Doctor Who_ Cats Cradle_ Witch Mark - Andrew Hunt [17]
COACH ACCIDENT, M40. CASUALTIES TAKEN TO CONDICOTE GENERAL HOSPITAL.
IDENTIFICATION FOLLOWS.
HUGHES, Selwyn.
M
LLANFER CEIRIOG Deceased
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M
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F
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Deceased
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M
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Deceased
There were a series of question marks. He could scroll the screen to one side to get descriptions but that wasn’t what he was interested in. Only one of the casualties was identified. Stevens remembered, now, that he had heard on the radio that only the driver in the accident had been named.
It seemed to him that it might be significant that the passengers were nameless. Recently he had been investigating disappearances. Every year hundreds, maybe thousands of people vanished without trace and it had occurred to him that maybe there were some less than rational explanation for this. But in his investigations he had uncovered a more startling fact – over the last thirteen months, rather than vanishing, people had actually been appearing in cities. They had names alright, but they had no birth certificated, no driving licenses, no passports, nothing. Officially they didn’t exist, but he had met them and so he knew they were there. They formed a tight-lipped community which protected itself from outsiders like him, and he had no idea where they are coming from.
But here it was, a coachful of people without names, and now he read a footnote on the computer screen.
INVENTORY OF COACH LUGGAGE COMPARTMENT. 42 SUITCASES CONTAINING IN
TOTAL APPROXIMATELY £2 MILL.
Two million pounds? What on earth was going on here? Here was something to investigate. He was going to pay a visit to Llanfer Ceiriog.
He picked up the phone and called up the Yard. When he finally got through the tortuous switchboard he asked for all the information on the coach accident and informed his immediate superior that he would not be in his office for a couple of days. Then, easing himself out of his seat, he left his office and made his preparations for his journey.
Hugh ushered the Doctor and Ace into the small living room. At the sight of the large armchair by the fire, Ace rushed forward and threw herself down.
'Brilliant!' she said, extending her legs so that her feet were just inches from the grate. She immediately kicked off her trainers and wiggled her toes in the heat.
Excuse Ace, Hugh,' the Doctor said, 'she's from Perivale.’
Hugh nodded as if this explained everything.
‘So, he said, ‘what brings you back to Llanfer Ceiriog?’
‘Ace here wanted to do a spot of rock-climbing and remembered the glorious view from your window. ' He walked over to it and looked out. The far side of the valley was obscured by a mist of rain.
'Ah,' he said, 'well, on a good day you could see those cliffs over there. I hoped you could lend Ace a bed ‘
‘She can have the room that Mel had when you last came. It’s still empty, isn't it. How about you?'
‘Oh, I don't .need a bed,' the Doctor waved the offer aside. ‘I thought I might do a bit of fishing in that stream down the valley.'
The door to the room was pushed open and Janet came in carrying a tray of drinks. A black and white collie slunk in past her legs and, its tail wagging softly, went over and sat by Ace.
‘Here’s drinks for you all,' Janet said and put the tray down on the dark wooden sideboard.
'Hello, doggie,' Ace said, tickling it under its chin. She pull a crumpled bag out of her rucksack. 'Do you want a sherbet lemon?’ she asked the dog. She stroked its ear and looked up at Hugh. 'What is it? A dog or a bitch?'
She s a bitch, and her name's Badger.'
Badger looked up hopefully at the sound of her name, but seeing that there wasn't any food on offer she returned her attention to Ace.
The Doctor took two mugs and handed one to Ace. She balanced it precariously on the chair arm and carried on stroking Badger.
'Fishing, Doctor?' Janet asked.
'Trout-tickling,' he told her, demonstrating, as he had to Ace, by waggling his fingers.
Hugh laughed. 'I'm not sure you'll catch any trout down in that stream.'
'You'd be surprised at what you can catch around here,' the Doctor told