Chapter 1
The Mystery Call
Carson had always looked forward to vacations in the country especially during the long summer holidays. The two weeks for Easter and the longer three weeks given for Christmas seemed to go so quickly that before he could get fully into his fishing trips and other exciting activities, it was back to school.
Though he looked forward to holidays he was no slouch at school and was among the top students in his sixth form year. He attended Blades Academy and was currently in the lower sixth form. He had done very well in his fifth form exams and was anticipating excellent results in his upper sixth form year. He would need to have very good results to qualify for the area he had chosen as his vocation. He wanted to be a forensics expert. He was thrilled with this area of specialized skill especially as it related to bringing criminals to justice.
In another three days he would be into the summer holidays and he would be off to the country to enjoy his usual haunt as well as the activities his buddies and he had planned around it. The fishing trips were exciting but not as exciting as exploring the bushy areas with their ponds and streams. While the ponds existed on account of a very high rainfall, the streams on the other hand were the results of underground springs. At points there were miniature waterfalls cascading over boulders in the path of the runoff water.
The streams were filled with fish of all types and colours. Guppies and mollies were in abundance. There were also fantails, speckled, jet-blacks, bright gold and others somewhat difficult to describe. There was an assortment of plants with a huge variety of flowers. As diverse as the fish and the foliage were the insects that added to the beauty of the place.
There was a variety of dragonflies, pond flies, butterflies, birds and creepy crawlies. The beauty of this rustic, favourite haunt of Carson was simply overwhelming. He often wondered how the Garden of Eden would have compared with this spot on the earth. But just like the Garden of Eden, Carson’s paradise also had its serpent. And there was not one but several. It appears that wherever beauty shows its face on this earth there also will be its nemesis, alias ugliness.
Nighttime in Carson’s garden brought a variety of aromas, a tantalizing cacophony of night sounds as well as the many lights of the fireflies. Depending on one’s likes or phobias, it could be an enterprising experience or a horror-filled nightmare. Carson saw it as the former rather than the latter. It did not matter the hour of the day or night. This was his home away from home, where he got an opportunity to rough it and to be at one with nature. This wild, almost untouched piece of nature was where he looked forward to spending no less than eight weeks of his summer vacation. He would spend more but the final week of the holiday was for back-to-school preparation. He could spend all these weeks there because all that he needed was found in its natural form. There were fruit trees of all types, roots and herbs for eating as well as rabbits and other creatures that could be used to diversify one’s diet. Then of course, there was the path that led down to a very large body of water where an assortment of fresh water fish could be had. Last but certainly not least was the option of hopping aboard his rowboat with its outboard engine and embarking on one of his many fishing expeditions. While the boat was fitted with an engine, Carson and his friends had learnt that should the engine fail, it was prudent to have a manual back up. In this regard no fewer than six oars were kept on board.
Carson lived in the heart of the city and there he also attended school. He was one of a trio of friends who were inseparably knitted together and had experienced many adventures in one another’s company. Dirk and Ralph were certainly his best friends. They had sat in the same classes throughout primary school days as well as throughout their secondary sojourn. Even now just a few days before their summer holiday, they were sitting together in the form room planning their activities for the upcoming vacation at Idyllic Gardens. As you would guess it was so called because of its peacefulness and scenic beauty. The truth be told, there was more to it than the peaceful face it presented. It was also the haunt of many a notorious criminal, a perfect hideout from the law. However, its pull was so great to Carson and his friends that they did not even harbour the thought of the danger these societal misfits posed to a group of youngsters simply bent on exploring nature and enjoying its delights.
“Hey Carson, have you told June about your trip to Idyllic Gardens? Don’t you think it’s time that you let her know when you will be temporarily out of her life?” After no answer from Carson, he continued, “Remember what happened the last time you put it off for too late? Must I remind you?”
“Dirk, it’s really none of your concern. You left and even though you begged Lily’s forgiveness for having not informed her until after you returned, she still dumped you. Take care of your business, Buddy. Don’t get into mine.”
