The Stealers Page 6

  The man remained still and Crane continued, ‘We need to talk. Now, what’s your name?’

  ‘Harry,’ the man replied quickly and, without taking his eyes off of Crane he grunted hoarsely, ‘Look mate, I don’t know nuffink.’

  Crane gave a tight smile, stared coldly into Harry’s eyes and said quietly and matter-of-factly, ‘Well then, Harry, you are no use to me whatsoever. I was going to let you live. You would have killed me with that hammer,’ Crane glanced at the dent in the side of the camper and added with malice, ‘that’s for sure – so you can die right now.’

  Harry began to panic as he felt the pressure on his neck increase. ‘Wait… wait,’ he gagged. ‘Ease off, what do you want to know?’

  Crane raised his knee slightly and said, ‘Where’s Bradley?’

  ‘He’s gone.’

  ‘I can see that; tell me where exactly?’

  ‘He’s meeting Ryan at the barn in Suffolk. He came here in a bit of a hurry, picked up some vehicle documents and left.’

  ‘What’s the address?’

  There was panic in Harry’s voice as he said quickly, ‘I don’t know, honest, I’ve never been there. All I know is it’s near Felixstowe; he’s going there to put a consignment in containers ready for shipping.’

  ‘Consignment? Stolen cars you mean.’

  ‘Yeah, whatever.’

  ‘How about France?’

  ‘He’s going there sometime this week.’

  ‘Where do you figure in this?’

  ‘I do a few alterations to some of the vehicles.’

  ‘Like changing number plates,’ Crane added.

  ‘Yeah now and again.’ Harry stopped abruptly as though he did not want to add to this.

  Crane was intrigued, and as a prompt, he momentarily increased the pressure on Harry’s neck, ‘Go on.’

  ‘Alright, ease up! I source most of the donor vehicles too.’ Harry fell silent again.

  ‘I’m getting impatient,’ Crane said, grabbing hold of the hammer lying on the floor and holding it aloft. ‘Alright, alright. This camper for example; I buy an old wreck of a van; legitimate like, then nick a motorhome of the same make; Peugeot or VW. Swap the ID plates over then send its log book off to get it re-registered as a camper and then take the wreck – minus its identity – to a breaker’s yard for scrap. The stolen vehicle becomes legitimate. Similar thing with the cars, only sometimes we get hold of a damaged car from insurance companies’ auctions – Bradley has good connections. All we need is the log book, the damaged car is taken to the breaker’s yard and crushed – and the nicked car is made legitimate.’

  Crane lifted his knee from Harry’s neck, stood up and said, ‘Don’t move.’

  Harry, remained on the floor, and feeling somewhat relieved said, ‘You’re that Jack Crane fella that Bradley told me about.’

  ‘What did he tell you?’

  ‘He just said to watch out for you in case you turn up here.’

  Crane took his eyes of off Harry and looked around the back of the camper van. Harry gradually propped himself up on his elbows and slowly inched his way backwards until he was level with the passenger door. As soon as Crane’s head disappeared, Harry sprang up, leapt in the side door and quickly pushed the central locking into place. He jumped into the driver’s seat and turned the ignition key and the engine burst to life. Looking into the rear-view mirror, he sighted Crane at the rear end and swiftly knocked the camper into reverse gear, hoping to pin him to the rear wall, but Crane quickly side-stepped. The camper shuddered violently and the bumper split with a cracking sound as it thudded into the wall. Realising the futility of his actions, Harry jammed his foot hard down on the accelerator and wheel-spun the camper up the gradient, laying a trail of black rubber on the grey concrete surface, until he reached the service road at the top. Carelessly pushing his heavy hand against the gear lever, so that the cogs grated and clattered noisily, he sped off towards the direction of Southend.

