It was like being in a different time zone. Katharina found it hard to believe that places like this could exist in the same dimension as Vienna. The more she got to know the place and its people, the more she felt like she was living in one of her childhood story books. This was everyone’s dream come true. The scenery; the flora and fauna; the smells; and of course, the wonderful people. She had only met a few so far, but was looking forward to meeting everyone in the village if she could – she was like that. Even after all she had been through, she still had this childish, naïve attitude to life, only seeing the best in people, and never, ever expecting to be hurt. Anna had inherited her mother’s outgoing personality, and was always the extrovert. They both had such a zest for life that everywhere they went, people just smiled because they were there. It was as if this aura of goodness followed them around.
Katharina felt so content that this was going to be her new home. She felt safe and secure here. She was going to have to do a lot of tying up of loose ends back in Vienna, and would have to go back there to collect the rest of her belongings. She decided she would discuss this with Dave later. She just hoped now that Anna would be impressed enough with Aberdeen University to accept her position, and then they could see about getting her accommodation in the city. Strathdee was close enough for her to travel to at weekends, so it would be a perfect arrangement.
She was lying, turning all this over in her mind, when Dave sprang up out of the bed saying, “Right – it’s seven o’clock. Come on, up you get, we’ve got a lot to do today. We’ve got to be in town by nine.”
It was a mad scramble for the shower, then after breakfast, they left for the city.
When they arrived at the university, they registered and picked up their Welcome Pack at the registration desks in the King’s College Conference Centre. Of course, Katharina being the professional coordinator took command and surveyed the information and timetable. They were advised to attend a welcome address which was scheduled for several times throughout the morning. The timetable began at nine, and listed all the talks and discussions they could attend right up to two-fifteen in the afternoon. Katharina helped Anna to plan which ones would be relevant to her, also managing to schedule a hot lunch into their day. Dave couldn’t stay right to the end as he was on-air at three, so he gave them directions to the bus station where they would get a direct service to Strathdee. They were to phone him from the village and he would come down to meet them.
Everything went as planned. Both Katharina and Anna were very impressed with the university and all the facilities. The course was exactly what Anna was wanting, and she decided to accept the placement. They gave Dave the good news on the drive back up to the caravan, and they sat making their plans before it was time to go down to the farmhouse for dinner with Frank and Tamara.
“I will need to go back to Vienna to sort everything out,” Katharina announced. “I have to resign properly from my job, say goodbye to Aunt Petra and Uncle Josef, and collect all my things.”
“Well, you’re not going there on your own,” said Dave. “I’m going with you. There is no way I’m letting you out of my sight again – I don’t want to be hunting for you for another nineteen years! I’ve got two weeks holiday due, so we’ll go after your two weeks here end.”
“Can I stay here, Mama?” Anna asked. “I could stay in the caravan, and I could look out for a flat or a bed-sit in the city while you’re away. Please?”
“Well, OK, if it’s all right with Dave.”
“It’s fine with me,” Dave said.
At seven o’clock, they headed down to the farmhouse. Tamara greeted them at the door, and took them inside. The interior of the farmhouse looked like it hadn’t changed in a hundred years. There were bare sanded wooden floors with rugs scattered here and there, an antique grandfather clock ticking away almost in slow motion in the hall, and a dark brown leather three piece suite in the lounge, with the stuffing trying to burst free from it in several places. The rest of the furniture was old – not antique, and never would be as it had suffered from just too much wear and tear. Frank and Tamara didn’t bother, as the house was also used as an office, with drivers and plant operators tramping in and out it every day in muddy boots and oily overalls.
Frank was preparing the wine, and he stopped what he was doing, stood back, and said, “Well, well, well! Just look at this! Not just one beautiful lady, but two! And Katharina – you just look gorgeous. And you must be Anna. Well, Dave, she must have got her good looks from her mother because it certainly wasn’t from you, you old dog!”
He pulled Dave aside while Tamara started speaking to the girls.
