Dory's Avengers (8 page)

‘Gideon probably,' replied Dexter after a small pause. ‘Please don't get mad, Louis, I really don't know enough to tell you anything that may be of use to you.'

‘OK, Dex,' said Louis, calming down at the genuine look of regret on his friend's face. ‘Your turn now. What's given you such a bad day that you're hitting the booze and it's not even five o'clock yet?'

Once again Dexter paused, debating whether or not to burden Louis with his problems before finally handing Louis the letter he'd been reading.

‘This,' he said simply.

The letter was on headed notepaper of fine quality, bearing the Hotel and Catering Sponsorship logo on the top of the page. It was short and to the point:

Dear Mr Montfiore,

I have written several times to you, the senior owner of The White Lion Inn, Applethwaite, regarding your continual rejection of the Hotel and Catering Group's generous offer to endorse your business. It has come to
my attention that, following the highly successful Sponsors' Fair on July 2
^nd
, you allowed a level of drunkenness in your bar that put both your business and the safety of your customers in jeopardy. It has also been brought to my attention that sponsored individuals are using your facilities, which must be brought to a stop with immediate effect. Hotel and Catering representatives will be performing spot checks on your business until such time as I receive your completed application for endorsement. A form is included herewith.

Mr Montfiore, I trust that you will appreciate the need to proceed in this matter with the utmost urgency. Until The White Lion Inn is properly endorsed it cannot be regarded as suitable for use by those benefitting from the Sponsorship Scheme. The Hotel and Catering Group has no wish to see such a fine inn go out of business. Therefore I wish to be in receipt of your completed application form by Tuesday July 12
^th
. If I am not, I will be forced to consider alternative forms of communication.

Yours sincerely,

Anthony Wright

Director, Hotel and Catering Sponsorship Group

‘Are you going to apply?' asked Louis, having read the letter twice. It didn't make any happier reading the second time around.

‘No,' said Dexter simply. ‘My grandfather was adamant to his death that this business should never be crippled by the limitations of endorsement. You heard the rules on Saturday; only up to four drinks per adult per day, maximum of ten per week. Controlled tokens for the fruit machines. Pool and darts can only be played in front of a Sponsored
referee. Food on the menu sacrificing flavour to strict Sponsor-controlled nutritional ideals.'

Dexter paused briefly, then added with a wry smile, ‘No same sex couples allowed to share a bedroom.'

Louis started with surprise. ‘Did you make that last bit up?' he asked.

‘Not at all,' replied Dexter. ‘Homophobia's alive and well in the land of Sponsorship. You'll find it thinly disguised as an attempt to instil Christian morals and family values into the minds of the population.'

Dexter ripped the letter and application form into pieces before dropping them into the bin. ‘They can do their worst, I'm remaining true to Grandad,' he said. ‘After all, we want more great nights like Saturday, don't we? Hey, Jess is back! Hey, Jess, how was Italy?'

Still beautiful in her mid-forties, Dr Jessica Donatelli, the Italian mother of Abi and Cameron, entered the bar with a huge smile and showered Louis and Dexter with kisses.

‘Good to be back, guys,' she said, her English that of a native speaker as she'd lived in Applethwaite since the age of six. ‘Sorry I missed the fair; Abilene said it was a great success.'

‘Abi said that?'

‘Actually, she said the evening following the fair was the success, Dex. You're right, there's no way my daughter would ever praise anything connected with the Sponsors. Oops, it is just us in here, isn't it?'

‘Sure is,' said Dexter. ‘Now, can I get you a drink on the house, Jess, or is that going to earn you a public flogging from Pro Spo?'

‘I'll take the risk, Dex, thank you,' said Jess, laughing. Leaving Jess chatting happily to Dexter about her trip to visit her family in Italy, Louis went over to the row of computers supplied by the inn for customer use. Knowing that Louis was a computer novice, Dexter came over to help him get started, and soon left Louis with the most popular
search engine at his service. Hunching over the computer, Louis squinted through his glasses and typed in ‘St Benedict family'.

Immediately a list of options appeared on the screen; most offering more information on the St Benedict scheme, or potted histories starting with the birth of the Sponsorship Scheme over a quarter of a century earlier. Finally, Louis found a site more suited to his needs and, after glancing around him, clicked on ‘William St Benedict and family: Images'.

