The Stones: Part Twenty-Eight

~ beetleypete ~ 2 Comments

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This is the final part of a fiction serial, in 900 words.

It was going to be a busy day for both of them, and they were up early. As well as Maria’s TV appearance and book-signing event, Andy had a radio interview at LBC in Leicester Square where members of the public could phone in, and they were hoping to meet-up later for an early dinner.

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The Controller had been forced to abandon his wife and two children in Greece and leave his holiday early. He told her it was a very important work thing, and he had to get to Athens and fly back to London. As she knew nothing about his real job, believing him to be in a boring high-level managerial role in the Civil Service, she was not at all happy. It was his second marriage, and the children were still young. He assured her that she would enjoy the last few days there without him, and gave her his credit card to use to treat herself.

Back at MI5, he walked into a shitstorm. Gale was incandescent with rage, and threatening to close down the whole team and the project with the stones. Everyone was paranoid, believing that there must be a whistleblower in the department. Nobody’s job was safe, and anyone caught being the informer could expect a long stay in prison at the very least.

Stopping to calm down for a while once Gale had left his office, he buzzed the intercom on his desk and told his PA to send in Angela Ackland. Ten minutes later, the PA appeared in the doorway, looking sheepish.

“She doesn’t appear to be in the building, sir. In fact nobody has seen her come in today, and her phone is switched off”.

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The presenters at BBC Breakfast were treating Maria like a hoaxer. They picked apart her claims that the story in her new book was based on truth, and she felt herself getting angry, but refused to show it. She knew she had to remain calm, and debate with them professionally.

Andy was getting much the same treatment on the radio talk-show. The host was fairly neutral, but the callers ringing in were all very negative, some downright abusive. He was accused of being a failed journalist who had managed to convince a respected author that his conspiracy theory was really happening, and she had completely bought into it because she loved him. A few even accused him of marrying her for her money.

Unlike Maria, he bit back. He stuck to his conclusions that the people committing suicide were all somehow connected to the stones, but had to accept that he didn’t actually have one of the stones to show them. He went back to the decoration on the hilt of the sword that the Nigerian president had used to cut his own throat. But nobody was having that, saying they believed it to be just traditional decoration.

The thirty minutes he was on air felt like hours, and he was pleased when it was over. He neded a drink, and knew a good pub nearby. Having missed breakfast, he ordered a steak pie and chips to accompany his second large whisky.

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The Controller was not only furious that Angela had not shown up for work, he also presumed that that must make her guilty of being the one who had leaked the information. She had been completely obsessed by the journalist Conway, and his novelist lover. For a moment, he doubted himself, remembering how he had overruled her when she wanted to keep the investigation going.

But then he put that from his mind and ordered agents out onto the streets to bring her in, starting with a search of where she lived.

Angela had already guessed what would happen, and had gone somewhere that nobody would expect her to be, and would never think to look for her there. She was enjoying looking at the animals in London Zoo in Regent’s Park, a place she had not been to since she was a child. And she was checking the time carefully, knowing there was a taxi rank outside and always cabs waiting for cutomers.

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Feeling better after eating, Andy nursed the second drink so as not to get too tipsy that early in the day. The pub was getting busy now, and he had been lucky to get in there early and have a small table to himself. Maria’s book signing was expected to last from eleven until two, but she had mentioned that she would extend it if there were a lot of people in the queue.

The girl employed by the publisher was taking the books from the customers and opening them for Maria to sign on the first blank page. Maria smiled until her face ached, asking each person what name they would like above her signature. It had been non-stop, and the publisher’s girl told her they only had sixty copies left.

The next person in the line was a woman. Smartly-dressed in a business suit. Nice hair, good make-up, and looked under forty. Maria asked her what name to write, and the woman smiled sweetly.

She extended her arm and gave Maria a luxurious fountain pen. All black, and shining in the lights of the shop. Maria hadn’t noticed that she was wearing gloves.

“Could you use this please, it is sentimental to me. Oh, and the name is Angela”.

The End.

Just ‘Mini Musings’ Today

~ beetleypete ~ 6 Comments

As I have already covered most of what happened last week, here’s a short summary.

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It was unbearably hot until Saturday, when it cooled down by 10C/50F in the space of 24 hours. Still no rain.

We went to the Turkish restaurant for our Wednesday ‘restaurant night’, and the food was as good as always.

Later today I am cooking a Spatchcock chicken with herbs and garlic, served with new potatoes and broccoli.

Meanwhile, I am hoping it stays cool.

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I wish you all that ‘Perfect Sunday’ experience.