“Dave, lad, I’ve just spent a week with Ronnie Marsh at his Spanish villa, and it’s looking good – very good. We’ve just secured a massive amount of EU money for projects that are scheduled in this area, and we are the appointed contractors. Don’t ask me how he did it, Dave, but the man’s a genius. There were also quite a few girls involved, oh, and Ronnie’s trusty camera. He’s even got stuff on video now complete with sound that turns politicians into putty in his hands. He certainly sails close to the wind, but always comes up trumps. Anyway, the bottom line is that we’re more than secure for the next three years. And the Truck Stop is going from strength to strength. I think I underestimated what a little goldmine that place would turn out to be. My next project is to do something with the Station Hotel. It’s looking a bit tired and down at heel, and it’s a bit of an embarrassment when strangers specially make the effort to come to it for Maisie’s superb cooking.”
“Well, at least they don’t wreck the joint like Mad Mike Murray did that night,” Dave chipped in.
“Oh yes, do you remember that? It was our little effort to encourage the younger local element with the new pool table. Mad Mike lost his first game and he went out to his truck, brought his chainsaw in and sawed the legs off the table! Then he smashed the optics and the mirrors behind the bar with one of the legs! You just couldn’t make that up, Dave, could you?”
“Do you remember what he did at Christmas, Frank?”
By now, the ladies had joined in the conversation.
“Oh, yes. Listen to this, everyone. This guy, Mad Mike, is drinking in the hotel bar on Christmas Eve. He’d had about five pints, and this local layabout that was in the bar starts insulting him – calling him a fat pudding, casting doubts on his parentage, and seriously undermining his abilities as a woodcutter. Well, instead of just thumping the guy as any normal person would do, he dives out of the bar, grabs his chainsaw from the back of his truck, fires it up and fells the village Christmas tree – lights and all! He even cut right through the mains supply and fused half the street! Then he drove home! The guy’s a complete maniac!
“Anyway, I want to bring the hotel a bit upmarket, encourage families and people out for the day at the weekends. I want to try karaoke nights, and quiz nights, and maybe even run a talent contest, but the whole place needs a makeover first.”
When she could get a word in edgeways, Tamara invited them to all sit at the table.
“I have cooked a very traditional Russian meal for us tonight, I hope you will enjoy it,” she said. “I have, for the first course, the most well-known Russian soup called ‘borscht’, a tangy dish that gets its sweetness from beets and its tartness from sour cream. I have made this borscht with beef. You can have a vegetable one, but I think the beefy one has more body. Next, for our main course, we have Kotlety Pozharskie, which is ground chicken cutlets prepared with lots of butter and cooked in breadcrumbs. There is a full choice of vegetables, and my own recipe mushroom sauce. For dessert, I have made ‘Vareniki’, which are dumplings filled with fruit. Now, please, I hope you will all enjoy.”
When Tamara went into the kitchen, Frank said, “She’s a wonderful cook, you know. She’s a wonderful business administrator too, in fact, she’s wonderful at everything. She’s the best thing ever to happen to me. Now, tell me about yourselves. What are your plans?”
“Oh, nothing much,” Dave said, nonchalantly, “Anna’s got a place at Aberdeen University, and, um . . . oh yes, we’re getting married!”
“WHAT!” Frank nearly choked on his wine! “Well, congratulations! You really are suited to each other, but it’s taken you a long time to do anything about it.”
“Well, we kind of lost each other for nineteen years which didn’t help, and I’ve lost all of Anna’s childhood which is a big regret, but things are going to be great now.”
Tamara started to serve the soup, and Frank waited until she had put the two plates she was carrying down before he said, “They’re getting married.”
“Oh marvellous! What good news!” she said, pretending that she didn't already know, and went over to kiss them both. “Congratulations – I know you will both be very happy – I can tell, you see, it’s Russian instinct. You are both such lovely people, and Anna too. Now, this makes tonight so much more very special. I’m so happy for you.”
When Tamara had finished serving and had sat down, Frank said, “Dave, it’s your birthday next week, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but don’t remind me. It’s another year older that I could do without!”
“Well, maybe so,” Frank continued, “but I wanted to get you a little present.”
