Chapter 5
The Police
Get Involved
“Hi Ralph, we need to
meet and we need to meet like now.”
“Yes Carson, I could
not agree with you more. I was having a
look at the video clips I took of the surroundings during our meetings and
there is something I would like you and Dirk to see. It is not much but it is more than
nothing. It mightn’t lead anywhere but
we could still explore it.”
“Well I have a rocker
for you all. This thing is heating
up. My father is now involved and he
doesn’t even know.”
“What are you saying,
Carson?” How could your father be
involved and how could he not know?”
“That’s what I need to
share with you and Dirk.”
“Do you want us to have
a conference call? You know I can easily
do that. I have that facility.”
“No I would rather that
we meet and eyeball one another. Plus,
these people seem to be having us watched, at least having me watched and not
me only, but also my family. If it were
just the three of us involved, I believe we could deal with that but involving
the family might be more than we can handle alone.”
“Tell you what. You put down and let me call Dirk. Where do you think it might be best to have
that meeting?”
“Probably at Dirk. Do not forget his sister is now married and
his parents are likely to be at work. In
our case church camp doesn’t start until next week so our younger siblings will
still be at home during the day. We
can’t afford to have them overhearing anything that we discuss.”
“All right Carson, I am
reading you loud and clear. If he says
it’s okay by him, what time would be best?”
“It’s 9:27 a.m.
now. Let’s see if can meet for ten at
Dirk’s home.”
“Cool Carson, I will
call you back.”
Almost as soon as
Carson put the phone down it began to ring.
He blurted out, “That was quick!”
The voice on the line
said, “What was quick?”
“Oops!” he said, “That
wasn’t for you.”
“Then,” letting her
tone hang on the word for just an instant, “I wonder who it could be at this
early hour. Care to share your little
secret?”
Sorry about that June,
I had just put down from talking with Ralph when you called. I thought it was him calling back.”
“What was it that you
so desperately wanted him to do for you?
You sounded real excited when you answered the phone.”
Carson thought for a
while before responding to June. He had
to choose his words very carefully. He
could not let June know anything of the matter before him and yet he needed to
put her mind at rest concerning whatever it was that was troubling her. No doubt she wanted to confront him on the
rumour making the rounds. Certainly he
did not have time to have a lengthy chat on the phone since he was expecting
that return call from Ralph.
“Listen to me
June. Ralph, Dirk and I are planning to
meet at Dirk’s at ten o’clock. I am
expecting a call from Ralph to firm that up.
As it stands now I need to get myself organized for that meeting. If you do not mind, I can come to your home
immediately after the meeting. I know
that we also need to talk.”
“And we need to do so
urgently!” June said with some authority in her voice.
It really irked Carson
when she used that tone to him. He felt
almost as though she felt that he was her possession or that they had signed a
covenant for life. He ignored the tone
but responded to the need to meet. “I
agree with you on that.” However, he was
not sure that they would be moving towards the same understanding at that
meeting. During the last few days they
had drifted apart somewhat and both of them were aware of that fact.
He was about to sign
off when he heard a beep alerting him that another call was coming
through. “Hold on a sec, June. I have a caller on the other line.” “Hello, Marshall’s residence, how may I help
you?”
“Dirk here,
Carson. That meeting is all right with
me. Like you too, I really think we need
to meet urgently, so much so, that I think if you could get here even before
ten, that would be great. Ralph is
already on his way over.”
“Cool, Carson. I am going to get June off the line and come
over as soon as possible.”
“Wow! Things are looking up again, boy. Don’t let her hold you too long, Buddy.”
“I really do not know
what you are talking about, Dirk, but if thinking as you do makes you happy, be
my guest! See you in ten minutes or so.”
“Cool my brother.”
Before Carson could put
down the phone there was another beep.
He thought, “Not again. Who could
this be now? Hello!” He tried to control the irritation in his
voice.
“Hi Carson, it’s me Andrea. May I speak with Carolyn, please?”
“Sure. Hold on a
minute.”
“Carolyn!” he called
out to her. “Carolyn! He called out a
second time. Just as he was about to
really shout her name the third time he saw the door to her room open.
“I am not deaf,
boy. I heard you the first time.”
He ignored her rebuke
and simply told her that Andrea was on the phone.
“Hi Andrea!” she said
in her most endearing tone.
“Carolyn, I thought you
were supposed to call me back. Your
mother hasn’t finished talking to you yet.
Girl, what have you done to get such a tongue lashing?”
“Stick a pin there,
girl. I think you know my family. Around here one has to make an appointment to
use the phone, and that especially if you are under the age of eighteen.”
“Thank goodness, I do
not have that problem. As you know I am
an only child, well sort of, since my brother spends most of his time at my
granny, especially during the holidays.
Last night he packed his bags and he was off to stay with Granny in the
country. I will join him for a couple
weeks but for right now I am home alone.
When Mummy and Daddy get in from work, they are too tired to think about
using the phone. So I have it all for
me.”
