Here Be Monsters

Latimer fed Havant into the Beast. 'Next time, Elizabeth, if you talk to anyone, get his full name and address. What is the name of the firm at Havant?'

And his Credit Rating? And his next-of-kin? And the Beast wasn't helping her, she could see that reflected on the Deputy-Director's face. 'I don't know, Mr Latimer.' Damn them both - the Beast and the Deputy-Director! 'He's - he must be nearly seventy years old.'

'Yes.' He prodded the Beast again, but only received another dusty answer, probably Search continuing, if not Insufficient data; to track down the Colonel, it would have to talk to other beasts, and such linkages took time. 'Yes.' He looked up at last. 'If he was on D-Day planning then he would be, wouldn't he?'

He was saying Don't be silly, Miss Loftus. And, most annoyingly, with some justification.

'But never mind him, for the moment. Continue, Elizabeth.'

Continue? But after two slaps she was not about to invite a third. It hadn't been Colonel Sharpe he had been after, when he'd suddenly stopped pigging his chocolates. So she hadn't reeled back quite far enough.

'The Americans sent a staff officer to find out what was happening - ?' She repeated the words tentatively.

'Yes?' He found the last of his chocolates. 'Name?'

She had half-feared as much. 'I don't know, sir.' It was no good pretending. 'Colonel Sharpe didn't say. And I didn't think to ask.' All the same, it wasn't quite fair. 'I didn't think it was important. But then, I didn't know what was - or is - important.' The truth was that Paul, or any of the others, might well have done better on this job. But she couldn't bring herself to suggest that. 'I'm sorry.'

'No need to be.' He popped the last chocolate into his mouth and examined his finger-ends.

'Not bad at all.'

He looked positively smug. But he must be referring to the chocolates.

'Colonel Sharpe didn't know what came of that, because he had to report back to General - '

Elizabeth frowned. Had it been 'General' or 'Field Marshal' then? ' - to Montgomery. But in fact they broke through from Omaha to the Pointe du Hoc within the next thirty-six hours.'

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'Parker.' He finished chomping and swallowed. 'Major Thaddeus E. Parker.'

Elizabeth stared at him in genuine and unfeigned astonishment.

'The name of the American staff officer.' He attended to the last remnants of the chocolate in his mouth. 'His name was Major Thaddeus E. Parker.'

Elizabeth thought, first, that she had been quite incredibly lucky - thanks to Paul. Indeed, doubly and even trebly lucky: because, thanks to Paul and dear old Major Birkenshawe and Colonel Sharpe, she had actually touched upon the man in whom the Deputy-Director was interested, and was now aware of him, however belatedly and inadequately. Or even quadruply lucky - because she had accidentally left the Deputy-Director scope to demonstrate his superior knowledge, the exercise of which pleased him as much as his chocolates.

But then, when she thought about the possible uses of her luck, she remembered that he had quite justifiably slapped her down twice, and she had been close to admitting that inadequacy. So, if she wanted to hold on to a possible chance of field-work, she had better assert herself quickly now.

''E' for 'Edward', of course.' she nodded. It was a guess, but it was a fair extrapolation from what Paul had said. All she had to be careful of was not to admit the special knowledge of 'Ed' which Paul had given her.

'What?' His frown cancelled out the first slap. ' Edward-?

Now for the second slip - with acknowledgement to Dr Paul Mitchell, that she owed him a favour. The late Major Thaddeus E-for-Edward Parker, sir.' But she had better cover the guess, just in case. 'Presumably.'

' Presumably?' All his earlier patronizing smugness ,was instantly consumed by the anger of the Deputy-Director, red in tooth and claw. 'Just what the hell have you been playing at, Miss Loftus?'

The anger frightened her. 'Nothing, sir - '

'You were specifically limited to 1944.' The anger became cold, and all the more frightening. 'You were specifically instructed not to question the computer.' He flashed the frown at the Beast's blank screen, and then shook his head, half at the Beast, and then half at her, in incomprehension; and she knew exactly what that meant - that he had already debarred her from anything the Beast knew about Parker, Thaddeus E., Major, United States dummy2

Army, if not also Hoc, Pointe du, and American Rangers, and even D-Day itself; and then, if she'd even tried to get any of them thereafter, the treacherous Beast would have signalled her attempt to him. 'Nor talk to anyone in the department.' The frown became accusing.

'But you've talked to Audley, Miss Loftus, haven't you?'

So that was why she'd been kept out of the building! 'No, Mr Latimer. I have not talked to Dr Audley. I haven't even set eyes on him for - for at least a month.' The truth of that lent outrage to it, even while she was preparing herself for what might be the next accusation -

because Paul would be his next victim.

'No?' The Deputy-Director was just not quite so confident with recalcitrant women as he might have been with men, and that gave her the extra half-second she needed, to protect herself and Paul, by defending them both with a counter-attack.

'I was only guessing.' She had to get the mix exactly right, to make this cake rise. 'I don't think… I don't seem to recall… that I was specifically forbidden to read the newspapers, was I?'

'What newspapers?'