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  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Mr. and Mrs. Simpson? My name is Detective Superintendent Walker.’ She showed her warrant card. ‘And this is Detective Sergeant Vincent.’ He presented his card for inspection. ‘May we come in please?’

  Roger’s parents admit them to the guest house, taking them through to the private quarters in the back. The four seat in the lounge, John and Jenny facing the two officers.

  ‘Thank you for seeing us. What I have to say is highly confidential, and is part of an ongoing investigation where your son has become unwittingly involved.’

  ‘Is it to do with the band?’ asked John

  ‘Yes,’ replied the senior officer, not surprised at John’s immediate response. She had done her research on the couple, and knew she was not dealing with fools, hence her direct approach with confidentiality.

  ‘You may have already worked out that there are various inconsistencies in the way that the band is being run, with personnel changing. But that’s only a small part of the picture, which we are still piecing together. Our concern at present is Roger’s whereabouts. When did you last see him.’

  ‘When he left this morning to go to the gym. He never returned, but we weren’t too worried, thinking he must have met up with some friends. Why, what’s going on, then.’

  ‘What we do know is that the band is a front for people smuggling, as well as drugs. I’ll explain all another time, but the priority at present is Roger’s danger. We think that he’s been abducted, being driven north to a private club, but we need to make you aware of what’s occurring on the drive north. Is there someone who can take over the b&b at short notice?’

  ‘Yes, our cleaner Janice. She’s still here.’ John went to the top of the stairs, shouting ‘Janice, can you come here immediately please.’

  The cleaner came downstairs, basics were explained to her, and then the two detectives were on the road with Roger’s parents.

  In the car, Det. Supt Walker said ‘So, have you seen anything that we should know about concerning Roger’s disappearance.’

  ‘Well, I did think it a little strange...’ said Jenny.

  ‘Yes,’ prompted the detective.

  ‘Well, this morning, John and I walked along the seafront, probably sometime before Roger was due back from the gym, and that Barbara, the blonde haired new woman in the band, was sitting on a bench. She didn’t notice us, I don’t think she knows who we are, but I commented to John at the time that it was her. I don’t know if that’s significant or not?’

  ‘Perhaps,’ said Det. Supt Walker, who immediately radioed this information through to her incident room, instructing them to bring in Barbara for a chat. The trouble was, no-one knew her surname, or where she lived, so that instruction was going to prove to be difficult to carry out. When she had finished, she continued talking to Roger’s parents.

  ‘It’s quite a good little scam, really. They used the band as cover for the minibuses. These are brand new, financed by the Mr. Big who’s behind it all. They take the band into Europe in their buses, and come back with extra people on board, together with the drugs, usually worth in excess of a million pounds, so it’s very rewarding. They always return by the train coming through the tunnel, because they don’t have sniffer dogs on the train, or in the tunnel car park with the refreshment and waiting area. Financial cut backs, you see. The driver shows the passports to the U.K. customs and passport control office in France, who doesn’t require anyone to get out. The illegals hide down, the bus is high, so no-one can see in. The drugs are well hidden, and then they’re back in the U.K.’

  ‘Where does Roger fit in, then?’ asked John.

  ‘They know that he’s intelligent, and have been worried about him taking an interest for some time. The last trip, the one to Ostend, was a bad one for Roger, because he saw Cedric in the car park at the tobacco shop doing things he shouldn’t have been, and that made him a threat to Cedric. We know this because one of the band members who plays only occasionally was on that particular trip, and told us about the altercation. This man is a special constable in the next town, so no-one knows who he is except for his usual day time occupation. We try not to involve specials in their community in case of repercussions, and that certainly paid off for us on this occasion. He and Rick Thomas have disappeared, but we have a tracker on Cedric’s mobile phone, which pinpoints him at a warehouse in the north of England. We know what usually occurs at this warehouse, and that’s worrying us, and that’s why we have decided to involve you. Because Roger is involved.’

  ‘You’ve really got me worried now,’ said Jenny. ‘What’s this warehouse?’

  ‘It’s the venue for something called Club Sadist, and we’ve been trying to locate it for a very long time. We have had a real breakthrough with Cedric, because he’s such a lazy sod that he hasn’t changed his mobile phone for some time, and we’ve been tracking it for the last month. Very revealing, and we think that he’s now outlived his usefulness.’

  ‘What do you think’s going to happen, then, at this Club Sadist?’

  ‘I think, but I don’t know for sure, that live, on stage, in front of a very select audience that pays a lot of money to see these things Cedric is going to be murdered.’

  ‘But where does Roger come into all of this?’ asked Jenny.

  ‘We think that tonight, for the first time, there’s going to be two people murdered on the stage, and that the other person is going to be Roger. I can only hope that we’re there in time.’

  ‘What makes you think this?’

