THE
RELUCTANT VILLAIN
JAMES L WILLIAMS
The Reluctant Villain
By James L Williams
This book was first published in Great Britain in paperback during February 2019.
The moral right of James L Williams is to be identified as the author of this work and has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights are reserved, and no part of this book may be produced or utilized in any format, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers - Coast & Country/Ads2life. Email: [email protected]
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1798010907
Copyright © February 2019 James L Williams
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Helen Sage MBE and June Totterdell.
1
“Mr Bishop, I have told you on more than one occasion, I am not going to pay you any protection or insurance money, as you call it. If you ask me again, I will inform the police. Now if there is nothing else, I have a business to run. Goodbye!”
Graham Bishop stood his ground, he tried another angle.
“How many break-ins have happened around here in the past month. Four or maybe five? Can you afford to turn up one morning and find your shop has been burnt to the ground
David Evans was about to comment but neither man had heard the shop door open and both gave a little gasp when Sargent Peter Proudfoot spoke,
“Up to your old tricks again are you Bishop? We don’t take too kindly to people moving in from other parts of the country thinking they can antagonise our shopkeepers” said Proudfoot and stepped past Bishop and addressed the shopkeeper,
“Are you ok Mr Evans?
Not knowing how much the officer had heard of their conversation Evans gave a weak smile and said quietly,
“Just a minor misunderstanding Sargent, Mr Bishop and I have concluded our business”
“In that case Bishop, I want a word with you outside. Afternoon, Mr Evans” and faced Bishop and defied him to remain.
As the two men approached the door an elderly lady was about to enter the shop but Bishop barred her way and didn’t step back until Proudfoot tapped him on the shoulder,
“Forgetting our manners aren’t we Graham?” but all he got back was a sullen stare and the Sargent had to pull him back by his arm to allow the woman room to pass.
She mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ to the officer but stared straight at Bishop for a couple of seconds but the man couldn’t match her gaze and looked away. The two men then left the shop as the woman walked towards the shopkeeper with a warm smile on her features.
“Good afternoon David, is it too much to hope that horrible man has been finally arrested?”
“I’m afraid we have no such luck Mrs Stockwell but the Sargent is talking to him outside. Have you come to collect the present for your husband?”
She raised both hands to her cheeks and spoke in a hushed tone,
“Is it here? Oh, please let me see it!”
The shopkeeper smiled and reached down into a drawer behind the counter and took out an ornate box which he handed to the woman. Before opening the box, she spoke in the same hushed tone,
“Have you had time to engrave it as I asked?”
Evans said nothing but indicated to her to open the box, which she did with trembling hands. On doing so, he gasped and a couple of tears trickled down her cheeks as she held up the item.
“Oh David, it is so beautiful! Please tell me, when did it arrive and who did the engraving?”
Evans smiled and called over his shoulder,
“Gerald, can you spare a minute please, someone wants to speak to you”
“Coming Mr Evans, I just need to clean this grease off my hands”
“He is finishing cutting a set of keys for the supermarket and needs to deliver them to the manager who cannot get into his storeroom. Someone tried to break in last night but all they did was damage the lock” Evans said, “the present arrived by courier this morning and Gerald spent the rest of the morning putting on the details you requested. Does it come up to your expectations?”
“Yes, yes. In fact, I have not seen such beautiful work since I came here from Germany” and a few more tears ran down her cheeks.
Moments later a youth, of medium height and build appeared next to the shopkeeper, wiping his hands with an old rag.
Turning to the youth Evans said proudly,
“Gerald, Mrs Stockwell wants to thank you for your work this morning”
Gerald nodded, slightly embarrassed and the customer stepped forward and gave him a big hug and a kiss on both cheeks. Taken aback by this friendly assault Gerald’s face went crimson and he stammered,
“Glad you like it Mrs Stockwell”
She took both his hands in her own, looked intently into the youth’s eyes and spoke quietly,
Gerald, I was just telling Mr Evans that I have not seen such beautiful handiwork since I watched my father at work before the war”
It was common local knowledge that she had arrived in Britain in the mid 30’s, a refugee before the outbreak of war and had married Robin Stockwell just after her 21st birthday.
She continued, still looking intently into his eyes,
“Gerald, you are my hero!” and she kissed him on both cheeks once again, causing him even more embarrassment. She continued,
“if you continue using these hands with their natural skills you will become very successful, take care of them, my dear. But a word of caution. Do not let others distract you from this path you have chosen or the success you deserve will elude you” and she gave him another kiss on both cheeks before releasing his hands.
The youth nodded and returned to the workshop at the rear of the premises.
“Yes, you are right Mrs Stockwell he has a bright future ahead if he continues, I wish I was nineteen again. Now, let me wrap this up for you so you can take it home to your husband”
She looked thoughtful for a few moments before speaking,
“No David. Please wrap it up in nice paper but keep it here and bring it along to the gathering with your wife. I don’t want Robin to find the present before the party”
Once again Proudfoot had entered the shop while the two were engrossed in conversation.
