by Adam Melrose
‘The really interesting point that might help us narrow down where Pete actually died was in what one of Dr Brett’s assistants said. They re-read the reports and found mention of Pete’s trousers being quite ingrained with mud and soil, so they found their original analysis and guess what. It’s quite a rare soil type, something called Fullers Earth; it’s used in stuff like kitty-litter because of its ability to absorb moisture. Given that it is quite rare, we looked to see if there was anywhere around here that was known to have Fullers Earth deposits, and to see if there was any large-scale engineering close to that deposit. We’re in luck. Not far from here there is an area of Fullers Earth, and what appears to be a disused canal and tunnel. Our initial research shows that both the canal and the tunnel are much older than the invention of this super concrete, but they could be using it in repairs. All that and the fact it is basically behind Mr de Varley’s home means we think it is worth a look.’
There was more silence as everyone processed the information, and what it meant for this investigation into Pete’s death. There was still nothing substantial enough to persuade the team the original verdict was wrong; but it was becoming increasingly difficult to completely dismiss the growing elements of this other potential version of events. Was Bella right all along?
Matt spoke next.
‘Right then, if it’s local; there is no time like the present; shall we go and have a poke about?’
They all agreed, and soon were heading out to the car park. As they approached the cars, Norton took Matt to one side.
‘Sorry boss, do you mind if I just follow a hunch for the next thirty minutes unless you need me with you?’
‘No Norton, we don’t all need to go. You go and follow your hunch.’
‘Cheers Boss.’ Norton headed across the car park towards the old pub.
Matt addressed the remaining Scott and Munro employees.
‘Right everyone, Norton has just gone to check up on something so we can all go in one car. We will take Bess; hop in, I’ll drive. Ava, you keep me right on where we are going.’
‘Ahead of you Matt, already forwarded the location to both Bess and Dougal’s Satnav systems. We should be good to go.’
Chapter 13
On route, whilst looking at the map, it was decided the team would park up once they had driven across the bridge. They would then approach the last section of the journey on foot; along what was the supposedly abandoned towpath. They came through the village of Upper Nalebury and began the decent down into the valley where the tunnel, or to give it its proper name, the Nalebury Portal lay.
Joe suggested that they just referred to it as ‘The Portal’ from now on. Agreement was swift and unanimous on that matter.
Once down the hill, and having found an unofficial parking space by the side of the road, Matt pulled over, and everyone disembarked. The team all stood looking around. The ancient trees that surrounded this place were stunning; mostly consisting of Beech, with some Oak. The bright sunshine, the blue sky and the brilliant green of the tree’s leaves were electrifyingly vivid. It was as if someone had asked Mother Nature to turn the contrast setting up to full in order to show the place off to its maximum beauty.
Adding to this majesty was the fact that the trees were standing on a large manmade bank. This resulted in the top of the tallest trees towering over one hundred feet above where the team stood. The whole effect instilled a feeling that you were standing in some magnificent arboreal cathedral.
Ava took out her tablet computer and brought up her notes. The tablet’s screen turned red and the machine froze, it had never done that before. Ava rebooted the device, and whilst it was initializing, she took the footpath down underneath the bridge with everyone else following.
The team took a background briefing about a new location onsite if they could. It allowed for context, which was an obvious assistance in knowledge retention; but had also been proven to help with spotting key clues on a couple of previous cases. In this case there was not much to impart, just some background history on the old place.
Once everyone was gathered directly under the bridge they stood still. Below them in the canal, there was a wooden dam in place to keep the water in. The bridge’s architecture meant that even normal every day sounds had an unworldly element to them; and the sound of the water pouring over the dam echoed around them loudly.
Facing into the canal, with the bridge wall to their backs, it was a story of two very different halves. To the left; above the dam, although now somewhat narrower than it’s originally intended size, lay a very well-kept towpath. Someone was clearly tending to this place, although there didn’t appear to be anyone about at the moment. Mother Nature was being kept in check; paths were clear, banks were tidy, and the stonework that made up the canal walls was in good order and showed signs of recent repairs.
Not exactly abandoned then, thought Bruno. Despite the fresh air and the warm weather Bruno, the battle-hardened man noticed he was feeling a little uneasy about being here. He looked around taking in the atmosphere; it was warm and sunny; why did he feel uneasy? No answer came, so he tried to shake the negativity from his mind.
Below the dam and to the team’s right-hand side, there was a few feet of murky water. This gave way to a muddy canal floor that in turn gave way to grass and reeds. The whole canal bed appeared as if it was slightly raised up. Here the canal walls had long gone, and the area just resembled a pit. It was clear by looking around that no one was caring for this section, and clearly no one had for a long time.
They stood upstream from the dam and gazed into the deep water. Any sizeable debris had been cleaned out; all that was left was a sand-like sediment on the bottom. As a result the water was gin clear; it was almost like discovering a swimming pool out in the middle of nowhere. Indeed there was certainly a blue hue to the water that mirrored the sky above; it looked very pretty and inviting.
