“It turned out that we were somewhere out in the desert. The Mojave, about 250 miles from LA – but I didn’t know that then. All I knew was that we were in this sort of ranch-house in the middle of nowhere – nothing but sand and rock and scrub. Bleakest place I’ve ever been in. They didn’t even bother locking me up; there was nowhere for me to go.
“Lonza and Handy Jack went off again after a day or two. They had guards round the place – especially round the garage – but I was free to wander off into the desert and die, which would save Jack the job of killing me himself when he got back. The only reason I was still breathing at all was that Lonza thought he might be able to salvage the situation, and he might have a use for me in doing that. Like, perhaps, as a sacrificial goat – that’s how Jack explained it to me.
“There was no mobile signal out there, of course. There was some sort of satellite communications set up, but that was as well locked and guarded as the garage. So I sat around and waited.”
Adi put down his stick, picked up his empty bottle again, and waved it at Casey. “Any more of these in the fridge? Talking about that place makes me feel dry. Heck, just thinking about it does that!”
“Sure. Anyone else?”
“No thanks,” said Sam, and I shook my head.
“Thanks, Casey.” Adi leaned forward as Casey went out of the room. “He’s so military, he likes following orders!”
“He doesn’t look like someone who’d follow any orders he didn’t like,” I observed.
“Well, I certainly wouldn’t care to push him,” Adi agreed. “But he’s got a well-developed sense of loyalty, and that was my best hope while I was stuck out in the desert. Only hope, actually. I’d only asked him to cover my back at the game, but I thought that when I disappeared he might extend that to finding out where I’d gone.”
Casey came back with the beer.
“I was just telling them how you were looking for me,” Adi said.
Casey nodded, though his expression gave nothing away. He wasn’t a man who showed much emotion at all, I’d noticed. “I was tracking Lonza. I had no idea where he’d stashed you, but I expected him to lead me there eventually.”
“But it took a while. Lonza didn’t come back again for several months, by which time I was almost ready to try walking out anyway. If I’d had any idea which direction to go in, I might have done. But then he flew in – helicopter – and sat me down for a little talk.”
“Sounds cosy,” I suggested.
“Not really. Keep in mind that Jack was standing behind me the whole time, and doing a good job of being threatening without actually saying anything.”
Adi took a couple of drinks from his bottle. “Lonza’s point was that I’d cost him a great deal of money and also a certain loss of reputation. I’d made him look bad with people he needed to look good to. And the only way to repair that was to pay them off, with interest.
“I did try and suggest that getting CSS back together would be a viable way of doing that, but then Jack clouted me on the side of the head – not too hard, just enough to let me know that this was a one-way conversation. So I shut up and let Lonza carry on.
“It turned out that he was quite interested in some of my assets back here in the UK – specifically, in the sports centre. I was a bit surprised by that, since he’d never seemed the sort to involve himself with charities, except as a scam. But then he caught me up on the news from home – about Delford Mills going up in flames.”
“Sandy was in that fire,” I said.
“What? Really? Heck, I didn’t know that. How did that happen? I take it she got out OK?”
“It’s a long story. She had some nasty burns, but she’s recovered.”
“Oh. Well, I haven’t caught up on all the news.”
“Of course not. You’ve had your own troubles, Adi. But you were telling me about Lonza. I’m guessing that he realized the value of the sports centre had suddenly gone up, once they started getting serious about rebuilding the area and all the investment that would be going in.”
“Worked that out already, did you?” Adi nodded. “Yes, that was his plan. He’d been looking at what assets I had that he could make some money out of, and when he found out about the Delford Mills Project, his eyes must have lit up. It was money almost in the bank, and a good bit of it, even if he stuck to legitimate transactions. A lot more if he ran a few scams – which with Lonza is pretty much a given. All he needed was control of the property – and since he had me, that wasn’t a problem. He just needed me to sign it over to him, and he was back in business.”
“And you did that?” I leaned forward. “You gave it to him?”
