Doctor Who_ The Hollow Men - Keith Topping [75]
„Your point being...?‟
„Why?‟ shouted the Doctor.
„Why? Why is the sky blue? Because it is.‟
The Doctor half turned, throwing up his hands in impatience. „That‟s nonsense,‟ he said.
„Selling arms to Shanks‟s boys is no different from selling them to some bunch of Arabs in the Middle East. I sell metal tubes. Once they‟re out of my hands I don‟t care what the buyer does with them.‟
„When you were six,‟ said the Doctor, slumping into a leather armchair, „I visited the school with Nyssa. You sat on my knee and told me you wanted to be an astronaut. Do you remember?‟
„Yes,‟ said Winstone. „You told me a story about an astronaut who wanted to be in space so he could see the face of God...‟
„But when he got there, he couldn‟t see anything but space,‟ continued the Doctor. „Do you remember the moral of the story?‟
„No.‟ There was an almost innocent curiosity in Trevor‟s voice now.
„The moral was,‟ began the Doctor slowly, „that sometimes we do the right thing for the wrong reason, and sometimes we do the wrong thing for the right reason. But that right and wrong are always involved.‟
„The money Matthew made from brokering the arms deals, and all his other projects, goes to an infertility clinic,‟ said Trevor suddenly. „I don‟t know why I‟m telling you this.‟
„Because you want to,‟ said the Doctor. „Infertility? I knew it. It‟s all to do with the village, isn‟t it? Once anybody leaves, they lose the ability to reproduce.‟
Trevor nodded. „You are smart. Matt wants me to kill you, you know.‟
„But you won‟t,‟ said the Doctor.
„Won‟t I?‟
„No,‟ said a voice from the blackness of the corridor.
„Because if you do, it‟ll be the last thing you ever do.‟
„Chief Constable,‟ said the Doctor as Denman walked into the room, both hands around a pistol. „How much of that did you hear?‟
„Most of the incriminating stuff,‟ said Denman. „Some idiot left the door open.‟
„Ah, that was me,‟ said the Doctor brightly. „I thought it was about time you got here.‟
„Right, sonny,‟ said Denman moving closer to Winstone.
„You‟re nicked. Put the gun down and lie face down on the floor.‟
Trevor smirked. „I don‟t believe you have the authority to arrest me any more. Not after everything that happened last night.‟ He placed his gun on the table. „In any case, that‟s all a bit hackneyed, isn‟t it, Mr Denman? What do you except me to say? “It‟s a fair cop, guv. You got me banged to rights and no mistake”?‟
„How about “ow”,‟ said Denman, punching Trevor in the face. Trevor toppled backward over his chair. Denman rounded the desk and kicked him savagely in the ribs. The anger that he had struggled to contain during the encounters with Shanks and Hill finally spilled over. „Last night my daughter killed herself. She‟s dead because of people like you, you verminous bastard,‟ he said, kneeling down and punching Winstone again. „Do you hear me? Nicola‟s dead.‟
„I‟m sorry,‟ wailed Trevor as the Doctor leapt over the desk and pushed Denman away.
„That‟ll achieve nothing,‟ the Doctor snapped.
„Except a lot of satisfaction for me,‟ said Denman, bunching his fists for another attack.
„You could break him in two if you wanted,‟ said the Doctor. „But that won‟t bring her back. And it won‟t help us either.‟
He took the gun from Denman‟s hand, then turned and picked up Trevor‟s discarded weapon.
„I‟ll take care of these,‟ he said, dropping them in a wastepaper basket. Then he turned his attention back to the wounded Winstone, still rolling around on the floor, clutching his bloodied face and weeping in pain. „Get up,‟ he said.
Trevor stood, shakily.
The Doctor handed the man a blue-spotted handkerchief, then turned to Denman, who was still red-faced. „The BSE
centre?‟ the Doctor asked.
„Nothing. Nothing but a bombed-out shell.‟
„Never mind,‟ said the Doctor. „Now, this infertility clinic...‟
„You think it‟s significant?‟
The Doctor walked to the window and looked out at the road. The street lights were just flicking on. „A taint,‟ he announced