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Category:
Action/Thriller
Deeper and deeper....
4
When the cat is away.....
Bones and Donkey had never had so many drugs. They would last them some considerable time. And when Freddy came back, the golden goose would continue to feed their needs. It was time to sell what they could.
They were well known in their community. In fact so many took drugs because their parents took drugs and that older generation knew how to keep ‘mum’ when the police were trying to clean up the town of its drug problem. To the boys, drugs were not a problem. They were the source of income which supplemented their unemployment benefit. But their activities hardly made them unemployed.
Visits to the Charnock Richard motorway services was one drug pick up point used frequently. Their courier was from Southport where he was the distributor for the north west of England. His name was of course a nickname too. He was called Vivaldi. Yes, the famous name of the Italian composer, all because this courier played the violin. In reality he was sacked from being the violinist of the Parbold String Quartet as he defrauded the quartet of the sum of £2,750 this sum being the lottery funding for their tour expenditure. He was given a six month prison sentence and was dropped from the musical group immediately after he was released. He found it difficult to be employed again as a convicted fraudster and so he turned to drugs. He did not take drugs himself. He was there to service their needs. That was how he became a courier. He also had a cello in the rear of his car and that was where the drugs were contained. His cover was that of a violinist. If challenged by an inquisitive policeman he would render an impromptu piece of classical music. Few would doubt at that point he was not a member of the Harborne Strings of Birmingham which would be a further ruse he would offer.
Distribution in Wigan was easy for Donkey and Bones. They had a contact at the Wigan and Leigh NHS hospital where a regular supply of cocaine was appreciated by weekend members of the medical profession. They paid well, not just for the drugs but to ensure they would never be compromised. That was the most lucrative source. There was also a duty to provide the local drug dependent community’s requirements and time passed as they performed this community service. Hash, cocaine and amphetamines always had a ready market as did the K2 Spice. Bones and Donkey were seen as the pillars of their community and lips were sealed when the authorities probed. Social workers, advice centres, and police were seen as the enemy. It was a highly structured community yet one in a deprived area of town engaging in ever increasing levels of deprivation and poor health.
Elsie and Fred were conveyed to Manchester airport by Becky. Ten days relaxing in the sun with meals at the hotel; poolside coffees and drinks. It was to be a leisurely holiday where relaxation and sun would be the sources of contentment. And not a worry or concern filled their minds.
Their departure date had been noted by Bones and Donkey. On the first Tuesday evening as dusk began to fall, Bones and his co-conspirator made their way to Leyland Mill Lane. No one was around. They made their way up the drive to find the Victorian home in darkness.
The men went round the rear of the house and were horrified to see a light in a house much nearer than they expected. It stood at right angles down on the other side of the hill. It would be risky if lighting in the house was used. Perhaps their neighbours knew they were away. They took out their torches and covered the beam with dark socks. They approached the flower bed making sure they implanted no shoe prints. Sure enough a back door key was there waiting for them. They smiled at each other. Freddy was true to his word. Each gave the other a thumbs-up fist-knocking moment.
They looked through the dining room window. The door was closed. No sign of the alarm box was there. They went round the house looking in each ground floor window but the alarm was still not in sight.
‘We’ve got to get in and listen to where the alarm is counting out. You got the number in your head?’
‘Sure have Donkey. 3629. You got it is more to the point?’
‘Cheeky.’ Donkey lifted his wrist to show where he had written the code.
‘Hope that washes off dafty?’
‘Course it will. I’m not stupid,’ said Donkey frowning at his friend. For a moment they stood still to listen for any distraction. An owl did try to disturb the peace but they were content that they were safe to enter Aladdin’s cave.
The key fitted and it was turned. ‘Ready?’
‘Okay,’ said Bones.
The door was opened and the alarm started to count up. It was not easy to locate. The alarm sounded louder somewhere in the hallway. Donkey entered the entrance hall and found a cloakroom door. His dimmed torch led him to the source of the alarm. He held his wrist to the pad. His shaking fingers pressed 3629 and the count ceased as it reached a high note.
‘Bingo,’ said Donkey.
‘Shut up ya bugger. Take no risks,’ Bones said placing a finger on his lips.
‘Okay let’s do upstairs first,’ Donkey whispered regaining his composure.
‘Hey, bet that Grandfather clock is worth a few bob,’ said Bones.
‘Don’t be daft, too big. We’d need a removal van so that’s out. Keep the finds small and valuable.’
They entered the first room at the top of the stairs. It was clearly Freddy’s room. It was stark. They saw the row of harmonicas but thought them worthless and a missing one would soon be spotted. They rifled through his oak drawers making sure everything was put back in place. At the back of one drawer was a cardboard box. Donkey opened it. Inside was a gold watch; a family treasure. Donkey picked it up in his gloved hand.
‘Better take the box. Fetches more that way.’
‘But if we leave the box Freddy might think he had misplaced it.’
The two thought about each other’s suggestion for a quiet moment. It seemed neither could decide. Then a human tuneless whistle outside was heard. They froze. The whistling died down and the front door letter box received a thud on the floor.
Bones stood behind the bedroom curtains and peaked out. He saw a young lad freewheel his bike down the drive. Over his back was a paper boy’s satchel with the evening news. They relaxed.