  Crane ran up the steps and back through the house, slamming the front door behind him as he raced towards his parked car. By the time he reached the main road, there was no sign of the camper – it could have gone in either direction, but Crane decided to turn left. The Mercedes screamed down the road towards Southend and after a few tight bends, Crane had the camper in sight, so he eased back on the throttle to follow at a distance. Hopefully he wouldn’t alert Harry to the fact that he was being followed. After a few miles, the Mercedes coughed and began to fall back. Crane snatched a glance at the fuel gauge. It was registering half full. Hoping it was only the fuel gauge at fault, he stamped on the brakes, leapt out, grabbed hold of the spare fuel can from the boot and poured its contents – a couple of litres – into the tank. Within a few turns, the starter brought the engine back to life, but by then, Crane knew he had insufficient fuel, and realised there would be no chance of catching up with Harry. After a visit to the nearest filling station Crane made his way back to Palmers Rise and stopped dead at the scattering of cement dust strewn across the lane; fresh tyre tracks had left their mark in and out of the lane – and they did not belong to Penny’s Mini.

  Chapter Eight

  Bradley and Ryan met up at an old barn on the outskirts of Felixstowe in Suffolk and the iniquitous pair began stocktaking. The barn had a good roof and, despite huge cracks in some of the black weatherboards, it remained reasonably dry. The building was well suited for their purpose; because it nestled, partially concealed, amongst overgrown scrub. Its original use had been lost in the mists of time. The owner, who was a retired farmer, had sold off parcels of land surrounding the barn and did not mind earning some hard cash for storing a few cars – on a no- questions basis.

  A huge grin spread across Bradley’s face as he said, ‘Do you think Crane has met up with Harry the Hammer yet?’

  Ryan grinned back, ‘He may well have done after you warned Harry about Crane. You left him back at the house working on a VW camper didn’t you? That guy, Harry; he’s not normal he ought to be in a home for the criminally insane.’

  Bradley gave a half smile and said, ‘Not again I hope.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Ryan queried.

  ‘He’s been working for me ever since he came out of Broadmoor.’

  Ryan’s jaw dropped, ‘Broadmoor? The mental hospital? You’re having a laugh.’

  ‘I wish I was – he’s really great at sourcing vehicles, you can’t deny him that!’

  Ryan looked troubled and replied, ‘He’s gonna kill somebody one of these days, if he hasn’t done so already. You never see him without that bloody ball-peen hammer. I was at the bottom of the hill when I saw Crane dash out of Palmers Rise in that old Merc. Then I nipped down the lane. Penny’s Mini was parked in his drive. The boy, Andrew, was playing in the front garden. It was a piece of cake; the boy must have thought it was Christmas when he got in my car and found toys and sweets and all that. Penny must have been inside the cottage. She never even realised I was there; piece of cake!’

  As he spoke, Ryan used his thumb to indicate where his car was parked. Bradley peered through the vegetation. He was unused to kids. Andrew’s chocolate-smeared face had just consumed half a giant slab of Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut. He appeared totally absorbed, playing with an electronic video game, whilst sitting in the back seat of Ryan’s Mondeo.

  *

  Crane pulled into his driveway and saw a distraught Penny chasing around the garden calling out Andrew’s name. She was a little relieved when she caught sight of Crane. ‘I can’t find Andrew,’ she gasped, ‘I’ve looked everywhere. He seemed to have disappeared when I was watching the news on TV, I should have kept a closer eye on him.’

  ‘I don’t want to worry you, but I believe someone else has been here whilst I’ve been away,’ Crane replied grimly.

  Penny looked at him aghast, ‘How… how do you know?’

  Crane shrugged his broad shoulders and told her about his cement dust trick.

  Penny seemed uncertain by this and
she said, ‘How about the postman? Milkman?… ’ Her voice trailed away as Crane shook his head, ‘I collect my mail from the village Post Office, and I don’t have a milkman or anyone else calling here on a regular basis. Someone must have seen me leave and I wouldn’t mind betting on that someone being Ryan – the guy that tried it before.’

  ‘But… why?’ was all Penny could mutter.

  ‘I’m not sure, maybe to join his mother perhaps, to placate her, wherever she is being held. Do you think it’s time to inform the police?’

  ‘I don’t know what to do. I keep thinking that he may harm my sister and now he’ll hurt Andrew as well if I do something like that.’

