Read Silhouette for Free Online Page B

‘Walking quickly, so a man with a purpose and a precise destination.’
    ‘Something here he’s keen to see, maybe.’
    ‘Something, or someone,’ the Doctor agreed as they hurried through the Carnival.
    Clara spotted him first. ‘There he is,’ she said, pointing to where Milton was just disappearing behind the Shadowplay tent. ‘So, you could tell all that stuff about him using a translator or whatever just by looking at him, could you?’
    ‘I could tell that by
listening
to him,’ the Doctor said. ‘He fell into my origami trap.’
    ‘And how does that translate into Earth-Speak? I assume you don’t mean you constructed a net or something out of paper.’
    ‘He used the word “debrief”, meaning to get a report after the event. Which is all well and good but that particular Americanism won’t be coined until towards the end of the Second World War. Could have been a quirk of our own translation system, so I mentioned origami. And he not only understood it, he gave us a definition. But the Japanese word doesn’tenter the English language until, I think, the 1950s.’
    ‘That’s why you asked him if he spoke Japanese,’ Clara realised.
    ‘Can’t keep you fooled for long.’
    ‘Hey,’ she said, realising something else. ‘Maybe this Milton bloke is responsible for the power spike thingy we detected.’
    The Doctor paused mid-step to look back at her. ‘Oh, do you think?’
    Clara ignored his sarcasm, pulling him back out of sight. ‘He’s coming back,’ she warned. ‘That was quick,’ she added as Milton passed close by. He didn’t seem to spot them in amongst the other people. ‘I guess he didn’t find what he was looking for.’
    ‘Or perhaps he did,’ the Doctor said.
    They waited a few moments to let Milton get a good way ahead of them, but not so far there was a risk of losing sight of him. The woman from the shadow puppet show, Silhouette, appeared briefly at the opening to the tent close by, putting out a sign saying the next show would be in an hour’s time. She smiled at Clara before disappearing back inside the tent.
    ‘Probably taking a late lunch,’ Clara thought.
    ‘Right, off we go.’ The Doctor took Clara’s elbow and marched her after Milton. ‘Looks like he’s leaving again.’
    Milton was already hurrying through the Frost Fair and back towards the Embankment. The Doctor andClara followed him as he turned off down a side street, then almost immediately into another. This street was deserted. The terraced houses looked dark and empty. Several had their windows boarded up. The paintwork was flaking and the stone was crumbling through neglect and the combined effects of the weather and the London smog.
    They drew back into the shadows on the other side of the street as Milton paused outside one of the houses. He turned, looking back to check that he was unobserved. Then he walked up to the front door.
    ‘Doesn’t look like his sort of place,’ Clara said. The house was as dilapidated as all the others.
    ‘I don’t think he lives there,’ the Doctor agreed. ‘So what does he keep inside that he doesn’t want anyone else to find?’
    ‘Think we should find out?’
    ‘Don’t you?’
    ‘Absolutely,’ Clara said. ‘So, do we wait for him to leave? Or confront him now?’
    ‘Oh I always favour the direct approach. Come on.’
    The Doctor set off at a brisk pace for the house, Clara hurrying to keep up. The door was closed and locked, but a quick application of the sonic screwdriver soon saw them inside. The narrow hallway was unfurnished. Wallpaper peeled from the cracked plaster and the floor was bare boards.
    There were two reception rooms and a ratherprimitive kitchen on the ground floor. The two upper storeys boasted a bathroom and three bedrooms. All were empty.
    ‘Where did he go?’ Clara hissed.
    ‘I don’t know,’ the Doctor said. ‘But there’s obviously no need to whisper.’
    A back door from the small kitchen gave out into a yard. A gate