Buffalo Pictures owns the "Doc Martin" TV series, and all credit goes to them and all the people who make the show what it is.
I don't own any rights to "Doc Martin," and I'm not making any money off it.
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Chapter 21
May 2016 (Two minutes before)
Martin stood there stricken as Louisa stomped out of the room. It was a scene all too familiar with him. An exchange of bitter words, a conclusion that there could be no compromise and once again his wife was out the door.
All eyes in the room turned to Martin. What would the temperamental doctor's reaction be? Would he once again take this as an inevitable turn of events?
But what if it was the janitor? What if there was no danger? What if he made the situation worse, and further damaged his already strained marriage?
But then again, what if Louisa was in danger?
The thought was utterly repulsive. He marched through the door without a word.
Down the hallway he could just see Louisa rounding the corner.
He tread as silently as he could, sneaking along the halls.
Ahead of him he could hear Louisa, nervously calling for the janitor.
He was just beginning to think all this sneaking about in broad daylight, in an empty school no less, was a bunch of childish rubbish, when he heard a third set of feet, this one with boots.
Martin's heart started racing. He stopped moving for a second, listening to the footsteps.
Suddenly a door creaked. Martin's eyes opened wide with fear, then concern.
Louisa. If there was in fact an intruder in the school she was alone, vulnerable to attack.
Conquering his fear, he confidently rounded the corner to the front hallway of the school.
In time to see Louisa receive a blow to the head.
"Hello Joe!"
"Hey there Tracy! Just on my daily anti-smuggling patrol."
The blond 20-something nodded her head knowingly.
"Keeping the Platt safe from organized crime, are you Constable?"
The police officer redirected the course of his casual beachfront stroll toward the young woman.
He shook his head. "Objective Number 1 of the Devon & Cornwall Police: Always be prepared."*
"Do you really think there's a lot of that sort of thing-smuggling, goin' on 'round here?" Tracey said with faux seriousness. Though some found Penhale's antics wearying, she found it endless fun to tease the man. His attempts to beef up his own image, his lack of common sense, even the ridiculous yarns he told were so pathetic she frequently had to try hard to not to burst out laughing. And yet, perhaps there was something strangely attractive about his imperfections.
Penhale glanced from side to side warily. "Have you ever heard of Jamaica Inn?"**
"On the Moor? Daphne du Maurier lived there awhile didn't she?"
"Yes...I mean before that..."
Tracey looked puzzled.
"You know...pirates...smugglers...albino vicars...?"***
"I'm petty sure that was ages ago, Joe."
"But my point is..."
Suddenly Penhale's phone rang.
"My point is..."
"Don't you think you ought to get that?'
Reluctantly, the policeman pulled his phone out and answered it.
"Penahle..." Martins voice rasped from the other end
"Doc, if you don't mind, I'm in the middle of an important anti-smuggling..."
"Yes, I do mind! This is very important!"
The policeman glanced at Tracey. Martin was ruining everything.
"Penhale you need to call for back up. There is an armed man at the school."
"Good one, Doc. Glad to see you're in a humorous mood."
"Penhale this is not a joke!"
"Sure Doc. I wasn't born yester-day."
"The lives of at least 5 people are at stake! Now call for help now...!"
There was a loud thud followed by a series of softer thuds.
"Doc?"
* I made this up.
**Jamaica Inn is a real pub and inn in Altarnun, Cornwall (on Bodmin Moor). Legend has it that pirates and smugglers once used the pub for their craft. Writer Daphne du Maurier, referenced occasionally by the Larges in Season 1, stayed at the inn, writing the murder mystery Jamaica Inn while there. The novel has since been made into a number of TV series and films including a new BBC series starring Jessica Brown Findlay (Lady Sybil in Downton Abbey).
***A wayward albino vicar is one of the characters in du Maurier's novel.
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