Old Crackers

by Peter Bates

  Roy paid for the drinks, picked up the daily newspaper from the bar top, and then very slowly moved to a table at the edge of the room, beneath all the brightly coloured oil paintings that were fastened to the wall. As soon as he was seated, he made a point of staring at each of the artistic pictures for at least a full minute. The lads wouldn’t be very long now, and Roy hoped that their entry would be every bit as discreet as his own had been. It was a pity that he hadn’t told them earlier to wobble into the place, as he had done, but he knew that they weren’t stupid and would themselves make a very casual entrance, attracting no unwanted attention at all. He picked up his pint glass, as all of his three friends walked in very slowly, and without the usual welcome greeting sounds, quietly took a seat at his table.

  “Well done, Roy,” muttered Reg quietly. “I see you’ve got the drinks in, and you’ve also picked a good spot to sit.”

  Roy nodded, and took a few moments to study his friends. They’d done well. A quiet entrance and each of them had clearly dressed down and not in the same clothes that they had worn the last time that they were in here. Old jackets, equally old trousers, and a wide variety of headwear that he’d never seen before.

  “They’ve only been in for ten minutes or so, and the boss is his usual loud self, which should be very useful,” he said quietly, as he looked down expressionless at the table’s surface.

  “Are there any newspapers, magazines, or menus that we could be looking at?” asked Frank.

  Roy reached under the table to the shelf beneath, pulled out the newspaper that he had picked up earlier, and laid it on the table.

  “A few pages each should do,”

  “Well done Roy,” smiled Terry, as he separated a couple of pages from the folded paper and held them up before his eyes.

  “Have you heard anything yet?” asked Frank quietly, already staring intently at his paper.

  “No, mate. He’s quite loud, which should help, but I’ve not heard anything significant yet.”

  “I’m sure we will,” added Terry, as he pointed a finger at an imaginary article in his piece of newspaper.

  “If we do hear anything, don’t say a word until we’re well out of here,” joined Reg with a faint smile.

  “I’ll tell you now boys, Jed Thomas is a dead man walking.”

  Harrison’s voice was clear, loud, and probably heard by every person within fifteen feet of where he was sitting. Frank kept the eyes lowered; his facial expression unchanged, and slowly turned the page of his newspaper. None of his three friends had moved an inch, or reacted in any way to the decisive statement. Terry slowly picked up his glass and took a deep sip, his own eyes still fixed firmly to his own paper.

  “You’re right, boss. His time has come.”

  “You’re not bloody kidding, Bob. It’s well overdue. That bastard’s already been around for too long.”

  “Somehow,” Harrison went on, “we need to get him and his crew out of town to somewhere that’s isolated. I don’t want to use shooters to knock them off unless we really have to. We’d be leaving trace evidence behind. If we get ourselves gloved up we can beat the hell out of them somewhere remote, and then put them underground. If we get this right also, it’ll be years, if ever, before they get found.”

  “I suppose a quiet wood would be ideal,” offered Alan. “Somewhere well off the beaten track with lots of tree cover.”

  “Good thinking, Alan. Apart from it being quite busy, the Lake District would be ideal if we could find a way of getting them there without attracting any undue attention.”

  “I’ve got an idea,” said Gary brightly.

  “Go on then,” pressed Harrison doubtfully. Gary wasn’t exactly the most intelligent member of his team, but very occasionally he would come up with something that was half useful.

  “What if we phoned him using an untraceable phone? We then tell him that we’re in the drugs market and have heard on the grapevine that he could use a regular supplier. We’d offer a very good and competitive price, and if he agrees to it, we arrange a meeting exactly where we want, which would be well out of the way because of the nature of the transaction. We could easily fix it at a remote place in the Lake District and when he arrives, do a job on him and his gang. I’m absolutely certain that he’d never turn up without his crew somewhere close by. As well as wiping him out, we help ourselves to the big bag of cash that he would have with him.”

  “Bloody hell, Gary. That’s the best idea that you’ve ever had, and it gives us a perfect place to hide away well out of their sight when we meet. As you said, if the price is very good, there’s no way he would turn such an opportunity down.”

  Gary grinned. This was a first. Harrison had never offered him a compliment in the whole time that he had been in the gang.

  Harrison turned his face to Bob, Alan and Kenny. “What do you three lads think?”

  “On the face of it, I’d say that was as good an idea as we’re likely to come across,” agreed Alan. “As Gary said, it means that we can deliberately select an out of the way place, and it’s us that will choose it so it will be perfect. When we get there, we can deliberately cover up our faces and change our appearances. If we choose the place well, we can also pick a spot where we can all remain hidden or at least go completely unnoticed apart from Mel, until the time is exactly right. We can also ask that Thomas comes alone if we want to. That way it would be even easier to finish him off and dispose of him. After all, if Thomas is taken out, I’m sure that the rest of the gang would quickly break up. If he does insist on bringing protection with him, he can do, that way we can get rid of all of them in one go. We’ll be out of sight, have the shooters ready and be well prepared for anything.”

  CHAPTER 58

  “They’ve all gone now, “said Frank, his eyes still fixed on the exit door as he spoke.

