Not as far as Velma
by Nicholas Freeling
Nicholas Freeling - Not as far as Velma
BBC Radio 4
Though they delve into crime and criminal investigation, Nicolas Freeling's mysteries usually serve up a kind of social stew in which a
policeman patiently reduces the ingredients of the case to see what is essential--sometimes it's the criminal; sometimes it's not. In "Not As
Far As Velma", Freeling's ingredients include a concentration camp survivor, a Catholic bishop, a New Zealander rugby player, a renegade
British journalist and a kind hoteliere. Henri Castang, now a Commissaire in a nameless northern French city, looks into two seemingly
unrelated incidents--the disappearance of a woman and the terrorist bombing of a convent--and discovers that these represent the
denouement of a chain of events that began long before. ...
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell in six 30-minute episodes from Nicolas Freeling's 1989 novel, 'Not As Far As Velma', his 12th 'Henri
Castang' novel.
Directed by Matthew Walters
Also broadcast on World Service (dates unknown).
Notes for Episode 1: 'A Landlady Goes Missing' (Thursday 4th October 1990 @ 11:00 p.m.)
When Adrienne Sergent, a woman who ran a little hotel in a provincial town in northern France called the Hotel Caravane, disappears, all
Commissaire Henri Castang has to go on is the hotel register on the night she vanished. Most of them are regulars but there's one name and
address on the list that no one can account for - Paul Marklake - a name that occurs nowhere else in the register. Because Marklake, a
painter, lives in Paris and thus outside of Castang's jurisdiction, he asks the local Paris police to make inquiries on his behalf. ...
With Keith Barron [Commissaire Henri Castang of the Police Judiciaire], Edita Brychta [Vera, Henri's Wife], Clive Swift [Paul Marklake, a
Painter], Auriol Smith [Gabrielle, Paul's Wife], Michael Kilgarriff [Captain Robin, the Fire Officer], Nigel Carrington [Nelson 'Nelly' Walter,
a New Zealand Rugby Player], Elizabeth Kelly [The Doctor], Vincent Brimble [Inspector Fabre], and David King [Monsieur Delaunay,
an Inspector on the Railways].
Other parts played by members of the cast.
30 minutes
2) 'Explosions in a Convent' (Thursday 11th October 1990 @ 11:00 p.m.)
There is a bomb explosion in the Rue Saint-Jacques, in the old part of town, that destroys a 'convent' that was set up in an ordinary
residential house. The front had been blown at street level and the facade of the stories above had folded down on top of that. Of the eleven
Sisters that lived there, two were dead, one badly injured, while the others were taken for treatment. The use of semtex for the bomb made
it a professional job, but why would anyone want to blow up a convent? Was there a political motive?
With Keith Barron [Commissaire Henri Castang of the Police Judiciaire], Edita Brychta [Vera, Henri's Wife], Clive Swift [Paul Marklake, a
Painter], Michael Kilgarriff [Captain Robin, the Fire Officer / Meneer Koopman], Vincent Brimble [An American Reporter], Auriol Smith
[Gabrielle, Paul's Wife], Danielle Allan [Junior Inspector Varennes], Elizabeth Kelly [The Doctor], Ian Lindsay [Divisional Commissaire
Sabatier from Lille], James Greene [The Bishop], and Sheila Mitchell [Sister Annunziata].
30 minutes
3) 'Springtime in Sussex' (Thursday 18th October 1990 @ 11:00 p.m.)
Castang continues his investigation into the bomb blast that destroyed a convent and feels there might be a link to the disappearance of
Adrienne Sergent. Also, one of the guests at her hotel that they still haven't been able to track down, Robert MacLeod, seemed to be on
intimate terms with Ada.
The convent was run by an Order of Missionary Nursing Sisters who spread out in small groups all over the world. The nuns had just
returned from war-torn Nicaragua, Central America, for a few weeks of rest before heading out on their next assignment. Adrienne Sergent
helped out at the convent and struck up a friendship with Sister Annunziata, the Head of the group.
