Sam stared at him for a moment. “Who are you? Some sort of detective?” He snorted. “Like Sherlock Marple or something?”
Derek shook his head slightly. The youth of today! “I know what you’ve been up to. I’m not sure if I’m going to do anything with that information yet. I wanted to talk to you about Kevin Shepherd.”
Sam sat up straighter. He took his hands out of his pockets. “What about Kevin?”
“I met him earlier this year,” Derek began with his lies. “I had a chat with him about his job. He told me you were his best friend. I found out today that he’d been killed in an accident in the warehouse at the supermarket.” He paused for a moment and gathered all the courage that was left in his body. “Did Kevin find out what you were up to? Did he threaten to tell the manager? Did you arrange for Kevin to have an accident?”
The colour drained from Sam’s face. “What? I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”
“Did you kill Kevin?”
Sam’s eyes suddenly filled with tears. “No! I didn’t kill Kevin! How can you say that? Kevin was amazing. Why would I want to kill him? What kind of a sick mind have you got?” A tear escaped and ran down his cheek.
Guilt flooded through Derek. Was Sam telling the truth? He certainly looked as if he was. Derek had to continue, “Kevin was asked to use a forklift truck by someone. He used one that didn’t have working brakes. Someone told him to use that truck, they knew he’d get into trouble when he drove it. Who told him to get into that truck?”
Sam slammed his fist on the table. “I don’t know but it wasn’t me! Did you know that I was the one who found him? I was on the late shift in the warehouse and I heard a massive crash. I ran over to find Kevin under loads of boxes and pallets. I was the one who held his hand as he …” A strangled sob escaped from him and he looked away.
Derek stood and went to Sam’s side. He put his hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry to upset you, lad. I just want to find out who killed Kevin.”
Sam looked up and roughly brushed his tear away. “Killed? Do you really think he was killed?”
Derek nodded. “Do you have any idea who might do that?”
Sam chewed on his lip as he thought for a moment. He gave Derek a firm nod and said, “Mr Collier knew there was something wrong with that truck. He was supposed to be getting it fixed but he never did. And him and Kevin were always having chats together. Kevin even went to Collier’s house for tea sometimes. I bet Kevin discovered something about Collier and then Collier had to shut him up.” Sam was getting into his stride now. “I bet Collier was having an affair with someone. Or he had a secret child in the past who’d now turned up. Or he was planning to poison the cream cakes and Kevin discovered his evil plan!”
“I think you’re getting carried away, lad. What do you know about Mr Collier?”
Sam frowned. “Not much. No one does. He only ever spoke to Kevin really.” Sam’s mouth twisted to one side. “What if he’s really an undercover spy for a rival company? What if Kevin found out and was going to unmask him?”
Derek returned to his seat and reached for his cup.
Sam tapped on the table. “What are you going to do now? Are you going to have it out with Collier? Can I come with you?”
“Perhaps I could tell Mr Collier about your after-work activities?”
“What for? He’s a murderer. That’s what you should be thinking about. Leave me out of it.” He gave Derek a sly look. “I can get you some whisky half price if you keep your mouth shut.”
Derek gave him a tired smile. “Sam, I won’t tell Mr Collier about you. But you know it’s wrong. You know you’re going to get caught soon, don’t you?”
Sam abruptly got to his feet and muttered, “We don’t all have choices. I’d better get going. I’ve got customers waiting.” He strode away and out of Derek’s house within seconds.
Derek stared at his open kitchen door. What did Sam mean by that? And had he been telling him a load of lies about Kevin and Mr Collier to throw the scent off himself?
Derek yawned. This would all have to wait until tomorrow. He was going to have to speak to Mr Collier again.
He called out, “Pearl, Kevin, if you’re there, I’m going to bed now. I’ll see you in the morning.”
There was no reply. Derek closed and locked the kitchen door and then emptied his cup.
It took him a while to get to sleep. He couldn’t get Kevin’s cheerful face out of his mind. What exactly had Kevin uncovered?
