‘That’s quite a large number and Leonardo doesn’t strike me as someone who could afford to take charge of a group like Tropicana. He can stay on but must be considered as a lesser suspect.’
‘What about Rodrigo Gomez? Some circuses are now facing the threat of having to do without wild animals? Could he really want this circus if his tiger had to be removed?’
‘You’re quite right, Laura. I doubt if he’d want to continue without his Royal Bengal Tiger, but I will keep him as a suspect for the time being. I somehow think Khan is going to play a major role when a dénouement is eventually arrived at.’
‘Is that another gut feeling, Giles?’
Giles smiled. ‘Have I done something with my face again, my love?’
Laura’s nodding gave Giles the answer he expected.
Conversation strayed to the days and weeks ahead. One of the first things Laura was looking forward to, after choosing an engagement ring, would be checking on her mount for the local point-to-point meeting. After that there was a visit to the Grand National at Aintree and a holiday in York with Giles, to have her first encounter with the Tropicana Circus and a chance to help her fiancé in much the same way as she once did as a girl.
The remainder of the evening was spent on a sofa in front of the Raeburn while Giles described the events he’d experienced during his stay on Rum. The warmth from the cooker, and from their two bodies, was conducive to a feeling of well-being and, when bedtime approached Giles retired in the most relaxed state for many days. Several ideas resulting from his talk with Laura were now giving him the confidence he sought and his mind was extremely focused on that name on Ramon’s list…a name he was not yet going to repeat to Laura.
The slight sound at the door made him turn. Laura was framed in the doorway but this time she was not wearing her black silk pyjamas…she wasn’t wearing anything. The fumbling to put out the bedside lamp was accompanied by the pounding of his heart, but that sight of her framed in the doorway was something he would not forget in a long time.
The car journey south meant using the ferry at Ballachulish as the proposed bridge was not yet complete.
Once they were across the water they travelled through Glencoe where the mountains still had a covering of snow. The journey alongside Loch Lomond was tricky because of the narrow winding road but their early start saw them in Glasgow in time for lunch at the Rogano. After that they sought and bought the engagement ring.
Leaving the city behind, the A74 was covered in time to arrive at Lockerbie before the daylight had gone. A meal was being prepared. Doreen had been contacted by Laura before leaving Torcastle, giving her an indication of their arrival time and that allowed the engaged couple to each enjoy a bath using the double bathroom. Sharing was an option that would have to remain as a future delight.
When they went downstairs together they didn’t have long to wait before the first course of a scrumptious meal was served in the dining room.
Isabella Ramsden, the matriarch of Maskelyne Hall, was in a talkative mood and wanted to know how their trip north had gone. Laura and Giles looked at each other and smiled. It was almost impossible for Laura to stifle a guffaw. She managed to do so with the help of Giles who created a diversion by asking Isabella if she would be having coffee in the lounge when they could discuss everything that had happened…with some exceptions.
There was a lovely fire on in the lounge as Giles escorted Isabella through to her usual chair while Laura went to the kitchen with Doreen to prepare the coffee and, no doubt, recover some of her composure.
The lady of the house suggested that her intended son-in-law get a bottle and glasses from the drinks cabinet so they could all celebrate the engaged couple’s homecoming.
The rattling of the trolley heralded the arrival of coffee and coincided with the production of four glasses and a bottle of Courvoisier. ‘I hope I’m not presumptuous,’ Giles bent down and whispered to Isabella. ‘But I brought out four glasses if you have no objection to Doreen joining us.’
‘Please stay a while with us, Doreen. It gives us a chance to welcome the family back home.’ Isabella insisted stridently giving Giles a little wink.
‘What about George? Shouldn’t he be here?’ Laura glanced in the direction of her mother as she spoke.
It was Doreen who answered. ‘I’m afraid my husband is extremely busy down at the stables. He’s been there most of the day. One of the Hunters has had a bit of heat in a leg and George is doing his best to provide the most suitable treatment. With the point-to-point meeting only days away it is vital the horse is sound in all limbs.’
