Chapter Forty Nine

This afternoon was to be his greatest performance - if he could pull it off. Far more dangerous than the guillotine blade in his act; he really could lose his head. He buttoned up his frilly shirt, and headed for Monks Hill; Karin was already there visiting Sofia.

Julius smiled to greet him, and patted him on the back; he’d never known him this friendly.

‘Orvid, or should that be the great Chinesku, glad to see you. The wife’s here too, she can’t wait.’

‘Well I hope she won’t be disappointed Doctor Maloney.’

‘Oh by the way, Alain Fontaney, one of our nurses, volunteered to help unload your gear. I believe you two know one another.’

The show was to be held in Monks Hill gym, and outpatient Verity Forster was in the kitchen helping make the fruit punch, overlooked by a prison officer. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

‘Could you get me some more orange juice from the fridge?’ she asked him.

He obeyed, ready to be wrapped around her beautiful finger, whenever she would let him.

The patients were filing into the gym, escorted by nurses and guards.

‘Sis I’ve got to get changed, but remember what I said,’ whispered Karin in her ear.

Sofia nodded, and Karin went to put on her costume.

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ announced Orvid ‘prepare to be amazed.’

He warmed them up with the cup and ball trick, and then the French drop, as Dr Maloney’s keys seemed to vanish from his hand. Eventually he handed them back.

Orvid clapped his hands twice, and Karin went to join him. She was wearing a white cloak, and turban.

‘And a volunteer please,’ said Orvid.

Five patients stood up, and the guards looked nervous.

‘It’s OK, really,’ said Dr Maloney, waving them to sit back down.

‘You, come over here,’ said Orvid to the slim attractive girl.

Karin put a cloak and turban on her, and they almost looked identical; but then they were sisters.

Orvid had precisely positioned his mirrors, and now it was time for the fun to begin.

Upon instruction the two women walked towards one another, and melted into one. Then a solitary figure stepped forward, and turned fully around so it was obvious- one of them had disappeared.

When the gasps had finally died down the apparition separated in two, and the room erupted into applause.

‘But that’s not all,’ said Orvid, and he unrolled a Persian rug.

‘Please,’ and he gestured to the two beauties.

Sofia followed Karin’s lead, and knelt upon her flight ticket.

‘Orkzeealidora,’ Orvid shouted, and the carpet slowly lifted off the ground, floating into the air, before heading to the back of his set.

For a fleeting moment the carpet was out of sight as it touched down. But the passengers quickly made their way back to passport control.

‘What’s your name my dear?’ Orvid asked the girl, standing between him and Karin.

‘Sofia.’

‘Ladies and gentleman give Sofia a big round of applause,’ he said.

She went to remove her turban.

‘No you can keep it’, said Orvid, ‘a souvenir.’

But she did return the cloak.

Orvid, and Karin, bowed to more applause as Sofia took her seat.

Orvid went to shake Alain’s hand, and was slipped his electronic pass key. He placed it in his pocket, next to Maloney’s keys, and let the crowd carry him, and Calder’s tweed jumble jacket outside.

Orvid looked around the room and placed the jacket on the back of the chair. He broke the vial from Libby’s heart over the shoulder.

‘You’re free my love,’ he said.

He then carefully placed the laptop in the satchel monogrammed Doctor L.Calder, and the Hotel Plato key in the bottom drawer of his desk.

Verity helped clean up the room. She couldn’t be certain if the tranquilisers added to the punch had worked, but it couldn’t have done any harm - she hoped.

Sofia nipped to the loo, whilst her agency nurse waited outside; she wasn’t a suicide risk. But the increasingly anxious nurse looked at her watch one last time, and decided to go in and check what was taking so long. The only woman to have come out had red hair; the magician’s assistant.

As the van headed around the corner, and out of sight of the high walls, the siren wailed like a banshee. Sofia was missing.

The gardener’s van was stopped at a hastily arranged police road block, but there was nothing to see in the back apart from a heap of branches, and old diesel strimmer’s.

The hospital was on lockdown, but after two hours they had to let them go, and Verity and Karin, left in Alain’s car. The only real clue would be the great Chinesku, but he’d done a vanishing act all of his own.

One prison officer had been keen to keep Karin a little longer, but a smile from Verity melted his resolve, and he waved them off with her number scribbled on the paper in his pocket. Unfortunately, it wasn’t her heavenly figures, but a note about one of Monk Hill’s less than compassionate doctors. It wasn’t long before Lawrence Calder was trying to explain away the murdered woman’s laptop in his bag.

‘Why are you smiling Julius?’ asked his wife.

‘I was just thinking; is it so terrible if one of the patient’s escapes? They’re not all mad or bad.’

‘Julius really; why not just hand the keys to the inmates?’

‘I think that’s already happened,’ he said smiling, and looking at the useless bunch in his hands; the very ones Orvid had swapped.

‘We’re here,’ said Peter, and Orvid and Sofia scrambled out the back of his van.

‘How can we ever repay you?’ asked Orvid.

‘Surely, I should be asking that question’ said Peter. ‘It’s all come back to me,’ and he grinned broadly; his hair no longer grey, and his back straight.

‘Bon voyage,’ said Peter, and good luck.

‘We haven’t got long,’ said Alain, with Verity holding his arm.

Karin was hugging Sofia, before turning to Orvid.

‘I knew you could do it,’ she said ‘from the moment I first saw you.’

‘And is this goodbye?’ asked Orvid wondering if his usefulness was over.

‘Are you kidding,’ said Karin ‘and lose Fu Chung Soo.’

‘Fu Chung who?’ asked Sofia.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll explain later,’ said Karin laughing.