Where Memories Are Made (28 page)

Ginger sighed wistfully. ‘Yes, he is the generous sort. I wish I could find a bloke who wants to buy me a drink, let alone pay for a night out. And I'd certainly love to be on the receiving end of that silver bracelet and necklace he bought you.'

Jackie looked down at the bracelet adorning her wrist and then fingered the delicate heart-shaped locket around her neck. Vic had given her them as a present on two separate occasions and she'd been overwhelmed. He was spending money on her like there was plenty more where that came from when he was meant to be saving for his future.

‘There's a man out there who will treat you just like that, Ginger,' Jackie reassured her. ‘It's just that you haven't met him yet.'

Ginger eyed her strangely. ‘Didn't you pinch that line from me?'

‘Yes, and it seems it was true in my case, so it will be in yours.'

Ginger sighed. ‘Well, let's hope he's just around the corner and not well down the road so I haven't long to wait until I meet him.' Then she looked over at Jackie meaningfully. ‘You've been seeing Vic for a few weeks now. Seems to me you're really getting to like him.'

Jackie studied her reflection in the mirror for a moment, seeing if she could make any improvements to her make-up. Happy with what she saw, she swivelled around to look at Ginger. ‘Yes, I do really like him. I'm not in love with him but I'd be very upset if Vic decided he didn't want to see me any more. He's helped me get over Keith, made me see there's life after him, so to speak, and I'm grateful for that.'

‘And for the presents,' Ginger commented flippantly.

Jackie scolded her, ‘Ginger, you know me well enough by now to know that my feelings for Vic have nothing at all to do with him buying me presents. I'm not like that.' Then, for no apparent reason, a vision of the man who'd responded angrily to her when she'd mistakenly barged into his chalet earlier occurred to her and she said absently, ‘I recognised that man from somewhere but I can't put my finger on …'

‘What man?' Ginger asked.

‘That one I told you about, who went for me this afternoon when I barged into his chalet by mistake.'

‘Well, it's obvious where you've seen him, you daft clot. Around the camp.'

‘No, no, that's not it. Anyway, from the state of the chalet I don't think he's left it since he arrived so I couldn't have done.' Jackie stood up then and smoothed down the short red tent dress she was wearing. ‘Will I do?' she asked her friend.

‘You'll have him champing at the bit.' Ginger then stood up and gave a twirl in the narrow space between the beds. ‘What about me?'

She was currently going through a hippy phase and was wearing a long colourful psychedelic-patterned skirt together with a cream halterneck top.

‘You'll knock 'em dead,' Jackie assured her.

Both having assured each other that they looked great, they set off on their respective evenings out.

Tonight Vic had taken Jackie for a meal and drinks in a pub in the small market town of Louth and she had thoroughly enjoyed herself and not hesitated to agree when he asked her to meet him in two days' time after he'd finished his session with the band at Groovy's. They'd have a drink in the Paradise and then go for a walk down to the beach. Jackie knew he liked her a lot and did wonder when he would make a move on her, to take their relationship further. She wasn't quite ready to just yet, but felt she soon would be. It was also beginning to cross her mind that if she did fall for Vic, it wasn't going to be easy for her to say goodbye to him when the season ended and he and the band went on their way. She'd just got over one painful break up and didn't like the thought of another.

On arriving back in the camp Vic dropped her off outside the Paradise while he went to park the van. Jackie waited for him to return so they could walk together over to the staff chalets. Arriving back, he took her hand and they were just about to set off when Jackie stopped short, surprised to see two teenage girls and two boys scaling the large concrete sculptures of the dolphins in the middle of the water. As her eyes travelled upwards, Jackie's surprise turned to sheer panic to see a girl at the top trying to stand on the mermaid's head, seemingly oblivious to the danger she was in and also to the crowd gathering below. They like Jackie were horrified and were shouting to the girl to come down before something serious happened to her.

Vic had seen her by now. ‘What on earth does she think she's doing?' he exclaimed.

‘We have to try and get her down before she … Oh, my God, now she's standing with her arms out, looking like she's going to jump off. Is she so drunk she thinks she can fly? Oh, no, she's going to jump … Oh, hell, she has!' Jackie exclaimed.

