Chapter Fifteen: More 'Faiths' Are Added And Gambling
Spring was starting to progress nicely as was Isabella's pregnancy. I still dropped into the Bull for a quick pint, either on my way back from school or property dealings and renovations. Understandably I wanted to spend more time with my wife.
Pretty much the usual crew was there. However, their numbers had expanded. There was a Sufi Muslim Imam, a Hindu, and a Buddhist priest along with a Jewish Rabbi. Plus a lady who is a Wicca, a follower of pagan witchcraft.
Sid and Beryl had to consulate their daughters regarding the food and drink for each of these different religious groups. They all seemed to want to avoid alcohol. This was not the case with the Wicca lady who seemed to relish a combination of pints of real ale and wine.
As I said I did not want to get too involved as I did not want to stay long. The meeting seemed to be getting pretty unmanageable, given its size and diversity.
Magda was given 'chair cleaning duties'. This soon brought Old Slippery back to life, so to speak. He sat back in his chair and seemed very amused. It took him a while to appraise the newcomers. The 'newcomers' were certainly taken aback. Reading about the ghost was one thing, seeing him 'for real' was another. Slippery looked at and appraised each newcomer very carefully. In his day all of these religions would have belonged in some distant and far off land. Maybe not so the Wicca representative.
There were rumours that The Right Hon Jake Horatio Higginbottom' had contacts with pagan groups at that time. These were practitioners of 'dark magic'. This was not the case with this lady, as she was a 'white witch'. The 'wise woman', healer and midwife of the deep past. She had a strong belief in the power of nature. She was also a shaman.
All the new people were reporting that Slippery had entered their minds. This seemed to be a trick that he was gleefully employing.
Pamela Parsons from the BBC had also found time to be there. She was used to chairing large meetings. This group seemed too diverse and did not have a specific focus to make any real progress. She suggested everyone was welcome to contribute to the new documentary that was being produced via the BBC and 'Slippery Productions'. Everything in it would be open to everyone present for discussion and anyone could make alterations. She thanked Dr. Amelia Smith and Professor James Hudson for their contributions to date as well as access to the work of their Ph.D. students on this topic. She would welcome any insight from any of the newcomers at the Bull. They all agreed to this as it seemed to make sense. Contact details were duly exchanged.
As for mind-reading, Professor Hudson stated that mind reading and telepathy had long been debunked by scientific studies. He had to admit, however, that something strange was going on here. He mooted the possibility of a test in the Bull. This could not take place with such a large number as there was at present. There was a consensus that this was an excellent idea.
Each of the new participants then added some thoughts of their own. A number had experienced Old Slippery wandering around in their heads.
Professor James Hudson raised the notion of 'tells'. These were something that poker players could pick up from other players. These were reflex subconscious reactions. Maybe the ghost could read these? This did not explain, however, how the ghost seemed to actually enter your mind? This seemed to be the case. Alternatively is this just what psychologists call 'emphatic accuracy', the ability to read a whole set of 'tells' accurately?
But again people did feel that the ghost was actually 'in their heads'! However, there were mystical traditions in Buddhism and Hinduism. Vihaan Bhat, the Hindu Priest, said he would look into this. Everybody discussed mysticism. Every major religion had a branch that specialized in this. Everyone else said they would also investigate these 'mind-reading' incidents. They had all experienced something since entering The Bull, to a greater or lesser extent.
And Gambling
Things were pretty quiet in the Lounge Bar Restaurant. The Chief did notice a rather nervous gentleman with his head buried in his newspaper texting away on his cell phone in one hard and with his credit card in the other hand.
"Ah betting on the horses?" the Detective Chief Inspector thought. He was right. Old Slippery, of course, noticed this as well. This did not annoy him far from it. He produced a large mischievous smirk. "Ah, gambling is still alive and well." He thought to himself. This somewhat amused him. People were just as stupid as ever!
This was picked up by the Chief. He got into a brief telepathic conversation with the Old Ghost. Yes, people were quite happy to waste their money gambling. He then went on to report this to everyone on the committee.
Professor Hudson then started to elaborate on another important facet of Slippery Jake's character. His love of gambling. In a gentleman's club then it was highly likely that gambling was taking place.
There was a whole range of card games. These included an early form of Contract Bridge which was very popular along with Whist, Piquet, Vingt-et-un, and many others. Betting on Cock Fights, plus Bull and Bear Baiting were common This was where the Bull Pub got its name. The professor knew that the pub's car park was the site of the 'bull pit'. Plus of course the 'pit bull terrier' was breed for this job. May be not legal then but these activities were starting to lose favour during that period anyway.
