Doctor Who_ Illegal Alien - Mike Tucker [24]
And with that the detective had swung through the door and out into the hallway. Limb had followed him, stopping only to straighten a picture hanging next to the door. Ace had paused to look at it as she too exited the room. There was Limb younger, but unmistakably Limb playing chess with...
Talk about friends in high places. Playing chess with Winston Churchill.
CHAPTER 6
The foyer of the Peddler building was quiet and empty, in total contrast to the bustle and noise of the morning. At Rosemary's reception desk, a lone army corporal sat, idly flicking through a novel, his mind elsewhere.
A slight noise made him look up. He grunted. Just someone on the first floor. No doubt Lazonby had asked for yet another report from those poor bastards in the lab. A smile crossed his face. The fireworks between Lazonby and Chief Inspector Mullen had been worth seeing. There was a point where he thought the two of them would come to blows.
The policeman should have known better than to try to cross swords with the Major, particularly while the war was on.
Several phone calls had been made to Whitehall, and Mullen had been told to continue his investigation without interfering with Lazonby's operation. Lazonby, in turn, had been told that if the chief inspector needed access to the crime scene then he was not to be obstructed. Both men had parted company in foul moods and the factory had been placed under military guard.
The young corporal looked at his watch. He was due to be relieved at six o'clock. He didn't envy whoever pulled night duty. The factory was well built, but he doubted that it would survive a direct hit from a German bomb. He turned back to his novel, hoping that the story would eventually engage his enthusiasm and help the hours pass a little faster. Another noise made him look up again. A scraping from one of the internal doors. He put down his novel and picked up his rifle.
He crept across the foyer, unsure whether he was being foolish or not. A further metallic scrape convinced him that he wasn't and he snapped off the safety catch. 'Who's there?'
He reached out cautiously for the door handle. He stopped. Billowing, choking white vapour poured from under the door. Before he could cry out he was enveloped in the evil smelling cloud and crashed to the floor.
It was a grumbling and petulant Ace who had followed McBride back across London to the Peddler factory. As far as she was concerned they were going around in circles.
McBride had told her to stop griping, that this was what detective work was all about: following leads, making connections until a pattern began to emerge. He did have to admit, though, that the Peddler factory was the last place he had expected the sphere to turn up.
First, he had said, they had to 'case the joint'. Then they had to wait. Wait for the workforce to go home, wait for things to quieten down. Simple.
Now that they were standing outside the rear gate of the factory, however, McBride had to admit that something seemed wrong. Breaking and entering was a serious enough offence at the best of times, but breaking and entering a factory doing secret war work for the government was liable to get them shot. At least it would get them shot if there was anyone about to shoot them. The factory was dark: there was nothing unusual about that there was a blackout in force but McBride expected to see some sort of security. His unease wasn't helped when he pushed at the rear gate and it swung open. Not only unguarded, but unlocked.
'I don't like this, kid. Not one goddamn bit.'
He was about to suggest that they call their breakin off and go to get the Doctor when Ace slipped nimbly through the gate. Cursing, McBride followed her.
They found themselves in a cobbled yard. Crates and boxes were stacked in every corner and a couple of trucks stood in the shadows of the loading bay. Ace was about to make her way over to the shutter doors when McBride grabbed her by her collar. 'Let's take things a bit slower, shall we?'
She shook herself free. 'There's nobody here, McBride.