  Crane moved towards his computer and switched it on. ‘I’ll have a look at the Google map around the Felixstowe area. It’s a long shot, but I have a few clues as to their immediate whereabouts. All things considered, they can’t be more than an hour or so ahead.’

  After a few minutes Crane said, ‘There’s one or two barns that might be worth checking out,’ at the same time he entered the coordinates onto a portable satnav and headed towards the front door.

  Penny grabbed hold of her fleece jacket and said, ‘I’m coming with you.’

  Crane hesitated, ‘Are you sure that’s… ’

  ‘I’m sure,’ she interrupted, ‘it’s my nephew that’s been taken. Come on, let’s go.’

  Penny’s resolve left no room for argument as she brushed past Crane when he stopped to lock the front door. She headed towards the parked cars on the drive and stood between her Mini and the Mercedes, waiting for Crane to catch up. ‘Your car or mine?’ she enquired wryly.

  Thoughts of trying to get her to change her mind were swept aside as Crane replied, ‘If you insist on coming, I insist on driving, we’ll take my car. Get in.’

  Penny jumped into the Mercedes and as he was pulling out of the drive, she noticed his mobile phone lying on the floor. She picked it up, ‘Does this thing work?’

  Crane grinned at her sheepishly and said, ‘I’m the world’s worst mobile phone keeper you wouldn’t believe how many I’ve ruined or… ’

  His voice trailed off as Penny, examining the device, interrupted, ‘Battery’s flat; you got an in-car charger?’

  ‘No I’ve never… ’

  ‘Stop the car,’ Penny cut in, ‘I’ll get mine from the Mini; you never know when they come in handy.’

  Penny was in and out of both cars rapidly and as the Merc was backed out from the cottage, she was busy connecting the mobile phone to the dashboard charging socket. With a degree of satisfaction she said, ‘There, that’ll do it.’

  *

  Crane sped out of Palmers Rise and aimed the car towards Ashingdon and Hullbridge. At a sharp bend he turned into the aptly named Watery Lane, and after splashing his way through to Battlesbridge, picked up the A12 dual carriageway heading towards Ipswich.

  A little over an hour later, they were travelling on the A14 and were within five miles of Felixstowe Docks. For the second time in as many minutes a mechanical voice announced, ‘In one hundred yards, you have reached your destination.’

  ‘Let’s hope we are lucky enough to find something this time,’ Crane mused as he pulled the car onto the hard shoulder. Slowly inching the car forward, two pairs of eyes scanned both sides of the dual carriageway. Penny caught sight of a gap in the hedge, ‘How about there?’

  Crane’s head turned, his eyes following her well-manicured finger, then nodded in agreement and brought the car to a halt. Immediately Penny’s reaction went into overdrive; she thumbed the seat belt release button and at the same time her other hand snatched at the door lock. ‘I think it would best if you… ’ Crane’s words trailed off; his eyes were focused on the door mirror; concentrating on a flashing blue light. A police car seemed to have appeared from nowhere and was chasing along the hard shoulder towards him until finally it screeched to a halt behind. It was only when a policeman got out of his car that in a hushed voice Crane finished his sentence, ‘… stay in the car.’ But it was too late; Penny had disappeared through the gap in the hedge.

  Crane lowered the driver’s window and the policeman enquired, ‘Is there a problem with your car, sir?’

  ‘No, no problem at all. It’s the erm, the wife,’ he replied with a smile, ‘she’s been taken short – bladder problem – so she’s gone for a pee behind the hedge. I’m sorry about this, shan’t be here more than a few minutes.’

  The policeman smiled knowingly and said, ‘Alright, sir, in that case we’ll leave you alone.’ With that, he sauntered back to his patrol car and, after chatting to his companion for a moment, drove off.

