One of the workmen dropped an empty plastic bucket. Tyson kicked the man and went to punch him as he cowered away. Roger could see Tyson barking orders at them.
They carried a large heavy ground digger from the van to the front driveway and attached it to the portable generator and started it up. Roger watched as Tyson spoke to one of the men and he picked up the digger and started work. The noise was extremely loud and being an engineer, Roger knew about such work. He was alarmed to see the man working without any form of ear protection.
The other man came across and shovelled the pieces of old driveway into a wheelbarrow and made a pile next to the road. Roger watched the two men working away. Many of the things he saw horrified him. The men were clearly working with old and dangerous tools. Instead of heavy boots, they were wearing scruffy trainers and the way they were being forced to labour with Tyson ordering them around, when not sitting in the van on his mobile, were far outside of modern health and safety laws.
It was exactly as the reporter from the newspaper had described. These men seemed to be modern-day slaves.
Roger had purchased some one-way blackout film for the rear windows of the van. This meant he could see out, but anyone attempting to look into the van could not see inside. He sat on the floor with the telephoto lens of his newly acquired camera taking pictures of what was happening.
Chapter Twenty
THE LION AND LAMB
Who were these men and why were they prepared to work under what he considered to be Victorian era conditions? The reporter had mentioned something about this and Roger had also read things in the national newspapers, men being used as virtual slave labour. Is that what was going on here? It certainly looked like it. Another dirty string to the O’Connor bow. Roger took out the camera with its telephoto lens and took shots of the men working; he managed to capture one or two where Tyson was punching one of the men.
After observing the work for over two hours, Roger decided he’d seen enough. He didn’t think he would learn much more from being there. Along with the photos, he made detailed notes. This would all be strong evidence for him to present to the police.
What he wanted to do next was see if Kevin O’Connor would visit the pub again so Roger could find a way to attach a tracker to his 4x4 while it was in the car park.
From his observation so far, he’d seen Kevin liked to go home for lunch at around one o’clock and leave again at around two.
Putting a tracking device on Kevin’s 4x4 would mean Roger could sit at home and observe the places he visited. If the opportunity arose, Roger might even put a tracker onto the tarmac Transit van. And where had those two men come from? Tyson hadn’t stopped to pick them up from anywhere. He’d left home and gone straight to the house they were tarmacking. Did the two men live in the O’Connor’s’ house? Then he recalled the reporter mentioning the sheds at the back of the O’Connor property.
At ten minutes past two, Roger noticed the black 4x4 leaving the O’Connor driveway. He followed at what he judged to be a safe distance. After all the time and effort, not to mention the expense he’d put into it, he didn’t want to spook the driver or make him aware he was being followed.
Just as he’d done before, Kevin made his way to the Lion and Lamb pub and stopped along the car park’s right-hand side wall. Roger drove past the pub in order to give Kevin some time to get out of his vehicle and walk into the pub before he turned round and parked as close to his vehicle as possible.
Leaving three minutes, which seemed more than enough time, as Roger drove into the pub car park, he was pleased to see there was a gap next to the 4x4. He reversed into the space so his driver door would be next to Kevin’s passenger side. Roger got out and walked round to the back doors of the van. There didn’t appear to be anyone in the car park, and he checked to ensure Kevin wasn’t still sitting in the driver’s seat.
Once he was certain no one would was observing him, he placed the tracking device underneath the 4x4 where he felt it wouldn’t be seen. The powerful magnet clicked as it came into contact with the metal. Roger got back in his van and checked the website on his phone to ensure the transmitter on the tracker was turned on. When he was satisfied it was working, he drove off. Judging by his previous visit, Kevin could be in the Lion and Lamb for quite some time. And if he left to go anywhere, then Roger would know without having to follow him. The £80 he paid for each device seemed like money well spent.
As it was well after 2 p.m, he could go to the collection point for the fishing gear and binoculars he’d ordered.
After Roger had all the items, he took them back to the three-bedroom house he was renting and unpacked them. A fishing rod, fishing line and hooks. The Wychwood HD Compact Brolly with groundsheet was amazing. It even included a folding bed that could also be used as a chair. The other goods included a fisherman’s basket and a large foldaway trolley to carry all the gear. Normally the basket would be used for bait and fishing tackle, but as Roger had another use for it, he would store the binoculars and his food and drink instead.
After clearing all the items away and putting the empty packaging in the refuse bins, Roger
