“Same place as last time. Tonight at nine o’clock.”
The line went dead. Will was surprised the man had agreed so easily but at the same time relieved. He was desperate for the cash.
The company he worked for was closing down the local branch, but they had other branches and one of them was in Poole, only a few miles from Bournemouth and if he wanted to move there he’d been told they had a vacancy for him. He didn’t really want to move there but at least that way he’d be near his son. But he needed some money for the move and a rent deposit on a flat. Paying half of his wages to his ex-wife for their son’s upkeep wasn’t easy. The cash from O’Connor would come in handy.
At eight fifteen, Roger pressed the remote control to open the garage door and put the gear on his Range Rover into drive. He was heading across town to try to speak with the witness in his daughter’s court case who had seemingly changed his mind about the events. Roger wanted to get to the bottom of it. He was hoping the man would be receptive. He wouldn’t lose his temper or make threats. He just wanted to find the truth and get justice for his daughter and her friend.
It was 8.32 p.m., when Roger Maynard’s Range Rover glided into the staff car park of the Saverland wholesale warehouse and reversed into a space against the wall, hidden in shadow and about ten yards from the blue Nissan. From this position, Roger could see both the vehicle and the staff exit that Phil Jones had marked on the map. “Wow. That Phil Jones sure thinks of everything,” Roger murmured.
Chapter Twenty-Three
THE CHASE
The traffic had been lighter than he expected so Roger had arrived earlier than he planned. He parked the car in a corner of the car park of the staff car park of the wholesale warehouse where Will Gleeson worked as a security officer. Roger touched a button to recline his seat and put the CD player on low volume.
Five minutes later, lying back in his seat listening to a Lene Marlin album, he failed to notice the black BMW make its way into the car park and come to a halt on the opposite side, close to the staff exit.
As the fifth track faded out, the alarm he had set on his phone timer beeped. He turned off the CD and waited.
After a few minutes, he noticed the man as the witness he had seen in court and also from the photo supplied by Phil Jones. The man was walking towards the Nissan Micra. It was the same registration number Phil Jones had written in his report.
Roger switched off the music and was about to get out of his car when he noticed two men approaching Will Gleeson. Roger recognised both men. Kevin O’Connor and one of his sons who had been in the courtroom and was pointed out to him by one of the police officers as someone to avoid contact with. What did they want with Will Gleeson?
Roger decided to stay in his vehicle and wait and see what would happen. The words of Phil Jones went through his mind. Not a nice character to get involved with.
Roger watched as Kevin O’Connor looked around the car park. Not a soul in sight. The floodlight set high in the car park shone down bouncing off the windscreen of Roger’s Range Rover at the wrong angle and with his seat still in the reclining position, the reflection making it appear no one was in the vehicle.
Roger watched as Kevin O’Connor’s son Tyson reached into his coat pocket, and suddenly he saw him draw out a gun. Will Gleeson noticed it and turned to run, but it was too late. The bullet found its mark, and he fell instantly. Tyson walked over until he was towering above the figure looking up at him with his left arm raised in a vain attempt to stop what was about to happen. Tyson took aim and delivered one more gunshot to the head. As Will lay there lifeless, the two men walked away.
Roger was shaking. He jumped forward in his seat. Did he really just witness a cold-blooded murder?
His elbow accidentally touched the car hooter.
The two men looked round. The light was still reflecting off the windscreen. Kevin O’Connor crouched down and looked towards the vehicle. Roger couldn’t hear what he said to his son, but he guessed it wasn’t good. Both walked towards the Range Rover.
Roger pressed the reset button to adjust his seat and then hit the start button and put the vehicle into drive. The headlights came on automatically and for a second, blinded the two approaching figures directly in front. Roger floored the accelerator and drove at both men who jumped out of the way.
As he approached the exit barrier, in his rear view mirror, Roger could see them run towards a dark-coloured BMW parked in the opposite corner of the car park. That gave him a few seconds start on them.
Getting to the barrier, Roger keyed in the exit code. The barrier seemed to take forever to rise and with every second it took he felt his heart would jump out of his chest. Once he was sure it was clear, he drove off at speed.
As he reached the corner of Turner Street, he could see the BMW’s headlights. It wouldn’t take long before they caught up with him.
His mind was racing. He’d just seen a man shot down in cold blood. Now the two men responsible were in a car that was right behind. He knew they wouldn’t hesitate for a second to kill him. He had to think. What could he do? He needed to get away, but they had an equally powerful car, no chance of outrunning them. He needed to think fast. Maybe he could head for the
