Doctor Who_ The Sea-Devils - Malcolm Hulke [33]
‘What if he’s twigged that something’s up?’ Trenchard knew that his whole body was twitching with anxiety.
‘He’s only going to do that if you don’t behave normally,’ said the Master. ‘Pick up that internal ‘phone, and tell the gatehouse officers to admit Captain Hart immediately.’
Trenchard hesitated. He felt that he wanted to be sick. ‘There’s something I didn’t mention to you. That girl—she somehow got away. She must be roaming in the grounds somewhere. Naturally, I’ve got prison officers searching for her.’
‘You idiot!’ thundered the Master. ‘It was the simplest matter to put her under arrest.’
The Master’s momentary outburst hurt Trenchard. He had always been used to people being very polite to him. ‘There’s no need to be rude,’ he complained, clearly upset. ‘We can’t all be geniuses. In any case, it wasn’t my fault.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said the Master untruthfully, realising he had gone too far. ‘Perhaps we are both rather on edge. May I suggest that you lift that telephone, and give Captain Hart clearance to enter the grounds? Then, if he asks any difficult questions, you will have to bluff it out, which I’m sure you will do admirably.’
‘He may want to see you,’ said Trenchard. ‘You’d better be reading, or doing exercises or something, in your room. Then I can show you to him on the monitor.’
The Master got to his feet. ‘You’re forgetting, the Doctor’s in there. But I have a much better idea, something that will really put Captain Hart’s mind at rest.’ He outlined his idea to Trenchard, then had himself led away by a prison officer.
Hand trembling, Trenchard lifted the internal ’phone and told the gatehouse officers not to keep the Captain waiting a moment longer.
Four minutes later Captain Hart was shown in to Trenchard’s office. By now, Trenchard had composed himself and greeted his visitor warmly.
‘John, my dear fellow,’ said Trenchard, ‘made up your mind about the tournament?’
‘I’m here about the Doctor and Miss Grant,’ said Captain Hart. ‘You told my secretary that they went by taxi back to the quayside, presumably en route for London.’
‘That’s right,’ said Trenchard.
‘I lent them a Jeep,’ said the Captain, ‘and it’s now parked down by your gatehouse. I find that a little odd.’
Trenchard felt his mouth suddenly go dry. He had completely overlooked the possibility that the Doctor and Jo had arrived in a vehicle. ‘I simply can’t explain that,’ he said, with all honesty. ‘How very strange.’
‘There’s more,’ said Captain Hart, and recounted how Jo Grant had claimed that she saw Trenchard’s prisoner freely moving around the Naval Base.
‘Absolutely ridiculous,’ said Trenchard. ‘Young women can be very fanciful, so I’m told.’
Captain Hart now came to the real purpose of his visit. ‘Would it be possible for me to see your prisoner, George?’
‘All right, old chap,’ said Trenchard. He opened the huge oak cupboard doors to reveal the monitor screen and controls. ‘Not without a few modern security devices here, you know!’ He turned on the monitor screen.
The picture on the screen showed the Master sitting hunched up on a rough wooden chair, reading. There were heavy manacles on both his ankles, connected by a strong chain. He was in a tiny cell that had no window. Captain Hart had seen men in cells before, but nothing quite as primitive and restrictive as this.
‘Thank you,’ he said, and Trenchard turned off the monitor screen. ‘Are the chains absolutely necessary?’
‘The man is a vicious criminal,’ said Trenchard. ‘We feed him properly, of course, and take the chains off for an hour once a week to let him exercise his legs. But I don’t run this place as a holiday camp for his benefit.’
‘So I see,’ said Captain Hart. ‘Well, Miss Grant must have been mistaken. I’d better let you get on with your work.’
Trenchard, now in a cheerful mood, showed Captain Hart to the front door. ‘I must say, old chap, it was pretty odd of them to leave your Jeep here and take a taxi, but I can’t say that I’m really surprised. They seemed a strange couple.