‘With the box or without?’ asked Donkey. ‘Your call.’
Donkey’s eyes seemed closer together as he tried to make a decision. It seemed to work. ‘Take the box. It will get us more.’
They made a thorough investigation of Freddy’s room but correctly concluded his interests were few, beyond his treasured but their neglected harmonicas.
It would have surprised Donkey and Bones that Freddy could find a new interest and indeed he had. Elsie had been approached by a couple also on holiday with their daughter. Eric and Beth were, like her, in their late seventies and their daughter Ann was fifty one. She was an Asperger sufferer and that was the bond which sealed this holiday friendship. All five met for dinner that night and Elsie noticed her son could not keep his eyes off Ann. She was not fazed by the attention. She stared back at him. When he smiled; she smiled. When he ate; she ate. It was like a mirror image of activity but one that both Elsie and Ann’s parents were aware of and ignored. Both sets of parents wished to encourage their platonic interests. It only seemed natural.
A veil of darkness and misunderstanding had been pulled from Freddy’s eyes. He felt for almost the first time in his life, he was no longer alone; he was no longer scared; no longer confused. The knowledge of his autism had changed his perception of himself. His differences defined him. Now he knew being himself was not a bad thing. The journey, his journey, to find himself, to find out what was wrong with him had not come to an end. Having met Ann, it had come to a new beginning.
That night Freddy and Ann went for an evening walk alone. It was a stroll along a cliff path. Small colourful fishing boats lay in the bay bobbing to a nocturnal beat of the waves. They sat down to watch the moving boats.
Freddy got straight down to reality. ‘Have you a boyfriend?’
‘No I have no boyfriend. Do you have a girlfriend?’
‘Yes, Becky is my best friend.’
‘Oh, so will you marry her?’
‘No, she’s my sister.’
It took a few moments for them to make sense of their conversations. Freddy wound the long grass beside him around his fingers while Ann fiddled with a button on her jersey.
‘Do you like my jersey?’ she asked.
Freddy turned his head towards her. ‘Yes, I like your jersey.’
They did not say anything else for the best part of twenty minutes but they sat closer and eventually their sides met and gave each other some warmth. Then they arose.
‘We should get back soon,’ said Ann and Freddy agreed. Both needed to recharge. It was good that they both realised this simultaneously.
On the way back to the hotel Freddy took Ann’s hand and smiled at her. She smiled back. They were not happy photo smiles, more of a slight stretching of the lips. They were still holding hands when they returned to find their parents sitting at a table by the pool.
‘Did you have a good time, Freddy?’ asked Eric.
‘Yes, I had a good time.’
‘And how about you Ann, was it a good walk?’ asked Elsie.
Ann lifted her sleeve to her mouth and gnawed her jersey.
Donkey was now in Elsie’s bedroom going through her jewellery. She had obviously not taken her best on holiday but again how much could they take without it being noticed? He settled for a broach with a jade green stone surrounded by small pearls. On its other side was a Birmingham silver hallmark. He put it in his pocket. Meanwhile Bones was going through all of Elsie’s pockets and bringing out coins and some notes. In one drawer there was a purse with more than one hundred pounds in ten and five pounds notes. Donkey took £45 hoping the remainder would not look as if any was missing.
It was now after 10 p.m. and they still had another floor to explore.
‘Hey Donkey, we can take our time. We might be caught if we leave in an hour and are searched if the police saw us out late. Best to sleep overnight here and leave tomorrow morning. You agree?’
‘Yea, time for some late night pool in the attic,’ said Donkey realising the dream he had had when he first saw the home appear through the shrubbery of the winding path.
‘Not yet. There are still at least a couple of bedrooms on this floor.’
Bending under the windows as a shaft of moonlight pierced one bedroom; Donkey came across a trunk under a bed. He pulled it out and was pleased to find it unlocked. There was a cloth cover which he removed and saw a selection of boxes. He opened the first. Then the second, third and fourth lids came off the solid cardboard boxes. Donkey’s eyes dropped. Comics only, but so many. He took the contents of the last box and looked at the last copy on the bottom of the pile. It had a special cover. Last edition it declared in large bold colourful print. Then it dawned on him and his face lit up. What was in his hands were the Beano comics in numerical order from the very first edition to edition number 6000.
‘Frickin’ brilliant, Bones.’
‘What?’
‘We’ve got to take these,’ said Donkey flicking through some more magazines at a time then stopping to gaze at the cartoons of Lord Snooty and Denis the Menace.
‘What you got there? Comics?’
‘Yes, but haven’t you heard about big money when you’ve got the full set?’
Bones looked at the boxes packed with comics.
‘We’ve got to be selective. They are bulky. That’s all I’m sayin’.
Donkey was not to be put off.
‘Then we take this because they’ll not touch these trunks for some time, even years. Keep what we’ve pocketed but this is the icing on the cake.’
His eyes were gleaming bright as he saw the ching-ching of the cash earned from these boxes of comics.
‘Don’t touch them. Keep them in good condition. No spaniel ears.’
‘Okay, if you think they’ll sell well.’
Donkey nodded enthusiastically. ‘They will. Trust me. Now, I’m ready for snooker.’
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