The Jason Green series Box Set

by Gordon Wallis

  He smiled and a look of pride came over his face.

  “Those Chinese men,” he said. “They thought they were alone, but I was hiding behind this wall. It was very misty that night.”

  “And what happened then?” I asked.

  “There was a fight,” he said. “They beat her and took her in their car.”

  “What time was this?” I asked.

  “It was 11.00 pm,” he replied. “I checked my watch. The Chinese men came back two hours later and towed that Land Rover away.”

  “And where was the woman?” I said.

  “The woman was not there when they came back,” he replied, as he took a drag on the cigarette, “but the Chinese men came back from that direction.”

  The young man pointed back towards Charlie's pub.

  “I think those men killed her,” he said.

  I GRITTED MY TEETH again and swallowed in an attempt to stay focused.

  “If I show you a picture of their car do you think you can identify it?” I said.

  “Of course,” he said with a smirk. “I know this car very well.”

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out a $50.00 note. The man's eyes lit up as he took it.

  “Have you told anyone else about what you saw?” I asked. “The police?”

  The young man laughed again.

  “In my business it's best not to talk to the police,” he replied, “you understand?”

  “Of course,” I said. “What is your name?”

  “Domingo,” he replied.

  “Wait here, Domingo,” I said calmly. “I'll be back in five minutes and there will be more money.”

  “I am always here,” he replied happily.

  My arms and legs were buzzing with adrenalin as I took the short walk back to Charlie's. More importantly my brain was functioning again after the shocking events of the day and a plan was forming in my mind. I nodded at the security guard as I entered the car park and quickly unlocked the vehicle. I opened the laptop and downloaded six images of similar Toyota models to the one from Imperial Dragon. In my mind I knew the drug dealer would identify the correct vehicle, but I needed to be certain. I reversed in a cloud of dust and drove at speed through the gate and back up to the sea wall. Domingo was waiting as promised and I parked on the opposite side of the road and signalled him to come over. Once he was sitting in the passenger seat, I opened the laptop and spoke.

  “Now I am going to show you some images of various cars,” I said. “I want you to look at them all carefully and tell me which was the one you saw that night. If you get it right, I will pay you. Okay?”

  “No problem,” he replied with a smirk.

  I began to bring up the images one by one leaving my own photograph of the Imperial Dragon vehicle till last.

  “That is the car I saw,” he said triumphantly pointing at the screen as I brought my own picture up, “I know that car very well. There is a lizard on the door. Look.”

  I nodded as I closed the laptop and smiled at his simplistic description of the dragon emblem. I pulled another $50.00 note from my pocket and handed it to him.

  “Thank you, sir,” he said gratefully.

  “There is one more thing I need from you Domingo,” I said quietly.

  “Yes, sir,” he said obediently. “What is it?”

  “Sleeping pills,” I said. “I need a pack of strong sleeping pills. Can you help?”

  “Yes, I can get them no problem,” he replied.

  “How long will it take?” I asked.

  “I can have them for you in an hour or less,” he said confidently.

  “Right,” I said. “I will be back soon and there will be another $50.00 for you when I return. Understood?”

  “Yes, no problem. I will get them.”

  “Another thing,” I said. “Where is the nearest hardware shop?”

  “Less than one kilometre up there on the left” he said pointing up the avenue that led to the city.

  “Thank you, Domingo,” I said. “Hurry up and get those pills please. I have your money and I will be back soon.”

  “Yes, sir,” he replied.

  The young man got out of the vehicle and closed the door. I pulled off making the left turn up the familiar avenue and drove slowly, keeping my eyes peeled for the hardware shop.

  The shop turned out to be a large builder's merchant’s outlet with a yard to the front. Although the salesman spoke no English, I found what I was looking for and emerged twenty minutes later with two heavy plastic bags of supplies. The sun was moving down the sky behind me as I took the drive down the avenue back to the beach road. As promised Domingo was standing expectantly in his usual spot. He approached the driver’s window as I parked and with a furtive look around, he produced a small box of prescription pills from his pocket.