“What – like I had a choice?” Adi was frowning. “It was that or an unmarked grave in the desert, Graham! Would you have done something different?”
I shook my head. “No. I suppose not. But this means that Lonza has a real legal claim to the property! He’s not just playing smoke and mirrors here; he’s got documentation that can stand up in court.”
“It’s not that cut and dried. Don’t forget how he got my signature. I’m pretty sure that a document signed under duress is legally null and void.”
“Yes, maybe. But only if you can prove it.”
“Of course that might be difficult. But I don’t think Lonza would let it come to that. Quite apart from the sports centre, there’s a lot of his dealings that he wouldn’t want brought out in court. Which is probably why he went to all the trouble of bringing in someone to double for me – to try and head that off.”
“Why didn’t he just make you do it? That would have saved him a lot of trouble. Oh – didn’t you say something about Lonza thinking that you’re dead?”
“Oh, good, I’m glad you were listening, Graham. Yes, there’s a bit more to the story yet. Like he said, Casey had been keeping an eye on Lonza, and when he flew out to his ranch, he tracked him there.”
“How do you follow a helicopter?” I wondered aloud.
“Friend of a friend in Los Angeles ARTCC,” Casey said laconically. “That’s Air Route Traffic Control Center,” he explained.
“Lonza didn’t stop long, once he’d got my signature. He flew off again and left me wondering what would happen once he got his money back. Perhaps he’d forgive and forget, but it didn’t really seem his style. So I was truly relieved when Casey showed up. Slipped in past the guards one night like a ninja and into my room.”
“Cool!” said Sam, with a nod in Casey’s direction.
Casey shook his head dismissively. “They weren’t very alert.”
“To be fair, all they had done for weeks was guard an old guy with a limp,” Adi conceded. “They certainly weren’t any problem for Casey. His biggest issue was waking me up without me making a noise. He had to put a hand over my mouth, which nearly triggered a heart attack.
“But once he’d calmed me down, we had a little discussion about what to do next. My instinct was just to get out of there as fast as possible – maybe set fire to the place on the way, just to yank Lonza’s chain a little. But, as Casey pointed out, if I just escaped then Lonza would be on the lookout for me – and he had a lot of people who would help him with that. Much better if he thought I was out of the picture altogether.”
“There are advantages to being dead,” Sam put in. “But how did you pull it off?”
“Casey had that all worked out. He helped me sneak past the guards – not difficult, there were only two of them awake and they were playing cards on the front porch. I climbed out of a back window – ground floor, of course – and set off walking due north.”
“You knew which way north was?” I asked. Adi had never had much interest in what he termed “Girl Scout stuff”.
“Of course not! Casey did. He pointed at a landmark – amazing how far you can see at night in the desert with clear skies, moon, stars, and so on – and sent me on my way. Then he went off on another route. I needed to leave traces – footprints and so on – but it had to look as t
hough I’d gone off on my own.”
Adi sighed and shook his head. “Back in the day, I could have done it at a run. But since the leg went, I’d got lazy. Half an hour of slogging through sand and scrub and I was about done – but the ranch was still in full view, like I’d hardly moved at all. So I had to keep on going. Finally cleared a ridge and got out of sight of the house, but the other side was still more of the same. Then the sun started coming up, and things got really tough.
“After a while, I dumped my jacket. My old tweed one that Dandy Dan gave me. You remember, Graham?”
“Of course.”
“I didn’t want to, but a tweed jacket in the desert? It wasn’t working. And besides, we had to leave them a few clues.”
“They must have found it,” I said. “Your lookalike was wearing it when…”
“Oh, so it’s ruined now, then. Covered in someone else’s blood, I suppose. Ah, heck with it. Time I got a new one anyway.”
“How far did you go?” asked Sam.
“I don’t know for sure. Another mile or so, perhaps? Then I was on rocky ground, where footprints wouldn’t show, and Casey was there. With his help, I managed to get a bit further.