Isabella inclined her head as she looked forlornly at her daughter. Laura headed for the door but Giles caught her by the arm. ‘I’m sure there isn’t much you can do this late in the day,’ he said. ‘George will be giving one hundred and ten percent as he usually does. I think it’s best to wait until morning!’ Laura nodded in a disconsolate manner and returned to help Doreen with the coffee.
‘I intended riding my horse tomorrow but if that’s not possible we could give your detective friend in Dumfries a ring and arrange a short meeting with him.’
‘I don’t see why not! You’ll find him a very interesting character and you’ll love his wife. He might suggest some little thing I may have overlooked. It’s certainly worth a try.’
‘You haven’t been smoking your cigars, Giles. You usually reach for the tobacco leaf when you are a little bit anxious or worried.’
‘That’s true, Isabella, but I believe I can wait until I’m about ready to reveal the final solution to the circus problem I’m wrapped up in.’
‘That’s the dénouement as they say in the best detective novels.’ Laura expounded as she squeezed Giles’ hand.
It was at that point Isabella decided to retire for the night. Doreen tidied away the coffee cups and glasses and made it abundantly clear that she required no help.
When they were left alone Laura asked Giles if he fancied a walk. ‘Yes I don’t mind,’ he said. ‘And I know where you want to go.’
‘Down to the stables, you mean?’
‘Of course, my love. Where else?’
They put on warm coats as the evening was turning cold and, arm in arm, they made their way down towards the stables. There was a light on in the tack room where silver-haired George was busy giving saddles the treatment necessary to keep the leather in tip-top condition.
The discreet cough from Giles made the groom turn and give his two visitors a welcoming smile. ‘So you’re back then? It’s great to see you and you’re both looking so well.’
‘Does that mean we’re better than Samson, George? Is he going to be fit enough to run in the Dumfries-shire point-to-point, or do we have to give him more time?’
‘I’m afraid he has a bit of heat in one leg. Even though it doesn’t appear to be too serious if we run him he might break down and that could be the end of his racing days.’
‘I’ll leave it with you, Gee Gee! Giles was right when he said your one hundred and ten percent efforts with the animals always paid dividends.’ Giles smiled at Laura’s use of the initials of the stocky little man; Gee Gee being her nickname for George Gardner, the groom.
‘I had intended riding out with him tomorrow to let him have a good blow. But that’s out of the question now so we hope to visit the ex-detective in Dumfries who gave my dear Giles the advice to go to the States. It was there he found the inspiration as to how my Daddy died.’
‘It’s getting quite chilly out here so I suggest you go back indoors. I’ll be finished shortly after I have a last look at Samson and Delilah.’
The groom’s final words had a distinct influence on the engaged couple’s actions, as they gave him a pat on the shoulder, before turning and heading for the two boxes where the Hunters were relaxing.
They went into the house by the kitchen door and, after a brief conversation with Doreen, said they were going off to bed. It was all that Laura could do to keep a straight
face as her serious professor was doing his level best to remain sincere.
At the top of the stairs Giles gave his bride-to-be an embrace and a passionate kiss before going into his bedroom where he undressed, put on a dressing gown and went to the bathroom.
A lot had happened in the past few days since he’d set sail on the cruise ship. He went over everything in his brain before sleep finally grabbed him. He knew he’d sleep soundly throughout the long night and that it would most likely take brilliant daylight in the morning to waken him. But he was so wrong!
It was still dark outside and he wondered if he’d slept the whole of the following day when he was awakened because he sensed there was someone or something in the room with him. The dream of the intruder in his room at the house on Rum was alarmingly unmistakeable; that is until he stretched an arm behind him and his fingers came in contact with a texture…that was undeniably silk.