“Buying secret presents are we Mrs Stockwell, a special occasion perhaps?”
“Oh Sargent, you move too quietly for a big man”, she admonished him sweetly, “yes, it is our golden wedding anniversary this weekend”
“Congratulations Mrs Stockwell. Actually, Marjorie and I are celebrating our silver wedding the following weekend and I too am making use of Mr Evans’ selection of gifts for all occasions”
The last remark bought a laugh from the others as this was the slogan in the shop window.
“Then you and your wife must join us at our gathering on Sunday” the woman insisted.
“I’m sorry, Mrs Stockwell, we have both changed our work pattern to ensure we are both free for the following weekend”
She smiled and then sighed and took one of his large hands in both her own,
“Never mind, perhaps another time. How is Mr Newsham enjoying his new work? We haven’t seen him for a couple of weeks, I hope he has not forgotten his invite for Sunday”
Proudfoot gently extracted his hand from the warm embrace of Mrs Stockwell. His hand continued to tingle for several seconds after the release of the grip.
“Ernie is settling in at the sports centre complex, Mrs Stockwell. He is looking for a couple of assistants to help with the maintenance side o
f work so if either of you hear of someone who can help then pass on the word”
“I will leave you gentlemen to talk in peace, please do not forget my package on Sunday, David”. She gave each man a smile and short nod before leaving the shop.
“A wonderful woman” the shopkeeper announced.
“Yes indeed” agreed Proudfoot, “and now, I am here to look at your selection of gifts that will hopefully impress my wife”
“Very well, if you give me a price range in mind I can show you a selection of items to consider”
In fact, Ernie was now only looking for one more assistant as an ideal candidate had wondered into the sports centre café a couple of days earlier. He was back in again that morning and Ernie kept a watchful eye on him as his police training told him this lad could be trouble. He had been sat at a table nearest the door with the same glass of coke for at least twenty minutes.
Ernie made mental notes of the youth as he observed him toying with his drink and looking around the café. Watching other people, checking to see if anyone left unattended bags or items of clothing within grabbing distance. Keeping a close watch on the youth Ernie move to stand near the top of the stairs of the balcony that ran around three quarters of the café.
From this vantage point he corrected his assumption of the age of the youth. More a young man in his early twenties, no more than twenty two at most but with a childlike, almost baby face. Tall, just over six feet, a lean frame but with broad shoulders and strong arms. He could be dangerous in a fight, but Ernie had tackled bigger, stronger men in the past and had been victorious.
He spotted what was about to happen a split second before the man could react.
A young woman who had come into the café for a drink after a session in the swimming pool next door left her bag unattended while she went to buy a coffee from the café bar. She had taken some change from her purse and left the remaining money on top of her holdall. Ernie had the advantage of moving quickly and silently down the stairs behind the man while he had to wait until the woman had moved far enough away to give him the opportunity to pounce
She had to manoeuvre around a couple of tables to reach the counter and even though the man was not looking in her general direction his concentration was solely on her movements. This allowed Ernie the opportunity to stand less than two paces behind him without being noticed. Deciding that the woman was far enough away the man stood up and moved towards his target.
His right hand was inches away from the purse when he felt the vice like grip on his elbow and a voice whispered in his ear,
“Play this right and you won’t get arrested!”
The man turned his head slowly and looked back at his captor.
“What’s the bloody game mister, I saw the money first” in a strong Yorkshire accent. The woman must have heard the exchange and looked back in their direction. She took a couple of paces towards them and called,
“Excuse me, that’s my bag what do you think you’re doing?”
Ernie released his grip on the man’s arm and pointed at several signs on the walls surrounding the café.
“It’s all in order miss, I’m the Manager and you obviously haven’t read the signs”
The signs read in quite prominent letters: “Do not leave any items of value unattended. They are your responsibility and our insurance does not extend to cover the loss of such items”
Ernie spoke again,
“This gentleman indicated to me what you had done and as Manager I came down to make sure there was no misunderstanding. Isn’t that right sir?” and looked directly at the man as he made his final remark.
“Yeah, as he said, you never know who’s watching you these days” and returned Ernie’s look.
The woman muttered her thanks, still a little suspicious as to both men’s intentions, picked up her belongings and walked back towards the café counter. Ernie waited until the woman had moved out of hearing distance and indicated to his companion to lead the way up the stairs. Having little option, he followed Ernie’s instructions and sat down at a table in the corner of the balcony.
Ernie sat opposite, thus blocking off any means of escape to his guest.
“Ok, what’s your name and where are you from?”
After a few moments the man replied, “Mark”
“Mark who!” Ernie responded to which came back the defiant reply,
“Mark is all you’re getting for now, so who are you then”
Ernie had come across hundreds of people in his time like Mark and he knew from experience there was no point in pushing too hard at first.