With the help of the Bishop and Sister Annunziata, Castang is able to piece together a political conspiracy involved in the bombing. As he
digs deeper, he finds that there is a connection between Robert MacLeod and the abrupt return from Nicaragua by the nuns. His search for
the elusive Robert leads him to Sussex where he meets Robert's surrogate father, Erskine MacLeod ...
With Keith Barron [Commissaire Henri Castang of the Police Judiciaire], Clive Swift [Paul Marklake, a Painter], James Greene [The
Bishop], Sheila Mitchell [Sister Annunziata], Auriol Smith [Gabrielle, Paul's Wife], Peter Howell [Erskine MacLeod, Robert's Stepfather],
Ian Lindsay [Divisional Commissaire Sabatier from Lille], David King [Hughie Hamilton], Fraser Kerr [Saul Carstairs, a Newspaper
Editor], and Brian Miller [Wise Old Baloo].
30 minutes
4) 'Boring Old Biarritz' (Thursday 25th October 1990 @ 11:00 p.m.)
While in Sussex, Castang learned that Robert was born a few months after WWII ended to a German concentration camp military nurse
who was a member of the SS. She soon died afterwards in a POW camp but not before she made Erskine MacLeod, a War
Correspondent at the time who was in love with her, promis to save and raise Robert. Whatever his faults Robert was not mean-minded.
He didn't care a damn about money and had odd, oldfashioned notions of chivalry.
From information gathered so far, Robert had been a freelance journalist in Nicaragua, hanging around with the nuns when they were there
treating the mercenaries. One day, a Contra helicopter carrying something of value on board worth millions of dollars was shot down by the
local mercenaries. In the confusion of the firefight that followed, Robert was able to sneak on board and retrieved a briefcase containing
CIA payment to the Contras, and then disappeared. Castang believes that he followed the nuns back to France to give them some of the
money (in a discreet way). The facists picked up on his trail and followed him to France but seemed to have missed him. Out of spite, they
bombed the convent. Just before the bombing, the man who signed his name into the registry as Paul Marklake did a vanishing act along
with the hotel proprietor, Ada Sergent.
Meanwhile, Paul Marklake receives a letter from a Swiss bank telling him that he has £800,000 that is being held for his convenience. Paul
doesn't need this sort of worry at his age. He's frightened. As a Polish-Jew in Auschwitz during the war, he paid money to escape from the
Third Reich. He doesn't like money; he doesn't need it; he doesn't understand it.
Castang gets a lead to Ada's whereabouts when a former hotel guest spots her in Biarritz on the basque coast of south west France. Now
that the bombing investigation has been passed on to the Renseignements Généraux (RG) due to its political connections, Castang decides
to take his family immediately on vacation to Biarritz for a few weeks ....
With Keith Barron [Commissaire Henri Castang of the Police Judiciaire], Edita Brychta [Vera, Henri's Wife], Clive Swift [Paul Marklake, a
Painter], James Greene [The Bishop], John Horsley [Adrien Richard, formerly a Divisional Commissaire in the PJ], Auriol Smith [Judith,
Adrien's Wife], Simon Treves [Robert MacLeod, a Freelance Journalist], David King [Monsieur Delaunay, an Inspector on the Railways],
and Ian Lindsay [Divisional Commissaire Sabatier from Lille].
30 minutes
5) 'An Infirmary in Auschwitz' (Thursday 1st November 1990 @ 11:00 p.m.)
While vacationing, Castang meets up with his old boss, Adrien Richard, who has retired in the area, and updates him on what's going on.
Through Richard, Castang is able to meet up with Robert MacLeod. He warns him that he should be planning to leave soon as the
Renseignements Généraux (RG) will soon be swooping down to nab him regarding the convent bombing, even though he had nothing to do
with it. All Castang asked of him is a chance to meet Ada. This he does and Castang is able to piece together the mystery of the missing
landlady.
Meanwhile, Castang has set up Marklake to paint the portrait of the Bishop in his town. During the painting, the two discuss many topics
but soon, the conversation turns to Marklake's time as a Polish-Jew in Auschwitz and his meeting of a young nuse in the Infirmary ...