Chapter 10
Derek was having a terrible nightmare. He twisted from side to side as someone shouted in his face, “Die! Someone’s going to die!”
His eyes sprang open. It wasn’t a nightmare. Someone was shouting those exact words at him. Derek blinked and took a moment to focus on the face that was hovering inches from him. “Kevin, is that you?”
Kevin was abruptly pulled away from Derek’s bed. He landed at the side. “Derek! Mr Quill! Someone’s going to die! Help them!”
Pearl was standing at Kevin’s side, one hand restraining him. Her tone was soft as she said, “Kevin, love, calm yourself down. I think Derek’s got the message. That wasn’t the best way to wake him up, was it? Think of Derek’s heart.”
Kevin twisted his hands together, his brow furrowed. “But Pearl, someone is going to die today! We have to stop them!”
“Yes, love. Derek can’t do anything in his pyjamas. Give him time to come round. If I let you go, will you stay where you are? I don’t want you flying over to Derek again.”
Kevin continued to twist his hands together but he gave Pearl a nod. Pearl slowly took her hand away from his arm.
Derek rubbed a hand over his eyes and brought himself into a sitting position. He gave his visitors a weak smile and said, “It’s lovely to see you both this morning. Can you tell me what all this shouting’s about please?”
Kevin opened his mouth to speak. With lightning reflexes, Pearl clamped her hand over his mouth. She said to Derek, “Kevin’s been having funny feelings about someone he knows. He doesn’t know who in particular but he knows this person is in danger.”
A muffled sound came from Kevin. Pearl lifted her hand slightly. Kevin said, “I can feel it, Derek Quill. It’s scaring me. Will you help them?”
“I’ll try. Let me tell you what happened with your friend, Sam, last night.” Derek reached for his glass of water. He always had one at the side of his bed. He took a quick drink and then returned it to the bedside table. He told Pearl and Kevin about Sam. Pearl sat on Derek’s bed as she listened. Kevin just stood at the side of Derek’s bed with his mouth open.
When he’d finished, Derek said, “So, what do you think of that?”
“Do you believe what he said about not hurting Kevin?” Pearl asked.
“I think so. I’ve got a feeling he’s not working this scam on his own. I think he’s involved with someone who’s forcing him to do it.”
Pearl patted the bedcover. “I wonder if he’s in cahoots with the manager, Mr Collier.”
“I’m not sure. It’s a big risk for Mr Collier to take. I think I need to do more snooping today. Kevin, I’ll do all that I can to get this matter sorted.” He gave Kevin a confident smile.
“Thank you, Derek Quill. Can I watch some more cartoons? Please?”
Derek pulled back the bedcover. “Of course. I’ll put the telly on for you and then I’ll get myself ready for the day.”
Derek got washed, dressed and had a quick bowl of porridge. He was then ready to begin his investigations. He sat on the sofa in the living room with his laptop open. Pearl sat at his side and asked him what he was looking for.
“Just general information. I’ll put Sam’s name in first. See if he’s got a criminal past. You can find out a lot of information online these days.”
Pearl tutted. “I know. Nothing’s private anymore.”
Derek didn’t find anything other than social media pages for Sam. He had a look at those pages and didn’t find any
thing suspicious. He typed Mr Collier’s name in next along with the name of Holland’s supermarket.
“Bingo!” he declared. “We’ve got his full name and even his date of birth. Look, there are many articles here about his rise to manager status. He seems like a hard-working chap.” He scrolled down and read the articles. Pearl moved closer to his side and did the same.
They must have been reading the same words at the same time because they suddenly looked up at each other, their eyes wide with surprise.
“Well! I wasn’t expecting that!” Pearl declared.
There was an advert break on the TV and Kevin turned their way. “What have you found? Is it something funny? Can I see?” He stood up and came over to them before either Pearl or Derek could reply.
Derek found the best words that he could. He didn’t want Kevin getting upset again. “It seems that Mr Collier has been a manager at other supermarkets. He’s worked hard and helped the supermarkets make a profit.”