The whole crowd watched dumbstruck as the girl came crashing down to earth, to land with a sickening thud on the hard tarmac between some spectators. Unaware of what had happened to their friend, giggling hysterically at their own antics, the other four teenagers were still trying to clamber up the fountain.

Gathering her wits, Jackie ordered Vic, ‘Get those others off the fountain before anyone else is hurt, while I fetch the nurse and call an ambulance.'

A while later Jackie and Vic were both sitting in the nurse's office in the surgery, sipping cups of hot sweet tea.

A shaken and upset Jackie murmured, ‘I've had one too many a few times in my life but all I get is giggly. And I've done a couple of stupid things I had to apologise for the next day, like being sick in the taxi home, but I've never got it into my head that I could fly.'

Sister Kitty Popple had been working for Jolly's for a couple of weeks now and had quickly become liked by staff and campers. She was fifty-two years of age, of medium height, with a body that resembled a beachball. When she laughed, which was often, her whole body would wobble from side to side. Tonight, though, she was looking solemn as she responded to Jackie's comment. ‘Well, that girl was very lucky to get away with two broken legs and one fractured arm, but it's my medical opinion that she had consumed something else besides alcohol. So had her friends, but thankfully they were stopped from doing anything so stupid themselves. Now their parents are dealing with them.'

Jackie frowned at her. ‘What had she taken?'

‘That's for the hospital to confirm, and as soon as they do I will pass the information on to you, but some sort of hallucinogen.'

Jackie looked bemused. ‘Halluci-what?'

Vic told her, ‘Sister means drugs, Jackie.'

She exclaimed, ‘Drugs?'

Kitty nodded. ‘I'm almost positive she took Lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD as it's known for short.'

Jackie shook her head, refusing to believe it. ‘But Groovy's is no London nightclub, we don't get that sort of thing here.'

Kitty folded her arms under her enormous bosom. ‘Taking recreational drugs isn't just confined to London, dear. You can buy them in any town in the country as well as at a holiday camp, if you know the right people to ask.'

Jackie snapped, ‘Not any longer at Jolly's. It stops right here and now. I'll call the police in.'

Vic spoke up. ‘I wouldn't advise that, Jackie. The last thing you want is them making an investigation and maybe closing Groovy's down. Think what that would do to the reputation of the camp when the nationals got hold of it, and they would be bound to with a story like this.'

She looked horrified. ‘That could finish us. No, no, we can't get the police involved, can we? So we'll have to think of some other way to stop this person selling drugs to our campers.'

‘Well, we don't know for certain yet that the girl had taken drugs,' Vic reminded her.

‘No, we don't, but if it turns out she has and got them off someone here in the camp then we can't just turn a blind eye. Someone might end up dead if we do.'

‘Well, yes, I suppose,' mused Vic. He then eyed her meaningfully. ‘Look, Jackie, I speak from experience, having played in clubs and pubs up and down the country. I'm no stranger to certain members of the audience getting high on drugs … not that I condone it myself, most certainly I don't, and wouldn't touch them personally. I value my sanity and life too much … but say you catch this person selling drugs here, there'd soon be someone else taking their place.'

She eyed him closely. ‘So you are saying we should turn a blind eye to this, are you?'

‘All I'm trying to point out, Jackie, is that unless you strip-search everyone who comes into the camp, I don't see how you will be able to stop drugs being taken by those who want to take them.'

She could see his point and sighed heavily. ‘Well, Vic, maybe we won't be able to but until Mrs Jolly comes back and decides what measures she wants to put in place to prevent this kind of thing going on, then it's down to Mr Rose and me to do our best to put a stop to it.'

Kitty put in, ‘As a member of the medical profession with a good idea of the dangers of drug-taking, I agree with you, Jackie. It is your duty as part of management to do your best to stop these youngsters putting their lives in danger.'

Jackie suddenly froze as a memory struck her. She pondered it for a moment before worriedly asking Kitty, ‘If someone had taken some sort of drug, would they have glazed eyes and be dancing like … well, demented chickens? That sort of thing?'

Kitty nodded. ‘Amphetamines would cause them to act like that.'

