Bullet Hole by Keith Miles

Author:Keith Miles
Language: eng, eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Published: 2012-04-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

The first day of an Open is always a very special occasion. Tension is at a peak among the players and nerves are taut as they make their initial bid for what is, in effect, the world championship of the game. Officials are on their mettle and golfing correspondents from every corner of the globe watch with eager anticipation to see if their private hopes and public predictions blossom. There is an infectious air of excitement about and you can feel a great, surging, collective love of the game all around you.

Then there are the spectators.

Crowds steadily grow and are at their largest and most inflammable on the last day, but the true fans are in at the start. They know that an Open Championship is decided over four long days of golf and that the foundations of any later success are laid at the very beginning. They come to watch the whole event, not just the closing stages. They are there for the golf, not simply for the result.

As I waited in a queue to get to the competitors’ car park, I could sense the familiar hum of golfing mania as herds of people converged on the entrances to swell the galleries already inside the Old Course. Though I was still the object of many suspicious glances, I also got a number of waves and shouts of encouragement from passing fans. Clive Phelps had obviously had a lot of readers that morning.

I parked Carnoustie and gave Nairn MacNicol a cheery salute as he came towards me. Three days of sobriety had taken years off him and he was looking more boyish than ever. He took possession of my clubs.

‘How are the early birds doing, Nairn?’

‘Struggling, Mr. Saxon.’

‘This wind is going to be a real headache,’ I sighed.

‘Ye’ll be lucky to make par.’

I would be lucky to get through the four rounds alive.

Play had started at 7:30 a.m. and several competitors were already out on the course engaged in three-sided battles. Distant cheers and groans spoke of joy and heartbreak on the first green.

Security men arrived to escort us to the locker rooms. Since we had time in hand, I then took the trouble to seek out Gordon Reeman. He was my go-between with the police and there were some things I was keen to know about their activities. I found him on the clubhouse terrace, talking with his wife, a thin, handsome, middle-aged woman in a wheelchair. When he saw that I wanted him, he took me aside.

‘Are you being properly looked after, Alan?’

‘By your lads, yes.’

‘Good.’

‘As soon as I get within a hundred yards of this place, a guard of honour comes to my aid. Thanks, Gordon.’ I glanced around. ‘What I haven’t seen any sign of so far is the police. Superintendent Ings said that there would be detectives keeping a friendly eye on me.’

‘There are, Alan.’

‘How many?’

‘I’ve seen two so far this morning.’

‘Can you point them out?’

‘I’m not sure if that would be wise,’ he said cautiously.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.