eccentrics. ‘We get all sorts down here,’ she’d remarked. ‘Some come to retire, others because they’ve been on holiday in the summer and think it’s like that all year round. They don’t last long, not when they see the rain we get in winter. Then there’s those who love the walking, or sailing. Then others I don’t understand at all. There’s one bloke, been here a couple of years, who runs a shop and won’t let women in! Can you imagine? How he’s going to keep a business afloat with that sort of attitude I wouldn’t like to say. When you deal with the public you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth, and I should know, present company excepted of course.’
Stan smiled to himself now, as he finished the last crust and scrunched up the paper bag. He checked his map. Yes, nice and easy, up the A30 then the A303, all the way to London and home in time for the Easter long weekend with Greg and Jenny. His smile broadened as he thought of how Jenny would react to the ridiculous idea of not being allowed into a shop.
Tommy pushed away his account books with a sigh of satisfaction. He was relieved to have finished them all in one session and that meant he could spend some of Easter with Mavis and some with his cousin Jenny with a clear conscience. He’d just been paid for the job at the pub, and he considered it well worth the money as the place looked a whole lot smarter now. The landlord had given the bar a lick of paint inside as well, along with buying new tables and chairs. He’d also sacked the surly barmaid and got in new staff. Tommy had ended up getting to know them quite well after working there on the signs for a number of days; he had decided to do it himself rather than ask Jerry or one of the others, as he needed to keep his hand in.
One of the reasons the barmaid was sacked, apart from being completely uninterested in most of the customers, was that she’d been caught taking from the till. Tommy had overheard it all, hidden as he was behind the scenes, preparing the new wooden sign to be hung. The barmaid had protested she hadn’t meant to and the money wasn’t even for her but for her new boyfriend, who was going to beat her if she didn’t do what he said.
Tommy knew this was true. He’d been packing away his equipment one day and had paused for a breather in the little hall behind the bar where he’d been told to keep his bags. The barmaid, Patty, must have assumed she was the only person on the premises, as he could hear her singing to herself, unusually cheerful. Next thing a man’s voice could be heard, shouting as he came in from the street. Having heard it himself recently, Tommy recognised who it was at once. Larry Barnet. He decided to stay put and keep quiet.
Larry immediately started having a go at Patty, asking her when he was going to get the cash, demanding she hurry up about it or he’d give her another taste of the back of his hand. Patty’s cheerfulness vanished and she’d sounded frightened. Larry threatened her some more, warning her not to think he wouldn’t hurt her. He then began to reel off names of places he’d robbed, men he’d done the jobs with, and who for, adding that they couldn’t fence the stuff yet until a local policeman that he named had been bribed to look the other way. In the meantime he needed money from Patty to live off.
Tommy had stood stock still during all of this, listening hard. He didn’t like hearing a woman being treated in this way, even though she had barely bothered to acknowledge him all the days he’d been there. If things got physical he decided he’d come out and defend her, knowing what a coward Larry really was, like all bullies. But as long as things didn’t go that far, he’d stay hidden.
Now he drew towards him another piece of paper he’d tucked into the account book to keep it safe. He’d written down the names of the locations Larry had mentioned and the policeman’s name: Sergeant Fenton. He
Stan smiled to himself now, as he finished the last crust and scrunched up the paper bag. He checked his map. Yes, nice and easy, up the A30 then the A303, all the way to London and home in time for the Easter long weekend with Greg and Jenny. His smile broadened as he thought of how Jenny would react to the ridiculous idea of not being allowed into a shop.
Tommy pushed away his account books with a sigh of satisfaction. He was relieved to have finished them all in one session and that meant he could spend some of Easter with Mavis and some with his cousin Jenny with a clear conscience. He’d just been paid for the job at the pub, and he considered it well worth the money as the place looked a whole lot smarter now. The landlord had given the bar a lick of paint inside as well, along with buying new tables and chairs. He’d also sacked the surly barmaid and got in new staff. Tommy had ended up getting to know them quite well after working there on the signs for a number of days; he had decided to do it himself rather than ask Jerry or one of the others, as he needed to keep his hand in.
One of the reasons the barmaid was sacked, apart from being completely uninterested in most of the customers, was that she’d been caught taking from the till. Tommy had overheard it all, hidden as he was behind the scenes, preparing the new wooden sign to be hung. The barmaid had protested she hadn’t meant to and the money wasn’t even for her but for her new boyfriend, who was going to beat her if she didn’t do what he said.
Tommy knew this was true. He’d been packing away his equipment one day and had paused for a breather in the little hall behind the bar where he’d been told to keep his bags. The barmaid, Patty, must have assumed she was the only person on the premises, as he could hear her singing to herself, unusually cheerful. Next thing a man’s voice could be heard, shouting as he came in from the street. Having heard it himself recently, Tommy recognised who it was at once. Larry Barnet. He decided to stay put and keep quiet.
Larry immediately started having a go at Patty, asking her when he was going to get the cash, demanding she hurry up about it or he’d give her another taste of the back of his hand. Patty’s cheerfulness vanished and she’d sounded frightened. Larry threatened her some more, warning her not to think he wouldn’t hurt her. He then began to reel off names of places he’d robbed, men he’d done the jobs with, and who for, adding that they couldn’t fence the stuff yet until a local policeman that he named had been bribed to look the other way. In the meantime he needed money from Patty to live off.
Tommy had stood stock still during all of this, listening hard. He didn’t like hearing a woman being treated in this way, even though she had barely bothered to acknowledge him all the days he’d been there. If things got physical he decided he’d come out and defend her, knowing what a coward Larry really was, like all bullies. But as long as things didn’t go that far, he’d stay hidden.
Now he drew towards him another piece of paper he’d tucked into the account book to keep it safe. He’d written down the names of the locations Larry had mentioned and the policeman’s name: Sergeant Fenton. He
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