Doctor Who_ Last of the Gaderene - Mark Gatiss [33]
But his good humour had evaporated and by now he was worried about his son. He fancied he knew all the places the lad was likely to go. Noah, however, was in none of them.
Why would he stay out? Surely he knew how upset Ted would be and how his uncle Max would take it out on his dad.
Ted left the village and took the road that led towards the aerodrome. Perhaps he’d gone off up there. The new arrivals had certainly caused a lot of fuss. Yes, that was where he would be, seeing if he could resist getting himself in trouble.
Unless, of course, it was a girl...
Ted smiled. The lad was growing up. So perhaps it wasn’t so surprising that he’d failed to come home. Hadn’t he seen a girl making eyes at Noah over the post-office counter? And the summer was at its height. Time for a young man’s fancy to turn to thoughts of pretty girls. Cheered by this thought, Ted walked through the night towards the aerodrome with a lighter heart, and nothing disturbed him until he came across his son, spread-eagled in a ditch, eyes closed, a thick dribble of blood pouring from the open wound on his head.
The Doctor and Jo were seated across from Mrs Toovey on a small and comfortable sofa that seemed about to engulf them in its chintzy pattern. The Doctor smiled sweetly at the old woman and drained the last of his tea.
They had been made very welcome and Jo was already looking forward to the huge, comfortable-looking bed she’d been allotted in the attic room.
The Doctor nibbled on a biscuit and leant towards Mrs Toovey. ‘Did the Wing Commander give you any idea how long he’d be?’
The old woman shook her head and stifled a sob. ‘No, sir.
I warned him. I said to wait until you got here but he’s all for taking the initiative.’
Jo patted Mrs Toovey’s hand gently. ‘Good for him.’
Mrs Toovey gave a small smile. ‘I reckon he misses the war, you see. He’d never admit it but it... made him feel alive.
All this mystery with the aerodrome got his taste for adventure going.’
The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. ‘And you say he was planning to go up there?’
‘Yes, Doctor. Him and Ted Bishop’s lad.’
The Doctor nodded. ‘What do you reckon to these...
newcomers?’
Mrs Toovey rubbed her wedding ring, twisting it absently round and round her finger. ‘Well, I’m sure it’s a good thing.
Everyone seems to think so. But all these fellas in black. Like soldiers...’
She tailed off.
Jo shot a glance at the Doctor. ‘So what exactly did Mr Whistler suspect was going on up there?’
‘Oh, he didn’t confide in me, love,’ murmured Mrs Toovey ‘Need to know, Mrs T, she said, in imitation of Whistler’s military bark.
The Doctor rubbed his chin. ‘Have you noticed anything else... unusual?’
Mrs Toovey cast her gaze towards the ceiling as if in search of divine inspiration. ‘Not that I can think of... except, yes, the Wing Commander did mention that old Jobey Packer seemed to have disappeared. He asked about a bit. No one’s seen him.’
‘And that’s not like him?’ queried Jo.
‘Oh no. If you knew Jobey, you wouldn’t need to ask, love. He’s a home bird and then some.’ She looked down.
‘Come to think of it, last time I saw him, he said he’d got some odd-job work...’
‘Up at the aerodrome?’ asked the Doctor.
Mrs Toovey nodded. ‘Oh and there’s the lightning, of course.’
Jo looked up. ‘The lightning?’
Mrs Toovey nodded. ‘Last few days. Everyone’s seen it.
Like the beginning of a thunderstorm, but it never comes.’
The Doctor frowned and then stood up decisively.
‘Where are you off to?’ asked Jo in surprise.
‘The aerodrome,’ said the Doctor matter-of-factly. ‘I want you to stay here in case the Wing Commander returns.’
‘Don’t we have to wait for our passes?’
The Doctor looked indignant. ‘Certainly not!’
Max stood in his accustomed place behind the post-office counter, fiddling with his rather flamboyant paisley bow tie.
Hand on hip, he was tearing sheets of stamps free from a ledger, punctuating each rip with a bored sigh.
The place