The Grasshopper's Child (35 page)

It felt like losing an imaginary friend.

Dr Gunn was talking, explaining how the situation in the Garden House had come about.

‘After their father's death, Roger Maylock lived alone down here. His sister Tallis had a career in arts administration in London. During the Crisis Roger engaged a couple, a man and a woman, who cannot be named, as his housekeeper and driver. When no schools or Learning Centres were open the housekeeper, a qualified teacher, gave lessons at the Garden House for pre-teen children; with Roger's approval. Molly Healey attended these lessons with her best friend, a boy whose family also had a smallholding on Sea Lane; close to Heaven Farm. They have since left the area. The boy, who can't be named, was seven. Molly was six. The children would be delivered to the Garden House by the boy's older sister; or by one of the parents. They'd take a packed lunch and make their own way home through the Gardens. Some three months after this pattern was established, the boy told his parents that he didn't like “things that happened” when he and Molly were “posing for Mr Roger”. Neither set of parents knew anything about this “posing”. They made inquiries. They were told, by Roger's housekeeper, that the photographic sessions were perfectly innocent, and that she was always present (this latter point she later retracted). The parents were not satisfied: the children were questioned closely. The boy's story was disturbing. Molly's response was worse. She passionately denied all knowledge of the “posing”; appeared terrified, and insisted that her best friend was lying. Her parents became convinced that their little girl had been raped.'

Tim Healey shuddered, and nodded.

‘Roger was indignant and defiant. Nevertheless, and despite a lack of direct physical evidence, the Child Protection Unit and the CPS found grounds for an investigation. Then Tallis stepped in. Believing her brother was the victim of a witch-hunt, she secured the best lawyers and fought for his cause: stridently and ruthlessly. However, having viewed forensic evidence collected from digital artworks and other materials found in Roger's studio, Roger's defence team at length advised him to plead guilty to a slightly lesser charge, before he came to trial. Tallis was horrified. She thought she'd destroyed his case. In fact she may have saved his life. The Occupation had run its course during this lengthy, contested inquiry. The Army of Liberation was looking for war criminals. Roger Maylock, given his connections, and the special nature of his crime, might well have been claimed by the Chinese and executed, if he had been awaiting jury trial. As things were, he returned to the Garden House to serve a whole life sentence under the strictest form of domiciliary surveillance. All records of his confinement, including the required domiciliary physical visits, show a model prisoner.'

Dan Royal, the Special Clerical Assistant, was taking everything down on paper, using an actual typewriter. The keys rattled at an amazing speed. Nothing to do with Roger Maylock, thought Heidi, was going to be trusted to a computer network, ever again.

‘Tallis kept him away from me,' she said. ‘I worked out why, but I thought it couldn't be too bad. He'd have had a surveillance drone on him, not just a tag, and I never saw one.'

‘Thank you Heidi.' Dr Gunn made a data-gesture, gathering invisible notes. ‘I prepared my account for Heidi's benefit. I thought she had a right. Does anyone have anything to add?'

‘Rose and I think he told Tallis the truth, in the end,' said Tim Healey. ‘He told her what he'd done to Molly. That's what destroyed her, poor woman. It was common decency to inform the Social Services. Of course Portia got onto a private firm, under her control. But we never thought they'd send a fifteen year old girl!'

Brook took her dad's hand, and squeezed it.

‘Angel Care will have questions to answer,' said Dr Gunn. ‘We can't speculate as to their relationship with Portia Knowells today. Tim, the inquiry will need permission to access Molly's medical records. I believe physical evidence of rape was never confirmed by the police?'

‘No, it never was. She was so young, and so distressed. I know it's hard to understand why we stayed,' pleaded Tim. ‘But everything was in chaos, and we couldn't take her away from Heaven. It was her home, why should
Molly
be punished? And when she was gone, there was Brook. You carry on from day to day, and you think: you just shut your eyes. We should
never
have let Heidi be alone there, I can't excuse it—'

It wasn't common decency, thought Heidi. It was Rose feebly trying to blow the whistle, without getting into bother. But what could you do? They weren't just paying for your research, Tim. They were telling you they'd save Brook's life.

