by Wilf Voss
Twice in a Blue Moon
Wilf Voss
Copyright Wilf Voss 2011
https://www.wilfvoss.me.uk/
Cover Photo Credit: Stephen Davies – https://www.picturewales.com
Prologue
"I want something sorted out; you know something you are good at." He smiled briefly.
"Oh yes?" She sipped her coffee.
"Someone who crossed me, some years ago, before my..." He paused. "...enforced holiday. It's just that we think we have found a way to get her."
"You think you have found her? I'm intrigued."
"No, we don't know where she is yet, but, we have found her brother and our sources say she is working with him, albeit under an assumed name. She thought that she could vanish. Stupid girl!" He smiled. "Anyway, I need you to ensure we have the right person, and then I want to have a word with her."
"A word?" She looked up.
"In a manner of speaking. I want her to be my guest for a short time. However she may not be so willing."
"A little gentle persuasion then?" She smiled.
"I am glad we are on the same wavelength". He reached for a brown envelope. "Here are the details. You can ride can't you?"
"Ride?"
"Horses?" He smiled slyly. "I thought you were a Pony Club girl?"
"I was thrown out of the Pony Club." She frowned.
"I know. That's why you are so perfect for this job..."
~~~
Chapter 1
Rain clattered against the window dripping slowly through the leaking roof, plopping gently into the bucket that sat on the dusty carpet. Monday morning had come, as it did so often, too soon. The sky was dark marking the prelude of a day that would remain rainy and dull. The only sound was the expectant kicking of hungry horses.
***
The sign at the end of the drive had once proudly announced the presence of 'The Redbridge Riding School', now it stood at an angle, its letters faded. The pride had gone, and as the water ran across the muddy yard, it was easy to see why.
Here was a place that prided itself on not being special; it was just 'another' riding school. With all the common factors, the riding school horses and ponies. A team of staff, living in uncomfortable and damp accommodation, working long hours for little money and a head girl, Amanda King, who at twenty-four years old was a perfect host to her customers. The staff however felt that she was bossy, but generally fair. Amanda had bought the yard from the previous owners some years before.
***
The alarm clock bleeped loudly announcing the unwelcome start to another week. Adam reached up and clutched the small clock, staring at the faint green numbers through bleary eyes. Six o'clock, it was time to drag himself out of the relative warmth of his bed and into the real world.
Adam Bishop was nineteen years old and had worked at the yard for two years. He was an instructor and by his length of service and instructor's status, he was supposedly second in command. The rank meant that more often or not he was the one who had to take most of the customers' lessons, whilst Amanda sat behind the large desk in the office. She was always there to supervise, but as she was the boss, she believed that she was fully in control. However, today she was not.
***
He shuddered as the shower drenched him in freezing water. This was not one of the better mornings. Towelling himself dry Adam quickly put on a clean pair of jodhpurs and sweatshirt. He couldn't think what he had done the night before, but he imagined that it had involved rather too much alcohol. Snippets of the evening came back to him briefly. . .
Adam walked into the kitchen and filled the kettle, the door opened, Kate Grimshaw walked past him.
Kate was eighteen. She groaned, rubbed her bloodshot eyes and sat on one of the long bench seats beside the wide pine table, the kettle clicked, steam rose clouding the inside of the window.
"Coffee?"
"Thanks. . . No milk please, I'll have it black." Kate took the mug and gingerly sipped the hot liquid.
"You look as bad as I feel!" Adam slurped his coffee.
"Thanks! I'll take that as a compliment!" Kate grinned weakly.
"What did I drink last night?"
"Too much. . ." Kate frowned. "I can't remember a thing about last night. I don't even know why we went to the pub!" She glanced at her watch. "The others are late getting up this morning."
"Never mind them, I suppose we had better start feeding, I'm sure they will come down when they're ready." Adam took his mug and walked down the hall, grabbing an old wax jacket on the way. He plunged his feet into a pair of well-worn green Wellingtons before going out into the blustery rain.
