by Tony Jenkins
Chapter 25
Payback
A small group of hospital staff had been briefed on the need to make Gary look as if his life was in danger and after first being taken to the Intensive Care Ward, he was then moved to a private room with his wife. The hospital receptionist was told to report his condition as serious to any callers, which should help to prevent Don Taylor making any rash moves. Police security was also stepped up to protect Gary. He refused to pass over documents or any information about the Young Guns until the police had found Roseanne and she had joined her parents. The previous night he had spent hours changing passwords and transferring funds so that Don Taylor could not access the money earned by his criminal activities.
It was mid-afternoon before Jack Randil and Inspector Peter Kilshaw visited Gary. His wife had returned home with a discreet police escort so that she could collect clothes and other items and because she hoped that Roseanne had returned. As he looked at their serious faces, Gary immediately guessed that they had come with bad news about his daughter. When Jack placed a gold bracelet in his hands, Gary groaned as he recognised it as Roseanne’s. With tears filling his eyes he looked up at Jack.
“She never had a chance after I was tempted to work for Don Taylor and now by trying to save myself it has cost her life. Tell me what has happened.”
Jack explained his daughter’s evening outings with the Young Guns man and the nightclub confrontation the previous evening, the reckless driving during the pursuit followed by the fatal car crash. Gary had more questions, but was relieved to hear that because neither of the occupants in the car were wearing seatbelts, their death would have been instantaneous with such a collision at high speed. After identifying Carl as the car driver, the police wondered if his teenage girlfriend was Roseanne Dempsey and were hoping that the bracelet would help her father to make the identification.
“That devil Taylor only cared about himself and even Roseanne wasn’t safe from his killer’s hands. I will help you all I can, just so long as that monster gets what’s coming to him. I always knew that one day I would need some sort of insurance to protect myself and for the past four years I have kept records and evidence. I hid the gun he used to kill one of the Russians at my house after he gave it to me to destroy in the big furnace in my cellar. It should have his prints on it. I want him and all the gang put away where they won’t harm ordinary people anymore. You will find papers and diaries with names and places in this holdall and the gun and other evidence is hidden in my attic.”
After looking through the documents that Gary had carefully accumulated over the past five years, Peter realised that they had more than enough to prove Taylor’s guilt in crimes and killings. He rang his boss to give him a broad outline and the Superintendent immediately arranged for teams of armed officers to arrest Taylor and his criminal colleagues throughout the city. Finally, the police should be able to close down the biggest gang in the city. Peter put his arm around Jack’s shoulders and thanked his friend for helping to make it possible. After shaking hands with Gary and sympathising with him over the loss of his daughter Jack made his way home. He could now reassure his wife that he had kept his promise by keeping his involvement to a minimum and allowing the police to deal with the gang. Judy was relieved to hear that Taylor would be locked up until his trial, but tears trickled down her cheeks as Jack described the violent death of Roseanne Dempsey.
He had told Demeter that he would return to Dunakeszi in three weeks, or sooner, if there were any more attacks on the mine, or any signs that Tigo was in the area. Until his help was needed, he would look after his family and his growing business. When he accepted his appointment to the Hun-Al board, he had no idea that it would take up so much of his time. In addition to his work in Hun-Al, there had been constant sabotage against the company and he also had to protect Demeter and himself from life threatening attacks. With the Liverpool situation finally returning to normal, he could only hope that during the coming weeks he would also see the end of the long running vendetta against the Pustaszi family. Over the years it had resulted in many deaths, but with the Romanian and Hungarian police looking for the main suspect Tigo, the man would have to be very lucky, or resourceful to evade capture. Until the family feud was ended, he would continue do his best to prevent Theresa returning to Hungary, where her life would be in danger. Now that his niece was safely in Durham, he hoped that he and Demeter could work with the police to capture Tigo.
Judy wanted her husband to give up the Hun-Al involvement and spend more time in Liverpool with her and the children. Concerned about the strength of her feelings, he gave her his word that the coming visit to Hungary would be his last as a director of Hun-Al. He was determined to help the police put Tigo in prison, so that Demeter and Theresa could marry and settle down to a normal life in Dunakeszi. He would then be able to spend all his time with his own family in Liverpool.
Chapter 26
Destination
After seeing no other people anywhere near the farm area since he first hid in the barn, Tigo was startled to see a man walk towards the open door of the farmhouse kitchen. His natural cunning had already allowed him to make up a plausible reason for his presence at the farm. Once he had learned who the man was and why he was calling, he would decide whether or not he should kill him. If the man appeared suspicious, he would have to kill him. Tigo stood in the kitchen doorway waiting and as he approached, the man smiled and called out a greeting.
The two men shook hands and noticing the stranger looking around the yard, Tigo told him that he was working for the farmer, Corel Borel to help to tidy up the buildings and fields while the farmer was visiting family near Bistrita. The man nodded and introduced himself.