“Finally, when he’d decided we’d gone far enough, Casey let me rest for a bit. But not long, because they’d be out looking for me by then. So, while I was trying to catch my breath, he started ripping off my clothes.”
Adi stopped and laughed at my expression. “Relax, Graham! It wasn’t like that… I’m surprised at you, thinking such thoughts, churchgoing man like yourself!”
“I take it that these were to be more clues as to your disappearance?”
“Exactly. So the clothes came off, and then he got out a knife and got some of my blood on them. Had to be mine, just in case Lonza decided to get a DNA test. We weren’t sure how far he’d go.
“Then we left my bloodstained clothes and my stick scattered amongst the rocks. The blood would attract some scavengers – buzzards and coyotes – and when Lonza’s men finally arrived they would probably conclude that I’d passed out and been finished off by the local wildlife.”
“What about bones?” asked Sam.
“Carried off somewhere. We hoped that was what they’d assume. It wasn’t likely they’d make a long search. Why would they? They didn’t know I’d had help.
“We carried on a bit further – and in case you’re entertaining thoughts of me romping through the desert in my birthday suit, Graham, Casey had got some spare clothes for me. He also had a jeep not too far off, and a few hours later I was drinking cold beer in an air-conditioned motel room.”
He raised his bottle to the memory and drank deeply.
“It must have worked – at least, Lonza never came looking for me. It took a while, but Casey got me out of the country and back here. We knew that Lonza would still be after the sports centre, and we worked out a way to get him to back off. But the problem was how to approach him – while still being dead, that is. And that, Graham, is where you come in.”
“Me?”
“Yes, of course you. You don’t think I got you out here just to have a chat and a beer, do you? Oh no, mate. You’re going to help me out here. After all, that’s what friends are for, isn’t it?”
CHAPTER 11
“Don’t be predictable. If you do the same thing the same way every time, they’ll be ready for you. The other team, that is. Keep them guessing, always do something different.”
Adi Varney, magazine article on “Football Strategy and Tactics”, co-authored by Graham Deeson
It was less of a surprise than it might have been. Somehow, I’d known that Adi was leading up to something. Because I knew Adi.
And because I knew Adi, I was cautious in my response.
“What exactly did you want me to do?”
Adi knew me as well. His lips curled in what might have been a smile. “You don’t sound too eager. I thought you’d have jumped at the chance to give a hand.”
It wasn’t the first time I’d felt Adi was backing me into a corner. “If I can, certainly.” I smiled back at him. “As long as it’s not illegal, immoral, or fattening.”
Adi’s smile broadened and became more genuine. “That’s your dad, Sam – always the same caveats!”
“I taught him that word!” I said to Sam, who grinned at us.
“It’s a bit late to worry about the ‘fattening’, Dad!” he said, and Adi laughed out loud.
“He’s got you there, Graham.”
I harrumphed. “Youngsters nowadays – no respect.”
“Just what they said about us, wasn’t it?” Adi dismissed that with a wave of his stick. “Look, Graham, all I need you to do is to deliver some documents.”
“What documents? And who to?”
“These documents.” He reached down beside the sofa he was sitting on, and picked up a large padded envelope: A4 size and apparently stuffed full. “These are the details of some properties and assets I have. Things like this house, other properties. Some of them overseas. And investments I’ve made in companies. Stuff I’ve bought over the years, but kept quiet about. It actually amounts to quite a bit when you total it up. I’m not sure how much – property prices change and so does the value of companies – but we’re easily talking about several hundred thousand quid’s worth altogether.”
“As much as that? How did you put that together?”
He shrugged. “A bit here, a bit there. I was surprised myself when I counted it up. Good thing I left it all in safe storage over here, or Lonza would have got his grubby mitts on it already. But as it is, he doesn’t know anything about it. So you can use it as a bargaining chip.”
“I can use it?” I gave him a long stare. “OK, I think I see where this is going. You want me to offer this to Lonza in return for him backing off on the sports centre takeover.”
