'Aye we did, it was a few years ago now but there was at least twenty of us, we even made a banner, 'All property is theft'.'
Lasser put a finger in his ear and jiggled it about as if he had heard the man wrong.
'I know it's an old saying, but that doesn't make it any less true,' Softie Top said with a sharp nod.
'And what happened?'
'Well, we got to see Jepson and by Christ that bastard can talk, in the end he kind of brainwashes you into thinking you're the one being unreasonable. One or two of the lads started to get a bit arsey with him and he just kept on smiling and talking and then this fucking gorilla appeared out of nowhere and…'
'Gorilla?' Lasser broke in, his eyes suddenly keen.
'That's what I said, I've seen some rough-looking people in my time, but he looked like a total bloody beast.'
'And what did he do?'
The ice-cream man shrugged before taking another long drag in the cigarette. 'Bugger-all, he just stood close by watching what was going on, but I'm telling you now, there was summat wrong with that bugger, he was like some giant wind-up toy just waiting to be set in motion and then he would have gone on the rampage.'
'So, you came away without getting what you wanted?'
'Oh, it was all a waste of time, deals had been done years earlier, the slow wheels of industry crushing the little man, but we just wanted our say, we wanted him to know how his actions had affected us. We tried to get the local press involved but they didn't want to know, they said it was a private matter. Truth is they were shit scared of him, and then I find out that he has shares in the media group that own the local bloody paper. A few years ago, he'd done an interview with them talking about his charitable work and how good he was to the people who worked for him. It was even filmed, I watched it a few times on YouTube and the reporter was a total washout with his daft hair and…'
'Poodle head?' Lasser asked in astonishment.
Mr Softie Top looked closely at Lasser as if seeing him for the first time. 'That's right and he was kissing arse, I can tell you that much.'
Lasser thought about what the ice-cream man was saying, it sounded so unlike Brewster to be deferential to anyone and then he thought of the times he had watched him creeping to those with money and power. Slowly the penny dropped, Brewster would have known about Jepson's contacts with the paper, and he would have seen it as a way to perhaps ingratiate himself with his lordship, a way to climb higher up the totem pole of success.
'The gorilla – can you describe him?'
'Massive, but not like one of these bodybuilder types and it was as if the lights were on, but no one was at home, if you know what I mean?'
Lasser nodded in understanding. 'Yeah, I know the sort.'
The man flicked the spent cigarette to the ground. 'It's just not right that one man should have that amount of power over others. If you look at all those who run the country, they're all the same, they are born into money and they might try and pretend that they are the same as me and you, but that's all bollocks, they have no idea what it's like trying to make ends meet. They won't shit themselves when the credit card bill drops through the door or have to go crawling to the bank manager asking them to freeze the mortgage payments on the house, no, they never worry about those things, all they really care about is themselves.'
Lasser let Softie Top rant, he could see the anger and fear in his eyes, and he thought about the man he had watched in the car, stuck in traffic, looking frazzled, his face twisted in a similar expression to the one the ice-cream man wore.
'I mean, can you imagine the likes of Jepson having to use a food bank?'
'No, I can't,' Lasser replied with a sigh.
'We should all be hanging our heads in shame at the state of this country, that's what they want you to do but the bottom line is the rich continue to rake it in and the rest of us can drown in a swamp of shit that they are responsible for, the fucking bastards!'
Lasser watched as the man gasped out the fury, his face coronary red.
When the car horn beeped Lasser turned as Carole pulled in behind his Audi.
'Can you do two ninety-nines, with flakes and raspberry sauce?' Lasser asked.
Mr Softie Top sighed heavily before nodding. 'I need to calm down, at this rate I'm going to end up down there in the landfill, too bloody skint to pay for my own funeral,' he turned and headed back to the van, his shoulders slumped as if bearing some huge invisible weight.
When he felt the hand on his sleeve, Lasser turned to find Carole looking at him with concern in her eyes.
'Is everything OK?' she asked.
'Do you ever get that feeling like you've been struck by lightning and survived?'
'Why, what's happened?' she looked towards the ice-cream van, the frown still on her face.
'I'll get the ninety-nines and then tell you.'
She watched as he headed towards the van, then she looked down into the valley and scowled as she saw the tipper below, a mass of seagulls following in its wake, she could hear their shrill cries on the still afternoon air, a barren sound that made her shiver as she turned and walked back towards the car.
66
Rea stopped pacing as the metal door swung open and the tall man looked in at her, sunlight at his back.
'Have you been exercising?' he asked, his eyes widening as he looked closely at her.
Rea wiped the sweat from her brow with the sleeve of the hoody and made no reply.
'You have, you've been working out,' he said in delight as he stepped back. 'Come on, let's get some fresh air.'
'You've already got fresh air, you haven't been locked up in here for days,' she snapped and stayed where she was.
Jepson looked forlorn for a moment and then he nodded. 'You're right of course and…'
'Who are you really, what's your name?' she suddenly demanded as she took a couple of steps closer to the man.
