Doctor Who_ Warlock - Andrew Cartmel [118]
‘I was hoping you might come back here,’ said the white kid. Justine was watching the Japanese teenagers. She recognized the emblems on their T-shirts; things had changed since she lived around here, but they hadn’t changed that much. The Yakuza were still part of London’s rich ethnic mix.
‘I’m waiting here for my friend,’ said Justine, choosing her words carefully.
The kid was looking at the Japanese boy. ‘I told you she was pretty, didn’t I?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said the Japanese girl. ‘If she wasn’t, our surgeons could make her pretty.’
‘You remember?’ said Justine desperately. ‘You met him.’
‘Yeah, but she’s healthy, right?’ said the kid to the Japanese girl. ‘You can’t fake healthy.’
‘We’ll see,’ said the girl.
‘He’ll be here any minute,’ said Justine.
The Japanese boy spoke for the first time. ‘In that case we’d better take you away immediately.’
* * *
Chapter 27
‘Is she all right?’
Dieter poured another glass of wine and glanced at Maxine. She noticed that his hands were shaking slightly. ‘Are you questioning my judgement?’ he snapped.
‘All I’m saying is maybe you should maintain Pam on the sedatives a little while longer.’
‘She doesn’t need sedation, she needs distraction.’ Dieter sipped his wine and walked over to the billiard table which practically filled the games room. He began to arrange the coloured balls on the green felt. ‘Pam has opted to throw herself into her work. Personally I feel that is a good thing.’
Not to mention a profitable one, thought Maxine. But she didn’t say that. Instead she said, ‘But Tommy is dead. She’s lost her brother. That must be an incredible blow.’
Dieter picked up his glass. ‘We all have our own disasters to cope with. Personally I have to invite the coroner over from Canterbury and discuss the matter of a tragic electrical accident. Fortunately I know the lady and I’m sure she can deal with the matter with the minimum of publicity and police involvement.’ Dieter drained his wine. ‘Simultaneously I have the problem of concealing the living bodies of three apparently brain‐dead young people and keeping them in good health until I can arrange for their sale to a reputable organ bank. And now of course there is this.’ Dieter’s gaze was strangely unfocused and Maxine realized he wasn’t looking at her. Instead he was staring over her shoulder at the row of large black plastic bags that stood along the wall of the games room. Each bag was carefully sealed with twists of wire but Maxine thought she could still faintly detect the smell.
‘There isn’t a single dry cleaner’s open until tomorrow morning,’ said Dieter. His voice was steady but his hands were more shaky than ever as he refilled his glass again. ‘I hope Pam finds a suitable use for that filthy dog.’
Maxine didn’t reply. She stood at the window of the games room, staring across the dark farmyard towards the lights of the laboratory complex.
* * *
The laboratory was ablaze with light.
Pam had switched on every lamp in the place, including the ones in the annexe, which she’d replaced as soon as she arrived. The stretch of floor where Tommy had been found had dried now and Pam made a point of walking back and forth across it a few times on minor errands.
Now she sat on a lab stool with a remote control in one hand and a mug in the other. The mug contained strong black coffee; it looked like it was going to be a long night and Pam wanted her wits about her. She could still feel the faint tremor of the tranquillizers Dieter had dosed her with earlier.
‘This is the part,’ said Pam. ‘Watch carefully now.’ She aimed the remote control and pressed a button. On the far side of the laboratory the image on the screen of the TV steadied and began moving at normal speed. Pam glanced over her shoulder. ‘There,’ she said. ‘Did you hear that? Let me play it again for you.’ She used the remote to rewind and increase the volume.
The TV screen showed Ace, Shell and Jack strapped in their dentist’s chairs in the barn. None of the figures moved or gave any sign of life.