The youngster on the motorcycle broke the silence. ‘The water is coming in quite fast, mister. What are you going to do?’
Kevin dialled. ‘What do you need from me?’
‘Make, model, year and mileage.’
‘Land Rover Discovery 2.7 TD6 GS . . . 6 months old, 7,000 miles.’
A low whistle echoed down the line. ‘Let me see now . . . what does my little trade book tell me?’ The voice was playing with him. Kevin knew it. ‘Book price is £24,750 but I’m a reasonable man.’
‘Like fuck!’
‘What was that?’ . . . Kevin remained tight lipped. The voice came back. ‘You’re right; I don’t have to be reasonable. Where were we . . . Oh yes, £24,750. Now ten per cent of that is . . ? I never could remember the last of the three R’s . . . Let’s round it off. You owe me £2,500 on the nose, and I need that in my bank before I get out of bed.’
‘Give me your bank details now and I will organise a transfer. It will be in place by the time you get down here.’
‘Account name is Edward Sturgess; Bank is’… he reeled off all the details that were required.
Kevin listened; he had a steely resolve about him. He had come to terms with the crisis and was already scheming on a plan of action. He needed to meet this faceless opportunist, weigh him up and plan his revenge.
Catherine was familiar with telephonic banking and quickly made the transfer.
The sea was only a few yards from the car when a tractor appeared from the large house overlooking the beach. It approached rapidly, stopping about a hundred yards before them; the driver could be seen talking on his mobile.
‘What’s he doing? Look at the water . . . we’re going to lose our car!’ Catherine pulled at Kevin’s arm. ‘Can’t you do something?’
‘He’s checking with the bank . . . God . . . the money grabbing bastard.’
The tractor stood motionless as though deliberately provoking their anguish; at last it jerked forward, coming to a stop in front of the stranded car. Sturgess jumped out to attach the tow-rope, ignoring them completely. Once connected, he motioned for them to get into their vehicle. The tow rope came under tension as the tractor eased forward; the tone of the exhaust grew louder and deepened as black smoke billowed from the vertical stack. Kevin had started the Discovery motor and with the all wheel drive adding to the tractor’s pull, they finally broke free and set off up the beach away from the advancing water.
Now on firm sand, they approached the road. ‘Right Mister Thieving Bastard, you picked the wrong guy to tangle with.’
‘No Kevin . . . please just leave it. We made a mistake.’ Catherine’s plea failed to register on her blinkered partner.
They stopped close to the road and Kevin readied himself to challenge this ruthless chancer who had caused them so much grief. Sturgess climbed from the tractor. Kevin moved forward, but stopped dead in his tracks. A massive Pit-Bull cross, leapt from the cab; the wild eyed animal looked ferocious. Around its neck was a thick studded collar with short heavy spikes, a heavy chain halted its forward lunge.
Bastard, muttered Kevin under his breath. He eyed Sturgess up and down. Six foot; wiry frame . . . the way he restrained the now growling and scowling hound from hell, showed he had great strength of arm. Sturgess released the tow-rope from the
Discovery, and threw it into the back of the tractor’s cab.
‘Yer know what they say about these things?’ He pointed at the Discovery.
‘The better the four-wheel drive . . . the further out yer get stuck!’ And with that, he drove off, smirking at them over his shoulder.
The youngster had followed them up the beach and the three of them stood together, watching as the tractor headed back to its lair. As they turned away, he revved up his motorcycle and sped away. Laughing back at them he yelled, ‘You were lucky. My Dad was in a good mood today!’
Chapter 23
Kevin climbed back into the Rover, seething with anger at the humiliation that he had been forced to endure. His eyes were still on the tractor as it pulled off the beach and scurried out of sight.
Nothing was said as Catherine settled herself next to him; buckling her belt, she leant back and closed her eyes. My God, this trip was supposed to be a second honeymoon to try and put some meaning back into our marriage . . . and look at it! She was close to tears. As they reached the road Kevin’s anger and venom finally erupted. All the force he could raise was transferred to the gas pedal. The V-six turbo diesel snarled with rage as the vehicle leapt into life. The Pirelli Scorpion tyres stretched and screamed as all four wheels attempted to get some grip on the smooth tar macadam.
