A Coach Trip

Too much mystery in one trip.

 

A COACH TRIP

 

It was late September when Gemma decided to take the Mystery Coach Tour she had seen advertised in a travel agent’s window. It captured her imagination in some way she was never able to explain, even when it was long over. The idea of the coach trip was to take people, especially the over fifties, to places they had never visited or had seen once in their lives and had forgotten about. Gemma didn’t fit either of these categories as she had been living all over the world for most of her adult life and was only in England under duress to solve family matters. As it would be more practical for her to stay there during the time the paper work would take, she had nothing to do, so she had had the thought that a short holiday might help break up the waiting period.

 

The boarding point was outside a small church in an ancient Midlands village. From the dilapidated appearance of its exterior the church wasn’t used with any frequency. The coach was already in position when the group began to arrive in dribs and drabs. The driver stowed the luggage away in the boot while the courier checked off the names. The passengers could sit where they liked and Gemma, with her fear of being trapped, sat down in an aisle seat as near to the front as she could. After placing her coat on the above head rack, she sat and waited with the rest of the group already present for the late comers to climb aboard. The majority of her co-travellers were elderly ladies, and then another elderly lady staggered onto the coach. She went up to Gemma and said, “May I sit here, please?”

Gemma stood up, and said, “Yes, of course, but if you don’t mind I’d prefer you to sit by the window.”

“Thank you, generally the majority of passengers on collective transport want to sit by the window. Please excuse me while I remove my coat.” The lady carefully folded up her long wool coat and then the courier came along and placed it for her on the rack where it joined the others.

 

The coach moved off, and Gemma put her head against the head rest and closed her eyes. She was beginning to nod off when her neighbour began talking to her. “My name’s Annette, and I’m going on this trip to see whether I can recall memories from my childhood and youth.”

Gemma, who wasn’t given much to talking to strangers, thought she should show willing, but didn’t know why, and said, “I’m Gemma, and I don’t understand how you know where we are going.”

“It’s not difficult to find out the destinations of the Mystery Coach Tours, they have a programme of routes that don’t seem to change. Depending on the time of year is where they go, due to the weather. That’s something I discovered for myself.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d rather let it be a surprise as I know nothing of this part of the country.”

Gemma was to be disappointed. Annette began talking and talking. Gemma switched off and let her carry on. Annette wasn’t even looking at Gemma, she was in reality talking to herself, so Gemma didn’t feel any compunction in dozing off. Although Gemma paid the minimum attention to what Annette was saying, something seeped into her sleepy head.

The drive to the hotel where they were going to have dinner and spend the night, had taken them through rather uninteresting countryside.

At six thirty, they arrived at the hotel and were asked to get their coats and luggage and enter the hotel. Everyone looked exhausted, and not at all as if they were going on what should have been some sort of adventure. The receptionist gave them each a key and told them where their rooms were located.

Gemma took note that the hotel was rather old, and hoped it was dry and warm. Annette went up in the lift with some other ladies, while Gemma made a show of looking at postcards and brochures of the area. When she was the last one left in the reception hall, Gemma took the lift up to her room. She opened the door and saw to her surprise that, from the window she could just make out the sea. She went to the window and stared at the view and then sat down to peruse the programme to see what the evening held in store for her and the others. Dinner was to be served in the main dining room downstairs at seven-thirty.

 

Gemma was still feeling rather drowsy when she saw that she had only fifteen minutes to straighten herself up and get downstairs. She heard doors opening and shutting, and felt a lot better on knowing that she wouldn’t be the last to arrive. In the corridor outside the lift, Gemma saw an elderly couple, two ladies of indefinable age, and two old men. Annette wasn’t to be seen. Gemma thought that perhaps her room was on another floor. The seven got into the lift and in semi-silence the only sound to be heard was that of the two ladies whispering. They all got out and went into the dining-room. The courier was standing with her clipboard in her hands and was once again ticking off names. Belinda Young, the courier, stood staring around the dining-room where her flock was imbibing before dinner, drinks and canapés.

