Constable & Toop by Gareth P. Jones Page A

Acceptance. That’s what I tell new Residents. Acceptance is the first step. Once you accept you’re never getting out then you can start to get on with things.’ She sighed. ‘It’s not so easy to tell yourself that.’
    Stepping out of the school into the street, Lapsewood allowed an easy smile to spread across his face. He had done it. He had found Doris McNally.
    All he had to do now was to write up his findings, return to the Bureau and tell them what he had discovered. When they saw what a good job he had done, not only in locating Doris McNally but in discovering the Black Rot problem, he would be rewarded. Perhaps he would be given a new assignment or maybe Colonel Penhaligan would get wind of it and request that he come back and work for him. He had showed them all. He was Prowler material after all. He imagined Alice’s face when he returned the hero. The man who saved London.
    â€˜What’s next?’ asked Tanner.
    Lapsewood held out the London Tenancy List. ‘I must return. You need to carry on,’ he said.
    â€˜I don’t need to do nothing,’ replied Tanner.
    â€˜We’ll need a proper map of infected structures if we’re to deal with this problem.’
    â€˜We?’
    â€˜The Bureau.’
    â€˜I don’t work for the Bureau. Remember, I’m just helping you out.’
    â€˜And I’m asking you to keep doing that,’ said Lapsewood. ‘Can’t you see how important this is? Something is very wrong here and it will affect all of us if we do not deal with it immediately. There’s much more at stake. If ghosts keep going missing the problem will grow and grow until it won’t be safe to enter any building in London.’
    â€˜Someone else’s problem, ain’t it?’ replied Tanner, shrugging. ‘I said I’d help you find Doris, but we’ve done that now.’
    â€˜Accepting responsibility for the problems of others is the only way to achieve a civilised, organised society. Caring for one another is what makes us human.’
    â€˜You might not have noticed, but we’re dead, mate. We ain’t part of society no more.’
    â€˜We still have a responsibility.’
    â€˜Not me.’
    â€˜So what will it take for you to carry on helping me?’
    â€˜You could try asking, I suppose.’
    â€˜That’s what I have been doing.’
    â€˜Not really.’ Tanner shrugged. ‘Try dropping all this
you need to do this
and
we need to do that
stuff and actually ask me . . . nicely.’
    â€˜Will you take the list and carry on checking for infected houses?’ asked Lapsewood.
    â€˜What’s the word you’re searching for?’
    â€˜Please,’ said Lapsewood.
    â€˜Yeah, all right.’ Tanner took the list. ‘Since you asked so nicely, I will continue feeding dogs to houses.’
    â€˜Thank you,’ said Lapsewood.
    â€˜I’m getting new ones, though. I ain’t risking Lil’ Mags again.’
    Lapsewood smiled. ‘I thought she was just a dog.’
    â€˜Yeah, well. Sometimes dogs are more reliable than people.’
    Lapsewood shook Tanner’s hand and said solemnly, ‘Thank you, Tanner. I’ll be back.’
    Tanner laughed. ‘Sombre sort of fella, ain’t you, Lapsewood?’
    Lapsewood smiled, then turned to Ether Dust and drifted up into the sky.

18
The Bell Tower
    Sam stood in the doorway of St Paul’s church and peered inside. Sunlight spilt through the stained-glass windows, but when Sam looked only with his right eye, the interior appeared as dark as night. The wooden panelling had been eaten away by the mysterious black substance that covered the outside. Sam had never seen anything like it. It filled every crack. It had sunk into every gap. It had eaten away at the walls and spread up to the rafters in the ceiling. When he stared at it Sam almost felt as if he could see it slowly moving.