“Cut corners, more like,” Pearl muttered.
Derek carried on, “Mr Collier rented some forklift trucks from a certain company. They were cheaper than other companies. But they weren’t as good and people had accidents on them.”
Kevin sat on the arm of the sofa. “Like my accident? Did someone else die?”
Derek smiled and shook his head. “No, lad, nothing like that. Thankfully. But the trucks weren’t very good and Mr Collier stopped using them. There’s a picture of the trucks here.” He turned the laptop towards Kevin and pointed out the photo of a grim-faced Mr Collier pointing at a forklift truck.
Kevin laughed at the photo. “Those are the ones we use now! We’ve got them in the warehouse. I drove one just like that! Those people who made the trucks must have got better at making them.”
Derek pressed his lips together. He didn’t want to make the connection for Kevin.
Pearl had no such qualms. “No! They didn’t make them better. The one that you drove didn’t have working brakes!” She looked away from them both but not before Derek saw her eyes fill with tears.
“I don’t understand,” Kevin said.
Derek started to close his laptop down. “Neither do I, lad. Mr Collier had a bad experience with these truck-making chaps in the past. I don’t know why he would want to use them again.”
Kevin’s face fell and his shoulders sagged. “Did I die because Mr Collier was using broken trucks?”
“I’m not sure,” Derek told him. “But we’re going to find out. I’m going to have a talk with Mr Collier.”
Pearl’s head snapped back. “And I’m coming with you!”
Chapter 11
It was thirty minutes later when they arrived in the car park of Holland’s supermarket. Derek had thought of a plan on the drive there. It wasn’t a very good plan but it was all he had.
Pearl nodded when Derek outlined his plan. “You might just get away with it.”
Kevin bounced up and down on the back seat. “Derek! This is going to be so funny! Can we come with you? Please? Please? Please?”
Pearl turned her head in Kevin’s direction and gave him a stern look. He stopped bouncing. “Kevin, we will go in but you need to be on your best behaviour. Derek needs to concentrate. Do you understand?”
Kevin gave her a solemn nod.
Derek gathered his resolve and got out of the car. He walked towards the supermarket doors and turned towards the staircase that was for employees only. There was no one about to check on him. Pearl complained at his side, “So much for security.”
“I’m glad!” Derek told her. His knees began to shake as he climbed the stairs. This wasn’t such a good idea after all. He kept going. Kevin had told him that Mr Collier’s office was the last one on the corridor at the top of these stairs.
Derek reached the top and walked along the corridor. His poor old heart was beginning to speed up. He whispered to Pearl, “I hope we don’t bump into any members of staff up here.”
Pearl patted his arm and said confidently, “You’ll be fine. If anyone confronts them just turn your lovely eyes on them. They’ll be putty in your hands.”
Kevin skipped ahead of them. He stopped at the end of the corridor. “Derek! Over here! This is Mr Collier’s office.”
Pearl let out a loud whistle and made a beckoning motion to Kevin. The smile dropped off Kevin’s face and he ran back to Pearl’s side. He muttered an apology to her.
Derek’s steps became slower as he walked towards Mr Collier’s office. He willed his heartbeat to slow down.
As he came closer to the office he noticed that the door was ajar. He could hear Mr Collier speaking inside. Pearl walked ahead of him and peeked her head through the door. She looked back at Derek and said, “He’s on the phone. He doesn’t look happy. Come closer and have a listen.”
Derek did so and stopped just outside the door. He could clearly hear what Mr Collier was saying.
“Look, I’m not going to renew your contract! You can threaten me all you like, I’m not giving into your bully-boy tactics this time!” There was silence for a moment. “I know I said last week that I was going to give you another go but I’ve changed my mind. Your trucks are deathtraps and I’m not going to use them again! I don’t care what discount you give me. That’s the end of the matter!” There was a noise that sounded like a phone being slammed down.