‘I was okay,' she said. ‘Honestly, I was fine.'

‘We all of us owe Heidi,' said Challon fiercely. ‘
All
of us.'

‘Hear, hear!' roared Joe Florence, and blushed like a tomato.

‘Thank you Joe,' said the Inspector. ‘To return to the present: I have news of the foundered ship. At least one lifeboat reached the coast of Belgium. A crewman apprehended by the Belgian Coastguard has made a statement, which has been relayed to us. Apparently, this was his first such voyage. He had been led to believe that the young farmworkers were of age, and voluntarily recruited—'

‘They all say that,' muttered DS Earley.

‘Indeed they do. The ship's officers, who had worked with Mr Carron before and were dissatisfied with their pay, insisted on coming inshore: to threaten the boss's reputation and secure a better deal. When they saw local teenagers on the beach these officers immediately recognised bargaining potential. The whole thing was a spur of the moment decision, and the disaster itself was due to faulty old charts, provided by Mr Carron himself.'

He made the same invisible notes gesture as Dr Gunn. ‘No doubt we'll see further developments there. Meanwhile, and to sum up. The case against Roger Maylock will be re-opened, along with a catalogue of new offences. George Carron is in custody. Be assured, any strings he tries to pull will be a matter of interest to us,
not
an advantage to Mr Carron—'

‘Portia Knowells,' said DS Earley, ‘was dancing sky-clad at the time of the raid, at a respectable Solstice Celebration in the all-weather Pagan Grove outside Crawley. She has not been arrested and has no comment to make.'

‘We'll get to Portia,' said the Inspector. ‘Knowells Farm employees have been asked not to leave the estate. A few have been more formally detained. We'll be talking to all residents of Mehilhoc over the next few days, including the younger Exempt Teens. Later there will be individual interviews. Meanwhile, each of you here today has special knowledge of recent events; which I ask you to regard as strictly confidential. Does anybody have anything else to bring to our attention now?'

Silence.

‘Then that concludes our business. Be warned, when it gets going the investigation will be intensive, relentless and there'll be no amnesties. If there's
anything
you feel you ought to tell us, make it sooner rather than later.'

Missy Pulak bowed her head.

‘Thanks for coming along, everyone. Heidi, would you stay for a moment?'

Everyone left, including DS Earley and the SCA with his typewriter. Heidi faced the Inspector, Barbara Holland and Dr Gunn, all alone. She tried to stop herself from trembling.

The Chinese Empire didn't mess about, with Sacrificers. You got that drummed into you, along with the Encouraging Anthems. If a suspected nest was found, Human Rights went out the window. Anyone associated got killed, and
associated
meant whatever the Chinese wanted it to mean. Nothing had been said, since the night of the raid. No mention of the cult, but the police
must
know. Mehilhoc must be doomed. The entire village would probably be wiped out in a freak epidemic or something, because mass executions are bad for morale.

But something was going on that she didn't understand, and either it was good, or it was unbelievably bad. Either she was facing three high-up Sacrificer sympathisers, and George Carron's worst crimes were going to get a disgusting cover-up. Or the fearless Ninja who had said
trust me
was in charge: protecting the innocent . . . The cop in the woods had stayed behind too. He looked up, with a flash of blue eyes, and smiled at Heidi.

The Inspector clasped his hands, one over the other. ‘Heidi, I'm going to ask you some questions. Answer carefully, but don't volunteer anything. We want only the facts.'

She answered everything she was asked: about Roger, the quad ride by moonlight and the secret passages. They were very interested in the scanning fields that sometimes mistook George for his dad. They didn't ask her anything else and they took no notes. But that didn't mean much. They probably all had futuristic brain implants, even Dr Gunn.

