Oxford University

by Ed Nelson

  The Richard Jackson Saga

  Book 8: Oxford University

  By Ed Nelson

  This is dedicated to my wife Carol for her support and help as the first reader and editor.

  Also, the BHS class of 1962 just because.

  “That is exactly how it happened, give or take a lie or two.”

  James Garner as Wyatt Earp describing the gunfight at the OK Corral in the movie Sunset.

  Copyright December 2019 by E. E. Nelson

  Eastern Shore Publishing

  7545 Lovey Lane

  Parsonsburg, MD 21849

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage retrieval systems without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover Picture of Trinity College at Oxford University by Jane Rix and posted at Shutterstock.

  Chapter 1

  I had just barely finished breakfast Monday when I had a phone call from Mr. Monroe. They had some footage from my reveal as Lew Wetzel that he thought it important that I review. Not having anything scheduled I told him I would be there within the hour.

  In the small theater, they played daily rushes for me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. They had made me up to look scary dark. It was more than that it was downright diabolical. The brief look I gave the camera made me look like evil personified.

  “Rick for the movie it works great. For your image, I don’t know. Can you live with this?”

  “I’m not certain, my team and I had talked about me having a goody two-shoe image. This would certainly take care of that.”

  “Who is your team?”

  “My parents, Sharon Wallace, Sharon Bronson, and Anna Romanov are the core, my brothers and sister also have input.”

  “That’s a good group. Why don’t we have them all over to review this footage? It could have an impact on your career. Assuming you make more movies. It will open up a wide range of options for you.”

  “I doubt that I could get everyone together in the next couple of days, could we schedule a showing this Friday?”

  “We can wait that long, why don’t I host a lunch and then we view it after that?”

  “Thank you, Mr. Monroe, that sounds good. I will make the arrangements.”

  “In your travel plans remember the telethon at the end of the month.”

  “I will be back from England before that so no problem.”

  “Okay, see you Friday for lunch.”

  I returned home and got on the phone calling everyone I had mentioned. Sharon Bronson was the only one who had a prior commitment and she was going to try to change that. I couldn’t talk to my family until dinner time but I was certain they would be available. Well, I hoped they would.

  After that, I spent time reading one of the five English history books I had bought. I doubted that my American history courses would do much for me on the English exams. I wouldn’t be able to go in-depth but at least have some idea of what had happened, if not the nuances.

  I did get a phone call in the middle of the afternoon. A patent search on my beer can pull tab had come up clean so I had to have prototypes build and tested. I called the engineering firm that Dad had recommended. They had built the tooling needed to cut the various depths of metal and would be making test lids on Wednesday and I was welcome to come in and see them.

  Knowing the test lids would be available I called Mexicali Delight Brewery and talked to their General Manager. He was intrigued by my idea and agreed to use my lids at the end of the days run Wednesday. I then called Warren Smith the Engineer back and let him know about the filling and invited him along. He was all for it. It turns out that he liked the idea and Mexicali Delight was his beer of choice so it was a win-win for him.

  After that interruption, I was too psyched up to sit and read so I took a drive in Dad’s Ford Fairlane over to the airbase on the other side of the park. When I got there nothing had been done. That was not a surprise as Dad was still in negotiations with the Forrest Service. I did take another run around the perimeter of the base.

  I then went into the open hangers hoping against hope to find some old airplane parts or equipment even though I had looked before. What I did find in one corner of the furthest hanger was a set of stairs going down. I had to go down even though I hadn’t a flashlight with me. At the bottom of the stairs was a closed door. It wasn’t locked and I was able to pull it open. You could tell by the force used that it had been a long time.

  Beyond the door, as expected it was pitch black, but I could see the edges of wooden crates. I managed to drag one out but without any tools, I would never get it open. Remembering the tire iron in the Ford I raced back to the front gate.

  Returning to the hanger it only took a few minutes to pry the top off the wooden crate. Inside were stacked gold lacquered cans labeled C-Rations. They all had a paper label in the process of coming off. I guess the glue had deteriorated over the years.

  The date on the cans was October 1941 so I wasn’t about to try them. There were meat and beans, meat and potato hash, plus meat with a vegetable stew as the main meal. Some of the cans were labeled bread and dessert. I had no urge to try them.

  Not a very good start to a treasure hunt! I returned home for a flashlight hoping to find something better deeper in the room. After a dirty dusty two hours, I realized that this must have been the storage for an emergency food supply. Taking a selection of the cans with me to show the family I returned home and cleaned up for dinner.

  When I showed them to my parents it was very obvious they had no fond memories of these meals. On to a more pleasant subject, I told them about the rushes from the movie. They agreed that they would come over on Friday to see them. Even the kids could come as their school did not resume until the following Monday.

  In a surprise move, both Mum and Dad wanted to go to the brewery on Wednesday. Of course, they were welcome.

