by Marcus Alden
‘Senior archivists do not deal with public enquiries. If you want to arrange a visit to the archives please send a letter stating your request,’ the woman on the phone replied. Dan cut the phone off.
‘Why is it that everywhere we turn there’s an obstacle?’ Dan said as he rubbed his eyebrows. He stared out into the fields. Sarah moved to pack the laptop away. ‘No, wait. What about the other reference?’ Dan said.
‘Artificis, there, you read it while I drive,’ Sarah said as she handed the laptop back to him. Dan read the information as the car snaked back up the narrow lane.
‘Artificis: it’s the name of a 1949 book about fake artwork. It looks like it detailed how master fakers have fooled professionals. But there’s a problem: the book is out of print,’ Dan said.
‘Really? I have an idea of where we might be able to find it,’ Sarah replied. A look of amusement crossed her face. Dan looked at her.
‘I can tell by your expression that you have something crafty in mind, what is it?’ Dan asked.
‘How about a trip to Winchester College?’ Sarah said.
‘Your plan is to break in to Winchester College?’ Dan asked.
‘Not break in exactly, just sneak in and find the book.’ Sarah turned to Dan. ‘Have you got a better idea?’
Chapter 6
Sarah’s car hissed as it stopped; steam rose off the bonnet. Dan and Sarah walked the few metres to the arched entrance. A navy-blue sign advertised daily college tours.
‘Perfect, at least we won’t have to pretend we’re prospective parents wanting to enroll our invisible child to one of the most prestigious schools in the country,’ Dan said.
‘But how are we going to snoop about if there’s a tour guide?’ Sarah said in a hushed voice.
‘We’ll think of something. It doesn’t start for a few minutes.’ As the tourists waited by the entrance, Dan noticed that the porter was in a grumpy mood and seemed preoccupied with reading a newspaper. The dark office buried in the castle-like entrance didn’t allow a view into the courtyard, so there was a good chance they could get away from the tour without being caught, Dan thought. People queued to buy tickets and the tour guide collected admissions in a red cash box that squeaked each time it was opened.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, you are now standing in what is—.’ Dan stopped listening. He looked around and pretended to be interested as he processed what he could see. The other tourists might have been analysing the space for carvings and provenance; Dan scanned for exits and opportunities.
The tour group shuffled forward into the courtyard to admire the stone carvings and stared up at them in unison. As the group moved forward to the second archway, Sarah tugged on Dan’s sleeve and gestured to a path on the right. Dan and Sarah hung back behind the group and pretended to be preoccupied with the stone carvings.
‘Have they gone far enough yet? I can’t see, I’m too busy pointing,’ Sarah said.
‘No, wait a second; now!’ Dan said in a hushed, urgent tone. Dan and Sarah moved away from the second archway and out of view from the group.
‘The tour guide said that was the library,’ Sarah said as she pointed across the courtyard to a lower building with leaded windows. The pair walked over to the arched door. Sarah pushed the door back; it made a deep squeak. Not knowing whether they would be caught out straight away, they edged forward. There was no noise, but that was to be expected in a library, Dan thought.
There was an open door to the left and a closed door to the right. Dan and Sarah hovered for a moment listening for any sound that might signal discovery, but they still heard nothing. Behind the open door the room opened out into a double-height space with a beamed ceiling. Wooden shelves flanked the ancient stone walls and a sofa and chairs sat empty in the centre. Sarah glanced at the shelves and shook her head. Dan signalled towards the staircase that turned back on itself and rose up to a mezzanine level. The stairs were unforgiving: Dan’s footsteps sounded clumsy on the wooden treads. Dan and Sarah peered round the top of the stairs. They could see through the balustrades of the balcony to the room below. The room had a large wooden table, but nobody was sat at it. On the right of Dan and Sarah the bookcases were arranged in rows going back the rest of the floor. The two of them stood up confident that no-one was there. Dan checked down one side of the aisle and Sarah the other. They were three rows back when they heard a book fall on the floor and a shuffling of feet. Dan and Sarah turned to each other in panic. Had they been heard straight away, Dan thought?
Dan whispered to Sarah across the aisle and fumbled some hand signals, but Sarah didn’t understand and gestured for him to repeat them. A voice from the other side of the bookcase spoke.
