Too Slow to Die

by Tony Jenkins

  Soon, he would be able to continue his journey towards the Hungarian border on his way to meet up with his friend Gunari and pass himself off as Corel Borel. There was no coffee, or sugar left and with the larder empty he had to rely on what he could grow, or shoot. He had no future here in Romania anymore, but together the two of them could start new lives by making sure there were no Pusztai family left. It would give him a claim on their land as well as revenge for the death of his mother and destruction of his village.

  On his last visit to Dunakeszi, he had crossed the border into Hungary near Satu Mare, but Gunari had chosen the bus routes and bought the tickets for him. While Gunari was holding meetings with the Tigani in the area, he had been exploring the land and dreaming of the day when he would be able to settle here with his own people and take advantage of the money and secret information hidden by his half-brother Renko. He had also been able to find some of the papers his brother Renko had hidden in the village.

  He was nervous about travelling by bus, or train as a wanted man and was going to make the long ride to Dunakeszi by horse and try to stay on woodland trails. He would be carrying food, the rifle and shotgun and was hoping to buy food and shoot more rabbits during the journey. There would be Tigani camps along the way and he should be able to make use of them once he had changed his appearance. He had only twelve rounds for his rifle in his cartridge belt, but might be able to buy more along the way.

  During his long ride through the forest he had been able to use his good arm to hold the reins and protect his throbbing left shoulder. Although his leg injury was not as deep, the riding movement had opened the wound and he knew he had lost quite a lot of blood. After two weeks hiding and recovering on the farm, he still felt stiff and sore and realised that his strength had not yet recovered enough for the ride across the country to reach Hungary. He knew his life in Romania was finished, but he hoped he could start a new life in Hungary. He also wondered if his luck would hold so that he could spend another week recovering and relaxing at the farm. He had been shooting rabbits to avoid killing more chickens, since they were giving him a good supply of eggs. He was in the kitchen cleaning the two guns when he heard the sound of an engine and looking through the window, he watched as a large van stopped outside and a man stepped out and began walking towards the kitchen door.

  Chapter 24

  Revelation

  After the worrying news from Colonel Herceg, Jack insisted that they should arm themselves and as well as the old hunting rifle which Demeter used, they bought two automatic hand guns and Jack chose an automatic rifle with a ten-round magazine and a scope. When they tested their guns on some made up targets behind the house, Jack was relieved to find that Demeter was quite a good shot and he himself had undergone sniper training with the army. They should be able to defend themselves in a shootout, but Jack knew that it would be almost impossible to protect themselves from a hidden marksman choosing a moment when one of them was exposed. Having already extended his stay in Hungary, Jack needed to return home to be with his family and take care of his business, but he was concerned about leaving Demeter in danger and agreed to return as soon as possible.

  Jack suggested that if Tigo was wounded and being hunted by the Romanian police, it could be at least three weeks before he was likely to recover. Then it could take him another two weeks, or three to make his way across Romania to Dunakeszi. He planned to return from Liverpool to be with Demeter in three weeks’ time, but if there were signs that Tigo was in the area, he would fly back as soon as possible. The two men spoke with Janos about the threat and offered him a handgun. As he worked around the mansion, he could be a target, but by carrying the automatic at all times, he would be able to defend himself. Janos had never fired a gun before and Jack gave him instructions in loading, aiming and firing. After finally persuading Janos not to close his eyes when pulling the trigger and then emptying the magazine, Jack finally managed to get him aiming the gun before firing. He was unlikely to hit anything more than five metres away, but his wild shooting would probably scare an assassin as much as it did Jack.

  The rifles were kept loaded, with one stored in a cloakroom near the front entrance and the other in a kitchen cupboard at the rear of the house. If there was an attack on the house from the outside, it should be possible to get to one of the rifles quickly and confront the attacker. If the intruder managed to get inside the house, the handguns carried by Demeter and Janos would be more effective in the confined space.

