The Fog - James Herbert [50]
‘But that doesn’t mean I’m not taking any action,’ Wreford added quickly. ‘I’ve alerted all our forces in the West Country—’
‘Telling them what?’
‘Telling them to be on the lookout for a dangerous gas and to move in immediately they hear of any disturbances, big or small.’
‘But the people should be warned. They should be cleared from the path of the fog!’
‘First we have to locate the fog, Mr Holman. And then we have to make sure it is responsible for these outbreaks.’
‘But you said you believed me!’
‘And so I do, but I have no power to do as you ask. And to get any authorization at all, I have to convince my superiors of the danger.’
‘So you’re going to wait for more people to die.’
‘Within the next few hours, the fog or gas – whatever it may be – will begin to take effect on the people it has already been in contact with and then we should be provided with insurmountable evidence. There would be nothing we could do about these particular people now, anyway.’
‘Except lock them up for their own good!’
‘Be your age, Mr Holman. What would we do? Broadcast a message for anyone who has been in contact with fog recently to please report to their nearest police station? At best, we’d be a laughing stock, at worst, there’d be panic throughout the country. And for what purpose? What if the fog has now dispersed? What if it is now ineffective? What if we find the fog is not to blame after all, that the things that have happened are only unrelated, freak occurrences? What then, Mr Holman? Will you take the responsibility?’
Holman sprang to his feet and thumped the desk with his hand. ‘We can’t sit around doing nothing!’ he shouted.
‘I’ve told you my course of action,’ snapped Wreford. ‘Now please sit down and try to be reasonable.’ He spoke more soothingly. ‘Think about it, Mr Holman. We only have your evidence about the fog, and let me be frank, you were only released from hospital the other day after what appeared to be a nervous breakdown. Bear with me, let me assemble the facts before I put forward a case. As it is, I’ve stretched my neck out by ordering a full alert in the West Country. There’ll be all hell to pay when my chiefs hear about it in the morning.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘I mean later today. I’m just asking you to be a little more patient.’
‘I don’t have much choice, do I?’ said Holman, resting his elbows on his knees and clenching his hands together. ‘Very well. But now I want to see Casey. I want to go to the hospital.’
Wreford smiled kindly. ‘Of course, but I’d rather you stayed here.’
‘Like hell!’ Holman sat up again.
‘I need you here. Let me get Detective Inspector Barrow to ring the hospital and see how she is. They wouldn’t let you see her at this time of the morning, anyway.’ Wreford nodded to the young detective, who disappeared from the room.
‘I’m sure you understand our position,’ Wreford continued smoothly.
‘I’m sure I don’t,’ answered Holman.
Barrow returned a few moments later, a look of concern on his face. He ignored Holman and walked round the Chief Superintendent’s desk to whisper in his ear.
‘Oh, for God’s sake!’ stormed Holman.
‘It’s all right, Mr Holman,’ said Wreford, quickly, not wanting the man’s temper to boil over again. ‘Barrow has rung the hospital and they informed him Miss Simmons was discharged a few hours ago in the care of her father.’
Holman stared blankly at him.
Wreford looked embarrassed. ‘I’m sorry. Apparently, there was nothing they could do. The girl seemed perfectly all right, if a little dazed, and her father insisted he took her home despite their protests. They would have liked to have kept her under observation for a short while, but unfortunately they couldn’t prevent her from leaving.’
The blue-green Rover sped through the quiet streets towards Highgate, its three occupants grim and silent. Holman stared blankly out of a window, his tired mind in a frenzy of concern for Casey, an empty, sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was she all right? Had the effects of the gas worn off? She really hadn’t had too much exposure to it.
Barrow sat beside