Catherine was forced back into the seat as the accelerating G force hit her in the back. Shit, I don’t need this, and she brought her hands up to cover her face . . . and tears.
Kevin tore through the gears . . . second . . . third . . . fourth, the car was hurtling along then suddenly . . . everything changed. It was quiet, there was no more pressure in her back; they were coasting. Her eyes remained closed as she waited for the crunch.
A voice, almost chirpy, broke the silence. ‘That’s just what we need!’
Catherine lowered her hands and as she opened her bleary eyes she could see Kevin looking backwards over his right shoulder. He brought the vehicle down to a crawl then quickly chanced a U turn. He motored quietly back to a detached house and turned into the drive. Catherine eyed up the building, “Beach View B&B.” The house had been around a while. The open-sided porch-way was draped in Clematis, its violet blooms festooning the entrance. It looked cosy and welcoming.
Kevin was already out of the car but Catherine was surprised to see that he was not looking at the boarding house. Following his gaze she saw that a few hundred yards away across the road, stood the Sturgess house. The house that was home to the man that was responsible for subjecting them to the most dreadful ordeal.
‘Oh God no! Let’s move on; let’s find somewhere else.’
‘No! . . . No! . . . this will do just fine . . . in fact it couldn’t be better.’ He switched off the motor. Catherine was pleased with Kevin’s recovery but the reason for the rapid change in his demeanour worried her.
‘Wait here; I’ll check it out and see if they’ve got any room.’
‘Well it does say vacancies, and since when did you take on this line of work; being helpful?’ Kevin laughed as he skipped into the house.
“Beach View” was a pleasant enough venue and Mrs. Vaughan, the landlady, very agreeable. She showed Kevin a rear facing room that was aired and ready for occupation, but happily changed that to a sea view at his request. The sea view wasn’t
Kevin’s focus but it had a perfect view of the warlord’s beach house.
‘This is great,’ his conceited smile went unseen.
What a nice man. Mrs. Vaughan felt immediately at ease with her new guest.
‘I’ll get the room made up for you. How many nights will you be staying?’
Kevin slowly turned away from the window. ‘Two nights if we may; tonight and tomorrow.’
‘Oh, so short!’
He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Pressure of work, you know how it is.’
‘Ah yes, I’m afraid I do.’ They arrived back at the office desk, ‘Let’s book you in . . . Name?’
‘Mr. and Mrs. Carter; shall I spell it?’ he answered cheekily.
‘No, I might be getting on a bit, but I think I can manage that,’ she replied sweetly. After a light meal they spent a quiet evening in their guest-house apartment sharing drinks on the small balcony overlooking the beach. Catherine, bored with the
TV buried herself in a book. It was approaching seven o’clock. Kevin watched the beach-house intently, waiting for signs of life; he was eventually rewarded. The dog appeared, dragging the bully behind him. He watched without comment, Catherine oblivious to his new interest.
Ah, he’s going for a walk, now that’s handy. He watched Sturgess set off along the path leading along the cliff t
op and looked at his watch. It was five after seven.
Let’s see how long this little jaunt takes him. Kevin sipped his scotch and waited. It was almost an hour before they reappeared and the light was now fading.
He’s come back along the same path. That’s good. No round trip.
Chapter 24
Kevin and Catherine woke almost together. ‘Morning,’ he mumbled in her direction. ‘What time is it?’
‘About 7.30 I think.’ Catherine leapt from the bed. ‘Come on get up. Let’s get ourselves down to breakfast before it’s too late. It’s going to be a beautiful day and we have to be out of here by eleven?’
It was time for the caring Kevin to appear. ‘I’ve been thinking about that. We had such a shit day yesterday, why don’t we spend another night here? Mrs. Vaughan seems such a nice dear. She’s only got us and another couple here. I’m sure she’d be happy for us to stay on.’