“Has anyone here seen Mrs Annette Archibald?”

Silence. They all exchanged glances.

Belinda spoke to the manager and said something to him out of the hearing of the rest of the guests. The manager and the courier entered the lift and went up to the floor above where Gemma’s room was. The manager knocked on the door, calling out, “Mrs Archibald are you all right? Dinner is about to be served.”

“We’d better open the door, with these old people you never know what may befall them,” Belinda said.

The manager opened the door and entered, followed closely by Belinda. Mrs Archibald was lying supine on her bed. On the bedside table was an envelope addressed to ‘Gemma’, no surname.

“Who is Gemma?” the manager asked.

“She’s one of those downstairs in the dining-room. She and Mrs Archibald sat together on the coach. We’d better call the police, or an ambulance at least, hadn’t we? After all we don’t know why she’s dead. Oh, why does this always happen to me?” Belinda moaned as the manager rang for an ambulance to inform them of an unexpected death.

“The police will need this letter, I think,” the manager said, as they left the room and locked it behind them.

Gemma went up to Belinda and asked her, “Where’s Mrs Archibald?”

Belinda said diplomatically, “Mrs Archibald is not well and won’t be down for dinner.”

 

In order not to upset the elderly guests he had under his roof, the manager closed the dining-room doors and waited for the ambulance. Among the tourists there wasn’t much chat over dinner, and Gemma wondered what had happened. It was a rather silent meal, only broken now and then by the sound of dishes being served and whispered conversations, as if they all knew something odd had happened but were unsure how to deal with it.

When coffee was being served, an ambulance made its appearance. The dining-room doors were opened and two ambulance men entered with a stretcher. One of them spoke to Belinda, and she told him that nobody knew who Mrs Archibald was or where she had come from.

Gemma was asked to see the ambulance man in the manager’s office, and was shown the envelope with her name on it.

“Can you think of any reason why Mrs Archibald should write you a letter?” the ambulance man asked her.

Gemma was at a loss as to what would be the best answer, so she said, “No, I don’t.”

“Would you open the envelope, please, and read the contents,” he asked.

Gemma did as she was asked, and read the following:

 

Dear Gemma,

I’m so glad to have met you and hope you remember our little chat which I so enjoyed, and that you will carry out what I told you.

Annette Archibald.

 

Gemma gave him the letter, and said, “I haven’t the foggiest notion what that letter means. Mrs Archibald sat next to me on the coach while we were on our way here. I don’t live in this country, and I’d never seen her in my life. She began talking to me, but honestly I wasn’t interested in the ramblings of an elderly lady when I’m one myself, so I paid practically no attention to what she was saying. Also I was very tired, having been travelling for quite a few days and long distances. I’m only here on family matters and then I’ll be off again.”

The ambulance man sat staring at the letter for a few minutes, and then said, “Are you quite sure you don’t remember anything of what she told you?”

“Yes. Nothing at all,” Gemma affirmed.

“You may leave, but I’d appreciate it, that if you do remember any of the conversation, would you please let the police know?” he asked Gemma.

“Yes, I’ll do that.” Gemma made her exit and went up to her room.

 

Belinda went into the dining-room and told the rest of the tourists that the tour would continue as scheduled.

 

Gemma put on her pyjamas and dressing-gown and sat in bed with the brochure of the tour in her hands. There were photos of stately homes, churches, local museums, and unusual geological structures. There was a jug of water with a glass on the bedside table, and Gemma drank some of it to help a sleeping tablet go down. Then she turned out the light, and fell asleep.

 

After breakfast the tourists were informed that everything would continue as planned. Gemma went to the reception and bought a map of the town where they found themselves. Everyone was well wrapped up, although it was nowhere near winter. The morning was spent wandering round what was not a very inspiring town, therefore everyone was allowed to go off on their own. Gemma was still making an effort to remember what Annette had said. It was a waste of energy and time as she remembered nothing of what Annette had said.

