“My grandma’s fine,” he stuttered, “I told her the women were your guests for the remainder of their visit.”
“You did well, my boy, I’m sure your grandma knows from past experience to keep her mouth shut. For a reward, you can accompany us on the flight. Everything is ready, we can leave the luggage here, they won’t be needing it where they’re going.”
That was bad news for Sam and Kate – the hope he was taking them to Christchurch was fading fast.
“I’m supposed to be on duty at the garage this afternoon,” Cooper pointed out.
“We’ll be back by lunchtime, don’t worry my boy – don’t forget, I am the boss. Now, watch the women while I go and change.”
The minute he walked from the room, Cooper took out a bottle of water from his jacket pocket and poured some onto a tissue. “Here,” he said, handing it to Kate, “you both have blood on your faces.”
“Thank you Cooper. So,” Kate began, wincing slightly as she held the tissue to her lip, “Mrs. Manning’s your grandma. She seems a very nice lady.”
“Yes, she is.”
“It must be difficult for her knowing you work for such a tyrant,” added Sam, rubbing her jaw, relieved it seemed to be intact.
“Stop talking!” yelled Cooper.
“You know he intends to kill us, don’t you?” Sam continued, hoping at that news Kate wasn’t going to get hysterical. “We think he’s killed before, that’s why he wants us out of the way, because we know his secret. I won’t give you any details, because it’ll put you and your grandma in danger too. Cooper, our lives are in your hands. There’s no one else we can ask. I’m pleading with you to help us get away from here. You can see our faces, next time it’ll be worse, he doesn’t care what he does to get his way.”
“I don’t believe you! He might be a hard man, but he would never kill anyone … you’re just trying to mess with my head.”
“Please, look into your heart, I know you’re not like him …” Sam stopped short as the figure of Jim Baxter re-entered the room.
“OK, let’s go. You can drive,” insisted Jim Baxter, throwing Cooper his keys.
Once outside, they were escorted towards a saloon car with blacked out windows. The car door was opened and they were manhandled into the back seat, where they huddled close together. They had always known this mission wasn’t going to be easy, but to end with their deaths hadn’t really been anything they had contemplated. If it had, they wouldn’t have taken up the challenge to find Daniel Brennan, whose possible demise was now far from their thoughts. Now all they could think of was their families and how devastated they would be following their disappearance.
The car made a right turn out of the gates and headed towards the high street, passing several private houses on the way, including The Balmoral. Mrs. Manning was watching and waiting from her window and noticed the car as it turned into the road, the start of the three-mile drive to the small airfield at the end. She knew it was them, knew time was running out for the two women. What was keeping her friend? Soon it would be too late and there would be nothing anyone could do to save them.
Chapter 26 – A Race Against Time
Two cars from opposite directions pulled up in front of The Balmoral. Mrs. Manning recognised the men in the first vehicle, but had no idea who the occupants were in the second. Watching all four men stride up her path, she threw open her front door and addressed the men in uniform.
“Thank goodness you got here, Oscar, there’s not much time to loose! I’ve already seen the car from Oaklands going down to the airfield!”
“Try and calm yourself, Gwen. I’ve contacted the guys in Christchurch and there’s a helicopter and back-up on the way. In my reckoning, it shouldn’t take the chopper long to get here, in the meantime, we’ll get ourselves down to the airfield and see what’s happening.” They tore back down the path and jumped into their police car and sped off.
Gwen turned to the two strangers. “Sorry about that. Are you looking for a room?”
“Mrs. Manning?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“My name is James Robinson, I’m Kate Robinson’s husband. We’ve come all the way from England to surprise the girls, but I understand you’ve told the family at home they’re missing. I’m hoping that’s not still the case?”
Gwen threw her hands in the air. “Oh, my goodness, yes. I’m so sorry! I haven’t time to explain, but they’re in great danger. That’s why the police were here just now. I believe your wife and her friend were in a car that passed by about thirty minutes ago on the way to the airfield … I think Big Jim intends to harm them!”
“What! Are you serious! Where’s this airfield? Who the hell is Big Jim?” cried Alex.
“Oh dear, I must learn to think before I speak, I’ve made things worse, haven’t I? Look, you must let the police deal with it, I would hate to be responsible for anything happening to you as well,” pleaded Gwen, “why don’t you come inside and wait and I’ll tell you everything I know.”
James shook his head; his cheeks were burning. “We’re not standing around here waiting for news!” he barked. Seeing the despair on Gwen’s face, he reached out and touched her arm, “Don’t worry, we’re in the Force ourselves. Now, where is this airfield?”
***
Thirty minutes earlier
Cooper had driven this route many times before, chauffeuring holidaymakers or clients of the Baxter’s to and from the airfield. Slowing as they passed the main reception building, and the two hangers housing several small planes, he was surprised at how quiet it all was. In fact, unbeknown to him, the whole area was devoid of employees on the specific orders of Jim Baxter – he didn’t want anyone around to witness whom exactly he was taking up in his plane.
Making a swing to the left, Cooper brought the car to a halt several metres from a light aircraft waiting on the runway.
