SOPHIE’S FLAT - SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Sophie lay back in her bath, eyes closed, luxuriating with the warm water up to her chin.
She heard the telephone ringing in the other room. Her answer machine switched on and she waited to hear the caller’s message.
She heard the voice of her boss at the television channel. “Hi, Sophie. Frank here. Something big has just come up and we need you to do a report. I’m sorry, I know this is your day off, but this is huge and you are the only person who can do it. This could be a really big break for you. Please give me a call at home when you can. Please Sophie. Bye.“
The message ended and Sophie sighed.
Sophie took her time and finished her bath. She dried herself and walked through to her living room still undressed. She picked up the telephone, dialled Frank’s number and waited.
“Hello. Frank Docherty speaking.”
“Hello Frank, Sophie here. What’s all the panic about?”
Sophie’s boss replied excitedly. “Sophie! This is the big one. You remember Billy Dark? Well, his people have contacted us today to ask us to set up his first interview in over twenty five years. They say he wants you to interview him and it’s got to be today. This could be the biggest story our channel has ever had, and it’s going to be an exclusive. “
Sophie was puzzled. “Billy Dark? Who’s he?”
Frank replied in disbelief. “Who’s he? Don’t you remember him in the early seventies. He was massive, bigger than everybody else in rock music. He toured the world constantly. He was almost as big as The Beatles. You’ve got to remember him, Sophie.”
Sophie smiled. “Frank, I’m only twenty six years old. I don’t even remember the early seventies.”
Frank calmed down slightly. “What? Oh, of course. I’d forgotten that you would be too young to remember him. Surely you must have heard of him though.”
“Sorry, Frank. I’m not a big fan of rock music anyway. I guess you’ll have to get somebody else to interview him.”
“Sophie! This is the biggest story for years. We can’t miss out on this. If you don’t do it they may go to another channel. He’s been a recluse for twenty five years ever since a fan tried to kill him. A lot of people thought he had died. He hasn’t worked or spoken to anyone in all that time. Now he wants to speak to you.”
“Me? Why me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he saw one of you reports on TV and liked the look of you. It doesn’t really matter. This will be a huge break for you, Sophie. The interview will get worldwide coverage. You’ve always wanted to move to a bigger stage. This could be your big chance.”
Sophie thought for a moment. This did sound like a great opportunity. She did want to move on from being a news reporter for a minor television channel. This could give her valuable exposure and lead to bigger things.
“But you said he wanted to be interviewed today. How can I do that if I don’t even know who he is?”
“Don’t worry, Sophie. I’ve had the guys at the office working on a brief. It’s already been e-mailed to you. It even has a list of questions. All you have to do is go and talk to him. Dave Waters will go with you to shoot the interview.”
“Dave Waters? But he’s producer of Terry King’s Challenge show. He’s not a cameraman. Why not take our own crew?”
“Billy knows Dave from years ago. He directed a documentary on one of Billy’s tours. That’s another reason he chose our channel. Billy wants to be interviewed by you and filmed by Dave. Nobody else is to be involved. It’ll be at a secret location later today.”
Sophie was intrigued by the whole thing. “OK. OK. Send me the details. When and where will the interview take place.”
“At 7 o’ clock, that’s in just over three hours. I’ll get Dave to pick you up about six. He knows the location. That gives you two hours to look at our notes and get yourself ready. Please do your best, Sophie. This is important to us all.”
“OK, Frank. Bye.” She put down the phone.
Sophie walked naked into her little spare room office. She switched on the PC and checked her e-mails. She picked out the one about Billy Dark and printed it.
A few minutes later Sophie settled down on her sofa to read about twenty pages of information about Billy Dark.
“He certainly was big in the seventies. Funny I’ve never even heard of him.”
For an hour Sophie digested the information, methodically taking notes and getting a clear picture of the man in her head. By the end she had a pretty good knowledge of his past and knew all the questions she would ask him.
Confident about her subject, Sophie went to get herself ready. She chose a pink blouse to wear with a dark grey suit. She decided that a few open buttons wouldn’t do her any harm and might help get her noticed by her new audience. Looking at her slim body in the full length mirror, Sophie thought that the outfit worked quite well, giving the impression of her as a serious journalist, but also showing off her figure to full effect. She tied her long blonde hair in a ponytail, allowing her lovely face and blue eyes to be shown off to full effect.
