The Reluctant Villain

by James Williams

  The result was instantaneous. Gerry sat up with a shout and looked wildly around. Mark snarled at him.

  “Let’s get moving your dumb sod, there’s no time for lying around, what’s the bloody matter with you Gerry?”

  Gerry stood up slowly and his gaze fell on the body of Robin Stockwell but he didn’t dare look at the man’s face.

  “I’ve killed him Mark, what am I going to do?”

  Mark dropped the tumbler on the floor and grabbed Gerry by both shoulders.

  “Yeah, he’s dead and that’s what we came here for, that and money and tickets, so let’s finish the job and cover our tracks.”

  Gerry looked at the body once more but made no move to leave the room. Mark removed the gun from his pocket and waved it in front of his friend’s face.

  “I could easily make it look like you broke in alone and started the fire to cover your tracks but never made it out of the building. Time to make your choice buddy!”

  Gerry realised Mark was not joking and said in a croaky voice.

  “Ok Mark, I’m coming, please put the gun away.”

  Mark pocketed the gun along with the money and tickets. After making sure they had not left any clues and that the scene would look like a tragic accident both men left the bedroom and went back to the room along the corridor used as a storage facility.

  Mark tipped the entire contents of one of the upper shelves onto the floor. Several of the bottles broke and the liquid briefly formed small pools on the bare wooden floor before disappearing through the gaps between the boards. He had earlier calculated that this room was directly above the main living quarters and a fire started below would quickly track its way to this area.

  Moving back downstairs Mark directed Gerry to help him re-arrange items in the living room. The wicker waste bin was placed on the area where the broken bottle of perfume had spilt some of its contents. An upholstered armchair was moved next to the waste bin.

  The matching three-seater settee was pushed closer to the armchair and the bag containing the bottles of perfume was placed on the middle section. Taking the two miniature bottles from the mantel piece, Mark broke one open and emptied the contents in a trail leading from the waste bin to the settee. He took and broke the second miniature and carried it out in the direction of the hallway, again leaving a trail of perfume on the carpet. He made a hole in the base of the rubbish bag and pushed the two broken bottles inside.

  Earlier, when he had picked up the gold cigarette lighter he had noticed a refill liquid gas canister for the lighter and a packet of small cigars. The waste bin had several pieces of paper inside so he poured some of the liquid gas over the paper and returned the canister to its original position. He told Gerry to slightly dampen a couple of other pieces of paper in the kitchen sink and bring them back. Gerry looked puzzled at the instruction but did his bidding.

  While Gerry carried out the task Mark lit one of the cigars and inhaled the smoke a couple of times to make sure the cigar would not go out. Gerry came back with the damp paper and placed it in the bottom of the waste bin over the other contents. Mark took the note that had been left for Jenny and placed it over the other papers. Then he turned to Gerry.

  “Get back to the door we entered through and have it unlocked so that we can scarper from here once I start this fire but make sure you lock the door when we leave. And no running, just walk quickly. Got it?”

  Gerry nodded and left, glad to be away from this place of death.

  Neither had noticed the faint outline of a female person watching them from the bottom of the stairs. As Mark placed the still burning cigar carefully on the top sheet of paper the figure disappeared.

  Mark watched carefully as the cigar started to burn a hole in the paper, knowing that the damp material would slow its progress sufficiently to give him time to escape from the ensuing inferno. Satisfied, he turned around, switched off the light and headed for the side door. Gerry was waiting anxiously for him to appear, the key already placed in the lock on the exterior of the door.

  Mark was two paces from reaching him as they both heard the dull roar of the waste bin fully igniting. Mark pushed his colleague outside as a second sound reached their ears, this time it was the armchair catching fire.

  “Lock up and let’s get the hell out of here. It’s going up faster than I expected!”

  They reached the main street in ten seconds and could already smell the first shafts of escaping smoke. Within five minutes they had arrived at the Leisure Centre and only then did they hear the first emergency vehicle’s siren in the distance.

  Kevin was waiting for them in Ernie’s office, fully dressed in his now dry clothes and helping himself to another bottle of whisky from the filing cabinet. He also had more money stacked in small piles in front of him and looked pleased with life.

  “Did you get the tickets and cash?”

  Mark nodded.

  “Where did that lot come from?” he asked.

  “I found a spare tracksuit in the changing room so I borrowed it and went around to the old man’s flat and this is what I found. It’s pretty handy when you know people’s habits and their hiding places.”

  Mark removed the tickets and money from his pockets and asked.

  “What’s my share of his money then?”

  “You both get £1000 each but don’t let Ernie know.”

  Mark protested.

  “Why should Gerry get any of it? He was our Dad, not his!”

  Before Kevin could respond Gerry turned to Mark and stared at him.

  “I don’t want any of your blood money, keep it all to yourselves! I’ve had enough of killing and I certainly don’t want to pay for any part of it. I really think you would have shot me back in Stockwell’s flat if I hadn’t moved.”

  Kevin’s reaction surprised them both.

  “Mark, you actually took the old man’s gun on that job? How stupid can you get?”

  There was defiance in Mark’s response, but not for long!

