The Reluctant Villain

by James Williams

  “I can only give it a go”

  His companion nodded and rose from his seat,

  “ok, let’s give it a start. We’ll go through the items stored in the new counter and display cabinets that you need to know about” and he led the way back into the shop. His father was waiting for him.

  “I’m going out to check on Harry, the hospital said he’s been discharged so I want to hear his version of events of last night. And he better have a good story or he’s out on his ear!”

  “Steady Dad. You need him for all the odd jobs you can’t get anyone else to do”

  Matthews fumed and muttered,

  “If he doesn’t satisfy me then he’s out! And this mug will have to do his work or he’ll be walking as well”

  Gerry was about to speak out but Quinten stepped in between the two and moved Gerry towards the display units and away from his Father’s comments,

  “See you later Dad”

  Matthews glared briefly at his son’s back and turned around and stormed out of the shop. Once he had gone Quinten spoke to Gerry in a calming manner,

  “You nearly walked into his trap. You were about to answer back, and if you had, you would have been out the door post haste”

  “Sorry Quinten but if he continues to talk about me in that way without getting any reaction he’s mistaken”

  “Then kiss this job goodbye because he will push and push until you do react, then boom! Come on let’s go through the stock and see how you get on”

  They had been working for about half an hour when a customer entered the shop, it was the same man Gerry had stopped stealing on his previous visit before Christmas. As if nothing had happened he cheekily asked,

  “Hi mate got any more of that lighter fluid?” Then he stopped and saw the changes that had been made since his last visit and paid particular attention to the electrical items Quinten had placed on the counter.

  “Wow, that’s a nice bit of gear, much better than the crap you used to stock”

  Before he moved to the counter where the last few items of old stock were housed Gerry managed to signal to Quinten to keep a watch on the stranger.

  “Only one left I’m afraid and it’s a bit more expensive than the last one you bought. Do you still want it?”

  “Isn’t got much sodden choice have I mate!” he moaned, paid Gerry and made a point of counting his change before walking out without saying another word. Once they were alone Quinten asked,

  “I got your signal, know him do you”

  “Last time he came in for the same item he tried to pinch an expensive set of cufflinks but I stopped him”

  “Yeah, he didn’t seem to have two pennies to rub together yet he paid a lot of attention to the stuff on the counter. That’s one thing Dad won’t know about, the dubious characters in the area”

  Gerry agreed and they returned to the task of identifying stock and their uses.

  Quinten complemented Gerry on his ability to understand the uses and techniques of the equipment and they completed the task early in the afternoon a few minutes before Matthews senior arrived, still in an apparent foul mood.

  “How is Harry?” Quinten enquired. It took a few minutes for his father to reply.

  “A few less bruises than the stupid fool deserves. He heard someone throwing stones over the gate and some were hitting the van windscreen so he went out to chase what he thought, were kids just mucking about. Before he knew it, two blokes jumped him and knocked him out. They pinched the van keys and scarpered. The police told me this morning the van was found but it had been burnt out after being unloaded. And the insurance company are being funny about paying up. ”He went into his office and slammed the door.

  Quinten turned to Gerry,

  “Give me five minutes with him and then bring us both in a cup of tea, and make one for yourself, you deserve it after your work this afternoon”

  Gerry did as instructed and found his boss in a slightly calmer mood. Quinten was explaining how well Gerry had picked up his new tasks.

  “He picks up things quite quickly, he’s got the potential to do well if you give him a chance”

  Matthews looked at his assistant,

  “I’ll be the judge of that; I take a bit more convincing than you”

  Quinten persevered with his defence of Gerry,

  “He identified a potential shop lifter this morning, I wouldn’t have had a clue but Gerry gave me a signal to keep an eye on him”

  All Matthews would say in a sullen voice,

  “That’s what I pay him for; it’s his job to spot characters like that”

  Quentin shook his head, sometimes, not just sometimes, his father never valued his staff, unless she wore a short skirt.

  Two other customers came in later and Gerry served them with the correct new stock even though Quinten was nearby if required. Again, this didn’t impress his father.

  8

  Harry returned to work after the weekend with a plaster covering a cut below his right ear. He seemed intent on getting back in favour with his boss and tried to cause trouble for Gerry, by now, the lad was wise to most of his tricks and avoided the traps.

  On the Wednesday of that week two locals came in, at different times, to purchase the same product from the old stock. The first to come in was Graham Bishop and he made his purchase, looked around briefly at the new items before leaving. Matthews asked Gerry if he knew the person who had just purchased a tube of super glue. “That’s Graham Bishop, he made a couple of threats against Mr Evans. I think he runs a small kind of protection racket around the area. I don’t know if Mr Evans ever paid him anything”

  “If any of his kind come around here offering threats they’ll wish they have never been born”

  About forty five minutes before the shop was due to close Ernie Newsham entered the premises. He too, looked around at the displays.

  “Quite a change from before Gerry, how are you adjusting to your role? I don’t think David had the knowledge or inclination to diversify to such an extent. Let’s see, any bargains in the clearance sale of old stock?” he asked the young assistant.