Satisfied, Sophie settled down to wait for her cameraman to arrive.
IN THE CAR
Sophie got into Dave’s car and smiled at him.
“Hi Dave. This is a bit of a surprise.”
Dave was about fifty with greying hair and glasses. He wore his usual blue baseball cap, and as always, was scruffy, dressed in sweat shirt and jeans.
“Hello Sophie. Yes. I only heard this morning about Billy wanting to be interviewed. I should be working on Terry’s show tonight, but this is far more important.”
“What have the viewers been challenging Terry to do this week, Dave? Any politicians being put in their place by him this week? What about TV people, anybody I know being humiliated?”
“You know all the challenges are secret until the show. You’ll have to watch to find out.”
He reached down and lifted up a piece of black cloth.
“What’s that, Dave?”
“I’m sorry, Sophie. I’ve been asked to make sure you don’t know where we go to. I need to blindfold you.”
He folded the cloth into a long strip. Sophie didn’t like the idea at all.
“I guess he won’t let me go to do the interview if I don’t wear this. Is that right?”
“I’m afraid so, Sophie. Don’t be worried. It’s not a long journey. We’ll be there in no time.”
Reluctantly Sophie leaned across for Dave to blindfold her. “I guess I’ve no choice. Don’t make it too tight, Dave.”
Dave finished securing the blindfold and Sophie relaxed into her seat.
AT THE CASTLE
“You can take the blindfold off now, Sophie. We’re on a private road leading to Billy’s place. I think it’s safe for you to see where we are now.”
Relieved, Sophie removed the blindfold and blinked, trying to get used to the light. It was now evening, but the summer sun still shone brightly.
The car was being driven along a very narrow, tree lined road. Sophie looked for some clues about her whereabouts. She just had no idea. After an hour’s drive they could be just about anywhere in Southern England.
The road began to widen and they approached a small castle. Dave stopped the car outside the main entrance.
Sophie was impressed. “Wow, this is where he lives! He lives in a castle! “
“He certainly does,” replied Dave. “He’s not short of a bob or two.”
They got out of the car and climbed the steps leading up to the main entrance.
A tall, elegantly dressed woman of about thirty approached them.
“Hello, Miss Skinner. I’m Michelle, Mister Dark’s P.A. I’m so glad you could come. He’s been looking forward to meeting you. He’s a big fan of yours.”
Sophie shook the woman’s hand. “Hi. Thanks. I’d like to say I’m a big fan of Billy’s, but all his work is a bit before my time. I can only remember him a little.”
“Of course,” the young woman smiled. “He’s been out of circulation for quite a while. That’s why we wanted this interview. We hope to be able to launch his career again. He’s been back in the studio for the last few months.”
Sophie turned to look at Dave. He was already filming. “You’ve met Dave, I presume.”
“Yes, we met earlier today. Mister Dark and Mister Waters go back a long way. “
The woman led them around the side of the castle. Sophie thought they were going to enter by a back entrance, but Michelle kept walking away from the building.
“Where are we going, Dave?” Sophie whispered.
“He’s in a walled garden at the side. Apparently he spends most if his time there.”
Michelle stopped at a gate in a high wall. She turned to speak to Sophie.
“Mister Dark is in his garden. I’ll just go inside and make sure he’s ready. I won’t be long.” She turned and entered, closing the iron gate behind her.
“Dave, this is really weird. You mean he spends most of his time in a garden?”
“I think so. It seems strange to me too. He was a really normal guy in the old days.”
They waited for Michelle to return. Dave continued to film Sophie as she glanced through her notes.
Michelle came out of the garden. She looked worried.
“I’m afraid there’s a bit of a problem. He’s really nervous tonight. He’s worried about letting you in.”
Sophie glanced nervously at the camera and then looked back at Michelle. “What’s the problem?”
“He’s always worried about someone trying to harm him. He always thinks people are going to pull a gun out or set a bomb off or something. That’s why he’s been a bit of a recluse for such a long time now.”
