by Lynda Page
On arriving back in the camp Vic dropped her off outside the Paradise while he went to park the van. Jackie waited for him to return so they could walk together over to the staff chalets. Arriving back, he took her hand and they were just about to set off when Jackie stopped short, surprised to see two teenage girls and two boys scaling the large concrete sculptures of the dolphins in the middle of the water. As her eyes travelled upwards, Jackie’s surprise turned to sheer panic to see a girl at the top trying to stand on the mermaid’s head, seemingly oblivious to the danger she was in and also to the crowd gathering below. They like Jackie were horrified and were shouting to the girl to come down before something serious happened to her.
Vic had seen her by now. ‘What on earth does she think she’s doing?’ he exclaimed.
‘We have to try and get her down before she … Oh, my God, now she’s standing with her arms out, looking like she’s going to jump off. Is she so drunk she thinks she can fly? Oh, no, she’s going to jump … Oh, hell, she has!’ Jackie exclaimed.
The whole crowd watched dumbstruck as the girl came crashing down to earth, to land with a sickening thud on the hard tarmac between some spectators. Unaware of what had happened to their friend, giggling hysterically at their own antics, the other four teenagers were still trying to clamber up the fountain.
Gathering her wits, Jackie ordered Vic, ‘Get those others off the fountain before anyone else is hurt, while I fetch the nurse and call an ambulance.’
A while later Jackie and Vic were both sitting in the nurse’s office in the surgery, sipping cups of hot sweet tea.
A shaken and upset Jackie murmured, ‘I’ve had one too many a few times in my life but all I get is giggly. And I’ve done a couple of stupid things I had to apologise for the next day, like being sick in the taxi home, but I’ve never got it into my head that I could fly.’
Sister Kitty Popple had been working for Jolly’s for a couple of weeks now and had quickly become liked by staff and campers. She was fifty-two years of age, of medium height, with a body that resembled a beachball. When she laughed, which was often, her whole body would wobble from side to side. Tonight, though, she was looking solemn as she responded to Jackie’s comment. ‘Well, that girl was very lucky to get away with two broken legs and one fractured arm, but it’s my medical opinion that she had consumed something else besides alcohol. So had her friends, but thankfully they were stopped from doing anything so stupid themselves. Now their parents are dealing with them.’
Jackie frowned at her. ‘What had she taken?’
‘That’s for the hospital to confirm, and as soon as they do I will pass the information on to you, but some sort of hallucinogen.’
Jackie looked bemused. ‘Halluci-what?’
Vic told her, ‘Sister means drugs, Jackie.’
She exclaimed, ‘Drugs?’
Kitty nodded. ‘I’m almost positive she took Lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD as it’s known for short.’
Jackie shook her head, refusing to believe it. ‘But Groovy’s is no London nightclub, we don’t get that sort of thing here.’
Kitty folded her arms under her enormous bosom. ‘Taking recreational drugs isn’t just confined to London, dear. You can buy them in any town in the country as well as at a holiday camp, if you know the right people to ask.’
Jackie snapped, ‘Not any longer at Jolly’s. It stops right here and now. I’ll call the police in.’
Vic spoke up. ‘I wouldn’t advise that, Jackie. The last thing you want is them making an investigation and maybe closing Groovy’s down. Think what that would do to the reputation of the camp when the nationals got hold of it, and they would be bound to with a story like this.’
She looked horrified. ‘That could finish us. No, no, we can’t get the police involved, can we? So we’ll have to think of some other way to stop this person selling drugs to our campers.’
‘Well, we don’t know for certain yet that the girl had taken drugs,’ Vic reminded her.
‘No, we don’t, but if it turns out she has and got them off someone here in the camp then we can’t just turn a blind eye. Someone might end up dead if we do.’
