It really was the worst thing I’d ever drunk and I’d once got blitzed on Babycham. Eventually. It took about four crates but I got there in the end. And subsequently wished I hadn’t. I took a huge glug of something that nearly blew my head off. I took a while to recover and when my eyes stopped watering, she was on her way out of the door.
I disregarded instructions and panicked.
‘Wait. You haven’t told me what I must do.’
She turned back.
‘Remember – we can’t change the past. But we can change the future.’
Then she was gone and Officer Ellis was there, telling me it was time.
Chapter Eleven
A period of calm reflection would have been nice.
A period in which I would be able just to stop and think for a moment. To consider what I had been told. To think about what I was going to do. What I was going to say.
Fat bloody chance.
I don’t know what was in that drink she gave me. I only know that as I followed Ellis back into the building, I felt as if I could have conquered the world. Forget Hercules – I could have completed all twelve labours before lunchtime and then taken on the Minotaur. While standing on my head and whistling God Save the King.
My feeling of invincibility lasted all the way through the building and finally into the Great Hall itself. The place was packed, which was a bit of a surprise because I’d been expecting something in a cellar. With electrodes and no witnesses. On the other hand, the silence that fell as we entered was neither friendly nor welcoming. Neither was the layout.
An unknown woman sat alone at a table with her back to the stairway, facing the main doors. She wore the black Time Police uniform, which was not reassuring. She was about Dr Bairstow’s age and the sun streaming through the glass lantern overhead picked out the silver in her hair. She didn’t look up as we entered, continuing to write, her hand moving slowly but steadily across the page.
To her right, Colonel Albay and an officer unfamiliar to me sat at a smaller table heaped with electronic equipment.
Dr Bairstow, Peterson, and Guthrie sat alone in the first row, flanked by guards, with the rest of St Mary’s seated in rows behind them. Miss Lee sat off to one side, scratchpad laid on the table in front of her. She would be keeping the record.
Most ominously, a solitary chair stood isolated in the middle of the room, directly under the glass lantern. Well, at least they were going to let me sit down.
Ellis gave me a little nudge. ‘Go on.’
I walked slowly down the Hall. How many times had I been in here – working, arguing, presenting, giving and receiving briefings? I never thought it would come to this.
‘You may sit,’ said Albay, so, just to annoy him, I took my time, moving the chair slightly out of position, gazing around me, noting the position of familiar faces, smoothing my clothes and making myself comfortable. I didn’t make the mistake of looking for encouragement or support. Ellis took up a position behind me.
Silence fell. The woman continued to write. We hadn’t even started yet. What on earth could she possibly be writing?
The coughs and scuffling noises slowly died away into complete silence. A bit of a first for an historians’ working area. I stared at my feet. As far as I was concerned, they could take as long as they liked.
Eventually, she laid aside her pen and looked up.
‘Good afternoon. Let’s get the introductions out of the way. My name is not important. I have agreed to preside over this hearing, the purpose of which, as I understand it, is to establish the identity of the person before us.
‘Allow me to present my own credentials. I worked for St Mary’s for many years before transferring out and taking up a position with the Time Police. It was felt that these qualifications would give me a foot in both camps and allay any possible uneasiness over bias or prejudice. Should anyone have any reservations over my suitability, please speak up now. Silence will be taken for unopposed consent.’
She stared around the room. Silence. Good God, she was a female Dr Bairstow. I wondered in which particular incarnation of St Mary’s she had served and was just grateful it wasn’t mine.
‘To my right is Colonel Albay who will be leading the hearing this afternoon. As I understand it, this hearing is part of a larger investigation into the alleged removal of a contemporary from his own time?’
He nodded.
‘Yes, Madam President.’
‘I believe any witnesses to be called are already present?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘To my left is the subject of this enquiry. Good afternoon. I understand you are not yet completely recovered from recent ill health. Are you quite comfortable?’
‘Yes, thank you, Madam President.’
‘Colonel, you will remember the witness’s state of health and adjust your questioning accordingly.’
He stood.
‘Ma’am, I intend …’
‘I am sure you do, Colonel. I am simply warning you not to provide grounds for any subsequent appeals.’
That shut him up.
‘I am grateful, ma’am.’
She picked up her pen and started writing again.
‘You may begin.’