“A present!” Dave scoffed. “Since when did you ever get me a birthday present, you old codger?”
“I know, I know, I’m not really a ‘birthday person’. But I want to do something for you this time. I missed out on your big four-o, so I’m combining it with your forty-first. We’ve known each other a long time Dave, nineteen years, and that’s a long time. You’ve been like a son to me and Tamara, and I feel proud of everything you do. We’ve been through a lot together, and we’ve always come up smiling. At the risk of bursting into tears, I can truthfully say you are the best work colleague, and friend that anyone could ask for.” He took out his handkerchief and blew his nose. “Now, before I start blubbering, here’s my present to you.”
He reached into his jacket inside pocket, took out an envelope and handed it to Dave. Dave opened it, unfolded the piece of A4 paper and stared at it. His mouth opened, his jaw dropped, then dropped further.
“What is it, darling,” asked Katharina impatiently.
Dave was flabbergasted. “It’s . . . it’s . . . I can’t believe it. Is this a wind-up? This is a document offering me a fifty per cent share in the radio station. You’ve got to be joking! It’s got an acceptance clause on it for me to sign.”
He looked up at Frank, who was already handing a pen over to him.
“I can’t take this, Frank. You’re mad – this is much too much. How about cufflinks instead? Come on, you’ve definitely flipped this time.”
“No, Dave, I’m deadly serious. You’ve put a lot of effort into the station – more than I’ve ever done. You’ve got the majority of advertisers, you handle all the staff, and you work all the hours God sends when you need to. You deserve it, Dave.”
Almost speechless, Dave managed to say, “I don’t know what to say, Frank.”
“Just sign the bloody document, and then we can all get on with our meals!”
They all laughed, Dave took the pen and signed, and there was a round of applause. Frank lifted his glass and proposed a toast: “To a new chapter in the life of Strathdee FM, and to Dave, Katharina and Anna.”
The radio station was playing in the background on the music system, and Fiona was on her programme.
“She’s so good, isn’t she?” commented Katharina.
Frank looked up from his now empty soup plate, and lifted his glass of wine. “Yes, she is. She’s a natural, but we don’t tell her that – she might want to get paid for it! But look at it this way. How often do you get kids actually wanting to stay in, or sit in their cars in the village car park specifically to listen to a radio show nowadays? That is the real indication of a good presenter. I honestly think if she did get paid for it, she wouldn’t enjoy it so much and the show would suffer.”
Tamara started to bring the next course in, and joined in the conversation. “Whenever money is involved, Frank will always take the cheaper option. You know, he actually gets paid by the government for employing young David White on the morning show. He’s on some kind of work placement training scheme for six months.”
Katharina started her main course. “This is delicious, Tamara, you must give me the recipe, but I don’t know if I could cook it in a caravan.”
“It’s really very simple, darling. It’s just chicken cutlets, shredded and mixed with bread crumbs and a lot of butter. You have to shred it and re-shred it about three or four times, mixing the butter in at the right moment – that is the secret. There are a few other things added as well, and then you shape it into little dumplings and cook them in more breadcrumbs to get the crisp exterior. But as for the mushroom sauce, that was my mother’s recipe, and I would never give that to anyone.”
When they had finished the main course, Frank helped Tamara to clear the table, and he was away for about five minutes. They could hear him chatting to Tamara in the kitchen, and when they both came back through, they sat down, looking like they had something on their minds. Frank was the first to speak.
“Now Dave, Katharina, and Anna – you are included in this as well. Tamara and I are overjoyed at your good news. Have you set a date for the wedding yet?”
“No,” said Dave, “but we’d like it to be as soon as possible. We thought Christmas would be magical.”
“What a good idea,” Frank agreed. “As you know, it is magical here at Christmas, with the tree and the lights in the village, and if we get the added bonus of snow, well, it’s like a Christmas card scene. Anyway, I digress. Tamara and I want to give you both a special wedding present.”
Dave thought for a minute – he’s going to give us the caravan.
“Now, you’ve been living in that caravan for how long, eighteen years?”
Here we go, I knew it!
