Sleep and His Brother by Peter Dickinson

Author:Peter Dickinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media Mystery & Thriller
Published: 2015-02-03T04:01:40+00:00

6

His heart bounced once, then settled into a quick, loud thud. He could feel his palms slippery, and his cheeks chill with withdrawn blood. But he did not run—the inertia of civilization kept him still while he waited for the thudding to quiet and for his mind to persuade his muscles that the noise was no more than the rootling of some clumsy bird.

“Don’t turn round, Jimmy,” said an officer-type mutter.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Who the hell did you think it was?”

“I don’t know. You found something in the notes, Ned?”

“He kept saying, ‘She knows. None of you know.’”

“That might mean anything.”

“Yeah. They were turning a Bakerloo tube round at Elephant and Castle when they found an unconscious man in his shirtsleeves. You don’t knife a blighter if you want his coat.”

“How long ago?”

“Couple of hours. They got on to me just after I’d finished with you, so I came myself instead of ringing the local boys. He’ll have tried buses from there, and he won’t know his way. I reckon we’ve got an hour before he comes.”

“You haven’t found the chauffeur’s cap and jacket?”

“We’re looking. I want you to clear off now, Jimmy. Nothing personal.”

“I’ll be glad to go, as a matter of fact. The waking children are all in the main hall, including Marilyn Goddard. Mrs. Dixon-Jones, the secretary, is keeping an eye on them. The sleeping ones are in a ward, with Doctor Kelly in charge—he’s head of the medical research side. There’s also a Doctor Silver who runs other branches of research.”

“What the hell do you mean by sleeping and waking?”

Pibble explained.

“All the waking children are very frightened,” he added. “They get it from each other.”

“Don’t bother me with that kind of rubbish.”

“The Standard has a piece about the girl in the Stop Press.”

“We had to give them something, Jimmy. There wasn’t another bloody crumb.”

“I know. They’ve got the builders here. I told the secretary to see that all the ladders were locked up, but there’s scaffolding all down one side. You’d better go and see the secretary—she thinks I’m making the whole thing up.”

“Heaven help you if you are. So long, Jimmy.”

“Shall I take you down and introduce you?”

“Might as well.”

With a crash Callow burst from the concealing evergreen. Twigs clung to his tweedy suit and his hair, but his military stance made it look as though he were deliberately wearing them as light camouflage.

“I was doing a bit of a recce,” he said. “Last thing we want to do is scare the blighter off—I want him inside the ring, and then I’ve got him. I’ve tucked the cars out of sight already. Next thing is to tuck my bods away all round, and then I’ll give the building a quick once-over. But even if he has got here, he’ll lie doggo till dark, and break in then.”

“I’d have thought a northerner might fail to find his way here at all,” said Pibble. “South London can be very tricky, and he won’t feel like showing his face to ask people.

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