“Enough said. What was it and who was it that you were so
excited to tell me about?”
“Well, check out
this. I understand that your brother has
dumped June for Anna.”
“Now how would know
that for sure? I know that a rumour is
going around that Anna is scoping Carson but I do not know that he is warming
to her. Of course, I am aware any male
specie in the school would give his eye teeth just to be seen in her company
but that excludes Carson.”
“Wait! Is he not numbered among the male species in
the school? Why would he be an
exception?”
“Because Carson dare
not play games with June or my mother for that matter.”
“Your mother? What does your mother have to do with it?”
“Well, Mummy is very
fond of June. She thinks she is good for
Carson. Plus, June practically grew up
in our home. She is like family.”
“Maybe that is why
Carson might be considering Anna. Who
wants to have a sister for a girlfriend?”
“Andrea, I am sure that
you did not hear me say that June was Carson’s sister.”
“Not in so many words
but you did say that they grew up together in your home. They are practically brother and sister. For sure the event of Anna would help him to
decide whether or not June is the one for him.” Andrea argued as though she was
a counselor of many years experience.
“From what I can see,
it is Anna who is showing an interest in Carson, not the other way around,” Carolyn
stated with some emphasis. “And I am not
saying that because he is my brother.”
“Well my friend how we
feel and how we think doesn’t change what is,” said Andrea in her wise old way.
The meeting at Dirk’s
home commenced at 9:50 a.m. so the three friends decided to examine Ralph’s
video clips together. Ralph delayed
sharing his findings until the other two had viewed the clips at least
twice. Neither of them picked up
anything of importance so Ralph drew their attention to the student with his
hands constantly in his pockets. He also
drew their attention to the fact that he also had his left hand doubled as
though he was holding something. That
being very clear to them, they began to wonder what the object could be. It was then that a thought struck Carson. He began to wonder if there could be a
connection between the object in the student’s pocket and his desk pocket. Could he be the student who stole the
notes? Was it he who picked the
lock? Could it be that in the clip he is
holding the implement with which he picked the lock?
The boys put their
heads together. They discovered that the
notes were taken the Wednesday afternoon, the same afternoon on which the call
was made. That meant that sometime, not
long after the boys had left, the intruder had made his move. Quite obviously he had moved swiftly since
someone could have returned to the form room or the porter could have turned up
at anytime to lock the room. The boys
were fairly settled on these possibilities.
They felt they had made some headway.
As they continued to
look at the possibilities, Carson felt it was time to share the matter of the
note on the trunk lid. As he did this he
also wondered if there could be a connection between the note on the trunk lid
and the picking of the lock. He wondered
if the instrument used was the same for each event. The lock picker would have needed something
with a point to pick the lock and the person who scrawled the note on the trunk
lid would also have needed an instrument with a point. “Could it have been the same instrument,
thought Carson?”
He shared his idea with
the other two. They both thought that
there was a very good chance that this was the case. They decided that they would proceed using
this idea as their primary clue, at least to the identity of the link person,
whom they believed was a student of Blades Academy. Their most immediate problem, however, was
how they would get him into the open since school was now on holiday. Oh how they wished they had had another week
or two in school!
Finally they turned
their attention from the matter of the stolen notes and the event of the note
scrawled on the trunk lid, to the planned expedition at Idyllic Gardens. Of course the first question was whether or not
they were still proceeding with the trip.
There was a resounding yes.
Whatever it was that their detractors did not want them to find out was
in Idyllic Gardens. To cancel the trip
was to lose the only chance they had of finding out. They were more determined than ever to
proceed but to do so with caution and with vigilance.
The meeting continued
with the checklist they had created.
There were not many items they needed to procure now, since all along,
they were systematically collecting the essentials. In addition, they decided that they would
delay the trip for a week to see if any more clues would emerge. This move was also planned to give their
detractors the idea that they were no longer interested in proceeding with the
trip. The hope was that they would drop
their guard and become careless. This
level of thinking came from Ralph when he was at his best. Another idea he had leant from his dad was,
always force your opponents to feel that they know what you are going to do
next. “Appear to be predictable, son but
never be predictable,” he had said several years ago.
It had taken Ralph
quite a long time to discover what his father meant by this but he had finally
grasped the point. The board games of
chess and draughts were instrumental in teaching Ralph that very fundamental
strategy. That is exactly what the
friends were doing: appearing to be predictable but not being predictable. In their movements they were proceeding with
plans as usual but in delaying the trip they were being unpredictable. Their detractors would be led into believing
that they were proceeding with the original plan and would counter accordingly
only to discover, hopefully too late, that the original plan had been scrapped.
After the meeting, the
boys felt more relaxed and comfortable with what they had achieved and what
their new plans were. They adjourned the
meeting and Ralph and Carson headed for home.
As they were going out the door, Dirk enquired, “Something just occurred
to me, fellows.”
“What’s that Dirk?”
Carson asked.