‘Well, yes, I suppose,’ mused Vic. He then eyed her meaningfully. ‘Look, Jackie, I speak from experience, having played in clubs and pubs up and down the country. I’m no stranger to certain members of the audience getting high on drugs … not that I condone it myself, most certainly I don’t, and wouldn’t touch them personally. I value my sanity and life too much … but say you catch this person selling drugs here, there’d soon be someone else taking their place.’
She eyed him closely. ‘So you are saying we should turn a blind eye to this, are you?’
‘All I’m trying to point out, Jackie, is that unless you strip-search everyone who comes into the camp, I don’t see how you will be able to stop drugs being taken by those who want to take them.’
She could see his point and sighed heavily. ‘Well, Vic, maybe we won’t be able to but until Mrs Jolly comes back and decides what measures she wants to put in place to prevent this kind of thing going on, then it’s down to Mr Rose and me to do our best to put a stop to it.’
Kitty put in, ‘As a member of the medical profession with a good idea of the dangers of drug-taking, I agree with you, Jackie. It is your duty as part of management to do your best to stop these youngsters putting their lives in danger.’
Jackie suddenly froze as a memory struck her. She pondered it for a moment before worriedly asking Kitty, ‘If someone had taken some sort of drug, would they have glazed eyes and be dancing like … well, demented chickens? That sort of thing?’
Kitty nodded. ‘Amphetamines would cause them to act like that.’
Jackie looked even more worried as something occurred to her. ‘A few weeks ago, me and Ginger were in Groovy’s and there were some girls dancing crazily. We just thought they were drunk … and I’ve seen both girls and lads acting like that since … but now I wonder if it wasn’t drink that was the cause but drugs. If that’s the case then this has been going on for a while and it can’t be one of the campers they’re getting the drugs from but a member of staff.’ She issued another despairing groan, scraping her hand through her hair. ‘Oh, God, it was bad enough thinking a camper was dealing the drugs, but a member of staff …
‘The drugs must be changing hands somehow in Groovy’s. I’ll speak to the staff, ask them to keep a special eye out for anything they see they think is suspicious, and report it back to management.’ Then another thought occurred to her. ‘Oh, but then, what if it’s one of the Groovy’s staff who’s the culprit and I’m warning them we’re on to them? They could make a bolt for it before we can get them arrested by the police, and be free to carry on their business at another camp or town.’ She looked at the others imploringly. ‘I shall have to tell Mr Rose, of course, but apart from telling him we have to keep this to ourselves, so whoever it is doesn’t get wind and scarper before we can bring him to the attention of the police.’
Having received their assurances they would not breathe a word, Jackie’s thoughts returned to coming up with a plausible plan to catch the dealer red-handed. Another memory returned. A couple of years ago they’d discovered they had a thief amongst the staff and Jackie spent long evenings with Drina, Rhonnie, Dan and the receptionists, hiding for hours in cramped conditions, until the guilty people were observed, caught and prosecuted for their illicit activities. It seemed to her that the only way to catch the drug dealer was to use the same plan, spending every evening in Groovy’s looking out for any suspicious goings on. Jackie enjoyed going to Groovy’s once or twice a week, but the idea of spending all her evenings there for the foreseeable future did not appeal at all. But if that was what it took to catch the guilty party and keep the good name of the camp intact, then so be it.
She outlined her plan to Vic and Kitty, concluding with, ‘We can’t ask Mr Rose to help patrol Groovy’s as he’ll stick out like a sore thumb.’ And without t
hinking she added, ‘As would you, Kitty.’
The nurse’s eyebrows rose in indignation. ‘Thank you for reminding me that I’ve one foot in my grave, dear.’
Jackie gasped and exclaimed, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, Kitty, I didn’t mean … look, what I meant was … er …’
The nurse chuckled. ‘Stop panicking! I’m having fun with you, dear. I know you wouldn’t say anything deliberately to hurt me. I’m well aware my days of throwing myself around a dance floor are gone. In my day the jive was all the rage and to me that’s what you call dancing, not all this jiggling around you youngsters do now. Anyway, my long shifts here and my home life don’t allow me much, if any, free time, so as much as I’d have liked to, I’m not able to offer you any help, I’m afraid.’
