A/N: Timeline Midday Thursday, 19th April. Greg has just fixed premises with the Mayor and is off to Larksville to change the rental car and meet with his accountant, Bill Elbury.
I am dedicating this chapter to Jacalyn who is a young lady writer here on Wattpad with a big heart and and an outstretched hand of friendship and comfort to anybody who is depressed or being bullied. She needs and deserves all the support we can give her to help others who may may not know where else to turn for help!
With the memory of the blow-out fresh in his mind, Greg drove cautiously until he passed the last of the rows of chicken sheds to the north of the town and then pressed his foot to the boards to open up the engine. The drive was nowhere near as effortless as the BMW, and he noticed the strained roar of the smaller car’s engine when it was pressed for speed along the smooth carriageway that ran as straight as a Roman road all the way into Larksville.
He shuddered involuntarily as he passed the point where his tyre had failed. He glanced to the side of the road and shuddered again when he saw the road was raised a full five feet above the flat countryside through which it passed; cutting through fields of sorghum, grain and grazing pastures interspersed with tree plantations. He only noticed the wind had backed to the east when the car veered sharply to the left without warning as the wind forcefully hit the side of the vehicle when he drove past a gap between two tree plantations through which the wind funneled, increasing its velocity. He shouted out in surprise, fighting the wayward motion with deft touches of the wheel to regain control of the car and return to his musings. Greg still felt good, in spite of the warning about employing ethnic minorities and the attack on the car yesterday. He was now sure in his mind that it had been an attack, and on him personally. The question that vexed him still was ‘Why?’
The Hertz clerk confirmed his fears when they met on the forecourt after he drove into the station. ‘Regional office wants to keep your car for detailed examination Mr. Mitchell.’ The clerk spoke with a dour, deadpan expression on his face that seemed to Greg to be contrived; as if he was hiding something.
‘What’s the problem?’ Greg spoke nonchalantly as he got out of the car and shook hands with the man. The clerk looked uneasy and shifted the subject.
‘What do you think of the little Geo, it’s not in the luxury class but it’s a game little motor?’ His face forced a smile, but his eyes remained shifty and he wouldn’t meet Greg’s gaze. He slapped the roof of the little car as he spoke. Greg brought him back to the subject he had in mind.
‘You were telling me that your Regional office wants to examine the BMW. Why is that?’
The clerk shuffled uneasily and then let go what was worrying him in a deluge of words. ‘It’s like this Mr. Mitchell. The company mechanics that looked at it think the damage was done by acid and they think it might not be an accident. I’m not supposed to tell you this, but you asked me and I guess you have a right to know, ‘specially if someone has you in their sights for something.’
Greg felt a cold hand clutch his heart, but he kept his cool. ‘What happens now then?”
‘Well they can send you out another BMW, but they’ll need to get a 5 series in from the East for you. You can keep on with the Geo and I’ve got a Fairline coming in later that might be more suitable..’
Greg raised his hand to interrupt. ‘I was talking about the tyre. What happens now?’
The clerk gulped and his face reddened. ‘Well sir, they’ve passed it over to the police for forensics. Depending on what comes back from forensics, it might become a police matter. You might have to make a statement.’
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The 'Cousins'
General FictionEnglishman Greg Mitchell has served only two Gods in his lifetime- Making Money and Himself. Now at 35 years of age and after his second divorce and loss of his business he faces a future with no family or friends- he does have some money in the ban...
