“Not lately, but I’ll be ok, thanks”
She left the room and Ernie came in moments later. He motioned to Gerry to come outside for a moment which he did reluctantly,
“Gerry, it may be wiser if you stayed here for a while. I’ve got a late evening appointment but I can check if you’re still here and pick you up if you need a lift home”
Before he could reply the nurse returned with a cup of tea and a sandwich and gave it to Gerry.
“I think you might be feeling hungry and you can stay as long as you like”
He took the offering and said to Ernie,
“Thanks Mr Newsham, I should be ok for getting home, besides the walk in fresh air might do me some good”
Ernie nodded and walked away and Gerry followed the nurse into the room. He sat back down again and after glancing at the plate of sandwiches a couple of times he suddenly realised how hungry he was so they were eagerly devoured and the tea followed them.
After washing his hands in the small was-basin in the corner of the room Gerry sat down by the bed and gently took hold of one of his Grandmother’s hands. They felt so limp and lifeless, for a moment he thought she was already gone. But he held on and began to take some comfort from the contact.
He wasn’t sure how much later it was when the nurse came back into the room, she went to the other side of the bed and checked the old lady’s pulse and took her temperature. When she finished writing the results on the chart at the bottom of the bed she said quietly,
“I’m going off duty in about fifteen minutes but I’ll tell the night staff you’re here. Can I suggest you go home eventually and try to have a good night’s rest; the next few days could be long and tiring for you. Good night”
He nodded his thanks and stayed where he was. Sometime later, someone tapped him on the shoulder and he woke up and found himself looking at a middle aged nurse. She spoke in a hushed tone,
“Mr Reynolds, I’ve looked in on you twice since coming on duty and each time you’ve been fast asleep. Why don’t you go home and have a proper rest, I don’t think anything will happen tonight?”
Gerry looked at his watch and was surprised to see it was fast approaching midnight. He released his Gran’s hand, stood up and had a little stretch before acknowledging the nurse and leaving the hospital.
While he had been resting others had been busy in making use of the enforced darkness that had befallen certain premises within the town.
Ernie and Mark in their official looking jackets and caps parked their van near the rear entrance to Matthews’s shop they had visited a few months earlier. They walked around the front of the building and made a show of checking the front door was secure. There was nobody else around so they walked back to the van and Mark retrieved a crowbar and pillow from inside the van and went to work on forcing the lock on the gate to the yard.
He pushed the end of the crowbar into the gap between the edge of the gate and frame and pressed the pillow over the area to muffle the sound of breaking timber. Having one final check to make sure nobody was around he rammed the bar further into the gap and gave a sudden twist of his wrist and the weakened timber of the gate gave way. Mark had plenty of practice doing this kind of work and he pushed the gate to its full opening, allowing Ernie to reverse into the yard. The gate was pushed closed and kept in that position with the help of a large stone.
Ernie ran to the door leading into the main building but found it was locked. Mark gave a soft whistle to alert his partner and Ernie joined him by the door to the outside storeroom. The key was still in the lock!
Using their torches, they identified the boxes with the electrical items that Gerry and Harry removed from the shop the previous weekend. The items were placed in the rear of the van in a silent and efficient manner. Ernie shone his torch to pick out any items that might be of value and the light fell on the box containing the damaged camcorder placed there by Gerry. He quickly checked the label and knowing the name of the owner he picked it up and put the final item in the rear of the van. The storeroom door was closed, then locked and he put the key in his pocket.
He signalled to Mark who went to open the gate and check the coast was clear and got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Mark opened the gate once more and the van moved out of the yard, the gate was pulled closed so as not to attract attention and Mark climbed into the passenger seat and they moved quietly away. From start to finish the operation had taken less than ten minutes.
As they drove down a street near their destination Ernie spotted a hunched figure walking slowly and he pulled over to the kerbside.
He told Mark to open his door and take up the middle seat and called out to the person,
“Hi Gerry, just going home, climb in and I’ll give you a lift”
Gerry hesitated for a moment until he recognised Ernie’s voice.
“Oh, hi Mr Newsham I am a bit knackered, sure you’ve got room?”
Ernie nodded and Gerry started to climb into the vehicle until he recognised Mark. Noticing his wariness Ernie gave Mark a light dig in his ribs who responded by saying in a more pleasant voice that even Ernie was surprised to hear,
“Hi Gerry, sorry to hear about your Gran, how are things at the hospital?”
Taken slightly aback by his comment Gerry said nothing at first but once he was in the van he answered,
“Oh, about the same, thanks for asking”
The journey to Gerry’s flat was finished in complete silence until they arrived in the street next to the front door. Ernie spoke as Gerry got out,
“If you need a hand with anything tomorrow, give me a shout and have a good night’s sleep if you can”
As he drove away Ernie complemented Mark on his surprising comment to Gerry,
“That was good, I need you two to get on together if he joins our team. Right, let’s get back to the Centre and unload. I’m intrigued to find out what the Councillor has brought in for repair”
15
Percival Matthews picked up the phone in his lounge and answered irritably,
“Hello, who is it?”
