Taunton Barr

by Brian Cain

CHAPTER TWELVE

  Mechanic entered the conservatory. 'There's a helicopter on the front lawn sir.'

  'I am aware of that can't hear myself think, can you ask the pilot why he can't see the giant white H on the helipad.'

  'Probably new sir, we've had the problem before like.'

  Winston suddenly looked up gazing into space, he thought for a few seconds. 'Get the name of the pilot, view his ID and check it out.'

  'You read my mind like.' mechanic raced away.

  Winston stood up and walked to the window looking out toward the barn, Lindy walked freely around the wash pad, Flaxmead and his son frolicked in the water spray, he felt it was an uneasy calm before many storms. Beaker entered the conservatory. Kalika had left early and he didn't know where she had gone. 'Winston.'

  'Ahh Beaker so you decided to attend.'

  'Would be poor manners to decline.'

  They sat down at the table, Beaker noticed the antics on the wash pad in the distance. 'Flaxmead and Lindy Cumberland.'

  'So that's really them, I have never been close to them.'

  'Oh, well can fix that pretty quick, come.' Winston got up and walked toward the door, Beaker followed, they walked along side each other in the brisk afternoon summer air, there was the smell of fresh cut grass all around, the sound of pounding hooves around the training track and screams and laughter from the wash pad. 'I would have thought you would have seen him close up long ago.'

  'I saw him win at Epsom, I had no access to areas currently within my grasp.' As they walked closer he studied the animal, he stopped fifty metres short Winston looked around to him. 'My goodness me he is an impending sight, Miss Cumberland looks so petit in relation to him, he scares me somewhat.'

  'Not unusual, he's made a career of frightening people, other horses mainly.'

  'You sure I'll be safe, I hear things, that he can be very nasty with members of the establishment.'

  'Frightened to find out who you really are Beaker.'

  Beaker blinked profusely and looked around avoiding eye contact. 'Perhaps.'

  'Come, if I'm not wrong you can touch him.'

  Beaker approached the pair behind Winston. 'Lindy meet Beaker, he runs a..'

  'Rescue operation for race horses, I know who he is.'

  Winston looked sideways at her. 'I didn't know that.'

  'You didn't need to know until now, I know Christine Kent, she manages the operation, she told me about him.'

  'I see.'

  'Miss Cumberland, so this is really him.'

  'Yes, you can touch him, rub the side of his face, he likes it.'

  Beaker approached slowly, Flaxmead paid no mind, he gently touched the side of his head, Flaxmead blew breath across Beakers face, it fogged his glasses. 'My god what an animal, magnificent, towering above me, I feel insignificant in his presence.'

  Lindy began to brush the water from his neck standing next to Beaker. 'You just entered the Flaxmead hall of fame, he knows, very few have been able to do that.'

  'You let me approach without being sure.'

  'He knows far better than I do, you would no more harm this horse or any other, he knows.'

  'No wonder he changes peoples lives, an entire country brought to a standstill every time he run, my body is tingling as I touch him. He looks in such perfect condition yet he runs no more.'

  'Winston chuckled under his breath. 'You will never stop him running, he just no longer competes, he just did twenty laps before he stopped, pleases himself these days.'

  'What else is he up to today.'

  'His first appearance for the Roger Palmer Trust. An event in Bristol for him to show off at the showgrounds later this evening, will suit him down to the ground.'

  'Well the people will certainly get their moneys worth.' Beaker stepped back from Flaxmead.'

  'Come we will have a chat back at the house.' Beaker walked away along side Winston. Flaxmead reared up and scraped at the ground with his right front hoof with his head bowed. They turned around, Winston wore a smile but Beaker looked saddened.

  'He has turned on me.'

  Lindy waited for him to settle, she looked at Beaker. 'He's paying homage to you, and asking for your help, you are indeed privileged. I don't know why he would do that, but you do.'

  They walked off toward the house, Winston explained what was going on around them but Beaker said nothing, he looked berated, indignantly embarrassed by whom he had become in relation to whom he wanted to be, by an animal of pure heart, his life was changed forever. they sat down in the conservatory. 'Tea.' Beaker was in a silent gaze. 'Beaker are you with us man.'

  'Oh, em sorry, you were saying.'

  'Tea man, would you like a cup of tea.'

