‘You shouldn’t say unmilitary – that’s a clear line. He’s on just an ordinary GPO line.’
Carswell was still talking. ‘Reading the results, old boy, is where the skill comes in, I always say. Just needs a trained mind. I know you thought some of our whims a little odd at times. Oh, I know. No, no, no, you see, you are a man of action. Pater just the same, the same exactly.’
‘I recognized this fellow, sir. In the film at the War House, sir. A friend, sir, of my cousin, and frightfully good at chemistry. It really is, sir. I’ll see Dalby again tonight. He thinks I should have a few days here, sir. Dalby said to tell no one but I knew you’d wonder where I was, and there is the film requisition too, sir. I haven’t done them for a few days.’
Carswell was folding his sheet of statistics and replacing it in the large laced file. ‘Murray will do all the action stuff, phoning and carrying on. But I want your OK to say he’s from the Special Branch Metropolitan Police. I wanted to see you last week, but Murray said without a few figures to start on we had just no case at all. We’ll have to check hospitals, nursing homes, convalescent homes – nut-houses too, old boy, I said, if they are scientists. Ha ha. But it is convincing, I want to stress that.’
Nut-houses, I thought, whatever would Carswell be on about next. Meanwhile Chico was saying, ‘Shall I phone you back tomorrow after I’ve spoken to Dalby, sir?’
‘Jean is here, sir,’ said Alice, trying to hide Jean’s confidential file under her mauve cardigan with the blue buttons.
‘Hello, my dear young lady.’
‘No, don’t ring off, I haven’t finished with you yet!’
‘I had a lot of trouble, Alice. They said it wouldn’t be ready till morning.’
‘Have my seat, it’s not awfully comfortable.’
‘They distinctly said four-thirty. It’s always the same. The more time one gives them the more unreliable they are.’
‘This friend of my cousin, sir, top ranker with the Chemical Warfare people. I knew if I spoke to him.’
‘No, I’ve been sitting down all day.’
‘How did you come to see Dalby?’
‘Dalby came in after the ad in the Stage.’
‘Well, why didn’t you tell me, Alice?’
‘I’d rather stand really.’
‘No, I was talking to Alice. How did you see Dalby?’
‘Can’t I tell Murray to go ahead then, sir, acting most discreetly, of course. Mustn’t upset the guardians of the law.’
‘Did they say what time in the morning, Jean?’
‘Just by accident. Horrid little place. It’s where he usually meets you.’
‘I’ve never been to Grantham in my life, not to get out of the train, anyway.’
‘It cheers me up, my dear. When you get old, the sun warms your bones.’
‘Remind him about the reqs, sir. He’s the only one that understands them.’
‘No, there’s a chair there if I want one, really, umm.’
‘Distinctly: where he usually meets you. That’s what he said.’
‘I’ll go through all the results with you, if you like. You’ll be impressed, I know. Cracked it wide open.’
‘No, sober as a judge.’
‘Shall I hang on, sir? It’s almost five-thirty.’
‘Me, sir. No, sir. You know I almost never tipple, sir.’
‘OK,’ I said. ‘I like you, Chico. Phone in this time tomorrow. I’ll be finished doing your damned requisition by then if I start now.’
The reputation of the department needed another crack-pot scheme from Carswell like it needed more film requisitions. But my little phone conversation with Chico left me too weak to argue. I gave him the OK in the hope that Murray was intelligent enough to keep him out of harm’s way. He shuffled out with his big brown file of statistics. That was Wednesday. I finished the reqs by ten-thirty, had a drink at the Fitzroy and then went back to the office to phone for a car. We had a lot of taxis in the car pool. They were the least noticeable car and the blue glass was great for observation. As I crossed the road there was one of our cabs there already. It seemed unbelievable that Jean or Alice had predicted to a few minutes how long the reqs would take. I looked in the cab but it was empty. As I got to the top floor I saw the light was on under the door of my office. I hadn’t left it on. I moved near. Inside there was someone moving the paper work about on my desk. I could hear two voices having a row in the street below. Near to my head the office clock was ticking gently. I reached for the big metal ruler from Alice’s desk and found myself rubbing the scar tissue from my descent into the gaming room. I turned the brass door handle as silently and as slowly as I could. Then I kicked the door and dropped in the doorway on my knees, the steel ruler poised behind my head.
Dalby said, ‘Hello,’ and poured me a drink.
Dalby’s clothes were tweedy and shabby. Silhouetted grey in the red neon-lit sky were Jean’s big armful of daisies. Dalby sat heavily at the desk on which the Anglepoise light splashed across the large piles of non-secret office work that I never seemed to complete. The low place light emphasized his dark deep-set eyes, and his quick nervous movements belied his slow reactions. I realized that he hadn’t out-thought me when I rocketed in the door. He just hadn’t begun to react.
There seemed so much I wanted to ask him. I wondered whether I’d have to go right back to Ross with my cap in my hand and tell him that we’d be very happy to have the Gumhuria stuff. He poured me a large Teacher’s whisky and by now I needed it – I had the shivers. I held the glass in both hands and sipped it gratefully. Dalby’s eyes came slowly back into focus on his surroundings as from a long, long journey. We looked at each other for perhaps two minutes, then he spoke in that careful deep voice of his, ‘Did you ever see a bomb explode?’ he asked. I wanted him to explain things to me and here he was adding to the confusion by asking me questions. I shook my head.
‘You’re going to now,’ he said. ‘The Minister has particularly asked for us to be at the next American test. The American Defense Department say they’ve got a way to jam seismographs; they are going to try to double the Russian readings. I told him that we had a file on some of the British scientists who are there.’
‘Some of them,’ I said. ‘If we are prepared to think that Carswell has got anything on the ball at all, then we’ve got a file of eighteen out of a British total of fifty, that total including eleven lab assistants.’
‘Yes,’ Dalby came alive for a moment. ‘Alice told me about what you and Carswell have been up to. You can drop it and get Carswell and his sergeant out of this department; we are overcrowded now.’
A load of help Dalby was being; he stays away a couple of months, then when he does come back it’s unannounced in the middle of the night and all he does is criticize.
‘This bomb test, it’s Tuesday. I’ll be going along. You can bring an assistant if you want to.’
I wondered if he knew about Jean and if I’d still be entitled to an assistant if Dalby was back to take over.
‘Will you want Chico to go with us?’
‘Yes, get him on the phone. He can arrange the tickets and passes.’
‘It’s eleven-fifteen,’ I said. ‘Do you know where I can get him?’
‘Do I know? Who’s been in charge here the last few weeks? You’ve got his number, haven’t you? I haven’t