“Oh, good. Not all the brain cells are dead then! Yes, Graham. That’s the plan. You can tell him that I sent this stuff to you a while ago. Say it was before the Real Madrid match, and that I wanted you to keep it safe in case anything went wrong. He’ll believe that.”
I shook my head. “Look, Adi, this stuff may be worth a few hundred thousand, but that sports centre land, properly developed, that could be millions! There’s no way that Lonza’s going to go for it. Or if he does, he’ll just take these documents, say thanks very much, and keep them as a bonus.”
“Oh, come on, Graham. Do you think I’d make it that easy for him? This isn’t the whole package. Just a taster. Enough so that he knows it’s genuine. And the thing is, this is straightforward, no strings attached, easy profit. Whereas now he’s lost his fake Adi, his play to take over the sports centre is open to challenge.”
“He has your signa…” I started to say, but Adi talked over me.
“Just tell him that you’ve persuaded Declan and the trustees to take it to court. Tell him I must have been under duress when I signed. Anything like that. All you need to do is to show him that getting that land isn’t going to be as easy as he’d hoped. But if he backs off on it, he can have this lot” – Adi waved the envelope at me – “for free. Trust me, he’ll go for that. I know him. He won’t run the risk of having his dirty tricks exposed in court. He’s already got a lot of troubles; he doesn’t want more.”
He held the envelope out to me. I took it with some reluctance. It felt solid and quite heavy.
“Obviously, I can’t go myself,” Adi continued. “If Lonza knows I’m not dead – well, he’ll do his best to rectify that!”
“Right. I get that. But this is the same man you want me to try to do a deal with? No doubt with Handy Jack standing next to him.”
“Heck, Graham, man up!” Adi pushed himself to his feet and waved his stick in my direction. “Lonza’s not going to do anything to you! One unknown American actor disappearing isn’t a problem, but do you think he wants the police chasing up your disappearance? Anything happens to you, he’d probably have to skip the country and abandon his p
lans for the sports centre anyway!”
I was standing myself by now. “Well, that’s good to know! I’m sure it’ll be a comforting last thought before Handy Jack starts shovelling earth over me!”
“You owe me, Graham!” He was almost shouting now. “You owe me this!”
“Why? Because I saved your life thirty and something years ago?”
He held my gaze for another moment, then shrugged and turned away. “Well, if you won’t do it for me, do it for the sports centre. That’s something you used to believe in. The best thing I’d ever done, you said once. Well, it’s all I’ve got left of a legacy now. Heck, The Vale’s going down the pan; anything I ever did there is just a memory. But the sports centre, that’s still good for something, still helping kids out. And Declan, he’s a good man. He’ll do a lot more there given the chance. Do you really want a shark like Rocco Lonza to get his hands on it? Do you, Graham? Because this is your chance to stop him.”
He’d sat down again while he talked, sat looking at the top of his stick as though he was looking for the brass dog’s head. He didn’t meet my eyes.
“Up to you, Graham.”
I took a deep breath. “Adi… I don’t want it to be like this between us. I…”
“Are you going to do it or not?”
I looked at the package, looked at Adi. Shut my eyes and sent up a brief but wordless prayer.
“Yes,” I told him. “I’ll do it.”
He nodded. Just once, and still without looking at me.
“I’ll take you back to your car, then,” said Casey. “If we’re all done here?”
Adi nodded. “Yes. We’re done.” Then he glanced over to me. “If this all works out, Graham, then we’re all square. And you won’t be seeing me again.”
“Doesn’t have to be like this, Adi. We…”
He banged his stick on the floor. “That’s it, Graham. Do this one little thing – then it’s goodbye. Clear?” He shifted his gaze to Sam. “And if you want to know why I left – ask your dad.”
“This way, please, gentlemen,” said Casey. He had slipped his hand casually into his pocket – not with any apparent intention of using the gun there, but just to remind us that he had it.
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