Doctor Who_ Original Sin - Andy Lane [29]
‘Taken?’
‘Cleared away. Moved.’
‘So we check the lost property office,’ Bernice suggested.
‘I doubt somehow that it will be so simple.’
‘Then what do you suggest?’
He gazed suspiciously around at the crowd. ‘Does it strike you as coincidental that the TARDIS vanishes at the same time that we begin to investigate a mystery concerning the fate of the Earth?’
‘To be frank, yes it does.’
‘I sense the machinations of the cosmos at work. The ineluctable clockwork of fate. Jung would have agreed with me. Dear old Jung. Never believed in coincidence, you know. Synchronicity, that’s what he called it.’
‘So you think this Jung has stolen your TARDIS?’
‘No, no, no. Jung was a psychologist. He was a student of Freud, but they fell out.’
‘Fell out of what?’
‘Never mind. He liked beetles.’
‘Who doesn’t? Look, why can’t you accept that this is probably a misunderstanding?’
‘Because there is a connection. Believe me, Bernice, I’ve been involved in more conspiracies than you’ve had double scotches. Something is going on.’
She snorted. ‘If you’ve been involved in that many conspiracies, someone ought to ask you where you were on November 22nd, 1963.’
He delved in his pocket.
‘I’m sure something important was happening around then,’ he muttered.
‘Let me check my five-hundred-year diary.’
‘Do the words “grassy knoll” mean anything to you?’
‘No, although I once met a ghastly Kroll. Why do you ask?’
‘Never mind,’ she sighed. ‘I was only joking. Where do we go from here?’
The Doctor rubbed a hand across his face. ‘Purgatory,’ he said finally.
‘There’s a trail pointing towards the Imperial Landsknechte records. If we follow it, we may find the TARDIS at the end of it.’
‘May?’ Bernice asked.
51
‘Nothing in the universe is certain except death and taxes,’ the Doctor replied, and walked away.
‘What do you mean, you’re pulling the plug?’ Forrester shouted.
Rashid just sat sprawled behind her desk, the light gleaming off her oiled quiff, and stared at Forrester. ‘I mean what I say,’ she drawled. ‘I’m pulling the plug. You got a result. That’s what counts. Good work.’
‘But . . . ?’
Forrester glanced sideways at Cwej for backup. He was studiously examining a spot on the wall just above Rashid’s head. Never trust a rookie for support.
‘No buts, Forrester. What do you want, a commendation? Only an underdweller, for Goddess’ sake.’
Forrester shook her head. ‘But what about the death?’ she said. ‘I mean, a death in custody? Like, I don’t want an investigation or anything, but aren’t you even going to check the mind probe for faults?’
Rashid shook her head. ‘No point. Centcomp’s happy with the way you handled the case. I’m happy. The whole Empire’s happy, apart from you two.’
Forrester kicked surreptitiously at Cwej’s ankle, but he didn’t react. ‘We felt, ah, that is, Cwej here felt that there was some kind of irregularity in the mind probe readings,’ she ventured.
‘Rookies,’ Rashid sighed. ‘Look, if it makes you happier, I’ll review the mind probe evidence myself. Now get.’
Forrester opened her mouth to protest, but Cwej snapped, ‘Yes, sir!’ and turned smartly on his heel. She had no choice but to follow, cursing beneath her breath as she did so.
‘What the hell was all that about?’ she snapped as soon as they left the office. ‘I thought you were on my side.’
‘I am,’ he said. ‘Didn’t you notice?’
‘Notice what?’
‘The Adjudicator Secular’s simcord was on all the time. She’d turned the picture off to make it look like the whole thing was inactive, but the commlight was green. Everything we said was being heard by someone else. That’s why I had to get us out before you said too much.’
Forrester frowned, opened her mouth to say something, then slowly closed it as the implications hit home.
‘You mean . . . ?’
‘I mean that the Adjudicator Secular’s being leaned on. Someone’s told her to close this case down.’
∗ ∗ ∗
52
Bernice had spent long enough aboard spaceships to be able to feel and understand the subtle vibrations of warp engines.