"Andtoyou,"Ianswered."You'rethebest."

TonystartedthecarandwavedtoEaglerasheclosedthereardoor,andwithout morefusswewereawayandontheroad,takingadirectionoppositetothe kidnappers'house,setfairforsafety.

"Wow,"Tonysaid,relaxingfivemileson."Notabadbitofliberating,thoughI sayitmyself."

"Fantastic,"Isaid,"andifyougoroundanymorecornersatthatspeedDominic willfallofftheseat."

TonyglancedbacktowhereIwasawkwardlyjammedsidewaystoletDominiclie stretchedout,anddecidedtostopthecarforrearrangements,whichincluded removingmorethoroughlytheblackfromourfacesandstowingTony'sgeartidily inthetrunk.Whenwesetoff.a.gainIhadDominiconmylapwithhishead cradledagainstmyshoulder,andhewashalfgraspingthecuddlyteddywhichI'd takenfromhissuitcase.

Hiseyesopenedandfellshutoccasionally,butevenwhenitwascleartheether hadwornoff,hedidn'twake.Iwonderedforawhileifhe'dbeengivensleeping pillslikeAlessia,butlaterconcludeditwasonlythemiddle-of-the-night effectontheextremelyyoung,becausetowardstheendofthejourneyIsuddenly foundhiseyeswideopen,staringupatmyface.

"h.e.l.lo,Dominic,"Isaid.

Tonylookedoverbriefly."He'sawake?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Iinterpretedthe"good"tobesatisfactionthatthepatienthadsurvivedthe anesthetic.Dominic'seyesslidslowlyinTony'sdirectionandthencamebackto watchmine.

"We'retakingyoutoyourmother,"Isaid.

"Trymummy,"Tonysaiddryly.

"We'retakingyoutoyourmummy,"Isaid.

Dominic'seyeswatchedmyface,unblinking.

"We'retakingyouhome,"Isaid."Here'syourteddy.You'lls...o...b..backwith yourmummy."

Dominicshowednoreaction.Thebigeyeswentonwatching.

"You'resafe,"Isaid."Noonewillhurtyou.We'retakingyouhometoyour mummy."

Dominicwatched.

"Talkativekid,"Tonysaid.

"Frightenedoutofhiswits."

"Yeah,poorlittleb.u.g.g.e.r."

Dominicwa.s.stillwearingtheredswimmingtrunksinwhichhe'dbeenstolen away.Thekidnappershadaddedabluejersey,considerablytoolarge,butno socksorshoes.HehadbeencoldtothetouchwhenI'dtakenhimoutofthe holdall,buthislittlebodyhadwarmedintherugtothepointwhereIcould feelhisheatcomingthrough.

"We'retakingyouhome,"Isaidagain.

Hemadenoreplybutafteraboutfiveminutessatuprightonmylapandlooked outofthecarwindow.Thenhiseyescameroundagaintolookatmine,andhe slowlyrelaxedbackintohisformerpositioninmyarms.

"Nearlythere,"Tonysaid."What'llwedo?It'sonlyfour.She'llpa.s.seffing outifwegiveherashockatthistimeofnight."

"Shemightbeawake,"Isaid.

"Yeah,"hesaid."Worryingaboutthekid.Isupposeshemight.Hereweare,just downthisroad."

HeturnedinthroughtheNerritygates,thewheelscrunchingonthegravel: stoppedrightbesidethefrontdoor,andgotoutandrangthebell.

Alightwentonupstairsandafteraconsiderablewaitthefrontdooropened fourinchesonachain.

"Whoisit?"JohnNerrity'svoicesaid."Whatonearthdoyouwantatthis hour?"

Tonysteppedcloserintothelightcomingthroughthecrack.

"TonyVine..."

"Goaway."Nerritywasangry."I'vetoldyou..."

"Webroughtyourkidback,"Tonysaidflatly."Doyouwanthim?"

"What?"

"Dominic,"Tonysaidwithmockpatience."Yourson."

"I..."Hefloundered.

"TellMrs.Nerrity,"Tonysaid.

