County Lines Rider

by Samantha Bassett

  “I have a business proposition for you.”

  “And if I say no?”

  Edwin leaned back, lighting a large cigar slowly before blowing smoke in Anne’s face. “You have a lot of very flammable materials in your stables. It would be such a shame if there was an accident. An accident which could see both your horses and the staff you keep in your illegal accommodation seriously injured or killed. It would be an accident which I would ensure you would be there to witness personally, to hear the screams. Now, do we have an understanding? Because I would listen very carefully to what I tell you and at the end say ‘yes sir’. Perhaps a sip of this rather fine vodka this might help ease your conscience? Please, keep the bottle.”

  7

  Foster Care on The Farm

  “Adam?” The kindly man opened the door of the car. Andrew smiled and nodded, so he stepped out to meet the couple who were standing before him. It had taken almost three hours from the centre of Birmingham initially along motorways and then country lanes until they had pulled into a driveway for Penny Farm. It nestled in a valley with green hills dotted with sheep on each side, Adam gasped as he saw a beautiful bay mare standing in the field opposite, he ignored the couple and ran towards the fence line, calling the horse who walked towards him, holding its head down to be stroked. The couple laughed. “Ah, he’s a horseman at heart. He’ll get on perfectly well here.”

  ***

  I looked around, from the cluttered and noisy surroundings of the children’s home to this, there were fields as far as the eye could see. Hills rolling in the distance all around and, most importantly horses. The mare was beautiful, about seventeen hands with a perfect confirmation it would be a perfect event horse. The woman walked beside me, leaning on the fence next to me.

  “That is Lady of Lanarkshire, well that’s her show name, she’s just Lady around the yard. The ponies in the distance are Lightening, that’s the grey, and Sage, that’s the piebald. Hamlet’s Crown is my husband’s horse, he’s in the stables at the moment. Slightly lame sadly but he will improve in a few weeks. My husband, rather calls him ‘Horse’, which shows how creative he is. I giggled. “I’m Wendy and my husband is Phil. We hope that you will become part of our family.”

  8

  A Mucky Business

  Yelling, the smashing of wood, screams and a sudden light. I felt myself being dragged from my bed, half asleep. I was physically pulled through the living room and stables into the darkness beyond, left to stand in the pouring rain in my pyjamas. Trying to focus, I see police officers all around, the stinging flash of blue lights and the sound of crashing as the flat and tack room are being pulled apart. The other staff are huddled beside me, confused, frightened. The rain soaking their nightclothes but no attention paid to us.

  “What’s going on?” I spoke to no one in particular.

  “Shut up and standstill…” The female officer sneers, rain dripping from her riot helmet. The cold seeps through my bare feet as I shivers in the rain.

  “There’s nothing in there.” One officer yelled, stepping out of the railway arch. There are similar calls from the tack room, its door smashed, lying in pieces and the office which is covered in a layer of smashed glass.

  “What about here Sarge?” The officer gestured towards the steaming muck heap.

  “Look, if you want to go digging through thirty tonnes of shite you go ahead.” He turns to the other officers. “There’s nothing here, let’s go.”

  “Does that mean we can go back to bed?” I shuddered.

  “Yeah… We’re very sorry for the inconvenience.” The officer sneered. “Now fuck off out of our way.” He shoved me hard as he passed, knocking me from my feet. Michelle helped me up.

  “Leave it kid… Let’s try to get warm…”

  ***

  Anne had been shocked when Sue had called her and told her what had happened. Arriving in a cab, she wept when she saw the damage to doors and windows, with tack and equipment, were thrown around the yard. “Come on let’s start cleaning up.”

  ***

  “Now, would you like to explain to me why I have had the owner of a local stable on the phone?”

  Detective Chief Inspector Willoughby coughed nervously. “Well…” He had not expected to be in work so early having completed the dawn raid in the early hours of the morning. However, his mobile had not stopped ringing despite his efforts to ignore it and he had been requested, forcefully to make attend the Chief Constable’s office as a matter of some urgency.

  “Tell me, what did you find in your extensive search?” Wearing dress uniform, however having never carried out ‘proper policing’, the Chief Constable instead having completed degrees and professional qualifications in criminology. He was, on paper, very well qualified to talk about and understand modern policing, however, he lacked the respect from the rank and file who baulked at someone who had never trod the beat or been involved with what they thought of as the sharp end of policing. He could talk the talk but certainly would not be able to walk the walk. However, it would be a brave man who would be willing to say this to his face and, to date, no one had.

  “Chief Constable, we had a reliable tip-off. The site is being used to store and distribute drugs.”

  “So, this reliable tip-off led you to smash a small business apart and the first I get to hear about it is from the front page of the fucking Metro!” The chief constable slammed the paper down on the desk. “Incompetent police officers destroy stables. Let me see, you left the staff standing outside for over two hours in the rain and smashed every door and window. And all in front of a waiting press photographer who was ready to document the Met’s apparent incompetence. Please, tell me that you found an astonishingly large amount of drugs so I don’t look like a complete twat when I have to explain this to the mayor of London. I take it, by your silence that you found fuck all!”

