12. The Wait

Monterrey, Mexico – cabrito en salsa is to die for. Papa says the cabrito al pastor reminds him of his eastern European roots. No one giving any recipes away here though – we are at a convention of prestidigitation, Daddy performing and representing the Magic Circle. Mi corazón, Mamá. 
(3g6t6dgp Uberlandia)

Slipper finished telling his tale, relishing the rapt attention of his audience and embellishing his account with much colourful but unnecessary detail, rolling of the eyes, sighs and groans and winking. 

There was amazement– and one or two old soldierly expressions of surprise and disbelief - that the whole thing was a scam. Great relief all round was expressed that Dunstable Downes was in one piece, but with heartfelt concern to fetch him out him as soon as possible so he could receive medical attention.

“How bad are his injuries?” Toddington enquired.

“To be sure if he were a horse I don’t think I’d be reaching for me gun just yet.” Then with the air of the seasoned orthopaedic surgeon Slipper went on, “you see in my experience this kind of injury is disproportionately painful. It looks worse than it really is. The boy has chocolate and water, what more could he need but a dram, and he’ll wait patiently enough for that. Time’s a great healer and he knows it’s a long game we’re playing.”

The friends appeared reassured by the eminent surgeon’s prognosis but Toddington and Clackett were still all for setting out immediately in the dark to retrieve the boy.

Frankley was more cautious and considered.

“Look, at the moment they think only DD knows about their little show and that he poses no threat to their enterprise. We break him out – we let them know we’re on to them and give them the chance to scarper and possibly regroup. And we scupper any chance we might have had of catching the people who are sitting at the top of all this. I want to wait and see who turns up tomorrow...” looking at his watch “...later today – for this demonstration. We’ve got an opportunity here to catch some big fish with their pants down.”

Toddington and Clackett were grim faced. Clackett was struggling to picture a fish with its pants down.

Frankley continued. “We need to split into two. Two teams, two plans. One - we need to shut down and round up all the perpetrators – and victims, innocent or otherwise - of this fraud at the demo. Two - we need, simultaneously, to free DD. Slipper, you’ll have to lead the second team.” (Slipper glowed.) “Once we make our move at the show, DD really will be in danger – of retribution or possibly of being used as a bargaining chip. We need to be perfectly in sync.”

Toddington, still looking grey and grim and shaking his head, “I don’t like it Jimmy. But I don’t have to I suppose. I think I speak for all of us ...” he said looking around “ ... you’re right, it seems the sensible way forward and I’m sure the young master would agree if he were here.

But, look here Slipper. What about these two phone calls he asked you to make? Birch, can you...”

Slipper, “It’s OK. I spoke to his two friends and they said they would be here as soon as possible, lunchtime at the latest.”

“But when ... where did you find a phone out on the estate at this time of night?” enquired a bewildered Clackett, as though phones were plentiful during daylight hours.

“Well, I just availed meself of the feecilities in Mr Canes’s office on me way out as he wasn’t using it at the time. Besides it seemed such a shame not to let him pay for the calls all the trouble he’s causing an’all.”

They all smiled appreciatively at the sheer effrontery and resourcefulness of the child. Before Birch interjected that rooms had been made ready in the East Wing for them all and that perhaps some sleep would be in order if they were to be on the ball the following evening. Then, as an afterthought, he added, “oh, it’s Wednesday tomorrow. Gordano’ll be making pancakes for breakfast – bacon and maple syrup – just come down when you’re ready.”

ooooo

If anyone had slept at all it had not been for long and it had not been a particularly sound slumber. But the excitement and apprehension of how the following evening’s activities might unfold had not affected anyone’s appetite and Gordano was kept busy turning out the pancakes and rashers and fresh pots of coffee for the massed guests in the kitchens of Membury Hall. The Duchess joined them saying she felt much more at home here than on her own in the great dining room where she normally took her meals.

Slipper had disappeared having told Clackett that he would be back “before the fun begins”. Frankley too had driven off after breakfast as he needed to check in at the station.

