“Well, I think everything seems to be in order,” Mark Williamson said as he looked along the conference table, “if you will do a final check with your lawyers, and then sign the documents, I think we can have the trust funds in place relatively quickly.”
“That is excellent,” the grey haired man said as he stood up and shook Mark’s hand, “I look forward to receiving the final draft in the next few days.”
“Enjoy your weekend,” Mark said as his secretary showed the gropu out, before he sat down and smiled. Albert Compson was indeed a very good client – and he knew he was going to enjoy this weekend, albeit not for the reasons he might have been expecting.
Picking up the telephone, he smiled as he said “Yvonne – I should be home by six. I think we need to talk about what we are going to do while the kids are away...”
“There, that’s Charlie and Lisa settled for the night,” Yvonne said as she came into the dining room, her black hair falling over the shoulders of her jumper.
“Settled? This early in the evening,” Mark said as he looked up.
“Well, settled in the sense of Charlie is watching a DVD, and Lisa is reading a book – they won’t be back down until the morning,” Yvonne said with a smile as she opened the bottle of Rioja, and poured some into two glasses. “So, the meeting went well today?”
“Oh yeah – taking over the audit responsibilities for Compson Industries should be confirmed next week,” Mark said with a smile. “Mind you, their balance sheet may have had an adjustment by that time...”
Yvonne looked at the photographs of the detached house, and then the woman and two children sitting on a walkway by a river. “This is Elaine,” she said as she sat down.
“Yup – along with ten year old Norma and nine year old Gail. I let Brian and Sarah know last night, and they know what we’re planning to do.”
“So, no special instructions?”
“Not on this occasion,” Mark said as he took a sip of wine. “We take control, let Albert know what he has got to do, make the withdrawals and get out. A nice, simple weekend at work for once.”
“Don’t say that,” Yvonne laughed, “you know that’s going to jinx the entire operation!”
Mark shook his head as he stood up, and picked up a pre-pay mobile phone. Dialling a number, he coughed and then started to speak in a Geordie accent.
“This is Jay – rendezvous 10 am Saturday at meeting point seven.”
“Good morning Mrs McPhee,” the boiler suited man said as he got into the back of the transit van, smiling and nodding to the other two men sitting there.
“And ae guid mornin’ to ye,” the balaclava masked woman said with a smile. “Glad ye culd join us.”
“Well, it’s always a fun time working with you and Jay,” he said, the other two nodding as Jay came through from the front.
“Gentlemen,” he said in his Northern accent, “thank you for coming. This should be a straightforward visit – as always, Mrs McPhee will take care of the children with your help, and we stay until the father has taken care of things for us. As far as we can tell, the house should be empty when we arrive, but be prepared as soon as we go in.”
“How long?”
“About an hour’s drive – get comfy, we set off immediately.”
As Jay drove into the gates of the detached house, he slowly made his way to the side of the house, where a grass lane ran. Going far enough up to hide the van from anyone looking casually, he turned off the engine, removed his dark glasses and pulled the edge of his bobble hat down, covering his head so that only his eyes and lips were visible.
He took several deep breaths, before coming into the back of the car. There, the three masked men were checking the contents of two holdalls and their handguns, as Mrs McPhee looked at him.
“Okay lady and gentlemen,” Jay said with a smile, “let’s go and make sure everything is ready for the return of the Compson family.” Opening the side door, he jumped out, the other four following as they walked to the rear of the building. They waited as he worked on the back door, before opening it and allowing them to enter the house.
As Mrs McPhee quietly closed the door, Jay listened to see if there were any sounds that might indicate someone was home. Hearing nothing, he said “good – disable the alarm.”
One of the masked men nodded as he walked into the hallway, the others waiting until he came back in. “Disabled,” he said with a smile, Jay nodding as he said “go through the house – make sure all telephones are disconnected, and that the internet connection is switched off.”
The three men nodded, but before they could do anything they heard the lock on the front door turning. Jay quickly closed the door to the kitchen too, as they listened to the front door opening, and footsteps.
“Elaine must have forgotten to set the alarm again,” a female voice said. “You go into the front room and turn the television on, Michelle, and I’ll get us both a drink.”
Motioning to the men to stand to the side, Jay waited, Mrs McPhee on the other side of the door as the footsteps got closer. They watched as it opened, and a woman in her early forties came in, wearing a grey cardigan with a dark trim over a black dress covered in white polka dots. Her long blonde hair fell over her shoulders, and she wore a pair of black flat shoes over her light hose covered feet.
As she came in, she saw the three masked men, and said “What the... MICHELLE RNNNNDGTHHLLPP!”
“Now I need you to stay nice and calm,” Jay said as he grabbed her from behind, and placed his leather gloved hand firmly over her mouth. “I have no desire to hurt you or Michelle, but I need you to do exactly what I and my associates tell you, do you understand?”
As she looked round, and saw Mrs McPhee standing by the door, she slowly nodded – and then they all heard softer footsteps approaching. Jay turned her round to face the doorway as Mrs McPhee stood ready.
They all saw the twelve year old girl come into the kitchen. The long blonde hair, like that of the older woman, fell over her shoulders, and she was wearing a cap sleeved white t-shirt which had a collage of clothes and accessories printed on the front, a blue and white striped skirt with a blue lace overskirt, dark blue tights and mid-calf black leather boots that had a quilted design.
“Hello,” Jay said as the girl stared at him, his hand still covering the older woman’s mouth, “you must be Michelle. Now, I want you to stay calm, and not shout or raise the alarm. Will you do that for me?”
She looked at him, as Mrs McPhee came up and put her gloved hand on the girl’s shoulder. She then turned and looked at the hand, before looking back at Jay and saying “Mum, what’s going on?”
Only it was the voice of a young boy that came from her mouth...