  Then he spotted the two remaining tubes of super glue, picked them up and asked Gerry the price. After he was told Ernie thought for a moment and then nodded his head.

  “Not sure if I’ll find a use for them but at least it’s one less item on your stock check list” and he left the shop. Once again Matthews asked Gerry for details of the latest customer.

  “Totally the opposite to Bishop. That was Ernie Newsham, a former policeman who now runs the leisure centre. I believe he’s also started a private security patrol of sorts”

  Matthews was clearly interested in the latter part of Gerry’s information and made a note to find out more details. For once Gerry thought he had been seen in some sort of positive light by his boss. However, his feeling of success was short lived.

  “I’ve got a new worker starting here tomorrow, she will be in charge of sales and when I’m not around you take orders from her. Understand?”

  “Yes Mr Matthews” was his assistant’s reply but he felt like saying a lot more. It seemed that everyone could give him orders around here.

  Matthews’s voice broke into his thoughts,

  “Make yourself useful and check if Harry needs a hand unpacking the latest delivery. If he’s finished go and sweep out the yard”

  Gerry was finding it increasingly difficult not to lose his self-control, his boss was always finding the most menial tasks for him to do and give more responsible jobs to others.

  Until Ernie came back to the shop, moments later Matthews and his visitor went out into the back yard and stayed there for several minutes.

  Gerry heard the last few words of a conversation. Ernie was saying

  “..but remember Mr Matthews there won’t be much point putting a decent lock on that flimsy gate, you need to replace that as well”

  The shop owner made a non-committal sound and showed his visitor out of t
he door. He turned to Gerry who was re-arranging stock after his boss had left them in their wrong places as was his want after serving customers.

  “I’m going to buy a mortise lock for the back gate. Then you can demonstrate your locksmith’s skills to me and prove that you are at least learning something at that college”

  “Excuse me for saying so Mr Matthews, but didn’t Mr Newsham mention something about replacing the back gate before fitting a new lock?” Gerry said quietly.

  “That gate is strong enough, he’s just looking for extra work for his mates. And I’ll thank you not to eavesdrop on my conversations in future!”

  Matthews didn’t return for more than an hour and he was in a foul mood.

  “That dammed ironmonger wouldn’t sell me this blasted lock at wholesale price, the tight fisted bastard! Since you have college tomorrow you will have to fix it now. Get your tools and put this on the gate before you finish”

  The shop was due to close in less than twenty minutes and Gerry knew he wouldn’t finish in that time but it was the first proper job he had been given in more than a fortnight so he was glad to take on the task. However, he hadn’t banked on Matthews standing over him and watching while he finished the job which was completed in just over half an hour. It had started raining so the owner went back into the shop to find an umbrella and he stood behind Gerry, making sure he was not getting wet while leaving his assistant exposed to the elements.

  His boss checked the finished article and gave the gate and its frame a good shake,

  “Is that the best you can do? It doesn’t feel very secure to me”.

  Gerry replaced his equipment in his tool box before replying,

  “It’s the best I can do considering the condition of the gate and frame Mr Matthews. As Mr Newsham recommended, fitting a stronger gate would be the best solution”

  Matthews glared back at him,

  “I will be the judge of that! And in future, as I’ve already told you once, don’t listen in on my private conversations if you know what’s good for you” And he turned around on his heels and kicked his assistant’s tool box, spilling some of the contents onto the floor. Before he could stop himself, Gerry blurted out,

  “Careful! It took me a long time and money to put together that kit”

  Matthews turned around slowly, looked down at the tools strewn across the pavement, and quite deliberately kicked a couple of them into the roadway. He stared back at Gerry, daring him to make another comment.

  His assistant stared back, then he bent down and retrieved his tools and put them away in the box. He remembered what his old boss had told him about not walking into such traps and went back into the shop, put on his coat and headed for the door, still carrying his tools. Matthews called to him as he opened the door to leave.

  “And don’t be late in the morning”

  Gerry stopped and looked over his shoulder at his boss,

  “As you reminded me earlier, tomorrow is my college day Mr Matthews. I will be in on time on Friday” and left before his boss had time to respond.

  He arrived home, soaked to the skin after being drenched by a passing motorist who seemed to drive through the large puddle next to the pavement Gerry just happened to be walking on at that moment. He didn’t think it was his boss driving the car but he wouldn’t have been surprised if that had been the case.

  He entered the flat and called to tell his grandmother that he was going to get changed out of his wet clothes before sitting down to dinner. His mind was so occupied by the train of events that he had been put through; he didn’t notice his grandmother had not responded to his call. It was only after he returned to his bedroom to finish changing into dry clothes that his mind was alerted to the situation. Quickly finishing getting dressed he first checked the kitchen and dining area to see if she was there but the light was not on and a quick check told him the oven had not been used. He found out why when he walked into the darkened living room and put on the light. She was slumped in her favourite chair, still wearing her outdoor clothes. It was quite clear that she had been crying earlier. Feeling more than a little alarmed he went to her side and gently touched an arm and asked quietly,

  “Gran? Is there something wrong, are you not well?”