  “Sir…”

  “What makes it worse, if it could be made any bloody worse, is that ‘local businessman’ and I use that phrase advisedly, Edwin Smith has offered to pay for the damage as a gesture of goodwill to the community. Tell me, was it, in fact, the same Mr Smith whose drugs you were supposed to find?” The chief constable snarled. “Leave them alone. Okay, you have been led up the garden path and made us all look bloody stupid. Smith fed you false information and then had the papers on standby to photograph the aftermath. If I hear that you have been within two hundred feet of that stable, I will have you handing out parking tickets before morning, do I make myself clear?”

  “Crystal, sir.”

  ***

  “Well, it is very generous of him to pay for the damages to be repaired. Do you think he could be feeling guilty?” I smiled.

  “Guilty?” Anne span round.

  “About arguing with you that time.”

  “Yes, that…” Annea sighed. “He may do… It’s all very complicated.”

  ***

  “So?”

  “So what? The chief constable has made it totally clear. We’ve been led a merry bloody dance by Smith. He’s taking the piss out of us. I want the informant brought in. Find anything you can to stick to him.” He shook his head. “I have pictures of his people visiting the stables, we have surveillance and it’s just over the road from his establishment but nothing. You know, we didn’t leave a stone unturned there was nothing there, so it’s clear. He’s onto us and is taking the piss to make us look stupid.”

  “Well, I always thought it was too close to home for him to be operating from.”

  “Oh well thank you, DI Jones, for your wisdom after the fact. You would do good to shut up and try and find where he is dealing from.”

  ***

  I could hear raised voices from the office as I approached, I thought about waiting but needed to have the horse list for my next lesson so pushed open the door and stepped inside. Liz was standing facing Anne and it was clear that they had been having a heated conversation.

  “Sorry to interrupt.”

 
; “I was just leaving.” Anne scowled pushing past me leaving the office in a huff.

  “I just needed the list.” I picked up the sheet of paper, Liz sat with her head in her hands.

  “Are you okay?”

  “And what’s it to you? No, no… I’m sorry… Anne just wouldn’t listen to me.”Liz sighed.

  “About what?”

  “Oh, it’s stupid. I’ve noticed something weird about the muck heap.” She glanced at her watch. “Shit! I have to go. I’ll tell you later.”

  I watched as she left the room in a hurry.

  ***

  Anne pulled out her phone and started rapidly typing a text message. She paused for a moment before hitting send. Just a few seconds later there was a beep and a single word text message.

  “Done…”

  ***

  “And go large…” I glanced at my watch. “Okay… That’s your hour and then some.” There was a chorus of groans from my after school riders. “You’ve had an extra half an hour, you’ll get me into trouble!” I laughed. “When I have my own riding school you can all come and ride there and I’ll give you extra time, but, while I’m not the boss I don’t make the rules!”

  The horses were being fed and the yards swept, Sue gestured for me to finish early and have a shower. The evening was warm and a cool shower was refreshing. Changing into clean clothes I stepped out into the living room just as the other staff walked in. “Hi guys, get ready and I’ll serve up dinner.” Slowly the girls settled around the dining table and I started to serve up ladlefuls of pasta in a watery sauce. “Where’s Liz?”

  “I’ve not seen her since lunchtime.” Sue looked around.

  “No, she hasn’t been around.”

  “Oh well, she is missing this delicious meal!” I laughed. We all started to tuck into the bowls of steaming pasta.

  ***

  A quiet night in front of the television followed before, one by one, the girls went off to bed. I noticed Liz had not returned, so I settled into my bunk for a night of restless sleep. When she had not appeared to help to feed and mucking out I approached Anne.

  “Have you seen Liz?” Anne leapt as I touched her shoulder.

  “Oh…” Anne looked down. “She asked to leave. I can’t make her stay.”

  “She’s gone?” I gasped.

  “Yes, people move on Amanda.” Anne tutted. “I know she was your friend.” She turned on her heel and walked away quickly.

  ***

  “Anne’s being funny…”

  “So what, she might have an act at the comedy club.” Sue snorted and went back to grooming the skewbald pony.

  “No, not that sort of funny.” I paused. “She seems, different. Nervous. And, where’s Liz. Anne said she’d left.”

  “So she’s gone. She couldn’t take the permanent enjoyment of the equine Shangri la!”

  “No, she would have said something to us. Surely she wouldn’t have just left. And, all of her stuff is here. I checked.”

  Sue put down the dandy brush she was holding and walked towards me. “There could be a lot of reasons. People like us, well, sometimes things catch up with us and we have to go. Sometimes that has to be in a hurry and we don’t have a chance to say goodbye. It’s just the way of the world. I’m sorry, I know you’re upset. She won’t have done it to upset you.”

  “Okay…” I sighed. “I’m being stupid. I apologise. I just hope she’s okay.”

  I went through the day, trying to put thoughts of Liz from my mind, hurt she had left without saying goodbye, and concerned she felt she had to leave that quickly. I just hoped that she was safe.

