The Stealers by Charles Hall Page A

trudged up the stairs to her bedroom. For a moment Crane was left standing in the hall, contemplating his next move. Ryan, his senses returning, had seen Bradley hot-footing it down the drive and decided to follow suit. Peeping through a crack in the door, he saw his chance when Crane re-entered the front room. Slowly at first, Ryan edged his way across the hall into the opposite room and in a sudden panic, hurled himself through the open window. Crane heard the sound of heavy boots on the stony driveway outside. He pulled back the curtains and caught sight of Ryan jumping into the parked Mondeo. Ryan brought the engine to life. In a panic, he crashed it into gear and with wheels churning and spraying gravel everywhere, sped out of the drive.
    There would be little or no chance of catching up with the pair, so Crane decided to have a chat with Stan, so he walked over to the barn and unlocked the Judas door and swung it wide open. The early morning light flooded in and made Stan blink as he sat on the floor; the remaining ether gas had, by now, dispersed. He looked at Crane quizzically. He rose slowly to his feet and moved unsteadily towards the open door but he stopped dead when he saw the Glock pointing directly at his head.
    â€˜I don’t want to use this; it may wake your mother,’ Crane said, ‘but I will if you try anything.’
    Stan, still a bit groggy, looked beyond Crane. There was no sign of Ryan or Bradley. ‘Where’s the others?’ he rasped.
    â€˜Oh, they’ve left in a bit of a hurry. Now tell me, where do you think they have gone?’
    â€˜I dunno. You were the one who’s not supposed to be here.’
    â€˜Well, I am.’ Crane replied firmly. ‘Now where is this place on the continent that Bradley goes to?’
    â€˜I don’t know anything about that.’
    â€˜Your mother seems to think you do. Now I’ll ask you one more time and if you don’t tell me… ’ Crane paused and pulled back the slide on the Glock before adding, ‘I’ll put a nine mil slug in your foot and one in your knee. Do you want to be crippled protecting the pair that abandoned you?’
    Put like that, it did not take long for Stan to make a decision and with resignation said, ‘Okay, okay. All I’ve done for Ryan and Bradley is take a few motors through the Channel Tunnel for them and then spend the day in Calais before getting a ferry and train back home.’
    â€˜Where do you drop them off?’
    â€˜A public car park right in the centre of the town, it’s easy enough to find. I don’t even see who picks them up. I lock the car up and leave the keys on top of the front tyre.’
    Crane lowered the gun, ‘Take my advice. Unless you want to end up in jail or get hurt, you’d be better off here – looking after the farm.’ With that, Crane quickly turned and hurried down the drive to the old Mercedes that he had left partly hidden in some bushes off the main road.
    Stan felt light-headed with relief as he walked across the yard, opened the door of the house and nearly bumped into his mother. Her finger was raised in the wagging position, but Stan shrugged his huge shoulders, held up his arms and said, ‘Need to see about getting some grain in the ground before winter sets in.’
    She was about to reply, but instead she stood with jaw agape as he walked past, picked up the phone and spoke to his local seed merchant.
    Crane tossed his jacket onto the back seat, started the powerful V8 motor and pointed the Mercedes Benz towards Canford. During the uneventful drive back to Canford, his brain was awash with what had taken place over the past few hours. He drove with all the windows down in the hope that the fresh morning air would remove some of the ether fumes, still wafting from his clothing. He pulled the car into Palmers Rise, and after a few metres, stopped dead. A set of tyre tracks were plainly visible in the