Joubert returned a moment later carrying what looked like an overnight bag.
‘There is one more thing I’d like to check on before I leave,’ he said, entering the study.
Kelly and DI Allen followed him.
The Frenchman muttered something in his own tongue as he surveyed the empty table in the study.
‘The files,’ he said, wearily. ‘They’ve been taken.’
“What files?’ Allen demanded.
‘The project that Dr Vernon and I were working on,’ Joubert snapped. ‘All the information was compiled in half a dozen files. They’re gone.’
‘What kind of information?’ the policeman persisted.
‘Just research notes, of no importance to anyone but us.’ He cast a sly glance at Kelly.
‘Are you sure they’ve been taken?’ said Allen.
‘They were here,’ Joubert snapped, tapping the table top.
‘Can you describe them?’ asked Allen.
The Frenchman shrugged.
‘Six plain manilla files, what more can I tell you?’
‘Whoever took them knew what they were looking for,’ Kelly interjected.
Joubert nodded and looked at her once more.
‘Damn,’ he said, under his breath.
‘Well,’ Allen told him. it’s not much to go on but, we’ll do our best to trace them.’ He paused for a moment. ‘I’d like the name of the hotel you’re staying in, Mr Joubert, if you could phone me at the station as soon as you’ve booked in.’ He handed the Frenchman a piece of paper with a phone number on it. ‘And you, Miss Vernon, I’d appreciate an address where I can reach you.’
She gave him that of her flat in Oxford.
i don’t think we need keep you any longer,’ the DI told them. ‘But we’ll be in touch.’
Joubert was the first to turn and head for the front door.
Kelly followed, catching up with him as he reached his car. She glanced round, making sure they were out of earshot.
‘Did Lasalle know what was in those files?’ she asked.
‘What the hell has he got to do with all this?’ Joubert barked. ‘And you are taking a chance posing as Vernon’s daughter aren’t you?’
‘Joubert, I have to speak to you. But not here.’
His expression softened somewhat.
it’s important,’ she persisted.
‘Very well. Perhaps you could recommend a hotel.’ He smiled humourlessly.
‘I’ve got my car,’ she told him. ‘Follow me into the town centre. We must talk. There’s a lot that needs explanation.’
He regarded her impassively for a moment then nodded, climbed into his Fiat and started the engine. Kelly scuttled across the road to her own car and twisted the key in the ignition. She waited until Joubert had reversed out into the street, then she set off. He followed close behind. Kelly could see the trailing Fiat in her rear view mirror as she drove.
She wondered if finally she would learn the answers to the questions which had plagued her for so long.
There were only a handful of people in the bar of ‘The Bull’ hotel. It was not yet noon and the lunchtime drinkers had still to appear.
Kelly sat over her orange juice, waiting for Joubert to join her. When he finally sat down opposite her she noticed how dark and sunken his eyes looked, a testament to the fact that he had been working all night. He sipped his own drink and watched as Kelly did the same.
‘You said you wanted to talk,’ the Frenchman said. “What had you in mind?’
‘For one thing, I’d like to know what the hell you and Vernon had been up to for the past month or so,’ she said, challengingly. ‘Ever since the two institutes began work on Astral projection and dream interpretation it’s been more like working for MI5 than a psychic research unit. What were you and Vernon working on?’
‘What happened to the famous English quality of tact?’ he said, smiling. “What do you want to know?’
if I asked all the questions that are on my mind we’d be here until this time next year. Right now I’ll settle for knowing why you and Vernon were so
secretive about the research findings.’
Joubert sipped his drink once more, gazing into the glass as if seeking inspiration.
‘How much did you know about Vernon?’ he asked.
‘Personally, not a great deal. Professionally he seemed obsessed with the work on Astral projection and mind control,’ Kelly said.
‘He was. But with good cause, as I was. We both had reasons for wanting the findings kept quiet until a suitable time.’
‘Reasons worth killing for?’ she asked.
Joubert looked aghast.
‘Certainly not,’ he said, indignantly. “Why do you say that?’
‘The death of Lasalle didn’t seem to make much of an impression on you.’
‘You thought I was responsible for Lasalle’s death?’ he said, although it sounded more like a statement than a question.
She nodded.
‘He was cracking up, close to insanity when he died,’ said Joubert. ‘No one could have helped him, least of all me. He was afraid of me.’
‘You gave him cause to be. I noticed the hostility between you.’
it was nothing personal. I was angry with him for revealing our findings so early. That was all.‘The Frenchman lowered his voice slightly. ‘Lasalle was a good friend of mine,’ he said, reflectively. ‘But he did a lot of damage to our research with that article he wrote. It brought too much media attention to a project which should have been fully completed before being put up for scrutiny. And, he ruined my chances of making a name for myself in our field.’
He went on to recount the story he had told Vernon, about how the limelight had been snatched from him once before. ‘So, perhaps you can understand my reasons for secrecy. That was why I was unco-operative with you. I didn’t want anybody or anything to interfere with my chances of making the breakthrough. /
wanted to be the one who was remembered for making one of parapsychology’s greatest finds.’
Kelly exhaled.
‘And Vernon?’ she said. ‘Why was he so fascinated by mind control?’
‘His reasons were even more genuine than mine,’ said the Frenchman.
‘One of my colleagues said that he was hiding something about his wife. He …’
Joubert interrupted.
‘Vernon’s wife has been irretrievably and irreversibly insane for the past six years. When you masqueraded as his daughter this morning you took a bigger risk than you could have imagined. Vernon has a daughter. Admittedly, he hadn’t seen her for six years and, as far as she is concerned, he had no place in her life but she exists nevertheless.’
Kelly raised her glass to her lips but she lowered it again, her full attention on Joubert as he continued.
‘He had a Grandson too. As he explained it to me, the child, who was less than a year old at the time, was being cared for by Mrs Vernon. She doted on the boy, worshipped him as if he were hers. Vernon himself has always been a nervous man, afraid of burglars and intruders. He and his wife owned two Dobermans. They were kept in a small compound during the day and released at night.’ He sighed. ‘This particular day, they escaped. The baby boy was crawling on the lawn. There was nothing Mrs Vernon could do. The dogs tore the child to pieces before her eyes.’ ‘Oh God,’ murmured Kelly.
‘She went into a state of shock and then slipped into a catatonic trance.
Vernon thought that if he discovered a way to unlock the subconscious mind, he could use it to cure his wife. That was his secret. Nothing sinister.” Kelly shook her head almost imperceptibly, if only he’d said something,” she