  Penny was thankful for her choice of flat shoes when carefully stepping around numerous muddy puddles; as she picked her way along a worn cart track which lead to an old rustic barn that stood, hemmed in by boundary fences belonging to adjacent farmland. Parked nearby was Ryan’s Mondeo. Penny became excited as she got nearer; Andrew’s chocolate smeared face had caught sight of her through the rear window of the car. A huge smile spread across his face and he began to wave excitedly with both hands. Spurred on by this Penny waved back and quickened her pace towards the car. She yanked and pulled at the car’s rear door, but it was locked and she tried each of the car’s doors, in turn, without success.

  ‘You need these.’

  After ferrying the stolen vehicles to the docks, Ryan had been left behind by Bradley in order to tidy up and make sure there were no old number plates or any other equipment, lying about. Now his chilling tone made Penny spin round. He was approaching the car twirling a set of keys with an inane grin on his face and repeated, ‘You need these, but you’re not getting em!’ There was real intimidation in his voice as he flicked the remote control, and with a snarl said, ‘Get in.’

  Penny did not move and was about to argue, but Ryan moved menacingly towards her and repeated his threat, ‘Get in the back and make it quick!’

  Without taking her eyes off him, she scampered into the back seat next to Andrew who sat unfazed and said matter-of-factly, ‘Uncle Ryan is taking me to see Mummy. Are you coming too, Auntie Penny?’

  Penny gave Andrew a tight-lipped smile and a hug. Regaining some of her composure she replied, ‘Oh, that does sound nice.’ Ryan slumped heavily into the driver’s seat, firing up the engine as he did so.

  *

  As the car was turned around, Penny gingerly tried the door lock but to no effect; the child-proof locks were in place. The vehicle now turned into a narrow strip of road where Ryan spotted Crane walking some metres ahead. He put his foot hard down on the accelerator and aimed the car at the man who had caused him so much hassle.

  Crane leapt out of the way by flattening himself into the hedge and as he did so he felt the tyres brush against his legs. He recovered in time to see a distraught Penny looking out of the rear window. He ran along the track splashing through muddy puddles towards the Mondeo. Ryan checked his rear-view mirror and scowled as he slammed on the brakes; slewing the car to a halt. With a grinding of cogs he thumped the gear lever into reverse towards his approaching victim. The hedge was too high for Crane to leap over so once again he managed to flatten himself into the spiky greenery, out of reach, as the rear of the Mondeo rammed into the bushes. Ryan pulled the car away from the hedge, spinning its rear wheels in the ruts and splattering Crane, from head to foot with watery mud. Ryan checked the rear-view mirror again and looked at the erect figure of Crane. He glowered, snorted and decided to give up; he was wasting time, so began to make his way towards the main road.

  Penny could not take her eyes off of the receding figure of Crane. She looked at Andrew; playing with a toy car on his knee; he was blissfully unaware of what was happening. ‘Where are you taking me?’ she spat at Ryan.

  He glanced at her through the mirror and said, ‘Dunno till I talk with Bradley.’

  ‘Why do you want the boy?’

  ‘Bradley said his mother wants to see him.’

  ‘Isn’t he going to
let her go?’

  ‘Dunno. I just follow instructions. Now do me a favour; don’t ask any more questions, right!’

  Ryan turned off in a country lane and Penny guessed that this may be a ruse to ensure that Crane did not follow. It suddenly occurred to her that although her bag was in Crane’s Mercedes, her mobile was in her pocket. She looked at Andrew; he was still preoccupied with his new toys. Her eyes darted surreptitiously towards Ryan and she saw him lean over to one side, grope around his jacket pocket, until his fat sweaty hand came out clutching a mobile phone and he began dialling one-handed. Slipping the phone from her pocket and holding it low she began to text Crane both the road number and the town that they were heading for.

  *

  Crane hurriedly splashed his way through mud puddles along the cart track back to the dual carriageway of the A14 and stared into the distance; there was no sign of the Mondeo. Opening the boot, he found some old rags and wiped off the surplus mess from his hands and face. Inside the car he had just began to study a map of the area when the trilling of his mobile alerted him to Penny’s text. Immediately he sprang into action, voicing the instructions to the satnav. Instantly the gear lever was put into drive, and with the wheels screaming like a banshee, he thrust the car from the hard shoulder and back onto the dual carriageway.