“Stay in the car,” said Big Jim, “I’ll go and make sure my plane’s fit for take-off. Keep the women in here until I tell you otherwise.”
Opening the passenger door, Jim Baxter climbed out and began to make his way towards his small plane. Hearing footsteps behind him, he looked round.
“Cooper, I need you to wait in the car with the women!”
Cooper’s heart was pounding hard in his chest, his hands felt clammy; there was something he had to get clear.
“What do you intend to do with them? Are you just taking them up to frighten them?”
Jim Baxter put his hands on the young man’s shoulders; Cooper could feel his boss’s giant fingers digging deep into his flesh through his jacket. “Cooper my boy, this is going to be your wake-up call. It’s time to prove to me that you have got what it takes to be my right-hand man. Those women, who I have to remind you, you found and brought to me, are evil, they want to destroy my family and me. You and I can’t let that happen, can we? So, we’re taking them up in the plane, but we are not bringing them back. Do you understand?”
His vivid blue eyes seemed to penetrate right into the back of the young man’s skull. Cooper nodded, yes, finally he understood, he understood only too well.
“Excellent, now be a good boy and get back in the car and wait for me!”
Dutifully, Cooper clicked opened the driver’s door and climbed back in. Not having been privy to the men’s conversation, Sam immediately sat forward.
“Cooper, please help us, we can’t get on that plane!” she cried, “Honestly, I think he means to kill us!”
Naturally, the minute both men had exited the car, Sam and Kate had been able to talk together for the first time in hours. The young man, who had held a shotgun to them at the old farmhouse, was still, they believed, their only hope of survival.
Cooper stared out in front of him, his hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly, his knuckles, were turning white. “You’re right, he wants you dead, you’re also right – I’m not like him.” He reached forward, opened the glove compartment and pulled out a handgun a
nd shoved it into the waistband of his jeans. “I’m going to get out of the car now, we’ve only one key fob with us, I want you to take it and lock yourselves in.”
“What are you going to do? Nothing stupid, I hope. If you kill him you’ll be done for murder, we can’t let you do that!” cried Kate.
He twisted round in his seat, his young eyes looked surprisingly calm – he took a deep breath. “I don’t intend to kill him, just maim him a little, so you can get away. When you hear the sound of the gun, listen for my shout and get in the driver’s seat and drive off. If you try and get away before I shoot him, believe me you won’t stand a chance. You won’t even get out of town. Got it?”
They got it, that didn’t mean they liked the idea of abandoning him, even with a wounded Jim Baxter. He opened the door again and threw them the fob. Click, they were locked in.
“We can’t just leave him Sam.”
“I know, and we won’t.”
From the car they could see Jim Baxter sitting at the controls doing last minute checks, while Cooper was reaching up and hammering on the door of the plane, yelling, “Big Jim, I need to talk to you!”
Jim Baxter took off his headphones; unfortunately, he hadn’t heard the young man shout, but he did notice him waving his arms around. He was annoyed, for once again, Cooper had disobeyed his order. He pushed open the plane’s door.
“I thought I told you to stay in the car!” He shook his head. “Hell doesn’t matter now, everything is working fine.” He unbuckled his seat belt and climbed out.
“Come on, let’s go and get the women. I’ll have one of them up front with me, and you can sit behind with the other one. When we’re over the lake, I’ll give you the signal to open the door on their side – that’s when you push them out. Understand?”
Cooper drew himself to full height. “No … I’m not going to do it!”
Jim Baxter’s whole body stiffened, he reached forward and grabbed Cooper’s arm and twisted it. He had done this to him before, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less.
“I don’t think I heard you right, boy! Now do as you’re told! There will be a big bonus in this for you when it’s all over. You’ll even be able to treat your old grandma.”
He released his grip, but Cooper stood his ground. “I won’t be party to murder! Let them go!”
Jim Baxter’s huge frame lunged forward, his muscle-bound forearms stretching out in search of his target. This time however, Cooper was ready for him and darted out of the way. At the same time, he reached behind him, pulled the gun from his waistband and pointed the barrel in Jim Baxter’s direction.
“I’ll fire it, Big Jim! I can’t let you kill those women!”
Jim Baxter threw back his head and roared. “You don’t think I’d keep a loaded gun in my car, do you? You’re more stupid than you look.”
He took a step towards Cooper, who responded by taking several steps back.
“I’ll shoot!”
“Shoot then!” Big Jim cried, his hands giving the ‘come on’ sign, “you want to be a big man, little boy, pull the bloody trigger, I dare you! When the gun doesn’t go off, I’m going to smash your head in with it!”
Coopers finger encased the trigger and slowly but surely, he squeezed. Unbeknown to Jim Baxter, the young man had had the forethought to load it earlier that morning. The bullet left the gun and sliced through its target’s left knee, causing the giant of a man to drop to the tarmac in agony. Shaking with the enormity of what he had done, Cooper sidled over towards him – it wasn’t his finest move.
