The Mystery of the Conguel Stone

By Colin Wilce

The Baxter family had always enjoyed their holidays in France. Well they did until they visited Le Camping de le Plage on the tip of the Quiberon Peninsula in Southern Brittany. When James Baxter picked up an eel shaped stone off the Plage du Conguel and passed it to his Dad, Ralph, he could not have foreseen the mystery and adventure that would follow them around during the following twelve months until they made their inevitable return to the area.

With stone in pocket, Ralph had left his family to walk out to the very tip of the Quiberon Peninsula only to experience what he deemed to be a deathly experience that affected his mental state until he was able to return and solve the Mystery of the Conguel Stone.

A year full of strange characters, mysterious events, disbelieving wife and daughter and a determination to solve the mystery leads to a surprising resolution to what did actually happen to Ralph on the Peninsula.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 7, 2014
• ISBN: 9781291824957

Book preview

The Mystery of the Conguel Stone

The Mystery of The Conguel Stone

COLIN WILCE

Copyright © 2014, Colin Wilce

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN 978-1-291-82535-0

I sat with Claire on La Plage du Conguel at the tip of the Quiberon Peninsula. Natalie and James played on the beach. I can think of no more perfect moment in my life

I write this book to acknowledge the times we have spent on holiday in France

1. Preface

Put that back! Ralph Baxter shouted to his son, James.

James had been guilty of merely taking a small, palm-sized, eel shaped stone from his Dad’s suitcase. James felt the stone was his as he had picked it up off the beach that sat the other side of the Boulevard de le Teignouse from the mobile home that the Baxter family were now spending a holiday in for the second year in a row. Emplacement 128, Camping de Plage, Quiberon, South Brittany, France was the exact location. 24 to 31 May was the exact seven night duration of the holiday. Indeed everything was exactly the same as one year ago except that everyone was a year older and the stone was in the suitcase rather than on the Plage du Conguel, the beach adjacent to the campsite.

James was convinced the stone was the sole reason for the return to this tranquil spot on the tip of the Quiberon Peninsula. For seven years now the Baxter family had taken mobile home holidays in France but this was the first time they had returned to the same location. James was now eleven years old. He was an intelligent, good looking boy with a great talent for all sports. He had short blond hair that was just long enough on top to be gelled if the mood took him. He had deep blue eyes and a devilish grin that would obviously lead him one day to being a very popular young man. For now he enjoyed being inquisitive about everything around him. He often asked his Dad questions. Ralph always seemed to be able to provide answers but he had never, until recently, responded to any enquiries about the stone.

Ralph was now forty eight and felt every inch of his years. He still had youthful looks and was reasonably fit, but something had been playing on his mind for a year and James was convinced the stone was the cause of his Dad’s woes. Ralph was a proud Dad of his two children. Natalie was now fourteen and had become a moody, selfish brat since becoming a teenager. However, she was extremely attractive, blond and blue eyed. She seemed to be growing taller by the day and was already one metre sixty centimetres tall. She was good company for her Mum, Emma.

Emma was now 41 but did not look her age whatsoever. Again she was blond and blue eyed. She was very fit and regularly exercised to keep a shape that any teenager would be pleased with. A perfect mother and wife, she had a sensible and organised core that kept the family on track all the time. However, she had been well and truly tested since their first visit exactly one year before.  

2. The First Visit

When they first arrived on the Quiberon Peninsula and drove through the narrow streets of Port Haliguen, the Baxter family sensed that their holiday choice was going to be perfect. This was the sixth year in a row that the main holiday location had been a mobile home in a French coastal camping site. Each holiday was booked through Suncamp and each had been equally as good. None, however, had been in the same part of France as Ralph and Emma wanted to see as much of the Country as possible. As they arrived at Le Camping de Plage, they were not disappointed. The small campsite looked wonderful from the moment they set eyes on it. It looked clean, quiet and the swimming pool complex excited the kids. Ralph and Emma smiled to each other. All they needed now was good weather and a nice emplacement.

The weather forecast was excellent and so was their mobile home. It overlooked the beach and was sited in a

quiet corner of the Campsite. They were shown inside by Mr and Mrs Bragg who were the Suncamp couriers for the Site. Mr and Mrs Bragg were a married couple in their late fifties. Both were grey haired, spectacled, plump, and lobster faced from their days sitting out in the South Brittany sun. However, apart from their ignorance of the harm of the sun, they were extremely knowledgeable and were able to answer all of Ralph’s queries regarding local activities, shops and events.

Much better than the geeky students we normally get, Emma approved.

The Baxter family unpacked (actually Ralph and Emma did the work whilst Natalie and James messed around).

If you don’t help we won’t go to the swimming pool, Ralph tried to reason.

You won’t be able to go either then, Natalie responded in a sarcastic manner