The Criminal Escapades of Geoffrey Larkin
Page 16
It was while Geoff was at the bar and in the process of ordering their second round of drinks that from behind him he heard a voice he recognised.
‘Well, if it isn’t Geoffrey Larkin. Would you believe it, of all the people to meet in here?’ Geoff turned – smiling.
‘Well, fancy meeting you in here. Would you believe it?’ The sarcasm in his voice went unnoticed as Miss. Alice put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself.
She had, at one time earlier in the evening, been wearing a fancy dress outfit supposedly of a fairy but her starched, flared skirt had been crumpled by the mass of tightly packed bodies in the club. The wand she was holding had been badly bent, the wings at the rear of her dress were only hanging on with several cotton threads and her mascara had run down her face, leaving long dark lines.
‘My friend is getting married in two days, this is her hen party,’ she shouted in his ear in a slurred voice above the noise of the surrounding conversation and the loud music that vibrated around the room.
It was obvious to Geoff that Miss. Alice in Wonderland had already had one drink too many.
‘How many girls are with you?’ he said, looking in the direction that she pointed. Alice held up four fingers. ‘Would they like a drink?’ he asked as he pulled another £20 note from the wad in his wallet.
‘Just after you left the police came you know. They arrested Mr. Parker and two of the men on the loading bay. Mr. Jerald and Mr. Barry have been there for two weeks checking all the stock. There’s over £80,000 worth of goods that can’t be accounted for.’
‘Well, would you credit that?’ said Geoff in feigned amazement.
‘Yes, it’s true, not a word of a lie,’ she said, her speech getting more slurred by the minute.
‘The police took all my files then took me down to the police station. They questioned me for over two hours before they sent me home!’
‘Well, would you believe that?’ said Geoff.
‘Yes!’ replied Miss. Alice. ‘They took the wages register then interviewed everyone in the depot.’
Through a stroke of luck because he was a new worker on trial and she had been so busy in the office, Geoff’s name had been overlooked and not entered in the wages register so he had not been called to be interviewed, as the pilfering stretched back for many years. He had slipped through the system. His name had been recorded in a separate notebook to be eventually transferred to the wages record book if he was offered permanent employment and, when Miss. Alice had time after the Christmas rush to get her records up to date.
As a result of the stock taking by Mr. Jerald and everything else that had happened over the Christmas period, the notebook that Geoff had removed from the office and then destroyed had not been missed, and no copies or records of his employment had had been kept by Miss. Alice. So Geoff’s employment at the depot had been overlooked and not come to light during the initial police enquiries.
The female friends of Alice stayed with Geoff and the other lads for a short while, during which he bought them several expensive cocktails but, not being used to the company of the opposite sex, the conversation from the lads was rather strained.
The girls eventually became bored and wandered off looking for more mature and entertaining company. It was only Alice that stayed with Geoff. He was forced to support her and help her stay upright, she was obviously worse the wear for drink.
He gave the lads a £20 note for a taxi back to their digs, they were by now bleary eyed and staggering a little as, along with everyone else in the overcrowded room, they tried to dance as the microphones were turned up for the sound of Big Ben chiming in the New Year, and the place erupted in cheers and various groups burst into singing Auld Lang Syne.
In the celebrations that followed, Geoff lost contact with the other three lads so he decided to walk Alice safely back to her home which she shared with her parents. He had decided they both needed some fresh air, he also felt light-headed and partially responsible for her condition, so they left the merry making carrying on behind them which had now overflowed into the nearby street.
It was on this journey with the pair of them supporting each other, staggering from one side of the pavement to the other, that on a lawn behind a tall, privet hedge in someone’s front garden with a party in full swing in the front room of the property and the sound of Christmas carols travelling loudly through the open windows, that Geoffrey Larkin and Miss. Alice in Wonderland both lost their virginity.
*
Sergeant Robinson had been working overtime continuously for the last six months. On top of a surge in the number of forged £20 notes in the area, he was also investigating the theft of a large amount of expensive equipment from a private local building estate.
The evidence in this case was pointing to an inside accomplice. Sergeant Robinson had his suspicions. The managing director of the construction company, Daniel Goodier was, at the moment, his prime suspect but he was lacking hard evidence to move any further forward in that case.
Also on his desk were the papers dealing with the theft of a large amount of electrical equipment from a storage and distribution warehouse on the local industrial estate. This, on the face of it, looked an open and shut case involving the manager and some of the work force but there was something that was troubling the police sergeant’s instinct. Things didn’t seem to quite fit.
Geoff Larkin had been for several job interviews, the vacancies passed on to him by his probation officer who was striving to find him a regular long-term position but, without any success.
The many other applicants for the same positions were far more experienced than he was. Firms did not have the time to train a novice when for a little extra money they could employ someone who could slot into their system straight away.
He was not unduly worried though. Same as he said to his mate Sooty, who was in permanent employment happy doing what he did, the money he earned paid for the digs. Meanwhile, Geoff’s part-time casual job working at a local superstore loading shelves was sufficient until something better turned up. The supermarket job, although menial, had its advantages as that’s where most of their meals came from. ‘It kept the wolf from the door’, as Sir Reginald would say.
