On the journey to his flat, Giles had time to dwell on what he’d learned and it suddenly dawned on him that what he’d discovered, though it may have had a distinct bearing on the phrase he’d taken out of context at Kinloch Castle, he was really no further forward with what it meant as regards the secret which was supposed to lie near those blasted seats of Rhouma.
A rather subdued Professor of Magic became elated again when he spotted the two cars outside his flat when he’d paid the cabbie.
Inside he found Freddie and Laura preparing coffee. ‘Hello you two,’ he said ‘When did you get here?’
‘I just got here a moment ago, having come from Newmarket. Laura was here when I arrived.’
‘I drove overnight from Lockerbie. The roads were quiet and I got here early but you were gone.’
‘It’s great to see you both and I’ve just had some good news. At least I thought it was good news. Now I’m not so sure.’
‘Let’s all have a coffee and you can tell us what you’ve been up to, Giles. After that I’ll probably lie down for a while.’ Laura said as she stifled a yawn.
‘I would certainly advise that, my love.’
‘Let’s get down to brass tacks then,’ said a perky Freddie. ‘And later on I’ll guide you both to Ally Pally and the Frying Pan.’
Freddie guffawed as soon as he saw the surprised look on the faces of his two companions. ‘Ally Pally and the Frying Pan.’ he said. ‘They’re one and the same. They’re some of the names Alexandra Park racecourse has been called. But I’m afraid the track has been called many other names that are distinctly worse.’
‘Why the frying pan?’ enquired Laura.
‘Because of its shape,’ was the reply. ‘Though I sometimes think it could be described a little more flatteringly. Being situated close to the city it has been attended by large crowds of well-to-do Londoners enjoying the racing including evening meetings. But, because of its shape and sharp turns with the wrong camber, it has been loathed by jockeys and trainers due to the frequent numbers of accidents.’
‘And that’s where Ramon’s circus is now headed,’ said the enlightened Giles. ‘The Big Top will be erected inside the racecourse.’
‘Wouldn’t it be rather ironic if the course continued to have accidents even when there was no racing?’ Laura said as she gripped Giles by the hand.
‘Only this time on the inside of the track as opposed to the track itself.’ Freddie added in reply. He turned towards Giles as Laura poured the coffee. ‘Come on, squire,’ he said. ‘Tell us what you’ve been up to and what news you’re undecided about?’
Recounting what had taken place at St James’s Club, Giles ended by pointing out what he considered was the clue which finally put an end to the enigmatic conundrum that had been posted on the notice board in the relic of the control tower at RAF Winkleigh. ‘I was so sure that fitted the puzzle,’ Giles said, rather less than satisfied. ‘I really believe that the little room off the Dining Room in Kinloch Castle, might well have housed the valet or manservant of Sir George Bullough, rather than the piper, when family guests dined. But therein a secret was supposed to lie…a secret that was to reveal something special according to the writer of the puzzle and…’ he paused and seemed at a loss for words before struggling to continue. ‘Now I’m not so sure. It makes no more sense than it did before I linked the most trusted person as a person on the staff of Sir George. I appear to be back at square one.’
‘But wasn’t there some implication about two names in the conundrum. A lot was made of that. So much so that there has to be a connection with this secret.’ Laura said as she drained the last of her coffee and started to close her eyes.
‘Come on, pussycat,’ said Giles as he assisted Laura to her feet. ’Let’s get you to the bedroom where you can lie down for a couple of hours.
Alexandra Park, six miles north of London; looked magnificent in the late afternoon sunshine when Giles, Freddie and a rested Laura arrived. A fairly large crowd had gathered to watch the giant canvas being erected on the land inside the actual racecourse of Ally Pally, The nervous tension in Giles became visibly evident as a tremor went through his frame.
Laura glanced at her fiancé with apprehension, in the realisation that he would be in a contemplative mood, for this racecourse would almost certainly be the finale of his attempt to solve the impossible.
At the same time Freddie appeared to have the same thoughts when he put an arm on his friend’s shoulder and, in a soft voice, murmured ‘Could it be that we have another racecourse where the final act takes place as did Kempton Park with Arkle?’
‘And two courses with the name Park after the title,’ responded Giles as he looked round. ‘One more coincidence, wouldn’t you say?’
It was Laura’s turn to add another dimension to the conversation. ‘It really would be a coincidence if the girl, you both met at Kempton, turned up here as well. Now that would be spooky! What was her name by the way?’
‘Katie! Katie Starter!’ Freddie hardly got the words out before a lovely London-Irish voice called out as they neared the racecourse grandstand.
‘What on earth are you doing here?’ the voice asked as Katie rushed over from the main office.
‘We could ask you the same question.’ A nonplussed Freddie shook his head as he spoke.
‘I was invited here for an interview by the racecourse authorities as they’ve been a bit short-staffed of late but there’s no racing today, and there won’t be any for a few weeks. So what brings you here today?’
‘You remember my friend, Giles?’
‘How could I forget him?’
‘Well, he happens to be involved with the circus that you see and it concerns a bit of detective work.’
