Something Wicked (23 page)

‘That’s not the same thing at all. I happen to know that Stille is a nasty piece of work. He’s a member of the SS and responsible for German agents in this country.’

‘You’re not accusing me of being one, are you?’

‘Of course not, but I thought I ought to warn you.’

‘What do you expect to happen? Do you think Stille will suborn me or something? Perhaps you think he’ll sabotage the
Hornet
? My heat today is against a German, Ricard Gustman – one of the best. That’s what we were talking about, if you must know. Though what business it is of yours, I really don’t understand.’

‘The
Hornet
? Is that what your boat’s called?’

‘Yes, why?’

Edward hesitated. To mention the murders and their links to the insect world would sound ridiculous. ‘Just a coincidence. I’m sure Verity told me that was the name of the launch she went on with your father and Mary.’

‘That’s right, the
Henley Hornet
. We call all our boats
Hornet
. A family tradition.’

‘Yes, well, do be careful, Guy. Despite what you say, I know Stille better than you and he’s not a man your father would want you to associate with.’

‘On the contrary, it was my father who introduced us. Now, if you’ll forgive me, I have things to do. Goodbye.’

Edward let him go without another word. He had heard enough to make him worried. The calm of just a few minutes ago had been replaced by an undefined anxiety. Something bad was about to happen and he ought to be able to prevent it – if he could only work out what it was.

11

Verity and Kay had not spoken much on the drive to Booker Aerodrome but an air of suppressed excitement emanated from both of them. Verity had the same feeling she remembered having as a schoolgirl when she embarked on one of her – usually ill-advised – escapades. It was a perfect day for flying. The cloud was high, the wind light and there was a freshness in the air after the previous night’s showers. It was so good to get away from the clinic and forget she was supposed to be ill – forget everything except that she was free.

Kay parked the car and led Verity into a huge hangar. The doors, which were wide open, framed the sky so the clouds appeared to scud across the blue as though across a vast cinema screen. There were several small planes parked around the perimeter, some with men working on them, the others silent, expectant, like dogs waiting to be let out of their kennel.

‘Here she is,’ Kay said, leading Verity up to her Tiger Moth and patting it. ‘Bert – my mechanic – has done all the hard work but, if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes, I’d like to give her the once-over.’

Verity sat quietly on a broken-backed chair while Kay checked the plane and fuelled her up.

‘Did you say you’d flown before?’ Kay asked, passing Verity an empty can before jumping down from the engine cowling.

‘Only as a passenger. Edward’s a flyer. He says you have to fly in Africa if you want to get anywhere and he once flew us back from Spain.’

‘And you didn’t feel sick?’

‘Not at all. Has it ever made you sick?’

‘No. When my father taught me to fly, I was always concentrating too hard to feel anything.’

‘Will you teach me?’ Verity asked wistfully. ‘I’d like that more than anything.’

‘Of course, once you are quite well.’

Verity scowled but said nothing. She was well now, she thought, if only she had more energy. ‘Can I ask how much it costs – a Tiger Moth, I mean?’

‘A thousand pounds,’ Kay replied airily. ‘Less if you buy one second-hand. The problem is getting one. They’re all going to the RAF. De Havilland just can’t make enough of them. You see, it’s not just us who want them but other air forces – the Canadians, even the Portuguese, I’m told.’

‘I didn’t realize. So the government is at last spending money on new planes?’

‘It seems so. The RAF likes Tiger Moths because they are so easy to repair. Everything important is readily accessible, as you’ll see.’

‘They’re not fighters?’

‘No, they’re trainers but that’s vital. This country’s desperately short of trained pilots.’

‘Are all Tiger Moths the same?’ Verity inquired naively.

‘I should say not! Mine’s a DH.82A, if you want to be technical. To be honest, it’s not that different from the biplanes they used during the war – improved of course. For instance, the wings and bracing have been stiffened up so you can do quite violent aerobatics even when heavily laden. Barrel rolls, loops, nose dives, bunts – anything you can think of. She’s so strong. I bought her two years ago and I love her.’

‘What’s a bunt?’

‘A sort of loop. Maybe I’ll show you.’

‘Can you fly upside down?’

‘Certainly! But not with a passenger on board.’