  ‘Because we have an informer on the inside. He has been a criminal since childhood, with excellent information. This person has never let us down before, and it’s taken even him years to be sufficiently trusted with the venue.’

  ‘What will happen to him? He can’t be all bad if he’s given you information about this awful club.’

  ‘Oh, he’s well paid, and knows the risks. Don’t worry about him, he’s a survivor, and I have no doubt whatsoever that he’ll come out without a scratch, and we will be able to use him again over the years.’

  ‘Who says crime doesn’t pay?’ said Jill

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  A few days earlier, Busy Mick and Slow Jack had been casually chatting during a routine business meeting.

  ‘You know, Mick, I’ve been wondering if it might be time for us to move out of Club Sadist. We’ve had our money out of it, it’s been very good money, but I suspect that the bizzies are getting a bit closer than we might think. That dickhead Cedric’s turned out to be a liability, and if he’s not careful he might just lead them to the Club one evening.

  ‘Funny you should say that Jack. I’ve been feeling the same thing. Cedric is the biggest disappointment, but, then, we always knew that it wouldn’t last for ever. The secret of success is to know when to quit, and that’s my impression now. Who do we sell it to, though, and for how much?’

  ‘My answer is in Ace. He’s sharp, he’s got rich over the years with not just our club but other interests, and he’s got some available cash or assets that he can materialise. I think that half a mill in cash would be sufficient to make me walk away, the same for you.’

  ‘Sounds good to me. Give him a bell.’

  Mick used one of his throwaway phones. ‘Hello, Ace, Jack and me’re having a meet, and we have proposition for you. How’d you fancy stop being manager and become owner?’ He paused to listen. ‘A mill. In cash, half each for Jack and me. Why? Because we feel that it’s time to retire from this particular enterprise, and carry on with something else. Let’s face it, we’ve got a lot of irons in a lot of fires. Okay, two bags before the next Club evening.’ He paused. ‘No thanks, we’ll not hang around. Cedric’s a waste of space, he’s bound to cry, and I can’t stand the prospect. See you then.’

  Chapter Thirty

  Club Sadist was fu
ll to bursting. They had extra tables, with the warehouse being used on this occasion a larger one than normal. The stage was also larger to accommodate the greater entertainment, so Ace was delighted with what was occurring. Money had been taken from the punters’ bank accounts, so all had been taken care of financially. There was no paper trail back to him, and this was one occasion that he wanted to officiate on stage at. He instinctively knew that it was going to be a memorable evening, Cedric and Roger were back stage in their respective rooms, waiting to be the evening’s entertainment. Should be a great night. Ace let the atmosphere build up, deliberately waiting as long as he thought possible. Normally the performance started about nine, but this evening he was an hour later. The same format, only more staff on, more atmosphere, more anticipation. He had tried to be as careful as possible with engaging new staff, which he knew to be a risky area. There was a nucleus of villains who were only too willing to be available for hire for the evening, no questions asked, but Ace didn’t know everyone who was present, which was very unusual for him. Normally, he vetted the staff carefully, so he was even more on edge tonight. Still no women present, they were unlucky, but he wondered if he had overlooked anything.

  By the time that ten o’clock came round, even Ace couldn’t wait any more, so, as before, gradually took the curtains back to reveal the two men, in chains, on the stage. Roger was still slightly subdued, under the influence of the chloroform that had kept him drugged during the drive north. He was on the right, looking at the stage, with Cedric on the left. He had a wild look in his eyes, as if he couldn’t possibly believe that he was where he was. Both men in chains on the stage were completely naked, with the contrast between the two very marked. Cedric was a fat slob, his gut hanging so far down that it enveloped and hid his sexual organs. No body hair, but plenty of sweat coming off him in rivers, he was so frightened. He was securely tied in his bondage, which was just as well for Ace, because Cedric was fighting against his restrictions, being a big man, tall, used to fighting dirty, and the perspiration could have been sufficient under other bondage for his to have slipped out of the restraints.

  Roger however cut a different figure. Still a tall man, he stood there in his chains, not moving at all, watching, listening, waiting for any opportunity to present itself so he could escape his predicament. He had chest hair, also on his arms and legs, he wasn’t perspiring at all, and his erection was there for all to see. No, not because he was sexually excited, but because he was usually erect all the time. There was bruising on his torso that had changed to more of a blue colour over the last few hours, and he had facial shadow from not shaving recently. The effects of the drugs in his system had worked off completely, so he stood before the crowd, a proud, erect, young men, unafraid, confident in the fact that somehow he would escape his predicament. He was the only one in the crowd to feel this, on his own for the last time in his life.

  Chapter Thirty One

  The atmosphere in the police car was electric.

  ‘How far away are we?’ asked Jenny.

