BLINDFOLD (26 page)

The sun rose cheerfully in a dazzling blue sky the next morning oblivious to the havoc below. During the night, the wind had dropped and along with it the temperature. When Gideon and Tim ventured out into the scene of devastation that the farmyard had become, there was ice on the puddles in the lane and a white frost on the fields and hedges.

The final fire engine and its attendant crew were ready to leave, having kept an eye on the blackened ruins throughout the night. The dour-faced leading firefighter officially took his leave of the two men, informing them that the long awaited FIU had recently arrived, having been detained at another incident the previous night.

With the fire engine gone, the extent of the damage seemed suddenly to hit home. Somebody, presumably Logan or one of his colleagues, had cordoned off the main area of the blaze with fluorescent orange tape, and beyond it the blackened skeletal remains of the old brick stables were all that remained upright. The new wooden stables and the range of small animal and birdcages that had stood at the end of the rows were just so much debris lying amidst the icy pools.

On the far side of the row of charred stumps that had been the hedge, the twisted shell of the mobile home promised no hope of salvage, and behind it the farmhouse stood with glassless windows staring blankly, like a familiar friend without their spectacles. The roof had been completely destroyed and soot coated all that could be seen of the inside and rose in fan-shapes from the window openings. The air was heavy with the acrid smell of smoke.

As for himself, Gideon had come through his ordeal surprisingly well. His hands were worst affected, throbbing uncomfortably under the dressings. His eyes still smarted, and every now and then

his breath caught in his sore throat, causing him to cough, but he knew he'd been incredibly lucky.

He glanced across at Tim, whose lean, wiry frame drooped with a mixture of weariness and despair. As he watched, the vet's face became suddenly tight and bitter, and following the direction of his gaze he saw a helmeted figure come round the corner of the house, apparently intent upon inspecting the ground beneath his feet. He wore a fireman's protective jacket with FIU across the back in large, fluorescent lettering.

`Do you know, last night Logan actually asked me if I had started the fire?' Tim said then, scowling with remembered anger. `What the hell does he think I've been working my guts out here for, these last months? I couldn't believe it!'

`It's his job,' Gideon pointed out reasonably. `He doesn't know you and he spends his life around criminals. I expect he was just testing your reaction. This place is your dream; I know that, but he doesn't. You can't blame him for his suspicion, it's what he's paid to do, the same as those guys.' He nodded towards the farmhouse.

`Yeah, I know.' Tim sighed. `It's just ... Well, it's hard, when you've come close to losing everything you've worked for and dreamed about, to be more or less accused of starting the fire yourselfl'

`Mm. Well, if it's any comfort, I got the distinct impression that Logan had more or less crossed you off his list of suspects after he'd questioned you last night. He's pretty shrewd.'

`Well, he'd have to, surely? I mean, I'd be a bit bloody stupid to set fire to the place and then almost get myself toasted rescuing the animals, wouldn't I?'

'Yes, but I suppose he could argue that you hadn't realised how quickly it would spread. That you only meant to burn the farmhouse and underestimated the strength of the wind.'

`Why would I want to do that?' Tim protested. `It's in the middle of being renovated!'

`Perhaps it was taking longer than you expected. Perhaps you

couldn't afford to pay the builders,' Gideon suggested. `It happens.'

`Yeah, I guess so. But not this time. I presume he's gone off to question the builders now. He asked me when they left yesterday, and to tell the truth, I couldn't remember. They've been here so long now they're like part of the fixtures and fittings. I couldn't even tell him how many were here yesterday. They come and go as they need to. It's not always the same ones.'

`You're very trusting,' Gideon observed.

`Well, there's nothing of value to go missing; the building inspectors visit to oversee the structural work; and I've got a quote for the work, in writing, so it's up to them how long they take - within reason. Besides, Tom Morgan, the contractor, is a good sort. I trust him. So as far as this goes,' he gestured at the dismal scene before them, `if it wasn't an accident, then I guess we all know where to look.'

`There's just the little matter of evidence,' Gideon said. `We'll have to hope our friends over there turn something up.'