  “10 mg Zopiclone,” I said as I read the name on the box.

  “The strongest ones you can buy sir,” he said.

  “Thank you, Domingo,” I said as I pulled another $50.00 note out and handed it to him.

  I left the young man standing in the dust as I pulled away and drove north up the beach road towards my hotel. I pulled in to the car park, turned the engine off and stared ahead blankly in thought. Things are moving too fast Green. Take some time out to think. I locked the car and walked calmly back through the gate and across the road to the sea wall. Fifty metres up the beach I crossed on to the sand and walked north to a secluded spot near the water line. The setting sun warmed my back and the early evening breeze blew in as I sat down, lit a cigarette and stared out to sea. I sat, deep in thought, for five minutes as I pondered the events of the day and my planned response. What you are about to do is all well and good Green, but it's not enough. No fucking way is it enough. You must crush the head of the snake.

  “Or the dragon for that matter,” I said to myself under my breath.

  With my mind made up I pushed the end of the cigarette into the sand and stood up. It was twilight by the time I unlocked my villa and walked in. Using a plate and a tea spoon I crushed ten of the tablets into a fine powder which I stored in a folded sheet of writing paper. I spent the next half hour booking the flights online for the following day and it was 6.25 by the time I stepped into the shower. It was with an unusual sense of calm that I shaved and dressed for the evening. It was as if the shock and grief had been sidelined somehow by the knowledge of what I was about to do. I took a slow drive down the beach road to the Yacht Club waving at Domingo as I passed. It was with great disappointment that I noticed Bianchi had joined the crew and Charlie at a corner table in the Yacht Club. I ordered a beer, pulled up a seat next to Charlie and sat down. The mood was bleak and I spent the next fifteen minutes biting my tongue as Bianchi pontificated about due process, diplomacy and crime scene procedures.

  Rodrigo and Alec listened with exasperation while Klaus and Charlie stared into space. Choosing the right moment, I leaned over and whispered discreetly in Charlie's ear.

  “If I listen to another minute of this man talking, I'm going to fucking kill him,” I said. “Join me if you like. I'm going to get a table for myself.”

  The old man nodded at me gratefully as I stood up.

  “Excuse me gentlemen,” I said as I picked up my beer glass.

  I chose a table in the centre of the room near the bar and sat down. A waiter appeared and handed me a menu. I ordered another beer and browsed the dinner selection. I realised that I hadn't eaten properly in days and my appetite had returned with a vengeance. I ordered an Eisbein with chips when the waiter returned with my beer. Charlie arrived soon after and pulled up a chair.

  “Jesus,” he said quietly. “That Bianchi character is a nightmare. Not surprised you left.”

  Charlie ordered the fish and chips and we settled into a quiet conversation purposely avoiding the obvious subject. I knew the old man had been deeply traumatised by the events of the past few days, so I kept it light and open. Despite what had happened he ate his dinner enthusiastically and
I saw the glimmer of a spark in his tired eyes. He'll be all right, Green. Despite repeated glances from the crew I sat alone with Charlie until we had finished dinner and the waiter had cleared the table. By then it was 8.30 and I needed to get moving.

  “Well mate,” I said. “Sorry to abandon you, but I am tired and I need to go.”

  “Ya me too,” he said. “Thanks for the dinner Jason.”

  “Pleasure. Take care of yourself,” I said as I stood up.

  He glanced at me and for a split second I thought he might have suspected that I would not be seeing him again.

  “You too,” he said as he glanced over at the crew, “see you tomorrow.”

  I turned and walked towards the door with a sense of relief knowing that I would be long gone by that time the following day. I opened the driver's window of the cab as I got into the vehicle.

  The night air was warm but less humid than usual and I turned to look at the supplies I had bought earlier that were stashed in the foot well of the back seat. After starting the engine and switching on the lights I paused to think one final time about what I was about to do.

  “Right” I said to myself under my breath, “let's do this.”

