‘A house for sale? In The Pines? Already? The buggers have just moved in,’ exclaimed the postman.
‘The busy ever changing life of an executive, I suppose,’ sighed Dewar.
‘Bunch of greedy gits more like. Probably sell it for ten grand more than they paid.’
Dewar wasn’t sure of the validity of the economic analysis but he nodded in agreement. ‘You’re probably right. About this place …?’
‘No idea pal, it’s been derelict since I started delivering here.’
‘No nasty smells then,’ said Dewar, making a little note. ‘Thanks a lot.’ He waited until the postman had gone before sidling into the shrubbery and making his way up to the fence. He could now see that the buildings were in a bad state, a cluster of small red brick out-houses surrounding a larger building with a tall central chimney. Weeds were growing up through concrete paving that was strewn with broken glass and rusty iron.
Dewar’s initial impression that the chimney belonged to a boiler house still seemed right, but for what? There were no signs or name boards to give a clue to what the compound had once had been. After looking at the site for a few minutes, Dewar knew he would have to get closer. He started looking for a gap in the fencing. There was no question of going over the top because the barbed wire, although rusty, still looked as if it could inflict damage on anyone foolish enough to try. The chain link fencing underneath however, was suspect in several places, particularly along the bottom where post fixings had rusted away. Dewar found a particularly bad one and pulled the mesh away from the post. Three strong tugs and it separated.
Once free of the post there was enough movement in the wire for him to bend it upwards. With a final look behind him to ensure he’d still be hidden from view, he got down on the ground and wriggled underneath the wire on his back. He let out a gasp of pain as a free strand of wire caught the bruise on his head. He had to pause for a moment until the red mist in front of his eyes abated.
Once through the wire he got to his feet and did what he could to stop the bleeding that had resumed from his head wound. He brushed the dirt from his clothes and approached the buildings.
He was right, the place had been a boiler house. Two large rusting pressure vessel hulks testified to that but there was still no clue as to what they had provided heating for. Dewar started to trace piping that emanated from the back wall. He stopped as he came across an empty beer can sitting on a brick buttress there; it was a Tennent’s Super lager can and it looked new. The fact that it was sitting upright on the low wall precluded the possibility that it had been thrown over the fence from the road. He guessed at teenagers. Such a place would be attractive to teenage boys but there was just the one can, no other signs of Saturday night revels.
Dewar followed the line of what he took to be the main pipe outlet from the boiler house. It ran above ground for twenty metres or so before disappearing vertically into the earth. in some more scrub land to the east of the buildings. This could only mean that the pipe network must run underground. He started looking around for some likely means of access and came across an iron man-hole cover almost totally obscured by spreading cottoneaster branches. Dewar grabbed the handle and pulled at the heavy cover. It came away surprisingly easily to his way of thinking. He’d been expecting it to be stuck fast.
Dewar looked down into a shaft that dropped vertically for about two metres then turned horizontally to the right through an arch leading into an underground tunnel. A series of iron rungs in the vertical section of the shaft tempted him down but he left the hatch cover open. It was his intention just to have a look into the mouth of the tunnel before returning to his car to fetch a torch but he found to his surprise that he could see inside the tunnel. There were no lights but a series of small armoured glass windows in the roof provided just enough daylight to navigate by.
He could see he’d been right about the pipe network. The roof and sides of the tunnel carried long sections of steel piping with occasional pressure gauges set in them. The pipes were now cold and damp with condensation; the gauges read zero. He took in breath sharply as a rat suddenly scurried out from the gloom and ran over his feet to find a way past. He would not be alone down here.
He continued along the tunnel, mentally calculating where he was in relation to the estate. He reckoned he was just about at it’s eastern boundary when he reached the end of the passage. The brick wall he faced looked to be made from newer bricks than the ones outside. He supposed the builders of The Pines had filled in the old tunnel when they were working on foundations for the houses and blocked it off. It was not however the end of the tunnel complex because a smaller tunnel led off to the left.
Again there was just enough light to see his way ahead. Twenty metres more and he stopped in his tracks. He could smell something. He sniffed the air again to be sure. there it was again; it was cigarette smoke. Someone else was down here.
Dewar continued with caution, his pulse rate higher than it had been. The smell got stronger; his steps got slower. The tunnel broadened out into a square recess where he guessed an auxiliary pumping station had been sited, judging by the shadowy outline of machinery he could see there. He was looking at it more closely when two hands closed round his throat from behind.
‘Got you, ya bastard!’ rasped a voice in his ear. ‘You’ll no’ be killin’ me like you did Tam.’
Dewar hammered both his elbows back into his attacker’s stomach and the man let go his throat with a gasp. He spun round but only to be met with a head butt to the face which sent him reeling backwards in pain. His attacker was on him again, a shadowy mess of tangled hair and bad breath but apparently inspired by hatred.
Dewar slammed both his fists into the sides of the man’s head and gained the upper hand again. Just to make sure he unleashed a fierce punch into his stomach and the man fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
‘Now, just what the hell are you talking about?’ demanded Dewar.
There was just enough light for him to see that his attacker was wearing a raincoat buttoned unevenly over several layers of clothing judging by his bulk. He had a wild mane of dirty grey hair and a beard that seemed to sprout at all angles from his face. Everything pointed to him being a down and out, living rough in the tunnel. The lager can outside now made sense.
‘You killed Tam, ya bastard and now … you’re gonna kill me,’ gasped the man. He was half weeping, half struggling for breath and clutching his stomach. Dewar regretted having hit him so hard.
‘I don’t know you from Adam,’ said Dewar. ‘And who’s Tam?’
‘Don’t give me that shit. What fuckin’ harm were we doin’? Eh? Answer me that?’
‘What is this place?’ asked Dewar.
‘Don’t give me that … ‘
The man stopped in mid sentence as Dewar, growing tired of the impasse, grabbed hold of his lapels and brought his face up close. He rasped, ‘Just answer the question.’
‘The tunnels.’
‘What tunnels?’
‘The City Hospital tunnels, ya numpty.’
Alarm bells started to ring in Dewar’s head. ‘The City Hospital?’ he repeated. You mean these houses out there are built on ground where the City Hospital used to be?’
‘Every bugger knows that.’
Dewar’s mind reeled with the implications of this news. He hadn’t found a secret government establishment but he had found the site of an old hospital and that hospital had been the city’s infectious diseases hospital. He knew that because George Ferguson in Steven Malloy’s lab had told him so! Dewar felt slightly light-headed as so much began to make sense. Ferguson had worked there for thirty years and this was the area where the smallpox vials had been unearthed. It all fitted. Ferguson was the missing link with the institute! Good old George Ferguson.