She kept thinking
rotten meat
. She couldn't help it.

When Dr Gunn finally asked if she had any questions of her own she shook her head: slightly dazed to find that she was still alive.

‘Heidi,' said the Inspector, gravely. ‘You understand that you must never talk about what you saw at Knowells, or in those passages; or in the Garden House basement, not to anyone at all?'

‘Yes. Inspector, where were those kids really going? The ones on the black ship?'

There was an awful silence. Heidi's heart shook, her mouth dried.
Dad! I blew it! They
wore me down, I gobbed out totally the wrong thing!

‘Given the state of that ship,' said Barbara Holland dryly, at last, ‘You could say they weren't going anywhere. Except the bottom of the sea.'

Heidi swallowed, gripping her hands together. ‘It was murder.'

‘The police will argue for that view,' said Dr Gunn. ‘But justice must take its course.'

‘Yeah, I know. Yeah, I know. I don't want to upset or distress the Emperor in any way.'

Barbara Holland made a choking sound, quickly cut short.

‘No need to bring the Emperor into it, Heidi,' said the Inspector. ‘Our English Justice System is independent, and we're proud of that trust. George Carron was sending vulnerable teenagers into slavery, on an old hulk of a ship that shouldn't have been at sea. He's facing several counts of that nature, and several very serious charges of aggravated trafficking in forbidden technology. That's more than enough to put him away for “life means life”.'

‘Okay.'

The Inspector cleared his throat. ‘Have we finished, Commissioner, Dr Gunn?'

‘I think so,' said Barbara Holland, and Dr Gunn nodded.

‘Thank you, Heidi. You've been very patient. You may go.'

Heidi stood up. Despite herself she had to ask, clinging to a pathetic shred of hope—

‘Do you have any news for me, Inspector? About the other thing?'

The Inspector shook his head. ‘Not right now. I may have something to tell you soon.'

‘I'll walk with you as far as the harbour, Heidi.' said Dr Gunn.

‘What was that about?' asked Barbara Holland, when Heidi and Dr Gunn had left. The ‘cop in the woods' had vanished, and they were alone.

‘Her father's murder,' said the Inspector. ‘Very sad business. You'll remember, she asked me the same question after the shipwreck. The case was one of mine, when Heidi was sent to Mehilhoc as an Indentured Teen: which is how she came to be involved in this affair. The father was BPD, Borderline Personality Disorder, the mother has schizophrenia. Heidi was their carer. She was at the scene in minutes: she doesn't know it, but she may well have seen something. I'd like to get her consent for latent memory retrieval, when she turns sixteen in week or two. But she'll refuse. Poor kid, she's convinced her mother did it.'

‘And did she?'

‘I think not!' said the Inspector, a little shocked. ‘Say one thing for the Empire's system: we don't make that mistake anymore. Amy Ryan has a distressing, debilitating long term mental illness. It can knock her out for months at a time. If she was a danger to herself or others it would have shown up. She'd be in benign permanent exclusion. She'd never have had a husband or a child.'

Barbara Holland sighed. ‘Right. Wonderful people, the Chinese.'

Dr Gunn walked sedately, Evie padding by her side. ‘You handled yourself well,' she said. ‘A cool head under pressure, a talent for languages, and a stubbornly inquiring mind. You might think about following my own career, later on. A poet has to learn a living somehow.'

You mean I could be a spy? thought Heidi. But she just nodded, and kept walking.

‘The police have had concerns about George Carron and Portia Knowells for quite some time. The black market in luxury foods is a tolerated evil, and Carron has always had friends to protect him: but we have long believed he was also a slave trader, popularly known as a ‘Recruiter'; if not something far worse. This time, we finally managed to penetrate that part of his enterprises: but we met very alarming barriers. We were compelled to summon, with the Emperor's consent, very special assistance—'