At the wheel sat a powerfully built chauffeur,

Who opened the door at the rear,

I looked up at the woman before me,

And could see she was trembling with fear.

As from the car, came a man in his sixties,

Expensively dressed, I would say,

He came in and said to the barman,

“This bar will be closed for a couple of days”.

Then threw a big wad of cash on a table,

That George took without bothering to count,

Saying, “Yes Mr Denoy, that’s no problem",

Then, still holding the cash, he walked out.

Then the chauffeur walked over beside me,

And said, “You look like an intelligent man,

So you were never in here, tonight, do you hear?”

And placed another large sum in my hand,

And I admit, I was tempted to take it,

But the young woman was clearly afraid,

So I could not walk away, whatever they’d say,

Or how matter how much I was paid.

So I lay their blood money down on a table,

And the old one said, “Now that is a shame”,

The next thing I knew, I was being shot through,

And my body contorted in pain.

Then the young chauffeur began kicking me senseless,

Until unconsciousness came to my aid,

Screaming, “You son of a bitch, you could have been rich,

If you’d taken the money we paid”.

How long I was out, I can’t tell you,

But I woke up in a hospital bed,

With tubes everywhere, I think in intensive care,

With bullet wounds to my chest and my head,

They’d reconstructed my cheeks and my jawbone,

I no longer looked as I had done before,

A result of the beating I’d taken,

From the chauffeur, as I lay on the floor.

By my bed stood a nurse and a policeman,

Each of them looking concerned,

“Do you think he could answer some questions?”

The policeman enquired of the nurse.

“Not too many”, the nurse had insisted,

“And I don’t want him getting upset,

But if it helps catch the people that did this,

Ask your questions, before he forgets”.

And I answered each one of his questions,

With as much detail as I could recall,

Until I mentioned the name of Mr Denoy,

And the policemen’s face went as white as the wall.

He said, “Are you sure you could not be mistaken?

Or maybe you simply misheard”,

The officer seemed somewhat unsettled,

Carefully choosing each word,

And I rapidly got the impression,

He was no longer concerned for my case,

Judged by the worried expression,

That had quickly spread over his face.

Then closing his notebook, he thanked me,

And assured me that he’d be in touch,

“Rest and get well”, he advised me,

“And leave catching these people to us”.

(To Be Continued)

By S.E.Ralph

17-7-2019