‘I can hear you,’ the voice said. Dan and Sarah stopped still. The boy’s voice was young, precocious, and spoke with confidence. Dan and Sarah had been caught, but they still couldn’t see by whom. They said nothing. ‘I heard you as soon as you came in,’ the voice said. ‘That door creaks.’ Dan raised his eyebrows at Sarah.
‘Okay, fair enough, you caught us. Now what are you going to do, call the police?’ Dan addressed the bookcase in front of him. The voice behind the bookcase laughed. Dan stepped away to move out of the aisle towards the boy’s voice.
‘Don’t come any nearer,’ the boy shouted.
‘Why, are you armed and dangerous?’ Dan replied.
‘I don’t want you to, I'm—.’ The boy hesitated; he sounded distressed. ‘I’m hiding.’
‘Well, we know you’re there so I think your game is over too,’ Dan said. The boy sighed. Dan and Sarah heard the boy’s footsteps plod forward. The boy stood in the aisle between Dan and Sarah. He was a scrawny child about 10, Dan thought, with a roundish face and blonde parted hair. The boy stared at them; his eyes watery and pink from crying. The boy had sounded confident from behind the bookshelves, but his posture was sheepish in front of Dan and Sarah.
‘Who are you hiding from?’ Sarah asked.
‘My music teacher. I’m supposed to be reciting a piece in class today, but I can’t do it. I keep messing it up. It’s a stupid song anyway,’ the boy said. He kicked the base of a bookcase and looked at the floor, embarrassed at the tears that ran down his face.
‘Hey, don’t worry. I’m sure it will work out ok,’ Sarah said as she moved forward to comfort him.
‘I’ve tried and tried, but it makes no difference. There’s a huge concert on at the cathedral and I’m doing the solo piece,’ the boy said. ‘What are you doing here anyway?’ The boy’s voice changed and he became the precocious boy they had heard before. ‘You were sneaking about, what are you looking for?’ the boy asked. Sarah rolled her eyes and nudged a look to Dan.
‘A book called Artificis. It’s an old art history book. Do you know where we’d find it?’ Dan said.
‘Of course, but you’re in the wrong place. They don’t keep any of those old books up here. It’s probably in the Fellows library, but you two won’t be able to go in there without being seen,’ the boy said.
‘We really need to look at it,’ Sarah said.
‘I can get it for you!’ the boy said as he hopped from one foot to the other. ‘I can find anything. How do you spell that?’ the boy asked. Dan gave the boy a note with the book details on. The boy grabbed it and ran off down the aisle before either Dan or Sarah had a chance to reply.
‘What’s your name?’ Sarah called out after him. The boy skidded on the polished wooden floor and turned around in a swift movement.
‘It’s William Harvey Bathurst, but you can call me Will.’ The boy turned back to his task and thumped down the stairs. The door creaked and he was gone.
Five minutes later the stomping footsteps returned. Sarah saw a flash of blonde hair whoosh past the bannisters. Will carried a thick book that belittled his arms to twig-like branches. Will ran back towards Dan and Sarah.
‘I got it,’ Will said as he gasped for breath; his eyes were lit up. ‘Had to climb up the shelves to reach it, but I got it, look
!’ Will plonked the dusty book down onto the table. The book had a dark maroon cover and the word Artificis embossed in gold lettering on the spine. Dan moved over to the table and swept the dust off the front cover. Dan turned the pages with speed as he scanned the text. Sarah stood behind looking over Dan’s shoulder.
‘Well done for finding it,’ Sarah said to Will.
‘What’s he looking for?’ Will said as he looked on with enthusiasm.
‘We think there’s a clue to Dan’s past in that book and we need to find out what it is. This book is the only thing we have to go on at the moment,’ Sarah said.
‘Oh cool. So this is like a treasure hunt?’ Will asked. ‘Can I help, oh please?’ Will’s eyes were beady with the possibility of escaping his lessons for the day.
‘It’s not safe for you; there are people after us. And aren’t you a little too young to be skipping classes eh?’ Sarah said.
‘I don’t mind, I really don’t,’ Will said.
‘Haha, yeah I’m sure you don’t mind skipping your lessons, but you can’t; these people are dangerous. Besides, your parents would worry if you went off with strangers and were chased by thugs,’ Sarah said.