  Chapter 22: Rage

  THE TRAFFIC IN THE city centre had thinned out by that time and it only took fifteen minutes to reach the highway. Apart from a few drunken stragglers the road to Ceramica was clear and I arrived in the dark industrial suburb twenty minutes later. I pulled off to the left and drove slowly up the undulating sand road that led up to the Imperial Dragon yard. Before long I had reached it and I saw the towering piles of hardwood logs above the razor wire at the top of the wall to my left. The security guard and his dog were in their usual place near the guard house at the gate. The old man held his hand up to his eyes to shield the glare of my headlights as I approached. The sand crunched under the tyres as I passed the huge steel sliding gate and made my way up to Banca Miguel. I parked the vehicle in the darkness thirty metres behind the bar making sure that no one would see it if they approached. Satisfied it was well hidden I locked it and walked back towards the bar. The scene was much as I remembered it from the previous time with loud distorted music blaring from a broken speaker behind the bar and the smell of urine in the air. There was only one patron apart from myself. A young man in overalls sat on the opposite side of the dimly lit space sipping a beer and playing with his phone. I approached the barman who recognised me with a nod and a half smile. The selection of drinks was limited but using hand gestures I ordered a Manica beer and a plastic half bottle of cheap rum. The barman gave me a thumbs up and indicated for me to take a seat. I took the same table I had sat at before which gave me a view of the gate to the Imperial Dragon yard. The drinks were delivered and I watched as the old guard stood and collected a bottle from the guard house. He stood in the dim light of his fire and drank the contents before replacing it with a fresh one. That's right old fellow. Drink up. The old man sat down once again near his dog and continued his vigil. I took a sip of my beer and looked around. It was getting late and there was little chance of any more punters arriving. The barman appeared carrying a plate of fried chicken and delivered it to the young man in the overalls on the opposite side of the bar. The two men engaged in a conversation after which the barman disappeared to what I imagined was the kitchen area to the rear. He returned with an empty cardboard take away carton into which he placed the young man's food. I called the barman over when he was done and attempted to ask about ordering some food.

  “Chicken,” I said pointing at the young man who was getting up to leave. “Do you have Chicken?”

  “Frango?” the man replied.

  “Yes,” I said holding up my index finger, “One.”

  The barman looked at his watch as if to imply it was too late to order food. I pulled at $10.00 note from my pocket and placed it on the grubby table.

  “Por favor,” I said hopefully.

  The barman nodded at me and shouted something in Portuguese to whoever was in charge of the kitchen.

  “Obrigado” I said as he walked off back to the bar.

  It was 10.00 pm when the food finally arrived. The barman had packed it in a take away carton and I thanked him as I handed him the money. The bar was empty apart from myself and I sensed that things were winding down for the night. The old guard at the gate was drinking steadily as he sat at his small fire in the darkness. I opened the half bottle of rum I had purchased earlier and brought the neck of the bottle to my nose to smell it. The words 'rocket fuel' came to mind as I lowered the bottle and emptied a tot of the noxious liquid on to the sandy floor beneath me. As the barman sat browsing his phone behind the counter, I removed the folded paper with the crushed sleeping pills from my pocket. I unfolded the paper and examined the contents under the table. The white powder sat as I had left it in a neat pile in the centre of the sheet. Carefully I tipped the folded sheet of paper into the open top of the bottle and the powder ran and dropped cleanly into the dark brown liquid. I replaced the bottle top and shook the bottle thoroughly beneath the table. With the barman still distracted by his phone I held the bottle up to the dim light above. The powder had dissolved completely into the lethal brown spirit. Good. Now we play the waiting game.