“That’s a long time to live in a caravan,” Frank continued. “Too long. Dave and Katharina, we want to give you the woodman’s cottage.”
Dave nearly choked. He took a quick sip of wine, and dribbled it all down his chin. Wiping his face with his napkin, he recovered enough to say, “Well, that’s a really nice thought, Frank, but the place is a mess. We’d be cheaper buying a little cottage in the village.”
“No, no!” Frank protested. “Hear me out. I will get it all restored and modernised for you – it won’t cost you a penny. Ronnie Marsh in Spain said I could have it for myself as we were thinking about letting it out for self-catering holidays, but we don’t really need the money, and it’s a lot of extra hassle we don’t need either. The property is basically very sound – the walls are solid stone two feet thick! I’ll get a quote for the complete job from two or three firms, and you could be in it by the New Year.”
Dave was speechless. Katharina spoke instead. “Frank, we don’t know what to say, this is very generous of you.”
“My dear, just say ‘thank you Frank – we’ll take it!’”
“We will! WE WILL!” Katharina was squealing now, and she got up and gave Frank a great big hug and kiss. Then she hugged and kissed Tamara, saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Dave got up and hugged them too, shaking their hands and thanking them.
“Wow! What a night,” he said excitedly. “This is all unbelievable!”
“Now, time for dessert,” said Tamara, and she went through to the kitchen for the Vareniki.
The little fruit-filled dumplings were delicious, and everybody scoffed the lot, taking second helpings when offered.
“Let’s have coffee over on the comfy seats,” Frank suggested, “and would you like something a little stronger after it? I have a seventeen-year-old Isle of Jura single malt whisky. Can I persuade you, Dave? And what about the girls?”
“I would like a brandy if you have it,” asked Katharina.
“Same for me,” Anna added.
“This really calls for a celebration tonight,” said Frank, going over to the large sideboard and opening a drawer. He took out a box of Havana cigars and offered one to Dave, taking one himself. “Ronnie gave me these last week. Nothing but the very best!”
Tamara poured herself a vodka, then said, “Now then ladies, I have some finest black Sobranie Russian cigarettes – please help yourself,” and she offered them to Katharina and Anna who hesitated as they looked at each other, then each of them took one. Tamara then took one herself and lit them all. They settled back into the old leather suite, and then Dave said, “We’d better go after this – I’m on-air at midnight.”
“No you’re not – not tonight,” Frank replied. “I asked Fiona if she would do your show tonight and she said she’d love to. What a girl! So, what are the rest of your immediate plans?”
“Well, Katharina and Anna are basically on two weeks holiday,” said Dave. “Anna has decided to accept the offer of a place at Aberdeen University, and Katharina will have to go back to Vienna at the end of next week to tie up all the loose ends. Anna wants to stay here in the caravan, and I want to go with Katharina as I’m never letting her out of my sight again. I’ve got two weeks holiday due, so I’d like to take them then, if that’s all right?”
“Well,” said Frank, “it’s all right with me as long as you get someone to cover your shows for you. But I’m only a partner – you’ll need to ask the other partner also if it’s OK.”
“Very funny,” laughed Dave.
“How are you getting over there?” asked Frank.
“By plane, probably, but we’ll have a lot of stuff to bring back. Maybe it might be better if we hire a car.”
“Right,” said Frank, “don’t go by plane, and don’t hire a car. Take my Range Rover and have a really good holiday out of it. Then you’ve got plenty of room for anything you want to bring back.”
Dave saw a problem. “Thanks a lot, Frank, that’s very generous, but I just couldn’t afford to keep that thing going in petrol. The V8’s just a gas guzzler!”
“Oh, it’s not so bad, really, if you keep the speed down and keep a light foot on the throttle. Anyway, take the fuel card and just put all the fuel on the company account. As far as the taxman’s concerned, you’re off to Austria to look at some excavators!”
“You don’t know how true that is, Frank.” Frank looked puzzled at Dave’s remark, but, of course, Dave was thinking of Katharina’s model excavators that she still had, and probably would bring back.
