Darkness Mist & Shadows - The Collected Macabre Tales of Basil Copper - Volume Three by Copper Basil

Author:Copper, Basil [Copper, Basil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ps Publishing Ltd
Published: 2018-04-20T21:00:00+00:00

9

“I heard you were ill,” Watson said.

The viewing screen above the doorway flickered and came to life. After a few seconds Elaine Russell’s image came into view. She looked pale and disturbed, the visitor thought.

“I brought you some chocolate and a bottle of wine,” he went on. “Rort told me that you had been ill but were now recovering. I wondered why I hadn’t seen you in Control the last few days.”

The girl smiled then.

“That’s extremely kind of you, Conrad.”

It was the first time she had used his Christian name. Watson felt his cheeks stinging, though the metal alley in which he stood had a cool draught blowing through it. The whine of a distant trolley starting up sounded and then slowly died.

“Aren’t you going to let me in?” he stammered. “Or do you not feel up to receiving visitors.”

Elaine Russell’s eyes opened wide.

“Oh, forgive me. Of course. Do come in. 78-435.”

Watson pressed the code buttons in their console next to the oval steel door which slid back with a barely audible rumble. He went through into a small hall lit by concealed lighting and up a freestanding metal spiral staircase to the living quarters. They were elegant, as he had expected them to be, with many white rugs and white furniture. In stark contrast to his own spartan quarters, he thought. But then the girl occupied an important position within the hierarchy of XK24. He had suspected that from the moment he had first seen her working with Stevenson in Control.

She had deserted the silver uniform with its badges of rank and wore a white gown of some thick material, which clung to her excellent figure. She took the gifts from him with a gracious inclination of her head and beckoned him into a deep leather chair.

“Thank you so much for your kindness. Will you not share the wine with me?”

“Delighted,” Watson said, looking curiously about the lavishly furnished apartment. He had been in few private quarters since coming to the station and he was somewhat overwhelmed by the luxury displayed here. The girl must have sensed his thoughts in some manner for she gave him another enigmatic smile, putting the chocolate box down on an engraved glass table, before gliding across the black marble floor carrying the bottle. As Watson waited he could hear the friendly sound of clinking glasses and the popping cork. She was back presently with a silver tray containing the bottle, tall goblets with gold rims and an assortment of biscuits on small porcelain dishes. He waited until she had opened the box of chocolates and was pouring the wine before he spoke again.

“I trust you didn’t mind me calling. I hope your illness wasn’t serious. Rort was unable to tell me much about the details. Except that he had heard you had collapsed on your way home the other night…”

The girl handed him a glass, indicated the biscuits on the tray and sank down into an identical leather chair opposite.

“That’s quite true. I’ve been working extremely hard lately.

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