ve bagged up the bit of shoe and toe and we will get Tom Brooker’s DNA from his mobile phone in order to do a match. If this time travel theory is really true,” the forensic team leader looked up with a nervous smile as he really did not know what to believe, “we think that Tom Brooker was kneeling down in the apparatus when Professor Gordon pressed the wrong button but his toe was just sticking out of the area affected. If you get my drift.” There were several nods. He continued, “the interesting thing is the cleanliness of the cut or whatever we should call it. It was not done with a knife as there was no sign of any slicing motion or any pressure bruising. I have never seen anything so neat. I know that there are laser scalpels used by surgeons that might be able to do something like this but they always leave a sign of heat damage. That heat serves to cauterize a wound and helped that young man from Star Wars to go on and fight another day.” His attempt at humour fell on tired ears. “We have not made any effort to analyse any of the computers here. We do not have that expertise but I would suggest that someone makes a note of all of the settings and so on.”