  After Jack had flown home to Liverpool, Demeter was kept busy at the mine and when he returned home each night, he made sure that the doors and shutters on the ground floor windows were locked. As the days passed with no signs of an attack by Tigo, he began to hope that after being shot by the Romanian police, the killer had given up on his murderous plan for revenge and hidden himself away somewhere in the wild countryside. Demeter warned Janos not to begin taking chances with their strict security regime until they were sure that the threat from Tigo had positively been removed.

  At home in Liverpool, Jack made an early start at his office to clear the back load of queries built up during his extended stay in Hungary. He was pleased to find that the mail order business was showing steady growth and made a note to compliment the manager on his good work. The shootout with the Russian Mafia had removed the threat to his security staff and with his business again running smoothly, he should be able to spend more time with the family. Unfortunately, he could not forget the threat to his friend Demeter and made regular telephone calls to ask if there was as yet any sign of Tigo in the Dunakeszi area. Theresa had returned to Durham University with her right arm in plaster, since she was left-handed and would be able to continue making notes during her lectures.

  Amongst the papers on his desk was a note that ‘a friend’ had called three times and although he would not leave his name, he insisted that it was essential that he speak with Jack as soon as he returned from Hungary. Jack waited until nine o’clock before dialling the number he had been given. A muffled voice said, “Hello,” but without giving a name and the speaker was obviously waiting for Jack to introduce himself.

  “My name is Jack Randil and I have a note asking me to ring this number.”

  “Oh it’s you Jack. Thank God you called. It’s Gary Dempsey. I was afraid to leave my name because I dare not run the risk of Don Taylor finding out I had contacted your office. I can’t use my house phone, but bought a cheap pay as you go for this number.”

  “I thought Don Taylor was very pleased with you for risking your life to protect his money. What did you do to make him turn nasty towards you?”

  “I told him that I’d had enough and wanted to retire and leave Liverpool with my family to make a new life. He said my family was free to go anytime, but I had too much information in my head and he needed me to help him to run the business until he was ready to retire. He suggested I stay working for him until his retirement, or I could shoot myself, or he would do it for me.”

  “So what do you want me for?”

  “I can give your police friends all the information they need to put Don Taylor away for life and close down the Young Guns operations in the city. If I give them this, I need police protection for me and my family and relocation for us with new names under their Witness Protection Scheme. It must be done quickly, before Don decides I am now too much of a risk.”

  “So you want me to be the go between for you and the family.”

  “I trust you Jack, and know you are smart enough to pull it off. Will you help us?”

  “Right, say or do nothing until I ring this number tomorrow at this time.”

  “Oh thank you Jack, you can’t know how grateful I am for that, I will be waiting for your call. I just knew you would help me.”

  After putting his phone down, Jack sat at his desk thinking about his conversation with Gary and wondering why he kept getting involved in other people’s problems, however much he tried to concentrate on his own family a
nd business. Remembering the many times he had just missed death, he realised he had been lucky so far, but others needed his luck and help as well. He telephoned through to his friend Peter at Liverpool CID and told him about the conversation he had just had with Gary.

  “We’ve been trying to put Taylor away for years Jack, and now you come up with an offer of inside help. I will speak with the super and get back to you quickly. We can’t afford to foul up on this chance, or get Gary killed.”

  Although he knew that the police would make all the necessary arrangements, Jack could not stop his mind from working out the safest method of collecting Gary and his family without raising the suspicions of the watchers. His house would be under constant surveillance by the Young Guns and any visit would have to look natural, but produce a quick and safe escape for the family. It was essential that the gang had no suspicions, which would prompt them to destroy evidence, or close down their operations before the police could act. As he waited for a response from Peter, he tried to concentrate on his business correspondence, but found it impossible to clear thoughts of Gary from his mind. Just over half an hour later the phone rang. Peter confirmed that his super was keen to meet with Gary and agree to his requests in return for evidence to convict Don Taylor and the Young Guns gang.