Catherine blinked in disbelief. ‘You do surprise me sometimes. After yesterday’s stuff-up, I thought the last place you’d want to be was here.’ Catherine was unaware that Kevin had already booked a second night’s stay for them. She would have been seriously concerned had she also known that he had used a false name and address.
‘So it’s agreed then. I’ll speak to the old biddy when we get down there and let’s have a great day; do a bit of exploring.’
Back in their room, Catherine gazed out of the open window. With her chin resting on her hands she tried to work up some enthusiasm but was struggling to do so. Her mind, her thinking, her focus; all were in tatters. Where had that person, that happy, popular person gone? Kevin Crystal had systematically destroyed her confidence. The passion that had been so intense had disappeared. His excuses for not being home in the evenings had worn thin. Now that he had entrapped her he had seemingly lost all interest. Although earning good money, they had little to show for it. Kevin’s time and money was spent on the latest electronic gadgets and “Boys Toys”. The venture into the 4-wheel drive fraternity was Catherine’s last ditch attempt to try to get him involved into something that they could do together. Hopefully the passion would return, but what should have been a gloriously happy day had been reduced to a veritable nightmare.
It’s no good. I've got to try to salvage what we have: turn it into something worthwhile. She steadied herself: I have to try.
Kevin had returned, she approached him; a forced smile lit up her face masking the hurt. ‘Right, where are we going? What shall I wear?’ She paraded around, dangling various options of clothing across her slight frame; everything looked good on her.
Kevin wasn’t really paying attention. He was slyly looking from behind a curtain up at the house across the road. ‘We’ll put some walking gear on. I don’t want to go far but I’d love to have a look at the sea views from the cliff top over that way.’ deliberately waving in the general direction, way to the right, away from the beach house. Catherine would as likely refuse if she thought they might bump into the occupant.
‘Good idea. We need some fresh air in our lungs. Let’s go!’ They set off up the pathway that lay out in front of them. The path led them around the Bluff where it narrowed considerably into a single track. This was not really what Catherine was looking for, as she now had to walk behind Kevin in single file.
‘Now I know what feels like to be an Arab’s wife, following behind you like this.’
Kevin laughed at her bleating comment. ‘There’s a big difference; they don’t moan.’
Catherine cussed to herself, give ‘em time . . . give ‘em time.
‘I’m sure it will open up,’ Kevin yelled over his shoulder. They carried on for a while but the path didn’t improve, in fact it became a little too tortuous. Kevin was keeping a close watch on the time and after about fifteen minutes they arrived at a point where the path strayed towards the precipitous cliff; he stopped. ‘OK, I think we have come far enough.’
‘Gosh Kevin, the views are staggering’. She held him tightly around the waist. ‘It’s absolutely fabulous. I’m so glad we came.’ They stood for a while, taking in the beauty of their surroundings. Catherine broke the silence. ‘Come on, it scares me; we’re too close to the edge. Let’s go back and have some tea.’
Catherine led the way, retracing their steps down the path which gave Kevin a good chance to make a mental note of the topography. They arrived back at the B&B, a little out of breath but nevertheless refreshed from their walk. Mrs. Vaughan was welcoming and motioned them towards the dining room where tea and biscuits were laid out. The other couple were already seated and nodded to acknowledge Kevin and Catherine’s presence. They were too wrapped up in their own company to want to engage the Crystals in conversation.
Catherine needed the ladies’ rest room and made her excuses. The toilets were situated close to the reception area and on her way back, noticed that the hotel register lay open on the counter. Being naturally nosey she glanced at the guest list and was surprised to see that Kevin had not yet signed them in. She also noticed that the other couple had signed in under the name of Carter and she knew that that was not their name. Their luggage had been sitting in the hall area the previous evening and she noticed that it was labelled, “Mr. and Mrs. Tonks”. Had she flipped the page back one leaf, she would have seen that “Mr. and Mrs. Tonks” were indeed booked in correctly.