  “What difference does it make what gun I took? The ones you gave me are here in this office.”

  Kevin roared back at him and gave the desk a heavy thump with his fist to emphasise his point.

  “You idiot Mark! The guns I left with you are replicas that have been engineered to work with real bullets. They can’t be traced to any crime.

  “The old man’s gun could have come from anywhere with a load of history behind it. He wouldn’t have thought of that or really cared knowing him. You’ve got more brains than that so bloody well use them.”

  Mark looked down at the floor, he loathed being spoken to in that manner, especially in front of someone else. Kevin continued.

  “I don’t know what went on between you two to warrant shooting Gerry, that’s up to both of you to sort out. Just give me Dad’s gun right now!”

  Mark hesitated for a second but it was enough defiance for Kevin to spring to his feet and demand.

  “Give!”

  Mark knew better than to argue with his big brother, he took the gun out of his pocket, put it on the desk and stomped sullenly out of the office, slamming the door as he left. Both men watched him leave. Kevin shook his head and turned to Gerry.

  “I need to leave within the next hour. Ernie arranged for me to meet up with someone called the Market Man who’s giving me a lift to Heathrow. Mark can give me a lift in the van and I’ll throw the gun in the river near where we dumped the body.”

  Gerry suddenly remembered he had something to pass on to Kevin. He took some papers from an inside pocket of his jacket and put them on the desk.

  “These are the papers Ernie said you needed to fill in with your passport details.”

  Kevin nodded and smiling, he picked up a bundle of money and thrust it into Gerry’s hand.

  “Willingly or not, you helped me tonight so take this. I don’t care if you put it in some charity box or something else but take it!”

  He knew it would be unwise to argue with him so Gerry thr
ust the money into his pocket and nodded a silent thank you. He knew what he would use the money for when he had the chance. He turned towards the door but Kevin called him back.

  “It’s none of my business Gerry but it’s my guess someone like Ernie suckered you into this business. Take my advice, don’t put all your trust in a bent copper, they’re sly bastards and they know both dark sides of the law. And watch your back.”

  Mark was sitting on a table near the pool and turned accusingly to Gerry.

  “You had to open your big mouth about the gun didn’t you. That was the only memento I had of my Dad, now Kevin’s got it” and he stood up and tried to barge past Gerry, but he stood his ground and replied.

  “I think, and so does Kevin, that I’ve done you a favour by telling him. And Mark, I’ll never go on a job with you if you’re carrying a gun but I bet Ernie won’t let you anyway.”

  He stood aside to let Mark pass then went to change into his working clothes to start steam cleaning the now empty pool, hoping that it would take his mind off the night’s events, though he doubted that would ever happen. He was fully occupied in this task when Mark and Kevin left nearly an hour later to meet up with the Market Man. Mark was carrying the box containing the guns.

  Neither would have seen the tears streaming down his face or heard his raking sobs above the commotion caused by the steam cleaner. He was glad to be alone and tried to concentrate on the job in hand.

  Sometime later he only just heard the loud banging on the rear door and tried to ignore it, whoever it was would soon give up. But the persistent sound continued and Gerry climbed out of the pool and walked to the door and called out.

  “Who is it, the Centre’s closed so go home and sleep it off.”

  He turned around and started to walk back to finish the steam cleaning when a voice called out.

  “This is the police, open up right now.”

  Gerry’s heart missed a beat for he recognised the voice of Inspector Gates. Had they been seen leaving the pharmacy or left an obvious clue behind? He knew if he ran he would not get very far.

  “Hang on, while I fetch the keys.” he called back stalling for time to think of an alibi. He managed to calm down and hoped his story would be plausible. When he opened the door the smell of smoke was strong in the air. Gates pushed his way into the building.

  “What the hell are you doing here at this time of night?”

  Gerry told him the truth.

  “Steam cleaning the pool after some late swimmer left a deposit in the pool.”

  “Couldn’t it wait until the morning?” was the suspicious response.

  “No, I have to do it now there won’t be time before the schools swimming gala starts later on this morning. I’m late finishing because the bloody steam cleaner packed in and I had to repair it. Is there a fire somewhere?”

  “You must be deaf if you didn’t hear all the commotion outside.”

  I couldn’t hear or smell anything because I’ve been using the steamer down in the pool area.”

  Gates looked as if he wanted to press Gerry further but his police radio blurted into life and he walked away without saying a word. Gerry closed the door and started shaking so much he had to lean against the wall until it eventually subsided and he had calmed down. He sank down on his haunches and stayed in that position for more than five minutes before returning to complete the cleaning of the pool.

  Kevin told Mark to stop the van near the spot where they had earlier deposited their father’s body. A red glow was still visible in the night sky, firm evidence that the fire at the pharmacy was still burning nearly two hours after it had begun.

  After checking the coast was clear Kevin went down the slope to the jetty and threw his father’s gun into the middle of the river. After taking a last glance at the final resting place of his parent he strode back up the slope to the van. As he got back in he commented.

  “You made a good job of that fire, there shouldn’t be any evidence left by now.”