Like clockwork, the boys would have this conversation just before a going away trip. “What do you intend to do regarding Sheila?” Dirk, having been stung by Carson’s reply, turned his attention to Ralph. There was no reply from Ralph.
“Ralph! Ralph! Ralph!” he called again and again while shaking Ralph’s shoulders to get his attention. Ralph’s eyes followed the creature that had just entered the room. She sauntered across the room coming to alight on a desk two rows away from the boys.
“Young fellow, can’t you see that the young man is no longer in our zone?” Carson mused. All this time Ralph’s eyes were still drawn out of the sockets and squarely set on the “Queen of Blades Academy”.
Anna was voted the “Queen of Blades Academy” by perhaps every student from Form 2 and up. There was scarcely a time that she moved that there were not at least half a dozen pairs of eyes watching her every movement. In addition, every fifth and sixth former would have given his entire holiday to spend just one of those days in the company of Anna. She was an astoundingly dark beauty. Her hair was bobbed and was forcefully kept that way because if left unattended for a few weeks it would be reaching her shoulders. Her friends often said that if God had given them hair like Anna’s, they would let it grow right down to the floor.
“Ralph, are you still trying to come up with a theorem to describe that piece of geometry?” asked Carson.
“Waste of time, boy! That Mathematician is not yet born and his mother has already passed away,” emphasized Dirk, bringing laughter from the other two.
The beautiful thing about Anna was that she was not conceited regarding her beauty or for that matter her more than average intelligence. As a matter of fact she was a most unassuming creature and mingled with boys of her form as well as those her junior. She could easily have been the Head Prefect at Blades Academy but she refused the offer in preference for another girl whom she argued was far more qualified that she. She reluctantly settled for wearing a prefect’s badge.
“Hey Carson, have you seen June?” Anna called out to Carson whose head was down as he was concentrating on a note that he was writing. “I was looking all around for her but I just can’t find her,” she continued. As she said this, she was rummaging through her desk pocket for an item.
Dirk, always quick to butt in, quipped, “Girl, you have not only addressed that question to the right person but also at the correct time. If he does not find her quick and bring her up to speed with his whereabouts concerning the next eight weeks, he will be left out in the cold when he returns. Just like another friend of ours,” he added after a slight pause for emphasis. “By the way, you are not likely to find her among the things in your desk.”
Straining against a burst of laughter, Carson looked up from his task just long enough to mutter, “Boy, why don’t you take care of your own business?”
Ralph in his own defence concerning Dirk’s snide remark was, “Poor fellow, he has no business of his own and very soon, if not sooner, he will be bereft of the only two friends that he has in this whole world.” This brought amusement to everyone except Dirk who was desperately thinking of a reply.
Anna, giving Carson another chance to respond to her question, asked again concerning June’s whereabouts. This time Carson answered with a straight up “I really don’t know.” To this Dirk, seeing an opening to recover some lost ground, added, “And he doesn’t care.”
“Let it be recorded in the court’s journal that those additional words were not said by the defendant,” Carson countered. “I also would like to warn my very unworthy colleague that should he persist with his infantile behavior, I would have no recourse but to ram his soother into his cavernous orifice.”
This was enough to evoke great laughter from the friends, including Dirk as well. It also knocked him out of the fray for a little while, though not for long. The friends were accustomed to such banter and most of the time Dirk was the instigator as well as the one on the receiving end. He seldom won anything he instigated.
Don’t be fooled by this though, he was easily the brightest student at Blades Academy. That would be difficult for anyone to guess since there was scarcely a time when he was not joking around. He wanted above everything else to be a scientist and there was scarcely a person who knew him that thought such a quest was beyond him. He was just absolutely brilliant. The cabinets in the school hall bore testimony to the many debating trophies he had helped the school to win in the inter-schools debating championships. From as early as third-form he was on the school team and ever since then Blades Academy had never lost a challenge, not as long as Dirk was on the team.