Jackie smiled at her. ‘I appreciate the fact that you would have helped if you could.’ She then turned to look at Vic. ‘You can’t help either, as you’ll be on stage playing with the band except for Wednesdays. Next Wednesday, if you’ve nothing better on, your help would be appreciated. But let’s hope by then we’ve caught whoever it is and life’s back to normal. I realise that it will look odd if I’m in Groovy’s by myself playing detective so I will have to recruit someone else, but the person I have in mind is perfectly trustworthy.’
When she told them that person was Ginger they had no argument with her choice.
As Vic walked her back to her chalet later, Jackie noticed that he was unusually quiet. ‘Penny for them?’ she asked.
‘Eh! Oh, it’s just that I look forward to the time we spend together, but with you on this mission to catch the person selling drugs it means I won’t get to be with you until they’re safely behind bars. I’ll miss you, that’s all.’
It surprised Jackie to realise how much she would miss him too. Again she reminded herself that she was on the road to heartache if she carried on allowing her feelings for Vic to deepen as come the end of the season they would have to part. Trouble was, she couldn’t seem to make herself act on her own advice.
Back at the chalet, Jackie took Ginger into her confidence and requested her help in uncovering who it was dealing drugs, which would involve them going to Groovy’s every night. Ginger was so excited at being involved in what she saw as an undercover operation, especially when it meant having an excuse to go to her favourite venue every night, that she bubbled over to the point where eventually Jackie had to tell her to shut up about it so they could get some sleep or they’d be fit for nothing the next day.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Arriving early in the office the next morning so she could speak to Harold Rose about the previous evening’s developments, Jackie had taken the switchboard off night service and was about to go over to her desk when the internal line from the surgery lit up. It was Sister Stephens informing her that Sister Popple had asked her to pass on a message to Jackie as soon as she came in. It appeared that the girl from last night had admitted taking a couple of pills and so had her friends. They had no idea what they were though, had just believed what they were told by another friend who’d bought them that they would make them feel good. The doctor Sister Popple spoke to had added that the girl was extremely lucky that the amount of amphetamine she had taken hadn’t actually killed her. But there was no hope of finding out where they’d come from; the kids claimed they couldn’t remember.
Harold was dumbstruck when Jackie explained to him the events of the previous evening. In his closeted world he knew nothing of such things except for the news items he had read in the newspapers about the growing drug culture in London. Since it was a world away from the corner of Britain he lived in, he hadn’t taken much notice. His immediate response was that they must inform Drina Jolly of this development and get her instructions on how to deal with it, but Jackie managed to persuade him that she had enough on dealing with Rhonnie.
Not having been in a situation like this before, Harold openly admitted to Jackie he hadn’t a clue how they went about catching a dealer, and didn’t hide his relief when she said she had a plan. Ginger and she were going to pretend that they were normal clubgoers at Groovy’s while secretly keeping their eyes open for any suspicious carryings on. For his part Harold offered to hang around the Paradise foyer, inconspicuously on the lookout for anything suspicious.
With this problem on her mind, Jackie completely forgot about finding Al’s wallet the previous evening. She saw him rummaging around in his desk when she came out of Harold’s office and automatically asked him what he was looking for.
Worried, he told her, ‘My wallet. I took it out of my pocket yesterday afternoon so I could buy a bar of chocolate from the shop and I didn’t realise I’d not put it back until I went to check last night. I couldn’t find it. But it’s not here so …’
Jackie interjected as she grabbed her handbag and fished out the wallet, ‘Stop worrying, I’ve got it. I spotted it on your desk after you’d left last night as I was checking all was secure before I left myself.’
She walked across to hand it to him.
As he took it from her Al said, ‘Thank goodness I’ve not lost it as I’d not have managed until payday without what’s in here.’ It then struck him that Jackie might wonder how he’d managed to pay his fare home and back to work today on the bus without his wallet and told her, ‘Thankfully I had enough coins in my pocket to pay my bus fares but this will teach me to check I’ve got everything before I leave at night.’
