Chapter 32: The Morning After
Saturday Morning
Despite the late hour he had been up, Martin was by habit an early riser so he slept in only till 8 a.m. He had stayed at the Village Hall until about 2 a.m., waiting for the Lifeboat to return with the passengers and crew of the foundered yacht and then evaluating their condition. The rescue had proved difficult as the rising storm caused heavy wind and waves that buffeted the small yacht and the Lifeboat. Nonetheless, everyone had made it to shore with only minor injuries.
Newly showered, shaved, and dressed, Martin felt rejuvenated, although he was still troubled by the events of the previous night. His encounter with Mylow's sister had been unsettling enough but then he and Louisa had been forced to part too quickly and she had gone off with that tosser Jago Powell.
As he prepared his morning cup of espresso, there came a knock at the front door. He opened it to find a young man in mackintosh and Wellington boots, with the rain pouring behind him.
"Hello Dr. Ellingham. Remember me? Colin Kernow?"
"Hm. You sustained a metatarsal fracture playing football last April."
"Yeah, that's me. Doing much better now, thank you."
"Well, what d'you want?"
"I'm a reporter with The Cornish Echo," he said, taking out a notebook and pen. "I understand there were big doings last night here in Portwenn. A yacht ran aground and you took care of the injured parties?"
"Yes, merely fulfilling my duty of care. There were no serious injuries, just some bruises and mild hypothermia among the yacht passengers."
The young man rapidly scribbled some notes. "And the Lifeboat crew?"
"No injuries." Having given what he felt was all the relevant information, Martin went to close the door.
"Just a minute, Dr. Ellingham. I hear there was also an incident at the big dance last night."
"You mean the, er… masked ball."
"One of the attendees, a local woman, name of Sandra Mylow, put some sort of psychoactive drug into the punch. Is that correct? Was it LSD?"
"No. Rather, it did happen but it wasn't any recognized banned substance, just some herbal concoction of her own making. However, it was highly irresponsible behaviour on her part. And she's not actually local, she had an office here for a while but she lives in Truro."
Colin continued taking notes, without looking up. "Is it true she's the sister of the previous constable here?"
"Yes, that is true."
"And what effect did this concoction have on the people that drank it? Anybody actually poisoned? I understand it caused some wild behaviour on the part of the attendees."
"No reported poisoning, no permanent effects as far as I was able to ascertain. I've recommended that anyone who feels any after-effects should come see me. Anything else, you'll just have to read the police report."
Martin firmly closed the door and went back to his espresso.
Breakfast done, he donned a trench coat and took an umbrella to walk down the hill to do some errands. The marquis tent was still standing by the Village Hall, looking a bit lopsided after the high winds of the early morning hours after the ball had ended. The wind had calmed but rain was still pouring down with no sign of stopping. Even so, he could see onlookers huddled in their macs and wellies with binoculars trained on something going on beyond the harbour wall. Martin went to the grocer's only to discover it was closed.
There was a camera crew set up in front of the tent. Martin was annoyed to think that even on a rainy day people with cameras continued to disrupt things in the village, but he didn't recognize anyone in this crew. A smiling blonde woman under an orange umbrella was talking to the camera, interviewing a man in a yellow police raincoat and hood. As Martin approached he could see it was Penhale, who was eagerly recounting the events of the previous night.
"After I ascertained that people were acting strangely I called on our local GP to assist with the investigation. Working together we were able to uncover a sinister plot by my predecessor's sister, who apparently had designs on our GP," Penhale said. "Designs of an amorous nature," he added, insinuatingly.
Intent on reaching his next objective, the chemist's, Martin strode in front of the camera. The man operating the camera glared at him and stage whispered "we're live."
"Speaking of our local GP, that's him right there. Our Doc Martin," Penhale said.
"Doc Martin," the woman said, gigging at the name. "Can you give us your account of what happened at the ball last night?"
"No." He continued on his way to the chemist's, only to find it too was closed. Frustrated and grumbling about people being hung over after last night's indulgences, he turned back, taking a roundabout route to avoid the TV crew.
Once home again, he sat in the lounge ready to catch up with the latest issue of The Lancet. It occurred to him that it might be instructive to switch on the television, which hadn't been used since his parents' visit, when his father insisted on watching golf.
The local news was on, with the same smiling blonde woman standing with her orange umbrella on the Platt. Penhale was now gone. She was standing in a location where Martin could see a Coast Guard ship in the background beyond the harbour wall, with the same onlookers watching it with binoculars.
"We've heard how the party of the year for this sleepy seaside village, hosted by two-time BAFTA award winner and local favourite son Jago Powell, proved even more eventful than expected last night," she said, looking right into the camera
"Portwenn is already buzzing with excitement that Powell came home to film his latest project here. The international superstar is directing and starring in a new version of Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca, co-starring with the lovely and talented Wynnie Barlow. He took a break from the shooting schedule to host a masked ball to thank his hometown and raise money for the local Lifeboat Station. The party took a strange turn when a local woman allegedly spiked the punch with an herbal potion reportedly intended to cause feelings of euphoria and amorousness among the revellers. If that weren't strange enough, the festivities were disrupted by a yacht running aground outside the harbour, causing the Lifeboat crew to make a daring rescue amid dangerous weather conditions. We can see in the background the Coast Guard divers are investigating the wreck as we speak, to see if it can be salvaged."
As she talked, she walked slowly with the camera following her along the deserted rain-soaked street until she was in front of the Lifeboat Station. Steve Baker was standing just inside the open door, out of the downpour, waiting to be interviewed.
"Let's hear from the hero of the night how the daring Moon Ray yacht rescue happened," she said.
The camera focused on Baker, who was clearly eager to tell his story.
"Well Lisa, it was a dark and stormy night. I had decided to skip the festivities at the ball to volunteer for the night shift with the Lifeboat, with just a skeleton crew; that way my fellow members of the crew could relax and enjoy themselves at the charity event for a good cause, Portwenn's very own Lifeboat Station. When the radio call came in it was totally unexpected but I was ready to go. The suits that run the organization said 'no Steve, it's too dangerous. You can't go out!' But I told them, 'no storm is gonna keep Steve Baker from answering the call of duty!'"
The woman nodded, still smiling. "You've been a volunteer with the Lifeboat for five years now, is that right? Was this the biggest rescue you've been involved in during all that time?"
"Yes, five years, and this was the big one. The one you train for all that time and that you hope will never happen. But it did happen, and I was ready. We jumped into the boat and headed out into the choppy waves…"
Baker was interrupted by an apparent commotion happening off camera.
"Sorry to interrupt you Steve, but I'm getting word that the Coast Guard divers have discovered something unexpected." She put her hand up to a small speaker in her ear and paused a moment.
"Apparently, the divers have discovered a second wreck on the sea bottom almost directly beneath the Moon Ray," she said. "This story just keeps getting more and more intriguing!"
To be continued…