Anna left the room to continue her search for Sheila and the boys returned to their planning session. They were used to planning these expeditions with meticulous care and on this occasion for reasons unknown to them, they were even more meticulous. It was as if this particular venture into Idyllic Gardens was going to be unlike any that they had experienced before. In any case, there was never a venture, however well planned out, that did not have some surprise for the boys. In times past, though, they were always equal to whatever confronted them. There was no reason why their success record should suffer on this occasion.
The bell rang signaling the end of school for the day. Though the boys did not live in the same districts, they were all within walking distance of the school. Of the three friends, Ralph lived the nearest to the school. So close, that on the days he was ill and unable to attend school, he could hear the school bell ring on every occasion. As a matter of fact, a casual five minutes walk would find him at school without a bead of perspiration.
Ralph was challenged with a chronic childhood ailment that the medical minds of his district diagnosed as asthma. Certainly the symptoms were the kind that one readily associates with asthma. Interestingly enough, this did not stop him from being one of the best athletes at the school. His pet events were the eight hundred metres as well as both the high and long jumps. He was also the opening fast bowler for the school's cricket team and with all these, he also possessed good leadership skills. He was the school's Head Prefect as well as a House Captain. As if these were not enough, he had attained the highest rank in the school's cadet corp and as such was the leader.
The boys collected their tackling and headed out the door. They walked together for as long as they could when Ralph was the first to break ranks as he turned down the narrow path that led to the side gate of his home. Carson and Dirk walked along together.
“But Carson, did you really leave school this afternoon without telling Anna, sorry, I mean June, that you will be spending the entire holiday with the fellows?”
“It’s none of your business but the truth is that I forgot. I still have tomorrow and if I so decide, I could also tell her on the last day of the school term. Yes, I could tell her on Thursday.”
“I somehow get the impression that June and you are not quite the number that you two used to be. I have been hearing some rumours about somebody who has more than a fleeting interest in you. If you do not know who that person is, well then I do not know either. However…” and Dirk held the word for a little bit before continuing with, “It is none of my business.”
Carson acknowledged for him to hear, “You are beginning to learn, maybe instinctively so, but some light bulbs are coming on. Looks like you can still be a credit to the apes kingdom.”
“Who are you calling an ape, chimp?” Dirk asked while grinning his teeth and chattering like a monkey.
There was no response from Carson. He seemed somewhat preoccupied and Dirk decided to give him some room to sort out whatever it was that was on his mind. The two walked the remainder of the distance in silence together until they knocked each other’s fists, a signal that Dirk had reached his turn off point. Carson walked on in a pensive mood. Another three minutes passed and he turned into his driveway, giving a bright “Good afternoon” to his next-door neighbour who was sitting on his patio catching up on some news. As Carson mounted the steps to his own patio a surprise awaited him.
“When do you intend to tell me about your planned whereabouts for the first eight weeks of the holidays?”
Carson was lost for words, a very rare happening in his case. He always had a ready answer and usually one that would force the attacker on the back foot. This time he was mute. It was not the first time that June had reached his home before he did but he was not thinking about having to defend his actions at this point in time.
“Maybe you remembered to inform the other person and so it really didn’t matter whether I had been informed or not,” she continued her onslaught.
Carson was good at many things but he was not good at the cut and thrust that was necessary in such circumstances. He just stood there looking at June and as usual he said nothing in his defence. The truth of the matter was that as he walked home from school, June was far away from his thoughts. He was thinking about something that he himself could not even articulate. It was nebulous yet it touched him and disturbed him in a way that nothing had before. All he was clear about in his mind was that it appeared to have something to do with the upcoming expedition to Idyllic Gardens.
“Carson!” June shouted at him. “I don’t know where you are but you need to return to base. Car…son,” this time she droned on the first syllable of his name, almost singing it in that melodious voice of hers. This approach seldom failed when she wanted to get his attention. Again she was successful.
