He was anxious to crack that conundrum about the KC and the forbidden isle and he knew full well who might help him do that.
With January out of the way Giles took a good look at his diary and decided to take the train north on or around the seventh of February.
A call to Maskelyne Hall, the big house on the outskirts of Lockerbie, was again answered by Doreen, the housekeeper. She was afraid that Laura was sleeping; she hadn’t been too well she said, but Giles would be welcome to come. That might cheer Laura up.
Giles decided there and then to travel on Tuesday 7th February and gave Doreen the details when he’d be likely to arrive.
Giles managed to obtain the services of Colin Brown, the cabbie with the enlarged whatnot, when he was all set to travel by train. On the way to the station Giles told Colin about the mystic conundrum that was puzzling him.
The cabbie was stumped about the KC, and the forbidden isle, but he was positive he could figure out the part about the grassland that was now an airfield.
‘I would like to know what your idea of that could be,’ asked an interested Giles.
‘The thing that springs to mind is Gatwick,’ said the cabbie with an air of confidence.
‘Why Gatwick,’ asked a bemused Giles.
‘Gatwick is now an airport,’ the cabbie said smugly. ‘And it used to be a racecourse! The Grand National was run there during the First World War.’
The journey to Lockerbie was a pleasant one as Giles contemplated what he’d been told by Colin Brown. It all made sense though he couldn’t work out why. A race had been mentioned in the riddle so maybe he was a step nearer the truth.
An elated Giles was met by George, the Maskelyne Hall lodge keeper. The feel good emotion Giles had was short-lived and the reason was the look on George’s face.
‘Is there anything the matter, George?’ Giles asked. His bothered tone matched the worried look on his face.
‘I’m afraid I have bad news for you. Laura is in hospital!’
Chapter 9
LOVE AND THE FORBIDDEN ISLE
The news of Laura’s illness brought numbness to the newly arrived Professor and melancholy set in on the familiar car journey over the bridge and up the hill.
The joyous mood, Giles had when he arrived at the market town’s station, was now gone. Anxiety took charge and all Giles wanted was to hear what necessitated Laura having to go to hospital.
‘What, exactly, is the problem?’ Giles asked as the silver-haired lodge keeper steered the station wagon on to the B7068.
‘It all started with a sore throat,’ explained George as he changed gear. ‘We called the doctor and he thought it might be tonsillitis. Laura had a high temperature and the swelling made swallowing difficult.’
‘Did the doctor prescribe anything?’
‘Yes, he put her on a course of antibiotics but when he came back, a few hours later, he diagnosed a Quinsy throat. There were abscesses that might require surgery so Doctor Richardson decided that a hospital visit was essential.’
‘Did she go to the cottage hospital?’
‘No, Giles. She is in the Royal Infirmary at Dumfries. After dinner I’ll drive you there. I know Laura will be glad to see you. She’s been in a lot of pain and there was just the possibility it could have been life threatening, but we’ve been told she’s over the worst and could be home in a few days.’
‘I’m certainly relieved to hear that.’
Isabella Ramsden, the septuagenarian widow of cabinet maker Jack Ramsden was having an afternoon nap when George carried Giles’ bag into the big house.
Doreen Gardner, the housekeeper, was preparing dinner as Giles walked into the kitchen. The hugs that ensued were reminiscent of his earlier visit, in the previous October, when Giles had come back to solve the mysterious death of Jack Ramsden.
Jack, a magician who also designed and built masterly props for stage magicians, had been a mentor for Giles while he’d stayed with the Ramsden family, on holidays during his boyhood.
The library at Maskelyne Hall contained a large collection of books on magic and illusionists but it was the historical works on the great circuses that Giles wished to examine.
They would have to wait. Giles’ immediate interest was to see Laura and help her regain her health.
Dinner with the matriarch of Maskelyne Hall was not quite the same as Giles had expected despite the presence of Doreen Gardner and her husband George. Isabella had requested their company believing their presence would help Giles overcome his anxiety at Laura’s absence.
Conversation was subdued though Isabella did her best to put Giles at his ease.
‘I believe George is taking you to see Laura this evening, Giles. I’m sure that will do her an enormous amount of good. I’ve prayed for her…we all have and we want her back home as soon as she’s strong enough.’
‘Have you any idea how it all happened?’ Giles inquired with concern.
‘We don’t really know,’ declared George. ‘But she was cleaning out one of the drains down at the stables and that may have had something to do with it. Laura was always a girl who helped anyone who needed assistance. She was never afraid of hard work and mucked in with the rest of us.’
When dinner was over Doreen cleared the table and started washing up. Giles got himself ready to accompany George to Dumfries for what was to be an unexpected visit to a girl he might have lost if George’s account of Laura’s illness was correct.
The drive to the county capital was completed in record time and, as George parked the station wagon at the hospital, the pounding of Giles’ heart increased. This was not quite the way he’d expected to meet Laura again even though the effect on his heart was the same as when they had met on his previous visit to Lockerbie.