Jackie looked even more worried as something occurred to her. ‘A few weeks ago, me and Ginger were in Groovy's and there were some girls dancing crazily. We just thought they were drunk … and I've seen both girls and lads acting like that since … but now I wonder if it wasn't drink that was the cause but drugs. If that's the case then this has been going on for a while and it can't be one of the campers they're getting the drugs from but a member of staff.' She issued another despairing groan, scraping her hand through her hair. ‘Oh, God, it was bad enough thinking a camper was dealing the drugs, but a member of staff …

‘The drugs must be changing hands somehow in Groovy's. I'll speak to the staff, ask them to keep a special eye out for anything they see they think is suspicious, and report it back to management.' Then another thought occurred to her. ‘Oh, but then, what if it's one of the Groovy's staff who's the culprit and I'm warning them we're on to them? They could make a bolt for it before we can get them arrested by the police, and be free to carry on their business at another camp or town.' She looked at the others imploringly. ‘I shall have to tell Mr Rose, of course, but apart from telling him we have to keep this to ourselves, so whoever it is doesn't get wind and scarper before we can bring him to the attention of the police.'

Having received their assurances they would not breathe a word, Jackie's thoughts returned to coming up with a plausible plan to catch the dealer red-handed. Another memory returned. A couple of years ago they'd discovered they had a thief amongst the staff and Jackie spent long evenings with Drina, Rhonnie, Dan and the receptionists, hiding for hours in cramped conditions, until the guilty people were observed, caught and prosecuted for their illicit activities. It seemed to her that the only way to catch the drug dealer was to use the same plan, spending every evening in Groovy's looking out for any suspicious goings on. Jackie enjoyed going to Groovy's once or twice a week, but the idea of spending all her evenings there for the foreseeable future did not appeal at all. But if that was what it took to catch the guilty party and keep the good name of the camp intact, then so be it.

She outlined her plan to Vic and Kitty, concluding with, ‘We can't ask Mr Rose to help patrol Groovy's as he'll stick out like a sore thumb.' And without thinking she added, ‘As would you, Kitty.'

The nurse's eyebrows rose in indignation. ‘Thank you for reminding me that I've one foot in my grave, dear.'

Jackie gasped and exclaimed, ‘Oh, I'm so sorry, Kitty, I didn't mean … look, what I meant was … er …'

The nurse chuckled. ‘Stop panicking! I'm having fun with you, dear. I know you wouldn't say anything deliberately to hurt me. I'm well aware my days of throwing myself around a dance floor are gone. In my day the jive was all the rage and to me that's what you call dancing, not all this jiggling around you youngsters do now. Anyway, my long shifts here and my home life don't allow me much, if any, free time, so as much as I'd have liked to, I'm not able to offer you any help, I'm afraid.'

Jackie smiled at her. ‘I appreciate the fact that you would have helped if you could.' She then turned to look at Vic. ‘You can't help either, as you'll be on stage playing with the band except for Wednesdays. Next Wednesday, if you've nothing better on, your help would be appreciated. But let's hope by then we've caught whoever it is and life's back to normal. I realise that it will look odd if I'm in Groovy's by myself playing detective so I will have to recruit someone else, but the person I have in mind is perfectly trustworthy.'

When she told them that person was Ginger they had no argument with her choice.

As Vic walked her back to her chalet later, Jackie noticed that he was unusually quiet. ‘Penny for them?' she asked.

‘Eh! Oh, it's just that I look forward to the time we spend together, but with you on this mission to catch the person selling drugs it means I won't get to be with you until they're safely behind bars. I'll miss you, that's all.'

It surprised Jackie to realise how much she would miss him too. Again she reminded herself that she was on the road to heartache if she carried on allowing her feelings for Vic to deepen as come the end of the season they would have to part. Trouble was, she couldn't seem to make herself act on her own advice.

Back at the chalet, Jackie took Ginger into her confidence and requested her help in uncovering who it was dealing drugs, which would involve them going to Groovy's every night. Ginger was so excited at being involved in what she saw as an undercover operation, especially when it meant having an excuse to go to her favourite venue every night, that she bubbled over to the point where eventually Jackie had to tell her to shut up about it so they could get some sleep or they'd be fit for nothing the next day.