They were not the only ones wandering aimlessly around, the local places of interest were full of copycat groups of pensioners. Gemma felt awful, and just wanted out of the tour. She sat down on an ancient stone wall. They had been given a packed lunch before leaving the hotel. Gemma felt sick at the sight of it, and threw hers into a refuse bin. She felt insulted by the meagre offering, being used to eating properly. Gemma went into a sweet shop and bought some bars of chocolate to keep up her energy.

Belinda was standing near the church, and seeing Gemma said, “I was thinking I might have to come and search for you. We are now going to another town of interest where, this evening, we’ll be having dinner before heading back to the hotel.”

Gemma climbed aboard the coach and sat down in her aisle seat, this time without a talkative companion. The six people she had shared the lift with on the previous evening, went up and introduced themselves to Gemma. The couple turned out to be Mr Avery Roper with his wife Mrs Louise Roper, the two ladies were sisters Constance and Hope Simmons, and the two old men were Calvin and Forrest, who were both widowers and had known each other all their lives. That fact alone made Gemma feel a lot better, and less of being in strange company, now that she knew their names. She took some of the bars of chocolate out of her handbag and offered them round to her new friends. They were delighted with her generosity and gratefully accepted.

 

The journey to the next town was not too far, and was nearer the coast.

“Let’s hope the dinner makes up for the bad weather and poor Mrs Archibald’s death,” Mr Roper commented.

“We still don’t know what she died from,” Calvin said.

“She can’t have been very well before setting out from her home,” Forrest added.

“Do you think we’ll be able to go to the funeral?” Constance asked.

“Don’t be so ghoulish!” her sister, Hope, said.

All these comments were a pleasurable sound to Gemma’s ears. She felt as if she was more a part of the holiday in spite of her reserved nature.

 

The coach stopped outside a statue in a town square, made of dark grey stone. “This is where we are going to dine this evening at seven. As there’s an hour and a half left before dinner, I suggest you go for a walk around the centre,” Belinda informed them.

“I don’t understand why we’ve come here instead of returning to the hotel,” Louise Roper said to the others.

The other members of the trip said nothing.

Gemma was not convinced by the restaurant - or Belinda. She wasn’t sure of the driver, who was like an automaton, saying nothing.

“I’m going for a walk, and I can tell you now that the chosen restaurant is the typical one that appears rustic, but is in fact a fraud. As we’re a group, our food won’t be anywhere near as good as those who dine individually. We’ll be given who knows what kind of reheated stuff and feel cheated. I, for one, am not going to take a risk with my stomach. See you later, Folks,” and so saying, Gemma started walking away from the restaurant.

 

Gemma, being of an independent mind, was walking along what was the main road of the small town when she saw that she was being followed by Constance and Hope, in the reflection of a shop window. She turned her head and said, “Well, well, are you with me or are you just going in the same direction by chance?” Gemma asked the sisters.

“We’re hoping you’ll find a decent restaurant where we can have dinner. You seem to know your way around,” Constance answered.

“I’m going to ask in a local shop, and they’ll tell us where we can get a good dinner,” Gemma said.

“That’s fine by us,” Hope said. “We didn’t like the look of that other place either.”

There were several shops open, and the three ladies spotted a video and DVD shop doing business. They all entered, and the young man behind the counter asked, “Good evening, Ladies. What can I do for you?”

“Good evening. Do you know where we can get a good dinner?” Gemma asked him.

“Yes, there’s a pub called The Long Legged Man. It’s on the other side of the street, on the corner. It’s very popular for price and quality,” the young man told them.

“Thank you very much,” Gemma said.

 

The trio left the shop and followed the directions that had been given them, and in a couple of minutes they were outside The Long Legged Man. They opened the door and found that the pub had a warm and welcoming atmosphere, also it was rather busy.

A middle-aged lady came up to them. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, please. We’d like to have dinner, if that’s possible,” Gemma asked.

“No trouble at all, we’ve just started serving. There’s a table for three here, near the corner out of the draught. I’ll go and get you a menu each.”

They removed coats and sat down on the padded leather chairs. What bliss! The proprietor’s wife returned and handed them a menu each. “I’ll be back to take your orders in a few minutes.”