Verity was silent as she tried to imagine what it must be like to fly such a machine. ‘She’s definitely a “she”?’

‘Yes. I love men but I love women even more,’ Kay said, stroking the propeller, not looking at Verity.

‘Have you given her a name?’

‘I call her
Free Spirit
.’

Kay dispensed sugared buns and hot coffee from a Thermos while Bert and another mechanic rolled the Tiger Moth out of the hangar on to the grass. After they had finished, she locked their handbags in a metal cabinet. ‘Right! Now let’s get you togged up.’ She had a spare flying suit which she said would fit Verity. ‘It’s cold up there, you know,’ she said, pulling at a zip. ‘You look very dashing. All you need now are some goggles. Some flyers won’t use them but I do.’

When Verity was properly kitted out, Kay produced a camera. ‘I’ll get Bert to take a photograph of us beside the plane. You’ll meet him properly in a moment. He’s a first-class mechanic. I don’t really need to check and refuel her myself but I like doing it. It’s sort of intimate – like grooming a horse. You can ride a horse someone else has groomed but you don’t have the same relationship with it.’

They reached the plane and Verity shook hands with Bert. ‘She looks so fragile. Is that just wood under the canvas or whatever it is?’ She prodded a silver wing with her finger.

‘Just wood covered in Irish linen coated with dope to give it rigidity,’ Bert confirmed. ‘You’ve got to be careful when you’re working on her but in the air she’s very forgiving, if you understand me, miss. That’s right, isn’t it, Miss Kay?’

‘Quite right. You can treat her quite badly in the air – do all sorts of things you shouldn’t and she doesn’t mind. I mean, she might tremble a bit in protest but she won’t crash or anything. That’s why the Tiger Moth is so good for training. Right, here we go. Everything OK, Bert?’

‘Nowt to worry about, miss. She’s just wanting a run. You see, miss,’ he said to Verity, ‘I think of her as being like a racehorse. She needs regular exercise to keep her fit.’ He helped her into the seat in front of Kay.

‘I’m in the front?’

‘Yes, in the instructor’s seat. When we are in the air, you can take over for a minute or two if you like. Get a feel of her. Now, just flick those switches on the side in front of you, will you? I’m afraid you won’t be able to hear me during the flight but, if you press your ear to the Gosport tube, you might catch something if I shout. When I want to point something out to you, I’ll waggle my stick from side to side and you’ll feel your stick move between your legs By the way, if you don’t like anything I’m doing or you want to go back, just put both your hands on the top of your head like this.’

Verity smiled. ‘I feel quite safe in your hands, Kay. Do what you like with me.’

She felt very snug in the little cockpit. When she stretched out her legs, she felt the pedals move as if
Free Spirit
were alive. The stick between her legs wiggled without her touching it as Kay made herself comfort-able behind her. She looked at the instruments. They had a worn appearance as though they had registered a lot of height and speed in their time and nothing could now shock them. The compass seemed simple enough but, when she tried to read it, she found she could not understand it. It was like a small ship’s compass and you had to look down on it. She admired Kay so much for being the master of such a machine and it made her relax to feel she was in the hands of an expert. There was absolutely nothing she need do but see what there was to see and feel what there was to feel.

Bert hopped up and locked her into her safety harness. ‘Good luck, miss. Your first time in the air?’

Verity felt unable to answer and merely smiled.

When Kay was satisfied everything was ready, she signalled to Bert – acting as prop swinger – and he pulled down on the propeller. She had explained to Verity earlier that the prop swinger had to ‘suck in’ by swinging the propeller four times while the switches were off to suck the fuel from the carburettor into the engine. When Bert had done this, he shouted ‘Contact’ and Kay switched on the pair of magnetos. After three more tugs on the propeller, the engine roared into life. As it warmed up, the noise engulfed Verity and she felt as though the life force was flowing through her.

At a signal from Kay, the chocks were removed and they rolled over the grass. When they reached the end of the runway, she turned the Tiger Moth and prepared for take-off. They began to trundle over the grass. At first, Verity could see nothing ahead of her because the nose of the plane pointed upwards and blocked her view. Then the tail went up and she could see down the runway. Even when
Free Spirit
began to gather speed she could not believe they would ever leave the ground. Suddenly they were airborne. There was no sense of ‘taking off’. It was as though they just floated into the sky. A shiver of excitement went down Verity’s spine and she laughed aloud. Although she had flown in small planes before, she had never been in one as small as this. It was, she thought, like riding bareback. She could feel it alive between her legs.

