Legacy. Jeff Edwards

these DVDs.’

      ‘To a company in the city.’

      ‘Which company?’

      ‘The Briscoe Corporation.’

      ‘What was the woman’s name?’

      ‘I only know her as Mrs Green.’

      ‘How did she pay you?’

      ‘Cash.’

      ‘This Mrs Green carried cash with her. Enough cash to enable you to buy a taxi licence?’

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘Why didn’t you just take the money off her. She couldn’t have stopped you, could she?’

      ‘She promised more in the future. She said she might have more tasks for me and that she would pay cash for that work as well.’

      ‘And has she contacted you again?’

      Ali licked his lips, thinking. El Kalil watched him closely and wondered if he was about to tell a lie. He was taking far too long to respond.

      Ali decided: ‘Yes. She has rung me since.’

      ‘And what did she want you to do this time. More deliveries?’

      ‘No. She wanted me to pick up a car and take it to an address.’

      ‘What else?’

      ‘I’m to look after it till she needs it. Make sure it runs properly.’ ‘What sort of car?’ asked El Kalil, already knowing the answer.

      ‘It’s an old Rolls-Royce.’

      El Kalil smiled. It seemed Akuba had been telling the truth.

      ‘How did she pay you?’

      ‘In cash. Like before. She posted it.’

      ‘Where is it?’

      Ali stood and walked into his bedroom. Reaching inside a wardrobe, he extracted a shoe box. Opening the lid, he showed the contents to El Kalil.

      El Kalil reached into the box and extracted the banknotes within. Counting it, he was surprised at the amount.

      ‘You have certainly found yourself a wealthy benefactor,’ he said as he pocketed the money. ‘Our cause is much indebted to her. I shall be back for more later. Be sure to keep your Mrs Green happy,’ he smiled.

      El Kalil moved back into the kitchen.

      Taking the knife from his assistant, he pressed it to the girl’s neck.

      ‘Please remember everyone,’ he said as he looked around the table, ‘we have not been here. We were never here. You have never seen us before in your lives. If any one of you forget that, I will return and I will be less gentle next time.’

      His men moved out of the house until only he remained.

      ‘Just remember my words. I have been here once, and I can return any time I wish. The distance between life and death is small.’

      His arm holding the knife moved quickly, expertly. The small girl screamed as blood flowed down her neck. El Kalil smiled as he surveyed his work and walked from the room.

      Ali leapt to staunch the flow of blood. He pushed a towel to the gash as his daughter sobbed hysterically. His wife Nori gathered the girl in her arms and the family rushed the girl to hospital.

      No stitches were required; the wound was not deep enough. But if El Kalil had placed the slightest pressure on the knife, the child would have bled to death. His warning was abundantly clear.

      El Kalil reported his findings to the old men.

      ‘We want all possible information about the owner of that car,’ they replied.

      Chapter Thirteen

      Ali Akuba stood beside his daughter’s bed and watched her sleep. She was very young and would probably forget her frightening experience. But it would take time. The girl whimpered softly into her pillow as she slept.

      Ali Akuba, on the other hand, would never forget. Forget or forgive.

      He walked into the kitchen, where his wife sat sobbing quietly.

      Placing his hand on her shoulder, he kissed the top of her head.

      ‘What shall we do?’ she asked.

      ‘What needs to be done will be done,’ he said with a steely resolve.

      ‘Could we bargain with them?’ she asked.

      ‘No. There is no bargain that we could make that they would not also break if they so wished. There can be no dealing with them. We are doomed if we give in to them, and we will be doomed if we try to fight them. It is simply a question of which doom we choose.’

      His wife looked up at him. She saw no sign of doubt in his eyes. His mind had already been made up.

      ‘What about the children?’ she whispered.

      ‘I will send them away to keep them safe. I have been considering sending them to a private school anyway. Now it is essential that they go.’

      ‘What will you do first?’

      ‘The first thing I must do is warn Mrs Green.’

      Dressed in his best suit, El Kalil and one of his student cell members called to the car yard, seeking out the salesman who had recently sold the Rolls-Royce.

      ‘My family were the former owners of that particular vehicle and my elderly mother would like to have it back. It reminds her of our late father.’

      ‘Well, I’m afraid that the car has been sold.’

      ‘Perhaps the payment for the vehicle will not be processed.’

      ‘No. It was paid by credit card and we ensured payment before releasing the vehicle.’

      ‘Possibly we could contact the new owner and negotiate with him?’

      ‘That could be difficult. I was contacted by a salesman from another yard. He had seen the car on the internet and gave my details to the purchaser. The purchaser rang and gave her credit card details. Her instructions were that someone would come to pick it up on her behalf. The credit card was for a company, but I can’t find a phone listing for them. I checked on that straight after the sale went through. I wanted to keep track of them. Easy sales like that don’t come along every day.’

      ‘So you’ve sold a car, but you don’t know who to?’

      ‘That’s about the size of it. It’s how things are done these days with the internet and all.’ ‘So the person that picked up the car was not the new owner?’ ‘Possibly. But I was contacted by a woman. She sounded old, and she sounded white, if you know what I mean.’

      El Kalil nodded. ‘Could I have the name of the company?’

      ‘I’m afraid I couldn’t do that.’

      ‘Yes. Of course,’ smiled El Kalil, as he pressed several banknotes into the salesman’s hand.

      The salesman pocketed the notes and shuffled through several documents on his desk. He spun one around and El Kalil took a quick glance.

      ‘Thank you for your efforts,’ he said, rising and straightening his jacket before leaving the room, followed by his assistant.

      The salesman removed the notes from his pocket and counted them. Smiling.