“My name is Nicu and I call here whenever I am in the area to sell groceries and many other things because the people here are very far from stores. I have noticed that old Borel has not bothered much about the place for a while now, but I can see that you have repaired this porch to stop it from falling down. The potato field looks healthy too and you should have a good crop. How long will Borel be away?”
“My name is Renko and I agreed to stay for a month only because I want to visit family in Arad. I promised Borel I would do this, but warned him that if he has not returned by then, I will have to lock the place up and ride on. The chickens and the old horse can look after themselves and he has no stock.”
Nicu had years of experience in reading his customer’s faces and controlling his own expression. He sensed that the man Renko was not telling the truth and he had noticed the large knife in his belt. He knew that he would have to be very careful in what he said to avoid provoking the man in any way.
“Would you like to have a look at what I have in my van? My prices are good for a fellow Tigani. I can tell that you are one of us.”
Making no response, Tigo climbed the steps and looked inside. The large van was fitted with shelves packed with a wide variety of items. Tigo bought food, a waterproof jacket, trousers, shirt and two cartons of 12-bore cartridges with money he had found hidden in the kitchen. Nicu thanked him for the money and for a moment his eyes seemed to be studying Tigo’s face. Tigo tensed and Nicu looked at the farm and barn and with a big smile told Tigo it would take him a year at least to make up for the neglect of the buildings.
Just for a moment Tigo thought about killing Nicu, but the man was a Tigani too, just making a living and although it was easy to bury bodies, it would be difficult to hide such a large van. The man seemed to have accepted his story and Tigo would be riding on within a week. After shaking hands again Nicu climbed back into his van and drove slowly away with a black cloud of diesel smoke trailing behind in the morning air. As he left the farmhouse behind, Nico began to relax and wondered why something about the man Renko’s face seemed odd to him.
Tigo had worked on the farm buildings and field because he was bored and wanted to restore his strength by keeping himself busy. Now he realised the work had helped to make Nicu a
ccept his explanation for living on the farm. If he mentioned his presence to other customers in the area, there might be some visitors, but Tigo would stay with the same story.
That night he was able to drink coffee again with three spoons of sugar and opened a can of beans and bacon to go with two eggs from the farm chickens. He felt relaxed for the first time since his wild ride through the forest after he was shot. He was a chief and once he was in Dunakeszi he would make himself every bit as important as Renko had been. He guessed that Nico had noticed the paler skin on his face where he had shaved off his beard, but men often removed their beards when they showed too many grey hairs, as his had done.
As he drove the van to the next customer, Nicu remembered seeing a wanted poster for a bearded Tigani with long hair and ringlets. There was a reward of 500,000 Leu and Nicu had thought how the money would allow him to replace his old van. The man Renko had somehow reminded him of the face on the poster, but money was worth nothing if it cost your life and Nicu had kept himself calm and friendly when facing the big Tigani. Three days later he entered a small town and looked again at a wanted poster pinned to a tree. He covered the beard and ringlets with his hands and it made the likeness look very similar to Renko’s face. There was a police station in the next town and the next day he reported his suspicions to the sergeant inside.
The sergeant read the report that the wanted man was armed and dangerous, but with one man sick and another needed on the desk, he asked for help in checking if the man seen by Nicu was this Tigo, involved in the shooting near Pasiti. It was a further two days before a team of four armed policemen approached the remote Borel farm and after carefully checking the buildings, entered the house and found it empty. If Tigo had been the man living there, he had now moved on. A full report was sent to Police HQ at Bucharest, which was read by Major Chisca and Lieutenant Bumbesco. The major chided his assistant about their most wanted fugitive.
“So if he was shot at the crossroads how did he manage to avoid our men, ride furiously cross country and then find himself a safe haven near Sibiu. The report says there is no sign of the old man who owned the farm and we can assume his body is buried there. Tigo must be making his way west and that means he is probably headed for Hungary. All we can do now is warn the Hungarian police that we believe our killer Tigo is heading their way.”
“I would be willing to help the Hungarians sir, since we want Tigo for murders here.”
“If the Hungarians report that Tigo is there and is threatening their people, I will offer your services, since it was your good work that proved his guilt.”
After Nicu drove away, Tigo tried on the new clothes and looked in a mirror. He could see that his hairline and chin were still pale where he had clipped his hair and shaved his beard, which must have been what Nicu had seen. Perhaps it was just idle curiosity by Nicu, but his survival instinct had saved him before and it drove him now as he began gathering his few belongings and preparing to continue his journey to Hungary the following morning. He was not yet fully recovered from his wounds, but he would be able to ride slowly towards the border and it was better than staying and risking death, or prison.
The following night, he slept in the forest and ate food which he carried with him. After another three days of steady riding, he reached a Tigani village near Reghin and was given food and shelter for the night. Watching an armed horseman ride into his village, the leader gave him a warm welcome and did not let him out of his sight, or relax until the stranger rode on the next morning. One week later, Tigo reached the outskirts of Dunakeszi after a long and tiring journey. He was saddle sore and tired and hoped that his friend Gunari would be able to find him secluded accommodation where he could rest and fully regain his strength. He also hoped Gunari would be able to find him more ammunition for his rifle, since he had been unable to buy any during his journey.
