our priority is to find their lair.'
TEN
It was early evening before the meeting finally got under way and the Centre's small lecture hall, though less than full, seemed crowded to Fender. He quickly scanned the many anxious faces, estimating there were over thirty people present. Personally he would have chosen a more select gathering; in his experience, the bigger the crowd, the more confusing the outcome. He supposed, however, each was necessary to the operation to be discussed.
He recognized the Private Secretary for the Ministry of Defence, Robert Shipway, talking with Antony Thornton from the Ministry of Agriculture, at a long table hastily brought in for the occasion from the Centre's library. Beside them sat the Director-General of the Forestry Commission with one of his commissioners and someone from the Department of the Environment Fender could not remember his particular title, nor the names of any of the three. Whitney-Evans was seated next to Stephen Howard, Alex Milton sitting slightly away from the table. The police commissioner for the Essex area occupied the other end of the table, together with Mike Lehmann and a major from the Armed Forces. It was to be a high-powered meeting and Fender could already see that Stephen Howard was revelling in it.
The others in the room sat facing the select group at the table in the lecture hall's rows of rising seats, Fender among those in the front row. Eric Dugdale of the Safety Inspectorate was there with two members of his staff; several local councillors spoke together in hushed voices; the inspector from the area's nearest police station sat in deep silence; Charles Denison, seated next to him, equally silent; Vie Whittaker and an attractive, middle- aged woman introduced earlier to Pender as Alex Milton's wife, Tessa, sat immediately behind. Other seats were taken up by several men referred to as Verderers of Epping Forest, and a few members of the community considered important enough to be invited along. Thankfully there were no journalists present, but Fender knew it would not take long for the story to break.
The general low-voiced din was interrupted by Antony Thornton tapping sharply on the table top with the blunt end of his fountain-pen.
'Gentlemen, I think we should proceed with the meeting without further delay. I believe everybody who should be here is here.' He looked around at the forest superintendent and Stephen Howard for affirmation.
Both men nodded.
Thornton continued. This is just a general meeting to let everyone who will be concerned with the operation know exactly what is happening.
Details will be discussed in subsequent smaller gatherings by those directly involved.' He paused and looked around, his voice losing some of its briskness. 'Most of you have some idea of why you were called here, but for the benefit of those who haven't, I'll start at the beginning. Over the past few days, damage has been done that suggests a powerful vermin is at large. Droppings have been found which indicate the vermin is the Black rat.'
A buzz of voices broke out behind Fender. Thornton held up a hand to still them.
Yesterday, three of the creatures were sighted by a tutor of this Centre. It was not a definite sighting...' Fender flinched '... so we thought it wise to investigate further before pushing the panic button.'
Where were they seen?' a voice from the back asked.
'Quite near here.' Thornton looked towards Whitney-Evans who said: 'A small pond near the larger Wake Valley Pond.'
Thornton continued. 'Ratkill had already been notified and a rodent investigator, Lucas Fender, was at the Centre examining damage caused by these creatures when the sighting took place. He immediately searched the area around the pond and discovered the remains of a family of stoats; they had been slaughtered. He also examined the droppings left by the vermin at the Centre and his conclusion was that there was, indeed, a strong possibility that the Black rat was inhabiting a certain part of the forest.'
Fender smiled grimly.
'However, in the meeting that followed, we all agreed that further more concrete proof was needed before we put into action plans for quarantine and the evacuation of the forest population.'
'Couldn't my station at least have been informed?' demanded the police inspector.
Thornton regarded him coolly. 'I'm afraid not. I repeat: we had no definite proof of their existence, therefore we deemed it unnecessary to alert anyone at that time.'
'And is that your proof?' said the inspector, undaunted. The incident up at the churchyard?'
Once more, a babble of voices broke out in the lecture hall and Thornton's fountain-pen was tapped hard to bring order to the meeting.
'What does Inspector Reid mean?' asked a verderer above the other voices. 'What happened up at the church?' The question had more effect than the fountain-pen and all noise died down.
Thornton straightened in his chair and looked stiffly around the room.
'Firstly, let me say this meeting will be conducted in an orderly fashion. We need to progress rapidly if we are to implement immediate action. Further questions will have to be put at the end of this statement and the subsequent statements by any of my colleagues at this table. Now, Inspector Reid, I will answer your question. Yes, the churchyard incident does give us further reason to believe in the existence of the Black rat in the forest.'
'But it's still not definite proof,' said Whitney-Evans.
Thornton turned on him with barely disguised anger. 'Even you, Edward, can't close your eyes to that atrocity.'
Would you please tell us what has happened?' It was the same voice from the back, obviously undeterred by Thorn-ton's previous remark.
The private secretary's head snapped round. The remains of two humans were found in the churchyard this morning. One had been buried normally yesterday and the other ... the other we believe to be the body of a Reverend Jonathan Matthews, vicar of the Church of the Holy Innocents.'
A loud gasp went round the lecture hall.
Thornton went on, his voice brisk and emotionless. 'Both bodies had been stripped of flesh. We believe the vicar discovered these creatures digging up the corpse and was killed by them. Indents on the bones and their
