‘Why are you alone? Where’s your wingman?’
‘I told you, I’ve been sacked. I haven’t got a wingman. I’m here on my own.’
‘Are you saying Kalinda’s not involved in this?’
‘Kal’s no longer at St Mary’s. She resigned.’
‘What? But if she’s gone and we’re here then that means there’s no historians at St Mary’s!’
‘Correct. And Dieter’s gone too. That’s why I’m taking you to Rushford.’
‘Didn’t you contact Kal when she left?’
‘I didn’t know she’d gone. I’m forbidden by law to have any sort of contact with any St Mary’s personnel, in any timeline. So, if any of you guys grass me up then its fifteen years’ hard labour for me.’
‘So where did you get the pod from?’
‘I stole it,’ I said, not without some pride.
He looked around. ‘Yes, but …’ I pressed his foot. He looked at me, raised an eyebrow and drank his beer. ‘Are you drunk?’
‘As a newt,’ I said happily. ‘You think anyone would ever have done this sober?’
‘Good point.’
Guthrie was spraying Markham with plastic. Peterson was swilling his beer which left one other. I knew he would be happy to let others talk and then zero in on the detail which wasn’t always what I wanted!
He said quietly, ‘Why were you sacked?’
‘Oh, I got into it with Barclay and was invited to vacate the premises.’
‘Why?’
I played stupid. ‘Why what?’
‘You’ve lived reasonably peacefully with Miss Barclay for the last five years. Why now, suddenly do you fall out with her?’
I drank some water and looked down at my feet. I really hadn’t wanted to do this. But it was better they hear it now, from me, in private.
‘I couldn’t persuade her to send a rescue team for you.’
It didn’t go in for a moment and then Peterson said, ‘You mean no one’s been looking for us? We thought we just kept missing the search teams. That’s why we didn’t go far away. We thought …’
Silence. This was what I hadn’t wanted to tell them. Each of them had withdrawn into his own thoughts, but their expressions were the same. Each face, already grey-shadowed and haggard grew more so. We’re St Mary’s – we don’t leave our people behind. But they’d been left. If I hadn’t come, they would have died here and quite soon too. It was a miracle they’d lasted so long. They would have died waiting for a rescue that would never happen. It hurt me to look at their faces. Disregarding the pain from his hands, Markham crushed his can and tossed it into the bag. Peterson said softly, ‘I’m going to have a quiet word with our Miss Barclay.’
‘No, you’re not,’ I said. ‘She’s mine.’
No one argued.
It was the Chief who asked the question. Only he and I knew how important it was to him. ‘What about the Boss? I heard on the chatter he was wounded. If Barclay is in charge then presumably he didn’t make it?’
‘As far as I know,’ I replied, ‘he’s still recovering from his injuries. He’s not yet back at St Mary’s anyway.’ I took another chug of water. ‘So I’m not taking you back there.’
‘Oh? And where are we going back to?’
‘I’m taking you back to Rushford.’
‘Rushford? Why can’t we go back to St Mary’s?’ demanded Markham. ‘What’s at Rushford?’
‘Well, for a start, spicy lamb casserole followed by treacle tart and custard, hot showers, warm beds, more beer than you can handle, and probably a bottle of something potent. But of course, if you’re not interested then I’ll just release you back into the wild, shall I?’
Typically from Markham, ‘So, no women then?’
‘Tim,’ I said. ‘Open the door and throw him out, will you?’
I wanted to hear their stories, but it was important I got them back. I initiated the jump, the world went white, and we were back in Rushford in the dark. Immediately, the back door swung open and a long tongue of light flooded across the dark grass. I opened the door and helped them to their feet.
‘Head towards the light.’ Not a phrase I ever thought I would get to say. They filed out, heading towards the back door where Mrs De Winter waited for them.
I shut things down and made to follow when Leon stopped me, simply by pulling the back of my jacket. I turned and was in his arms again.
‘I knew you would come.’
I hugged him as hard as I could and we took a couple of moments just to be together.
‘You’d better go after them,’ I said, eventually, ‘Markham’s quite capable of getting into trouble between here and the back door!’ He gave a short laugh and left. I finished with the pod and followed him out, locking the door behind me.