James Herbert Sepulchre

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

spouting upwards as if the lake were boiling. Here and there geysers appeared,
jetting into the air and carrying with them or so Halloran imagined remnants
of flesh, all that was left of the abyssal creatures.
The boat pitched in the ferment and Halloran quickly sat, both hands gripping
the sides for support, staying that way until the turbulence began to subside,
the lake becoming peaceful once more.
The two men were in an area of clarity, for the mist had been driven back to
form a wide circle around the boat. Everything was still within that clear
area, the boat now barely drifting.
The only sound was Kline's low chuckling.
22 FOOD FOR DOGS
Charles Mather was kneeling among his shrubs when his wife called him from the
terrace steps. Always used to rising early, he had found the habit hard to
break after leaving military service. So nowadays, rather than disturb Agnes,
who did not share his fondness for early-morning activity, he would creep from
their bedroom, dress in the bathroom, take tea in the kitchen, then wander out
into the garden, which had become his second love (Agnes would always be his
first). Whatever the season, there was always work to be done out there, and
for him there was no better way to start the day than with lungs full of
sharp and at that time of the morning, reasonably untainted air. The only
negative factor was that the chill (always a chill first thing, be it winter,
spring or summer) played silly-buggers with the metal in his leg.
He looked up from the bed he had been turning over with a short fork. 'What's
that, m' dear?'
'The telephone, Charles. Mr Halloran is on the telephone. He says it's
important that he speaks to you.'
Agnes was a trifle irritated because she'd had to climb from a bath to answer
the phone, knowing that her husband would never hear its ringing in the
garden. Here she stood shivering with the morning freshness and catching
pneumonia by the second.
Mather pushed himself up from the padded kneeler and, the tip of his cane
sinking into the soft earth. he hobbled towards the terrace.
'I should get back inside if I were you, Aggie,' he said as he awkwardly
climbed the steps. 'You'll catch your death of cold standing around like
that.'
'Thank you for your concern, Charles, but I'm sure poking around in the damp
grass for a couple of hours hasn't done much for your leg either,' she replied
more tartly than she felt. 'I think you'd better take a bath right after me.'
'Mother knows best,' he agreed with a smile. 'Now you get yourself back
indoors before I whip off your dressing-gown and chase you naked around the
Page 59
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
garden.' She quickly turned to hide her own smile and walked to the patio
doors. 'That might give the neighbours a breakfast thrill,' she said over her
shoulder.
'Y'know,' he murmured, limping after her and admiring her rear with almost as
much enthusiasm as when they were younger, 'I really believe it would.' He
took the call in his study, settling down into an easy chair first and waiting
for the click that signalled Agnes had replaced the upstairs receiver. 'Liam,
Charles here. I hadn't expected to hear from you today.' There was no urgency
in Halloran's voice. 'I've been trying to contact Dieter Stuhr since eight
this morning, but had no luck.'
'As we have an ongoing operation he'll be at Shield all weekend,' said Mather.
'I assume you've already tried to reach him there though.'
'I thought I'd probably catch him at home earlier, then I
answer from there either.'
Mather checked his wristwatch. 'H'mn, just after nine. He'd have one other
coordinator with him today and she should have arrived by now.'
'Only Stuhr would have a key.'
'Then she might be waiting outside at this moment. It s not like Dieter to be
late, but perhaps he's on his way. That could be why you missed him.'
'I rang his apartment over an hour ago.'
'Well, he could have been delayed. Look, I'll get on to Snaith don't see why
his Saturday shouldn't be disrupted and between us we'll see what we can find
out. No doubt it'll prove to be something trivial his car's probably had an
upset.' With his free hand, Mather rubbed his aching knee. 'D'you have a
problem there at Neatly Liam?'
'I wanted to arrange for extra patrols outside, that's all. And I think our
men should be armed. Security here is virtually nil.' There was a pause, but
Mather sensed that Halloran wanted to say more. When no further words came,
the older man spoke up: 'Anything else bothering you, Liam?' The question was
put mildly, but Mather knew his operative well enough to understand something
was wrong.
More silence, then, 'No, nothing else. Our client is unusual, but he can be
handled.'
'If there's a problem between you two, we can switch. No need for added
complications, y'know.'
'Uh, no. Leave things as they are. Let me know what's happened to the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Wątki