‘If it involves a bit of mystery I think he should be good at that…remembering my dad and all that. There is a mystery I’m sure you can solve for me. Could one of you please introduce the lady who is obviously with you?’
‘I’m so sorry, Katie. This is Laura and she happens to be Giles’ fiancée.’
The two girls shook hands. ‘Giles, you are a very lucky man,’ expressed Katie as she turned to him. ‘But I have no doubts that Laura will also be very lucky. I think you’ll make a great team and I wish you every success with your mystery. Now I’m afraid I must go but we may meet again. I certainly hope so.’ With that she was gone and the two ex-RAF friends just looked at each other and smiled.
Moving to the inside of the course the trio caught sight of one or two people they recognised. Most of what was happening was being organised by the crews turning the piece of ground in the centre of the racecourse, into the site for an international circus of repute. Whether it would still be that when the time came to present his conclusions Giles was uncertain. One thing he seemed sure of was that he was ready to roll up his sleeves and, like the best close up magician, tell his audience that there was nothing up there but his wrists and arms, and then perform the impossible.
No attempt was made to go anywhere near those working on the large tent, least of all by Giles. His recent struggles to breathe sufficiently in order to maintain life while enveloped in the giant canvas, were still fresh in his mind.
‘You’ve gone a little pale, Giles, old son. Freddie said, his voice charged with concern. ‘Are you having second thoughts?’
‘About what?’ asked Giles, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders.
‘Don’t beat about the bush, Giles. I’m talking about this gauntlet of fear thingamabob. Has it got to you at long last? For heaven’s sake don’t be afraid to admit defeat.’
‘Freddie’s right,’ begged Laura. ‘Remember the old adage…”better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”.’
‘You may well be right, Laura, about the adage I mean, but what I’m involved in is far removed from love. This could be described using another four-letter word. That word is evil.’ The pause, as Giles waited before continuing, gave extra emphasis to what he was about
to say. ‘I’m going to see this through to the bitter end…and that end will probably be staged here inside the innocent looking structure being assembled inside Alexandra Park’s Frying Pan.’
‘Are you absolutely sure you know what you’re doing? Remember this could be totally out of your control and even the best detectives would find that a daunting prospect.’
‘I realise what you’re saying, Freddie, but I doubt if anyone, stepping into the unknown, can be absolutely sure they’re doing the right thing. Even the most gifted performers in the history of the greatest show on earth, have succumbed though they believed that their act on the tight rope or trapeze was faultless.’
‘Do you believe you’re faultless, Giles?
‘No, I don’t. But all along someone has been tricking me. Not in the way the stage magician operates but tempting me in the belief that I was unable to see through it. As an historian of illusions I’m willing to accept the challenge and I’m determined to bring this person to account. All I require is the support of two very close friends.’ He smiled at Laura and took her hand in both of his. ‘And a slice of luck allied with the unintentional help of the guilty person.’
‘You sound as if you have a plan, Giles. What do you intend on doing next?’
‘It might be a plan fraught with danger, my dear Giles,’ commented Laura. ‘But you’ll have the support of those two close friends. So what do we do next?’
‘Let’s take a walk up to the Palace. I’d like to make some enquiries there.’
‘Count me in as well, Giles. Laura and I are with you all the way, but just beware…the mystery may deepen and you could be out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Chapter 23
…AND INTO THE FIRE
The evening was still young when the trio got back to the South Kensington flat and Laura proposed that they start to examine the circus problem in a different way to see if they could come up with something that might open a new door to discovery.
While they all got down to business, a Chinese takeaway was only a phone call away and a meal was ordered to be delivered in about an hour’s time.
‘Where do you think we should start, Laura?’ Giles enquired as he thumbed through some papers. ‘I must admit that I have exhausted most of the accidents apart from the two murders and so I think a change of plan might be in order.’
‘When we were having a look at Banquo’s Walk near Torcastle you mentioned an identity problem, Giles. I’ve thought long and hard about the identity, not only of the killer, but the way the subject has raised its head from the very beginning.’
‘That sounds like it might be worth delving into,’ said an interested Freddie. ‘Can you be a bit more explicit Laura?’
‘I’ll try my best but I’ll certainly need help from Giles. I think we have to go right back to the time when you were so sceptical about the real identity of RAF Winkleigh and had grave doubts about Giles accepting the task at a place that, according to the RAF, never existed.’
‘That’s right, Laura, and even the incident with Giles at the racecard kiosk at Kempton Park when he described someone he saw who, in reality, was already deceased. That was unquestionably a problem of identity.’
‘Spooky goings on,’ said Laura. ‘But it was the names of the well-known people left in Giles’ trailer that started me thinking in a more intense way. Those names which were assumed when they went into the entertainment business were meant to be a major clue and not a distraction; I’m sure of that. They suggested the wrongdoer could have two names and that suggestion is made over and over again, so I think we should examine that possibility.’
‘You may well have hit on the best way to tackle this problem, Laura,’ agreed Giles, as he sorted through his papers. ‘It has become more evident that the one I’m looking for is someone with a double name and a motive which sets this person apart from the others.’ He spread out the written riddle which was posted to him on the notice board at RAF Winkleigh. ‘This could be the next clue of real importance,’ he said pointing to the words in front of him. ‘The entire conundrum makes a play on characters and events with a double role.’