  ***

  It was cold and dark, Anne was chewing her nails, staring at the dark arches, hoping all would remain silent.

  “Miss Rawston… Are we clear to move?”

  Anne turned around nervously. “Yes. I’ve made sure that the staff will not trouble us. Just please, get this done quickly.” A large lorry reversed into the yard before stopping beside the muck heap. The driver stepped out of the cab and started tipping the load. Tonnes of manure spilt onto the heap. Anne leapt forward as a black plastic object dropped onto the concrete, she threw it into the flow and it was quickly buried.

  “Well done!” Patrick looked up from his phone. “We wouldn’t want to lose anything now would we?”

  “Just get this done please.” Anne looked around in the darkness. “It scares me.”

  “The only thing you have to be scared about is not conforming to our agreement. If you keep my boss happy, then everyone will be happy. I am sure we have an understanding.”

  “Yes…” Anne pauses, biting her lip. “The girl…”

  “Thank you for telling us.”

  “But what happened to her?”

  “Look, don’t ask questions you don’t want an answer to. Let’s just say you have helped her find new, overseas employment.” Patrick laughed, waving to the lorry driver to leave. Soon Anne was left alone standing in the darkness.

  9

  Missing Persons

  “Oh, God.” Sue gasped clutching her stomach. “What the hell is wrong with me. My head feels terrible and I feel sick as a pig.”

  “Shhh…” Michelle groaned. “Not so loud.”

  “We didn’t drink anything, why are we all hungover like this?”

  “Well, it doesn’t matter. We had all better grin and bear it.”

  ***

  “Leave it, Amanda. I told you she had to go. I’m sorry she didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. All I know is I’m short-staffed.”

  “Sorry…” I started to walk away. “It’s just she said something was wrong…” I stopped when I saw the anger in Anne’s eyes.

  “Amanda… I will ask you one more time nicely. I don’t want to lose anyone else. Please, I beg you. Forget about her. Look, I’m sorry, I know you mean well, but it’s for your own good.”

  ***

  “Amanda, I am sure nothing has happened to her.” Michelle rubbed her temples. “I saw her leaving in a car. I was just coming back from Raj’s, I’d bought some snacks and I saw her going past in the back of the car. I waved. Funny she didn’t wave back. She was with a couple of men. To be honest, they were quite good looking, I was a bit jealous.”

  “Do you remember anything about the car?”

  “Yeah, it was really flash and it had a weird personalised number plate. Ed, something. I think it was Edwin. Just stuck in my mind as being unusual.”

  “Thanks ‘Chell.”

  Taken away in a flashy car. I pondered this during my morning as I worked, when I had a chance to take a break I went down the road to Raj’s newsagent, the same one I had visited on my first day in London. As the nearest shop, it had become a haven for sweets, snacks and magazines. I stepped into the cluttered shop. “Hi, Raj!” The friendly newsagent looked up smiling.

  “Hello there Miss, how are you today… How you girls can eat so many sweeties and stay so slim. I wish I knew how!” He slapped his vast belly.

  “Well, come to the stables in the morning and you can muck out and groom with us and you’ll soon lose the weight!

  Raj laughed. “It sounds too much like hard work. I’ll leave that to you youngsters!”

  “Look Raj, I have a question, do you know anything about a flashy car with personalised number plates?”

  “Oh Miss, I only know it’s not mine!”

  “Oh, it is something like, Edward, no Edwin… Does that ring any bells?”

  Raj’s disposition changed instantly, from jovial to serious. “Now Miss, the only Edwin I know is the one who runs the Blue Moon, but you would do well to stay away from him. He is not a nice man.”

  “The Blue Moon?” I paused. “I’ve been in there. I’ll ask him if it’s his.”

  “Miss, be careful. People talk and what they say about him is not nice.”

  “Thanks, Raj!” I walked back out onto the street.

  “Be careful Miss…” Raj spoke to the empty shop.

  The Blue Mo
on was only a few doors down, as it was only eleven in the morning it was dark, but the door was ajar. I pushed it open and stepped into the darkened room. There was a smell of stale beer. “Hello?” I walked further in, hearing voices coming from a doorway behind the bar. As I approached it was opened and a large gentleman stepped out.

  “We’re closed. And anyway, your type would not be welcome here…”

  “My type?” I stuttered.

  The man looked her up and down. “We have a dress code.”

  “Oh!” I giggled, glancing at my stained breeches and mucky boots. “I’m sorry… I was just trying to find my friend. I wanted to ask about a car.”

  “And what car would that be?” The new man stepped out of the doorway, he was sharply dressed, stocky yet muscled. My mouth fell open for a moment as I looked at him recognising the man who had threatened Anne a couple of months earlier. He laughed a deep rumbling laugh. “Oh look, she’s lost for words!” I blushed deeply.

  “I’m sorry…” I muttered. “I…” Pausing to take a breath.

  “Take your time. Have you parked your horse outside?” He laughed again, amused at his own joke.

  “Sorry… No, I was told that my friend was seen in a car, it had a personalised plate. ‘Edwin’.” She paused as all the people in the room were staring at the stocky man.