Before going into Laura’s ward Giles had a word with one of the nurses who confirmed that, at one stage, the staff thought they might be in danger of losing Laura. The patient’s strength of will was, fortunately, a force that helped to turn things around and the treatment soon took effect.
‘She is ready to see you, Professor Dawson,’ the nurse said and her smile and words gave Giles the necessary encouragement he required to step into the hospital ward and meet the girl he had looked forward to seeing so much.
Laura was sitting up and talking to George when Giles moved across to her bedside. Lodge keeper George, who was also groom, gardener and general handyman, rose, gave Giles his chair and said he would go and search for a cup of tea and leave the two alone for a wee while.
The auburn hair, with the titian highlights, framed Laura’s face, as her head lay back on the white pillow. Her hazel eyes gazed out at Giles and a tiny smile lit up her pale face; the scarlet lipstick contrasting starkly with her skin.
‘You look lovely,’ Giles said, rummaging for the right phrase to use. He sat down, held her hand and looked longingly at her as he continued. ‘I so wanted to see you.’
‘That’s not a bad start for someone as reticent as you, Giles. I’m pleased to see you too.’
‘How are you feeling?’
‘I can honestly say I feel much better than I did, now that you’re here.’
‘I’m glad,’ said a relieved Giles as he squeezed her hand. ‘I believe I saw a little colour come into your cheeks and that means so much to me. May I kiss you?’
‘No, Giles. Please wait until I come home to Lockerbie.’
‘Patience is a virtue, as they say. If I have to wait a bit longer then so be it, but I will ask you again. Have you any idea how long you’ll be here?’
‘The doctor thinks I could be leaving here by the week-end.’
‘Good,’ said a delighted Giles as he still held her hand in his. ‘I’m pleased to hear that.’ He lifted her hand up to his face caressing one finger as he did so before giving it a little kiss.
‘What are you thinking, my dear Giles?’
‘I was thinking that this particular finger might look a little better with something on it. It deser
ves something very special and maybe that can be arranged. Get well soon, my dear.’
The reaction from Laura was more than Giles could have envisaged. Her other hand grasped his and he glimpsed a tear drop appearing at the corner of Laura’s eyes.
They were still gazing fondly at each other when George reappeared.
The run back to Lockerbie was a lot more enjoyable than the earlier trip to the hospital; the meeting with Laura had bucked Giles up no end. When he was about to leave the ward he turned to look back at Laura. She was waving her left hand and stroking the finger he’d caressed.
That gesture conveyed a meaning Giles would cherish for God knows how long. He leaned back in his seat and breathed a hearty sigh of relief.
George glanced briefly across at his passenger and nodded before concentrating on driving the professor safely back to the country house near Lockerbie.
Isabella was sitting by the fire when George and Giles got back to the house. Doreen made some tea and Isabella produced some glasses and a bottle of brandy.
Giles sat for a while chatting to Isabella. Mrs. Gardner put a couple of logs on the fire but when Isabella’s eyes began to close the housekeeper escorted the old lady upstairs to her bedroom.
After Giles said goodnight and retired to bed he found sleep difficult. His muddled thoughts wandered between Laura and her recent escape from death and the distinct possibility that death might soon happen at a circus with a problem he’d been asked to solve.
It was a rather bleak morning when Giles went downstairs. To his surprise he was ushered into the cosy kitchen by an ebullient Doreen who sat him down and, in no time at all, prepared breakfast.
Fragmented sleep had left Giles in an agitated state of mind, but a bowl of hot porridge with grilled bacon and scrambled egg to follow, plus the company of Doreen and her husband, George, who came in from the stables, was excellent therapy for his condition.
As the library was the intended destination for Giles, after his breakfast, he told housekeeper Doreen that he might spend most of the day there browsing over the books. Doreen said she would bring him a cup of tea mid-morning but would otherwise not interrupt him.
The library was ghostly quiet when Giles entered; the door opening on well-oiled hinges.
The oil painting of the female dancer in a Spanish costume of scarlet and vermillion still hung on the wall opposite. It instantly brought disturbing memories of the immediate past; the objects carried by the dancer were so diametrically different which bothered him. The fan she carried in one hand signified gaiety and merriment while in the other hand was a portent of tragedy.
Giles had difficulty of ridding his mind of that object that had been a pivotal component in the investigation of The Statue of Three Lies not so long ago. That object was…! Giles shook his head and, talking to himself, said ‘That, thankfully, is over and done with. The mystery was solved!’
With composure returned to normal, Giles closed the door, moved to the extensive book shelves and removed several volumes, which he took over to the long mahogany table.
Before he sat down in one of the leather arm chairs he noticed there was already a book lying on the table. It was a collection of Grimms’ Fairy Tales. He frowned, glanced at the painting on the wall and made a mental note that he would ask Doreen about that when she came in with the tea.
He switched on the standard lamp nearest to him as the morning light was barely good enough for reading by.
The first volume Giles opened was one that had a detailed history of the Ringling Brothers Circus. He thumbed through it until a section on the Codona Family caught his attention.
The Codona Family, a Flying Trapeze act, had apparently owned a circus before becoming famous with the Ringling Brothers. One member of the family, by the name of Alfredo, had first appeared in a circus while balanced on his father’s hand. He had only been about seven years old at the time but as an adult became the most noted member of the family.