He looked at her with a hint of uncertainty in his eyes and then he nodded sharply. 'Come outside and I'll tell you.' He backed off until he was six feet away from the open metal door.
Rea looked at the patch of sunlight he was standing in and then she was moving forward, her eyes narrowed as she stepped out into the bright light.
After the silence of the stone building the sound of the birds singing in the forest sounded loud to her ears.
'Tell me who you are?' she asked again.
The man sighed. 'You have kept your side of the bargain and I shall keep mine. My name is Charles Jepson, and I can see from the look on your face that the name means nothing to you?'
'Should it?'
Jepson shrugged. 'I sound like one of those awful z-list celebrities, don't I?'
'Tell me why you're doing this?' Rea asked, her eyes gradually adjusting to the blinding light.
'I will, I promise, but these things take time.'
'What ''things'' are you talking about?'
'Life and death,' he replied.
Despite the heat Rea felt her blood run cold at his answer, and yet he remained unmoving, and she glanced at his hands her fear increasing as she saw the dried blood smeared on his knuckles.
Jepson appeared oblivious to her scrutiny.
'I was chasing Julie, that was true, though not for the reasons that immediately spring to mind.'
Rea's hands started to close into fists and then she stopped herself. 'She was so scared that she ran out in front of the car, that's the truth, isn't it?' she demanded.
Jepson pursed his lips in thought. 'To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what her motives were, and it pains me that I will never know the answer to that question,' he said.
Rea looked at his face, she could see the anguish in his eyes, and then he pushed a hand through his hair and sighed.
'I loved her; she was a very special woman.'
'If you loved her then why were you chasing her?'
Jepson shifted his feet slightly a look of uncertainty on his face. 'Have you never chased a loved one?'
Rea felt the confusion cloud her mind as she tried to fathom the hidden meaning in his words. 'What sort of question is that?'
Jepson looked to the blue sky, marred only by one or two jet trails. 'Does your life have meaning?' he asked before looking back at her.
The question brought a frown to her face. 'What are you talking about?'
Jepson took a step closer, long arms loose by his side, his expression seemingly full of concern for her wellbeing. 'I worry about you just as I worried about Julie.'
'Your ''worry'' drove her to her death,' she fired out the words, her body suddenly thrumming with adrenaline, well aware that he could explode any second and she would be flat out again her body crying out in pain.
'I know you will find this difficult to comprehend but she wasn't running in fear she was running with joy in her heart,' Jepson replied, his eyes full of a kind of pleading to be understood.
'''Joy''?' Rea whispered the word, her eyes fixed on the man's face, seeing the upset there and yet there was something else, another expression that she couldn't put a name to.
'I truly believe that Julie had never been as happy as she was that night.'
'And you expect me to believe something like that?'
Jepson sighed heavily. 'It's difficult to explain and this isn't the right environment.'
'Just tell me what you mean, how could a woman who was running for her life have been happy, how could she have had ''joy in her heart'' with you hunting her down?'
Jepson locked his hands in front of him, the fingers entwined, and then he suddenly sat down on the grass and looked up at her. 'Please sit down and I shall endeavour to explain things properly to you.'
'And if I refuse?'
She waited for him to answer but he just sat there, his face thoughtful as if thinking through some difficult puzzle. 'You demanded that I tell you all about this and yet now you're refusing to simply sit and listen to what I have to say,' he paused, 'here's the deal, if you give me the chance to explain and you remain unconvinced by the things I have to say, then you will be free to go.'
Despite her mistrust, Rea Lomax felt the flicker of hope spring to life.
'I know after all that has happened you probably think my word is worthless and I can understand that completely,' Jepson said, looking crestfallen.
She could feel the questions queuing up in her mind and then she thought of the promise Jepson had made to Mark Draper, a promise he'd had no intention of keeping. Drawing air in through her nose she moved forward and sat down facing the man.
'I'm listening.'
Jepson smiled and nodded. 'I sincerely hope so.'
Somewhere amongst the trees a magpie cackled.
67
Bannister watched Dan Lomax rub at his red-rimmed eyes.
After storming from Karmen's office he had intended going back to the station and then he had taken a small detour to check how Lomax was bearing up under the strain of not knowing where his daughter was or even if she were still alive.
For a few seconds, he had seen the hope in his desperate eyes then his face had crumpled as Bannister explained that they were still looking for his daughter.
'And what about Draper?' Lomax asked.
They were sitting in the lounge, the old dog asleep in a basket by the side of Lomax's chair.
'Nothing so far, but your daughter is the important one and believe me, we're doing all we can to find her.'
'I just don't get it, who would want to take my Rea, she never hurt anyone in her life.'
Bannister started to talk, telling the man all they knew about Julie Emmeret, by the time he had finished Lomax looked both crushed and hopeful at the same time.
'And you're sure she hadn't been,' he paused in anguish, 'interfered with?'
'Positive, there was nothing like that, no sign of any physical abuse.'
The man's shoulders slumped in relief and then he licked his lips. 'So why was this woman taken in the first place?'
'To be honest we're still not sure on that, but I just wanted you to know the situation, whoever took Julie hadn't harmed her and to be completely honest we have no idea what their intentions were.'
