“What about it?”
“It was stolen, why?” Katy asked, surveying the scene.
“Who the hell knows? A bit overkill to have four blokes rob the car, don’t you think?”
“Four of them? Shit, yeah, that doesn’t sound right to me. Any CCTV cameras around…? Ah yes, I’ve spotted a small one. Okay, if you’ve got nothing else for me, then Charlie and I should get on.”
“Nope, nothing else.”
Katy pulled Charlie away and leaned in. “Round up the women. Let’s get them inside out of this cold wind. I’ll go on ahead and have a word with the bar staff, see what they can tell me, if anything. Hopefully they’ll have some footage from the cameras to show me.”
“I’ll do that. See you inside.”
They separated, and Katy trotted into the pub’s main entrance. The bar staff, all five of them, stood behind the huge mahogany bar which was shaped like the bow of a boat.
She showed her ID. “Who’s in charge here?”
A woman in her thirties stepped forward. “I suppose that would be me. I’m Belle. Is Ethan going to be all right?”
Katy smiled and shook her head. “The honest answer is, I don’t know. He’s in the best place possible for him. Can you tell me what happened here?”
“Yes, I think so. This is usually our quiet period. Ethan asked the staff to attend a meeting. We have an important function taking place on Saturday in the marquee out the back…shit, should I ring and postpone that? Oh God, what a mess. I don’t know what to do for the best. What if Ethan doesn’t make it?”
Another woman reached out and stroked Belle’s arm.
She turned and smiled at her. “I’ll be all right, I think. It’s just hit me, what lies ahead of us.”
“Ethan will be okay, love. We’ll cope, we can do this with your guidance.”
“So much pressure.”
Katy’s heart went out to the woman. “I’m sure you’ll cope if push comes to shove. You appear to have a good team of people by your side.”
“I have. Thank you. Anyway, Ethan was in here. We were about to start the meeting. There were a few punters drifting in and out, so he got on with the meeting, and we took it in turns to serve the customers in between. He suddenly realised he’d left some important paperwork in his car and went outside to fetch it. We never thought anything more about it until some women came in screaming. They told us they’d seen a man being attacked outside. We all rushed out to find Ethan…lying where his car is usually parked. That was his baby. I guess he put up a fight to prevent whoever it was from stealing it.” She shook her head and wiped away a tear with the sleeve of her jumper.
Katy rubbed her arm. “Try not to get upset, think positively. I’m sure he’ll pull through.”
Belle’s chin wobbled, and she looked at the people coming in through the front door accompanied by Charlie. “I don’t think so. His breathing sounded horrible. My sister’s a nurse. I know that doesn’t make me an expert, but it sounded to me like he had a punctured lung.”
“The hospital will do their very best for him. Try not to worry. I’m sure he’d want you to ensure this place continued to run properly. I have to ask if you have any CCTV footage I can view.”
Belle turned to speak to a younger member of the staff. “Taylor, you know a bit about the cameras, could you help the officer on that front?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“That’s brilliant,” Katy said. “Can I come round?”
“Go to the end, and Taylor will point the way. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
Taylor showed Katy through to an impressive office with trophies lining a bookshelf along one wall.
“What are they for?” Katy peered at the inscriptions.
“Ethan is always on the go, whether it’s running a marathon for charity or rock climbing and the like. I think there’s one or two there for hang-gliding. That appears to be his favourite off-the-wall ultimate sport at present.”
“Do you get on well with him?” Katy picked up the note of affection in his voice.
“Everyone does. He’s a likeable character and he always treats his staff well. I love working here, it’s so much better than the last pub I worked at. Ethan is so laid-back, not an ogre like some bosses can be.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m sure he’ll be okay.”
Taylor shook his head, and his mouth turned down at the sides. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of the others because they’re trying to keep positive, but it didn’t look good to me. I saw the expression on the paramedic’s face. He noticed that I’d spotted it and gave me a smile, but his eyes told a different story, I can tell you. You get an inkling about these things, don’t you?”
“Sometimes. Hey, try not to think about it. If Ethan is a fit guy, then there’s every possibility he will surprise you all and pull through this.”
“I hope you’re right. Let’s try and find you what you need. I should’ve thought about doing this before you came, sorry to disappoint you.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
Taylor worked swiftly and efficiently, and within minutes he had the disc playing what had happened on the twenty-one-inch TV screen. Katy watched a black Range Rover pull into the car park. It sat there for at least ten to fifteen minutes.
Taylor pointed at the screen. “That’s Ethan. He’s heading straight for the car. I told him he should keep it stored somewhere safe. Not sure I’d drive around in something as rare as that. He told me he’d worked hard over the years to obtain such a beauty and had no intention of keeping her locked away and not using it on a daily basis, and now look what’s happened…”
“I’m with you, I’m not sure I’d flaunt my success in the
