Doctor Who_ Return of the Living Dad - Kate Orman [32]
Benny looked as though she was going to lean over the counter and kiss the Admiral, but instead she said, ‘Morning, Daddy.’
Joel glanced at his fearless leader, who was taken aback, fighting down a smile. ‘Has there been any news about Ia Jareshth?’ Benny asked. The Admiral shook his head.
‘I have only one thing to say,’ said the Doctor.
Everyone turned to look at him. If there’d been a piano it would have stopped playing.
‘Jasper,’ he said.
Ms R said, ‘Stewart.’
The Doctor stopped drumming.
‘Oh,’ said Ms Randrianasolo. ‘What a giveaway.’
The Admiral was looking at Ms R, his face unreadable.
Even though he’d been here only a few months, Joel could see the quiet anger in the slope of his shoulders. ‘What’s this?’ he said.
‘Last night,’ said the Doctor, ‘someone tried to read my mind while I was sleeping. I implanted a small post-hypnotic command so I could identify them. Every time they hear the name Jasper —’
‘Stewart!’ hiccuped Ms R.
The Doctor walked up to her. ‘I gather you’re the resident psychic.’
‘What have you done to me?’ she said softly.
‘Nothing that can’t easily be fixed.’ He reached up suddenly and tweaked her earlobe. ‘There.’
Ms Randrianasolo rubbed her ear. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said.
The Doctor walked to the door, plucking his hat from one of the hooks. ‘You know,’ he told Isaac, ‘it’s possible you haven’t found your missing alien because you’ve been looking in the wrong place.’
He left.
Joel let out the breath he’d been holding. He and the Admiral exchanged glances. Isaac walked around the counter and peered at Ms R. ‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m fine,’ she said shakily.
‘Jasper and Stewart?’ said Joel.
‘Um,’ said Chris. ‘They’re teddy bears. We won them at the Sprunge festival on Vashig.’
‘I shouldn’t have asked you to do that.’ The Admiral looked up at his daughter. ‘What did he mean, looking in the wrong place?’
‘The Doctor thinks that Ia Jareshth might have run away because she was frightened of him,’ said Benny reluctantly.
‘He’s going to stay away from Little Caldwell until the Lacaillan transport arrives.’
Roz Forrester spoke up. ‘If he thinks the Lacaillan’s going to come back, that would mean she’s holed up somewhere nearby.’
‘Somewhere,’ said Chris suddenly, ‘where a slightly odd woman travelling by herself wouldn’t be noticed.’
‘Oh, hey!’ said Joel.
Ms R said, ‘Oh my God. Why didn’t we think of that before?’
‘Perhaps,’ said the Admiral, ‘because we were too busy looking in the wrong direction.’
Jacqui was squished into the back of the car between Ms Randrianasolo and the Doctor, with his black lady companion in the front and Joel driving as usual.
Jacqui looked at the Doctor, who was staring out of the Window as they drove along. The trees were big skinny black shapes against the dead white sky. It looked spooky.
The Doctor wasn’t very spooky or weird-looking. Well, maybe a bit weird, but not scary. Actually he looked a bit like an uncle of hers. He did seem a bit cross, though, frowning from time to time as he thought of things that made him angry.
She said, ‘Have you seen me somewhere before?’
He turned to look at her with his sad blue eyes. He thought about it, seriously. ‘I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry, should I remember?’
She shrugged, which was hard to do squashed like that.
Ms Randrianasolo scrunched herself down awkwardly to peer through the windscreen. ‘Nearly there,’ she said.
Jacqui craned her neck, looking out of the window past the Doctor’s face. Suddenly the fence appeared from behind the greenery, and there was the main entrance into USAF
Greenham Common.
There were women all over the place, pale faces peeking out of layers of winter clothing. Some were huddled around a big fire; others were washing up at a card table. A huge banner announced that this was GREENHAM COMMON
WOMEN’S PEACE CAMP.
‘Are you sure you don’t want to come?’ said Jacqui. ‘Men are okay in the daytime.’
‘I need to get on to Newbury,’ said the Doctor.