The door of the reception area opened and Naomi appeared. She had spent the remainder of the night on the narrow camp bed that Tim kept in the surgery for emergencies. He and Gideon had taken turns on a mattress compiled of chair cushions for the four or five remaining hours; one sleeping, one keeping an eye on the animals.

Naomi looked heavy-eyed and depressed. She shivered and hugged herself as the icy air found its way through her denim jacket and jumper.

`Brrr! I hate the cold.' Winding an arm through one of Tim's, she reached up to kiss him fondly on the cheek. `I think you'll have to shave off what's left of your beard and start again,' she told him. `It looks rather the worse for wear.'

,I know.' He rubbed the singed remains, ruefully. `And I can't even claim it on the insurance!'

`How are the animals?' Naomi asked. `I gather poor old Ferdy didn't make it.'

Tim shook his head. They'd found the pheasant dead in the early hours. `He was very sick even before last night, so I wasn't surprised. We seem to be short of two rabbits, as well. I can only think they got through the hedge somehow, if you put them all in the garden.'

`But I didn't,' Naomi said, remembering. `I put the first two in Gideon's car. Oh, my God! They must still be there! I meant to move them after we had our cup of tea but I fell asleep and then just clean forgot. The poor little sods!'

`This might seem a silly question,' Gideon ventured cautiously, `but is it standard emergency procedure to house rabbits in cars?' Naomi had started towards Pippa's runabout, which stood with frosted windows near the gateway to the lane.

`I was panicking,' she explained. `The fire was spreading so fast. I had to put them somewhere safe for the time being and there it was.'

She reached the car and paused to try and rub the side window free from ice. `I hope they're okay. I can't see them.'

The rabbits were eventually run to ground snuggled under a dog blanket on the floor behind the front seats. They were huddled together for warmth and seemed unconcerned by their odd surroundings but were, nonetheless, quite pleased to be transferred to more appropriate accommodation.

The animals accounted for, the three of them made their way in Pippa's car to the nearest pub, and breakfast in front of a roaring fire. Though, as Gideon remarked, it was only a scant few hours since he would have sworn that he never wanted to see another fire as long as he lived.

It was a busy day, one way and another, and quite late in the evening when Gideon finally turned Pippa's car towards the hospital to visit Jez.

Pippa herself had turned up at the Sanctuary shortly after ten o'clock driving her horsebox in which to transport the donkeys to their temporary home on the Graylings estate. The donkeys, however, had other ideas, and it took the four of them almost two hours to load the stubborn beasts into the lorry.

Pippa complained that Gideon's supposed powers of communication and persuasion were not being a great deal of help, whereupon he replied, quite straight-faced, that he had never learned to speak donkey. The truth was, in fact, that with one or two exceptions, the donkeys weren't particularly apprehensive, merely obstinate, and no amount of communication would have made any difference at all. They had made up their minds.

The breakthrough came when they identified the ringleader, who went by the highly imaginative name of Murphy, and having almost bodily picked him up and carried him into the horsebox, found the others much more readily coaxed up the ramp. In fact, the last two, temfied that they'd be left behind, charged in by themselves, almost pulling Tim over in the process.

Deciding that at least one of them should stay at the Sanctuary, Tim sent Naomi off in the wake of the horsebox to see the donkeys safely installed in their new quarters. Gideon followed shortly after in Pippa's car, stopping briefly at the Callows' tiny cottage to thank them both for what they had done.

Rose was anxious to ply him with coffee and a full fried breakfast despite the lateness of the hour but he declined, stressing the importance of his being present when the donkeys were unloaded. He thanked them both warmly, well aware that he owed his well-being, if not his life, to George.

He, a gaunt eighty-something with pale rheumy eyes and a pronounced tremor in his hands, positively glowed under the praise, and Gideon guessed that it had probably been a long time since he'd felt of much use to anyone.

Rose told Gideon how pleased they had both been to see Mr Reynolds doing something with the farm. George had apparently been gardener at the Grange before the war, when the farm had been part of the estate. Then, at the outbreak of war, the military had taken both properties over and the whole area was declared out of bounds.

