The Games Keeper
Page 18
‘If we don’t make it, you’re a dead man,’ Ozgood snapped, the tremble in his voice betraying his frayed nerves.
Then they were stepping out of the trees onto the duel carriageway overpass bridge. Slim glanced back over his shoulder, at the only two distant lights visible: one outside light on the corner wall of a barn, and the other from Ellie Ozgood’s bedroom window. He had mistakenly thought she was looking at the trees that night, but she had been watching the bridge, as she had undoubtedly been doing earlier today when Ollie dropped off the bag.
He turned away. There, in the darkness at the top of the gentle slope, a figure, face hidden beneath the hood of a duffel coat, was hurrying towards the ninth pillar along.
Ozgood had seen her too. ‘Ellie! Stop!’ he screamed, his voice cracking. ‘Wait! Don’t touch it!’
The figure paused a moment, half twisted to look at them, then carried on moving. On the other side of the bridge, Slim saw a car waiting, parked up against the verge.
‘No, Ellie! Don’t!’
The figure didn’t stop. It reached over the bridge’s side rail, stretching for something that had been hung over the other side.
A leather bag.
‘No!’
A loud pop sounded. A small shockwave struck Slim, knocking him off his feet. From the ground he watched the figure in the jacket crumple, falling first to its knees, then dropping face first, hitting the pavement with a sharp crack, the shredded remains of the bag pluming out like the feathers of a bird struck by a car.
‘Ellie!’ Ozgood screamed, diving at the figure and rolling it over. Then, quieter: ‘Ellie?’
A car door slammed. A lithe figure got out and came running across the bridge. A street light illuminated a young woman’s pale face.
‘You bastard!’ Ellie screamed, aiming a kick at her father. ‘You worthless bastard!’
Ollie, regaining his composure, pushed the body away and stood up.
‘Ellie, I’m so glad you’re safe.’ He stepped towards her, reaching as though to hug her, then swung a vicious punch into her face. As she sagged to her knees, he shouted, ‘You were behind this? After everything I’ve done for you….’
Ellie shook her head, then looked up. ‘I hate you!’ she screamed, jumping up, arms flailing as she attacked her father in return. ‘I hate you more than anything in the world!’
While father and daughter berated each other, Slim inched back across the bridge. It was only a matter of time before they remembered him.
Below, a car roared past on the duel carriageway.
Slim nodded, his mind made up. He had one chance to get away.
As Ozgood turned and bellowed, ‘Hardy!’, Slim stumbled for the barrier and dived head first over the railings.
He got lucky. He was close enough to the roadside that instead of plummeting straight down to the roadway and his death, he struck a sloping embankment and rolled the rest of the way. Barely conscious, he ignored a faint shout from overhead as he stumbled to his feet and staggered out into the road. As the first headlights approached he wished he had the ability to wave. The best he could do was offer a desperate shake of the head, and to his relief he saw the car slow.
As a driver got out and shouted something Slim could barely understand, he glanced up at the bridge, but both Ollie and Ellie Ozgood had gone.
Epilogue
Trying to read a newspaper with one arm fully casted and a smaller one on the other wrist wasn’t the easiest thing Slim had ever done, but at least the hotel reception was warm and the seat beneath him soft. It was a far improvement from the bed in Derriford Hospital which had only released him two days before.
The article open in front of him was a continuing story of the trials of Oliver and Eleanor Ozgood. Ollie was set to go down for many years after admitting to two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one of voluntary, as well as numerous assault and kidnapping charges. Whether he would ever be charged for accusations relating to Vincent’s was an industrial legal case that might drag on for years, but the big deal for the prosecution was proving whether the death of Shelly Holland—electrocuted by a frayed wire in her electric blanket while she slept—was murder or accidental. The case was ongoing. Meanwhile, for attempting to blackmail her own father, Ellie was likely to receive only a minimal sentence at worst. Those villagers he had spoken to had hoped she took some of her family wealth and moved far away.
‘Anything interesting?’ Cathy asked, appearing next to him.
Slim closed the newspaper and gave her a smile. ‘Oh, not much.’
‘I hear you went to Thomas Croad’s funeral.’
Slim shrugged. ‘I was one of only three people there, including the vicar and the nurse pushing my chair. I felt he deserved better. Ellie was as cowardly as her father for coercing him into her plan. Allegedly she didn’t tell him until the morning of the deal.’