  'Oh yes absolutely.'

  Winston poured a tea from the pot, he added cream and sugar passing the cup to Beaker. Beaker stirred the contents and sipped at the result, he put it down. 'I don't think transfer of the name Taunton Barr to alternate horses would be of any problem. There is a horse in the country called Flaxmead, it cant run around the barn let alone a track, was purposely named so to antagonise. didn't work, the public turned on its owner.'

  'Somewhere in my operation Ashby has an ear, we can't find who it is.'

  'Private investigators, they monitor the place.'

  'Mm, press as well we know about all that, we can't find the ear among us.'

  'I can't help you, I have no idea.'

  'What are you going to do.'

  'Have you ever done something you detested and been helpless to change.'

  'Yes, many times, prepared me for something I was destined to do.'

  'You were a merchant banker.'

  'Yes, without conscience I trained myself to survive amid the mayhem, in fact I for some time controlled it, just on gut feeling.'

  'What changed your ways.'

  'A horse.'

  'Which horse.'

  'The one you just met.'

  'Should I view this as relevant to myself.'

  'Something you can only deal with inside yourself. Had I not made a stand for change then my life would have been bland and safe. During times of dire hardship some statements in history could be viewed as outrageous when made. I was informed on one when under similar circumstances you face now by a very good friend. When Hitler had taken Europe in the second world war and amassed his army on the French coast to invade us, he sent a representative to see the British attaché in the neutral country of Sweden. The representative had been the German commissioner in Britain prior to the war. He stated that they wished to avoid further bloodshed and if Britain gave Germany a free hand in Europe Hitler offered grantees for Britain. The British attaché responded asking if he took two lumps of sugar in his tea or one. The German then went on the attack saying the Luftwaffe would like to flatten Britain in prelude to invasion that they could do any time they wanted. The British attaché, a placid and generally pleasant man was suddenly transformed in a split second and replied. If you believe we are gong to rely on Heir Hitler's guarantees you are gravely mistaken, all these years in England have made you none the wiser. We're not easily frightened and we know how hard it is to get an army across the channel, the last little corporal that tried came a cropper. So don't threaten or dictate to us until you are walking up Whitehall, and even then we wont listen.'

  Beaker was silent for a while. 'You have a place for me here, I have commitments.'

  'I implore you to stay where you are.'

  'Ashby will terminate my employment.'

  'Ashby can't terminate his right arm, especially as he knows we stalk his corridors. He can more get rid of you as I could Kalika or Lindy Cumberland, the result would be catastrophic.'

  'I'm not easy with it.'

  'You need look inside yourself, I can't help with that.'

  'It's deceptive.'

  'Reason is a tool that's why we are always looking for it.'

  Beaker had further hesitation. 'Indeed.'

  'Two years ago one of my horse
s along with several others owned by trainers all over the country was poisoned.'

  'You came back shortly after that, I began to investigate the issue, I was stopped by Ashby. I continued in my own time, I was threatened and my mother was threatened as well, a huge overbearing man, I have been scared for my mothers life ever since.'

  'You know who this man is.'

  'He's Ashby's gardener, that's all I know, I see him at the offices at times he visits Ashby.'

  'Gardner's don't go around threatening mothers Beaker, the misguided do. Mechanic!'

  'Mechanic appeared from inside the house. 'Sir.'

  'Describe the man to mechanic.'

  'About seven feet tall, twenty stone or so, short beard, always wears bib and brace overhauls and a herringbone cap, black one.'

  'What does he drive.'

  'A Land Rover discovery, yellow one.'

  'Would be too much to ask the registration no.'

  'Registered to Ashby, I can't recall.'

  'Mechanic, the person Beaker here just described goes around threatening senior citizens, mothers in fact. I sure you would agree that in the circumstances the only option is education. Perhaps the gentleman being of such stature has never experienced similar provocation. Beaker is going to need some help in convincing the misguided he is not alone, and if anything happens to Beakers mother he will be held responsible.'

  'Can't be too many yellow Landies registered to Ashby, what accent does this man have like.'

  'Cockney similar to your's, his voice has that lower tone you have to be a bison to understand the details.'

  'Can you attend to that immediately mechanic.'

  'Sir, oh and another chopper on its way to take the pilot back and drop of a new one, will be an hour or so. The charter company apologise for any inconvenience.'