Sid shot the professor a nervous look. No, there were no plans to dig up the pub's car park. Beryl would definitely fly into a rage. Sid knew that he had dug up odd bones along with clay pipes around the outside of the car park when doing some gardening there.
Given this plethora of all kinds of betting it was little wonder that huge fortunes were lost. Beau Brummell was THE figure of the Regency. He was dedicated to male fashion. As I have stated very much a rival of Old Slippery. He was a close friend of the Prince Regent. All his fortune was lost in gambling. He died destitute and needless to say died of syphilis.
The Right Hon Jake Horatio Higginbottom was more than aware of all of this. He did make some money gambling. There were stories of duels and gambling disputes in which Old Slippery summarily dispatched his opponents with a quick thrust to the heart with his trusted rapier. As a result, he often 'won' at card games. His opponents were more than fearful of the consequences of Old Slippery losing.
Consequently, he was not welcome at 'gentlemen's' card games. He saw that this whole gambling activity was a 'mug's game'. He did have a good 'eye' for money. Being a highwayman was a lot more lucrative, profitable, and straightforward.
Old Slippery was of course 'listening in'. He nodded sagely and looked across at the good professor touching the rim of his three-cornered hat. Professor Hudson reciprocated with a slight nod and a smile. Yes, things change but stay the same.
However, another matter urgently needed dealing with. That was the presence of Mr. Sellers, the Snake. Somehow he had slivered in. He was 'coiled up' ready to pounce on any juicy 'copy' that might be out there.
Old Slippery was also getting uncomfortable. The characteristic signs were starting to appear again. There was an underlying 'rattling' across the whole bar. This was started to be noticed by the customers. Sid and Beryl were also worried. They didn't want a repeat of what had happened before when Slippery had 'removed' the Russian mafia. It had taken Beryl and Sid quite a while to get all their regular customers back. Understandably they were both starting to get very anxious.
The Detective Chief Inspector had a solution. He had brought a small briefcase with him. He took out a neatly typed file stapled together on A4 paper. It was all the 'dirt' on Slippery. His liking for certain 'ladies'. There were short cuts that the Chief Inspector had taken to get this information, some of them very borderline 'legal'. Plus, some dubious sources of funding that he had employed to get the information.
For the Chief, the 'ends always justified the means.' The Detective Chief Inspector was going to play the Snake at his own game. There was also more than just a bit of surreptitious blackmail.
The Detective Chief Inspector quickly moved across to where the Snake was sitting. He placed the documents in front of Mr. Sellers. The Detective Chief Inspector quickly got down to business. He had the option of leaving the Bull Public House and never returning or these documents would be leaked to the press. The very same 'press' that had eagerly used the 'dirt' that the Snake had supplied. The Snake immediately understood the implications. His career, for what it was, would be ruined. So he capitulated and promptly left the room.
On returning to his chair, the Detective Chief Inspector noticed that Old Slippery was grinning from ear to ear. He looked directly at the Detective Chief Inspector. He knew what had taken place. He admired the way the Detective Chief Inspector had dealt with this. He was a 'chip off the old block' alright, which technically he was, being a direct descendant of the highwayman. Maybe the ghost was aware of the mayhem he would create if he had put his icy cold hands around the neck of the Snake. Possibly he did not want to upset the trade in The Bull, as Sid the landlord was another one of his offspring. All this was purely conjectural. Again, however, this showed an increasing awareness within this ghost.
Old Slippery then got up from his chair, made a deep bow in the direction of the Detective Chief Inspector, twirling extravagantly, his three-cornered hat from downstairs. The Detective Chief Inspector duly reciprocated by making a deep bow.
Just about everybody in the Lounge Bar was flabbergasted by this. Diners at each table had their mouths wide open.
Then Slippery faded away. Enough work for today maybe? The Detective Chief Inspector returned to his chair. All the different religious parties were still there and were amazed by these turn of events. The Detective Chief Inspector gave a summary of who the Snake was, and what had happened before.
The consensus among all the different religious representatives was that there was a definite consciousness there. The ghost could clearly 'read' what was going on. He had a very subtle and sophisticated understanding of events. This was not the 'cardboard cut out' ghost of Hollywood. Yes, all of that was proceeding very nicely as well.
Sandra and Kevin, as usual, had made a very good recording of the entire event. Copies would be sent to all the interested parties at the meeting with the strict understanding that this would not leak out to the press. Hopefully, all these different religious bodies would abide by this, which they all did.