Reading on, Giles learned of the act that was known as the Three Codonas. Alfredo and his sister, Victoria, were flyers and their brother, Leo, was the catcher. Alfredo was the first performer to master the triple aerial somersault and was also first to realise that trapeze swings and their timing could be affected by the slope of the ground. That was another reason which could be responsible for an accident during a trapeze act thought Giles.
The next item to capture the attention of Giles was about Alfredo’s marriage to Lillian Leitzel, a petite aerialist, born in Bohemia, who pivoted while suspended by a rope looped around one of her wrists. Leitzel fell when part of her rigging broke and she died a few days later from her injuries.
It was clear to Giles, as he read such details, that accidents have always occurred in circuses; and the more difficult the aim of the performer, the more likely that an accident might happen. Giles knew that the Velazquez Family at the Tropicana Circus were aiming to emulate the Codonas and that meant that an accident might be waiting to happen.
The problem with the circus, which was wintering at RAF Winkleigh, was the quantity and frequency of the spills it was encountering.
Further information about the Codonas was more disturbing. After his wife, Lillian Leitzel, died from her fall, Alfredo married again. He became reckless and tore shoulder ligaments in a fall that ended his career. When his second wife sued for divorce Alfredo shot and killed her and himself.
These revelations tempted Giles to scan through some of the other volumes until he came across what were described as the Seven Sins of the Circus. They were listed as arson, bigamy, rape, bestiality, group sex, organised crime and murder.
The first of those sins had already taken place at Winkleigh; that of arson, Giles was certain the fire had been deliberate. The penultimate sin of organised crime might even be the cause of the recurring accidents and the last one of murder might well be inevitable, as he’d just read about Alfredo’s sins. Giles could not discount the possibility of such a crime happening at some stage in his probing of the “gauntlet of fear” proceedings. That was something he feared might happen.
Biting his lower lip Giles got to his feet and started to wander around the library. Could any of the Velazquez family be remotely thought of as the culprit? Was it conceivable that all three could be involved? Giles doubted that. So far, there had not been any problem with their trapeze act but that might support the idea that they were concerned in damaging others.
Perhaps they were not only aiming to emulate the Codonas’ aerial act but aiming to achieve what that family had originally possessed – their own circus. A possibility, perhaps, but Giles had no obvious reason to suspect the Velazquez trio.
If only Freddie was here, he thought. He would then have someone to exchange views with. Still there was always Laura and she might be here in a few days.
Giles looked up at the oil painting of the Spanish dancer. Apart from the colouring of the hair it could be a portrait of Laura. With that thought in mind he smiled and was about to sit down when Doreen entered.
‘You’ll be ready for this, Giles,’ she said laying down a small tray with a cup of tea and a biscuit.
‘Yes, Doreen, that will keep the inner man satisfied!’
‘I have something else that might satisfy you, Giles. We’ve had a phone call to say that Laura should be allowed home early tomorrow afternoon. It seems your visit last night has worked wonders.’
‘That’s great news. There’s so much I want to talk to her about.’
Doreen was on her way out of the library when Giles stopped her in her tracks. ‘Tell me, Doreen,’ he said. ‘Who has been reading the book of fairy stories?’
‘Oh, that was Laura. I’m sure she’ll tell you about it when she comes back home. I understand she may want your help.’
With that enigmatic remark Doreen scuttled out of the room.
A shake of the head and a smile from Giles signified that all was well at Maskelyne Hall. It was like old times.
Back to the b
usiness in hand, Giles poured through more of Jack Ramsden’s wonderful collection of circus histories. The more he read the more he became aware that even the greatest circuses were only a hair’s breadth away from serious danger.
Many of the top artistes had been seriously injured or had ended their lives performing their acts. The Mexican trapeze artist, Tito Gaona, who perfected the triple somersault while blindfolded, was somebody spectators flocked to see.
The Flying Wallendas had been involved in a serious accident while performing their seven-person chair pyramid on the wire, without a safety net. Three fell and two died. Giles had read about that disastrous incident which had happened only a few years previously.
The list went on; it seemed endless. Giles was now beginning to realize that he would have to sift through all the accidents and distinguish the ones which were truly accidental from those that were caused deliberately by a malicious person, or persons, so far unknown.
One thing he was clear about; someone in the circus, who possibly had a grudge against Ramon Mordomo, was challenging Giles to discover who that person was and openly defying him to achieve a result. That challenge Giles was prepared to accept. He was coming to the conclusion that he himself was running the gauntlet of fear along with the circus proprietor.
A brisk walk down to the stables was next on the agenda for Giles, who desperately wanted to clear his head.
George was busy in the tack room when Giles appeared.
‘I’ve had news from your wife, George. Laura will probably be allowed home tomorrow afternoon.’
‘That’s great news, Giles. I bet Doreen will prepare something special for her coming home. And we’ll have a cosy fire on so you can do your usual business of telling stories late into the evening.’
Gauntlet of Fear Page 10