There he was: William St Benedict surrounded by his family. Most recent pictures were of Lord William and his daughter Rosanna. Occasionally, they were joined in pictures by a self-conscious-looking teenager. According to captions she was ‘Lady Marina St Benedict, age 18', who clearly didn't like to be photographed and was usually pictured looking at her feet. No son, though. Running his hand absently through his thick, white hair, Louis clicked on the ‘Refine your search' option at the top of the page and looked for images from further back in time.

Bingo! ‘The St Benedict family in happier times', said the caption, ‘before the disappearance of Lord William's beloved wife, Isabelle (née Isabelle Farrell) and the subsequent breakdown of his son, Theodore.'

Staring at the screen in disbelief, Louis realised two things. One was that Lord William's absent wife was Izzy Farrell. The same Izzy Farrell who used to visit her family in Applethwaite many years ago when Louis was a child, shaking off the trappings of her privileged lifestyle for a while in the sheer pleasure of being home. Izzy Farrell: Chris's sister, Abi's aunt, mother of…

The other realisation was that Louis knew the mystery man's identity. Of course he did! Izzy Farrell had a son pretty much Louis's age, with whom Louis had shared many happy days when they were children. Memories crowded
into Louis's head, including a solemn childhood ceremony he and Izzy's son had performed in the branches of a huge old tree to proclaim themselves blood brothers and friends for life. Louis shook his head in disbelief that he could have forgotten.

‘Dory,' he whispered, using his childhood nickname for the boy he'd always thought of as Theo Farrell, ‘it's you!'

Many miles south, Louis's words echoed clearly round Theo's head. Clenching his fist in triumph, he allowed himself a small ‘Yes!' of celebration, before glancing at the security camera in the corner of the room as if he expected it to be shaking from side to side in disapproval.

Closing the search engine down carefully, Louis composed himself a little before saying his farewells to Dexter and Jess, still the only people in the bar, and leaving the pub. He was just thinking that maybe the day wasn't going to be a complete disaster after all when a gleaming BMW shot by, soaking Louis with the muddy contents of a puddle. That wasn't actually what sank his mood right back down to the depths, though; rather it was the sight of Max Barrington, smirking as he drove past with Abi Farrell laughing in the seat beside him.

Back in the pub, Jess watched her daughter driven off by the cocky young man to whom she'd been introduced earlier, noticing with dismay that poor Louis got a soaking as the car sped past him.

‘Did you meet this Max character on Saturday, Dex?' she asked, looking over her shoulder.

‘Al did,' replied Dexter. ‘Max was writing some piece about the Sponsors' Fair, and he grilled Al for a time about the organisation of the event.'

‘What did Al make of him?' asked Jess neutrally, walking back to the bar.

‘Didn't like him at all. Found him rude and more than a little bigoted. Up himself, was the expression Al used.'

Jess laughed. ‘Yes,' she said, ‘I found him rather up himself too. I'm really not sure what Abi sees in him.'

Moving on from the subject of Max Barrington, who had actually made a very bad first impression on Jess, she asked Dexter if they should see what Louis had been looking at so intently and secretively on the computer.

‘I hate to pry on him,' she said, ‘but he clearly didn't want even us to see. Maybe it might be as well to clear that particular search from the recent history.'

‘I think you're right, Jess,' said Dexter, remembering the Hotel and Catering Sponsors' threat do perform random spot checks on The White Lion. ‘We'll share the guilt for prying.'

Crossing to the computer Louis had been using earlier, Jess called up the recent search history and was soon faced with the sites Louis had been perusing.

‘Louis, you're so sweet,' said Jess quietly, smiling at Louis's naivety in thinking the computer wouldn't retain evidence of his searches, and wishing he were taking her daughter out rather than the conceited Max.

‘Dex,' she called over to the bar, which was still devoid of any customers. ‘We may have a problem!'

Walking over to join Jess at the computer, Dexter looked at the picture of the St Benedict family, taken many years earlier.

‘Why's he looking at that?' he mused out loud. ‘Weren't Louis and the St Benedict boy thick as thieves when they were kids?'

