Doctor Who_ Warlock - Andrew Cartmel [144]
Mrs Woodcott gurgled with laughter. ‘You look like you’re about to have a heart attack, Dieter old thing.’
Dieter was backing away in shock as Ace got down from the barber’s chair, swinging her legs around and lowering herself gently to the floor. ‘Careful,’ said the Doctor, ‘you’ll be unsteady on your feet for a while.’ He helped her.
‘But this is marvellous.’ Dieter had recovered his characteristic poise. ‘She has regained her faculties.’ He swung around suddenly, turning away from Ace and back to the dentist chair with the red‐bearded man in it. ‘But what about Jack? What has happened to poor Jack?’
‘Don’t try and change the subject,’ said Creed.
‘We couldn’t find the dog,’ said Ace. ‘That’s what’s happened to Jack.’
‘You’re still a bit confused, aren’t you?’ said Dieter solicitously. ‘How did your friends manage to wake you up?’
‘We gave her a further dose of warlock,’ said Mrs Woodcott, coming in from one of the aisles of boxes. She was carrying a small black cat. ‘And we did the same to this rather beguiling creature here.’ She stroked the cat and the cat purred. ‘And then I took one myself, for good measure.’
Dieter turned to Ace. ‘And how long have you been awake for, my dear girl?’
‘For a couple of hours.’
‘So you’ve had time to talk to your friends. Clearly you are the source of these ridiculous stories. It must have been this drug, what do you call it? Warlock. It has caused you to hallucinate.’
‘There was a hallucination going on, all right,’ said Mrs Woodcott. ‘But it was the hallucination of a girl called Shell. A girl with tattoos who was dreaming of a winter’s day in Canterbury.’
‘You seem to know a great deal about it,’ said Dieter.
‘I was there,’ said Mrs Woodcott. ‘She showed me where this place was and I drew a map of it.’
‘Oh, really? You drew a map while you were in a trance?’
‘More like a hypnagogic semi‐waking state,’ said Mrs Woodcott.
‘In which you met the dead girl.’
‘She wasn’t dead then. If she had been it might have proved a bit more problematic. But no, she was alive. It all took place in the mind of a dying cat.’
Dieter turned to the Doctor, shrugging and smiling. ‘Hardly a statement of scientific fact from a reliable trained observer.’
‘Are you trying to say I’m some kind of lunatic?’ said Mrs Woodcott.
‘Certainly not. But you admit yourself that you took this drug, warlock. It has caused some strange beliefs in your mind.’
‘Well, here’s another one to add to your strange belief collection,’ said Mrs Woodcott. ‘I have a strong and very vivid fixed notion that warlock is very angry at you for what has happened and is going to see that something quite unpleasant is waiting for you.’
Dieter frowned. ‘You refer to this drug warlock as if it was a sentient living thing.’
‘You bet your sweet ass,’ said Mrs Woodcott.
* * *
Chapter 34
It was the first really cold morning of the year. There was the promise of winter in the air and you could see your warm morning breath fog on a pane of glass.
Ace leaned back from the window. The garden below looked cool and crisp, with white streaks of frost on the unruly grass. Too late to get the lawnmower out this year, she thought. Maybe next spring.
Ace put on a long T-shirt and a pair of espadrilles, then eased the door open. The old house on Allen Road had half a dozen bedrooms, usually plenty. But last night they’d had a full house, with the Doctor breaking out army surplus thermal sleeping bags because there weren’t enough clean sheets to go around.
Ace made her way down the stairs quietly so as not to wake any of the guests. The house creaked, feeling warm and full of people. Ace felt safe inside it as she tiptoed down to the kitchen.
But there in one corner of the tiled floor she saw Chick’s bowl and it was if something in her mind lurched.
Dark memories began rising. She felt a hand at her elbow and turned around to find she was face to face with the man called Creed.
He smiled down at her. ‘Sit down and let me make you some coffee.’
‘No, I’m fine.’
‘Well, just sit down and talk to