Jackie looked taken aback. ‘You caught the bus home last night? But I chased after you with your wallet and was just nearby when it arrived. I never saw you get on it.’
Of course she hadn’t, because at the time he’d been stealing his way around the perimeters of the camp to his temporary home in the derelict farmhouse. He stared back at her frozen-faced, panic tightening his stomach. Unwittingly, Jackie had just caught him out in a lie and he had no idea how to get himself out of it without arousing her suspicions. He knew she was the inquisitive sort; where he was living and what he was doing must not be uncovered by her. She might not be understanding, as his family had not been, and then he’d be turned out immediately, which was the last thing he wanted when he was so very near to reaching his goal. The only option Al could see open to him was to brazen it out and hope she’d accept she’d made a mistake.
As matter-of-factly as he could, he responded, ‘It’s a mystery to me why you didn’t see me. I did catch that bus.’ He added jocularly, ‘Maybe it’s time for a visit to the optician.’ It was obvious to Jackie that for him this conversation had ended as Al collected a pile of filing out of the tray and began to sort it into alphabetical order.
It was a mystery to Jackie too. There was nothing wrong with her eyes. She knew what she’d seen, or hadn’t seen in this case, which was Al at the bus stop or getting on the bus. He was obviously lying to her, but why would he need to about such a petty thing as whether he’d caught the bus home or not?
She wasn’t given chance to ponder any longer as the door opened then and Maureen Watson, the elder of Harold’s two assistants, arrived carrying two huge ledgers with a pile of paperwork on top.
Jackie smiled a greeting at the pleasant middle-aged woman. ‘Morning, Maureen.’
As she met up with Jackie she responded accordingly before launching into, ‘Well, that was a bit of a rum do yesterday, wasn’t it? The behaviour of some people never ceases to amaze me.’
Instantly the words were out of her mouth panic reared up in Jackie that, despite all their precautions, gossip had leaked out that they had a drug dealer amongst them. Then her fears subsided as Maureen continued.
‘That girl jumping off the fountain like she did and ending up almost breaking every bone in her body! I expect that’ll teach her not to drink so much in future.’
Jackie said shortly, ‘Well, hopefully it will. Mr Rose is in his office, so I’ll just call through and let him know you’re here to see him.’
‘Thanks, Jackie. I’ll be glad to put this lot down. These books weigh
a ton.’ Maureen then leaned closer, lowered her voice and said, ‘Mr Rose hasn’t received a thump on the head, has he?’
Jackie looked at her strangely. ‘Not that I’m aware of. Why are you asking that?’
‘Well, something must have happened to bring about such a drastic change in him. When I went into his office to update him yesterday, he actually looked me in the eye, smiled, and asked me how I was. Could have knocked me down with a feather. I could see he was a bit uncomfortable about it, but he did it all the same. He’s not what you’d call a handsome man, is he? But he’s got a lovely smile, which certainly improves his looks no end. After all this time working with him, it was a pleasure finally to see it. I was beginning to wonder if he didn’t smile because he hadn’t any teeth.’
Maureen paused to chuckle at her own joke before she continued, ‘Anyway, whatever has brought about this miraculous change in him, I hope it lasts. This new version of Mr Rose is a great improvement on the off-hand, po-faced one we had before. To be honest, me and Sally have enjoyed our jobs so much more since he’s been doing his stint as boss in here, being free to laugh and chat, make tea when we want, and not having to whisper to each other and mind our Ps and Qs, because that’s how he made us feel we had to behave. Because of the more relaxed atmosphere we’ve got more done and the time has passed so much quicker. We were dreading him coming back and us having to go back to working in a mausoleum again, but now … well, maybe we needn’t dread his return. I live in hope at any rate. Anyway, give him the nod I’m here then, love, before my arms drop off.’
