Criminal Revenge by Conrad Jones Page B

the barn. Richard had set up an office area and a workspace, as well as a chemistry lab and electronics benches. Over the years, he had added extra equipment as he had polished his art. Explosives and their behaviour had become his passion, and revenge was his driving force.
    Richard was sitting at his desk working; the only light in that room came from the screen of his laptop computer. He’d been searching for information about limited companies that he’d found on the register at the Companies House website. The list contained all the corporate details of every tax-paying company registered in the United Kingdom, and Richard had found over a dozen associated firms connected to Malik Shah’s empire.
    “Apparently crime doesn’t pay, but this list would suggest otherwise,” Richard said. He picked up a Yorkie chocolate bar and snapped off a thick chunk. He forced the chocolate briquette into his mouth in one piece, and struggled to chew on it. His white cotton shirt was open at the neck, and his sleeves were rolled up to the elbows revealing pudgy hands and forearms.
    “How many of his companies have you found, Einstein?” David looked over his shoulder as he worked. He noticed that his younger brother was sweaty,a strong odour drifting up from him.
    Richard held up his hand while he tried to break down the contents of his mouth, making David smile. It was a full minute before he could reply. “Four registered to Malik alone, and another nine associated companies with the others listed as directors and company secretaries.”
    “They’ve been busy bees, haven’t they?”
    “The drugs trade is obviously flourishing.” Richard clicked on his e-mail message box. “We’ll wait for contact from Ashwan Pindar.”
    David moved closer to the screen to read the information. The companies ranged from computer software retailers to aggregates and mineral exporters. They all looked well-established and financially buoyant. Einstein stored the information onto a memory stick and shut the programme down.
    “I’ve got all the names and addresses we need. Once Ashwan has found his dealer on his lawn, things should start to move pretty quickly.” Richard bit another chunk of chocolate from the bar.
    They’d dumped the dead body of Abdul Salim on the lawn of Ashwan’s family home and then waited patiently for a reaction to their gruesome message. “What do you think he’ll do?” David asked thoughtfully.
    “I think he’ll be very offensive, threatening and downright rude, to be honest!” Richard chomped as he spoke. “I think he’ll shit his pants and phone Malik Shah, especially when he realises his son is missing.” The brothers laughed as they looked at the screen. “I don’t think Shah will be very happy about his dead dealer, do you?”
    “I think that he’ll soon realise who is in charge, and that the police are all over his business interests, that will change his mind.” David turned his head towards the door. He could hear muffled sobs coming from deeper in the basement.
    “Does he have to do that?” Richard frowned with distaste at the noise as he typed a ransom request to Ashwan, pointing the angry dealer in the direction of his dead employee’s pocket. In it, he would find a memory stick which contained some very disturbing photographs of his son, Mamood. Richard knew that dumping Salim’s corpse in Ash’s garden would have the desired effect, especially when he realised that the killers had his son. It had been simple finding an e-mail address to contact Ash, and sending untraceable messages via multiple servers was easy to do. By the time Ashwan had seen all the photos of his son, he would be dancing to whatever tune Richard played.
    “We’ll see how he reacts when he opens the picture file.” He sent the message. A muffled cry echoed down the corridor. It was creepy in the darkness.
    “Mamood doesn’t sound happy. Nick has been telling him what his father does for a living. He has