Pearl peeped her head through the door again. She turned to Derek. “He’s got his head in his hands. He looks like he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders. He looks vulnerable. This is a good time to talk to him, Derek.”
Derek wasn’t sure he agreed with her but he’d come this far. He moved towards the door and pushed it. He stepped into the room with an exaggerated look of surprise on his face. “Oh! This isn’t the gents! Hello there, didn’t we meet yesterday?” Derek felt sweat break out on his forehead.
Mr Collier was sitting behind his desk and, just as Pearl had reported, his head was in his hands. He looked over at Derek. Derek held in his surprise. Mr Collier looked as if he’d aged ten years since yesterday. Was he feeling guilty about something? He managed to give Derek a weak smile. “The toilets are downstairs, to the left of the tills.”
“Thank you. I hope you don’t mind me saying this but I overheard you as I walked along the corridor. Were you talking to that truck company that supplies your forklift trucks?”
A guarded look came over Mr Collier’s face. “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”
“I know but after we spoke about poor Kevin yesterday I looked online and found out more about his death.” He forced out a chuckle. “Call me nosy! I saw articles about the truck company that you use. You’ve used them before at other supermarkets.”
Mr Collier folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. “This really isn’t any of your business. Can you leave now? I’ve got something to do.”
Derek carried on anyway, “I can’t understand why you’re using that same company. They’ve had many issues with their trucks. There have been many accidents. But you know that because you’ve taken them to court before over an incident.” Mr Collier didn’t say a word so Derek ploughed on. “If they were so bad why did you use them again? Were their defective trucks the cause of Kevin’s death?”
There was silence in the room. Derek wasn’t going anywhere until he heard Mr Collier’s response.
Mr Collier sighed and ran a hand across his forehead. “Kevin’s death is all my fault. I should never have renewed the contract with that firm. I was trying to keep costs down. I wanted this store to turn a good profit. The truck that Kevin drove was off limits. Everyone in the warehouse knew that. I’ve no idea why Kevin was driving it.” He sighed again. “But his death is my fault. I know that. I can’t explain how guilty I feel.”
Kevin ran over to Mr Collier’s side and grinned at him. “It wasn’t your fault! Cheer up, Mr Collier! We’re still friends.”
Derek nodded. “I take it from your conversation that you’ve cancelled their c
ontract now.”
Mr Collier stood up. “It’s too little too late. It won’t bring Kevin back. I really do have things to do. I’ve got loose ends to tie up.”
Derek looked at his clear desk. “Are you leaving this supermarket?”
Mr Collier strode over to the door and opened it wider. “You’ll find the toilets downstairs.”
Derek had no option but to leave. As he walked back along the corridor, Pearl said, “He’s doing a runner. What’s he running from?”
“I don’t know,” Derek replied. “One thing is bothering me. If everyone in the warehouse knew that truck was defective, why did someone tell Kevin to drive it? Kevin, think carefully. Can you remember who told you to drive it?”
Kevin shook his head. “My head’s all fuzzy. Can we go into the warehouse? I’ll think again when we get there.”
Derek nodded as he descended the steps. “To the warehouse it is.”
Chapter 12
At Kevin’s instructions Derek approached the warehouse by the rear doors. He had to stand to one side as lorries came out. Kevin waved to the drivers. “Hi, Brian! Hope you get all that shopping delivered! The customer always comes first!”
Pearl took hold of Kevin and tried to curb his enthusiasm. “Shh! Derek’s trying to sneak in. He doesn’t need you making such a commotion at his side!”
“Sorry,” Kevin grinned and clamped a hand over his mouth. He jogged from foot to foot. “I can’t help it! I’m so excited!” he said through his fingers. “Can I go and play? I want to look at the forklift trucks. The one of the left, not the one on the right!”
Pearl waved him away. “Come back to us in a few minutes. And if you remember anything important, come back sooner!”
Kevin danced away, veering from side to side as he went. “The one on the left, not the one on the right!”
Pearl turned her attention back to Derek. “What are you going to do now? You’ve got a funny look on your face.”
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