Ripples in the Lake Chapter 2

Ripples in the Lake

Chapter 2

By Graham

‘Well, I must say I don’t relish going out in that.’ Audrey’s nose, pressed hard against the window, had scribbled a skewed figure eight across it; an unintended legacy left in the thick condensation.

‘Really? How do you expect to get to the van then? Psychic transportation?’

‘Why is it, Vi, that your sarcasm is so particularly sharp first thing in the mornings?’

‘Practice.’

Vi dropped her single, battered old suitcase down besides Audrey’s matched set of three. She took Audrey’s place at the window and strained to see through the ragged smudge.

‘It's atrocious. I can hardly see across the car park. Mind you, I can see cars parked both sides of the van. And close. Wilf won’t like that.’

‘I thought you were driving today.’

‘I’m not getting us out of that parking space. He put it in there, he can extract it.’

‘You are a bundle of fun this morning Violet.’

‘Yes, well…’

‘Disappointing night?’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?

‘Nothing.’ Audrey turned away to hide a wicked little smile. ‘I didn’t see you or Wilf for breakfast this morning.’

‘I had breakfast.’ Vi’s response was snappy. Audrey was unsurprised at how easy it was to hook the wiry little woman. ‘I was down before you.’

‘And Wilf?’ She was pushing now, being deliberately mischievous.

‘Wilf? Why should I know when he came down? His room’s not even on the same…’ She trailed off as the penny dropped. ‘Oh, that’s disgusting.’

‘I don’t see why,’ Audrey was really enjoying herself now, ‘I thought you liked him.’

‘I like porridge, but I don’t want it my bed.’

Audrey would have kept up the game, but she had spotted the head waitress coming out of the dining room.

‘Excuse me. Do you happen to know if our friend has been down to breakfast?

‘Her name?’ She was already scanning the list in her hand.

‘Him, it’s a him. Mister Garforth.’

‘No, I don’t think…’ There was a pause as she finished checking. ‘Well he has not been checked off. And breakfast is finished now. I’m afraid he has missed it.’

‘Oh he won’t like that.’ Vi sounded genuinely concerned. ‘He gets grumpy if he doesn’t get his breakfast.’

‘Ah,’ The young woman spotted a note on her sheet, ‘he seems to have –‘

 ‘Oh my God.’ Audrey was back at the window. ‘Quick! Help! Quick. Oh please, quick!’

‘What’s up with you?’

‘Stolen. It’s being stolen. The van.’

‘Stolen?’ Vi’s concern was now focused on Audrey.

‘Stolen?’ echoed the waitress.

Audrey rushed over to the next window, stumbling over something soft and squishy in her panic. Something between a squawk and a howl snarled up to join Audrey’s shrieks in breaking the previous serenity of the lobby. A black blob catapulted out from under her left foot and careered into Vi’s suitcase, knocking it over. She had woken the hotel cat.

‘It’s gone.

‘I’m not surprised,’ said Vi. ‘Poor thing. Cats don’t like being stamped on.’

‘Not the bloody cat, the van. Quick, get the police. It’s gone. Out the gates and down the road. We’ve lost out van.’

‘This young lady will ring them for us, won’t you…’ Vi turned to find the waitress no longer at hand. More interested in the fate of the cat than guests’ vehicles, she was disappearing into the kitchens, desperately trying to catch up with the bolting feline.

‘Use your mobile. Have you got your mobile?’

‘Will it work here?’

‘What do you mean, will it work here?’ Audrey was incredulous. ‘We’re half way to Exeter, not Moscow or somewhere. Of course it will work.’

‘What’s the number then?’

‘What’s the number? What’s the ruddy number? Are you being deliberately stupid? It’s nine, nine, nine of course.’

‘Well, at home it is, yes. But I don’t know what the code is here do I?’

Audrey, usually so placid, was beginning to lose patience. ‘There is no code you wizened little elf.’

‘There is no need to start getting abusive.’

‘Give me that phone.’ Audrey snatched the instrument out of Vi’s hand as she withdrew it from her handbag. ‘There is a penalty for obstructing the police you know.’

‘I’m not obstructing the police. There’s no police here.’

‘That’s what I’m on about. There’s no police here, because you keep prevaricating.’ Audrey punched hard three times on the rubbery nine key.

‘I don’t think you’re going to get the police on that.’

‘I keep telling you Vi, it doesn’t matter what county you use it in.’

No I don’t mean that. That’s my calculator.’

There was a brief moment of complete silence as Audrey took in this information. She was just contemplating whether to ram the calculator back into Vi’s handbag or throw it to the floor and give it the ‘cat’ treatment with her foot when the outside door was pushed sharply open.

Wilf’s entrance was dramatically accompanied by a loud clap of thunder. He stood, half drenched, with rain dripping off his sodden fedora. ‘Good morning,’ he said cheerily, ‘van’s outside.’

‘But… but…’ Audrey’s voice was uncommonly weak. ‘Did you… have you…?’

‘She said the van had been stolen. Said it was driven off down the road.’

‘Oh no,’ Wilf said, ‘I think she must be confused.’

‘She’s more than confused. She’s bloody mental. Called me a wizend dwarf or something.’

‘Elf actually,’ offered Audrey in her newly shrunken voice.

‘You’re not helping yourself.’

‘It was raining, so I thought I would bring the van to the door for you ladies. I’ll give you a hand with your luggage, mine’s in already.’

‘But… why drive off like that? I saw you go out the gate.’

‘Mmmm. Well, you know what I’m like about reversing. Going out one gate and in the other gave me the easiest angle for the front door. Clever eh?’

‘But…’ Poor Audrey was really struggling to put a solid sentence together now. ‘But, you… you haven’t had any breakfast. And now... well, they’re…

‘I had it my room.’

‘Ha,’ said Vi, now quite jubilant.

‘Really treated myself. Went back to bed and ate it while I watched the telly.’

‘In bed?’ Audrey could barely more than whisper.

‘Yes. It was great. I had porridge.’

End of chapter

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