  The repetitive distorted music began to annoy me until fifteen minutes later when I saw the headlights of the car approaching from down the sandy road. Immediately the guard got to his feet and began the process of unlocking and opening the heavy sliding gate to the Imperial Dragon yard. Bingo. The cream Toyota pulled up to the gate as it had done before and I saw the emblem of the dragon on the door clearly in the moonlight. My stomach tightened and the buzzing feeling of adrenalin returned to my arms and legs as I waited for the driver's window to open. Control Green. Control. This time the window remained closed and the guard was left to heave the huge gate open on its wheels. I watched as the car entered the yard and the guard dutifully pulled the gate closed and locked it. The arrival of the car was clearly his cue as the old man immediately collected his empty bottles from the guard house and made his way towards where I sat in the bar. He barely noticed me as he crossed the floor in the dim light and placed the bottles on the bar counter. After a quick exchange of coins, the old man pocketed three full bottles and began walking back towards his post. I whistled to get his attention and he turned to look at me with bloodshot eyes. I held the half bottle of rum in the air and shook my head as if to say I didn't want it and he could have it. The old man glanced briefly at the barman who shrugged and went back to browsing his phone. He shuffled over to my table and took the bottle without hesitation.

  “Obrigado,” he said before turning and walking back to his post.

  The man had opened the bottle and drunk at least a quarter by the time he took his seat near the fire at the gate. The guard dog slept soundly nearby the whole time. I sat sipping my beer slowly and watching as the old man drank from the bottle steadily. Eventually the music was turned off and the barman appeared to be closing up for the night. I finished my beer and with a quick wave to the barman I stood and walked back to the parked vehicle in the darkness.

  I watched as the outside area of the bar was closed by the barman who dropped reed mats from the tin roof effectively sealing the bar off. The lights went out and all was quiet. Staying in the darkness I walked back towards the sliding gate to get a better view of the guard. He sat in his usual position smoking and occasionally drinking from the half bottle of rum. Anytime now Green. Anytime. In the moonlight I noticed a large empty paint tin that had been left outside the bar. I had no idea how long I would have to wait and it offered a good vantage point from which to watch proceedings. I sat down on it and leant back against the rough wooden pole that held the roof. It was five minutes later that the old man fell off his chair. Thankfully he fell to the side and not forward into the embers of his fire. He made no effort to break his fall and simply slumped to the side and lay there completely unconscious. The dog lifted his head to loo
k at the unusual scene but thought nothing more of it and went back to sleep. He's out Green. He won’t wake up for a good while. I lit a cigarette and sat watching and listening. The night was warm, still and quiet, the moon lit the scene with a ghostly grey palette. Satisfied the coast was clear and the old man was truly unconscious I crushed out the cigarette and stood up. I walked back into the dark area where I had parked the vehicle and collected the box of take away chicken I had purchased earlier. I approached the sleeping man slowly and steadily and it was when I was within five metres that the dog awoke. The Alsatian cross sat up and growled quietly as I squatted down on to my haunches and whistled softly in an effort to show I was not a threat. I placed the take away carton on the sandy soil and pulled out a leg of fried chicken. Immediately, the growling stopped and the dog's ears went back on to his head as he smelt the food. I tossed the leg towards the dog who scoffed it down immediately. I noticed then that the dog's collar was attached to a rope which in turn was attached to a pole in the ground nearby. I crept forward and saw the dog's tail was wagging in eager anticipation of more food. I got to my feet, walked over to the dog and patted its head as I fed it another piece of chicken. It was a simple process to untie the rope from the collar and I watched and listened to the old man snoring on the ground as I did so. Freed from its restraints, the dog sat happily and watched as I walked over to the old man and felt in the pocket of his jacket for the keys. I found them on a steel ring along with a bunch of others and I pocketed them immediately. Next, I pulled the sleeping man into a sitting position and lifted him on to my right shoulder using a fireman's lift. His tattered clothes smelled strongly of wood smoke and beer and his slight frame was not difficult to lift. The dog followed faithfully as I carried the man along the outside of the wall until I had passed the Imperial Dragon yard and entered the safety of the dark bushy area beyond.

  I carried him a further forty metres into the bush before carefully lying him down on his side so he would not choke in the event he was to vomit during the night. Again, the dog sat happily nearby waiting for more food. I left it chewing on a fresh chicken thigh while lying next to its sleeping master.