“Oh, yes, June, forgive me for ignoring you like that but I was just thinking.”
“Thinking about what? Thinking about a suitable answer to give me for not notifying me of your intentions for the next eight weeks?” she enquired plaintively.
“But June, you are aware of what engages the fellows’ attention during this time of the year. This has been happening for the last three years. I had planned to tell you before we checked out, probably tomorrow or even the last day of the school term. In any case it should not really be a bother to you because you and the girls have your plans too.”
“Nope, nope, nope! Poor excuse, my dear! In fact, that is no excuse at all. Something is going on and you are hiding it from me.” Just at that time Carson’s dad came through the door into the patio.
“Hi son, I did not know you had reached home. Hi June, how are you doing? I trust that all is well with you.”
“Yes, Mr. Marshall, I was just having a chat with Carson before going on home.” June just lived a few houses away from her friend. They actually lived on the same street and had grown up together. They spent a major part of their time together either at Carson’s home or at June’s home. If one did not know them he would think they were siblings. They behaved more like brother and sister as opposed to two youngsters in the early stages of boyfriend and girlfriend.
“Well enjoy. Son I am going down to the club and maybe play a game of draughts or dominoes. I guess your mother will soon be home from work. She said she would be off early today. Should she need me you could let her know where I am. By the way, the operative word is need.”
Carson knew only too well that when his dad locks horns with an opponent across the draughts table it would take a hurricane to break his concentration. There was not much difference with dominoes especially if he was on his way to six-love his opponents.
“Okay Dad. You know what happened in the last game of dominoes you played. You were on the receiving end of two six-loves. And might I add, you were pretty miserable to live with for an entire week. If you can’t take your licks you need to find a game that you invented and nobody else can play.”
With a hearty laugh and a playful swipe at his son, he turned his attention to June before heading out the patio gate. “June, you know that I sympathise with you. Of all the attractive intelligent boys out there, you choose the only lower primate there is in this community. His mum and I did not have a choice. We had to take what we got but you have a chance to do much better than this metamorphosis of a human embryo.”
“Come on Dad! That’s hitting below the belt and besides everybody says I have your looks.”
“Boy, we live in a world of people who have either gone blind or are going blind. I think you know as well as I, that you have your mother’s looks. You need not worry though, you have my brains.”
With that Mr. Marshall was off in a flash, his long strides taking him out of earshot of his son. June started to remind Carson of the former issue when suddenly Mr. Marshall was back in the patio. “Sorry June, having been distracted by this excuse for a human being, I slipped away without receiving my usual hug. Seeing that I would be at a severe disadvantage should I engage a challenge from one of my opponents at the club, I had to return for my good luck hug. May I have it now?”
“Why sure Mr. Marshall,” and with that she threw her arms around this stately gentleman who was like a father to her. During those many times when she played a secondary role in Carson’s life, she would often sit on the patio with Mr. Marshall and talk about life. He was such a source of encouragement to her that she had privately decided that should her relationship with Carson come to an end, she would still engage his father in those very meaningful conversations.
This time she waited until he was out of sight before attempting to raise the issue with Carson again. She was interrupted again. This time it was the ringing of the phone. Carson politely asked for an excuse and proceeded on his way to answer it. He reached it just before the fourth ring. He was greeted by a muffled voice. If the nature of the voice was puzzling the message it conveyed was even more baffling. “You do not know me but I know you and I also know what you are planning. If you want to stay healthy, you had better cancel your plans for the summer holiday. Stay away from Idyllic Gardens.” There was a loud click and then silence. Carson did not even bother to say hello. He knew it would have been useless for his caller had hung up.
He returned to the patio and to June but she, after a change of mind, dropped the subject. She had noticed a change in his demeanour but she dared not trouble him concerning what she perceived to be a disturbing call. Instead, she requested him to walk her home and that he did without protest. On reaching her home she said goodbye and he turned and trudged his way back. There was a noticeable droop in his shoulders.
© Stewart Russell