Ava and the team moved to the left a few more feet and stopped just outside the bridge’s structure where sounds turned back to normal. The air temperature rose and as their skin reacted pleasantly to the warmth; their nostrils filled with the smells of warm summer woodland. Although they stood on what looked like solid ground, it had a certain spring to it. The sort of cushioned feeling you get when walking on years and years of accumulated leaf mulch. Above them, several feet further up the bank, a small line of twigs, sticks and leaves ran horizontally in both directions as far as the eye could see.
Ahead of them, they could see the gin clear water of the canal snaking around the corner and out of sight. The ground and vegetation on both sides of the canal looked as though it had been swept to within an inch of its life; so much so that nearly all the leaves were pointing in the same direction on all the shrubs and bushes.
The whole team felt that they were now stood in an ancient, but cared for garden belonging to some grand and elegant mansion house that was just out of sight. So herculean were the earthworks, plantings and sheer energy that must have been required to create this bizarre place; that it was not difficult to imagine God had personally been involved with, or at the very least directly consulted in, its design and creation.
The towpath had been reduced in size, and was relatively narrow; the team walked silently apart from the hollow crunching of beech nut husks under foot. On rounding the corner, they walked through an invisible wall of cold air. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. They collectively shivered and drew a clichéd, but in this case warranted intake of breath.
‘Is that really sitting there, or am I seeing things?’ Joe said breathlessly.
They walked on a bit further until they stood face to face with what Joe was referring to.
The building that was now sitting silently before the team and commanding their full attention could probably be described as resembling some ornate ancient temple. Given this was England though; it was probably more accurate to describe it as the front elevation to some grandiose country mansion, where the stonemas
ons had been given free rein to go completely mad on the creation of its appearance.
The way the grounds around the portal had been created meant that during this part of the day at least, in contrast to the cold air surrounding the team; the sun’s rays fell warmly against the mellow Cotswold stone from which its façade was constructed. The sunlight imitated the way a spotlight might shine on an actor as they made their grand entrance on stage.
Two enormous oak doors sat open, resting against their respective stops on opposite sides of the canal; badly rotten to a point they would no longer move as intended. The rot was highlighted by the odd angles at which they now rested; their days acting as effective wooden sentries to this mysterious underground palace were long gone. Now they just offered a visual indication of decay and contributed to an atmosphere of death by exuding the faint odour of wet, rotting wood.
The stone archway these doors once protected was expansive, yet its design only permitted the daylight to penetrate a couple of feet inside, before the cool inky darkness came forward to meet it, and stood resolute; allowing no further trespass on its domain. From where the team currently stood, however much they squinted, they could see nothing inside.
It was a moment or two before the team could focus on the fact they were to begin the site briefing. This place was unnerving them. Taking his eyes back out of the utter darkness of the portal and back onto the exterior of the building, Matt could not help but marvel at it all.
The neo classical façade rose high into the sky; at points along the stone balustrade that ran the full width of the structure, there were stone finials and statuary in various states of crumble and disarray. The statues seemed to be of Greek Gods, but with the level of decay on the stonework it was difficult to be sure; erosion and time had blunted their fine features. The whole ensemble was finished off with rows of false windows. It was unlike anything any of them had ever seen before. This orgy of masonry was keeping everyone’s attention longer than a building might normally do.
Joe was the first to speak.
‘Why am I having flashbacks to my childhood and specifically drawings in books showing what the entrance to a dragon’s layer looks like?’
It was Max who was the first to answer.
‘Because from my memory of our childhood, that looks a lot like those drawings. Maybe the artist for that book knew of this place.’
Silence lingered among the team for just a moment longer than was comfortable.
Bruno looked at the building. His mind began to analyse what was off here, ‘All innocent, unemotional and quiet; built from solid stone. And yet, it elicited a great deal of emotion in those that lay eyes on it. The fact it is hundreds of years old means it must all be correct, or it would have crumbled and fallen… and yet… and yet, I begin to look closer and things don’t add up, something is definitely wrong.’
A few moments of blankness passed as Bruno’s brain scanned through everything it had witnessed.
‘The proportions are all wrong, yes that’s it. It is massively oversized compared to its surroundings. If you take it at face value it just doesn’t make sense. I have never experienced that with a building before. All this crazy detail, it’s to disguise how enormous this place is. If this were all only plain stonework it would be so obvious.’
Bruno slowly turned his head and then his body three hundred and sixty degrees, taking in every aspect of the place that he could.
‘I get the feeling all this landscaping and majesty is very deliberate and there’s more to this than just showing off. It’s not just about visual pleasure.’
‘Why, what do you mean?’ Ava’s question caused Bruno to jump. He thought he had been talking to himself and had not realised he had been talking out loud.
‘It feels like from the moment you take the very first steps down off the road that your mind is being played with. Nothing is just there for practical engineering reasons. There are two reasons for every feature.’
Bruno looked up; everyone in the team was facing him and focused on his every word. He continued.
