Page 45 of Strangers in Time

A D ELIVERY IN D ARKNESS

T HEY HURRIED OVER TO the next corner and caught a bus that Charlie said would take them very near to where they were headed.

“How do you know the city so well?” Molly asked as they took their seats on the bus.

“Just gets about. Now, I don’t take many buses, ’cept when I rides on the back of ’em.”

Molly looked startled. “Wait, do you mean on the outside ?”

“Yeah, I can teach you if you like. Just got to have strong fingers and get your weight and balance just so and keep your head down and be ready to jump if need be. Saves you a lot of coin.”

“I would never do such a thing. It’s not legal.”

“Well, I don’t know ’bout that,” he retorted.

“It’s illegal , Charlie. It’s why they sell tickets .”

He stared out the window at the storm and didn’t respond.

After twenty minutes of rumbling through London, Charlie pulled the cord, and led Molly off the bus when it stopped at an intersection.

Under cover of the umbrella they walked for a few minutes in the rain, though it was easing a bit.

“Down this way,” he said.

They turned into an alley and took up position behind an old crate across from a battered door squatting in the middle of sad and grimy brick.

“That’s the place,” he said in a low voice, cupping his hand against Molly’s right ear, though with the wind he could have shouted and still been in no danger of being overheard.

They waited a full hour and were about to leave when Charlie said, “Someone’s comin’.” He had noticed the tiny bit of light at the opposite end of the alley.

They ducked down lower behind the crate.

The air warden appeared wearing a glow cape and a slickened waterproof under it and gas-resistant clothes below that. A small torch with a shield was in one hand.

As the man walked by he stopped at the door in question, and gazed around. Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out an envelope, and slipped it through the door’s letterbox.

As he passed them by, they both saw that it was Ignatius Oliver.

Molly started to call out to him, but Charlie put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. When Oliver was out of sight Molly said, “Why did you stop me?”

“Somethin’ ain’t right ’bout this, Molly.”

“He might simply be delivering a letter, Charlie, that’s all.”

“This late at night?”

“He’s making his rounds as an air warden. You saw his uniform. And the man you saw here was the same one you saw at the bookshop. They’re obviously friends. He might just be saving the price of a stamp.”

Molly led them out of the alley, while a worried Charlie looked back at the door through which the envelope had gone.