Their eyes worked their way down the list of what was on offer and then called the lady back.

“We’ll have the menu for the evening, plus a bottle of rosé wine, and one of water. Is that all right for you, Gemma?” asked Constance.

“Yes, fine, thank you,” Gemma said in gratitude for not having had to choose.

The three elderly ladies sat back and enjoyed the meal and the friendly chatter of themselves and the other diners. When they had finished coffee and were replete with food, they sat a while longer before heading back to the coach.

The rest of the party was already seated when they got back on. No one said anything and the journey to the hotel was in silence.

Gemma asked herself what could have possibly caused the unfriendly atmosphere.

 

Gemma went to bed still wondering. She slept profoundly, and when she woke up the next morning, was ready for breakfast. Later that morning the trip was to take them all to another town and another hotel. Gemma packed her night clothes away and took her suitcase downstairs with her. To her surprise there were only three of the tourists down for breakfast, herself and Constance and Hope. They sat eating and drinking alone in the dining-room. There was no sign of Belinda or the others.

 

“Can you tell us where everyone is, please? We are supposed to leave at nine o’clock this morning for the next town on the brochure,” Hope added in her tremulous voice, sounding worried.

The receptionist said casually, “They ate something last night and have all gone down with salmonella, and they are vomiting and have diarrhoea. Somehow, I don’t think they’ll be going anywhere today.”

“But we’re not ill, so what are we supposed to do?” Gemma asked.

“I expect the tour company will put on something for you,” the receptionist answered.

“This is supposed to be a Mystery Tour, but the only mystery is that there’s no ‘mystery’ yet,” Constance said.

The two others agreed.

 

Gemma thought she’d rather go back to the hotel where she had been staying at before she had seen the announcement in the travel agent’s window. “Excuse me, but I don’t want to continue on this tour. It’s all too strange for me. There’s something going on here that I simply don’t understand. Just sign me off, would you please? And by the way, what’s happened to Belinda, our courier?” Gemma asked the receptionist, who was open-mouthed on hearing those words.

“You’ll lose money if you leave now, and Belinda isn’t feeling too well this morning, she’ll be down later,” the receptionist said, knowing that it would be useless to try to convince Gemma to stay.

“That’s all right. It’s my money I’ll be losing, no one else’s,” said Gemma.

Constance and Hope stared at Gemma, “Are you really going now?” Constance asked.

“Yes, I am. I feel I have been really duped. Well, Ladies, it was a pleasure meeting you,” and Gemma walked out of the hotel and got into one of the waiting taxis.

 

Mr and Mrs Roper went down to breakfast three days after they had come down with salmonella poisoning, to see very few guests in the dining-room. There was no sign of Gemma or the two sisters, Constance and Hope. Calvin and Forrest were the only others they recognized. The others had been in their coach but had been unknown to them. Belinda was still rather pale-faced, and thinner too. The couple sat down and ordered toast and tea, just as Calvin and Forrest had done. The two old men went over to chat to them.

“How are you feeling this morning?” Calvin asked them, looking from Avery’s face to Louise’s.

“We’re a lot better, thank you. How about you two?” Avery replied.

“We’re still a bit weak, but trying to make the most of it,” Forrest answered.

“Have you heard that Gemma and those two sisters left the tour the morning after we all took sick?” Louise asked them.

Calvin and Forrest stared at her. “We’ve been wondering where they’d got to, so that’s what must have happened,” Calvin responded.

“Don’t you remember they went off to look for another place to eat? Gemma must have suspected something was wrong, and the two sisters too,” Forrest said.

“We have to see Belinda after breakfast. I hope she has something decent to tell us. We haven’t received an apology, yet. Have you?” Avery enquired.

“Hardly, we’ve been wallowing in misery for the last three days, and we’ve neither seen nor heard from Belinda,” Calvin told them.

“That’s because she’s been ill too with food poisoning. Oh, look she’s coming in now,” Louise said, pointing to where Belinda was coming through the dining-room door.

