Doctor Who_ Father Time - Lance Parkin [53]
‘Are we going abroad?’ she asked. The oil company wanted some help with some African operation. Half-term was coming, and she’d often accompany her father abroad if it didn’t interfere with her schoolwork.
‘No, I wouldn’t miss running the Marathon, not after last year,’ he assured her. ‘I have to defend my title. And I’ve got dinner with Clive Sinclair on the fifteenth.’ He smiled. ‘You’re a grown-up, Miranda, I trust you. If you want to keep some things private, then I respect that.’
‘Well, don’t worry I don’t have any secrets.’ Miranda giggled. ‘Least of all a secret lover.’
Her father nodded, pleased with the answer.
The car phone rang again.
‘Doctor? This is Phillip Anderson.’
Miranda looked over at her father, who had the oddest look on his face.
He picked up the handset and listened for a few moments.
‘Are you going to make this public?’ he asked, then visibly relaxed at the answer. ‘I can’t talk now,’ the Doctor told Anderson. ‘But thank you for the warning.’
He replaced the handset.
‘Who was that?’ Miranda asked.
‘Nothing.’ But her father looked distracted.
‘Come on,’ she prompted.
‘Anderson works with the police,’ the Doctor said. ‘He was warning me that an old enemy is around.’
‘An old enemy?’ Miranda repeated. ‘You have enemies?’
The Doctor gave a wry smile. ‘A few. It’s probably nothing.’ He hesitated.
‘Now who’s got secrets?’ she chuckled.
‘No secrets,’ he said quickly. ‘Just be careful, keep an eye out for strangers hanging around the house, that sort of thing.’
Miranda was tempted to laugh it off, but her dad sounded worried.
‘Are we going to get police protection?’ she asked.
‘I’m not sure that would help,’ the Doctor admitted.
Miranda was confused. ‘Wait: who is this?’
‘A man called Sallak. Also known as John Sallak. A dangerous man who’s escaped from prison. I’ve got a photograph of him at home, so you know who to look out for. Now, he’s got no idea where we live, so I wouldn’t worry too much. Just stay alert for a while.’
He smiled, and Miranda knew she was safe.
* * *
Chapter Eleven
UFO Detected
Miranda plunged into the pool, ready for the cold water.
She was three or four strokes along already, dimly aware that some of the others were only just hitting the water. She was at an advantage, not having to worry too much about her breathing. She wasn’t racing them, anyway: she was racing the clock. Dinah was close, but nowhere near close enough.
Miranda reached the other end, flipped over and launched herself back. As her head broke the surface, she saw Dinah almost at the end, and the others about three-quarters of the way there. She made the same even, measured strokes, but increased the pace a little. She already knew she wasn’t going to beat her personal best. She increased her pace again, but lost her rhythm a little.
She reached the end, grabbed the rail, annoyed with herself.
Miss Andrews was leaning over with a stopwatch. ‘Nearly,’ she told her. ‘That was very good going.’
Miranda didn’t think so. She pulled herself out of the water, sat on the edge and wrapped a towel round herself as the others finished and bobbed around catching their breath.
She shook her head at Dinah, who was looking red-faced.
‘You’re just getting better,’ Dinah complained, half jokingly. ‘I don’t mind being second if it’s a close second.’
‘The record is under twenty-four seconds,’ Miranda told her.
Dinah laughed, ‘The Olympic record is, yeah. The county under-seventeens one isn’t.’ She pulled herself out of the water.
‘Aren’t you cold?’ Miranda asked.
The others started to troop through into the changing rooms.
‘I thought you were from oop North,’ Dinah said lightly. ‘Don’t you lot think it’s warm if it’s not actually snowing?’
‘I’m not cold, I just wondered if you were.’
The bell went. Miranda walked through the showers, just enough to get the chlorine out of her hair. Dinah stepped