`They was coming and going at all hours. All very hush-hush. There was rumours of spies, code-cracking, a secret bunker and all, so I heard,' George told him. `Some folk even said they was interrogating POW's there. Said you could hear the screams on a quiet night. I don't know about that. I never heard anything. Anyway, they put wire up and I wasn't allowed anywhere near the place. Fair broke my heart it did, seeing that beautiful garden go wild, but then I was called up and I had other things to worry about, didn't I?'

Gideon agreed that he probably had, and eventually took his leave, promising to visit the pair again when things were a bit less hectic. They seemed pathetically pleased and he realised they were probably very lonely, living as they did, miles from the nearest town.

The installation of the donkeys at the Priory's Home Farm had gone smoothly enough. Pippa backed the lorry up to the doorway of the barn that had been made ready for them, and they more or less installed themselves, bustling down the ramp to explore the interior with obvious and rather comical delight.

Rachel, who with Giles had helped prepare the barn, was enchanted by the new arrivals, exclaiming over each of them in turn. Giles responded with helpful comments like, `Oh, you mean the one with the long ears?' but knowing him as he did, Gideon could see that he was quite taken with the creatures.

After seeing the donkeys settled, Gideon had dropped in at the Gatehouse to feed Elsa, who'd missed her supper the night before and was understandably put out. A quick look round reassured him that nobody had taken advantage of his absence to make any mischief, and leaving Rachel in Pippa and Giles' capable care, and Naomi keeping an eye on the long-eared guests, he had returned to the Sanctuary to see what help he could offer Tim.

When he got there, Tim was in the surgery, drinking tea and gloomily awaiting the advent of the insurance assessor. He told Gideon the FIU had just left, and that if they had turned up anything interesting, they weren't telling.

They ate fish and chips that Gideon had had the foresight to pick up on the way and then set about making habitable those stables that had suffered the least damage. Having all the animals in the confined space of the surgery was far from ideal, and stressful for all concerned.

Parking in the hospital multi-storey was comparatively easy, due to the lateness of the hour, and Gideon took his hands off the wheel with some relief. Urged by Naomi and Pippa, he had made time to call in at his local surgery to let the nurse redress his hands but even so his blistered palms were proving something of a trial and he'd done a fair amount of driving around that day, one way and another.

He gave himself a mental shake. Leaning back on the headrest, he'd been within a whisker of falling asleep right there in the car park. With a groan he climbed out of the car, purchased a ticket and headed for the hospital building.

Inside the building it took Gideon a good ten minutes to discover exactly where Jez was, and as he hurried down the corridor, the general tide of people was in the opposite direction. It seemed that visiting time was probably over.

Passing an open-plan coffee shop area, he caught sight of Big Ellie at one of the tables and, opposite her, the back of what was almost certainly Joey's blond head. He ducked his own and hurried by, hoping he hadn't been seen. It had been a long day and a confrontation with Jez's brother he could well do without.

Jez lay in the end bed of a smallish ward that appeared to be peopled with geriatrics. She wore a pretty flowered nightdress and someone had combed out her tousled locks. The effect was astounding, notwithstanding her dark-shadowed eyes and unnatural paleness. For the first time since he'd known her, she actually looked like a girl.

`Hey there, Shorty, I almost didn't recognise you,' Gideon remarked, making room on the already overcrowded cupboard

beside her bed for a puzzle magazine and a bag of toffees he'd picked up in the hospital shop. `How's it going?'

'Gideon!' she exclaimed in a voice that, like his own, was a little huskier than usual. `What happened last night? Did you get Kizzy out? Is she all right?'

Gideon hesitated. It was a question he'd rather unrealistically hoped to avoid for the time being. There was no easy way to say it.

`I'm afraid there wasn't anything I could do, Jez. Her back was broken.'

Jez was silent. The dreaded tears didn't come but her stillness was almost worse. Then she fixed Gideon with an intense gaze from her startling blue eyes.

`You did go back though, didn't you?' `I said I would.'

`I know, but . . .'

`But adults often say things just to keep kids quiet, is that it?' She nodded, unsmiling.