Dick Francis - The Edge

Zak came up to me with Donna and offered me a lift back to the city in their bus, and at that exact moment I saw not Bill Baudelaire himself but someone who might go among the owners, where Tommy couldn't.

'When does the bus go?' I asked Zak rapidly, preparing to leave him.

'Twenty minutes… out front. It's got a banner on.'

'I'll come… thanks.'

I covered a good deal of ground rapidly but not running and caught up with the shapely backview of a dark-haired girl in a red coat with a wide gold and white studded belt.

' Nancy?' I said from behind her.

She turned, surprised, and looked at me enquiringly.

'Er…' I said, 'yesterday you collected some thirst quenchers from me for Bill Baudelaire's daughter.'

'Oh, yes.' She recognized me belatedly.

'Do you happen to know where I could find him now?’

'He's up on the Clubhouse, drinking with the winners.'

'Could you… could you possibly deliver something else to him?'

She wrinkled her freckled teenage nose. 'I just came down, for some fresh air.' She sighed. 'Oh, all right. I guess he'd want me to, if you asked. You seem to be OK with him. What do you want me to give him this time?'

I passed over the paper-towel bundle.

'Instructions?' she asked.

'There's a note inside.'

'Real cloak and dagger goings-on.'

'Thanks, truly, and… er… give it to him quietly.'

'What's in it?' she asked.

'A film, with photos of today's events.'

She didn't know whether or not to be disappointed.

'Don't lose it,' I said.

She seemed to be more pleased with that, and flashing me a grin from over her shoulder went off towards the Clubhouse entrance. I hoped she wouldn't make a big production out of the delivery upstairs, but just in case she did I thought I wouldn't go anywhere where she could see me and point me out to any of the owners, so I left through the front exit gates and found the actors' bus with its Mystery Race Train banner and faded inside into the reassembling troupe.

In general, the cast had backed Premiere (what else?) but were contented to have been interviewed on television at some length. A lot of Winnipeg 's race crowd, Zak said, had asked how they could get on the train. 'I must say,' he said, yawning, 'with all the publicity it's had, it's really caught on.'

In the publicity and the success, I thought, lay the danger. The more the eyes of Canada and Australia and England were directed to the train, the more Filmer might want to discredit it. Might… might. I was guarding a moving shadow; trying to prevent something that might not happen, searching for the intention so as to stop it occurring.

The bus letting me off a convenient corner in the city, I walked to the Sheraton and from a telephone there spoke to Mrs Baudelaire.

'Bill called me ten minutes ago from the track,' she said. 'He said you sent him a film and you didn't say where you wanted the pictures sent.'

'Is he calling you back?' I asked.

'Yes, I told him I'd be speaking to you soon.'

'Right, well, there's only one picture on the film. The rest is blank. Please tell Bill the man in the photo is the ally of our quarry. His ally on the train. Would you ask if Bill knows him? Ask if anyone knows him. And if there's something about him that would be useful if I knew, please will he tell you, to tell me.'

'Heavens,' she said. 'Let me get that straight.' She paused, writing. 'Basically, who is he, what does he do, and is what he does likely to be of help.'

'Yes,' I said.

'And do you want a copy of the photo?'

'Yes, please. Ask if there's any chance of his getting it to Nell Richmond at Chateau Lake Louise by tomorrow night or the next morning.'

'Difficult,' she commented. 'The mail is impossible.'

'Well, someone might be flying to Calgary tomorrow morning,' I suggested. 'They might even meet our train there. We get there at twelve-forty, leave at one-thirty. I suppose the time's too tight, but if it's possible, get Bill to address the envelope to the Conductor of the train, George Burley. I'll tell George it might come.'

'Dear young man,' she said, 'let me write it all down.'

I waited while she did it.

'Let me check,' she said. 'Either George Burley on the train or Nell Richmond at Chateau Lake Louise.'

'Right. I'll call you soon.'

'Don't go,' she said. 'I have a message for you from Val Catto.'

'Oh good.'

'He said… now these are his exact words… "Stolen evidence cannot be used in court but facts learned can be verified. "' The understanding amusement was light in her voice. 'What he means is, have a looksee but hands off.'

'Yes.'

'And he said to tell you to remember his motto.'

'OK, 'I said.

'What is his motto?' she asked curiously, obviously longing to know.

'Thought before action, if you have time.'

'Nice,' she said, pleased. 'He said to tell you he was working hard on the unknown numbers, and you are not to put yourself in danger of arrest.'

'All right.'

'Phone me from Calgary tomorrow,' she said. 'By then it will be evening in England. Val will have had a whole day on the numbers.'

'You're marvellous.'

'And I'll be able to tell you when you'll get your photos.'

There was a click and she'd gone, and I could hardly believe that I'd ever doubted her as a relay post.

The train had come in from the sidings and stood in the station, warm and pulsing, its engines reattached, the horses and grooms on board and fresh foods and ice loaded.

It was like going back to an old friend, familiar and almost cosy. I changed into Tommy's uniform in my roomette and went along to the dining car where Emil, Oliver and Cathy welcomed me casually as if I were an accepted part of the crew. We began immediately laying the pink cloths and putting fresh flowers in the vases, and Angus in his tall white hat, whistling Speed Bonny Boat amid clouds of steam, addressed his talents to wild rice and scallops in Parmesan sauce while Simone rather grimly chopped lettuce.

The passengers returned well before eight o'clock in very good spirits, Mercer bringing with him a porter wheeling a case of highly superior bubbles for toasting the Unwins' success. The Unwins themselves-and it was impossible for anyone to grudge them their moment-said over and over that it was great, just great that one of the horses actually on the train had won one of the races, it made the whole thing worthwhile, and the whole party, drifting into dining car in true party mood, agreed and applauded.

Filmer, I was interested to see as I distributed glasses, was smiling pleasantly in all directions, when the last thing he probably wanted was the enormous smash-hit the train enterprise was proving.

Daffodil had changed into a sparkling crimson dress and showed no pique over Pampering finishing fifth. She was being friendly as usual to Bambi, frostier in pale turquoise with pearls.

Mercer came to Emil and worried that the wine wasn't cold enough, but Emil assured him he had lodged all twelve bottles among the many plastic bags of ice cubes: by the time the train left the station, all would be well.

The Youngs, whose Slipperclub had finished third, were embraced by the hyperjoyous Unwins and were invited to their table, leaving the poor Flokatis to seek solace with others whose hopes had died on the last bend. Sheridan Lorrimore was telling a long-suffering good-natured couple all about his prowess at ice hockey and Xanthe, pouting and put out at having been temporarily deserted by Mrs Young, had ended up next to Giles-the-murderer whose real-life preference, I'd gathered, was for boys.

The train slid out of Winnipeg on time at eight-twenty and I put all my energies and attention into being an unexceptional and adequate waiter, even though always conscious of the ominous presence in the aisle seat, facing forwards, three tables back from the kitchen end. I never met his eyes and I don't think he noticed me much, but we were all, Emil, Oliver, Cathy and I, becoming slowly and inevitably more recognizable to the passengers. Several of them enquired if we'd been to the races (we all had) and had backed the winner (no, we hadn't). Fortunately Mercer himself had had this conversation with Emil, which meant he felt no need to ask me also, so I escaped having to speak too much in my English accent at his table.