The evening continued with good malt whisky, excellent brandy, very potent vodka not available in the shops, and fine cigars and cigarettes. They were all enjoying themselves and the conversation was stimulating.
Back down in the village, the Station Hotel wasn’t exactly doing great business. It was built around the end of the nineteenth century to cater for passengers on the Deeside Railway. The Deeside Railway was opened on 8th September 1853. Eventually the line was extended to Aboyne and Strathdee in 1857 and then Ballater on 17 October 1866. The hotel had been very busy in its heyday, but by the time the railway was closed down in 1966 by the infamous transport minister, Dr Beeching, it had gone downhill. The owners at that time had just got too old to bother any more with it, and a young couple from Glasgow, Maisie and Tommy Mullen, bought it with some money they had inherited. This was going to be their dream-come-true. Twenty odd years later, despite every effort, and lots of blood, sweat and tears, their dream was still a million miles away as they had slipped into serious debt, while the hotel was slipping into serious disrepair. The only things that kept them going were the local bar trade and Maisie’s wonderful home cooking.
When Frank came along, he saved the day. He had been going there for the odd drink and meal, got chatting to them, and became friendly enough for them to unleash all their problems on him. Always on the lookout for an opportunity, he put together a buyout package which included retaining them as managers with a wage. Then he upgraded the bar and lounge, putting in a pool table, juke box and large screen TV with all the satellite sports channels. He promoted the ‘home cooking’ theme, and advertised the whole lot for six weeks on Strathdee FM. The transformation was amazing, and now it was doing really well, but the building itself needed a facelift inside and out.
Parked outside in the hotel car park that night was Archie’s Land Rover, and beside it a black Mercedes with Dutch number plates. Parked at the bar inside was a very inebriated Archie, and beside him the two owners of the Mercedes. One of them was a heavily built gentleman in his late fifties with a shaved head and an immaculate suit. His name was Kees Manser. The other guy was dressed less formally, but still with expensive jeans and a designer T-shirt. He was called Joop Van Dam. They looked like they might be tourists to the other occupants of the bar. They weren’t. They were freelance debt recovery agents – bounty hunters. They were the same freelance debt recovery agents that Katharina had the misfortune of meeting all those years ago. True to their word, they had never given up.
The Mermaid had finally been sold for scrap, and the proceeds divided equally amongst the creditors – small change compared to what they were actually owed. After three years, it became apparent that this debt may be more difficult to recover than they thought, as everyone connected with it had disappeared, except for poor Katharina, who had been of no help to them whatsoever. Never ones to give up, Kees and Joop had purchased the debt, and they put it on the back burner for a future attempt. With accrued interest over the years, the debt had grown arms and legs and now stood at two million pounds, give or take the odd pound. They had no way of tracking down Frank Bentley or Dave Buckingham at that time, until, later on, the internet was invented.
Three months previously, Dave had organised a computer expert friend of his to design and produce a website for the radio station. It was a good website, with pictures of the studio, the DJs and the surrounding area. There was a facility to e-mail the studio with requests, and currently they were working on adding a live audio stream so that the station could be heard anywhere in the world.
Kees Manser had been looking at the old Mermaid file one day, and just typed ‘Dave Buckingham’ into a search engine on his PC. He couldn’t believe it when he saw the name appear on a link to a radio station in Scotland – Strathdee FM. He clicked on the link, and spent the next half-hour examining the website. Dave Buckingham was listed as one of the presenters, and in his profile, it said ‘formerly of offshore radio station Mermaid Radio’. Eureka! Even better still, it listed as the station owner, a Mr Francis Benson. Not Frank Bentley, but close enough to probably be the very same. Kees was convinced that this was their man. He and Joop decided to go for it. This was the big one. This was the one that was going to finance their retirement. They got the ferry across the channel and drove up to Aberdeenshire. They were going to get this money by fair means or foul – more likely foul! They were going to be millionaires.
The bar wasn’t exactly busy that night. Archie was perched on a stool at one end – the end where the till was. His logic was that it saved Sheena the barmaid from walking too far when she served him. It also really meant he could see more of her as she kept returning to the till. Sheena and Archie had been having a ‘thing’ going for longer than most people’s marriages lasted. They liked the pleasure and excitement with no responsibility, and now they were just in a comfortable rut.
