“How sure are we that the witness statements are correct?”
“I went and spoke to the driver. He is an ex-Tank Regiment NCO, and a good man by all accounts. He was adamant that he witnessed something extraordinary. I spoke to a couple of others, posing as a newspaper reporter, and they both agreed. They all sang her praises and thought she was wonderful. None of them actually thought she did anything strange at the time. However, when I went over it all with them, they simply corroborated the driver’s statement. Then, they all agreed that she had done something remarkable. I got the impression that somehow they were ‘told’ that she had not done anything weird.”
“Who is she?”
“Her name is Amber Hutchins. Her mother is Jennifer Hutchins, her father was allegedly killed in the far east during the war. Jennifer is engaged to an RAF officer, Flight Lieutenant Gareth Lowe. His previous wife died, so he already has a daughter called Charlotte, who’s about the same age as Amber.”
“You said, allegedly?” the Brigadier said.
“Yes sir. It’s all a bit strange. I’ve done some checking, and it seems that this family may not be exactly as it first appears. Firstly, no records exist of the child being born out in Singapore. The birth certificate was issued in Oxford during one of the glut periods of returning ex-pats, yet Jennifer Hutchins returned from the Far East many years before.
“Indeed, it appears that Miss Hutchins actually worked in the registrar’s office at the time.”
The Brigadier was frowning.
“This is a bit concerning. Is it possible she is working for the Reds?”
“I thought so at first, and then I did a little more checking. She qualified from university, having no declared dependant child at the time. She worked as a teacher at a Primary School in Wallingford, again no mention was made of the girl.
“Suddenly, she leaves the school and is employed by an elderly couple as a governess for their grandson. Apparently, the child’s parents died in a car crash some years before, and the child was considered bright but ‘different’.
“Anyway, the elderly couple died, leaving Jennifer the legal guardian of young Andrew. Indeed, part of the provision of the will was for Jennifer to adopt young Andrew. Shortly after that, Andrew is taken out of prep school and promptly disappears. Miss Hutchins arrives in Abingdon with a ‘daughter’ and settles down and prepares to marry our Flight Lieutenant Lowe.”
The Brigadier was frowning heavily.
“I’m not sure I understand. Are they hiding the child by pretending it’s a girl? If so, why?”
“I had dinner in their hotel last night. There is no deception being undertaken by anyone. Amber is a little girl. I actually managed to see her when she was changing on the beach, just before supper.”
“I’m amazed you didn’t get arrested for being a pervert. Go on.”
“The parents of Andrew were Doctor Robert Masters and Caroline Nash. They met at a certain secret location in Scotland during the war,” Matthew said.
He watched with amusement at the information permeated the old soldier’s mind. The Brigadier suddenly became quite excited.
“Don’t tell me, Glenisla house?”
“Exactly.”
“I know of them. Caroline must have been pregnant when they tried out the enzyme! My God, this child has the natural abilities that we attempted to induce artificially. Do you know what this means?”
“We succeeded, sir?”
“I rather think we did. See if you can get hold of Simon Haddow. The last I heard he was looking into working for the Americans. It is imperative we get him back, no matter what it costs!” The Brigadier seemed to take on a new lease of life.
“Yes sir, and the girl?”
The Brigadier looked at the younger man.
“Keep an eye on her. We need to make sure she and her family are kept safe. Make sure that any inconsistencies in their background are sorted out. We need to make sure that everything about them is squeaky clean. I suggest you approach Miss Hutchins and, in the nicest possible way, inform her that the game is up and that her country needs her and her ‘daughter’.”
“Sir, I rather think that would be a mistake. I believe that the child is sufficiently powerful to determine when such an approach is made.”
“What makes you think that?”
“It’s hard to put into words, but for some funny reason, I actually think she knew exactly who I was and why I was there. You see, the boy on the li-lo was not able to gain attention by shouting as he was too far from the shore. I really believe that Amber picked up his panic through mental power.”
The Brigadier frowned again.
“Are you sure?”
“No, but something tells me I’m right.”
“How do we play this?”
“As you said, watch her and guard her, and ensure that she reaches adulthood. Then she can come and work for us.”
“What happens if she gets spooked?”
“Play it as it happens,” Matthew said, and the Brigadier sensed the man had something else on his mind.
“What’s troubling you, Matthew?”
The Major, an experienced soldier and very reliable man, hesitated slightly before answering.
“This may seem really odd, but I actually think she instigated the call to us by the policeman. All the time I was close to her, she had this smile on her face. Well, this may sound daft, sir, but it was as if she was playing with me, sir.”
“Suppose that is true. Why would she?”
“All I can think, sir, is that she is aware of her power and what potential she has. She is a very bright child and I think she wants us to know about her.”
The Brigadier looked thoughtful. Ever since he had been given the task of trying to recruit intelligence agents who were gifted in ESP, he had found it a thankless and useless task. However, rumours of successes by the Russians and Americans had stirred some Whitehall mandarin into taking steps for the British to prove it couldn’t be done. Such was the budget, success was not even considered.
“I have one question. What happened to Andrew Masters?”
“I used to worry about that one. After looking into Andrew’s background, and that included talking to his prep school, I think that Andrew and Amber are one and the same. For some reason, Amber prefers being a girl, and so they have allowed Andrew to simply disappear.”
“Good God! Whatever for?”
Matthew smiled.
“It seems, sir, that for some, the gender with which they are born is not always to their liking. Perhaps Andrew is one of them.”
The Brigadier looked at his subordinate, and frowned.
“You mean; she chose to be a girl?”
“Possibly. There is no doubt that she is a girl, and quite a pretty little thing too. I think, sir, that this is one very talented and powerful young woman, who knows exactly what she can do, and is very much in control of her own destiny.”
“But to change gender, that’s impossible!”
“So is leaping twenty feet in under two seconds. Look sir, accept for a moment that she has amazing powers, and is fully aware of these powers. She is bright and very intelligent, far beyond her years. She knows that she can’t afford to show out, but she needs to alert us of her existence. I wouldn’t be surprised that my instinctive reaction to protect and assist in her continued development is a subliminal suggestion placed in my mind by the devious little soul.”
“But she’s only… what?…Nine?”
“Exactly! She is nine going on twenty-nine. The more I think about it, the more I believe I’m right. She knows exactly what we do, and somehow she has manipulated people and events to draw our attention to her.”
“Good God! If you’re right, then her powers are terrifying.”
“Only in the wrong hands. I’m convinced that she knows exactly what she is doing, so it’s in our interests to keep her and what she can do the tightest secret.”