Kevin was sipping his tea when Catherine returned.
She whispered to him, ‘You know that couple,’ and she motioned towards them,
‘They have booked in under the name of Carter, but their name is actually Tonks. Why would they do that?’
The colour drained from Kevin’s face, but he gathered himself. ‘Who knows what people do. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure they have their reasons. Perhaps it’s not his wife. C’mon, let’s go!’ They got up to leave; the Tonks waved them a goodbye.
Catherine returned the wave and smiling to herself, muttered . . . strange people. She pulled at Kevin’s arm, ‘We’ve got the whole day ahead of us; let’s go. I just need to change my shoes, put on something a little lighter. How about you?’
‘I’m good . . . I’ll wait here for you. Don’t take all day!’
Chapter 25
Town is perhaps too grand a word to describe Llantywyn. The main seafront was strewn with the usual promenade shops, cafés and hotels and the High Street that ran behind it had a good selection of shops, pubs and boarding houses. There were no major retail stores but it did boast a reasonable Spar. The motor agency where they had collected their Discovery the previous day lay at the end of the High St. That was roughly the extent of central Llantywyn and as it was mid September, all was pretty quiet.
Parking up on the seafront, they began to amble along the promenade.
Although only browsing, Catherine soon realised that there was little choice to keep their interest up.
‘Let’s go through to the High St.’ Kevin followed quietly. He was with her in body but in mind he was somewhere else entirely. He was already planning the evening. The vision of Edward Sturgess was emblazoned across his mind. He could see nothing else beyond it.
Catherine had found something of interest. A fancy goods store had a sale on handbags and one had caught her eye.
Kevin noticed the interest and seized his chance. ‘Why don’t you go in and have a look at what they’ve got. I need to drop in at the Land Rover place . . . just a little something I need to ask Stan about.’
‘OK,’ she replied without looking up, ‘You won’t be long . . . will you?’
‘Ten minutes tops, I’ll see you back here.’ And he was gone. Kevin briskly covered the two hundred or so yards to Frisbee Motors.
Stan saw him from across the showroom floor and wandered over. ‘Hi Kevin, how are you doing? Where’s Catherine?’
‘She's just popped into a shop on the High Street . . . told me to say hello.’
‘Did you sort yourself out on the beach yesterday?’
‘Yes, I’m afraid I panicked. A
fter I spoke with you, I just really went for it and with low range and plenty of power we managed to get ourselves clear. Scared us though . . . mind you I should have known the Disco’ wouldn’t have got stuck so easily. We were in town and I just popped in to say thanks again for getting us this deal on the motor. We really are grateful; and that spare wheel fitment for the rear door works a treat.’
‘Glad to have been of help.’ And with that, Kevin made his getaway. ‘Give my love to Catherine.’ He waved a hand in Kevin’s direction and watched as he left and walked away past the showroom windows. Stan was a good judge of character. He had heard Kevin speak down to Catherine when he thought no one was about; he was not impressed. Twat, he said under his breath. Something not quite right with that fella.
Kevin had his own thoughts about Stan. Supercilious git! Now on his way back, he passed a liquor store. Ah! I need something for Catherine; something she likes. A bottle of Baileys should do the trick.
He wandered back; Catherine was waiting, new handbag in hand. She waved it under his nose. ‘Got this super bargain at half price.’
‘Half price of what?’
‘Never mind . . . Let’s go.’ She smiled at him over her shoulder. ‘You’re happy if I’m happy aren’t you?’
‘Fucking ecstatic: I’m hungry let’s go and eat.’
The afternoon was spent motoring the coast road . . . sightseeing. Catherine found that she was doing all of the talking with Kevin offering little in return.
Kevin’s edginess was getting the better of him. ‘I’m getting bored. Once you've seen one seascape . . .’ the sentence was left unfinished.
‘Just turn around; take me back!’ The return trip was made in silence. They arrived back at their digs; Catherine hurriedly led the way up to their room.
A Killer's Calling: Incite to Murder 1 Page 10