‘They were,' replied Jess, ‘but no one's seen or heard of Theo SB for years. He had some sort of breakdown according to this. Poor kid!'

‘I wonder why the sudden interest in the St Benedicts, though. I've a nasty feeling this could be related to the fact
that Louis has come face to face with some harsh realities about Sponsorship just recently.'

Wishing more and more that he hadn't burdened Louis with his own Sponsorship woes, Dexter told Jess all about the conversation he'd had with the young man earlier.

‘I hope he doesn't do anything stupid,' said Jess, concern clouding her pretty face. ‘I know only too well what the Sponsors are capable of doing to anyone who crosses them!'

‘Someone needs to talk to him, fast. We can't go on keeping him in the dark.'

‘Gideon!' said Jess decisively. ‘We need to talk to Gideon.'

If Louis had thought Gideon had been in a bad mood on the Tuesday, it was nothing compared to the temper he found his mentor to be in by Wednesday morning. Unlike the previous day, though, Gideon was quite specific about the reasons for launching a furious tirade on Louis the moment he walked through the door.

‘Do you know what those things are on either side of your head? They're ears! Do you know what they're for? They're for listening. Do you have anything where your brains are supposed to be? I DON'T THINK SO! Stand over here, boy. There, in front of me, and take those fucking glasses off! It's like the middle of the night in here.'

Surprised, Louis did as he was told.

‘Why the sudden interest in St Benedict?' asked Gideon without preamble. ‘I thought I told you not to stick your nose in! I thought I warned you how dangerous it is to get involved!'

‘How did you know?'

‘Search engines on computers show their recent history, you imbecile; anyone could have found out,' snarled Gideon, before sinking his head into his hands. When he raised his head a few minutes later the anger had been replaced by a look of resignation.

‘OK, Louis,' he said, ‘I've been dreading this day, but I should have known it was inevitable. So, I take it you now know who's trying, in rather unorthodox fashion, to get in touch with you?'

‘Yes, Gideon,' said Louis. ‘Theo was my best friend when we were kids, but I haven't seen him for years. Until now.'

‘No one exactly knows what happened to Theodore, but you can safely assume that it's not something good.'

‘I think he's a prisoner,' said Louis, sitting cross-legged at Gideon's feet and debating in his mind how much to reveal to his mentor. Louis was actually in no doubt that Theo was a prisoner, Theo having given his friend a few more glimpses of his awful life, including one in which he was chained to the bed.

‘I don't suppose it's any use telling you not to go looking for Theodore, is it, Louis?' said Gideon eventually.

‘None whatsoever. Theo has appealed to me to help him; I'm not about to let him down.'

Once again, Gideon was silent for a long time, before saying, ‘Very well then. As your mind is made up, I will do what I can to help you. Firstly, you need to know what you're up against. You're dealing with a man in William St Benedict who, it would seem, will even imprison his own son in a bid to secure his aims.'

‘Do you think it's Lord William who's imprisoned Theo then?' asked Louis incredulously.

‘I have no doubt about it, Louis,' replied Gideon. ‘Make sure the door's locked and I'll tell you all about my experience of the St Benedict Sponsorship Scheme.'

Once he had returned from a short tour of the studio, making sure that all the doors and windows were securely closed and locked, Louis returned to his cross-legged position at Gideon's feet, and Gideon began.

‘When the Sponsorship Scheme first took off a few years before you were born it seemed to everyone to be a fine
idea. It appeared that it would be beneficial to everyone, from families struggling to make ends meet to businesses looking for guaranteed custom and quality workers. St Benedict and his cronies brought the two together, and very quickly had control of just about everything in this country. On the whole it was very popular to begin with, and by the time people began to realise just how much freedom they'd had to sacrifice to St Benedict it was too late.'

‘What sort of freedom did they sacrifice?' asked Louis, intent on every word Gideon spoke.

‘Where they could live, where they could work. You've seen what's happened to Jane and Bob Radcliffe; the decision to move wasn't theirs, it was their Sponsors'. Then there's leisure time. Want to join a gym? It must be Sponsor-endorsed so that the Sponsors can take a keen interest in your fitness regime. If you slack, if you don't stick to the programme, the Sponsors pay a visit and put you back on track.'