“Okay. Just keep in touch and remember what I said. Don’t try to take the law into your own hands.”
The fire brigade managed to contain the fire. There was extensive damage, and no one was allowed into the house, but they did allow Roger to grab his clothes and mobile from his car but he couldn’t drive it as the fire engines were in the way and would remain there for some time. Due to the smoke damage, the car would probably need a visit to the main dealer before it was deemed safe to drive.
Roger selected a contact on his phone. “Can I have a taxi to the corner of Fieldview Lane please?”
“Certainly, sir. Where are you going to?”
“The Milton Motel.”
“Be there in five minutes.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
THE KIDNAP
“Hello, Phil Jones Investigations.”
“Hi Phil, it’s Roger Maynard. Someone burned my house down last night, while I was still in it.”
“Where are you now?”
“I’ve booked into the Milton.”
“Give me an hour, and I’ll come over. In the meantime ask Gerry if the meeting room is free.”
Roger was about to head out of his room when his phone rang. Although the number hadn’t been programmed into this phone he recognised his mother’s number.
“Hello, Mum, how did you get th–”
“You must be fucking Houdini.”
Roger froze at the sound of the voice on the other end. It was gruff… and the accent was Irish. There was silence for two seconds before the voice continued.
“I’ve got two people here who would like to speak with you.”
Roger went cold.
“Hello, Roger. It’s Mum. I’m sorry, son. We were asleep in bed and these men broke in and grabbed us. I’m not sure where we are. It’s a sort of–”
Roger heard a loud scream and someone in the background. “Mum, Mum!”
The phone went dead.
Roger dialled Phil Jones.
“Hello, Phil Jones Investigations.”
“Hello Phil, it’s Roger Maynard again. I just received a call from my mum. Then Kevin O’Connor came on the phone. He’s kidnapped my parents. Then when I spoke to Mum she tried to tell me where they were and I heard a loud scream then someone said something like, “You stupid bastard, you’ve hit her too hard”. Then the phone went dead.”
“Which phone did he call you on?”
“He called me on the number I only gave to the police. The other one was destroyed in the fire.”
“Did your mum or dad have that number?”
“No. I only gave them the family phone number.”
“Now you understand why I told you to get two phones. He wasn’t to know that, and neither was the person he’s got on the inside at the police station. This helps to confirm it.”
Suddenly Roger could see another call coming in. “Phil, I’ll call you back.”
“Hello.”
“Listen carefully. We’ll do an exchange. Your parents for £500,000 in cash.”
“I heard my mother scream. Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. Now listen–”
“No, you fucking listen. I want to speak to my mother. Now!”
“She can’t come to the phone.”
“Listen you bastard. I don’t care what you do with me. You made sure of that when you killed my daughter, but if I find you’ve also harmed my parents, I’ll come after you with everything I’ve got. Put her on the phone.”
“Okay. There was a little accident. But she’ll be fine.”
Then Roger recognised his dad, shouting away from somewhere in the background.
“They’ve killed her, son. They’ve killed your mum.”
“Shut up, old man.”
Roger heard Kevin O’Connor’s voice. “Tyson got a little carried away and accidentally hit her harder than he thought. But we’ve still got your dad. The choice is yours. We can do the exchange, or he can die a slow and very unpleasant death. How much is your father worth to you?”
“I’ll get the money. It’s not a problem. I just need some time. It will take me a couple of days to find that amount in cash without raising suspicion. But I warn you. Look after my father. Make sure nothing happens to him, or you won’t see a single penny. And how do I know you’ll let him go after I hand over the money?”
“You have my guarantee.”
“I wouldn’t trust you any further than I could throw you.”
“What choice do you have?”
Chapter Thirty-Four
DEAD MAN WALKING
Roger sat in the coffee lounge next to reception, waiting, when he saw Phil Jones’ car pull up outside.
“Hello, Roger. Sorry, I got here as fast as I could.”
“Thanks, Phil. I understand you must have other work on.”
“Did you ask Gerry? Is the meeting room available?”
“Yes, he said we could use it.”
Roger sat down at the table. Phil went over to a coffee machine.
“Sorry, dying for a coffee. I haven’t stopped all morning. Would you like a cup?”
Both men sat facing each other.
Roger went through everything that had happened.
“Obviously I can’t be seen to get involved in anything illegal,” Phil replied, “and I wouldn’t want to. However, seeing as we are dealing with the O’Connor clan, I can tell you, in my opinion, going down the normal route won’t work. They’ve been running rings round the police for years. Kevin and his family don’t give a fig for anyone except themselves.”
“My advice is to involve the police and tell them about your parents, especially if, as you say, you suspect your mother has been killed. But I can’t guarantee the outcome as I suspect your father is being held somewhere the police are not aware of and a place with no direct connection to Kevin.
“But if you’re determined not to involve the police then off the record I’m going to suggest some things that are, shall we say, in the grey area. I could get into a lot of trouble, but this could be the only way you have a chance of seeing your father alive again. This is totally off the record. And if it doesn’t go according to plan you could end up dead alongside your father. But I have to be honest and say, where the O’Connor’s