He turned on to his other side and the soft-skinned warm body that was Laura kissed him on the mouth. His own frame was once more fighting a losing battle and only survived when the black silk-pyjama-clad maiden slid from his grasp.
‘Sorry, darling,’ she said. ‘But I just had to say goodnight.’ The black-on-black vision that was the magic design of Magician Chung Ling Soo disappeared out of the bedroom door and was gone in a twinkling. This time he knew it wasn’t a figment of his imagination.
The weather was reasonably mild as Laura steered her sports car through the village of Lochmaben and onwards to the county town of Dumfries. For a brief spell they travelled with the hood open and the noisy rush of the morning air, though exhilarating, prevented any form of conversation.
Ex Detective Superintendent “Bulldog Drummond” must have seen the car approach as he was outside waiting to greet his visitors. ‘Come away in. you’re in good time as my wife, Anna, is just making a cup of tea.’
He ushered both his guests inside, took their coats and led them into a living room. The clinking of cups announced the timely arrival of the petite fair-haired lady who Martin Drummond introduced as his wife.
‘You remember Professor Dawson, Anna,’ he said. ‘This lady is Laura, my dear. I believe she intends making an honourable man of him.’
Anna Drummond, despite her small frame, gave Laura a big hug and suggested that, after tea and biscuits, she take Laura for a look round the house leaving the men to get down to brass tacks.
With the tea-tray gone and the ladies gone with it Martin Drummond produced a couple of cheroots, offering one to his companion. ‘I know from Freddie that you sometimes indulge in a smoke when you are just a little perplexed. Please join me and we’ll see if we can ease your dilemma.’
A couple of puffs of the small cigar were enough to get Giles in the mood for relating, to the experienced former detective, the entire problem of the circus accidents and, in particular, the tragic death of the magician’s assistant, Allison.
The ex Scotland Yard man, who was now heading a security team for North of England Racecourses, listened attentively. When Giles had finished explaining how the tyre act had ended in disaster, Martin sat back in his chair; his huge frame tensed and his breathing became more pronounced.
After a short pause he leaned forward. ‘Was this illusion, during which the assistant became unconscious, the first time you’d seen it performed?’
‘No! As a matter of fact I’d watched it once before.’
‘Now that’s interesting and I’ll tell you why. In my experience whenever a serious criminal act is carried out during a routine, which normally never deviates, there is usually something, however minor, that takes place thus allowing the crime to happen without the observer being aware of it. Did you notice anything that had changed?’
‘I find that quite difficult to answer. Comparing the two illusions, they were both as I expected them to be?’ Giles paused as he thought back to the events at RAF Winkfield.
‘What I’m driving at is did you notice anything like a change in the size of tyres being used? Was the number of men bringing the tyres into the ring altered? Were the outfits worn by the participants, on each occasion, different?’
‘I’m trying to think back. As a magician the whole routine was carried out as normal…but now that you mention it one thing sticks in my mind.’
‘Go on Giles. This could be important.’
‘At the time I believed the slight alterations were done to improve the quality of the performance.’ Giles paused, drew on his cheroot and rubbed his chin. He looked at his host. ‘The girl arrived at the centre of the ring, the tyres were rolled in by the assistants and placed, one by one, over the body of the girl, but the assistants were…!’
‘Yes, my friend. You’re doing extremely well.’
A slap on the coffee table and a nod from Giles made the ex-detective superintendant smile. Giles looked up at the bulky man opposite. ‘The assistants were dressed as garage mechanics…wearing overalls, peak caps and…!’
‘And what, Giles?’
‘Dust masks. They were wearing dust masks.’
‘That covered the mouth and nose I presume?’
‘Yes.’
‘Splendid! Absolutely splendid! I can tell you that in all the years I was at the Yard I never found anyone who could describe a scene without omitting some matters of importance. I commend you on your observation skill and I’ll bet the clothes and masks were there to act as a disguise.’