Iimaginedhemusthaveseenherbehindherhusband,becauseverysoftlythe frontdooropenedwideandMirandastoodthereinanightgown,lookinggaunt.

Foramomentshehoveredasifterrified,notdaringtobelieveit,andI climbedoutofthecarwithDominichangingontight.

"Hereheis,"Isaid."Safeandsound."

ShestretchedoutherarmsandDominicslidfrommyembracetohers,therug droppingaway.Hewrappedhislittlearmsroundherneckandclungwithhislegs likealimpet,anditwasasiftwoincompletebodieshadfusedintoonewhole.

Neitherofthemspokeaword.ItwasNerritywhodidallthetalking.

"You'dbettercomein,then,"hesaid.

Tonygavemeasardoniclookandwesteppedthroughintothehall.

"Wheredidyoufindhim?"Nerritydemanded."Ihaven'tpaidtheransom..."

"Thepolicefoundhim,"Tonysaid."InSuss.e.x."

"Oh."

"InconjunctionwithLibertyMarket,"Iaddedsmoothly.

"Oh."Hewasnonplussed,notknowinghowtobegratefulorhowtoapologizeor howtosayhemighthavebeenwrongingivingusthesack.Neitherofushelped him.TonysaidtoMiranda,"Yourcar'sstillatthehotel,butwebroughtall yourgear..yourclothes,chair,andsoon...backwithus."

Shelookedathimvaguely,herwholeconsciousnessattunedtothelimpet.

"TellSuperintendentRightsworththeboy'sback,"IsaidtoNerrity.

"Oh...Yes."

Dominic,seenbyelectriclight,wasanice-lookingchildwithawell-shaped headonaslenderstalkofaneck.HehadseemedlightinmyarmsbutMiranda leanedawayfromhisweightashesatonherhip,thetwoofthemstillentwined asifwithglue.

"Goodluck,"Isaidtoher."He'sagreatkid."

Shelookedatmespeechlessly,likeherson.

TonyandIunloadedtheirseasidestuffintothehallandsaidwewould telephoneinthemorningtocheckifeverythingwasallright;butlater,when Nerrityhadfinallycomeupwithastrangledthankyouandshuthisdooronus, Tonysaid,"Whatdoyouthinkwe'dbetterdonow?"

"Stayhere,"Isaiddecisively."Roughlyonguard.There'sstillTerryandPeter unaccountedfor,andmaybeothers.We'dlookrightidiotsiftheywalked straightinandtookthewholefamilyhostage."

Tonynodded."Neverthinktheenemyhaveceasedhostilities,eventhoughthey've effingsurrendered.Vigilanceisthebestdefenseagainstattack."Hegrinned.

"I'llmakeasoldierofyouyet."

Chapterfourteen.

FORONEDAYtherewaspeaceandquiet.TonyandIwenttotheofficeforafew hoursandwroteajointreport,whichwehopedwouldbeacceptabletothe a.s.sembledpartnersonthefollowingmorning.Apartfrombeingmisleadingabout theorderinwhichDominic'sescapeandtheentryofthegladiatorshad occurred,westuckfairlycloselytothetruth:asalwaysitwasinthewording itselfthatthelessorthodoxactivitieswereglossedover.

"Wededucedthatthechildwasbeingheldintheupperstory,"hewrote,without sayinghowthedeductionhadbeenmade."Afterthechildhadbeenfreed, SuperintendentEaglerwasoftheopinionthathe(thechild)shouldbereunited withhisparentsa.s.soonaspossible,andconsequentlyweperformedthe service."

OnthetelephoneEaglerhadallayedourslightlyanxiousinquiries.

"Don'tyoufret.Wetookthemwithoutafight.Theywerecoughingandcryingall overtheplace."Hisvoicesmiled."Therewerethreeofthem.Twowereonthe topstoryrunningabout,absolutelyfrantic,lookingforthekidandnotbeing abletoseefortears.Theykeptsayinghe'dfallendownthechute."

"Didyoufindthechute?"Iaskedcuriously.

"Yes.Itwasacircularcanvasthingliketheyhaveforescapesfromaircraft.