Lomax looked at Bannister his face etched with sadness. 'So, if she hadn't been knocked down by that drunken bastard then you think that whoever took her didn't intend harming her?'
The DCI thought about the question not wanting to say anything that could give Lomax false hope. 'We can only go on what we know to be fact, Mr Lomax, Draper knocked her down and killed her but up to that point we know that Julie had been unharmed.'
'So, whoever has Rea might let her go?'
Bannister could see the desperation on the man's face, the fear oozing from his body in dense waves of anguish.
'We have leads we are following, and we will continue to search for your daughter, that will not stop until we find out what has happened and who is responsible for Rea's abduction.'
Lomax chewed his lip, his hands locked together. 'Is there anything I can do to help?'
Before Bannister could respond, he saw the figure of Michael Brewster appear, striding up the drive and heading for the front door.
'Mr Bad Penny himself,' he snarled before he could stop himself.
Lomax appeared bemused at the outburst and then the front doorbell rang.
Before he could rise from the chair, Bannister was on his feet. 'Do you remember the reporter I warned you about?' he asked.
Lomax nodded. 'Yeah, but…'
'Well, he's at your front door but don't worry I'll sort him and as soon as we know anything else I'll let you know.'
Lomax watched as Bannister vanished from the room then he reached over, his fingers rubbing the ears of the old dog as tears filled his haunted eyes.
68
Carole nibbled the last of the ice-cream cone as Lasser told her the tale of Mr Softie Top, her expression one of surprise as he described the market traders march on 'Jepson Towers' to confront his lordship about his dodgy dealings, demanding answers that they never received.
'They actually marched on the house?' she asked before popping the last of the cone into her mouth.
Lasser nodded, his hands resting on the wheel. 'It would have taken them half an hour to walk along the lane that leads to the house, so I have no idea if they were marching by the time they got there, but yeah, they went to the house.'
'And Jepson persuaded them that he was the injured party in forcing them out of business?'
'Sounds far-fetched I know but having met the man I can understand what Softie Top was getting at, Jepson admitted to us that his ancestors participated in the slave trade, we didn't force that information out of him, he offered it freely.'
'Not often people admit to a dark past.'
'Yeah well, I've been thinking about that, and the truth is you are going back hundreds of years since all that happened.'
'What are you getting at?' she asked, wiping her fingers on a piece of tissue.
'Well, it's so long ago, that Jepson can't be blamed for how the family initially made their money. Truth is, he looked guilty enough when he was telling us about it, but that could all have been an act, get the truth out in the open to make us think he's an honest guy, shamed by what happened and trying his best to make up for the families dubious past.'
Carole nodded thoughtfully. 'And you say that Brewster interviewed him a few years ago and they talked about his charitable work.'
'That's what Softie said, according to him, Brewster was in sycophant mode, kissing arse, and he would have done that because Jepson held shares in the paper that Brewster works for.'
'So, Brewster gets the exclusive but played it safe for fear of upsetting a member of the board who also happened to be a lord?'
Lasser grunted in agreement. 'We know what a worm that man is, he will make up any shite when it comes to the innocent or the victims, but he's sly with it and would never have run the risk of stabbing someone like Jepson in the back.'
'True, and Jepson comes out looking like a philanthropist – all give and no take?'
'Well, the ice-cream man doesn't think so, he reckons the man's a total bastard.'
'Right well, I want to make up my own mind about his lordship, so let's pay the man a visit.'
Lasser nodded before checking the mirrors and pulling out onto the road, his face grave as he got his foot down.
69
'I had known Julie for years, she was around fifteen the first time I met her and even then, she was a remarkable young woman,' Jepson said as he plucked a blade of grass free, his eyes fixed on Rea's face, studying her expression.
'Some would say she was a child rather than a young woman,' she replied, her voice clipped with distaste.
Jepson nodded and then sighed. 'It's monstrous the way some people see the young, the way they sexualise them.'
'What are you talking about?'
'As soon as I called her a ''young woman'' you immediately thought that I had some physical interest in her.'
Rea felt a hint of heat in her cheeks. 'It's how men see young girls and they do it to hide their real thoughts, they turn a girl into a woman to suit their own needs and ease their conscience.'
Jepson looked pained at her barbed response. 'I won't deny that there are some unsavoury individuals who would do exactly that and as far as I'm concerned, they deserve no clemency.'
Not for the first time his use of language surprised her and yet they remained, eyes locked, both trying to see the truth in the other's gaze.
'If I was to tell you that I can count the number of times I have had sex on one hand what would your reaction be?' he suddenly asked.
'I'd call you a liar,' she replied in an instant.
Jepson shrugged. 'Of course, there's no way to prove that one way or the other, but I don't tell lies, though I don't expect you to believe that, not yet, not without knowing me more intimately.'
Birdsong trilled out into the late afternoon air and Rea found herself leaning forward slightly. 'I have no interest in knowing you ''more intimately''.'
Driven by Fear (The DS Lasser Book 27) Page 22