Roger and his parents Vernon and Elsie arrived at the pub five minutes early. It looked like a traditional back-street pub from the outside and quite small. As the trio walked into the bar, it was already busy, the people behind the bar serving eager customers. The bar had a high shelf above the counter where all the pint glasses were kept. Roger couldn’t help but smile as he noticed a young lady obviously needing to stand on tip toes and still having to stretch really hard to reach a glass. He wondered how many times a day she needed to do that and if the person who had given her the job had thought about her height before taking her on.
The restaurant section of the pub was at the rear. Roger and his parents walked through. It was obvious the people running the pub were proud to be British, and Manchester United fans. Every wall had a union jack and replica red football shirts of their team.
Roger counted eight tables with seating for up to four people and two tables for parties of up to eight. As they walked in, a waiter came over.
“Have you booked a table, sir?”
“Yes, for three in the name of Maynard.”
“I have a nice table for you at the back. Please follow me.”
The waiter led them over to the bay window where a table had been prepared and had a small folded sign saying ‘Reserved’ which he removed.
“Here we are. I’ll bring over the menus in a moment. In the meantime would you like to order any drinks?”
They did so and Roger sat facing the bay window and a view of a small but well-kept garden area while his parents had a view of the restaurant.
“Looks like a busy place,” said Elsie.
“Let’s hope that means the food is good,” said Vernon.
Fifty minutes later, after they had paid the bill and left a generous tip, the three walked out of the pub. They didn’t notice a man emerging from the corridor that led to the gents toilets, but he noticed them.
As they walked the short distance to where Roger had managed to park the car, his father said, “I have to say, that was one of the best roast dinners I’ve had in a long time.”
“Yes, nice fresh vegetables. None of that frozen rubbish you get in a lot of places,” added Elsie.
“Glad you enjoyed it,” said Roger.
As the Mercedes pulled out, the black 4x4 began to follow them.
As Roger pulled onto their front drive he failed to see the 4x4 pull in and park a few car spaces down the road from his parents’ bungalow.
Inside the house, they sat down in the lounge.
“I’m going to make a cup of tea. Would you like one, Roger?”
“Yes please, Mum.”
A short time later, Elsie returned holding a tray with three cups, which she placed down on separate coasters on top of an Ercol solid ash coffee table.
“Now, Roger, what was it you wanted to talk about?” asked his mum.
“I’m thinking of selling the business and moving to Switzerland. I have to face the fact Julie is gone, and it looks like Francis is happy with her new man so apart from the pair of you there’s really nothing left. Clifton Engineering have made me a generous offer to buy the business lock stock and barrel with the assurance of keeping all the members of staff, so I really don’t see much else to keep me here. Flights from Geneva take one hour forty minutes so coming to visit you or you coming to me shouldn’t be a problem.”
“We would hate to see you go, son, but with everything that’s happened, I can see you probably want a change of scenery. All I would ask is that you give it some more thought. Don’t make a hasty decision. We’re off for two weeks’ holiday down to Cornwall tomorrow. Why don’t you think it over while we’re away.”
“I’m not in a hurry. That seems like a good idea. If I still feel the same, I’ll accept their offer. But I won’t decide before then, and of course, I’ll come and tell you first. I promise.”
Chapter Thirty
THE MASONS ARMS
From the 4x4, Lennox made a call. “Hello, Dad. I was in The Masons Arms, and I saw our friend with what looked like his parents. I’ve followed them back to a place just off Huntingdon Road called Thornton Gardens, number seven. It looks like they live here. Our friend’s inside with them now. What do you want me to do?”
“Come home, son. I’ll get Vinny to go and park near his house and see if he goes back there. If he does then perhaps we’ll give him a special surprise visit later.”
Five minutes after arriving at his dad’s house, Tyson was sitting on the two-seater leather sofa watching football when his brother Lennox walked in.
“Where you been, bro?” Tyson asked Lennox.
“Out.”
“I reckon you’ve got a bird. And I bet she’s married the way you creep about. Yeah, that’s it ain’t it.”
“None of your business.”
“Settle down, you two. We’ve got some planning to do. Now, this Maynard bloke. He disappeared for a week, but Vinny’s been going past each night to watch the place, and says he’s back, and he stayed there last night. So the chances are he’s gone back to living at the gaff. Vinny’s parked up near his house, and he’ll let us know when the bastard returns. This guy is slippery. So far he’s been dead lucky.”
“So once Vinny says he’s home we’ll go and we grab his old dears as an insurance policy and then go round and burn his fucking house down with him still in it. Then we do the pair of ’em, so there are no witnesses.”
“Yeah, great.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Right. Let’s get everything ready. It’s going to be a long night. Lennox, go down to the end lock up and find those petrol