Itslantedfromtheholeinthefloorboardsintoasmallcupboardonthefloor below.Thedoorofthecupboardhadbeenbrickedupandwallpaperedandthere wasawardrobestandinginfrontofit.Allfreshlydone,thecementwasn't thoroughlydried.Anyway,theycouldhaveslidtheboydownthechuteand replacedthechunkoffloorboardsandputarugoverthetrapdoor,andno ordinarysearchwouldhavefoundhim."

"Wouldhehavesurvived?"Iasked.

"Ishouldthinkso,yes,aslongasthey'dtakenhimoutagain,b.u.t.todothat they'dhavetohaveunbrickedthedoorway."

"Allrathernasty,"Isaidsoberly.

"Yes,very."

TonyandIputEagler'saccountofthechuteintoourreportanddecidednotto tellMiranda.

Eagleralsosaidthatnoneofthekidnapperswastalking;thattheyweretough, sullen,andmurderouslyangry.Noneofthemwouldgivehisname,address,orany otherinformation.Noneofthemhadsaidasinglewordthatcouldwithpropriety betakendownandusedinevidence.Alltheirutteranceshadbeenofthe four-lettervariety,andtheyhadbeensparingevenwiththose.

"We'vesenttheirprintstothecentralregistry,ofcourse,butwithnoresults sofar."Hepaused."I'vebeenlisteningtoyourtapes.Red-hotstuff.I'llpry openthesefineoysterswithwhat'sonthem,neverfear."

"Hopetheyutterpearls,"Isaid.

"Theywill,laddie."

TowardsmiddayItelephonedtoAlessiatopostponethelunchinvitationandwas forgiveninstantly.

"Mirandatelephoned,"shesaid."ShetoldmeyoubroughtDominichome.Shecan't speakfortears,butatleastthistimethey'remostlyhappy."

"Mostly?"Isaid.

"Johnandthatpoliceman,SuperintendentRightsworth,bothinsistedonDominic beingexaminedbyadoctor,andofcourseMirandadidn'tdisagree,butshesays theyaretalkingnowoftreatmentforhim,notbecauseofhisphysicalstate, whichisn'tbad,butsimplybecausehewon'ttalk."

"Whatsortoftreatment?"

"Inhospital."

"Theycan'tbeserious!"Isaidwithalarm.

"TheysayMirandacangowithhim,butshedoesn'tlikeit.She'stryingto persuadeeveryonetoletDominicstayathomewithherinpeaceforafewdays.

Shesaysshe'ssurehe'lltalktoher,ifthey'realone."

Ireflectedthatoncethenewsofhiskidnapandreturnhitthepublic consciousnesstherewouldbelittleenoughpeaceforawhile,b.u.t.thatotherwise herinstinctswererightontheb.u.t.ton.

Isaid,"DoyouthinkyoucouldpersuadeJohnNerrity,referringtoyourown experiences,thattobecartedofftohospitalamongstrangerswouldbe desperatelydisturbingforDominicnow,evenifMirandawentwithhim,andcould makehimworse,notbetter."

Therewasasilence.Thenshesaidslowly,"IfPapahadsentmetoahospital,I wouldhavegonetrulymad."

"Peoplesometimesdoawfulthingswiththebestintentions."

"Yes,"shesaidfaintly."Areyouathome?"

"No.Intheoffice.And...aboutlunch...I'mverysorry..."

"Anotherdaywilldofine,"shesaidabsently."I'lltalktoJohnandringyou back."

ShetelephonedbackwhenTonyandIhadfinishedthereportandhe'dgonehome toawell-earnedsleep.

"Johnwasverysubdued,you'dbesurprised,"shesaid."Allthatself-importance wasinabeyance.Anyway,he'sagreedtogiveDominicmoretime,andI'veasked MirandaandDominicdowntoLambourntomorrow.Popsy'ssuchadarling.Shesays it'sopenhouseforkidnapvictims.Shealsosuggestedyoushouldcomeaswell, ifyoucould,andIthink...Idothinkitwouldbethebesteverthing...ifyou could."

"Yes,Icould,"Isaid."I'dliketo,verymuch."