a day and a lot of white powder up my
tubes I came here. We were doing a location shoot for a new
lawnmower; up on the dunes. You know, it looks like twenty miles of
overgrown lawn." Anyway, I came. Did the shoot, feeling like a
slice of death warmed up, coke up my nose, pains in my arms and
chest; God, was I in a mess ... Then I walked along the beach to
Manshead. I just stood there and looked ... The sea, the fresh air,
the dunes, miles of beach, seagulls shooting this way and that ...
And-bang!" He poured himself another drink. "It hit me."
He
paused. Then smiled. "God knows what. But something did. It's
okay, folks, I'm not going to get religious on you. But I walked out
on that causeway. And I chucked my fags and coke into the drink.
Gone." He shrugged. "I went back to London. And all I did
was think about this place. It was like seeing an enchanting woman. I
fell in love. That's when I sold my share in the company and came to
live up here." He sipped his drink. "What do you make of
that, then? A dozy old bugger? Mid-life crisis?"
"No,"
said Ruth, "it sounds as though Out-Butterwick saved your life."
"I
think it did, Ruth ... Ah, enough of me. Tell me your plans. Another
beer, Chris?"
"Thanks.
Tony ... You said Fox just pulled out of the seafort conversion. To
be honest, the idea of someone pulling out after sinking all that
money into a project is insane."
"Look,
I'll tell you the truth," said Tony, leaning forward in his
chair. "If you don't get it from me, you'll get some cock and
bull story from one of the villagers. Want a drink, Ruth?"
"Not
for me, thanks. I'm driving."
"Right
... Old Fox worked on the seafort for about six months. His only
employees were his two sons. Twin lads in their late teens."
The
penny dropped; Ruth got there first. "The Fox who cuts hedges
was one of the twins, right?"
"Right."
"The
other Fox twin. Was he? ... "
"A
full shilling? He was perfectly normal. As was Brinley Fox in those
days. Two bright twin lads all set to follow in old dad's footsteps
as master builders."
"So
what happened?"
"So,
work went at a cracking rate. No problems. Brinley Fox liked it here.
Sometimes he'd camp out on the dunes and go night fishing from
Manshead itself-you know, there's a rock ledge that runs around the
bottom of the fort. He did that for a couple of weeks. Then packed it
in all of a sudden. In fact he got in a fight in the pub with a
couple of lads. He accused them of playing tricks on him. Trying to
frighten him at the dead of night."
"And
were they?"
"They
said they weren't. But lads are lads. Who knows?" He glanced at
his watch and then shot a look across at the setting sun. "Then
one day all three Foxes were working on the seafort. The tide was
coming in, just starting to lap over the causeway, when Jim Fox,
Brinley's brother, remembers they've left their sandwiches in the van
on the beach. It's a warm day, so he tells his brother he's going to
take off his shoes and socks and nip back to the van. He won't be
gone two minutes. Anyway, old Fox is doing some work on the doors,
young Brinley's sitting by the gate grabbing a nicotine break. By all
accounts Jim Fox set off across the causeway in bare feet, ankle-deep
in water, and phutt ..." He shrugged.
"What
happened?"
"What
happened is, Jim Fox set off on one side to walk the fifty yards
across the causeway to the beach; but he never arrived."
There
was a silence. Midges danced above their heads.
Chris
rubbed his cheek. "But Brinley Fox saw what happened?"
"Therein
lies the mystery. His sanity disappeared with his brother."
"It's
certainly a good mystery." Chris took a swallow of beer. "Good
enough for the tabloids. So what happened? Abducted by flying saucers
or mermaids?"
"Neither.
Old Fox says he saw nothing. He saw his son set off, walking
ankle-deep through the surf. He went back to his work. Five seconds
later he heard Brinley scream. He turned around to see that Jim had
vanished. Brinley yelled,
tubes I came here. We were doing a location shoot for a new
lawnmower; up on the dunes. You know, it looks like twenty miles of
overgrown lawn." Anyway, I came. Did the shoot, feeling like a
slice of death warmed up, coke up my nose, pains in my arms and
chest; God, was I in a mess ... Then I walked along the beach to
Manshead. I just stood there and looked ... The sea, the fresh air,
the dunes, miles of beach, seagulls shooting this way and that ...
And-bang!" He poured himself another drink. "It hit me."
He
paused. Then smiled. "God knows what. But something did. It's
okay, folks, I'm not going to get religious on you. But I walked out
on that causeway. And I chucked my fags and coke into the drink.
Gone." He shrugged. "I went back to London. And all I did
was think about this place. It was like seeing an enchanting woman. I
fell in love. That's when I sold my share in the company and came to
live up here." He sipped his drink. "What do you make of
that, then? A dozy old bugger? Mid-life crisis?"
"No,"
said Ruth, "it sounds as though Out-Butterwick saved your life."
"I
think it did, Ruth ... Ah, enough of me. Tell me your plans. Another
beer, Chris?"
"Thanks.
Tony ... You said Fox just pulled out of the seafort conversion. To
be honest, the idea of someone pulling out after sinking all that
money into a project is insane."
"Look,
I'll tell you the truth," said Tony, leaning forward in his
chair. "If you don't get it from me, you'll get some cock and
bull story from one of the villagers. Want a drink, Ruth?"
"Not
for me, thanks. I'm driving."
"Right
... Old Fox worked on the seafort for about six months. His only
employees were his two sons. Twin lads in their late teens."
The
penny dropped; Ruth got there first. "The Fox who cuts hedges
was one of the twins, right?"
"Right."
"The
other Fox twin. Was he? ... "
"A
full shilling? He was perfectly normal. As was Brinley Fox in those
days. Two bright twin lads all set to follow in old dad's footsteps
as master builders."
"So
what happened?"
"So,
work went at a cracking rate. No problems. Brinley Fox liked it here.
Sometimes he'd camp out on the dunes and go night fishing from
Manshead itself-you know, there's a rock ledge that runs around the
bottom of the fort. He did that for a couple of weeks. Then packed it
in all of a sudden. In fact he got in a fight in the pub with a
couple of lads. He accused them of playing tricks on him. Trying to
frighten him at the dead of night."
"And
were they?"
"They
said they weren't. But lads are lads. Who knows?" He glanced at
his watch and then shot a look across at the setting sun. "Then
one day all three Foxes were working on the seafort. The tide was
coming in, just starting to lap over the causeway, when Jim Fox,
Brinley's brother, remembers they've left their sandwiches in the van
on the beach. It's a warm day, so he tells his brother he's going to
take off his shoes and socks and nip back to the van. He won't be
gone two minutes. Anyway, old Fox is doing some work on the doors,
young Brinley's sitting by the gate grabbing a nicotine break. By all
accounts Jim Fox set off across the causeway in bare feet, ankle-deep
in water, and phutt ..." He shrugged.
"What
happened?"
"What
happened is, Jim Fox set off on one side to walk the fifty yards
across the causeway to the beach; but he never arrived."
There
was a silence. Midges danced above their heads.
Chris
rubbed his cheek. "But Brinley Fox saw what happened?"
"Therein
lies the mystery. His sanity disappeared with his brother."
"It's
certainly a good mystery." Chris took a swallow of beer. "Good
enough for the tabloids. So what happened? Abducted by flying saucers
or mermaids?"
"Neither.
Old Fox says he saw nothing. He saw his son set off, walking
ankle-deep through the surf. He went back to his work. Five seconds
later he heard Brinley scream. He turned around to see that Jim had
vanished. Brinley yelled,
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