He had spent most of the money from the sale of the scrap copper but he still had a wad of cash as he hadn’t started on the money from the building site and warehouse jobs. He would use this until some other position that suited his particular talents materialised. He had prepared tea for when Sooty arrived from work at the electric utility company. ‘Something smells good,’ said the big lad whose manual work over the last few months seemed to have developed his shoulders so they looked broader than ever.
‘Yes! I’ve been sweating over this hot stove all day.’ This reply brought an instant laugh from Sooty, who was easy to please, always laughing merrily at Geoff’s jokes.
In reality Geoff had lifted a couple of ready meals from the superstore and placed them in the oven for half an hour.
It was during their meal that Geoff mentioned a complaint from one of their neighbours.
‘That old biddy, Mrs. Oaks from the bottom of the stairs, the one who looks after the property for the landlord, collared me again about the mud and soil you keep bringing in on your boots. She said she’ll report us if you don’t do something about it.’
‘Well, what do you think I should do Geoff?’ said Sooty with a worried frown on his face. As he took the empty plates to the small sink and placed the kettle on the two ringed, white enamel stove that sat on the end of the single kitchen unit.
‘Well, Sooty, under the bottom of the stairs there’s a small cupboard. If you take your boots off outside in the porch before you come in you can leave your boots in that cupboard and if you leave your slippers there then you can come up the stairs in them. In the morning you go back down, leave your slippers in the cupboard, take your boots putting them on outside in the porch and then off you go to work, job done! Everybody’s happy.’
‘Cheers mate, that’s great,’ said the big lad as he took the hot kettle of water and poured it over the dinner plates, knives and forks.
The lads had found that the bed-sit was so small it was really only suitable for one person. If they didn’t put everything away after use, they couldn’t move because of the clutter.
‘Did you have any luck with the interview?’ said Sooty as he poured boiling water into a china teapot that matched the china cups and saucers, milk jug and sugar bowl all laid out on the tray. This was the spare set kept by Mrs. Grant at the show house. Geoff reckoned it would possibly be months before she realised it was missing.
‘No, nothing happening at the present!’ he replied. ‘Where are you working at the moment, Sooty?’ he asked as he poured tea for both of them.
‘Outside the railway station, a lorry hit one of the street lamps damaging it so we took it down today and we’ll fit the new one tomorrow.’
‘Well,’ replied Geoff, ‘I’ve nothing on tomorrow so I might just bob down to see you, it’s boring just staying in the bed-sit all day.’
The conversation drifted from one subject to another until it was time for them to erect the two metal-framed portable beds. These couldn’t be left down during the day as there was just not enough room in the bed-sit for the two of them so they were stored away in a corner hidden by a curtain.
The following day, just before lunch, Geoff made his way to the railway station. The utility van was parked at the side of the kerb along with a compressor at the rear. He could see Sooty standing by the machine while his workmate was digging with a pneumatic drill on the pavement, which was cordoned off from the general public. Looking up the road, he saw coming towards him four young men, possibly slightly older than him. He stiffened as he recognised the tallest one. It was Sidney Locket, the school bully, deep in conversation with the chap at his side.
Geoff made a quick change of direction and started to walk across the road, narrowly missing being run over by a speeding motorcyclist in the process.
He reached the pavement at the same time as a taxi which pulled up at the side of the cordoned off section, forcing him to walk in front of it as its passenger stepped from the rear of the vehicle and went to the driver at the front. The man put his case down and took his wallet from his rear trouser pocket. As a result of the noise of the nearby compressor and the pneumatic drill he was forced to lean into the driver’s cab in order to hear what the fare was.
As Geoff walked past, he bent slightly and picked up the man’s case; not altering his pace he walked around the utility van throwing the case in the open back door as he passed and continued on across the road to the far pavement, he reached the pavement well behind Sid Locket and his three friends who were walking about twelve paces in front of him.
He stopped in front of a large glass-fronted shop, where he stood looking in its window with his back to the action on the far side, but watching it all in the reflection of the large pane of glass. Harry Sutton had seen all that was taking place from his position near the compressor; it had only taken a few seconds. Removing his yellow florescent jacket, he walked the few steps to the rear of the van and threw his jacket into the back, covering the attaché case before walking casually back to his machine. From his vantage point, Geoff could see the taxi, also its recent fare.
The man was running up and down the street stopping passers-by and asking if they had seen anyone take his case, which no one had. The taxi waited a few moments for a gap in the traffic then drove off.
Eventually, the man approached Sooty who was going through the motions of adjusting the air pressure on the compressor by turning the various valves. Geoff could see as the man shook Sooty’s shoulder to attract his attention. He saw his mate remove the protective ear guards, walk a short distance away from the compressor, listen to the man for a few moments and then shake his head.
The man then went towards Sooty’s partner who was still using the pneumatic drill blissfully unaware of the incident. The man stopped, realising it was a pointless venture, as the workman had clearly seen nothing. Buy now he was obviously getting desperate, standing in front of the workman to attract his attention. Geoff, from his vantage point, could see by the shake of the operator’s head that he could not help.