Adam unlocked the office, normally at this time of the morning Amanda would be sitting in the office, today the door was locked and there was no sign of the head-girl.
"Isn't Amanda there?" Kate stepped into the office, sweeping her hair back from her eyes.
"I don't think that she was with us last night. I'm sure I would remember if she had been." Adam smiled. "But. She's the boss, and if she wants a lie-in, that's up to her!" He picked up the feed room key.
"What's her car doing here?" Kate walked towards the rusty red car that was sitting in the middle of a muddy puddle. She peered through the frosty glass. "Well she's not in there!"
"I didn't expect that she would be! That car is terrible; it's probably broken down again. She'll walk in soon, no doubt mad as hell!"
***
The feed room was little more than a badly built shed, which offered little shelter against the elements. The musty smell of bran and pony nuts filled the room as Adam opened the steel bins and started to scoop bran into the first feed bucket.
"Hello. . ." Caroline stepped through the open door. Caroline was seventeen years old, with scruffy brown hair and a fair complexion.
"You're late. . . Where are the others?"
"They're on their way down. . . Is Amanda cross?"
"Cross? No, she's not here yet. . ." Adam noticed that Caroline was frowning. "What's up?"
"Is she not here? Now that is odd. . ." She paused. "Are these feeds ready to take?" Caroline grabbed a pile of buckets and dashed out of the feed room.
"She's acting strangely. . ." Kate laid out another line of feed buckets on the floor.
"I would ignore her if I were you. . ."
Slowly the rest of the staff appeared and started taking feed buckets round the yard. The horses became quieter as they ate. The rain started coming down with more vigour.
There was no sign of Amanda.
***
Before the first lesson of the morning, Adam stepped out of the office. Amanda had not made an appearance. In the centre of the yard, there was a gaggle of staff standing, staring into the distance. Adam closed the office door and slowly walked towards them.
". . .No. . . I didn't want to get involved in the first place. Now look what's happened." Caroline shook her head.
". . .Didn't want to get involved? That's rich. You were there! You can't say that you weren't involved." Karen, one of the younger grooms, span on her heels. Seeing Adam standing there, she stopped dead and smiled nervously.
". . .I wasn't the one who came up with this idea. . ." Caroline ranted.
"Caroline." The other staff edged away from her.
". . .It was you lot that did this. . .."
"Caroline. . ." One of them tugged her sleeve.
". . .But what should we do about it. . .?"
"Do about what Caroline?" Adam stepped forward. Caroline stopped "Come on Caroline. Do about what?"
"Shall we go inside and talk about this?" Caroline put her hand on Adam's shoulder.
Kate walked towards the
m and stopped.
"Hi Kate. Caroline is just about to tell me what is going on." Kate froze and pointed. "What's up?" Adam stopped and turned round. Suddenly it all became clear...
~~~
Chapter 2
Sunday afternoon, Adam had spent most of the day standing in the outdoor school whilst he taught his pupils. The school was a fenced square of sand, which in the summer was hot and dusty, and was now saturated. Adam had been standing in a deep puddle since it had started raining about two hours before. He was sure that one of his boots was leaking, but since his jacket and jods' were completely soaked, it didn't really matter. One of the riders pushed their horse into a canter and over the small jump. There was a splash as the horse made contact with the puddle on the other side.
"Very good!" Adam tried very hard to sound at least interested in what was going on. He saw Kate ride towards the gate that led from the moor back onto the yard. She leant down unlatched the gate, and pushed it open, waiting until the other riders had come through before she swung it shut. They made their way down to the main yard. "Hi Kate! How's it going?"
"Don't ask."
"You're covered in mud. . ." Adam laughed. "I know mud packs are good for the complexion, but I can assure you that you don't need it!" Kate scraped a handful of mud from her jacket and threw it at Adam. It splattered across his face. "Come on what's up? Can't you take a joke?" He wiped the mud from his face.