  ‘About ten minutes,’ replied Det. Sup. Walker.

  ‘And, from what you know, what time does the ‘performance’ start?’ asked John, far more calmly than he felt.

  ‘Usually around about nine.’

  ‘But it’s half past nine now,’ shouted Jenny. ‘Can’t you drive faster’ she shouted at the driver.’ He made no response, concentrating on his driving.

  ‘Why can’t you tell them outside waiting for you to go in, like we see on the t.v. NOW’

  ‘Because of police procedure. They are not allowed to enter premises without a senior office present, and I am that senior officer. If it all went wrong, then we could lose a prosecution, and no-one wants that.’

  ‘If you don’t pull your fucking finger out, you’ll lose my son, and no-one wants that either.’

  ‘We’re doing all we can, we’re almost there, my colleagues are waiting for us, we know that the performance hasn’t started yet.’

  ‘How. How? She shouted.’

  ‘Because we have someone inside, as you know already, as well as a tracker on Cedric’s phone, so we’ve got most avenues covered. Don’t worry, we’ve got almost all the angles covered.’

  ‘It’s that word almost that worries me,’ said Roger’s dad.

  ‘Remember what I said, you are here because we want you to know what’s occurring, not to be involved. There’s some really bad people in that club tonight, people that you’ve never come across before, and never likely to. Not the class that’s going to be staying at your lovely guest house. John, I’m relying on you to look after your wife, make sure that she doesn’t get too close to what’s going to kick off inside there. We can look after ourselves, you can’t. It’s what we are trained to do, so no heroics, just common sense. Okay? I’ve put my neck on the line for you two, don’t abuse it. Understand?’

  ‘Yes,’ replied John, holding Jenny’s hand tightly.

  ‘Now, we are coming up to the gates, remember what I said.’

  The gates swung open, held there by two police officers who had already arrested the two heavies who had been on the gate previously. A convoy of police vehicles swung in behind the leading car, heading straight for the rear of the warehouse. A private ambulance followed behind.

  A big shout of ‘GO GO GO GO GO came up from most of the officers, both men and women, who were in full riot gear.

  ***

  Ace stood between the two victims, stripped to the wait, his black body glistening with sweat as he listened to the heavy beat of the music, swaying his body to the rhythm, gyrating the knife in his right hand, teasing both men, first gently moving it under Roger’s chin, his face not moving, then slowly, mesmerizingly, the knife going to Cedric’s groin. He placed the blade under Cedric’s tiny prick, managing to find it, with the spotlight finding the knife’s surface, reflecting and glinting. Instinctively, the big man’s penis tried to shrivel away from the threat, and Ace gave a deep growl, from the depths of his throat that could be heard at the very back of the auditorium it was so quiet. A collective groan from the crowd as he slowly, very slowly, slid the knife away from Cedric’s tiddler, then a gasp as he sliced quickly across his victim’s chest, immediately a line of blood formed, then slowly trickled down his chest. Cedric exclaimed in pain. The music continued with its rhythmic insistence, beating, beating, the regular drum beat finding the primeval instinct of every man in the audience. Ace wanted the audience to be kept at a constant state of excitement, that is what he was so good at and that is why the Club Sadist was so successful, so he looked at the blade of the knife, then placed it flat against Cedric’s right shoulder. Cedric stopped moving, absolute terror in every fibre of his existence, as Ace wiped the blood from the blade onto Cedric’s shoulder. Ace then turned the blade over, slowly wiping the blood from the other side onto Cedric’s other shoulder. Now there was streaks of blood on three parts of his body. He stood there, tense, not daring to move, dreading what was going to come next.

  No warning, a shout of ‘Police, Police, don’t anyone move. Armed officers. Stay where you are.’

  It seemed like hundreds of police officers in riot gear were everywhere, including at least a dozen who rushed onto the stage. Cedric fainted in relief, but Roger still stood there, magnificently naked, huge prick standing to attention, a warrior in his prime, slightly bruised, but that was all. He was cut down from his bondages, but he showed no relief, as if expecting this outcome all along. Then his parents were on the stage with him, mother tearfully hugging as if she never wanted to let him go, father standing, looking very proud of his only son.

  Dept. Supt Walker walked on stage. ‘Come on Roger, we’ve got to take you to hospital for a check-up.’

  ‘But, we want him home with us,’ said Jenny.

  ‘Sorry, but it’s procedure. I let you come along so you could be sure that Roger was okay. He
’ll be home with you in a day or two, right as rain, so the Sergeant who drove you up here will drive you back, and I will make it my personal responsibility to make sure that he’s returned safe and sound to you when he’s ready.’ She placed a blanket round Roger’s shoulders, as she led him to the waiting ambulance at the back of the building. They both entered, and she lay him down on a stretcher as the door was closed.