  “Just a minute Jack, my boss wants to speak to you and I will put you through to him.”

  As he waited for the connection, an idea suddenly crossed his mind and Jack found himself considering a simple scheme to collect Gary and his family without raising too many suspicions by any watchers. The Superintendent greeted him and he responded.

  “Hi Larry. It’s a relief to hear you might be able to help Gary and get the Young Guns off our streets. The man is overweight and middle aged and has certainly suffered a lot of stress, particularly during recent months. He is an ideal candidate for a heart attack, which would then mean he would have to be taken to hospital by ambulance. His wife and daughter could travel with him and if he is being watched, it would appear to be a normal family emergency. A watcher could not be sure whether or not it was a genuine emergency and would probably contact Taylor, but that would give us time to have Gary safely delivered to the hospital and tucked away in intensive care.”

  “Why we haven’t recruited you for the force just amazes me Jack. That sounds like a great idea. Let me make the necessary arrangements and then I will give you a number for his wife to ring and put things in motion. Try to agree a 10 am collection time with Gary so that I can prepare the hospital telephone operator to respond on that number. We will have to put a couple of armed police in the ambulance in case of trouble and I will also have armed back up in the area to give support, just in case it’s needed.”

  “Thanks Larry. I promised Gary I would ring him tomorrow, so let’s hope he stays indoors and Taylor doesn’t decide to protect himself by having Gary killed tonight. I will ring him at 8:30 am and tell him what we have in mind and if he agrees, he must explain the plan to his wife, so that she can make the emergency call.”

  After the evening meal, Jack told his wife about the telephone call from Gary and his plan to take Gary and his family out of their house by using an ambulance. When she heard that Jack was again getting involved with the vicious gang run by Taylor, Judy felt the fear rising from her stomach at the thought of possible harm to her husband.

  “Please don’t take any risks with those monsters Jack. If they find that you helped Gary, they will kill you and you have to think about me and the children. We need you too.”

  “I will just make the phone call and tell Gary what to do and the police will do the rest. Only the police know that Gary has contacted me.”

  A thunderstorm during the night woke the children and Judy had to shake Jack to wake him from his usual deep sleep. He helped her with drinks and to calm the children down. When they finally returned to bed, neither Jack, nor his wife could get back to sleep and he was at his office a good hour before his usual starting time.

  He wrote down the points he wanted to cover so that Gary and his wife would be able to convince any watchers that it was a genuine heart attack. At 8:30 am he rang the mobile number Gary had given him and after a long wait he heard a hoarse whispered voice on the line.

  “Wha’, who’s that?”

  “You spoke to me yesterday and I promised to ring you back on this number.”

  “Oh Jack, I can’t take any chances because I am scared to death, but I can’t stand it any longer and you are my only hope.”

  Jack told Gary about his discussion with the police and the plan to have Gary and his family taken to Walton Hospital in an ambulance. There was a silence as Gary considered the offer and then agreed to do whatever was needed to escape from his dependence on the Young Guns. After going over the plan twice, Jack was satisfied that Gary would be able to have his wife make the emergency call at 10 am, follow the stretcher holding her husband and climb into the ambulance with their daughter. Satisfied that he had completed the arrangements with Gary, he then telephoned Peter to confirm that they should be ready for the call and pick up the family.

  It took an effort to direct his mind back to running the business and as Judy had insisted, allow the police to take control of all contacts with Gary. Since Judy should now have taken the boys to their school, he telephoned to tell her that his involvement with the Young Guns accountant was now finished. Judy was full of praise and relief that he was keeping his promise. Ten minutes later his heart sank as he received another phone call from Gary, who was almost incoherent with worry.

  Gary had carefully written down the details as Jack briefed him on the ambulance pick up, since he did not want to ruin his only chance of surviving. Slipping his mobile phone into his pocket he turned to his wife and carefully explained her role. Daughter Rosanne was not an early riser and after her frightening experience when she was abducted by the Russians, she spent much of her time in her room and delayed going back to university.