A gust of wind caught the Tiger Moth and tossed it to one side. Instinctively, Verity reached for one of the metal struts but stopped herself and relaxed.
Free Spirit
seemed so fragile, like a moth blown about by the wind. She had wanted to be free – free of her illness, free of the earth, free even of Edward – and now she
was
free. She had to suppress an insane desire to unfasten her harness, get up out of her seat, force herself through the wind between the struts and leap into nothingness.

Perhaps it was the disease which had attacked her lungs that made her so light-headed. It was fortunate that Kay could not see her face or read her thoughts. She felt the stick move between her legs and remembered that this was how Kay had said she would get her attention. She turned with difficulty and saw that Kay was pointing right and downwards. There, far below, was Henley. As they swooped lower over the town, she could see the river glinting in the sun and, as they went even lower, boats and then people looking up at them. Verity wanted to wave but thought Kay might not approve. The bridge, the temple on the island, the church and the Phyllis Court tennis courts swung below them and, once again, she was overwhelmed by a sense of exhilaration close to hysteria. She struggled to remove her goggles but the wind made it difficult to see without them and, as the plane turned, the sun blinded her. The noise of the engine and the wind was much greater than she had imagined and her mind was bludgeoned into a state of pleasant numbness which made coherent thought almost an impossibility.

All too soon, they were back over the aerodrome and below her she could see the little painted aircraft on the grass. Kay signalled for her to hold on. She was going to try a loop. The Tiger Moth began to dive and Verity was thrust back against her seat hardly able to breathe. Then
Free Spirit
– living up to her name – climbed away to begin the loop. At the top, the little craft began to spin and she felt rather than saw Kay try desperately to pull out of it. The plane seemed to lose momentum before, quite suddenly, rearing up into a climb and entering a fast unbanked turn, its wings parallel with the horizon.

Verity realized something was wrong and that the Tiger Moth was spinning like a spider being flushed down the sink. It came into her mind that these might be her very last moments of consciousness but oddly enough – and when she thought about it later, she could not explain it to herself – she was not frightened or apprehensive. She did not scream or wave her hands about but merely smiled as though – if this was her fate – she would welcome it as a friend, as a blessed relief from earthly chains. For a second or two, the little plane – every joint and strut humming with effort – appeared to hang motionless. Verity saw the needle of the air speed indicator flickering round the lowest point on the dial. She wanted to breathe but could not. Behind her, she could hear Kay grunting and shouting as she tried to regain control.

Kay hauled on the stick and kicked hard on the rudder pedal but nothing happened. The stick would not move. Sobbing with the effort, she tried to make her mind work and it suddenly came to her that she had not enlisted the aid of the engine. She slammed on full throttle. With some power restored to the elevators, the Tiger Moth almost instantly flipped into a normal spin and, just a couple of hundred feet above the ground, Kay regained full control. Relief flooded through her and the last reserves of strength left her. When they landed, she was very pale and her hands trembled as she taxied to a halt in front of the hangar and switched off the engine.

‘Verity, are you all right? God, I thought . . . well, I thought we’d had it. I’ll never forgive myself for putting you through that.’

It took Verity several minutes before she could speak. She sat where she was, smiling idiotically, wanting to tell Kay not to fuss but unable to utter a single word. All the breath had been drawn out of her and her head still spun. Bert ran up and climbed on to the wing to help her remove her safety harness. After another few minutes she felt able – with his assistance – to haul herself out of the little plane. At last, very wobbly on her feet and clinging to Bert, she stood on the grass.

‘For Gawd’s sake, miss, what happened up there? I do believe I thought you’d had it.’

‘I really don’t know, Bert. I’ve never known anything like it,’ Kay replied. She took off her goggles and flying helmet and shook her hair free with an angry flourish. She was very shaken – no longer the cool, self-possessed woman of the world. ‘Verity, I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I must have frightened the wits out of you. I know I was as scared as I’ve ever been.’