‘The girl’s like a spider,’ Cathy said. ‘In many ways Dennis Sharp had a lucky escape. No one will much miss Scuttleworth’s own bogeyman. The air feels better already.’ She glanced at the door. ‘Oh, here they come. You need some help?’
‘Please.’
Cathy took Slim’s arm and helped him into the function room where the other guests were waiting. She left him near the back then headed for her family seat near the front. Jimmy stood up there beside his father, looking like a changed man in a suit and tie. He nodded at Slim then gave the briefest of smiles.
The doors opened to reveal Tom and Mandy. The girl, heavily pregnant, looked radiant in a flowing dress. Her hair was tied up, and the dyed pink strands made her look as though she wore confetti in her hair. As she passed, she glanced at Slim and mouthed, thank you.
Later, standing in a corner at the reception party, Slim thought about the phone call he had received from Kay a day after entering hospital. Ollie’s second tour had been as part of the bomb squad. It figured that if Ollie could diffuse one, he could make one too.
Unable to drink due to medication even if he had wanted to, Slim was still standing in the corner when Kenny Kent wandered over.
‘I wanted to thank you,’ Kenny said. ‘I don’t know what you said to my boy, but I think you made a man of him. Do you think they’ll last? She’s only eighteen.’
Slim shrugged. ‘They have as good a chance as any. I imagine it’ll be tough, so the kid’ll need an attentive grandfather. You’ll only get a couple of years for dangerous driving if you come clean.’
Kenny looked down. ‘You know it was me then?’
‘Dennis wasn’t much of a driver but neither Croad nor Ozgood had a vehicle which could have chased him down there. I saw what you were driving, and saw what they had available. No comparison. I asked around to see how long you’d had that four-wheel. Long enough.’
Kenny nodded, then sighed. ‘I hated those Christmas festivals because they always reminded me of Mary. When I walked in to pick up Jimmy, I couldn’t believe the nerve of him. The case with Ellie had only been dropped a couple of days before, and there he was, acting like the centre of the community. Even then I would probably have said nothing, but I lost it when I saw Jimmy over there by his stall. I balled Dennis out a bit, and he stormed out.’ Kenny shrugged. ‘I should have left it there, but I went over the pub, had a couple, and then went looking for him. I only planned to give him a bit of a slap, but when I drove down to his place, he was putting something in his car. I went after him. I trailed him for a bit and was about to give up when he went and turned down Gunhill Hollow. I followed him down and saw him go through the barrier down into the woods there.’
‘Ozgood told me he called the police, but he didn’t, did he? It was you.’
‘I climbed down far enough to see the flames. I was a bit off my head so I panicked and left him there. Went back, called the police from outside the church on my way home. Expected them to show up the next morning but no one ever came.’
‘What are you going to do now?’
‘I’ve already called the police,
said I need to have a word. An officer is coming around tomorrow.’
Slim nodded. ‘I hope it goes well.’
‘I made a mistake, and I deserve what I get,’ Kenny said.
‘There isn’t a man among us who hasn’t made a mistake at some point,’ Slim said.
Kenny grunted as though unsure whether Slim was right or not, then moved off back into the party. It was now in full swing, a grinning Jimmy delicately leading a beaming Mandy around the dance floor.
Slim smiled. They’d be all right. Pushing himself gingerly away from the wall, he looked around the residents of Scuttleworth one last time, then turned and headed out into the night.
SLOW TRAIN
THE SLIM HARDY MYSTERIES #4
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Now available for pre-order
About the Author
Jack Benton is a pen name of Chris Ward, the author of the dystopian Tube Riders series, the horror/science fiction Tales of Crow series, and the Endinfinium YA fantasy series, as well as numerous other well-received stand alone novels.
The Games Keeper is the third volume in the Slim Hardy mystery series.
Chris would love to hear from you:
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chrisward@amillionmilesfromanywhere.net
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Acknowledgments
Big thanks as always to those of you who provided help and encouragement. My proofreader Jenny, and the guys at The Cover Collection get a special heads up, as does as always, my muse, Jenny Twist.
In addition, extra thanks goes to my Patreon supporters, in particular to Amaranth Dawe, Charles Urban, Janet Hodgson, Juozas Kasiulis, Leigh McEwan, Teri L. Ruscak, James Edward Lee, Catherine Crispin, Christina Matthews, Alan MacDonald, and Eda Ridgeway.
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