Rags laughed again and pushed past me on the way to his office. ‘Now, let’s write up that contract.’
I was prepared for this eventuality. I let him reach the door to the offices before I called to him. ‘I still want my five grand a month. I don’t care how you come up with it. Just make it happen or I’m going to the cops and you can explain yourself to them.’
‘Tell them. See how far that gets you. They won’t find anything and if you do, I’ll tell them you’re a mean-spirited little prick trying to screw me over because you can’t hack it in the big time. Trust me, I can sell that and the cops will buy it. Goodnight, Aidy. See you next week.’
‘Call your boss. I want to speak to him.’
‘No. You’re getting out of your league now. These people won’t buckle to your threats.’
‘I’m not threatening him. I have an offer for him.’
‘What have you got to offer?’
‘A new pipeline.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘The cops are on to you, but they’re not on to me. Steve is receiving and shipping cars from all over the world. Why can’t there be something inside of those cars?’
‘You want to drag your grandfather into this?’
‘He doesn’t have to know. I can make it part of his personalized service. Who wouldn’t want their restored car delivered to them by up-and-coming racing driver, Aidy Westlake?’
Rags was silent for a moment. I hoped my bait was enticing.
‘I’ll cut you in. You’ll keep Ragged Racing on the track.’
How could Rags turn down an offer like that? The chance to recover a hopeless situation had to be irresistible.
‘Do you really want to follow through on this?’
‘Yeah.’
Rags was silent. He was thinking about it. It was there on his face. He was looking into the future and he saw himself there.
‘Come into the office.’
I followed him in. He punched a number into his mobile, but no one picked up. I didn’t think anyone would. He didn’t have anything to offer, until now. His call went to voicemail.
‘Hey, it’s me. Aidy Westlake knows everything, but he wants to make us an offer. He has an alternative to what we’re doing. I think you should listen to him.’
Rags hung up and tossed the phone on his desk. We didn’t say anything to each other. There was nothing to say.
It was an hour before his mobile burst into song.
Rags answered. He was cool, calm and collected with his explanation. He wasn’t the same Rags I’d witnessed at the factory, coming apart one piece at a time when his calls went unanswered. He was back in the game.
He listened to his boss for several minutes before hanging up.
‘Be back here at ten tomorrow night. Make sure you have all your facts straight. You won’t get a second shot at this.’
Lap Thirty-Seven
Since my meeting with Rags wasn’t until tonight, I had the day to kill, so it was time to kill Jenni Oglesby’s blackmailing scheme stone dead. I had Rags to deal with. I didn’t need Jenni’s scam distracting me. I called her over a late breakfast.
‘You got the money?’ Jenni Oglesby asked.
It was just a phone call, but my heart was banging away in my chest. I glanced at Steve and Dylan sitting across my desk at Archway for some comfort. They looked just as wound up as I did. So much for a problem shared is a problem halved.
I tapped the envelope with the fifteen grand in it. ‘Yeah, it’s here in front of me.’
‘Good. Meet me at the Englefield Green Town football ground. Do you know where that is?’
‘No.’
I wrote down the directions she gave me.
‘I’ll be waiting,’ she said and hung up.
‘You ready for this?’ Steve asked me.
‘As ready as I’ll ever be.’
‘He’s got nothing to worry about. He’ll have me there backing him up,’ Dylan said. ‘Jenni’s had the upper hand until now. Her taking a payoff changes everything. The second she takes the money, it’s over. She’s a blackmailer and Aidy is the victim. Done and dusted.’
Steve took the pad with the directions written on it from me. ‘She wants to meet at a football field?’
I nodded. ‘On the centre spot.’
‘A big, open space. That makes it hard for you to get close,’ he said to Dylan.
‘Don’t worry. I’ll get it all recorded,’ he said.
‘Let’s go then. She wants to meet now.’
Dylan rode with me. I didn’t see the need for two cars. It was going to be a straightforward exchange.
As I drove, Dylan downloaded an app called Dictaphone to my mobile. It effectively turned my phone into a digital recorder. He checked and double-checked the function. With the phone in my jacket pocket, the recording app captured my voice with little loss of quality. The beauty of turning my phone into a recording device was that no one would think twice about me having my phone with me.
Englefield Green was a short drive from Windsor. The football pitch’s stand came into view, sticking up over the neighbouring houses. I pulled over at the side of the road.
‘Do you think she’s got anyone watching?’ I asked.
‘Out here? If someone’s put her up to this, I’d expect her to have friends with her.’
Outnumbered and outgunned, I thought.
‘OK, game time,’ Dylan said. ‘Give me a couple of minutes to get into position then do your thing.’
I nodded.
He jumped out of the car and jogged ahead.
A few minutes later, Dylan called me. ‘OK, I’ve got a good spot with a clear view of the pitch. Jenni’s waiting for you. And she’s alone. I like how this is shaping up. Go get her.’
I hung up on Dylan, turned on the Dictaphone app and pocketed the phone. At the stadium, I stopped next to Jenni’s Ford Fiesta. It was the only other car in the car park. To call the Englefield Green Town’s ground a stadium was an exaggeration. It was home to a non-league club several tiers down from anything close to a professional club. There was only one covered stand, running the length of the field. The other three sides were exposed to the elements and had no seating. I got out of my car and walked through the main gate on to the pitch.
Standing on the centre spot, Jenni Oglesby turned to face me. She was smart. She’d brought me out to a place I didn’t know. Insisting that I meet her here gave her the upper hand. The Achilles heel in all this was the money exchange. She could take as many precautions as she liked, but taking the money left her exposed. It made her a blackmailer.
‘Got the money?’
I pulled the envelope part way from my jacket pocket. A smug smile spread across her face at the sight of it. She held out her hand for it.
‘Not quite yet.’
Her smile changed to a frown. ‘I’m not here for games.’
‘I need assurances.’
‘What assurances?’
‘That you’ll drop the claim against me. I’ve got the Surrey Police breathing down my neck.’
‘I’ll make sure they leave you alone.’
‘How? If I give you this money like you asked, what assurances do I have that you’ll do it?’
The smug smile returned. ‘You don’t. Money, please?’
I removed the envelope and held it out to her. She took it, but I maintained my grip.
‘Don’t piss about,’ she said. ‘Let me have it.’
‘Not yet. I need to know why you did this. Why me?’
‘Why not? Now give me the money.’
‘You know I didn’t crash into your car.’
‘That’s what you say.’
Her playing coy wasn’t getting me anywhere. I imagined Dylan listening in on the conversation, willing Jenni to incriminate herself.
‘You orchestrated this. You wanted to crash, but I stopped in time. You rolled the car instead, but you knew the charge wouldn’t stand up.’