  “I reckon we got most of it, if not all,” commented Reg.

  “Mind blowing.” added Roy. “Those small and virtually invisible hearing aids worked a real treat.”

  “They did,” agreed Terry. “I still can’t believe that we heard all that.”

  “I don’t suppose that they were too bothered. Most people wouldn’t have even heard what it was that they were talking about anyway. It just so happens that we four wrinkly old buggers knew exactly what they were on about, thanks to the gadgets”

  “Whatever; it was a brilliant result as far as we’re concerned,” joined in Frank again. “It would be a good result even if we did nothing else, and just let them get on with it.”

  “We may have to,” responded Roy. “It’s hard to see how we could do much else. I’m damned if I’m going to track those evil bastards into a deserted wood in the middle of nowhere. If Thomas did get wiped out, the world would be a much better place.”

  “Yes, it would,” agreed Terry, “but if we got some definite proof and Harrison got nailed for it, he and his gang would also be out of the picture for a very long time indeed.”

  “It would be good if we could follow them, Terry, but I’ve a feeling that would be extremely difficult, and the last thing any of us wants is to be another one of their victims.”

  “I’d like to follow them, even so, but finding out exactly when and where they’re planning to meet would be next to impossible. Don’t forget also that they will be choosing a very secluded spot for the exchange, probably in the middle of a wood, and far away from prying eyes. For us to follow undetected by both gangs would be massively difficult, and very dangerous.”

  “Should we be telling Norman Pendleton?” asked Reg.

  “I don’t think so, mate. Not on this occasion. The lad’s hands are firmly tied, and what could he prove at this point? If he did know what we know, he would have no choice but to put a huge number of plain clothes officers on the case, and that easily could lead to a leak of information. It’s odds on that there’s at least one well paid mole amongst all the people he has at the station.”

  “Unfortunately, you’re probably rig
ht, Roy. I don’t recall any in our day, but that just might be because they were too clever at what they did, and we never unearthed them. I do tend to think though, that it’s a more modern trend, and made a lot easier with all the methods of communication that are to hand nowadays.”

  “How about another drink, boys?” asked Reg, rising to his feet. “I think that we deserve another glass before we go home.”

  “Good idea, Reg. It wouldn’t do us any harm in thinking this through a bit more as well.”

  Terry felt in his trouser pocket, pulled out two twenty-pound notes, and handed them to Reg.

  “What’s this, Terry? We’ll all pay for our own.”

  “No, mate. Tonight, it’s my treat. Get the beers in Reg, and see if they’re still doing those nice bacon butties. I’m sure that one of those for each of us would go down as a real bonus.”

  “Thanks, Terry, much appreciated.”

  Reg rose quickly to his feet, a large smile spreading across his face as he walked happily to the bar. Sometimes being in the right place at the right time paid very big dividends, and this was one occasion when it had all slotted into place. Knowing what they now knew was brilliant, but there would be a very big gap in what the future held if they were unable to discover when and where the whole thing would all take place. Whilst waiting for the beers, his mind raced over the few options available. He would do anything to listen in to the conversation that was about to occur between one of Harrison’s men and Jed Thomas, but realistically that was virtually impossible. How could he nail down the result of that? Cameras and remote speakers were fine, but you had to know exactly where to put them, and Harrison’s gang member could well use a public telephone box to make the contact, making any sort of tracking totally unlikely.

  This was one of those times when the coppers could certainly do the job better than the old timers. With the police manpower and gadgets, they could easily track Harrison for the next few days and then know for certain exactly when he was heading for the Lake District before following him at a distance in unmarked cars. Maybe this was one time that they should contact Norman Pendleton in advance and let him know what was going on.

  Reg returned to the table with a large silver coloured metal tray and four beers. The bacon sandwiches arrived several minutes later, brought to them by the young barmaid.

  “Any new ideas?” asked Reg as he sat down and lifted a beer glass to his mouth.

  “It’s difficult, Reg, I guess we could park up near to Harrison’s house, and then follow him. We’d have to be up with the larks and be prepared for a very long day.”

  “We could,” responded Frank, “but following them all the way down the motorway and then down all the various side roads to their destination without being noticed would be almost impossible. These guys might be nasty, but they’re far from stupid, and I think that we would stand out like a sore thumb.”

  “You’re right, Frank,” agreed Roy. “I wonder if we should tell Norman Pendleton what we know and let him do it.”

  “You might have a point there,” nodded Terry. “What do you think, Reg?”

  “I think that they would have the same problem, especially after they have left the motorway. Even with unmarked cars like us, they would be very noticeable on the side roads and narrow lanes that litter the Lake District. That’s exactly why they will choose such a location.”

  “We’re going nowhere with this,” said Frank. “Maybe we’ve just not yet hit on the right way. Maybe we should just let them go ahead and ignore it. As we said earlier, at least one bad lot would be out of the way for good.”

  “We want both of them out of the picture, Frank, if we can.”

  “I know, mate, but it’s a lot easier said than done.”