“Don’t you think by now
that your father would have noticed the scrawled note on the trunk lid? Don’t you think that at some point during the
morning he would have had reason to go into the car trunk?”
“You are right Dirk,”
Carson responded.
Ralph joined in with,
“I suggest we cross that bridge when we reach it. Right now that is still an unknown
element. If your father has already
discovered the note, he will most likely draw it to your attention when he gets
home this afternoon. If he hasn’t, then
we will have to wait until he does.”
“At what point should I
indicate that I was aware of the note?” Carson asked. Here he was seeking confirmation regarding
his own idea on this matter.
Dirk was the first to
respond to his question. “I believe that
you should hold that information for as along as is possible.”
“I was thinking so,”
Carson replied.
Ralph agreed.
That afternoon as the
family gathered for dinner, Mr. Marshall summoned everyone outside with, “I
have something to show you all but it is on the outside.”
Mrs. Marshall responded,
“What are you up to now? Is this one of
your funny surprises? Dinner is already
on the table so I hope you know we can’t go out for dinner now.”
“No it’s nothing like
that. Just follow me!”
Carson knew that the
moment had come. This will surprise the
rest but he knew what his father wanted to show them. “No Dad, don’t tell me that some idiot
scrawled up the new paint job!” Carolyn shouted, being the first to reach the
car after her father.
“No Carolyn, that’s not
what I mean,” responded her father. Look
again and tell me what you see.”
By this time Carlisle
had reached the car. “It is a note,
Daddy! Somebody scrawled a note on
Daddy’s car. What do they mean by ‘We
are not kidding’, Daddy?”
“Your guess is as good
as mine, son.”
“What are we going to
do?” Mrs. Marshall inquired.
“Tell you what,” Mr.
Marshall chimed in. “We are going in for
dinner. Dinner now and after that any
number can play.”
Nobody appeared to
notice that Carson was pretty cool about the matter. He had been trying to fain surprise without
showing it too much. He knew he was
acting out a lie and a feeling of deceit began to come over him but he felt
very strongly about the decision his friends and he had taken. In time he would let them know everything.
Dinner was taken in
relative silence but as Carolyn began to clear the table, Mr. Marshall said,
“Guys, you know I can’t just leave this where it’s at. If it were just a scrawl, perhaps, but it is
the note. It is what is written. I do not believe that it has anything to do
with me directly so it must have something to do with one of you. Is there something going on that you have not
told us about?”
“Not me,” Carlisle
said, echoed almost simultaneously by Carolyn.
“What about you
Carson?” This inquiry came from his mum.
“The others seem quite certain while you appear like a reluctant and
reserved witness. I just have a woman’s
intuition that you know something about this.
I feel it in my bones. Speak up,
boy!” She was beginning to show some
irritation.
Mrs. Marshall thought
about the little incidents that occurred during the last couple of days. At first she thought something sinister was
going on with Carson. Then she settled
for a lovers’ quarrel. Now she felt that
she was right the first time.
“We have decided that…”
Carson was cut off by his mother’s retort.
“We who, boy? Do you understand the question? How could you respond with a ‘We decided
that’?”
“But Mummy, you won’t
let me finish. Yes, we are aware that
something strange is happening. Somebody
or somebodies do not want us to proceed with our trip to Idyllic Gardens. So far they have tried three things to stop
us from proceeding. Notes were stolen
from my desk pocket, a telephone call was made and, well you all know the third
incident. The guys are working on the
matter and we feel that we are capable of discovering who it is that is trying
to hide up whatever it is,” Carson concluded.
“No boy, this is too
big for you all. The police need to be
involved in this. Your lives could be at
risk if you go through with this trip,” his mother argued. “Honey, you should get the police in on
this. I say tell these boys to call off
this trip and let the police deal with whatever is happening in Idyllic
Gardens. I do not want a dead hero for a
son.”
“Okay Carol, I do not
see a need for panic. That excitement
that you are displaying is all right for a concerned mother, but I do believe
that we need wherever possible to contribute the solution to this mystery. In deed right now it is a mystery. I will concede to you, however, that we need
to get the police in on the matter.
However, I feel that we need to let the boys proceed with the trip so
that the police can have something to work with.”
“You mean let these
boys be a decoy? Benjamin, am I hearing
you correctly? Dear Lord, help my crazy
family! Like father like son!”
“First we call the
police,” Mr. Marshall continued as though he did not hear his wife’s
lament. We give the police all the
information that we have at this time.
Next we follow to the letter any instructions that the police give to
us.”
Carson readily agreed
to what his father was suggesting. One
of the things he liked about his father was the calm way in which he approached
a problem. His mother was all right if
it was a work challenge but when it came to her family, she was
infuriated. Right now in this state she
was not likely to produce her best problem solving thinking.
Just as Carson was
about to suggest it, his father instructed, “Carson see if you could get Dirk
and Ralph to come over. If they can, we
will get the police over right away. I want
them to be here when the police arrives.”
“That’s just as I was
thinking Dad. I’ll get to it right
away.”
