The Affinity Bridge by George Mann Read Free Book Online Page B

the girder. Newbury stepped into the room. He coughed, hacking on the smell of the still-warm bodies.
    “My God.” He rushed to Veronica’s side. “Are you alright?”
    Veronica coughed. “I’m not sure I shall ever be alright again. I just can’t believe the devastation. So many people dead, burned alive in the fires. What a horrible way to die.”
    Newbury looked saddened. “It won’t have been a lingering death. The collapse of the gasbags will have caused a series of massive fireballs to blow through the ship. That probably explains why they’re all still in their seats.”
    Veronica crouched down beside a row of seats. “That, and the fact that they were all tied into position like common criminals.” She showed him the loop of charred rope around the ankle of the nearest passenger.
    “Stokes made no mention of the vessel being chartered as penal transport. Do you suspect he was trying to hide something?”
    “I believe he was trying to cover his own back.” She stood again, blinking. “What did you find in the control room?”
“Nothing.”
    “Oh.” She moved to turn away, anxious to put space between herself and the grisly scene, and then paused when he continued talking.
    “That’s just it. Nothing. No pilot or co-pilot to be found. No bodies, no evidence to suggest they were ever there at all. It’s as if the pilot simply abandoned the controls.”
    Veronica frowned. “Do you think that’s why the ship went down? Because the pilot wasn’t at the controls? Could he have bailed out before impact? Or could he be back here, unidentifiable now from the other passengers?”
    “I suppose anything is possible.” Newbury looked up, noticing that the light was starting to go. “Come on. I think we’ve seen enough, and this is far from my ideal of one’s first time aboard an airship.” He looked circumspect. “Besides, I do believe we have some more questions for Mr. Stokes.”
     
     
    Mr. Stokes was still standing around the police cordon when Newbury and Veronica edged up beside him. They were both filthy from clambering around in the wreckage, and Newbury was looking forward to retiring for the day, intent on a long soak in a hot bath. Stokes turned to regard them as they approached.
    “Well, I do believe it’s true what they’ve been saying. The Crown is prepared to get its hands dirty from time to time.” He guffawed at his own joke.
Newbury was unmoved. “Foulkes?”
    Stokes was obviously taken aback by Newbury’s directness. “Urn, no. He’s had to go off somewhere. Something about a fireman getting injured in the wreckage.”
    “Well, Mr. Stokes, perhaps you could make yourself useful for a moment? I have another question and it’s very much in need of an answer.”
The other man nodded, apprehensive now.
    “What became of the ship’s pilot? I’ve been down to the control room and there’s no evidence of a body. Indeed, there’s precious little evidence that a pilot was even onboard.”
    Stokes’s complexion turned a ghostly shade of white. “The, um, the pilot is missing.”
    “Missing? How does a pilot go missing} Did he bail out before the crash?”
“Not exactly, Sir Maurice… If I can just…”
    “Look, man, I’m in no mood for your ridiculous evasions now! Can you answer the question or not?”
    Veronica put a hand on Newbury’s arm in an effort to quell his rising temper. Stokes gave an audible sigh. “There is no way the pilot of that vessel could have bailed out before the crash.”
    “And why is that, Mr. Stokes?” This from Veronica, who had evidently decided to step in and calm the situation before things got out of hand.
    “Because it wasn’t a ‘he’. It was an ‘it.’” He rubbed his hands over his face in exasperation. “The pilot of The Lady Armitage was a clockwork automaton, designed by Mr. Villiers himself. They’re remarkable units, capable of many basic and, indeed, higher functions. But they are not programmed to abandon their