"I'm not in the mood. . ." Kate frowned and dismounted.
"Oh Kate. . ."
"Don't 'Oh Kate' me!" Kate handed the reins of her horse to Caroline who had come up to the school. She limped across to Adam.
"What have you done to yourself?" Adam opened the gate to the school.
"I came off." Kate frowned.
"What..?" Adam tried to stop himself smirking.
"Don't laugh! My horse slipped."
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. . . I've just bruised my leg." Kate sniffed.
"Come here." Adam held out his arms and gave her a hug. "Do you want me to take your next hack? This is the last lesson I'm teaching today."
"I can't ask you to do that." Kate wiped her eyes.
"Of course you can." Adam smiled. "I would have a hot bath if I were you."
"Thanks Adam. . ."
"Are you sure you don't need to see the doctor?"
"No. . . I'm fine. I'll see you later." Kate limped off across the yard.
***
The rain had stopped by the time Adam returned. Caroline took his horse.
"Thanks Caroline." Adam looked around the silent yard. "Where's everyone else?"
"Everyone else?" Caroline smiled nervously.
"Yes Caroline. There's no one around, and where's Amanda? She said she would come out and tell me if I was teaching tomorrow."
"Amanda? She's gone home." Caroline paused. "Yes, she went earlier."
"Oh! Okay." Adam took his hat off. " Can you make sure that these horses are dried off."
"You go. I'll get the yard sorted out." Caroline watched as Adam walked away.
"Has he gone?" Karen looked round the corner.
"Yes." Caroline frowned. "I'm not happy about this."
"Well, did he see anything?" Caroline shook her head. "So he doesn't know what's going on."
"I don't think so. But. . ."
"But what?"
"We just can't leave her there. . ."
"We're not going to." Karen pointed over her shoulder. "She deserves everything she gets. We'll leave her for a while, just worry her a bit."
"So long as you know what you are doing?" Caroline started to walk away. "I want the horses dried off. Can you get your cronies to do that?"
"It'll be done." Karen smiled. "Relax Caroline. . . It's only a bit of a laugh."
"I don't think that everyone will be laughing."
***
Adam sat next to Kate on the sofa.
"Was there enough hot water for you?" Kate smiled.
"I think I just about got the last of it. " He paused. "The others are acting a bit strangely this afternoon."
"How do you mean?"
"Well when I came back to the yard, none of them were around. And Caroline was being a bit defensive."
"I think they must just be tired. It's been a long week. They were probably all in the tack room." Kate smiled. "It's not worth worrying about."
"I'm sure you're right!" Adam put his arm around Kate. There was a clatter as the front door opened and the staff stomped noisily upstairs.
"Oh sorry are we disturbing anything!" Karen smirked.
"No! We were just waiting for you lot to arrive. . .Who's cooking tonight?"
"I'll check the rota." Karen disappeared into the kitchen. "It’s Caroline!" She yelled loudly.
"What is?" Caroline appeared through the doorway. "I've not done anything. . . It was the others."
"Done what Caroline?"
"She's joking. . ." Karen leapt out of the kitchen. "She just doesn't want to cook tonight!" She whispered to Caroline. "Shut up! Don't give the game away!"
"Yes. . . I didn't want to cook tonight." Caroline laughed nervously.
"So what are we having Caroline?"
"Well it is Sunday night. What do we have every Sunday night?"
"Not leftovers again." Kate sighed loudly.
***
"I think it would be nice to go out for the evening." Karen took the last of the dirty plates off the table and handed them to Adam who was washing up.
"Go out?" Caroline frowned.
"I think that's a great idea!" Adam looked over to Kate. "Do you think you would be up to it?"
"I'm sure I could manage to limp down to the pub."
"What about the rest of you?" Karen looked across the expectant faces. "Well that's settled then."
"Do you think we should? Don't we have things to do tonight?" Caroline stood up.