  In recent weeks, she had been showing extreme mood swings and the couple were hoping that a break away from Liverpool would help her to regain her old confidence. Arm in arm on the settee, they waited in a tense state as time passed and just before 10 am, Gary passed the landline telephone to his wife. He again stressed that she must make herself sound frightened when speaking to the hospital receptionist. Her call was transferred immediately and a male voice asked her to describe her husband’s symptoms, before reassuring her that an ambulance would be sent.

  Gary packed money, cheques and copies of the Young Guns bank account and operating details in a small bag and asked his wife to go to Rosanne and explain her role. Two minutes later, Mary burst into the lounge with frightened eyes and quivering lips.

  “She isn’t there. Her bed has been made up with pillows and her bedroom is empty. Oh Gary, where can she be? Could those terrible people have got her again?”

  Gary held his head in his hands as he tried to think what to do about losing his daughter for the second time. Taylor knew nothing about his contact with Jack Randil and he had accepted the man’s ultimatum to continue working as his accountant. He rang Jack Randil, who picked up his phone and was startled to hear Gary’s voice as he blurted out the news about his missing daughter. When he heard about the pillows in her bed, he guessed that the girl had gone out with friends.

  “The ambulance will be with you within minutes Gary, so keep to the plan and let the police search for Rosanne. She has probably spent the night with her boyfriend, or girlfriends. Once you and your wife are safe, the police can concentrate their resources on finding her, but I am sure she will be back. I will speak to my police contact and tell him she is missing, but I don’t believe she has been taken by Taylor.”

  Jack passed on the news about the missing girl to Peter Kershaw, who was relieved to hear that Jack had persuaded the accountant to go ahead with the ambulance pick up and leave the police to search for his daughter. Peter contacted his men who were watching the house and was relieve
d to hear that the ambulance, with Gary and his wife inside, had just left. Although he had yet to be informed, her father would not be seeing his daughter alive ever again.

  Don Taylor had seen the change in Gary after the terrifying visit by the Russians and his daughter’s kidnapping. The man had saved his money and been a loyal worker for many years, but could now be a possible threat to him and gang operations. After the meeting with Gary, when he insisted that his accountant must carry on, he decided he must keep a careful watch on him. Knowing that Roseanne was vulnerable because of her over protective parents, he arranged to have a good-looking young gang member become friendly with her and keep him informed of any possible threats to him. Don himself had no head for figures, but needed time to find a suitable replacement before dealing with Gary.

  After her terrifying experiences, the young Roseanne rarely went outside the house at night and she was depressed and vulnerable. She quickly formed a strong attachment to the good-looking charmer she met in a coffee bar during an afternoon visit with friends. Each night, after telling her mother that she wanted to read in her room, she used pillows to make her bed look as if she was sleeping, knowing her mother would not switch on the light and disturb her sleep. After first checking that her parents were in bed, she telephoned Carl to pick her up in his BMW coupe and take her out to Liverpool nightclubs. After a hot and noisy evening with Carl and having tried some of the little pills he offered her, Rosanne was in high spirits with her arms wrapped around Carl when the police raided the club.

  Carl was well known to the police and about to be handcuffed, when Rosanne reached inside his jacket for his gun. She then held it with both hands to threaten the police and run from the club with her boyfriend. Seeing a wild-eyed young girl holding an automatic, the crowds and police wisely kept back as the couple ran to their car and drove off. An alert was immediately put out and an armed response unit was soon following the BMW as it raced through the Liverpool outskirts at over eighty miles an hour. Anxious to lose the flashing blue lights behind him, Carl entered a roundabout too fast, lost control and crashed head on into the rear of a heavy lorry. The entire front of the BMW was crushed and when the emergency services arrived, the car had to be cut open before the lifeless bodies inside could be removed. Carl was quickly identified, but his female companion carried no money, credit cards or anything showing her name. Neither the driver nor the passenger had been wearing seatbelts.