It was later that night that Sooty arrived at the bed-sit with his haversack full of papers. Forcing the lock on the case he’d stuffed the papers and envelopes into his work rucksack, leaving the empty case in the van as the depot was too busy at that time of day. His intention was to go in early next morning to dispose of it before the rest of the workmen arrived.
‘Doesn’t look very promising, Sooty,’ said Geoff as he looked at the pile of papers and envelopes lying on the kitchen table, ‘seems to be all business papers. What did the police say?’ he asked as he picked up several of the envelopes.
‘They never turned up,’ said the big lad as he put the kettle on the electric hob.
‘That’s odd,’ replied Geoff curiously.
‘Yes! I thought that as well,’ retorted Sooty, placing a tea bag in the pot. Geoff looked at the pile of papers with renewed interest and opened the sealed envelope he held in his hand. He did not hear his friend ask what they were having for their tea; his mind was too busy absorbing the contents of the envelope, which contained a pack of credit cards.
As he opened the rest of the envelopes the pile of credit cards on the kitchen table increased, along with several envelopes that were filled with new £20 notes.
Tea was forgotten as the two young men sat down and looked at the pile of cards and cash that confronted them, both piles growing bigger by the second as Geoff emptied the contents of the rest of the thick brown envelopes on the table.
‘Fortune knocks once on every man’s door,’ stated Geoff, more too himself than to Sooty, who looked at his flat mate in bemusement. He in turn continued to look at the pile of potential newfound wealth stacked on the rickety kitchen table.
When Harry Sutton woke the following morning, his friend was still there studying a sheet of paper. All the credit cards were stacked in small, neat piles with little pieces of paper attached with a four digit number written on each one and at the side was a much larger pile of £20 notes than were there the night before.
‘Gosh! Haven’t you been to bed mate?’ said Sooty, looking through bleary eyes at his chum. Geoff stopped what he was doing; looking at his friend Harry Sutton standing there in his striped pyjamas rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
‘Our ship has just docked,’ he said, smiling broadly at Sooty. ‘I’ve been out using these cards at the cash points and they haven’t been stopped. You go to work and carry on as usual but keep your eyes peeled and let me know if anything unusual happens. Are you at the same place today outside the station?’
‘Yes! We just have to tarmac around the new steel post and remove the fencing then clear everything away,’ he replied, in between large spoonfuls of corn flakes.
‘I’d better get going if I’m to get rid of that fella’s case before the others arrive.’ Grabbing his coat he manoeuvred himself around the kitchen table before leaving the room. Geoff heard him clatter heavily down the stairs in his slippers, then after a few seconds the banging of the front door as he left the building. It’s enough to wake the dead, he thought as he rose and stretched. He had been at the kitchen table for most of the night, having become so involved studying the papers and matching the pin numbers to the credit cards. All these were listed on the sheets of paper and he’d spent all night combining the two. He’d then slipped out to use several of the cards. There was also a sheet of paper with a series of numbers and letters in a foreign language which, with his limited knowledge, looked like German.
As he had not assembled his own bed that night, Geoff sat down on Sooty’
s bed and pondered while he finished off the mug of tea that his companion had made for him.
The contents of the briefcase he had on the kitchen table in front of him were obviously illegal. That was why the police had not been involved which was a good thing but then again it was a bad thing. What he had stumbled on was a big time scam involving many, many thousands of pounds. The owners of these cards and cash would come looking for them that was for sure. Did he really want to get involved in something so big? He could be hopelessly out of his depth. All these things flitted through Geoff Larkin’s mind as he sat on the portable bed and looked around at the small pokey bed-sit. What would Sir Reginald do in these circumstances?
He wished his mentor was here now to advise him but he wasn’t. One of the proverbs that the old tramp used came to his mind. ‘Every man is the architect of his own fortune’.
Geoff eventually decided he would call a meeting of the team for that night, which would be Friday. Having finally made a decision by putting the problem off for the time being, the last thought that passed through his tired mind before he fell into a fitful sleep on is mate’s unmade bed was the proverb, ‘Never look a gift horse in the mouth’.
Geoff woke just after midday, tidied the room up a little, washed and stacked the breakfast and dinner plates and cutlery that had been left from the night before. All the papers, the cash and piles of credit cards he stacked neatly in the bread bin, placing the three quarters of a sliced loaf, still in its plastic wrapper, on the top. There was no room in his hiding place in the WC cistern so the bread bin was a temporary measure. There were several important things he wanted to do that afternoon before Sooty returned from his work.
Having finished his chores he left the three-storey building that had been converted into multiple bed-sits many years previous. He was so absorbed with what he intended to do that afternoon that he completely forgot that his probation officer had arranged an interview for him later that day. He caught the train into Manchester, spending all the rest of that day walking around the centre. He recorded in a little notebook the position of all the various cash machines, noting whether or not they were in well-lit areas on the main road or in the darker side streets. By the time he returned to the bed-sit, Sooty had already arrived but the look on his face as Geoff entered indicated that he was quite agitated.