  Mark said nothing, it was beginning to sink in that this might well be the last time he saw his big brother. Kevin was aware of his manner and he too was feeling a little melancholy but neither spoke, not even when Kevin walked over to meet Connelly to continue his journey.

  Kevin was in deep discussion with the driver when they left the meeting place and he never saw Mark wipe away a tear from his cheek.

  By the time Mark came back into town the first signs of the coming dawn were starting to appear and there was still a strong smell of smoke hanging around. He took a slightly different route back to the Leisure Centre in order to pass the scene of his night’s dastardly work.

  There were still four fire appliances at the scene but the former pharmacy was now just a mass of smoking rubble. As he drove away he knew he could not have done a better job and a macabre sense of pride and satisfaction drove away his earlier feelings of sadness. On his way back from taking Kevin to meet up with Connelly he dropped off the guns at the flat. He was about to get out of the vehicle but spotted a piece of paper on the floor in front of where Kevin had been sitting. He opened the folded paper and read the following words:

  ‘Don’t get too down in the dumps Mark, if I don’t like Canada I might consider coming back to show Ernie how to run a proper security scam. Cheers kiddo.’

  Mark smiled and pushed the note into his jacket pocket. He returned to the pool area to find Gerry had finished the cleaning operation and was in the process of refilling the pool for the last time before the Centre closed for the refurbishment. He decided it was time he pulled rank on Gerry.

  “Seeing as I’ve been here longer than you, that makes me the more senior member of staff, so I’m taking the weekend off and you can secure the place tonight after everyone has left.”

  Gerry saw through this ploy immediately so he countered with the following remark.

  “Fair enough, but as the senior member of staff left here, you must be the one to deal with the workers when they come in next week to start the refurbishment. And as I’ll be here today in charge on my own, I’m going home now to grab a few hours rest.”

  And Gerry left before Mark could argue.

  On his way home, he walked past the mound of rubble that was once a venue many people had called in to seek advice, help or both, including his Grandmother. As soon as he reached the end of the street to pass the pharmacy he knew it was a big mistake taking this route. He was so transfixed by the destruction he nearly walked into Sergeant Proudfoot who was giving instructions to a female constable. Gerry couldn’t help but hear what the Sergeant was saying because he had to shout over the clamour that was going on around him.

  “She can’t be at home or she would have been out here already so when you see Miss Potter let me know straight away. This news needs to be broken to her gently as she was almost like family to Mr Stockwell.

  Gerry didn’t want to hear any more of what the Sergeant was saying so he retreated from the scene without being noticed by the police officers. He had not wanted to be reminded about such matters. His guilty feeling was almost more than he could bear.

  As he left the scene another figure approached Proudfoot. A courier had turned up with a special delivery of a passport and insisted on confirmation that he could not complete the task. Proudfoot instructed his colleague to sign his paperwork and told the courier to leave the area immediately as he had more important work to follow up at present. He had been on duty since before midnight and he needed a few minutes alone to digest what had happened. He went to his patrol car in the hope of getting a few minutes to gather his thoughts.

  He rubbed his eyes and was just starting to relax into his seat when a tap on the driver’s window brought him back to his senses. He reluctantly wound down the window to see what his colleague wanted. She told him that the fire personnel had made a significant discovery. The Sergeant sighed and climbed out of his vehicle and approached the wreckage of the building once more.

  The Senior Fire Off
icer told Proudfoot that his team had discovered a body amongst the rubble and he required the Sergeant to witness the removal of the corpse. He nodded but glanced over his right shoulder as he heard a vehicle approach. Recognising the driver, he asked the fire officer if his team could wait a few minutes as he didn’t want the new arrivals to witness the removal.

  Proudfoot approached the limousine as the driver wound down his window and surveyed the scene before him. He turned to the passenger sitting next to him and told her to stay in the car as he opened his own door to get out.

  Proudfoot put a hand on the arm of the driver and spoke in a quiet tone so that nobody else would hear.

  “Ralph, it would be better if you took your wife away from here, the fire people are about to complete a grim task.”

  Ralph Byewater glanced at the ruins and then back at the police officer he had known for many years and spoke only one word.

  “Robin?”

  Proudfoot nodded grimly.

  “Has anyone been to tell Jenny Potter?” Byewater asked, unable to disguise the tremor in his voice.

  Proudfoot shook his head.

  “She’s not at home, my wife bumped into her a couple of days ago and Ms Potter said she was going to visit her sister in Ipswich.”

  Byewater gave a small sigh of relief.

  “I don’t think it would be wise to let her come back here with all this activity going on. I imagine the investigation into the cause will take some time to sort out. We would be happy to put her up while things get sorted.”

  Proudfoot nodded.

  “That would be very kind of you, but she will insist on her cats coming too.”

  “Oh yes, the cats, but I’m sure we will manage. I’d better go and break the news to my wife. Thank you, Peter.”

  The Sergeant smiled his thanks and went to consult with the Senior Fire Officer after watching the limousine pull slowly away.

  “It should be ok to remove the body now. Will all this have to be pulled down?”

  SFO Collins gave the thumbs up to his men before replying.