  After dinner, Mum and I joined Dad in the English room. He had an update for Mum and me about the contents of the safe. The biggest news was about the old one hundred dollar bills. They had auctioned off for a total of three-point five million dollars.

  The loose gems went for a million point-six. He had kept a selection of diamonds he was having made into a Tiara for Mary. She wouldn’t receive it until she ‘came out’ which meant when she was sixteen. The only other item that Dad had kept was an old Opal ring. This didn’t have great value but looked like an heirloom. He had it resized for Mum.

  After dinner, I returned to my study of English History. It was really interesting as you could see how our modern world had emerged. Reading history will put you to sleep no matter how bloodthirsty those competitors for the throne were.

  After my morning routine on Tuesday, I contacted our travel agent and arranged for a trip to England with an open return. This included a suite at the Plaza on the Strand and a car. I also called the British Consulate in Los Angeles and asked for their thoughts on my US Marshal status especially on being armed. I didn’t know it was possible to have kittens over the telephone. Under no circumstances was I to attempt to bring a weapon into the country.

  That said they had no problems with a longbow and war arrows even though they kill at a greater distance than my pistol. A saber was also allowed. Apparently the British were very traditional in their weapons. It was not could it kill, it was how it was done. I had no plans to take my bow or sword so it was all moot. I ha
d a nice long ride on George, being joined by my brothers and sister. It was a nice outing. Way up the trail in the park we came out on the main road and found an ice cream store. What a nice day.

  The late afternoon and the evening were spent in the history books.

  Mum took the kids to register for school starting on Monday. I rode into the office with Dad. I really had to look into getting another car. While the Ferrari was still on my mind I knew that it wasn’t a practical car. While the T-Bird had been perfect for me I felt like I was ready for something new. Since I was leaving the country there was no hurry. Besides if I spent much more time in England I would need a car there.

  Jim Williamson was able to give me a business update in about half an hour. Basically, everything was moving well and the money was rolling in. It was also rolling out at a fantastic rate. Fortunately, it was still more in than out. The cash turnover was over a hundred million a month as the various governments met their commitments. Of all that money only ten percent was considered profit. My God!

  The latest venture of Jackson Enterprises was the freight forwarding portion. It was taking off like gangbusters. More and more US industry was exporting product and they wanted a source that could take care of all areas they were shipping too.

  Our initial plan was to partner with freight forwarders in the various countries and then purchase them when the business reached a critical level. It appears once our services were known they instantly went critical. We were buying brokerages as fast as we could. I say we, it is wonderful to have a staff.

  Now the issue was merging all these different companies into a common business model. Besides different forms, currencies, laws there were also many languages, it is wonderful to have staff. Along those lines, Jim informed me we were going to have to expand. Our landlord was making two more floors of the building available. I thought that a lot but found out that we probably would outgrow it in six months. It is wonderful to have Dad as a landlord.

  One of the next orders of business was to set up a full HR Department for local hiring and then integrate all of the foreign offices with headquarters. It would be a daunting task. The first thing HR would have to do is hire someone to run the Division. The Scottish Lines staff was proving to be very helpful in identifying people around the world to bring on board. No matter how I hated it we would also have to hire some relatives of important leaders in many of the countries. It was a reality of doing business.

  By that time I had to head to the Mexicali Delight Brewery where Warren Smith and my parents were waiting. Warren had brought the sample lids which had been cut at different depths. He had fifty of each of the three cuts.

  The Mexicali GM who for some reason looked very familiar to me showed a lot of interest in the project. After a tour of the brewery and just before they shut down for the day my lids were fed into the line. They passed the first test of going onto the line without bursting.

  After they were filled each of us opened one can of each thickness. Again they all opened with no problems. Next would be warming the beer up while having it undergo a test on a shaker bed for twenty-four hours. If warm beer could be shaken at the same amplitude as a semi-truck bouncing down the road we would have a product.

  As we were saying our goodbyes the GM Mr. Echeveria ask Mum to say “Hi” to Mrs. Hernandez. It clicked that he was the man at the Christmas dinner.

  Chapter 2

  My morning started off well with a pleasant run. After cleaning up I joined Dad at breakfast. We had plans for the day or at least one plan.

  There was one loose end that had to be tied up before I went to England. We had tried to drop a box with Jason Talmadge’s bones off of Catalina Island but were foiled by a fly-in breakfast. I rented a plane at Ontario and met Dad at the same airport as before. This time it only had two cars at the restaurant. I landed and Dad brought the box over and got on board.

  The flight was only an hour round trip and Jason was now to be found where the authorities thought he would be. Of course, if that box was ever brought up and his remains identified it would open many questions. I doubted that would ever happen and it was so long ago that no one would care.

