The Wicker Tree
Page 23
Back in Texas, some anxiety had grown when nothing further was heard from either Beth or Steve. Inquiries by both the Redeemers organisation and the young people's fathers were made through the US State Department. It turned out that they had last been seen checking into a hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark from where they seemed to have completely disappeared, leaving their passports and all their clothes and effects in their room. As the months wore on and there was no further news of them, folks back home searched for some explanation. When the Cowboys for Christ Church learnt that they had apparently shared a bed in the Danish hotel their worst fears were confirmed. Big Bill's prophecy had come to pass. A Godless Europe had somehow consumed two of their beautiful, innocent children. Amidst the universal sadness at the news of these events only Beth's recording company celebrated, doing so with the release of an album of her greatest hits. Their marketing people came up with an inspired title, adding to the romantic mystery of her disappearance with an authentic Scottish flavour. They called it:
WILL YOU NO COME BACK AGAIN?
Post Script
A Report of an Incident at the Cowboys for Christ Church in Osceola, Texas
BEFORE THE MYSTERY of Beth and Steve's disappearance completely faded from the collective consciousness of their friends and relations in Texas and, indeed, from that of the public at large, a further incident occurred.
It was a story that never made the front pages of the Texas tabloids, but was stuck somewhere near the entertainment sections because it featured singing star Beth Boothby (missing, presumed dead). A typical wire service report on the story went like this:
'It was like a miracle,' Mr Benny Jones told reporters. 'I was all alone in the Cowboys for Christ church off Route 171 at Osceola, on the night of April 30. Suddenly, I heard Beth Boothby's beautiful singing voice coming from where the preacher normally stands at the lectern.' Astonished, Mr Jones checked if the church's sound system was on, and it definitely was not, he claims. Nor could he have mistaken her voice having known her and her family since she was fourteen years old and driven her in his limo whenever she was in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area. He absolutely denied that he saw any kind of ghostly apparition, insisting he heard only her voice.
He was quite familiar with the song she was singing – 'I Have a Dream' – an Abba favourite, remembering that it had been a big hit some years earlier and that Beth had liked it.
He can now particularly recall two lines of the song because Boothby repeated them several times. He says that he was struck by the fact that she used the word 'we' again and again and not the word 'I', as in the original song. He believes that by using the 'we', she was including Steve Thomson, her Silver Ring friend, who also disappeared when they were both on a missionary trip to Scotland.
Mr Jones, who works for Buckingham Livery and Hire as a limousine driver, found time on his hands when Beth, a regular customer, went off to Scotland with her friend Steve and the Redeemers, an evangelical group. This resulted in his doing part-time work as a cleaner for the Cowboys for Christ church. The church's pastor, the Reverend Kenny Norquist, would not comment on the incident except to say that Benny Jones was no longer in their employ. He added that no one else had seen or heard any manifestation of Beth Boothby or Steve Thomson in the church and thinks that Mr Jones must be mistaken. After an initial ghost scare, attendance at the church has returned to normal.
Since it was impossible to verify Benny's statement in any way, and there had been no repetition of the incident, the press soon lost interest in the story.
Benny's wife (and Beth's housekeeper) Vashti still hopes for her employer's return to the home she has kept ready for her at all times. She believes her husband's story, but most folks locally do not. This scepticism might be expected to upset Benny and Vashti, but that is not the case. They conclude that Beth's song was a message from heaven, meant for them alone.
Author's Note
All the characters featured as protagonists in Cowboys for Christ (now retitled The Wicker Tree), a work of fiction, are imaginary. Any similarity between any of them and any real persons living or dead is purely coincidental. While there are a number of Christian congregations that call themselves Cowboys for Christ churches, both in Texas and elsewhere, the church featured in this novel is imaginary. The Redeemers, an evangelical movement with a notable choir, do not exist although there are many similar American Christian groups working as missionaries around the world.
The Border Ridings take place every year and are celebrated by certain small towns on the Scottish side of the border with England. The fictional Tressock is quite unlike any of these places. Opinion is very divided as to why and how the ritual of townspeople hunting an elected or chosen young man over hill and dale originated. One tradition (of which there are several versions) has it that it stems from the defeat of a Scottish army by the English, during which the Scottish king was killed. A brave young man rescued the royal banner and, although heavily pursued, carried it back to Stirling castle to the widowed queen. A completely different tradition features in this novel but there is not the slightest evidence it has ever taken place.
The author is grateful for the assistance of the following persons, on both sides of the Atlantic, during the research and completion of this book: Neil Baxter, Darren Blanton, Yolanda Jones, Anne Hodgson, Suzanne Kennedy, Marvin Klein, Alistair McIntyre, Robert Marshall, Eileen, Countess of Mount Charles, Tim West, Geoffrey Woods, Rodney Woods.
Robin Hardy, 2006
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