Johnny Swanson - Eleanor Updale [81]
But of course Johnny now knew only too well, and under the table he was quaking.
Dr Howell opened the door to leave, and the sound of the pantomime overture burst into the room, followed by joyous laughter as the Ugly Sisters took to the stage. For a moment Johnny contemplated the idea of coming out from his hiding place while Mrs Langford was alone. He might be able to reason with her, or to overpower her and run away. But he couldn’t be sure. She might grab him and hold him till Dr Howell got back with whatever he was collecting from the dispensary. He couldn’t take the risk. Shivering and sweating with fear, he curled up even tighter as Mrs Langford returned to her chair and stretched out her legs. The toe of her shoe was a hair’s-breadth from his face. He dared not breathe too deeply in case she felt the warm damp air against her skin.
Then the door handle rattled, and she was on her feet again as a burst of hisses from the theatre accompanied Dr Howell’s return.
‘OK,’ he said. ‘But this boy of yours had better come soon. We haven’t got long, remember.’
Johnny heard clinking glass, and things being put down on the desk, just above his head. He pictured jars of poison and hypodermic needles waiting for his arrival in the room.
Mrs Langford was calmly planning out how the ambush would work. ‘You stand behind the door,’ she said to Howell, ‘then I’ll coax him over here. You can grab him from behind. It will all be over in an instant.’
Dr Howell and Mrs Langford stopped talking. They waited for Johnny with only the faint sounds of Oohs and Aahs from the pantomime to break their silence. All Johnny could do was try to stay still, and hope that somehow something would happen to make him safe.
Eventually Dr Howell spoke. ‘I thought you said the boy was on his way,’ he snapped, from his position beside the door.
‘He’ll come,’ said Mrs Langford. ‘He’s probably just making sure the coast is clear.’
Under the table, Johnny’s terror was mixed with curiosity. He still wanted to know what it was that Mrs Langford and Dr Howell had originally been planning to do while the pantomime was on. It was obvious that Mrs Langford had organized the play simply to make sure that the two of them could be alone together. They kept saying that there wasn’t much time, and that they had to get Johnny out of the way first. But before what? What were they talking about?
After a few minutes, as a song struck up in the theatre, Dr Howell started pacing again. ‘Come on! Come on, boy!’ he muttered impatiently. He started rearranging the paraphernalia of death on the desk. Every shuffle and clink made Johnny’s heart thump harder. Then Dr Howell rushed back over to the door. ‘He’s here!’ he cried.
‘Oh my goodness!’ said Mrs Langford, flustered for the first time that night.
Under the desk, Johnny wondered what they meant. Suppose it was Olwen, come to report back to Johnny and Mrs Langford on her mission to Professor Campbell? There was no way Johnny could warn her – nothing he could do to stop her entering the room. Please, Olwen, he prayed. Please don’t come in! He heard the squeak of the handle, and a chorus of ‘Look behind you!’ from the children at the pantomime as the door opened. He felt sick, expecting a scream as Dr Howell grabbed Olwen and administered the poison.
Instead, a man spoke. The police! Of course! It’s the police. They’ve come! thought Johnny as a wave of relief swept over him. But no. It didn’t sound like a policeman.
‘Hello, you two.’
Johnny knew that voice. He’d heard it on Remembrance Day and again the day after Dr Langford’s body was discovered.
‘That was a hell of a drive! Got anything to drink?’
It was the voice of Johnny’s landlord, Frederick Bennett. But what on earth was Mr Bennett doing at Craig-y-Nos?
Chapter 39
A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE
Back in Stambleton, Hutch had closed up the shop for the night. He was on his way upstairs