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Songs I Like (261)

~ beetleypete ~ 17 Comments

Taking a break from songs that I don’t like here is one I do.

Although I was not really much of a fan of The Beatles, they did write some great songs.

And this is one of them. Credit where credit is due.

I was only 13 when I heard it on the album ‘Rubber Soul’, in 1965.

But despite my youth, I ‘got it’ completely.

There are places I’ll remember
All my life, though some have changed.
Some forever, not for better;
Some have gone and some remain.

All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall.
Some are dead and some are living,
In my life I’ve loved them all.

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you.
And these mem’ries lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new.

Tho’ I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I’ll often stop and think about them,
In my life I love you more.

Tho’ I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I’ll often stop and think about them,
In my life I love you more.

In my life I love you more.

©1965 Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.

The Stones: Part Twenty-Seven

~ beetleypete ~ 24 Comments

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This is the Twenty-seventh part of a fiction serial, in 780 words.

The book launch in London was to be held in a prestigious hotel in Park Lane. Expecting the revelations to generate exceptional interest, Maria had suggested to her agent that he arrange for some follow-up book signings in a few of the largest bookshops in the city, and make sure that there were sufficient copies of the hardback to be signed for the amount of buyers who would be sure to show up.

The day before they took the train, news of their wedding was publicised nationally, and also featured on some daytime TV chat shows that they intended to appear on while they were in the London area.

At the hotel book launch, there were the usual literary journalists, and also some regular reporters and TV presenters who liked to go to newsworthy launches that would have a wider appeal than just to readers. The backstory of how they rekindled their romance after so many years was bound to be of interest, along with the fact that the attractive and famous best-selling author was branching out into a whole new genre.

In the packed conference room, screens behind the stage showed changing images of the book cover, the blurb, and the wedding photos. As well as Maria and Andy at the table on the stage, the publisher and agent also sat there smiling, and lots of questions were asked about the book, but more about the relationship and the wedding. Then Maria stood up, and held up her hands to silence any further questions.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement to make. One that will seem incredible, and you will find hard to believe, just as I did. But everything in my new novel is in fact true, and based on events you yourselves have reported over the course of the year. I am going to hand over to my husband, who will explain”.

Using a laptop, Andy showed a prepared presentation of documents and newspaper cuttings concerning the stones. There were flow-charts showing how many of the victims were connected, a photo of the sword used in Nigeria showing the stones, and his own tidied up notes naming the mortuary workers and police employees involved.

He also suggested the stones had been involved in the recent death of the Russian oligarch and suspected spy, as circumstantial evidence fitted a pattern of disposing of foreign nationals in the interests of the country.

When it was over, they both took more questions, with half of those asking them suggesting it was an elaborate hoax to promote the book.

The two most surprised people in the room were the publisher and the agent, both of whom had not been let into the secret beforehand.

When the hubub had died down and the reporters had started to leave, Maria and Andy were left wondering if any of them would report any of it, or just think it was a terrible stunt to sell books. But unknown to them, at least ten people in the room had been convinced sufficiently, including representatives of five daily newspapers, three TV news companies, and two You Tube literary influencers.

They apologised to the publisher and agent, who had been kept in the dark. But both men were sure it was just a brilliant public relations ploy, and congratulated them on pulling it off. Maria decided to leave them in ignorance for now.

Watching the six o’clock news in their hotel room, they kept changing channels excitedly when it was the second story that evening, after an earthquake in China. Jonathan Gale had been doorstepped just outside the MI5 headquarters and asked embarrassing questions about the death of his predecessor, Stuart Dowling, as well as being asked to confirm that the Nigerian leader and Russian spy had been killed somehow by the use of what they were calling the ‘mysterious stones’.

Gale blamed everything on Dowling, stating that he had only just taken over, and could say no more until he began a thorough investigation into the whole organisation. Maria’s phone hadn’t stopped ringing, and she had eventually turned it off. The next morning at nine, she had an appearance on BBC Breakfast, followed by a book signing at the flagship branch of Waterstone’s bookshop in London. So they had room service send dinner up.

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Angela Ackland hadn’t had to wait for the news like everyone else. She had an agent at the hotel launch, and he had told her everything as it happened by sending text messages. It was just as she had feared, and what the Controller had ignored. She left the office early, and hailed a taxi outside.

She had something to collect.

Songs I Don’t Like (29)

~ beetleypete ~ 13 Comments

This is a song from my childhood that was a hit in America in 1954, and in Britain that same year. I was only 2 when it was released in the UK, but it hung around like a bad smell for many years after that so I heard it often when I was young.

