Screen Savers

Chapter 30

We were back in Glasgow for six o’clock, having been invited to dinner by Everett and Diane Davis, in their big, comfortable villa in Cleveden Drive, in Glasgow’s West End. The house could have been custom-built for them; it dates from a time when high ceilings and wide doors were a standard feature of domestic architecture. In most modern houses, Everett would have difficulty standing up straight.

Liam Matthews was there when we arrived, with his steady girlfriend, Erin Doyle, an Aer Lingus hostess who tried to fit her schedule round his. In its early days, the relationship between Liam and the Boss had been difficult — even I had had trouble with the Irishman then — and it was only his exceptional talent that had kept him in a job. But since Erin had come on the scene the mercurial Mick had straightened out his attitude, and had become one of the most popular members of the troupe.

‘How has your quiet weekend gone, you guys?’ Diane asked, as she handed us a drink. The Princess, as they call her on the show, is an absolute stunner. Her own relationship with Everett had known its problems too; there had been one huge crisis, but somehow it had served to bring them closer together, and to strengthen them as a team.

‘Not so quietly, I’m afraid,’ Prim answered. ‘Oz’s nephew managed to get himself dropped into a hole in the ground, up in the Castle in St Andrews. We’ve spent a good chunk of the last two days in and out of hospital.’

‘Is that one of the little lads you’ve had at some of the shows?’ Liam asked.

‘That’s right.’

‘Careless of him, then.’

‘Careless of me, maybe, to let it happen,’ I told him. ‘But it wasn’t Colin’s fault. The poor wee chap had help; he was dazed after it, but he’s dead certain that someone shoved him in.’

‘Oh no,’ said Erin. ‘Who would do that?’

‘That’s the big question. The police are investigating, but there are no definite leads yet. We did have a call from them though, just before we came out tonight. They’ve found a local resident who says she saw a couple of kids horsing about in the area at the time. St Andrews isn’t all that big a place, so they have a fair chance of tracing them; that is if they’re locals, and not tourists.’

Liam whistled. ‘The curse of Oz strikes again,’ he proclaimed. ‘First, those two guys down in London try to beat you up, and wind up in hospital. Now it’s your nephew ends up in an ambulance. Are you safe to be around, I asks myself?’

I frowned at him. ‘You’re the second person today to make a crack like that. I’ve got to tell you, chum; my sense of humour’s wearing thin.’