Sitting over beside the open log fire nursing a pint, was a retired shepherd. Alasdair McLennan had retired the previous year at aged eighty, and his dog Quiney had retired too, although it took the dog a while to get used to it. It would try to round up the customers as they came into the bar, but now it just slept in front of the fire. The fact that the two Dutchmen were the only other customers in the bar made them a bit conspicuous.
Archie turned towards them and struck up a conversation.
“Are you on holiday, then?” he asked.
Kees replied, “Yes, we are having a little break. Recharge the batteries, you know.”
“Why did you choose to come here, of all places? We don’t get many foreigners here.”
“Oh, we heard it was a very nice place, and we think an old friend of ours lives here. We thought we would visit him if we could find him.”
“I might be able to help you there,” Archie offered, waving his empty glass in the air to punctuate his statement.
“Would you like another drink?” Kees asked him.
“That’s very good of you,” said Archie. “I’ll have a pint of Belhaven.”
Kees caught Sheena’s eye. “Three pints of Belhaven please, and whatever you are having yourself.”
“Thank you, I’ll have a gin and tonic,” she said, smiling. After she served the drinks, she joined in the conversation.
“What’s your friend’s name?” she asked.
“Buckingham. Dave Buckingham,” replied Kees. “We used to know him in Holland, but we lost touch.”
“Well, we can help you there, can’t we Sheena?” said Archie. “He’s on the local radio station – that’s it playing on the radio. He would normally be on at midnight, but the lassie’s just said she’s sitting in for him tonight. Dave has just found his old girlfriend, and they’re having dinner at the boss’s house to celebrate.”
Kees and Joop looked at each other with a wry smile.
“Would that be Katharina?” Kees asked.
“The very same,” said Archie. “Cheers!” he added, as he lifted the fresh pint to his mouth.
“Where does he live,” Kees enquired, “because we would like to call on him tomorrow?”
“OK. Just go through the village, watch for the sign for Mains of Clarty and the big ‘Benson’s Plant Hire’ sign beside it. Turn up that road for about half a mile and you’ll come into a farmyard. That’s the plant hire business that Frank Benson owns. The radio station’s there too. Then take a wee forest track on the left, up through the trees for a quarter of a mile, and then you’ll see a big caravan. That’s where Dave lives. Katharina and her daughter Anna are staying there too just now. She’s Dave’s daughter too, you know.”
Finally, Kees asked, “This girl Anna, what does she look like?”
“I’ve only seen her once,” said Archie. “Tall, long thick brown hair tied back into a bushy pony tail, and she wears glasses. Very nice, actually.” Sheena scowled at him.
“Thank you, I think we might just find our friend tomorrow.”
Kees turned to Joop and said to him quietly in Dutch, “All the little birdies are in the nest together, my friend. I think we must snatch the baby bird, and see how badly the other birds want her back.”
Joop nodded, and an evil smile spread across his face. “Let’s go for a walk in the country,” he said.
Dave, Katharina and Anna were walking back home to the caravan up the forest track after a wonderful night. They were laughing and joking, saying how perfect everything had turned out and how generous Frank had been. Dave’s world had completely turned around in just a few days, and now he had no intention of packing up and going south. This was his home, and he had his lovely family around him. Life didn’t get any better!
They reached the caravan and Dave and Katharina went in. Dave shouted, “Coffee everyone?”
Anna shouted back, “Yes please. I will be there in five minutes – I am just going to breath in this beautiful air first.”
It was just after one o’clock and pitch dark, except for a little bit of moonlight just managing to squeeze between the trees. Anna walked over towards the woodman’s cottage in the still night air and stood looking at it. This will make a wonderful home, she thought. She turned around and sat down on her favourite fallen tree, taking a deep breath.
Just then, there was a rustling sound in the undergrowth behind her and she heard a twig snap. She felt a little tingle of fear run up her spine, but then she thought:
It’s just animals . . . they never sleep at night . . .