Doctor Who_ Just War - Lance Parkin [68]
He had only been gone a couple of hours. What if he had led the Nazis here? What if he had killed the brave farmer and his daughter?
Chris headed upstairs, the Doctor remained in the kitchen, keeping watch. The farmhouse had four bedrooms, one for Monsieur Gerard, one for Monique, one for both of her dead brothers. Once on the landing, Chris opened up each of the doors in turn. He had slept in the one nearest to the top of the stairs. This had been Luc’s room. It was untouched from this morning. Chris had not been into any of the other bedrooms before, but it became clear as he checked them that they were empty, too.
The last room he came to was Monique’s. He paused at the doorway. The room was feminine, with frilly white netting and floral-printed wallpaper. It smelt of her perfume. There was a sparse dresser, a cluttered bedside cabinet. Monique had an old iron bed, with coral bedsheets. A doll had been carefully tucked into it. There was something else resting on the bed, something flat. A note? Chris stepped over to the bed. It was a sketch of him, drawn in pencil, from memory. A very good likeness, right down to the moustache.
He took it downstairs and showed the Doctor.
‘She was a good artist,’ the Doctor noted.
‘What do you mean “was”?’ Chris said accusingly.
The Doctor bit his lip. ‘I’m sorry, a slip of the tongue. I haven’t found any blood. They might have got away. We could check the barn and the chicken shed.’
Cwej shook his head. ‘No, like you said before, we can’t stay. At least the Nazis don’t have this picture, so they won’t be able to establish a link between me and Monique.’ He folded the picture and slotted it into his tunic pocket.
‘We’ll go to Granville,’ said the Doctor. ‘Hartung might be there. It’s probably where they’ve taken Monique and Monsieur Gerard. If not, at least Steinmann will be there.’
‘Doctor, you’re a bit conspicuous in those clothes.’
The Doctor patted the briefcase. ‘Well, I’ve got plenty of money to spend on a new suit, but there’s no gentleman’s tailors for miles around. Do you think Monsieur Gerard would mind if I borrowed an outfit from him?’
‘I doubt he’d mind, Doctor, but he’s about as broad as you’re tall.’
‘Oh, that’s not a problem, then, I’ll just wear the clothes sideways. Isn’t that what you humans call “cross-dressing”?’
‘Er, no,’ said Chris, unsure whether the Doctor was joking. He had a suggestion, but wasn’t sure how the Doctor would take it. ‘I do have a plan,’ he began tentatively.
At ten to five, just as they were beginning to pack up for the night, Kendrick had phoned from Downing Street, and requested that Reed and Forrester remain at the SID until he returned. He had left no indication how long that would be, so they decided to sit and talk at their empty desks.
‘What do you think that Hoogin and Mooning are, George?’
‘Kendrick has told us to concentrate on finding von Wer,’
he warned.
‘Yes, but we’re not getting anywhere with that, are we?’
‘I was talking to Davis at lunchtime, and he’s not got anywhere with Hoogin and Mooning. Perhaps both are red herrings: it wouldn’t be the first time.’ George seemed entirely uninterested. The problem fascinated Roz, however. It seemed to be the only firm piece of evidence that the SID
had. She needed to talk to someone about this suspicion.
‘Let’s assume they are code names for whatever Hartung is building,’ she began.
‘Reasonable enough,’ Reed conceded. He didn’t want to talk about this. He looked anxious, now, like a young boy who thought he was about to be caught scrumping apples.
Kendrick had ordered him to think about other matters, and he didn’t want to disobey.
‘What do we know about other German codenames?’
Roz continued, keeping her tone businesslike.
‘I’m not sure I can tell you.’ Despite his reticence, she was managing to draw Reed into the problem.
‘Why not?’
‘Well, I’d have to give you a list of top secret German projects, then their codenames, then exactly why those names matched up with what the project was.’ She could see