‘Oh, they don’t care about me; my father is too busy working to notice, and Mummy lives in Switzerland most of the time. I only see them in the holidays,’ Will said.
‘Ok guys I need to focus,’ Dan said.
‘I’ll help you,’ Will said. He leapt up and squeezed himself into the tight gap between Dan and Sarah.
‘Is there anything Will can’t do?’ Sarah’s question was rhetorical, but Will replied anyway.
‘No, I can speak Latin and French. I can recite the periodic table in order of density and I won a competition on Roman history. I’m not sure about art though, but I have been to the National Gallery several times and I—’. Dan turned to look at Sarah and raised his eyebrows.
‘Oh, give him a chance, it’ll keep him quiet,’ Sarah said.
‘Ok kid, start reading, but this doesn’t mean you can tag along, alright? Look for the name Easton,’ Dan said. The boy’s eyes smiled and he brought the book close to the edge of the table. Will muttered as he flicked through the pages and absorbed the words like a dry sponge.
‘In English please professor?’ Dan said.
‘It’s comparing fake art with genuine art, and the artists that copied the masters. But there’s nothing about your family yet,’ Will said.
‘Keep searching; we know from the records office there is definitely a link there somewhere,’ Dan said. A voice called for Will in the courtyard.
‘This is it, well, I think it is,’ Will said. Dan and Sarah gathered closer to see. Will pointed to a line of text on the discoloured buttercream page. The voice outside grew louder. Will darted away from the page and went to the window to look out.
‘It’s my music teacher; quick you better go or you’ll get caught,’ Will said.
‘No, not yet, we haven’t found anything,’ Dan said.
‘He’s coming this way, you have to go!’ Will fidgeted by the window as he looked back to the strangers at the table.
‘What does it say?’ Sarah asked Dan who looked at the pages in a panic.
‘Yes, there’s something here,’ Dan said. Dan grabbed a pen from the table and put blue marks over the page.
‘You can’t write biro all over that. It’s out of print; what if it’s a first edition?’ Sarah said surprised at Dan’s cavalier attitude of defacement. Will crossed in front of them and grabbed the book from under Dan’s hands. The pen scrawled over the page as the book lifted up into the air. Sarah watched with astonishment.
‘C’mon guys you have to leave!’ Will said as he tugged at Sarah’s sleeve to make his point.
‘What about the book? We need to read it. Can we take it?’ Dan said.
‘No, they’ll notice. I’ll come back for it later. Please, just go,’ Will said. Dan tossed the book into a gap on one of the shelves and all three of them hurried down the stairs. Will strode out in front and signalled for Dan and Sarah to slink behind the chunky door. They could hear the man’s voice getting nearer.
‘Thanks for helping Will, take this; it’s my number,’ Sarah whispered. Will pulled back the library door. He jumped with nerves at the sight of his music teacher on the other side. They were inches away from crashing into each other.
‘Hmm in the library eh?’ said the tall cloaked man with a stern face. Dan and Sarah stood still behind the thick wooden door, aware not to make a sound.
‘Sorry Sir, it won’t happen again Sir.’ Will stumbled over his words.
‘You know Will, you’re one of our better pupils. I understand the pressure of achieving is greater, but so also are the rewards. Don’t worry, there’s still time to practise before your recital. Now come back to class, I have a CD with your piece on you can use,’ the teacher said.
‘Yes Sir, thank you Sir. I will try to do my best,’ Will said.
The door closed and the voices got further away until they couldn’t be heard anymore. Dan and Sarah breathed out relief at not being seen and for a moment stayed butted up against the wall.
‘You know we should probably move now,’ Sarah said.
‘Constable,’ Dan said as he looked into space.
‘What?’ Sarah asked.
‘It’s something to do with fake art, the painter John Constable, and my family. See if you can check on your phone,’ Dan said. Sarah tapped the keywords into a search. Before she could read the results, the wooden door swung back and pinned them behind it again. They heard a group enter. Noisy boys piled in through the first library door and talked amongst themselves.
‘I need to go back upstairs to read the rest of the book,’ Dan whispered.
‘You can’t Dan, they’ll see you. Leave it to Will, he’ll help us I’m sure.’ Sarah whispered back. Dan and Sarah slipped out from behind the door and back into the courtyard. The pair had almost got to the archway when a voice from behind stopped them.