With Keith Barron [Commissaire Henri Castang of the Police Judiciaire], Edita Brychta [Vera, Henri's Wife / The Nurse], Clive Swift [Paul
Marklake, a Painter], James Greene [The Bishop], Ian Lindsay [The Major], Simon Treves [The Second Lieutenant], Elizabeth Mansfield
[Adrienne (Ada) Sergent], and Angus Wright [Commissaire Morosini of the Renseignements Généraux (RG)].
30 minutes
6) 'Tipping the Black Spot' (Thursday 8th November 1990 @ 11:00 p.m.)
All the loose ends seemed to have been tied up for Castang. Marklake has given the £800,000 to the Bishop to help rebuild the convent
and provide for the nuns' needs while Robert and Ada are set to start a new life, maybe in South America, but not if Commissaire Morosini
has his way.
Castang is aware that the Renseignements Généraux (RG) are already in town looking for Robert. While he entertains Morosini, a note is
sent to Robert tipping him the 'black spot', two monosyllables warning of impending danger that any English schoolboy would understand,
having read "Treasure Island", while no Frenchman would understand the meaning if the message was intercepted. ...
With Keith Barron [Commissaire Henri Castang of the Police Judiciaire], Edita Brychta [Vera, Henri's Wife], James Greene [The Bishop],
Angus Wright [Commissaire Morosini of the Renseignements Généraux (RG)], Simon Treves [Robert MacLeod, a Freelance Journalist],
Elizabeth Mansfield [Adrienne (Ada) Sergent], Auriol Smith [Judith Richard, Adrien's Wife], John Horsley [Adrien Richard, formerly a
Divisional Commissaire in the PJ], David King [Monsieur Delaunay, an Inspector on the Railways], Nigel Carrington [The Sergeant], and
Vincent Brimble [Bertrand Lama].
Other parts played by members of the cast.
30 minutes
NOTES ABOUT THE WRITER
Nicolas Freeling (3rd March 1927 - 20th July 2003)
NF was born in London. He is the creator of 'Inspector van der Valk', policeman in Amsterdam, and 'Henri Castang', French Police Inspector. He also wrote one novel under the pseudonym 'F.R.E. Nicolas'.
Titles and year of publication:
'van der Valk' Novels
1) Love in Amsterdam (Also published as: Death in Amsterdam) 1962
2) Because of the Cats 1963
3) Gun Before Butter (US Title: Question of Loyalty) 1963
4) Double Barrel 1964
5) Criminal Conversation 1965
6) The King of the Rainy Country (Edgar Award) 1966
7) Strike Out Where Not Applicable 1967
8) The King of the Rainy Country 1969
9) Over the High Side (US Title: The Lovely Ladies) 1971
10) A Long Silence (US Title: Aupres de ma Blonde) 1972
11) The Widow 1979
12) One Damn Thing After Another (US Title: Arlette) 1981
13) Sand Castles 1989
'Henri Castang' Novels
1) A Dressing of Diamond 1974
2) What Are the Bugles Blowing For? (US Title: The Bugles Blowing) 1975
3) Lake Isle (US Title: Sabine) 1976
4) The Night Lords 1978
5) Castang's City 1980
6) Wolfnight 1982
7) The Back of the North Wind 1983
8) No Part in Your Death 1984
9) A City Solitary 1985
10) Cold Iron 1986
11) Lady MacBeth 1988
12) Not As Far As Velma 1989
13) Those in Peril 1990
14) The Pretty How Town (US Title: Flanders Sky) 1992
15) The Seacoast of Bohemia 1994
16) You Who Know? 1995
17) Dwarf Kingdom 1996
Other Novels
1) The Dresden Green 1966
2) This Is the Castle 1968
3) Gadget 1977
4) One More River 1998
5) Some Day Tomorrow 2000
6) The Janeites 2002
Novel as 'F.R.E. Nicolas'
1) Valparaiso
Jim