  It took a couple more gentler prods to her arm before he got any response. She opened her eyes, looked around with some confusion on her features, before she recognised her surroundings. She then tried to stand up but Gerry put a hand on his grandmother’s shoulder and gently prevented her from rising.

  “Stay where you are for now Gran, let me get you a drink before you try moving”

  “She nodded and sat back in the chair while Gerry went to fetch her a drink of water. He came back with the drink and passed it to her,

  “Just take it steady, have a few sips at a time”. He allowed her time to settle down before asking,

  “What happened Gran, what have you been up to today”

  She took a couple of more sips of water before speaking,

  “I went to the meeting as usual this afternoon and was about to leave when Mrs Stockwell invited me to go for a cup of coffee with her. It was quite strange, she was telling me how much she would miss being around with her husband and friends and I asked her why I was being told these details”

  “Did she tell you why?”

  “Not at first, but when I pressed her she changed the subject and told me not to worry about her but to prepare myself for things to come in the near future”

  Gerry stayed silent for a moment before asking,

  “Prepare yourself for what Gran, is she trying to give a message of some sort but can’t explain things clearly to you. You used to go to her meetings with Mr Stockwell but stopped because well, some of their discussions upset you when they talked about family members who were no longer alive, like Mum and Dad”

  Mrs Reynolds took out her hankie and started dabbing her eyes and she spoke in a shaky voice,

  “I’m alright now Gerry, can we stop talking about it. What do you want for your tea; I’m afraid I haven’t prepared anything. If I give you some money you can go to the chip shop and get yourself something to eat”

  “What about you, you probably haven’t eaten since dinnertime”

  “Don’t worry about me Gerry, I will have some soup later”

  He was not convinced by her answer but now was not the time to argue so he put on his coat and went out into the rainy evening once more. The Willow Gardens chip shop was less than ten minutes away and the evening rush for their cuisine had not started. The Chinese lady owner knew him and as usual, wanted to have a long chat about the goings-on around the town. Gerry only managed to extract himself from the conversation when another customer arrived. By the time he returned home his trip had taken the best part of half an hour. He went into the kitchen and smiled when he spotted what his grandmother had done for him. On the table were two slices of buttered bread for his chip butty he always had as a treat. If she could think of such things then she must have got over her upset from the afternoon.

  Gerry finished his meal and finding his grandmother was not in the living room he gently knocked on her bedroom door, she called out for him to enter. She was sat on her bed with a large case open in front of her as she examined its contents. He had often wondered what she kept in the old battered case and had longed to find out, but never dared to ask.

  There were more than two dozen items either on the bed or still to be removed from the case. Each item wrapped in soft tissue paper and kept inside a cloth bag. A small hand written piece of paper was pinned to each bag to identify their contents.

  “It’s time I told you about our family history Gerry, if you’ve finished your tea I will explain some background details. Sit down next to me dear”

  Gerry did as she requested, and suddenly a mixture of excitement coupled with a little dread of what he was about to hear overcame him. She began speaking,

  “What you see in front of you goes back
at least four generations of our family history. First, I will tell you briefly about your mother’s possessions, such as her rings and necklaces. She also collected many trinkets picked up in sales, most of them only have sentimental value but one or two items do have an interesting history. But I want to put them aside for a moment and tell you about some items that your great, great grandfather bought home from South Africa”

  “What was he doing in South Africa Gran?” Gerry asked, his mind suddenly filling with fantasies of a great hero from the family’s past.

  She smiled ruefully,

  “It’s not what you are thinking Gerry. Andrew Silas Patterson was a convicted thief who escaped arrest and probable transportation to Australia by escaping as a stowaway on a boat to South Africa. Once over there, he found work, mainly in the gold mines. But occasionally turned to his criminal ways by stealing, sometimes from the mines but quite often from the local native workers.

  “But he, and other thieves were very devious in the way they stole from the workers. Getting hold of cheap trinkets and baubles that traders had bought to the area would be exchanged for more valuable native artefacts then sent back home to be sold for great profit.

  “ But Silas made a very bad mistake because one of the natives he tricked was the son of the tribal chief. The chief knew he would get nowhere if he approached the white authorities because they would believe Silas rather than the natives at every opportunity.

  “Instead he consulted a local witch doctor who came up with a cunning remedy. He put a curse on all of the items stolen so if anyone sold them for profit that person would meet a sticky end. This message was conveyed to Silas who invariably laughed off the curse”

  Before she could continue with her story, the phone rang and Gerry went to answer the call. He returned a couple of minutes later with a slight smile on his face.

  “Who was that dear?” enquired his grandmother.

  “My course tutor at the college checking if I am going to be in class tomorrow. I told him I would definitely be attending. He just wanted to make sure after Mr Matthews’ attempt to stop me a couple of weeks ago”