‘Excuse me, can I help you?’ A woman’s voice struck them. Without thinking Sarah turned around and, in her best attempt at an accent, pretended to be innocent.
‘Err tour, we go town now; shops.’ Sarah pointed towards the archway.
‘Oh, you’re from the tour? Yes, that’s the way alright. Out through there and to the left,’ the woman said. Sarah nodded with a broad smile on her face and pointed again towards the entrance.
‘Danke,’ Sarah said in a stilted accent.
‘That’s it, just go right on through,’ the woman said. Sarah turned once more to nod. As soon as they had got outside and onto the pavement Dan and Sarah laughed.
‘Why thank you for that quick thinking, but I think you spoke German with a Polish accent,’ Dan said.
‘Did I?’ Sarah looked surprised. ‘Oh, I have never have been much good at accents, or geography. I was put on the spot, alright? I’d like to hear your Polish accent under pressure. Then we’ll see,’ Sarah said.
‘Can you smell burning?’ Dan said. Dan and Sarah looked up the road. Thick smoke billowed from one of the parked cars. Sarah ran towards the blaze; she saw her beloved green hatchback on fire. The sound of a siren neared.
‘Sarah no!’ Dan shouted as Sarah got nearer to the car. ‘It’s not worth it.’
‘But the laptop—’ Dan forced Sarah back as she tried to wriggle her way past to the blaze. As the blaze intensified the car windows shattered and set off a nearby car alarm. As the sirens got nearer tears fell down Sarah’s cheek.
‘It’s ok. Everything is going to be ok. They’re just trying to scare us into giving up. The most important thing is to keep going because, if we don’t, they win,’ Dan said. He wiped Sarah’s tears away with his thumbs. Dan held Sarah close and they watched as the heat rippled through the flames.
Chapter 7
Passersby gathered to stare at the blaze. The fire engine tore into the street and created a flurry of movement as the fire crew leapt out to dous
e the flames. Adrian stood back as the scene unfolded; he had followed Hawk and Harrier there. Adrian had seen the thugs set light to a car and then retreat behind a wall. The reporter mingled into the crowd of stupefied onlookers. Through the space between people’s heads he saw the figures of a distressed man and woman further down the street. Adrian looked across to where the thugs had hidden and tried to make sense of it. The fire crew shooed people backwards and, for a couple of seconds, Adrian lost sight of the couple. When Adrian saw them again, they were not hugging but running away from the scene. The two thugs followed.
Dan and Sarah ran past Adrian as they yelled to each other, the figures ran through a stone archway. Adrian sprinted after them. A high brick wall faced him. To the right was a large gateway with studded wooden doors which led towards the grounds of the cathedral. Adrian turned the corner and ran after Dan and Sarah. A faint sound of piano practice crept out of an open window but was replaced as his footsteps pounded on the tarmac. A white van blocked Adrian’s view, but he caught a flash of movement round the side of the second-hand bookshop. The couple disappeared to the left of the cathedral.
A narrow passageway opened out into a wide grassy area in front of the cathedral; people sat about on benches amongst statues. Adrian could see Dan and Sarah as they dodged past pedestrians in the entrance to the high street; Hawk and Harrier pursued. Adrian’s breath grated in and out of his body, but he continued to run.
Dan and Sarah made a sharp turn and weaved through traffic; horns blasted and two cars collided as one slammed on its brakes to avoid Sarah. Sarah looked over her shoulder at the impact. The hard, determined faces of Hawk and Harrier locked onto hers and stared through her. Sarah got a glimpse of the other stranger that followed them.
‘Hurry, don’t look back,’ Dan shouted. He pulled at Sarah’s jacket. Dan and Sarah reached the top of the road and turned into Jewry Street. Hawk and Harrier pursued them. There was nowhere to hide; shops and restaurants flanked the roadside with no gap between them.
Dan and Sarah ran along the pavement in front of the library and kept going till they reached a large crossroads with signs to the station. They darted past the cars as the traffic lights changed. Dan and Sarah got to the other side of the road as Hawk and Harrier reached the edge of the opposite pavement. Vehicles blocked the thugs’ path. Dan and Sarah ran up the incline towards the station. Dan and Sarah climbed the steps to platform 2 as the sound of an incoming train approached. Their shallow breath catapulted from their bodies as fatigue tore at their energy.