Sargent Proudfoot cleared his throat before replying,
“Clapfield South police station Mr Matthews, Sergeant Proudfoot speaking”
Matthews quickly changed his manner,
“Oh, good morning Sergeant, what can I do for you?”
“Mr Matthews, one of our patrols was called to an incident at the rear of one of your shops last night because the gate was swinging backwards and forwards and making quite a racket. We took several calls about this and when officers attended they discovered that the gate had been forced open and the lock broken”
“Oh, for God’s sake, how many more problems do I have to sort out!” Matthews shouted down the phone.
Proudfoot continued calmly,
“If you let me finish please. The officers made a quick check around the rear of your premises but found nothing else out of order, apart from one observation they made at the front door. There was a sign on the door stating, ‘Shop closed due to complete power failure’”
“That’s correct; we did have a power failure yesterday afternoon. In fact, the same thing happened in three of my shops”
“Well Mr Matthews, it’s a possibility that someone read that sign and had visions of it affecting your alarm system you have on the premises. But as I said, there doesn’t seem to have been at attempt at forced entry. However, you have a few upset neighbours who had a disturbed night’s sleep because of the gate banging. Anyway, I’m sure you have other things to deal with, as I have, Good morning”
Matthews put the phone down, on one hand, annoyed at the prospect of having the cost of fixing a stronger gate and frame but on the plus side, nothing seemed to have been stolen.
Once again his phone rang, this time it was Tony,
“Mr Matthews? The electrician reckons we will need a new mains fuse box as the old one is partly burnt out, it’s at least a four hour job and that’s if
he can get hold of a new box. It was lucky it didn’t start a fire. What do I tell Gerry, come in or stay at home?”
Matthews nearly blew a fuse of his own at the news that Gerry was not in work yet.
“What!? It’s gone nine o’clock he should be there by now. As soon as he gets in send him round to help Harry measure up for a new gate and frame. I’ve just had the police on telling me some little bastards broke the old lock and damaged the frame. Reynolds fixed the lock so he can pay for a replacement. And tell me what time he gets in, he’ll lose money there as well”, and he put the phone down before Tony could give him any more bad news.
Tony found Gerry’s number and rang him to pass on Matthews’ instructions. He let the phone ring for nearly a minute and was about to put the phone down when he heard a slurred voice on the other end,
The constant ringing finally penetrated Gerry’s deep sleep but even then, it didn’t register with him where he was laying. He was not in his own bed the sound was nearby and too loud to allow him to ignore.
He struggled up from the settee and shambled over to the phone on the coffee table. He had fallen asleep in his day clothes and had even forgotten to close the curtains when he had come in after midnight. Even the living room light was still on.
Gerry hesitated for a moment before picking up the phone. What if it was the hospital with bad news? He shivered and his hand trembled as he picked up the receiver,
“Hello?”
“Gerry? It’s Tony. Look, Matthews has just phoned, you have to go and give Harry a hand to measure the gate and frame in the back yard of the shop”
Gerry was confused,
“What are you talking about Tony; I’m not going anywhere until I’ve had breakfast and phoned the hospital”
It was his manager’s turn to feel confused,
“Hospital? Gerry have you been on the razzle all night. Get a move on, sunshine, Matthews is on the warpath and he’s looking for scapegoats!”
“No Tony, I’m not going anywhere right now” and he proceeded to give the barest of details of what happened after he had been dropped off the previous afternoon.
Tony let out a low whistle before speaking,
“Well Gerry, I know what my priorities would be in those circumstances. Ring the hospital to find out any news of your Gran and get over there even if they say she’s improving. I’ll explain the situation to Matthews and tell him that is your number one priority until things improve. He phoned me just now and said something about a broken lock on the back gate that you fixed but that’s his worry. Give me a ring at the shop if you need anything, still no power but I can get on with a few things anyway”
Gerry muttered his thanks and hung up. He rang the hospital and was told his Gran was comfortable but the doctors had not made their rounds so it would be best to ring later to get more news. He put down the receiver and a sudden thought crossed his mind. What had his Gran said about only ringing Sally after the weekend, but where had she left the note with the number? He searched all the obvious places it could be but found nothing. He pondered what to do next.
He finally decided to call in a nearby café for breakfast and then visit the library with the hope that one of Sally’s colleagues would have a contact number for her.
*****
Ernie had the feeling that it was suddenly Christmas again, his birthday and that he had won the lottery all at the same time. This stroke of good fortune came about when he opened the box containing the malfunctioning video camcorder they had found in the storeroom of the shop. He knew Councillor Barnes to be a little lacking in operating, or knowledge of repairing most mechanical items.
It took Ernie less than thirty seconds to release the jammed video compartment and discover that no damage had been done to the film itself. He took the film into the living room and placed it into the VCR player and pressed the play button. For the first minute the quality of the film was quite poor and Ernie stopped it playing and advanced the Fast Forward function and nearly fell off his chair when he recognised three of the four people on the film.
