Eden’s parting words. “You did the right thing. You called an ambulance. Some people would have just driven off. Thank you for your time, Mr Davies.”
Once in their vehicle and heading back towards Trentbridge police station, Carla spoke. “So what did you make of him and his account of things?”
“I’m convinced. He seemed level headed on everything. It must have been a shock to see such a level of violence take place a few feet in front of you. He’s lucky they didn’t spot him or we might have two people in the hospital. From the description, does anyone spring to mind?”
“Yes. We both know who was involved in this. Kevin O’Connor and his two lovely boys, Tyson and Lennox. All we have to do is prove it was them. I’d love to see them behind bars for a few years. It would make our lives easier and the crime rate in Trentbridge would probably halve.”
Eden drove to the Five Bells pub and after pressure telling him that the police might raise an objection to the renewal of his drinks licence, the owner reluctantly gave a statement describing the incident and descriptions of the men involved that closely resembled the three male members of the O’Connor clan.
Under normal circumstances, Eden would have brought the suspects in for questioning but experience taught him this wouldn’t be enough. Kevin O’Connor was well versed in his rights, and all aspects of legal matters. And, should the need arise; Eden knew Kevin had the number of one of the top criminal lawyers in the area on speed dial. Their paths had crossed before.
The only way they would get anything on the O’Connor family was if they were caught in the act. Because of trouble in the past the local council had set up CCTV cameras at various points along Fen Road, including opposite the entrance to the main caravan site, which shared the same driveway that led to the O’Connor family plot consisting of a large house built from two extremely large and plush mobile homes that had been joined together plus a collection of outbuildings and a triple-size car garage. The whole plot covering nearly an acre but most of it difficult to observe due to the large trees that had been planted, the police suspected this had been done to restrict the view from outside. Particularly in light of the police’s ever-increasing use of drones.
Kevin O’Connor was extremely cunning and not a man to be underestimated. Eden had often thought he would be far more successful if he concentrated his skills on running legitimate businesses but he suspected the man got too much pleasure from pitting his wits against the police and from conning hard working people out of their money.
And the police were unaware of just how cunning he could be. What they didn’t know was Kevin had put in the trees to cover the fact he was using the back of his property to link to the River Stern that ran a few yards behind his property to bring in illegal immigrants and drugs. He had links with a European organisation that brought them in via the port of Merseyside where he met up with associates of the organisation and transferred the immigrants and drugs onto his narrowboat with its hidden compartments and then sailed it down to the Trent Canal.
Unaware of such activities and with no immediate possibility of making progress, all they could do was watch and wait and see if he made a mistake or in the hope some evidence came to light that they could use in court to help put him away. Eden wasn’t holding his breath on either count.
While he was working out what was the best course of action with regard to Kevin O’Connor he decided to spend some time concentrating his efforts on the three other cases sitting in his in-tray. The top file was an arson attack on a local school. Luckily the building had good fire alarms and the blaze had been caught early with damage restricted to just one classroom. The CCTV had good clear images of the suspected culprits. It looked like this would be a fairly straightforward case. However, Eden knew not to count his chickens too soon.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Over the last six months, James Sheldon had become one of the most talked about and respected figures in Trentbridge. Two years ago, he had been a police detective inspector working alongside Eden when his wife and two kids were killed in a hit and run. After the funerals, he had taken to drink and eight months later, he became homeless. Then in an amazing twist of fortune he won £168 million on the Euro Lotto after a stranger had given him a two-pound coin and said he should try his luck.
Instead of simply drinking himself into oblivion or going off and living the life of riley, he managed to get himself straight and started a charity, spending £75 million of his winnings on buying a run-down housing estate of 880 houses and turning it into affordable homes for local people.
The last Eden had heard was James had become a partner in a private investigation company run by another ex-detective called Phil Jones. He called James and they had arranged to meet up.
“Hi, Great to see you again. It’s been a long time.”
“Hi, Eden. Yes, too long. We should have done this sooner. When you called you said you needed my help on something?”
“I guess you’re aware of the murder at the Albion Hotel?”
James grinned. “I should be, Eden, I own the hotel.”
“You what?”
“Long story but when I became homeless I stayed round the back of the hotel. The night manager and a couple of the workers helped me out, gave me food, made sure I was okay. Then I heard they were closing the
