"What do you mean?"
"I mean that the Brains appeared suddenly, out of nowhere. Before that, no one had seen or heard of them. They have no past. Maybe they just dropped from the sky…"
Christian thought of Fox's theory.
- 12 -
It was a few days later, in the evening, when the show was over and the public had gone. It was late, the stars were shining brightly in a frosty sky. Christian was alone. He was doing some work on the territory, when he heard a loud scream from the direction of the Brains' trailer. He ran.
He came to where the Brains' trailer stood, and in the light of the moon saw the Brains and Jo. They had the dwarf-woman between them. The Brain with the flat ears held her by her dark long hair; the second Brain held a piece of cloth to her mouth; and the third cruelly twisted her arms.
Still running, Christian shouted: "Stop that, you devils - leave her alone!"
The Brains were too busy to hear him. He seized one of them - the one with the scar on the nose - and threw him aside.
The other two Brains turned to him, releasing Jo, who fell to the ground. The Brain with the scar stood up and ran up to Christian. He was shaking with rage.
"I'll teach you to interfere!" he shouted.
He was ready to attack Christian, when Victor, the Brain with the flat ears, who seemed to be their leader, said quietly:
"Waldo!"
This one word sounded as a command. The Brain with the scar stopped at once. All three looked coldly at the captain, then turned and marched into their trailer.
Christian bent over Jo and said:
"It's all right, Jo, they've gone."
She opened her eyes.
"Hello, Sailor! It's good that you came. Thank you!"
Christian helped her to get up. Her face was pale. She laughed.
"That's what I get for not minding my own business," she said. "Seeing that they know all the answers, I decided to ask them who did the murders. They did not answer me; just stood there and looked at me as if I were some insect. I did not like their look. Then one of them seized me by the hair. 'Little girls must not ask questions,' he said, 'we'll have to teach you a lesson.' Waldo started twisting my arm, and I screamed. Then you came up."
She smiled a little.
"Thanks again."
Christian walked with her to her trailer. At the door he stopped and said: "Jo, you must not go near the Brains. They are dangerous. And don't ask any more questions."
She looked up at him.
"And you? They won't forgive you for stopping them. You must be careful. They'll do something horrible."
"I can take care of myself," said the captain. "Do you feel all right now?"
Jo nodded.
"I'm fine… Good night, Sailor."
Christian went to his own trailer. He was sure that the Brains would not forget him.. When he was in the trailer, he took his automatic gun out of his bag and checked its mechanism. He thought a little, then he decided that he would not need it that night.
He put the gun under his pillow and went out. He went to the Cross Keys, a fine of old pub where he and Miller had agreed to meet.
- 13 -
When the captain came up to the old pub, he saw Miller's car standing at the entrance. It was late, and the door was locked. He went round the house to the back door which had been left open for him, and entered the house. It was dark and still inside. A light burned somewhere above.
He began climbing the stairs. Then, suddenly, breaking the silence of the house, came a gunshot. Christian jumped forward, to the top of the stairs. He found himself in a short corridor with a door at the end. The door was a little open, and light was coming from inside.
He ran to the door and went in. Miller lay on the carpet. On his shirt there was blood. An automatic gun lay beside him, and there was no one else in the room.
Christian bent over Miller. The man was dead. He looked at the gun… it was very much like his own. He took it to read the number - and did not believe his eyes: it was his own gun.
Christian stared at the gun and then at Miller. He could not understand it. He knew that he had left his gun -
The door behind him closed softly and a key turned on the outside. Christian jumped to the door and pulled it, but in vain. He was locked in.
By now the old pub was coming to life. He heard movement and voices and steps in the corridor.
Someone knocked on the door and shouted: "Mister Miller, are you all right?"
Christian answered: "Open this door - Miller is dead, and his murderer is running away!"
There was a pause; then the key turned and the door opened. The red-faced owner of the pub stood there with a heavy stick in his hand. He was looking at Christian who was still holding the gun, and at Miller's body
"Let me go out," said Christian
"Not so fast - you will have to explain something"
"Listen, I was working with Miller. He was waiting for me. Someone shot him and-"
"Maybe," said the red-faced man. He stepped back, quickly closed the door and locked it again. "You will stay here till I bring the police," he said.
For the first time Christian realized his own position. He had been found, alone, in a looked room, with a dead man, holding the gun - his own gun. It would be difficult to convince the police that he was not the murderer.
And how had his gun got here from the trailer?
But now, Christian understood, there was no time for thinking about that. He opened the window. Looking down, he saw Miller's car.
He jumped out of the window, ran to the car and got in. The red-faced owner of the pub came out, shouting and waving his stick. Christian started the car and drove away at full speed.
- 14 -
He drove back to the Fair. He was determined to find the Brains and speak to them. Instinct told him they were responsible; they knew, that Miller had been watching them, and so they killed him. And they killed Miller with Christian's gun because they wanted to take revenge on him: they had not forgotten that he had interfered when they were speaking with Jo.
When he came to the Fair, he parked the car and got out of it. It was dark. Only one light was seen in the distance - it came from the Brains' trailer. Christian walked towards it.
The door was locked. The captain took a piece of wire out of his pocket, worked with it a little, and the door opened. The captain stepped in, holding his gun ready.
He stopped, disappointed. The trailer was empty.
Christian looked angrily around. Where were the Brains now? He could not wait for them. He was sure that the owner of the Cross Keys had raised an alarm and the police were looking for him. And the first place where they would come would be the Fair.
He had to get away before the police came. It was absolutely necessary for him to remain in freedom until he could prove his innocence. There was nothing else to do, Christian decided: he must disappear.
He went quickly and silently to his own trailer and packed his bag. He looked under the pillow where he had left his gun: as he expected, there was nothing there. There was no doubt that the Brains had framed him for Miller's murder.
He was thinking where to go. He could not go to his yacht: he was sure that the police would visit it. He could not go to Fox - the police knew that they were friends, so, of course, they would come to Fox's place, too. He had friends who would be ready to hide him, but he wanted to remain near the Fair - that was his only chance to get at the Brains. And the Fair was leaving for Cambridge in the morning - Burkholder had decided to find a new place for it after the visit of Military Intelligence.