Over the next hour, Roger Maynard sat stunned as Ian told him in strict confidence all about Kevin O’Connor and his family and what they got up to. None of it could ever be printed because the police didn’t have the resources, or it seemed the will, to look into matters more deeply. And without evidence the police couldn’t act and the Trentbridge Times were unable to print anything for fear of being sued.
Chapter Fifteen
ANONYMOUS THREATS
Besides the story that had been printed in the Trentbridge Times, the reporter told Roger about the other activities the O’Connor family was suspected of being involved with.
“Look, Mr Maynard, the guy who did this job before me warned me about them. He and his family were threatened after he tried to expose them. He found a new job in Leicester to get away from them. I’m not married, and my family live miles away, and I’ve only been the reporter for two months, but in that time I’ve received a couple of anonymous threats that I know they were behind, but of course, I cannot prove anything.
“There is circumstantial evidence the family control a network of criminal activity. We believe they are behind the theft of priceless artefacts from museums and they use intimidation and actual violence to get vulnerable men to undertake back-breaking work for them. These men are held prisoner in sheds at the back of some land behind the Two Oaks Caravan Park, but nobody seems to know who owns the land. They are forced to work long hours and undertake heavy manual labour for little or no money. There is also evidence Kevin O’Connor gets these men to claim benefits and then takes the money for himself. They are never allowed outside of the compound unless supervised by O’Connor or a member of his gang so the men can’t alert the authorities or tell anyone about their mistreatment. The work is hard and dirty with no protective clothing or eye goggles provided. They have to go round collecting scrap metal, clean or repair tools and car engines. The men are treated like dogs.”
Ian then went on to tell Roger that he was working on a story about O’Connor’s wife; a lady called Sadie who it appeared was running a puppy farm and advertising home-bred healthy puppies. Four people came forward to say they were unfortunate customers who had bought the puppies from her and were left counting a terrible cost. They had paid her up to £600 for Labrador puppies, but the animals had fallen ill, with one dying from highly contagious parvovirus.
The newspaper was looking into the whole episode of Sadie who was intent on putting profit over animal welfare. A vet the newspaper had spoken to told them that the puppies were being removed from their mother far too early because it was easier to sell them before they stopped being cute.
The reporter also mentioned how the only time Kevin had been convicted was when Trading Standards took him to court over shoddy building work and conning elderly people for work that hadn’t been undertaken. How he and his family members would drive them to their bank and get them to withdraw thousands of pounds in cash.
According to a source Ian had spoken to, rumour had it the police also believed the family were behind a lot of other criminal activity, but the police didn’t seem willing to do anything about it. They seemed genuinely afraid of the family.
There were rumours Kevin was the person responsible for a new synthetic illegal drug called Monkey dust. Also known as MDPV or Bath Salts.
“We are seeing more and more reports of people harming themselves after taking the drug. You may have seen one or two articles we’ve already run and I’m sure you will be reading a lot more about it over the coming weeks. It leads to hallucinations, much like LSD and causes severe paranoia. For other users, it turns them into a zombie-like state. It also seems to give people superhuman strength. They lose all sense of pain. They think they are Superman. We are running a story this week of a guy who jumped off the roof of a house and landed on a car then just got up and walked away as if nothing had happened. An anonymous source of mine says the O’Connor’s are behind it. He tells me Tyson is selling it to dealers as he goes round the clubs.”
Roger told Ian. “I can’t believe the police are powerless to do something about these people. I’ve been looking into them to find information I could pass on to the police, to try to get some sort of justice for my daughter, but it all takes so much time. Before my daughter’s death, I had planned a few days away on a cruise starting next week, but I might cancel it and look deeper into the O’Connor’s. Surely someone has to stand up to them.”
Before the two men parted, Ian gave Roger a last piece of advice.
“I’m sorry for what happened to your daughter, but I must advise you not to get involved with these people. They are unscrupulous, with a total disregard for the law. If you do decide to get try to uncover their activities, watch your back and tread carefully or who knows what might happen. And don’t expect much help from the police.”
Chapter Sixteen
OUT OF COURT
In his mind, Roger kept going over the time spent sitting in the courtroom during the trial. He had seen just how cold the man in the dock had been. And he had witnessed first-hand the members of the man’s family sitting around him in the public gallery. The things he had overheard them say. The threats they had