I’m going back to RAF Winkleigh before I visit Aintree for this year’s Grand National and I’ll make a point of watching the tyre illusion one more time. That will focus my attention on the exact choreography of the trick…but that would surely mean that whoever was involved in the change was probably responsible for all the previous accidents.’
‘Exactly! And that same person will be the one who will instigate future accidents and…possibly murder! Your circus problem won’t have ended with the death of Allison.’
The nod from Giles intimated how much he agreed with that statement as Martin “Bulldog” Drummond continued. ‘You said earlier that you were going to Aintree for the National. I shall be there with my team on security business and no doubt Freddie will be there as well. We can have a joint meeting to discuss how things are going.’
‘I’ll look forward to that. By that time I’ll have spoken to everyone on the suspect list and may have come to certain conclusions without giving the game away.’
‘Good man, Giles.’
Anna and Laura entered the room and Giles got up to leave. He turned to shake hands with the ex-Superintendent,
‘A few days ago,’ he said. ‘I was standing in an avenue that was named Banquo’s Walk and my thoughts were directed at the Scottish play. “Enter three murderers” was the phrase uppermost in my mind and it just occurred to me that the same phrase could conceivably be significant in the death of Allison.’
‘You could be right, my friend. But one thing is certain. If changes were made in the illusion you described you were undoubtedly a witness to murder and so were a few hundred others in the circus audience without anyone having a clue about what they were watching.’
‘Not only that,’ said an enlightened Giles. ‘But this was the exact opposite of a locked room murder. This was the prelude to a killing that took place in a space lit by many lights and watched by hundreds sitting only yards away and viewing from all sides.’
Chapter 16
THAT NAME WAS…?
On the way back to Lockerbie Laura happened to glance across at her sleeping partner…only he wasn’t asleep. He was deep in thought. His eyes were closed but he had both hands on his face. She had seen him like this before and knew he was absorbed with a problem…a problem, she was convinced, he would eventually solve.
Bringing the car to a halt at the front of her home Laura said, in jest, ‘Come on, sleepyhead. It’s time to join the living and not think too deeply about the dead.’
‘I wasn’t asleep, Laura. I was just resting my eyes.’
Inside it was the smell of baking emanating from the hallway that drew them towards the warmth of the kitchen and Doreen, the housekeeper.
A freshly baked scone and some home-made jam can work wonders and the opportunity wasn’t wasted by Giles. He slipped off his shoes, settled down in a chair and tucked in to one of Doreen’s delights. As he looked across at the lovely girl of his dreams he warmed to his fortunate position in life. At last he was, as Freddie would put it, about to enter the matrimonial stakes. Not only that, but the afternoon meeting with the jovial detective had somehow clarified his previous thoughts about the perpetrator of the circus accidents. The name on his mind was now starting to appear in bold type.
The last Monday in March came all too soon for Giles. As always he hated goodbyes at railway stations but waving to Laura, as the London express moved out of the station at Lockerbie, he was consoled by the fact that it would be less than a fortnight before he was with his beloved Laura at Aintree’s Grand National meeting near Liverpool.
Approaching Carlisle, Giles was already engrossed with planning the questions he would put to every one of those on Ramon’s list of suspects. He was determined to extract the truth even if it required some trickery. The wry smile that spread across his features demonstrated how much he looked forward to employing the art of the illusionist when he interrogated those on that suspect list.
British Summer Time was only a week old when he arrived at his South Kensington flat. London was drenched in Spring-like sunshine and his elation was complete when he phoned Laura in Lockerbie.
He showered before going out for a meal and once he was back in the flat he poured himself a brandy and listened to his Frank Sinatra records.
A phone call to the circus at RAF Winkleigh, giving details of his return in two days, was welcomed by Senhor Ramon who looked forward to the latest news from the person he’d hired to solve his gauntlet of fear problem. Hank Findley the wire-walker would pick him up at Eggesford station and a good meal and a sizeable cheque would greet him at the circus.
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