  The box had been stored in the safe located in the subbasement. Dad mentioned that the only thing left in the safe other than some cash and gold coins was that box with that old clay cup. Did I want to do anything with it?

  After a few moments thought I told him that I had no idea of what to do with it and that it would wait. By the time we dropped the box, returned Dad to the little airport and I returned the rental plane to Ontario and got back home it was lunchtime.

  After lunch, I hit the books for three hours. From Alfred the Great to the Domesday Book to Macmillan I felt like I was getting a handle on the subject. I think after Churchill, Disraeli was the most interesting of the Prime Ministers. Without question, Lord Nelson was the quintessential British sailor.

  That session mentally exhausted me for the day. I drove on down to the beach and checked out the beach house construction. Progress had been made but it still seemed to drag on. After that, it was back home and the English history books.

  I wanted to do well on the examinations. English history was simple when compared to the rise and decline of the British Empire. What a glorious mess they made of things. And mess it was, looking at maps of the middle-east and what they had created I could see no good end in sight.

  The first thing Friday morning was to call Mr. Norman in England. I was put directly through to him. After an exchange of pleasantries, I explained why I had called.

  He told me that he would have to make some phone calls and would have information ready for me by the time I got to England. He seemed intrigued by the idea of me being in England for a long stay. I asked him and was told that having a young-looking messenger opened up several possibilities. Most of the messengers were very competent forty-year-old military retirees. They were considered to be as hard to identify as policemen.

  After talking for a few minutes we made an appointment for Tuesday afternoon.

  I would have to do very well on O-Levels and it would be best if I could pass at least four A-Level exams. If I did that the possibilities were open.

  I then had a long run which helped me wake up. I mean no one should dream of the Crusades. A hearty breakfast and I then went for a ride on George. When I was in England Ben would exercise the horse.

  He didn’t seem to mind ensuring that our entire stable had their workouts. It may have something to do with the fact that a female farrier would join him many days. I finally found out her name is Jane Linville.

  After a long ride, I cleaned up and joined the family in a limo for our luncheon date at the studio. It wasn’t Mary’s as there were no pictures taped to the back of the seats. How many five-year-olds have a limo dedicated for their use? Spoiled? Nah.

  We were met at the front office by Sharon Wallace, Sharon Bronson, and Anna Romanov. All the ladies did the kissy-face thing even though they had seen each other in the last few days. We guys managed to avoid it. Mary announced that she wouldn’t push herself forward as children should be seen and not heard. I think there is part of the concept she doesn’t get.

  Mr. Monroe was a perfect host for the luncheon which was set up in the executive dining room. There was a pleasant conversation until after we had dessert and coffee. At that time he brought up the fact that we would be seeing daily rushes from, ‘Over the Ohio’ which had the potential of changing my image as an actor.

  I had asked that those present view it and give their thoughts on this possible game-changer. From there we proceeded to a projection room. This one was nicer than those out on the sets. This was more like a miniature movie theater. Eddie even asked if they had popcorn.

  Sharon Wallace asked how he could even consider eating after that large lunch. He replied that it was not for eating but to throw at me on the screen. We had to explain this was common practice in the Jackson House basement. I thought this lese majes
te would horrify those present. Instead, Mr. Monroe stated he would see about getting a machine installed as he frequently had the same urge. Maybe a basket or two of rotten tomatoes should be kept on hand.

  The projectionist started the film after we were settled. It started with the unknown killer shooting the Indian father and then knifing the mother. The camera then followed him chasing the young Indian girl with Tomahawk raised. At one point in the run, the camera position is changed and we see the killers face for the first time in the movie.

  Since I had been in the picture and had seen the rushes earlier I wasn’t taken by surprise like the others present. The gasps told the story. They all had an idea what was coming but the reality was shocking.

  The film stopped and the lights turned back on. At first, my family and friends just sat there. Then they started talking all at once. I heard words like; evil, devil, malevolent, demonic and terrifying.

  There was no question that shot raised an emotional response.

  One person had said nothing. She just sat there sobbing. I stood up and moved over to Mary. I knelt down and asked her what was wrong.

  “You changed, you are different, and I don’t like this scary Rick.”

  “You know I am not really scary, that is just the makeup and me acting.”

  “When we talk while waiting for our turn to audition the other kids say that you can only let out what is inside you. Do you have that evil person inside you?”

  Anna Romanov stepped in and probably saved my life.

  “Mary those kids have it only part right. A great actor can be a different person from what they really are. They are acting a part. They are not the part. Before today Rick has been a character actor. He has play Rick and what is inside him. In this film clip, we saw Rick be something he isn’t. That is true acting.”

  Mr. Monroe brought up, “Now Rick needs to make a decision and he wanted your thoughts on this. Does he want the world to see him as an actor and if so does he want them to see this. Some people will be confused and think this is the real Rick. Others will think he has stepped up his acting to a new level.”