Of course. By doing that she’d tricked him into revealing all four numbers and with that information they had drained his account, leaving him penniless and the bank was now saying it was ‘all his fault’.
He had given his statement of the accident because it was the right thing to do. But having suffered at the hands of criminals and then been told by the police that nothing could be done had played on his mind. So why should he do them a favour when they weren’t prepared to do anything to help him?
He worked bloody hard for that money. And if he didn’t get it back he would have to let down his son who was due to get his exam results the following month and on the back of good results was expecting a car.
Will had been on social media and it seemed lots of people were in the same boat. Their accounts had been hacked and the bank was saying it was nothing to do with them. Lots of posts on Facebook were saying the bank’s initials TSB stood for Totally Shit Bank.
This opportunity held a chance of getting his money back and be able to keep his promise to his son. All he had to do was hold his nerve and pretend he wasn’t frightened by the threats, although inside he was petrified.
He lived alone. His wife had left fourteen months earlier after he came home early one day not feeling well at work and found her ‘moaning her head off’ in their bed with one of her work colleagues.
The guy was big, over six feet tall, with muscles on his muscles; otherwise Will would have hit him. Reporting their activities to the company they worked for and telling the man’s wife had at least given Will some satisfaction.
It appears they had run off to Bournemouth together. Good riddance. The only thing Will missed was his son.
Will drove home, thinking of the best way to proceed.
After putting a frozen curry in the oven, he sat down at the kitchen table.
As he sat deep in thought, the oven timer went off, and the strong flavours of his packet curry for one filled his nostrils. His 900-calorie meal was ready.
Now all he had to do was wait to see if the men came back with his money.
Chapter Twelve
CROWN COURT TRIAL - DAY ONE
The first day of the trial was taken up by all the formal legalities involved in such a case.
The local press had sent a reporter and photographer to cover the event, and they took up position outside the court to interview people and take photographs of everyone they could.
Kevin O’Connor arrived surrounded by family and friends, shielding him from the photographer as much as they could.
Inside the court an official read out the charges before her honour Judge Nicola Hargreaves:
1. That on the 7th of July 2018 at Pickstone High Street you drove a vehicle in such a manner as to cause the deaths of two people, namely Julie Ann Maynard and Sarah Rose Parks.
2. That on the same date you left the scene of the accident, which is an offence under Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
After the charges had been read out, Kevin O’Connor entered his plea on both counts: “Not Guilty.”
The prosecution barrister stood up to address the court and the jury.
“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Sebastian Cooper. I am the barrister for the prosecution and it is my job to show you the facts and the evidence that will prove beyond reasonable doubt it was, in fact, Mr Kevin O’Connor who was driving the Ford Kuga 4x4 on July 7th. He alone was the person responsible for the death of two young girls who were crossing the road when the defendant overtook a car that had stopped in front of him. And that, while on his phone, Mr O’Connor plowed into the two young women while driving at excessive speed and killed them instantly.
“You will hear from a most reliable witness that after the incident Kevin O’Connor calmly and deliberately got out of his vehicle and walked away from the scene.
“You will hear evidence that Mr O’Connor, the man in the dock, didn’t even bother to check and see if the two people he had just run over were alive or dead.
“You will hear how, from a nearby road, he phoned a family member to come and collect him.
“And how he was seen getting into the passenger side of a vehicle that was subsequently followed by a police car and found parked at his home.
“You will be able to view CCTV footage from a camera covering the entrance to the area where Mr O’Connor lives that shows the vehicle involved left there at 2.13 p.m.
“You will hear from the phone company that his mobile gave out a signal placing him in the area at the time of the crash.
“And you will learn how he lied to the police about his whereabouts, claiming he was at home all day when in fact he was not.
“Finally, when two police officers visited his home less than an hour after the accident, he was seen wearing the same clothes as the witness described.”
The defence barrister Ursula Quinn took to the floor. “As my first witness, I would like to call my client Mr Kevin O’Connor. Now, Mr O’Connor, I would remind you that you are under oath, do you understand?”
“Yes, I do. I take swearing on the bible very seriously.”
“Fine. Now perhaps you can answer some questions for the jury to help them understand things clearly. First of all, the prosecution has told us you were driving the vehicle on that day. Can you tell us why they might have thought that?”
“I’m not sure, but this is not the first time I have been mistaken for someone else. Two