  'Anything we should be worried about.'

  'Not sure like, working on that.'

  'Suspend their account until we have answers.'

  'Sir.' Mechanic scurried away.

  Beaker was wide eyed. 'Man deserves a raise.'

  'Money doesn't make him tick, Jaguars do.'

  'Then he deserves one.'

  'He has a dozen if he want's another I'm sure he'll let me know.' Winston bashed away on a lap top. 'You must excuse me a second getting behind with my responsibilities.'

  Beaker finished his tea. 'The pilot asked me a lot of questions.'

  'Keep talking.'

  'He knew who I was, I suppose he was informed.'

  'What kind of questions.'

  'He asked if I had ever been to Taunton.'

  'And.'

  'Had I ever played golf in Glastonbury.'

  'Does the TBHA have an account with the same charter company.'

  'Yes I recognise the logo.'

  'Your phone calls are monitored through the desk at the TBHA.'

  'They are recorded for reference purposes, standard procedure.'

  'Who can access the files.'

  'You have to go through personnel, quite an involved process.'

  'Can it be bypassed.'

  'Only with written permission from the CEO.'

  'Mechanic!' He again appeared from the house.

  'Sir.'

  'Call Shuttle Flight, terminate their contract immediately, call Bristol charter tell them we will be requiring their services without delay, have then send a chopper to pick up Beaker and return him to London.'

  Beagle was surprised. 'That's a hard call on a snippet of information.'

  'You going to tell him mechanic.'

  'CEO of shuttle flight owns several race horses, no prizes to guess who stables them for him like.'

  'Good lord that's a conflict of interest, he could be censured by the board.'

  'Not much chance of that mate he is the board like.'

  'How much more information like this do you have.'

  'How much do you need, see to it please mechanic.'

  Beagle pulled his chair closer to the table. 'With information like that I could at least survive being ousted.'

  'I can supply you with what you need to know no more.'

  'What do you need Winston.'

  'I need the name Taunton Barr transferred to another horse without declaring it's bloodline.'

  'It's difficult but possible, for how long.'

  'Until ten minutes before the running of the national next April. You work for Ashby and you need conduct yourself in that manner or risk detection, indirect errors in paperwork is all we require.'

  Beaker sat back in his chair. 'Sounds okay, I feel like I'm doing something spirit lifting, I feel dashingly warm.'

  'Your sitting in the sun under pains of glass, remember the sun sometimes goes in and it can snow.'

  Mechanic came into the conservatory. 'Bristol charter had one in the air, just landing on the pad now sir.'

  'Off you go Beaker.'

  'How do we keep in touch.'

  'Same way you got here, Ashby won't mind you coming up here looking for information. Tell him what you have seen, probably not quite was he's looking for, he won't be able to help himself. He can listen to our calls personally.'

  'What about the cancellation of shuttle flight's services' surely Ashby will put two and two together.'

  'Obvious shuttle flights CEO feels the pendulum swings in favour of the establishment, a mistake that is far too late for him to repair. The organisation he depends on has some serious taxation problems that as we speak are coming to light. Ashby will deduct we have terminated their services for the same reason he will be forced to.'

  'I'll call soon Beaker, the chopper passing tells us he is about to land on the pad, mechanic will take you there, on the edge of the meadow.' Mechanic had heard the chopper as well and entered the conservatory and headed for the door to the patio. 'When you have dropped Beaker off bring the shuttle flight pilot to me please.'

  'Shuttle Flight just issued a statement to the press, they declared insolvency and are bringing in liquidators like, runaway.'

  'Tell the Bristol charter pilot to get Bristol charter to bring a man out to fly the chopper on the lawn to their base at Bristol airport. Inform them they heard about the liquidation and have seized the aircraft and wish to make an offer on the machine or return it to wherever the liquidators wish.'

  Beaker had a question as he was going out the door. 'Is that legal Winston, sounds a bit underhanded.'

  'It's every man for himself regarding shuttle flight, Bristol charter just got themselves a chopper at a bargain price. 'I'm sure they wont forget that. Mechanic tell that pilot he has no job and send him to me, we'll see how cheerful and accommodating he has become.'

  'Will do Winston,' they scurried away in a vehicle.