Africar

By Martin Price

Shirley Oliphant's dream is to take her grandkids on a picnic in a Rolls-Royce. Her husband, the old KO, finds just the car, a 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow once owned by a Mr Van Buren, who brought the car back from Africa. Since his death, seven years ago, the Rolls has been sitting in Mr Van Buren's garage, keeping a secret. A deadly secret. And the old KO is about to discover that secret, and unleash it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Martin Price
• Release date: Nov 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310693267

Martin Price

Price writes mystery and suspense. His latest novels are The Reason I'm Still Here, and Becoming Hugo Forst, which is Price's first literary / contemporary fiction release. His new novel, We all Kill in the End, is now available.

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AFRICAR

A short story by Martin Price

Also available:

STEAM

LUVYA GETCHA

FLOWERS FROM A DIFFERENT SUMMER

MARSHA'S BAG

AS THE FLIES CROW

A TWISTED PAIR ( Marsha's Bag & As The Flies Crow in one book )

SAD'S PLACE ( Due in 2015 )

Copywrite 2014 Martin Price

Smashwords Edition

Thank you for downloading this e-book. It is the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author. If you enjoyed this e-book, then please encourage others to download their own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work. ©

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and events are all from the author's mind. Any resemblance to persons either living or dead is purely coincidental.

This e-book contains excerpts from two novels currently available by Martin Price: STEAM and LUVYA GETCHA

For Katie. Luvya Getcha, always

Table of Contents

STEAM - excerpt

LUVYA GETCHA - excerpt

The End / Back to Top

AFRICAR:

'Nice,' Kenny Oliphant said, grinning. Then, once Mr Liversedge had the garage doors fully open, Kenny walked all the way inside, and his grin got even bigger, like the opening into a world of sunshine. 'A little RDM, I must say, but yeah, it's nice, all right.'

'RDM?' Mr Liversedge said. 'What does that mean?'

'Rusty, Dusty, and Musty,' Kenny said, shining his torch all over the Rolls. 'But nothing the old KO won't be able to fix.'

'The old KO?'

'My initials: KO. The old KO. Get it?'

'I get it,' Mr Liversedge said, smiling politely. He adjusted the knot of his tie with one long-fingered hand. 'Still, the old KO sounds much better than Mr Liversausage. That's what people call me from time to time. As a joke. But I don't find it much of a joke.'

'I'm sure you don't,' the old KO said, who ordinarily would have laughed at that - Mr Liversausage indeed - but the old KO was now transfixed, and falling in love; the 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow was a jewel among all the clutter in here. The paintwork was silver and grey, albeit chipped and discoloured in places, but the grille was in grand condition, and the Spirt of Ecstasy ( otherwise known as the Silver Lady, or the Winged Lady, or even Emily ) was gorgeously intact. The old KO limped over to the driver's door. It was a tight squeeze between the car and a shabby, walnut sideboard, but once he'd gotten past, he was able to open the door and poke his head inside the car.

'You'll find the leather seats, the upholstery, and the wood trim all up together,' Mr Liversedge said. 'However, the carpeting is missing in the front, the air-con is broken, as is the motor for the electric windows. Oh yes, and the brakes don't work.'

'No problem,' the old KO said, his grin still very much in place and beaming. 'It's what I do.'

'What you do?' Mr Liversedge asked.

'Restoration,' the old KO said. 'It's what the old KO does. Normally, I'd restore a car like this, then sell it on. Not this beauty, though. This one's a keeper. For Shirley. And the grandkids.' The old KO pulled his head out of the car. Pointed his torchlight at Mr Liversedge, who was as thin as a strap, with hair that looked like it had been sprayed on from a can. 'If you must know, Mr Liversausage, I mean, Mr Liversedge. See, you've got me at it now! God, what am I like, eh? But anyhow, if you must know, it's always been Shirley's dream to take the grandkids on a picnic in a Rolls. Of course, we could have done that by hiring a Rolls. But no, I want her to have her own, so I can take her out in it like the queen she is, any day of the week, not just on picnics. You get me?'

'I do,' Mr Liversedge said.

'And she's not a well woman, my wife,' the old KO went on. 'That's mostly my fault, sadly. We had an accident, you see, some five years back. A motorcycle accident. I came out of it with a mashed-up knee, hence the limp. Shirley came out of it barely alive, with almost every bone in her body broken, along with a busted skull just to add to the misery. It's been a long road back for her. Still, we're getting there. Yes, we're getting there indeed. And I love her.'

'I can tell,' Mr Liversedge said. 'It makes me feel bad for asking four-thousand for the car, but alas, I'm only the executor for Mr Van Buren's estate, not the car's owner, and four-thousand is the instruction.'

'So what's the death?' the old KO asked.

'The death?'

'The lowest you'll take?'

'Like I said, four-thousand is the instruction. Then again, the auction is tomorrow. If the car isn't sold tonight, then it'll go into the auction, along with the house and its contents. It's up to you. You can come along tomorrow, take your chance along with the rest of them, and place your bid.'

'Oh really?' the old KO said. 'Well, I can do that, yes I can. But if I do bid in that auction, then my highest bid will be two-thousand. And I'll win.'

'How do you know that?' Mr Liversedge asked. He twitched his nose like a rabbit.

'Friends,' the old KO said. 'No one in this town - no one who knows the old KO, that is - will be bidding on this car here. Why? Because they know I want it for Shirley, that's why.'

'That'll make the auction rigged,' Mr Liversedge said.

'No, not rigged,' the old KO said. 'It's simply called loyalty around these parts. Just about everyone in Barford Green wants me to have this car, and can