Part 13 (1/2)

115.

'Did he tell you anything useful?'

'Useful? Well, you tell me. They've brought the Hubway opening forward a few days. It's going to be tomorrow.'

'Hmm.' The Doctor returned his attention to the chips. 'Isn't that a bit short notice?'

'Yes. And normally Gibson or myself would have a veto on any change of plan. But Hanson couldn't get hold of either of us, so he has already agreed.'

The Doctor grunted, either to show he was listening or because he wasn't.

'Anyway, I'd better give Gibson a shout.'

The Doctor didn't answer. But he called out to Harry as he was leaving the room: 'Harry, ask him if Sarah is all right.'

Sarah had rung round all the caterers who had taken large advertis.e.m.e.nts in the Yellow Pages. Most of the ones still there had been able to answer her questions some of them with the single observation that they were fully booked and could not help.

She took a note of the best three quotes together with lists of what each would provide for the money and went in search of Lewis. He was still in his office, and Stabfield was with him.

'Ah, come in Miss Smith,' Stabfield said. Half of his mouth twitched upwards as if in a smile. 'What can we do for you?'

She explained what she had done and offered the list to Lewis. Stabfield took it and glanced at it. 'You and Johanna can sort this out, Lewis. But move quickly there isn't much time.'

Lewis took the list from Stabfield. 'I'll call her now,' he said.

Stabfield led Sarah out of the office as Lewis reached for the phone. 'And how are you acclimatizing to life at I2?' he asked.

Sarah told him how valuable the experience was and how much she was finding useful for her articles. Stabfield accompanied her all the way to her desk.

Just as he was about to leave, a thought seemed to occur to Stabfield. 'Keep tomorrow morning blocked out, will you?' he said. 'We have something rather special scheduled. I'd like you to be a resource for it. Be here at seven-thirty.'

116.

Sarah locked her desk and put on her jacket. Out of habit she checked her pen was still in the pocket, then picked up her handbag. She had a meeting with Gibson in an hour, and it seemed like something was happening probably tomorrow morning.

'Gibson said he'd ring when he gets home if there are any problems.' Harry had found the Doctor pacing up and down in the office.

'Good,' the Doctor said and continued his circuit of the table.

'Though I'd like to talk to him anyway.'

'Want to check the old girl's okay?' Harry sat down and let the Doctor march past him a couple of times. 'She'll be fine.

You know what a tough thing she is.' Harry took a small cell phone from his pocket. 'Still, best to be sure. I'll leave him a message and ask him to call us anyway.' He dialled.

'Harry, could this man Hanson have called you on that?' The Doctor indicated the cell phone.

'Suppose so. But he probably didn't think of it.' He frowned and pressed a b.u.t.ton on the phone. 'Number un.o.btainable.

Must have mis-dialled.' He tried again. 'I wish you'd stop pacing up and down like a panda, Doctor. You're making me nervous.'

The Doctor glared and continued his tour of the office. He took the CD from his pocket and tapped it against his teeth to the rhythm of Yankee Doodle Yankee Doodle.

'Still no good,' Harry started pus.h.i.+ng b.u.t.tons again. 'I'll try the operator. No, Hanson is one of the old school. Probably doesn't realize some of us carry these things.'

'Can't you call Gibson's?'

'I just tried. He's got it switched off. Probably so it doesn't interrupt his rendezvous with Sarah, though he may just have forgotten to switch it on again.' The operator answered and Harry described the problem he had getting through to Gibson's flat number. The operator tried the number herself, and got the same result. Then she tested the line.

'You know what you were saying about coincidence, Doctor,' Harry said as he put the phone away.

'Yes.'

117.

'Gibson's portable phone is switched off. And the phone in his flat is out of order.'

The Doctor kicked the end of his scarf and jammed his hat on his head. 'I'd say that was rather too inconvenient, wouldn't you?'

'Darling, I'd be so grateful. She's dying to do the job and she's got everything set up. And after all, it's not as if she's more expensive than the people you found, she's actually cheaper and will provide more.'

Eleanor could hear Peterson hesitating at the other end of the phone.

'I'd be so so grateful,' she said again. 'I've even managed to put off Alice until next week so we can be together tonight.' grateful,' she said again. 'I've even managed to put off Alice until next week so we can be together tonight.'

'But it is rather difficult now that I've asked them.'

'You can change your mind. Tell them there's been a mix-up and two sets of caterers have been booked. I'm sure you're clever enough to think of something.' Eleanor sighed. 'I can be with you by eight,' she said, trying not to sound too resigned.

'I I'll see what I can do,' Peterson said. 'But I'll have to get this sorted out straight away.'

'Darling I know you can do it. I'll tell her, she'll be thrilled and you won't be disappointed. I'll see you as soon after eight as I can bye now.'

Eleanor cut the connection before Peterson could comment.

She rang Lewis to tell him how it had gone.

Robert Gibson was in a thoughtful mood as he arrived back at his flat. He parked the car in the s.p.a.ce reserved for him outside the block, took his briefcase off the back seat and locked the car.

Had his mind been less involved with what Sarah had told him about what little she knew of the next day's arrangements, he might have noticed a white Porsche parked across the street.

It was already getting dark, but had his eyesight been extremely good he might have seen the woman behind the wheel watching as he opened the door into the block. But even if he had, his memory was almost certainly not good enough to 118 remember she had for a short while been sitting two tables away from himself and Sarah that lunchtime.

Gibson's flat was on the second floor. He took the lift. It smelt of stale urine and was daubed with graffiti which expressed a variety of crude sentiments in an a.s.sortment of garish colours. As always he held his breath for as long as he could halfway between the first and second floors, not bad though hardly a record. He had once managed to hold his breath all the way up.

He unlocked the heavy door into his flat, kicked the small pile of post out of the way, and deactivated the burglar alarm.