‘What I think I am trying to say is, it feels like we have walked onto a stage or a set or into a theme park. Even the sunlight is harnessed and directed to light up the main character on stage. Everything is meant to look natural and free formed but it’s the complete opposite. Your movements and what you see and think are all very tightly controlled. It’s very subtle until you realise it. Then it becomes a bit more obvious. As a visitor here you are being manipulated.’
The team stood stock still listening to Bruno.
‘Look at our journey since getting out of Bess. Once we were across the road and started to come down those steps, we are forced to see only from the narrow perspective and position the absentee director of this bizarre circus wants us to see everything from.’
‘In what way?’ It was Max’s turn to look concerned.
Bruno continued.
‘In the scheme of things here, look how narrow the path is. It counts for a surprisingly tiny percentage of the area, yet we are forced to walk down it with no alternative. We can’t turn right or we will end up in the inviting, but deep water with steep sides and no easy way out. We can’t go left; there is an incredibly steep bank that is clad in Ivy and other slippery surfaces that dissuade you from even thinking about it. Then look at the trees towering above our heads. Specimens that tend to number in the tallest trees have been planted already high up on the banks.’
Bruno took a moment before continuing, ‘That’s my point really. All this majesty helps disguise the true size of The Portal. By the time we get here to The Portal entrance, our minds and imaginations are so overwhelmed by our walk up here that our senses cannot process much more without a rest. That is when we are presented with this profusion of carvings and details that themselves require time and space to process. All that allows this insanely large building to sit here hiding in plain sight.’
Ava spoke next.
‘You are saying that it is larger than it needs to be for a standard canal tunnel, and that for some reason it was important to hide that fact. Why bother though? It didn’t work for you.’
Bruno paused a moment before replying.
‘Well no trick works on every audience member, I think any conjuror, illusionist or trickster will admit that. But it works enough of the time to fool enough of the people. I guess in this case, the aim is to create the illusion that there’s nothing suspicious to see here. If the illusion infects enough of the group, then with human behaviour and group dynamics being what they are, the illusion will spread through the group like a virus until the majority finds it easier to buy into the illusion rather than fighting it.’
‘Are you sure it is not delusion rather than illusion?’
Everyone smiled at Ava’s remark.
‘But like Ava says… why? Why go to all this effort to hide the fact The Portal is larger than normal.’ Joe was looking all around as he spoke.
Bruno looked down at his feet.
‘Well that’s the million-dollar question, and to be honest I have absolutely no idea.’
Ava was next to speak.
‘OK, should I read out the background facts that I could find out about this place? That might make it seem a little less surreal and allow us to break any spell it might be holding over us.’
The chorus to that particular line was a resounding ‘Yes.’
‘OK, so this impressive looking entrance to The Portal masks an even greater feat of engineering that lies behind it. At one point this was the longest tunnel in the United Kingdom. It runs for nearly three miles. It was begun in 1784 and opened in 1789; which makes it only thirteen years younger than the USA as we know it today. More than sixteen men were killed during the construction of The Portal. This was due to the fact the creation of The Portal section in this terrain required them to work at the bleeding edge of what technology they had at the time.
‘It was such an amazing feet of engineering, that even Kin
g George the third visited it, and The Portal was quite popular with holiday makers of the time. It has also featured in a Novel, one of E M Forster’s. The largest distance in height between the Portal Roof and the ground above is 216 feet. It was closed in 1911 even though the owners had just spent thousands on repairs. It was very expensive and problematic to maintain given the geology in which it is sited. As well as solid bedrock, some of the ground is, wait for it… Fullers Earth. When it swells with rain water, it pushes against The Portal walls, which has led to various collapses and expensive structural issues. Since closing, The Portal has been fitted with those ornate wrought iron gates to stop people travelling inside. Clearly, as you can see, they are currently open, which is odd.’
By now they had moved closer. Everyone turned to look at The Portal and could see; just on the edge of the daylight there was indeed a set of enormous decorative metal black gates inside, that spanned the whole of The Portal mouth.
Ava altered the angle of her tablet before continuing.
‘Oddly I can’t find out who owns The Portal.’
‘Shall we take a closer look?’ Everyone followed Matt down the stairs to the small harbour that was just by The Portal mouth.
Bruno took off his shoes and socks, then slipped gently down the rest of the steps and into the water. It came up to his knees.
‘There’s a solid base under this silt, something like concrete.’ He walked into the portal mouth.
‘Matt, I sure as hell hope there isn’t a large metal double door in there painted bright red, though I wouldn’t be entirely surprised.’
Matt laughed.
‘I don’t think so Bruno, I don’t think this place belongs to them… though that red door is only about twenty-five miles from here, so I wouldn’t bet my life on it just yet.’
Bruno laughed and continued his explore. The others gave Matt a quizzical look that told him he needed to explain.
‘I can’t really elaborate guys; it was a job Bruno and I were involved with in our old careers. Let’s just say the whole incident revolved around a large metal red door; that was in a tunnel as well but that’s about all I can say. But I can’t say anymore, and we are not supposed to talk about it are we Bruno?’ Matt jokingly raised his voice towards the end of his explanation.