Belinda walked towards their table and said, “I have to talk to you four on your own. It’s a rather delicate matter. When you’re done here, I’ll see you at reception,” and she left.

There was nothing to be said, and each one had their own idea of what was going to come.

 

Belinda was standing in the quiet office of the reception area, holding a clipboard.

“The tour company has decided to let you all go home. In time you will all receive a refund of some of the tour. We’re very upset about what happened with the salmonella. It’s a mystery to the restaurant. No one understands what was bad with the food preparation. They have been catering for us and other groups for years, and this is the first time such a thing has occurred. You will be given the necessary money to pay for the transport of your choice to return home. You can, of course, make a reservation to go on another tour and with a discount instead of the refund.”

Avery stepped forward and asked, “Don’t you think you’re taking this rather light-heartedly?”

Belinda looked thunderstruck at his rebuke. She thought she had handled it quite well. “Believe me, I feel anything but light-hearted. I’ve been through the same thing as you have.”

Then Calvin stepped forward and added, “You didn’t fool the others, did you? They had sussed this tour out from the very beginning. It was something about the restaurant that Gemma didn’t like, and she and the other two sisters decided for themselves where they wanted to have dinner, and not one of them got poisoned.”

Belinda was beginning to get rattled, “When one is on a tour, the general idea is for everyone to stay together, that’s why people go in groups. If not, don’t go with a group.”

 “I don’t agree. We can all look after ourselves. and can choose the restaurant. It seems to me that the independent customers in that place where we ate that evening, ate different dishes and we probably had reheated food. To be honest with you, Belinda, this experience has put me off going on a holiday like this for good,” Forrest said staring her straight in the eye.

“Yes, that’s what it’s been - a complete rip off, ” Avery complained to Belinda, who wasn’t at all interested in what they had to say, she just wanted to feel better and get rid of them.

“There’s nothing else I can do, except say I’m sorry you lost the tour and have a bad feeling about the company. When you have worked out how you’re going to make your way home, I’ll pay you for the tickets you’ll need.”

 

The four went back upstairs to their rooms and made sure their suitcases were packed, leaving nothing behind, except their own bad experience. Half an hour later, they were back downstairs and picked up their travel vouchers.

“Goodbye, Calvin. Goodbye, Forrest. Nice to have met you, and all the best for your next holiday,” Avery said, as he and Louise shook hands with the old men.

“The same to you, but I have a very good idea we shan’t be going on holiday for a long time, and certainly not like this one. All the best,” Calvin said, as he and Forrest got into one of the waiting taxis, and drove off in the direction of the railway station.

 

The taxi with Avery and Louise took them to the bus station in the nearest town, where they caught the bus home. Before any of the four had got inside their front doors, the Mystery Tour had been erased from their minds, all of them desiring nothing more than a hot cup of tea and the television, before ringing relatives and friends.

 

The real Mystery was, that no one ever found out what had happened to poor Mrs Armitage.

 

At six thirty on the evening of the same day, the coach arrived with a fresh group of tourists for another Mystery Tour. The hotel showed no signs of the previous group and flowers and bowls of fruit had been put in every room. The weary group tidied themselves before going down to dinner.

 

William, a man nearer sixty than fifty, is sitting in an enormous leather armchair holding a glass of dark red wine, from which he occasionally takes a sip. He sighs and looks at his mother, Annette Archibald, before speaking, “Mother, you really must look after the tourists better, and not leave cryptic notes for them. Or the bit of so-called mystery with your death and your so-called ambulance man. They’re not interested.”

Annette Archibald replies to her son, “You’re right. Gemma certainly wasn’t. That has to go down as one of my biggest failures.”

William adds, “You, as owner of Mystery Coach Tours, have an appalling choice of restaurants. This isn’t the first tour failure we’ve had this year, and it costs us money every time food poisoning occurs. How much money have we lost this year?”

“Never mind that, Darling. Drink up. It’ll soon be Christmas, and we’ll be off on our annual Caribbean cruise again.”