Chaos At Christmas – Episode 16
Chaos At Christmas by Ewan Smith
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- 1. Chaos At Christmas – Episode 16
Ferelith jogged steadily along her usual route. She had always been an early bird and she liked having a run first thing before most people were up. Quite apart from the physical exercise, which she enjoyed, it was such a lovely calm start to her morning.
It was still dark, though the sky had begun to lighten over the buildings in the distance. There was a little noise from the traffic but mostly all she had to listen to was the sound of her feet on the artificial snow. The route she had worked out around the grounds of the hotel was just under 800 metres. Running it six times took her around half an hour and that was just the sort of workout she needed.
She thought about the day ahead, preparing herself. Christmas was only five days away and everything at the Manor was gathering pace as they approached the big celebration. There was plenty for her to do, though none of it was too challenging, she didn’t think. The sudden arrival of Lyle and his party had been a shock for everyone at the hotel.
The staff found themselves having to deal with very different guests to those whom they were used to. However, they had all quickly adapted to the new situation. The evening before in her dad’s spacious flat, Lionel had said how pleased he was at the way things had settled down. “We may even have a fairly normal Christmas at this rate,” he had said as the two of them had relaxed in front of the television with a drink. Though Ferelith had crossed her fingers just to be on the safe side.
She breathed steadily as she ran. She didn’t push herself on her morning jogs; they were just a chance to wake up her body and get her mind ready for the day.
“Morning, Ferelith,” a voice called. “I think it’s going to be another nice one.”
“Hopefully, Angela,” Ferelith called back with a wave. “It’s a beautiful sunrise.” Angela was on her way to check the penguins. She and the other two supervisors were staying in a campervan parked at the rear of the hotel.
“Perhaps I should join you on your jog tomorrow.”
“You’d be very welcome.”
Ferelith glanced at the sunrise as she ran. The colours in the sky were extraordinary; they were changing with every moment. Her thoughts drifted towards Geraint, something which seemed to be happening more and more often. He was such a sweet person. They barely knew each other but it felt to her as if they were already friends.
Though perhaps that was because he was friendly with everyone. She would have liked to get to know him better but everything was so busy at the hotel. The Christmas rush meant that there wasn’t really the opportunity for socialising. And while she did bump into him regularly through work, it tended only to be in passing. She pondered on possibilities as she jogged.
Ferelith! Ferelith!
The voice broke into her daydreams. She came to a stop, dragging herself back to the present. But then her expression changed to one of shock. “Angela? What’s the matter?”
Angela looked distraught. She wiped her cheeks with her hands; there were tears pouring from her eyes.
It’s the penguins – they’ve gone!
Moments later, Ferelith was gazing at the scene in disbelief. “It’s my own stupid fault,” Angela cried. “I should have set up a tent next to the penguins. It never occurred to me that they weren’t safe here.”
Ferelith put an arm round her shoulders. “You mustn’t blame yourself, Angela. You and the others have been taking really good care of the penguins.”
She looked around, trying to work out what could have happened. Her immediate thought had been that the penguins must have escaped somehow. But part of the fencing had been dismantled; the penguins couldn’t have done that. Anyway, the entrance to their enclosure was wide open and hanging from it was a home-made banner with ‘Wild Meanz Free!!!’ scrawled across it.
“It must have been done by animal activists,” Angela said, looking at the banner in dismay. “Those poor penguins; I hope they haven’t come to any harm.”
Ferelith squeezed her shoulders. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. If it was protestors who did this then they’ll be people who care about animal welfare. They may be misguided but I’m sure they’ll take good care of the penguins.”
She quickly roused the other two supervisors and got them to look after Angela who was very upset. Then she called her father and explained what had happened. He wasted no time in bemoaning the situation. “Is it possible that the penguins escaped by themselves?”
Ferelith explained about the banner. “They must have been freed by someone. The question is what happened to them then.”
“Might they still be somewhere in the grounds?”
“I don’t think so, Dad. There was no sign of them when I went for my jog.” A sudden thought struck her. “Though I suppose they could be in one of the hotel buildings.”
Lionel laughed. “I suspect that they would have been noticed.”
“I was thinking of the pool area.”
“I suppose that’s possible.” Though he sounded doubtful. “I’ll send someone to check it out. Meanwhile, I’ll contact the police and let them know about the situation. Could you have a look at the CCTV. Perhaps that will tell us what was going on?”
“Of course, Dad. I’ll get right onto it.”
Having checked that Angela was alright, Ferelith headed back to the hotel. Geraint had just arrived for work. He greeted her with a smile. “You’re up and about early. Did you see the amazing sunrise?”
“It was lovely, wasn’t it?” Though it seemed a long time ago now.
He frowned, noticing the worried expression on her face. “Is everything alright?” She explained about the disappearance of the penguins and his eyes widened in shock. “Somebody freed them? How was that managed that without anyone hearing or seeing anything?”
Ferelith shook her head. “I’m not sure. But I suppose if it happened in the middle of the night then there wouldn’t have been anyone keeping an eye on the grounds. There’s always someone on duty at the desk but they’re only responsible for what’s happening inside the hotel. Anyway, Dad has asked me to have a look at the CCTV. Perhaps that will give us some clues.”
“Would you like me to help? Your father asked me to liaise with the company when the system was being set up. I know how it works.”
Ferelith was surprised by the spurt of pleasure which went through her. “What about your work?”
“Faisal and the lads can manage for an hour or so without my help.”
“Then I’d like that, Geraint. Thank you.”
Inside the hotel, there was a huddle around the reception desk. Franklyn Boscoby was speaking sharply to Lionel; he didn’t sound at all happy. “How could something like this happen without anyone noticing what was going on? It’s outrageous!”
Lionel was trying to maintain his usual calm demeanour. “With respect, we’ve done our very best at the Manor to deal with having penguins in our grounds even though we were given no warning about their appearance beforehand.”
Franklyn just brushed his words aside. “For a hotel of your quality, Mr Cranford, I would have expected a much higher standard of security.”
Lionel flushed slightly. “The security of our guests has always been a priority. However, penguins are a rather different matter.”
“So what do you intend to do about it?”
“The police have been informed about the situation. They’re sending someone round to investigate.”