  “OK, lads,” said Roy. “We know what we want, but so far we’ve not come up with a good enough option. We’re not in a rush to go anywhere today, so let’s just keep on talking. Who knows, we might together just come up with something that is viable.”

  “I wonder,” pondered Terry after a few moments, “if we could get our hands on a modern tracker advice, and then put it on Harrison’s vehicle. These days, I don’t really know the detail of how they work, but I’m sure that they must have vastly improved them since the ones that we used to use. If we discovered a really good one, it could well tie them down to the murder scene.”

  “Good idea, Terry. Let’s see if we can do a little bit of research. You never know what we might just dig up.”

  “How would we get a tracker device fixed to their car?” asked Reg.

  “I’m pretty certain that you can buy magnetic ones, Reg. You just place them somewhere out of sight and they stick to the metal of the car. If we do get one, we’ll have to put it on somehow, but I’m not even going to think about that until we do actually get hold of a tracker.”

  “Well, there are several shops in Blackpool that would be very likely to sell them. Come on lads, let’s all get into the cars and have a look at Halfords for a start. Maybe we’ll get lucky again.”

  *

  “This is a good ’un.”

  Terry picked up an oblong cardboard box from the shelf and held it in front of Reg.

  “How can you tell?” asked Frank.

  “I spent a couple of minutes researching them before we came out. This one sticks like glue to metal, and gives out strong signals which we can record and retain. It’s exactly what we want.”

  “How do you record it?”

  “Simple really. You set up an app on your mobile and it sends you the information on the screen.”

  “Bloody hell. I wish that we’d had those in our days.”

  “You’d better get it Terry.”

  “I will, Reg, and then we’ll be on our way.”

  “Let’s go back to mine,” offered Frank. “I’ve got enough grub back home to feed all of us, and we need to set up some sort of plan. It’s one thing having the gadget — it’s another game entirely, getting it placed exactly where we need it to be.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” muttered Roy. “That’s going to be the hard bit, that’s for sure.”

  “Where’s Harrison’s house?”

  “South Shore, Reg. Funnily enough it’s not a million miles away from Jed Thomas’ house.”

  “How did you know where it was?”

  “Easy really. I picked him up there for a crime many moons ago,” smiled Roy. “It’s most unlikely that he’s moved since then. There aren’t that many places as nice as his, although it is on a main street and not tucked away somewhere.

  CHAPTER 59

  “I can give you a choice,” grinned Frank. “At Franko’s Restaurant tonight, you can have a burger on bun, with cheese if you want it; bacon butties; or chicken pieces with oven chips.”

  “I think we should all stick to the same thing, if there’s enough for it to go round, Frank. It’s great of you to make the grub, but we have some serious thinking to do tonight, and it could take some time. I’m happy with any of your choices, Frank, so let’s see what gets the most votes.”

  “How about burger and chips for us all?” suggested Roy. “Let’s keep it nice and simple for Grand Cook Franko.”

  “Sounds good to me,” agreed Reg. “What about you, Terry?”

  “I’ll go along with that.”

  “I’ll get ’em going on a low light,” said Frank, “then we’ll have to do some straight talking. In the meantime, I’ll crack open a bottle of fine wine, just to get our thinking right from the start.”

  “Best thing you’ve said,” agreed Roy. “Set ’em up, Franky.”

  Frank grinned and headed for the kitchen, quietly and somewhat relieved that the order was simple and straight forward. He quickly set up the burgers on the grill’s lowest light, and laid out eight buns and some ready grated cheese across the kitchen worktop surface. After filling four glasses of wine, he carried them carefully on a tray into his lounge, and placed them gently on the oak coffee table.

  “Th
ere we go, lads.”

  “Brilliant.” announced Terry, after taking his first sip of wine. “If the burgers are half as good as the wine, I’ll certainly be coming back to ‘Franko’s Restaurant.”

  “Enough frivolity.” smiled Frank. “We need to work out how the hell we’re going to get our gadget onto Harrison’s car.”

  “Good point,” agreed Roy. “Maybe we’d better stick to one glass for now; otherwise, we might just have a problem in doing that.”

  “You’re right, Roy. It’s getting dark, so I think that we have to do it now. You may even have to put the burgers on hold, Frank.”

  “No problem, Roy. I can turn them off right now until we’ve worked this out. We can have them later on in the evening. That gadget has total priority at the moment.”

  Frank rose from his chair, slipped briefly into the kitchen, and quickly returned to his seat.

  “First of all, whereabouts on the car are we going to stick our new tracker device?”

  “It would be great if we could fasten it inside, or in the engine compartment, but that’s going to be completely impossible.”

  Terry scratched his head thoughtfully. “Wherever we put it, it’s got to be done very quickly, so it needs to be somewhere that is completely accessible. We can only do it in the dark as well, but that will be very soon now. Even then we could easily be spotted, especially if we’re all there.”

  “You’re right, Terry. It has to be just one of us that actually places the gadget, or we’re certainly going to stand out like a sore thumb. The others will definitely have to be out of sight. Personally, I think that under the wheel arch will be fine and very quick to do. One of us can walk by and slip it on without even stopping. He’ll not notice it there, and if ever he did do, it would be too late by then.”