Chapter 17
GOLDENWYCH, PRESENT DAY
The theatre doubled as a church hall and community centre, but the presence of the Goldenwych Players was dominant.
The name hung over the door leading into the main auditorium in large red and gold letters, while the walls of the square entrance lobby were covered with photographs from former shows.
A few images were dedicated to the dance school, one to the flower arranging club and another to the judo team.
A noticeboard took up one wall, advertising upcoming events for the multitude of other clubs who used the space.
Caitlin led the way along the corridor to the kitchen area, which was made of several rooms at the back of the hall.
At the front was a large space with sinks, worktops and a vast hob with a serving hatch opening into the auditorium.
Two smaller rectangular rooms led off this; one acted as a food storage and preparation area, while in the other were several cookers, adjustable worktops and a demonstration area for the cookery classes.
Tonight it would be used for the refreshments.
‘Hi, Aunt Suki,’ said Caitlin as a short woman with dark hair shot through with moon-bright silver strands entered from the warren of small interlinking rooms that made up the remainder of the kitchen.
‘Caitlin, Lee, you’re here.’ She hugged one, then the other.
‘Hi, Mum,’ said Lee. ‘Where’s Dad?’
‘He’s backstage with Larry and Judy,’ she replied. ‘I think Annie, Barbara and Linus are with them, too.’
‘I smell a dance routine,’ groaned Lee.
‘Probably, but I have no idea what’s been planned. You know what your dads are like,’ said Suki, including Caitlin in the comment, ‘they behave as though the details of each new production are a state secret.’
‘Unless you’re a member of the inner circle,’ said Caitlin.
‘Exactly,’ replied Lee, ‘and we are but lowly underlings on the outside.’
The two women laughed but Caitlin felt awkward.
Not only did she and Lee know exactly what Larry would propose tonight – which she sensed would cause a huge amount of upset – she was still reeling from the news that Lee had bought their family home.
She wondered how Gillian and Rachel would react when they heard.
Caitlin took a deep breath and decided to push this information aside for the present, there was nothing she could do about it and worrying was a waste of energy.
The most important thing this evening was limiting the damage her father might unleash on the local community.
All she could hope was that George and the committee had persuaded her father away from his crazy idea.
She checked her banking app again, but there was still no deposit. Whatever her father was doing, he was determined to try to control them through money.
How dare he? she thought. He’s behaving as though we’re children who need to be taught a lesson, rather than adults.
‘Will you two be doing your usual double act of stage manager and assistant stage manager?’ asked Suki, interrupting her angry thoughts.
‘Unless Dad wants to try someone new,’ replied Caitlin, attempting to keep her voice level.
‘Why would he?’ said Suki. ‘He always says you two are the dream team. It’s been your job since Junior Players.’
Lee placed the cool boxes on the table before heading back towards the door to fetch the drinks.
‘Sindy and Vicki are bringing Rosie,’ said Caitlin. ‘Rosie is hoping to be involved in the play, which means Sindy might like to be stage manager to be here too.’
‘Are you bored with it?’ Suki asked as they began unloading the food.
Caitlin was about to reply when, to her relief, a woman’s voice interrupted their conversation.
‘Hello, ladies.’
‘Hi, Judy,’ called Caitlin as a petite, blonde woman in flowing pink dance dress appeared in the open serving hatch.
Judy Pelham ran the local dance school and choreographed the shows performed by the Goldenwych Players.
‘How were the Junior Tappers?’ asked Suki.
‘Not bad,’ Judy replied. ‘Do you think you should put the chairs out? People will be arriving soon.’
Caitlin bristled at Judy’s authoritative tone but Suki put her hand on her arm to stop her retorting.
‘Lee’s bringing a few more things in from the car for us, then he’ll start on the chairs,’ said Suki. ‘You’re very welcome to help, Judy.’
‘I would but I’m far too busy backstage,’ said Judy with a dismissive wave. ‘This evening is going to be more spectacular than ever. It’s important everyone is in their seats on time.’ She gave them a knowing wink, then bustled away.
Caitlin’s unease notched up another level.
What exactly was her father planning? She found it hard to believe he truly intended to force her, Rachel, Gillian, Alan, Pete and Stan to participate against their wills.
It was preposterous, and yet, there was no denying he had been true to his word about the money.
For the first time, Caitlin wondered whether the TIA had affected her father more than they had realised.
He had always been impulsive but his behaviour at present was alarming.
‘Do you have any idea what they’re planning?’ asked Suki.
‘None,’ Caitlin lied, crossing her fingers under the table to absolve herself.
