Cherringham--Blade in the Water by Neil Richards Page A

lover away.
    Thanks to Carl and the guys of course — he never made it.
    Kent and Magnusson both were now in custody awaiting trial on a whole series of drugs charges and fraud. And ViaVita’s assets were frozen while the company was investigated.
    The drug dealers though had disappeared back to London — but enough pharmaceuticals had been found in Magnusson’s house to put the whole gang away for years.
    And Sarah’s father had been full of praise for the way they’d manage to ‘clean up the village’ while not disturbing the Regatta, save for a bit of commotion at the end. But, as Michael said, “Some people thought the whole thing was part of the show … Brilliant!”
    Jack reached for his beer and took a swig.
    Maybe now’s the time, he thought.
    He looked across at Sarah and waited until she caught his eye. He gave her a nod, and she excused herself from the table and came down the gangplank to join him.
    “You want me to take over?” she said, smiling.
    This part of the plan was definitely going to go right, he thought.
    “Why yes,” he said, nodding, smiling. “Thank you Sarah.”
    He turned to the guys: “There’s a little something I need to say to Carl here, fellas. So if you don’t mind — maybe you can keep Sarah entertained? Carl — you got a minute?”
    “Sure, Jack.”
    He beckoned to Carl who looked surprised but followed him as he headed away from the Grey Goose upstream along the river bank.
    “What’s the problem?” said Carl.
    “No problem,” said Jack.
    They walked together in silence, past the last of the moored barges until they reached a small copse by the side of the river which pushed the path a few yards away from the water.
    Jack checked that nobody was looking, then motioned to Carl to follow him into the copse. Two or three paces took them to the water’s edge.
    Yep, still here, thought Jack.
    Tied up at the bank was the surprise he’d prepared for Carl, covered in an old green tarpaulin.
    Jack leaned down, untied the tarpaulin and peeled it back.
    To reveal Magnusson’s bright yellow scull.
    “Whoa,” said Carl, crouching down to check out the boat.
    “Neat, huh?” said Jack.
    “I thought it broke up and sank.”
    “Yep,” said Jack. “According to all the witness statements, that is exactly what happened.”
    “Worth a small fortune you know,” said Carl, running his hand along the frame. “It’s state of the art — Olympic standard.”
    “A few thousand pounds, that’s for sure,” said Jack.
    Carl stood up: “So what are you going to do with it?”
    “No, Carl,” said Jack. “Question is — what are you going to do with it?”
    “I don’t understand … ”
    “Sarah and I talked this through. It’s going to be a couple of years before ViaVita’s unravelled — maybe even longer before compensation is paid out. But you and Donna need cash now. No?”
    Jack watched Carl taking all this in. He nodded.
    “So here we are. Just you and me. And a boat that no longer exists. You know what I suggest?”
    “Go on … ”
    “Tomorrow morning early, you come up here, you untie the boat and you row downstream. There’s a little boatyard in Oxford I know — Walkers. Guy who sold me the Goose. And he’s got an empty storage space and an ad all ready to go on Ebay for a high-spec yellow scull … ”
    “Just like this one?”
    “You’re catching on quick, Carl,” said Jack. “Just like this one. Course, he’ll take a small commission. But he tells me you’ll clear a nice sum.”
    “Right. Wow, certainly enough to get Donna out of trouble, that’s for sure.”
    “Exactly.”
    Jack kneeled down and tied the tarpaulin over the scull again.
    “Now there is just one more little secret … ” he said.
    “You’re an interesting guy, Jack.”
    Jack stood up and grinned.
    “Hey thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
    He headed out through the copse and back onto the path.
    “Well what is it?” said Carl as he joined him.