Gareth Dawson Series Box Set
Page 90
“Mrs McGuire’s quite happy for him to stay over there,” Malcolm said, “especially now she’s not getting any life insurance money.”
“I can imagine she is,” the ACC replied. “Poor woman. You will make sure she’s put in touch with some counsellors, won’t you, Malcolm?”
“Already done, sir.” Malcolm had given Annette some contact numbers as he had dropped her off at her house.
“Good lad,” the ACC said. “Right then, chaps. If you’ll excuse me, there’s an Excel spreadsheet with my name on it over there.” He nodded at the computer on his desk. “But an absolutely cracking result. Well done.”
77
Gareth relaxed back in his canvas chair, enjoying the sunshine on his face. He was sitting in Annette’s back garden and, next to him, she was doing exactly the same thing. A few feet away, Laura was on the phone. Gareth watched as she spoke. She was animated, using her free hand to push her hair out of her eyes as she laughed.
“What on earth does she see in a big lump like you?” Annette muttered.
“That’s nice, little sis,” Gareth replied with a grin. “Maybe she can see me for who I really am?”
“I guess we’re even now, you and me.”
“How d’you mean?”
“Well, we’ve both been arrested for crimes we didn’t commit.”
Gareth looked at Annette. Her face was serene, and he’d not seen her looking as relaxed as she did in years.
“I guess so.”
“But you didn’t get arrested for a load you did commit, back in the old days. So maybe we’re not.” Gareth was just trying to think of a pithy reply when Laura came over to them.
“Sorry about that,” she said, her voice bright. When Gareth looked at her, she was beaming. “I just had to make a couple of calls, but I’ve got some great news.”
“So, spill the beans,” Gareth replied, leaning forward.
“First, Paul’s come through the operation unscathed. Well, not completely unscathed but he’s doing fine. I’m going up there later to see him, whether he wants me to or not.”
“Excellent,” Gareth replied. He knew how worried Laura had been about Paul, even though she had tried really hard to hide it.
“The other thing is that the police have got your money back, Annette.”
“Seriously?” Annette replied, her eyes wide. “How?”
“They arrested a policeman in Bali who was on the take. You weren’t the only one being blackmailed.” She paused for a couple of seconds. “So was Philip.”
Gareth started laughing at the news, and before long they all were. Earlier that day, when Laura had nipped back to her office for a while, Annette had confided in Gareth that the one thing that really pissed her off about Philip still being alive was that she wouldn’t get his life insurance. There’d been nothing he could say at the time, other than to reassure Annette that he would help her out if she needed him to. At least now she would get her original money back, which was something.
“So is this where the party is?” Dave’s voice interrupted their laughter. He walked out of the kitchen door with two magnums of champagne in his hand. Behind him was Charlotte, who was carrying five champagne flutes. She approached Annette and threw her arms around her, winking over her shoulder at Gareth.
“Get them open, son,” Gareth said, nodding at the champagne. As Dave started working the foil from one of the bottles, Gareth reached for his wallet. “How much were they, Dave?” he asked him. “I’ll get these.”
Dave didn’t reply, but Charlotte started giggling. She waved something at Gareth, and he saw that it was his company credit card.
“I think you already did, Gareth,” Laura said before they all started laughing.
Even Gareth.
78
EASTERN DAILY NEWS - EXCLUSIVE
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY DANIEL CHRISTIN, STAFF REPORTER
In a shocking twist on the now infamous case of Philip McGuire, the paedophile from Norwich who had his own hand removed to attempt to fake his own death, Indonesian authorities have confirmed that McGuire has been killed in the infamous Indonesian prison known as ‘Hotel K’.
McGuire hired a team of medical personnel operating an illegal clinic in Ipswich to surgically remove his left hand, as reported exclusively by the Eastern Daily News last month. The scuba diving instructor then placed his own hand in a lobster pot off Cley-next-the-Sea after keeping it in a freezer while his wounds healed.
With Norfolk Police searching for his body, McGuire left the bedsit in Great Yarmouth he had been hiding in and travelled to Bali using a false passport purchased from the deep net. He then abused a string of children, even attempting to blackmail his own wife in order to fund his rampage across the idyllic island.
Indonesian authorities confirmed that McGuire, 32, was killed by multiple stab wounds in the notorious Kerobokan Prison in Bali.
His wife could not be reached for comment.
A note from the Author
Hi,
I hope you enjoyed reading the first three Gareth Dawson books as much as I did writing them!
If you want to find out more about me and my writing, visit www.nathanburrows.com for more information.
Speak soon, and stay safe.
Nathan Burrows