Toddington and Clackett took the dogs out for a long walk to ease their tension, spinning by the copse, straining to see what they could see at the site through their field glasses. But little movement of either vehicles or people or equipment could be discerned.

Bagpuize and Matravers fortuitously arrived together in time for lunch. Gordano produced a thick lentil and vegetable stew with Toulouse sausages followed by great wads of bread pudding and custard for afters. Bagpuize confided in his colleague that without wishing to detract from the superior nature and tastiness of the dish, he felt the sausage skins were of an insufficient calibre for such a robust sausage and the user was risking disintegration and spoilage especially when cooking them in a stew or casserole.

After such a good lunch the afternoon dragged painfully slowly and by the time Frankley returned all 6 compadres were crawling up the walls. Frankley himself was disconcerted. Whilst at the station he, along with all the force, had been put on notice not to approach or go anywhere near the countryside within a 5 mile radius of the Membury estate as there would be some kind of military exercise taking place that night. Indeed he had had to bluff his way through a check point to get back to the hall, not difficult given his reputation, seniority and the fact that he had played rugby with the officers in question. Frankley had no compunction about ignoring his superiors out of operational necessity but this edict was an indication to him that any prosecutions arising from the night’s sting would not be easy as there were obviously some influential people either in the ministry or the military who might be implicated or embarrassed. His experience of dealing with such people in the past had been frustrating in the extreme.

Nonetheless Frankley had taken the precaution of putting some of his most trusted officers on standby. By the time they set out after dusk, fuelled as they were by Gordano’s gourmet nosh, everyone was in a state of high anxiety intensified by lack of sleep, the potential danger and their imaginings of what may or may not have happened to DD.

Frankley, Toddington and Matravers were heading back to secure front row seats for tonight’s performance. While Slipper and Bagpuize peeled off before reaching the copse with the intention of springing DD at the very moment of the show’s climax. The evening had that autumnal chill with a dampness rising from the ground which clung to their faces like a wet kipper. Their plan was premised on the timing being exactly as at the dress rehearsal. They had allowed plenty of time not only to get into their respective places but also for Frankley’s team to get Matravers into a position where he could examine the equipment. To this end he had stowed a white lab coat in his back pack so he could merge anonymously with the other technicians who had been milling around like termites on site. Clackett and Birch were held in reserve outside the fence along with Frankley’s trusted men.

Frankley, Toddington and Matravers found the breach in the fence just as they had left it. Toddington removing the thread he had laced carefully across the join so they could see if it had been used. The lights and the sound of the cicadas greeted them as they had the night before. But as they crept between the two buildings where they had hidden previously, they could now see clearly an array of VIPs on the stand at the far end of the arena. There was a variety of people. Some wearing dark suits, camel coats and bowler hats – they could not have looked more like civil servants and sure enough right there in the middle of them was DD’s old friend and Canes’s stooge, Baldock.

The camel coats and bowler hats were in intense conference with the Parks brothers and some of their lackeys. There was a lot of pointing and arm waving in the direction of the far end of the quadrant. Sitting a little apart in frosty isolation was a group of sinister figures in dark coats with upturned collars and homburgs, smoking cigarettes. The DICS? Several other men and women were still being ushered to their places from official looking long sedans pulled up behind the stand.

Toddington and Matravers headed towards the area to the left of the portal where there was a large work bench and racks of instruments and consoles with glowing dials and sparkling lights, red, amber, white and green. Matravers felt a twinge of excitement like seeing the Christmas lights for the first time. 

Toddington hovered in the shadows as Matravers, sporting his white coat and much to Toddington’s amazement, brazenly strode up to a huddle of techies and started asking them questions. He later explained that he had told them he was Canes’ nephew here on a work experience placement. When the techies eventually became bored with the newcomer’s questions they busied themselves elsewhere leaving the nosey nephew to observe proceedings. However, when no one was looking he pulled out a small screwdriver and with a pencil torch between his teeth he dived under the work bench, wriggled back behind the columns of apparatus and set to work.

Frankley returned to the gap in the fence to spirit his team into key positions to the rear of the stand.

The trap was set.