‘Yes, Giles,’ Freddie revealed. ‘From the Hitchcock movie with the leading actor having a pseudonym playing the part of a man in the film with a double identity; to the isle that was known by two titles and the race with more than one description, finally ending with a secret in an Edwardian dining room which could lay claim to a second identity problem that, if solved, could reveal a person who organised a host of serious accidents ending in murder.’
‘Putting it like that,’ said a muddled Giles. ‘I’m not at all convinced that we may find it easier to go in this direction than working on the two murders.’
The ringing of the door bell halted the discourse. Giles left the room and returned with the delivered Chinese meal. Laura set everything out on the dining table and Giles produced a bottle of wine.
Conversation was brief during the meal and much of it centred on the attempt to identify the guilty person.
‘When you went over to the States, Giles, and met the Harvard criminologist, was there anything in particular that gave you an inkling as to how the death you were investigating, might have taken place?’
‘No, not really Freddie. There were several instances that concentrated my mind.’ Giles replied as he refilled the wine glasses while Laura cleared the table. ‘Come to think of it, the criminologist had a well-thumbed copy of a novel entitled “The Three Coffins” by John Dickson Carr in which was a chapter entitled “The Locked-Room Lecture”. I knew the novel as “The Hollow Man” when it was published in this country and there was something in the pages of that novel that helped to set me off in the right direction.’
‘Can you think of anything similar that might have the same effect, Giles?’
‘No! Nothing comes to mind although I’m always prepared for something comparable to happen.’
‘Are you still convinced,’ Laura asked as she returned from the kitchen. ‘I mean about the name you put forward as the person who is below suspicion?’
A startled Giles just managed to catch his glass of wine before he knocked it sideways. ‘Convinced? Yes, I’m still convinced, but I’d like you to repeat what you’ve just said.’
‘You’re doing something with your face again, Giles. I was asking if you were still convinced about the name you pointed the finger at. You know, the name you believed was the guilty person.’
‘No, Laura. You didn’t use the expression, the guilty person. The words you did use set a bell ringing.’
‘I think I used the phrase “below suspicion”, Giles. Does that mean anything to you?’
‘Yes it does, if you’ll give me a moment to think back.’
‘You showed me a name, Giles,’ said Freddie. ‘Was it the same as the one you showed to Laura?’
‘Yes it was, Freddie. But it is the expression below suspicion that intrigues me.’
‘I knew it,’ said Laura scrutinising Giles. ‘It was that something you were doing with your face. Something has had a profound effect on you. Please enlighten us.’
The phrase “Below Suspicion” was the title of a novel by the same author who wrote “The Hollow Man”. The book was published, around 1950, I think, and featured a barrister by the name of Patrick Butler. The barrister appeared in another novel six years later entitled “Patrick Butler For The Defence” but when it was published in this country the final word in the title had a spelling change to Defense.’
‘Very interesting,’ said Freddie, looking a trifle bewildered. ‘But why should a slight change in the spelling have such an effect on you?’
‘I suppose I seem obsessed with anything that smacks of a double identity.’
‘Well then, my dear Giles, I think there’s something there that could be of much more interest.’ Laura ventured with some enthusiasm.
‘And what would that be?’
‘The barrister in “Below Suspicion” h
ad a surname that is yet another name for a valet or manservant which you associated with the small room in Kinloch Castle which you felt held a secret.’
‘That is curious. A butler could certainly be a person who, not only was the male servant taking care of the head of the household, but would also be the head of all the other staff in that household…and would probably be the most trusted person.’ Giles nodded with satisfaction written all over his face as he contemplated what he’d just said.
‘It would definitely make a slight mockery of the crime mystery if it turned out to be the butler whodunit.’ Freddie offered jokingly.’
‘Give me a moment,’ said Laura as she left the table. ‘I have an idea that might be worth looking in to.’ She returned from the bedroom with a couple of pocket dictionaries. ‘I found these in your room, Giles.’
‘They’re Spanish and Portuguese dictionaries; I thought they might come in useful when I joined the circus but they were really unnecessary as everyone seemed to speak fairly good English.’
Thumbing through one of the pocket books Laura stopped at a page which she passed to Giles.
He gazed at the words on the little book then he turned to Laura who was hurriedly going through the other one. He said nothing as Laura passed over the second booklet making a point of fingering a piece that elicited from Giles just one word. ‘Wow!’
The dictionary was passed over to Freddie who, when he’d accepted the implication, looked up and gave Giles a nod and a smile. ‘Does that make you satisfied, Giles? And what’s the next step now that the identity problem seems to be over?’
‘The puzzle I had trying to identify the culprit may be over, Freddie, but I may now have an even bigger problem; I have to prove it and that’s not going to be easy. I may well be out of the frying pan and into the fire.’
‘I think we should sleep on it, Giles,’ expressed Laura. ‘And in the morning we can make a move. This might be the time for you to lay down the gauntlet and put the fear into someone else.’
Gauntlet of Fear Page 28