Lee returned with the crate of drinks. He placed it on one of the tables and handed Caitlin back her car keys.
‘Let’s do what we usually do,’ he said in a low voice, ‘keep our heads down, dole out sandwiches and cakes, pour drinks and then run away to the pub.’
A shiver ran down Caitlin’s spine and a strange image of a man who bore a resemblance to her father but older, brandishing a sword, flashed across her mind like a dragonfly across water. As it did, a thought occurred to her. Lee was medically trained, he might know.
‘Can I ask you something? It’s a bit odd,’ she said.
‘Anything,’ he replied.
‘Could someone survive if a stake pierced their skull?’
Lee stared at her in astonishment. ‘What’s prompted this?’
‘Something I heard on a podcast,’ Caitlin improvised, not wishing to explain she had seen it in a vivid and terrifying dream or why this snapshot of an image in her mind had triggered the memory.
‘It sounds like Phineas Gage,’ said Lee.
‘Who?’ asked Caitlin.
‘It’s known as the “American Crowbar Case”,’ Lee explained. ‘Phineas Gage was a railway engineer who was involved in an accident on site in the nineteenth century. During a controlled explosion, an iron tamping bar went through Gage’s cheek and out of his head.’
Caitlin shuddered, the description was identical to what she had seen in her dream.
‘Did it kill him?’ she asked.
‘No, Gage recovered, but it affected his personality,’ said Lee. ‘He changed from being a responsible, hard-working, sensible man to one who was irrational, irascible and prone to violent rages.’
‘Violence,’ murmured Caitlin and she heard the slicing sound of metal through the air.
‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes, fine,’ she said, forcing a smile onto her face. ‘How do you know about Gage? Was it part of your neurology training?’
‘Partly, but, if you remember, my original plan was to be a psychiatrist,’ Lee said. ‘It was while I was studying the mind I first came across the Phineas Gage case.’
‘Minds,’ said Caitlin and her usual sense of humour reasserted itself. ‘You should have stuck with it, you’d have made a fortune in this village, unscrambling everyone’s minds.’
Before Lee could reply, Suki called from the kitchen requesting their help. Caitlin followed Lee into the kitchen, yet despite his calm and measured answers to her questions, she could not shift her concerns about the strange images she had dreamt about.
* * *
An hour later, the hall had been transformed.
The burgundy and gold velvet curtains were drawn across the stage and the rows of chairs were filling up with eager members of the Players and those hoping to join or offer other services like costume making or scenery painting.
The blackout blinds had been dropped over alternate windows to block out the majority of the bright summer evening, giving an other-worldly feel to the otherwise mundane space.
There was a buzz of anticipation as Caitlin and Lee took their favourite seats in the back row.
Suki made her way a few rows further forward to sit with her friends.
Lee’s phone pinged and, with an apologetic grimace, he flicked open the message.
‘Are you on call?’ asked Caitlin.
‘No, but I thought I should check in case there was an emergency.’
‘Is there?’
‘No, it’s the rotas for next week,’ he said, then, with an exaggerated sigh, finished, ‘I’ll have to stay.’
‘Never mind,’ she said, patting his arm patronisingly as Lee became engrossed in the information on his phone.
Caitlin waved to Sindy, who had arrived with her mother and daughter, then leaned forward to chat to her cousin, Kayleigh, who was in the row in front. Kayleigh was the daughter of Larry’s older sister Primrose. Kayleigh’s wife, Gail, was beside her with their ten-year-old daughter, Honey.
‘What do you think it’s going to be this year?’ asked Kayleigh.
‘It was Sleeping Beauty last year,’ said Gail, ‘so we think it’ll be a Shakespeare this time. You know how rigidly they stick to their schedule. Panto, Shakespeare, Wilde, West End musical, panto, Shakespeare, Wilde, West End musical…’
The two women laughed, then Kayleigh murmured, ‘Hey, look, since when have the Glamorous Olds attended Players meetings in recent years?’
Caitlin, Lee and Gail glanced towards the doors. This was the nickname Kayleigh had bestowed upon Caitlin’s and Lee’s elder siblings when they were teenagers.
‘Astonishing,’ whispered Gail. ‘I don’t remember the last time Gillian graced us with her presence. Perhaps Alan’s persuaded her; you know he’s always been desperate to join.’
‘He does have, “a most pleasing baritone”,’ said Caitlin, trying to behave as she usually would, and did an uncanny impression of her brother-in-law.
‘As he tells your dad regularly,’ said Lee.