“Ok, my name is Ernie Newsham and as well as being manager of this place I’m an ex-copper. Where are you from Mark, somewhere up North I’ll guess”
Mark swore under his breath, sighed and looked up at the ceiling for several seconds.
Sensing he would get no more response Ernie continued,
“Mark. You came in here yesterday afternoon and went through the same routine and after nearly an hour of watching for an opportunity you gave up and left. I’ve lost track of how many times blokes like you have wandered in with the same plan. So again! Where are you from and how did you end up here!”
He had decided to put some pressure on Mark but if it didn’t work he would let him go and report his description to his ex-colleagues. But he hoped it would not come to that as he had a gut feeling he could make some use of this man in the plans he was developing.
Mark sighed once more and looked back at Ernie.
“Halifax in Yorkshire. I thumbed a lift from a long distance lorry driver with the intention of heading down towards Bristol. But the bastard was bent and made a pass at me but I showed him!”
Sensing there might be the chance to have a hold on the man Ernie silently switched on the mini recorder in his pocket.
“Go on, what happened?”
Mark hesitated for a few seconds before speaking.
“This bloke said he was carrying some important gear, he didn’t say what, and he shouldn’t be giving anyone lifts in his lorry but he felt sorry for me so he picked me up. Anyway, it was late at night so nobody could see me in the dark cab. He started making remarks about my features, called me “baby face” a couple of times and when I said I hated that bloody name his manner changed.
“He said he was going to stop and pick up some more fags and two cups of coffee for us then we would pull into a layby and we could get to know each other a lot better. I knew what he had in mind so I made my own plans”
What were those plans then?” Asked Ernie.
Mark gave a sneer,
“That fat bastard will think twice about picking up kids just for his own satisfaction, the pervert! While he was getting his fags and coffee in a café we stopped outside I got out a small bottle of olive oil I had in my bag. See, I’ve keep getting this ear infection and that stuff is supposed to be good for that kind of thing.
“Anyway, I soaked a little wad of cotton wool with the oil and pushed it into the cigarette lighter he had in his dashboard. I didn’t push the lighter right in, he would have to do that when we stopped for what was going to be his bit of fun”
“What if he didn’t want to have a fag, you were taking a chance weren’t you?” Ernie asked.
Mark smiled,
“No chance, that bloke was a chain smoker. We stopped four times on the way and each time he lit up as soon as he stopped. The floor of the cab was covered in fag ends and paper, right pigsty it were. He bought his stuff back to the lorry and announced that there was a spot about a mile down the road he was going to stop at. It was sheltered from the road and had a small wooded area on the left side.
“He pulled the lorry off the road and said to me ‘Right my little stud, time for action’. I had to think quickly so I told him I needed to have a crap in the woods. He said something like ‘No tricks or else!’.
“He took out a fag and rammed in the cigarette lighter and I grabbed my bag and only got half out the
door when all hell broke loose. Smoke poured out of the dashboard and the lighter unit shot out of its socket and landed amongst the rubbish on the floor.
“He shouted something and dived out of his door. I thought he was going to chase and grab me but instead he grabbed a fire extinguisher that was attached to the outside of the cab but I don’t think it was working. By now I’d legged it into the woods and when I looked back the whole cab was in flames and he was on his mobile phone.
“Ernie interrupted,
“I heard about a lorry fire about six miles from here, so that was your handiwork was it. You like starting fires then?”
“Yeah, it gives me a buzz at times. After that I stayed in the woods until it was daylight and walked into this town. I’ve been sleeping rough for the last two nights”
Ernie reached into his pocket to switch off the recorder before asking,
“What kind of jobs did you do back home? Have you got any qualifications of any kind?”
Mark gave a sarcastic laugh before answering with not a little venom in his voice,
“Oh sure! The only thing I’m qualified in is looking out for me, and they don’t teach that at no college. Jobs? I’ve worked in a garage from time to time, helping to strip down and reassemble motors and other bits of machinery. Nothing permanent, just drifting from one job to another”
Ernie’s ears pricked up at the mention of his guest’s experiences with machinery, it could be a way of enticing Mark to stick around for a while and get him involved in the ex-policeman’s other plans.
“If I offered you a job here at the Centre and found you some digs would you be willing to help me in another venture I’ve just started?”
Mark was immediately suspicious of Ernie’s motives. Why should this stranger, especially an ex-copper, make him an offer like this on their first meeting, he was always told by his older brother, ‘you don’t get ought for nowt’.
“What’s the catch?” he said staring at Ernie.
Ernie smiled having already guessed this would be the man’s reaction.
“You work here at the Centre assembling and servicing equipment in the gymnasium next door, that will be your main role during opening hours. On odd occasions I might need you to, let’s say help me enforce, my new security business. Your main role will be strictly legitimate, paid by the Council who own the Centre, the second role will be cash in hand”
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