Riding near the Tigani village at Dunakeszi, he met an old woman driving a horse and cart and asked her if she knew a Tigani named Gunari. She told him that Gunari lived in the big house with the car parked outside, but because he was such a busy man, it was not easy to find him in. Thanking the woman, Tigo rode past the village and rested beside his grazing horse in a copse of trees. He planned to call on Gunari when it was dark to avoid being seen calling on his friend. The Romanian soldier seemed to have done very well for himself and Tigo hoped he would remember the help he had given him during his stay at his village. After Tigo had told him about his stepbrother Renko and his mother’s treatment by the Pusztai family, Gunari had sworn he would do all he could to help Tigo pursue his claim to the Pusztai lands.
Once darkness had fallen, Tigo walked back to the village, but kept to the shadows until he reached the house with the car outside. He was surprised that the door was not locked and slowly entered and made his way to a lighted room, but there was no sign of Gunari. Then he was gripped from behind and a knife was held against his throat.
“Who are you and why are you in my house?”
“Gunari, it’s me, Tigo. I have ridden from Romania to see you.”
Gunari turned him round and studied his face carefully for some time before wrapping his arms around him and leading him into his home.
“Welcome, my friend. You do not look as you were at Budestin. What have you done with your long hair and you have no beard. I thought that you had come to steal from my house.”
Tigo was given food and drink as he told his friend about the shooting at Pasiti where he was wounded and the terrible ride through the forest when he just managed to cling to his horse. He failed to mention the old farmer he had killed, but described his long journey across the remote areas of Romania before reaching the border. After choosing an isolated patch of thick forest and using night darkness as cover, he had been able to cross unseen into Hungary so that he could reach Dunakeszi.
Knowing that Tigo was a wanted fugitive, Gunari warned his friend that he must be careful to avoid being seen and could not stay in his house. The news that there was a stranger in the area would be quickly picked up by the local police. The Romanian police would already be working with their contacts in the Hungarian police who would probably visit his home. He agreed to find Tigo somewhere to stay and took him in his car to near where his horse was tethered. Driving slowly, he then led him to a vardo, which he kept in a secluded part of the forest. After giving his friend a supply of food, Gunari promised to get him more ammunition for his rifle.
Tigo should be safe in the vardo for as long as he needed to pursue his claim on the Pusztai lands. Gunari promised he would help as much as he could, but Tigo must not openly involve him in his actions. Gunari was very satisfied with the new life he had built and did not want it put at risk. After years of denigration and patronising treatment because he was a Tigani, he was now respected by both his own people and the local mine officials. He had finally achieved his dream. Although he tried hard, Tigo could not persuade his friend to change his mind and help him to kill Demeter and get his lands.
Left alone in his vardo home, Tigo thought about the times when he and Gunari had planned how they would recover the Pusztai lands after his brother Renko had been cheated out of his inheritance because he was a Tigani. Gunari was very bitter about his own life as a soldier and the way he had been constantly overlooked for promotion because he was Tigani. After being sent to spy on Tigo, he had found a new friend and new purpose in his life. Gunari believed that he was smarter than those who had constantly treated him as a second-class citizen and was determined to prove it. It was while the two friends were hunting in the forest that the soldiers had come to the village, killed Tigo’s mother and destroyed it. When they returned and looked around at the burnt-out buildings, the two men vowed they would take revenge on all those responsible.
The long journey had left Tigo totally exhausted and he knew that he would have to rest and build up his strength before beginning to stalk the Pusztai man. After he had watched his brother killed at Budestin, he had found mo
ney and documents in his brother’s house. He had more than enough for his needs and he knew where Renko had hidden more documents and details of his bank deposits in the Dunakeszi area. During the communist era, when Renko served in the Hungarian Secret Police, he had built up dossiers on many of the present-day government officials. They would not want to have their previous associations and activities with the communists revealed and could be persuaded to help Tigo when he claimed the Pusztai lands.
Renko had also hidden the wedding certificate proving that his mother Bella had married Demeter’s grandfather and Renko was also Tigo’s older half-brother. Anxious to protect his mother’s reputation, Renko had not told Tigo that his mother was suspected of murdering Demeter’s grandmother to allow her to seduce her husband. Bella was lucky to escape prison because her vile act could not be proved. The marriage was annulled and Bella and little Renko had been expelled from the estate. Tigo was not a blood relative of the Pusztai family and would have no chance of making a claim, unless Demeter, the last surviving family member was dead. At Budestin, Tigo had told Gunari only about the wedding between his half-brother’s mother and Demeter’s grandfather to convince him that he had a just claim on the Pusztai lands. He knew that he would have no chance unless he was able to prove that he was the last surviving relative of the Pusztai family. Now that he had reached Dunakeszi he would make sure that he would be that last surviving relative.