The two men, Councillor Barnes and Andrew Phillips the travel agent, and Sally from the library. It took him a further minute to put a name to the other woman and then he remembered her. Abigail, who worked for Percy Matthews.
For the first few minutes it all seemed perfectly innocent with drinks and general banter. Then the mood suddenly changed when Phillips made tried to grope Sally. She reacted by shouting and slapped him across the face and stormed out of the room. The camera was temporarily turned off but when it was switched back on again the remaining guests, minus Sally were all in various stages of undress. They had also been joined by another woman, who Ernie guessed was about Sally’s age but had a fuller figure and was slightly taller than her. He would have to contact the library assistant to get the name of the stranger. Sally would have no choice in withholding that information from him. He knew too much about her past and she would have to co-operate.
Ernie was a man of the world and guessed what was going to happen next and he was not disappointed. The film ran on for more than two hours and the final scenes had Ernie laughing and clapping his hands. It clearly showed the two men paying money to Abigail before she left the room.
This was the kind of evidence he needed to persuade the two men at least, that it would be unwise not to fully agree with his demands. He would not approach the woman for the time being. As for Sally, who must have had some idea of why the party had been arranged but had left before anything incriminating had begun so she could be ruled out of any blackmail pressures.
He needed to make copies of parts of the video but didn’t have any blank tapes to hand, but he knew where he could purchase some.
Gerry entered the library after eating his meal and was disappointed to find the person in charge was not someone known to him, so he enquired when he could speak to Sally’s friend. The man was reluctant to give details and simply stated they were now one staff member short and the rota for the following week hadn’t been drawn up, therefore Gerry would have to call in at another time to speak to someone else.
At this point he decided he would go straight to the hospital without even checking if there was any further news of his Grandmother. On arrival at the ward he was invited to go into an office and speak to a Staff Nurse Lamb who was in charge.
“There is no real change in your Grandmother’s condition Mr Reynolds. The doctor examined her this morning and he can give no clue as to whether she will regain consciousness in the near future, if at all. I’m sorry but there’s nothing I can tell you. You are welcome to visit her at any time you feel the need if that is what you want to do”
He sat staring into the distance, trying to comprehend how much his life had been turned upside down since the beginning of the year. Was it all down to Matthews after he took over the shop from David Evans or did that stuff in the suitcase really have a curse on it?
No! He decided that was just nonsense put into his Gran’s head by the Stockwell woman and now she was gone and that should be the end of that rubbish. But why had Sally suddenly disappeared from his life just when he thought their relationship was beginning to be more meaningful to him. He had to find the telephone number his Gran had written down and discover the truth from her why she had left.
Matthews was also to blame, not only for his hostile attitude but in allowing his skeleton keys to go missing, if the thief hadn’t stolen those bloody things his Gran wouldn’t be in this hospital now. I’m going to sort things out with that bastard once and for all, he decided.
As he stood up to leave he heard the staff nurse say something to him,
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch what you said” he mumbled.
“I said your tea is getting cold. I put it in front of you nearly ten minutes ago but you’ve been staring into space. Drink up and I’ll take you to see your Grandmother” she said in a gentle voice.
But Gerry suddenly felt very claustrophobic and needed t
o be away from the hospital smells and orderly chaos he felt was trying to envelop him. He took a step towards the door and said in a slightly strangled voice,
“Sorry about the tea but I have things to do, I’ll be back in later to see my Gran, Bye”
Seeing the distressed look on his face she tried to persuade him to sit down but he left and almost ran out of the building in his haste to be clear of its surroundings. He forced himself to walk at a more normal pace to give time to form a plan of action once he arrived at his place of work.
However, the shop was already in enough turmoil before he arrived. Abigail and Harry were in the middle of a heated exchange and Matthews was having difficulty in stopping them coming to blows.
“I’ve already told you Miss High and Mighty, I locked up the outside storeroom to come in and find out why you were screaming your bloody head off, but you had already disappeared out of here, then I put the key on the counter…” Harry shouted, red in the face and fists clenched tightly,
“Then why isn’t the dam key here now Mister Beer Belly!”
Matthews had heard enough from his staff and banged his fist on the top of a nearby counter.
“That’s enough from you two! I have more than my fair share of problems without both of you acting like kids arguing in a playground over some stupid nonsense. What happened to the container I left in the drawer of the old desk in the workshop? Which one of you sorted it out before you dumped it Harry?”
Harry remained silent, wondering if he had walked into a trap set by the others. Then he remembered,
“I didn’t sort out any of those desks or cupboards Mr Matthews, you told her to do it while I emptied the van so that we could dump the junk somewhere” and he gave a defiant stare in Abigail’s direction. Talk yourself out of that bitch, he mused to himself.
It was now the woman’s turn to be on the defensive. She remembered the situation clearly and Harry, dam him, was correct. So, she tried deflecting the blame in another direction.
The Reluctant Villain Page 16