Regularly played on the radio, or performed on TV by Max Bygraves, who for some reason that escapes me was incredibly popular here.

I always thought the title was ridiculous, and even though I was very young, hearing the song really irritated me.

The original version (which I had never heard of before) was by The Four Lads, and made the American Top 20 that year. The Max Bygraves cover spent an incredible eight weeks in the UK charts, reaching number seven.

The Stones: Part Twenty-Six

~ beetleypete ~ 24 Comments

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This is the twenty-sixth part of a fiction serial, in 782 words.

Almost three months had gone by, the second draft of the book had come back from the editor, and a cover had been chosen. They were going with the title ‘The Stones’, and Maria’s pen name, Barbara Brewster.

The decision had been made to get married at the end of the month in a nice hotel in Inverness, needing only the smallest meeting room for them and their guests, a total of six people. Her agent had arranged a photographer, and would be publicising the very informal wedding the following month.

During that time, a famous Russian oligarch had jumped from his luxury yacht into the sea off the coast of Cannes in southern France. The story had been mentioned in most countries, with European news outlets implying that drink or drugs might have been involved in what had been called a ‘tragic accident’.

It was too late for Maria to include that in the book, though both her and Andy believed it was something to do with the stones. She had kept a note of all the details to include them in a follow-up book about how they had exposed the use of the stones.

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In the meeting held to congratulate everyone for the success of getting rid of Sheverenko, Angela had smiled and clapped along with the others. Both Gale and the Controller were lapping up the praise, and they were due to have a brainstorming meeting to discuss the next target once the Controller returned from his annual holiday in Greece.

Gale had secured extra funding for the clandestine department, and at the end of the meeting Angela was informed that she was getting a promotion to the next grade up, and that carried a twenty percent pay increase.

She was effusive with her thanks.

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The wedding was a happy occasion. Even little Wilfred had a role to play, as he was ring-bearer with a small cushion fixed to his back by a strap. Maria’s publisher and agent were there along with their wives, and both men served as official witnesses to the marriage.

There was a dinner after, with no speeches, and Andy and Maria stayed in the honeymoon suite for one night, after arranging and paying extra for Wilfred to be allowed to sleep in their room. There was no honeymoon, as there was a great deal to do.

The first launch of the book was arranged as soon as the hardback, paperback, and electronic versions were scheduled for sale two weeks later. It was to be held in Edinburgh, in the Caledonian Hotel in Princes Street, with press invitations sent out, and local television covering the event.

Signed copies would be available in the large conference room, and Andy was going to go along to be casually introduced as her husband to generate interest in the romance. Wilfred was staying with Morag, the woman who ran a Post Office in Elgin and was a dog-owner who Maria often walked with.

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With her boss away on holiday, and her new promotion giving her more freedom at work, Angela made the most of not having a current official project to be seen to be working on. She had a project of her own, and it involved keeping tabs on Conway and Douglas, as well as a meeting with the leader of the team that had created the watch-back from the stones that had sealed the fate of Dowling.

She met the team leader away from his workshop, and much to his surprise she showed him some explicit photos that had been remotely downloaded from his personal laptop.

They were sick enough to get him twenty years in prison, but she explained a way that he could avoid arrest if he did something for her in secret. If he ever revealed that secret, the police would be given those photos.

Once he had got over the shock and calmed down, he naturally agreed to help her.

Then she handed over the watch in the evidence bag.

“You have two weeks, maximum. I need this done before the Controller gets back from Greece, and you are not to contact me again until you have it”.

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Following the book launch in Edinburgh, Andy and Maria went back to Elgin and talked over their plans for the following month. They intended to take the train south to London. That was where the main sales launch would be, along with a release of the publicity photos of their wedding, and a press conference where they intended to announce the real truth behind the story in the novel.

Maria was very happy.

“The closer it gets, the more excited I feel about it, Andy”.

Songs I Don’t Like (28)

~ beetleypete ~ 44 Comments

This rubbish was actually a hit on multiple occasions. It reached number one in the USA in 1958 with the original by written David Seville, and then was covered by Don Lang in Britain that same year. Later followed by versions by Alvin and The Chipmunks in 1961, 1983, 1984, 1990, and a remix in 2007.

The Alvin and The Chipmunks recordings were also created by David Seville, whose real name was Ross Bagdasarian. So Ross had a hit with the same song numerous times, including on the animated film soundtrack. As he had died in 1972, someone made a lot of money from his legacy.

In Europe, the Danish band Cartoons had a hit with their cover version in 1998. I hesitate to call this nonsense a ‘song’, but here are some versions for you. (I didn’t play any of them of course.)