"Things to do?" Adam shook his head. "Like what? You'll enjoy a night out. It'll do you good. After all, it has been a busy week for us all."
"Let me have a word with her." Karen led Caroline into the living room.
"What are you doing suggesting that we go out. . . What about..? You know!" Caroline hissed.
"Caroline, we can't just disappear onto the yard. Adam and Kate would get suspicious. If we all go out. We can leave them at the pub and nip back here and sort everything out."
"But..."
"Please. Caroline it is just a joke. But Adam and Kate would get annoyed. They just don't have a sense of humour!"
"Shall we go then!" Kate stepped into the living room. "Is there anything wrong."
"Wrong? No, nothing is wrong. I was just saying that someone should stay back at the yard, make sure everything is okay."
"And I had said that everything will be fine." Karen stepped forward. "Caroline is a real worrier!"
"Yes. Come on Caroline. I'm sure we can all go out for an hour or so with no problems."
"Okay. I'll get my coat."
Karen watched as she left the room, quickly she pulled out a mobile phone and dialled a number. It rang once before she spoke softly.
"It's me. Everything is ready..." She paused sniggering. "Pre-packaged as well!" Karen shut down the phone and thrust it into her jacket pocket.
***
The village of Redbridge was little more than a church, post-office stores, phone box, pub and a couple of houses. If you wanted any more excitement than a quiet drink you had to go the fifteen miles to the nearest town, and without a car there was no way to get there except on-foot.
The collective staff of the Redbridge Riding School filled the small saloon bar of 'The Horse & Groom' public house. Karen took out a ten-pound note and handed it to the landlord.
"Keith. . . I need a favour." Karen whispered to Keith Bevan the landlord of the small pub.
"Yes. What do you want?" Keith was a portly individual who enjoyed a good dr
ink as much as his patrons did.
"We are having a bit of a celebration." Karen paused. "Erm. . . Its Caroline's birthday."
"How nice for her."
"I wondered if you could pep up her drinks a bit. She says she only wants an orange juice. . ."
"I understand." Keith added a large shot of vodka to the glass. "It will help her enjoy herself."
"Thanks Keith." Karen laughed. "It will. . . I think she needs to enjoy herself more!"
Karen walked over to the table and placed the last drinks down.
"Your orange juice, and a pint for you Adam."
"Thanks Karen." Caroline took a sip of her drink. "Oh. . ."
"What's up Caroline?" Karen bit her lip.
"That tastes very nice!" Caroline took a large gulp.
"Good! I'm sure you will enjoy it." Karen chuckled into her drink.
***
"It's getting late. . . I think we should go back now." Adam glanced at his watch.
"Okay." Karen smiled, possible a little too much. Her speech was slightly slurred.
"What about her?" Caroline was fast asleep on the floor.
"What do you want me to do with her?" Karen beamed.
"I think you had better take her with you. If you can wake her up that is!" Kate shook Caroline's shoulder. "Come on Caroline, it's time to go home."
"I don't want to go to school. . ." Caroline rolled over.
"Don't wake her up. . ." Adam stood up. " I'm sure a couple of you can drag her back." The staff groaned. "I'm sure she would do the same for you. We'll see you in the morning!"
"Aren't we going home now?"
"I think there's time for just one more drink, don't you?" He walked to the bar.
"I see Caroline is enjoying her birthday." Keith nodded towards the door.
"Her birthday?"
"Yes Karen told me it was Caroline's birthday, that's why she spiked her drinks."
"Really. . . I must talk to her in the morning."
***
Soon afterwards, Adam and Kate walked home, along the quiet road back to the yard. The moon shone lightly allowing then to see their way and the stars glistened like diamonds. All too soon, they were back at the yard. Adam fumbled with the front door key before letting them into the flat. As the door closed, he caught sight of the two cars sitting out in the darkness, and ignored them. Not that he knew it then, Adam would live to regret his eagerness to hurry into the warmth of the flat.
~~~