Observing from the car, Sam and Kate dived behind the seat the second the shot was fired. Watching Cooper now edging towards his victim, they were about to rejoice, when to their horror, they saw Jim Baxter rear up and knock the gun from Coopers hand. Bending down, he retrieved it from the ground and aimed and fired at the young man, who instantly fell and lay motionless. Leaning over his body, Jim Baxter seemed to be searching for something. Covering their faces from the horror scene developing in front of them, the two women soon realised they were next in the firing line. For turning his attention towards the car, Jim Baxter fired again, shattering the front windscreen, fortunately missing Sam and Kate as they cowered behind the back seat.
“I know you’ve got the fucking key, I’m going to keep on firing until you open the door!”
Sam raised her head between the seats and peeked out. To her relief, she could see Cooper was moving and trying to drag himself in their direction – thank god he was still alive, at least for now! How many bullets were in the gun? She’d had a quick look at it when Cooper pulled it from the glove compartment. From her police training of firearms, she guessed it held six, which meant there could be four left in the barrel, more than enough to end all their lives.
“Kate, I think there must be four bullets left in the cylinder. We can either stay here while he peppers the car with them, in which case there’s a probability he hits one of us, or we get out and try and overpower him somehow. Being shot in the leg has weakened him, but he’s still a big strong guy. What do you think? We haven’t got long.”
Before Kate could answer, Jim Baxter turned on hearing Cooper’s grunts from the effort he was making. The brave lad had managed to get within several feet of his shadow, but to no avail, because Jim Baxter was now pointing the gun to the young man’s head. A loud scream came from the confines of the car, as Sam threw open the door.
“It’s us you want!” she cried, jumping out, “let him live and take us. We’ll go with you up in the plane.”
Jim Baxter lowered the gun and eased his body round; his left trouser leg was saturated with blood. Knowing her friend’s phobia towards too much of the red stuff, Kate positioned herself next to Sam just as her knees began to buckle beneath her.
“Sam’s not feeling well,” she pointed out, “she’ll have to sit down again.”
“She’ll have plenty of time to rest where she’s going … anyway, I’ve had a change of plan. It’s all fallen into place nicely, thanks to Cooper. There are several bullets left in the gun, at least one for each of you. I’ll put the blame of your deaths on my ex-employee here, who ‘went mad’ for some reason shooting me in the process.” He raised the gun again and with Sam in his sights he began limping towards her. “You first, the one with all the chat.”
“No!” screamed Kate, leaping forward she dived at him. Extending his arm, he pushed her aside.
Kate’s intervention however, caused Jim Baxter to be thrown off balance. The popping sound of the bullet prematurely leaving the gun, and thankfully missing its target, was drowned out by the deafening, whirling noise of helicopter blades circling overhead.
“Put down your weapon and fall to the ground or we’ll open fire!” demanded the voice from above.
Jim Baxter glowered at the hovering aircraft and then to the faces around him. He knew it was all over. Discarding the gun, he lowered himself onto the tarmac, simultaneously the chopper landed on the runway. Several armed police officers emerged and made their way purposely towards the splayed body on the ground and within seconds had snapped handcuffs around Jim Baxter’s wrists.
In the meantime, Kate had rushed over to Cooper, and was cradling the young man in her arms. Seeing blood oozing from a wound in his side, she removed her scarf and pressed it into the opening to try and stem the flow.
“You were so brave, you saved our lives,” she said, stroking his forehead.
Cooper looked up into her face. “Tell my grandma, I love her.”
“You’ll be able to tell her yourself. Hold on, help is here. You’re going to be fine, you’re not going to die … Over here!” she screamed, “he needs a doctor, now!”
A plain clothes female, rushed towards her. “Hi, I’m a doctor, out of the way please and let me and my colleagues take over. I need to get him on a stretcher and in the chopper as soon as possible, the sooner he’s in hospital the better.” Looking directly at Kate, she noticed her swollen lip. “Do you or your
friend need medical attention?”
“No, we’re both fine. My friend’s a bit woozy, only because she can’t stand the sight of blood.”
Kate moved aside, thankful Cooper was getting the help he desperately needed. She looked over towards Jim Baxter, now sporting a bandage around his knee, he was being escorted in the direction of the helicopter in front of the stretcher bearing Cooper. The powerful blades began to whirl again causing a frenzy of air and once again the mighty machine took to the sky heading east towards Christchurch. Hearing the welcoming wail of a police siren hurtling in their direction, Kate made her way over to Sam, who although still looking a little peaky, had already managed to get to her feet.
“The cavalry’s here. It’s like buses – you wait for ages and then two come along at the same time.”
Sam threw her arms around her. “I thought I was going to die. How stupid were you to throw yourself at him like that, he could have killed you!”
“Well he didn’t, and we’re both alive … Can we go home now?”
They looked at each other crying and laughing in equal measure over their ordeal.
“Yes please, I want to see Harry and smother him with kisses.”
Hugging each other, relieved their nightmare was finally over, they were unaware of another car approaching fast. Drawing up beside them the occupants leapt out.
Faraway Eyes_A fast-paced romantic murder mystery Page 16
