Dam Head Farm

By Terence Goodchild

Andy was the son of Tom a detective sergeant on the local police force one day Andy and his mates went to Dam Head Farm to see what the new owner was doing. The farm had been bought by a gangster named Tony Costigan linked to protection, drugs and many other unlawful things but no one could nail him, one day a priest riding his bike found a young lad floating in the canal his head covered by a plastic bag full of blood.
Andy and his mates under cover of the bushes crept closer to see what was going on in the huge shed when Andy’s sister Beth who had followed them gets caught by the gangster's henchmen Andy then had to come out of hiding to protect her and the two of them were taken into the office to wait for Costigan to deal with them when he arrived.
Toby and Josh who were with Andy had to make a rescue attempt before Costigan arrived by climbing through the office roof before they left they took some plants they thought were tomatoes and later gave them to Josh mother who is Jamaican knew they were marijuana.
The death of a real estate salesman by being blown up in a telephone box makes Tom very suspicious and the deaths he finds out later are all connected to Costigan in some way and the chase is on to finally get him, not without a lot of work and people involved with Costigan who thinks no one can touch him, the trail leads to the docks and airports across Europe and customs employees payed for by Costigan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Terence Goodchild
• Release date: Dec 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370089819

Terence Goodchild

Terence J Goodchild I am an English writer born in Manchester in the north of England and now live in Tasmania with my wife on a farm with our horses. After travelling in Europe for many years my wife and I came to Australia for a holiday in 1981 and found that we could live in this country, so we migrated in 1988 to Melbourne, but now live in Tasmania. I have been writing for about 12 years, and have written 17 novels of fiction and about 100 poems that I may put in a book one day, I try and make my books somewhere the reader can escape to, and hope they enjoy my stories, I put in a few truths, just for spice to make it more interesting, and a few one liners, I put the characters in my stories of people I have met and places I have travelled to and write how I see things,

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Copyright Terence J Goodchild (2015)

Published by Terence J Goodchild @ Amazon Createspace

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The right of Terence J Goodchild to be identified as the author of this work, has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

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ISBN 9781539973133 (paperback) Amazon

ISBN 9781370089819 Smashwords

DAM HEAD FARM

The black van slowly followed the young man, the two occupants never taking their eyes off him whenever he stopped they stopped.

Liam was thinking to himself what he was going to do tonight, maybe he will get his girl Trace drunk and she may have sex with me or maybe not. I mean after all we have been going out for six weeks, that is enough time to get to know someone, but he knew Trace was not that type of girl and came from a nice family, he had been paid for his work, and he felt good.

Liam carried on walking not knowing he was being followed, the van kept its slow pace following him they were in no hurry it had to be done right so they watched and waited for their chance. Just then a group of teenagers came out of a pool hall and stopped to talk to Liam, .’Damn.’ one of the occupants said.’If he stays with that lot we will never get him.’

’Shut up Barker, we have to get him tonight or do you want to explain to, you know who, that we failed besides, he only wants to talk to him and put him right nothing is going to happen to him.’

The other man said nothing, as he was well aware of consequence of failing; the young man stopped talking and said goodnight to the others and walked to the van followed him, the side door slowly slid open, and the big man got out and started to follow Liam on foot. When the street was quiet and no one was around the man grabbed Liam and put his hand over his mouth, the cloth with the chloroform started to work almost at once, and the body went limp.

Liam.’s limp form was bundled into the back of the van the door slid shut and it sped off at high speed.

’Slow down you idiot we don't.’t want to raise suspicion.’

#

The priest was riding his bike along the path by the canal humming some psalm to himself, when all of a sudden there was a loud clunk from the chain and he stopped pedalling. ’What the hell, sorry lord.’

He got off his bike and leaned it against the bridge.

’I must ask the bishop for a new bike in the next budget, mind you in this day and age I should be driving a car like them city priests instead of riding this old bike.’

Just as he was trying to figure out what had happened to the bike he noticed a bundle of clothes in the canal, and leant down to retrieve them.

’Just look at this someone has dumped all these clothes in here. Such a waste when some of the people in the parish have little to wear, such a waste.’

He grabbed hold of the bundle and started to lift it up, but it was not a bundle of clothing at all, it was a body of someone their head in a plastic bag and the bag was full of blood.

’Holly mother of god.’ the priest crossed himself, and let the bundle go, it turned over and slipped once more under water.

The priest ran to the road and flagged down a passing motorist who drove him to the phone box at the crossroads, and rang the police. And then he threw up.

#

The day was fine when Andy woke up; the discarded gangster book lay on the floor where he had tossed it before he went to sleep,

He reads all sorts of books about adventure and crime his mother said he would be better reading something a little less violent and more stimulating to his brain. The fields lay stretched out behind his house, what a great day to be young he thought Saturday no school

.’I shall go and call for my friends and we can go for a bike ride and find some new adventure.’

Just then he heard footstep.’s run up the stairs, his bedroom door burst open and stood there in all her glory was Beth. Andy.’s sister The sudden entry into his bedroom broke Andy.’s concentration.

Now sisters are all right as a sister.’s go, but Beth was one of a kind, 13 years old, (unlucky for some) going on forty, pigtail freckles the lot?

.’What do you want.’ Andy asked.

.’You have to look after me today, because mum said so.’ Beth replied.

’No way am I looking after a girl on a Saturday no way, especially you.’ Andy looked at his sister.

’You have to see mum said.’ Beth had this uncanny way of giving you the shits, and all she had to do was look at you, in the way she is looking at you now.

.’We will see about that little sister of mine.’ Andy went running down stairs, taking them two at a time and burst into the kitchen where his mother Sandra was making breakfast.

’Why do I have to look after Beth.’ He shouted .’why do I get all the crap jobs in this house.’?

Andy was very annoyed and looking after Beth on Saturday really just wasn.’t on. .’Language young man where on earth did you learn words like that, or maybe I know I suppose you got it down at the station house with your father, you spend too much time down there among thieves and vagabonds, not to mention the criminals.’

Andy could see his mother was in one of her sarcastic moods today and when his mother was in one of her moods nothing Andy said was going to work.

#

Andy.’s father was a detective inspector at the local nick he had worked his way up through the ranks from constable walking the beat, as he keeps telling Andy. .’Good life in the police force makes a man of you.’ ’Yes dad.’ Andy replies

Andy knew very well his mother would not let any son of hers join the police force, its enough worry having Tom in the Police force without Andy. Her mind wandered to the time Tom had been injured twice in the line of duty the first time was touch and go wether he would live

It was when he and his partner were walking the beat one night and came across a petrol station that had been broken into, the door had been forced, and Tom told his partner to go around the back while he investigated the front.

Tom was very careful and was just about to enter the garage when a man ran into him, the man screamed and they both fell to the floor and started to fight.

In the confusion Tom did not know the man had a knife and during the struggle that followed the man pulled the knife and stuck it in Tom.’s stomach, the man ran off and left Tom bleeding in the middle of the forecourt. His partner came around the building to see Tom huddled on the floor holding his stomach.

’Are you all right.’ Tom.’s partner asked.

Tom never spoke he just keeled over and the blood ran onto the forecourt.

.’Bloody hell.’ his partner shouted and took off his tunic and shirt and stuffed the shirt in the hole to stop the flow of blood. His partner flagged down a motorist and they rushed Tom to hospital

It was touch and go in the hospital Tom had lost a lot of blood, only for the quick thinking of his partner he may have died.

Tom spent six months off work, it drove him mad what with his wife fussing, and the kid.’s noise he was glad to get back to work.

His partner also received a medal for his quick thinking plus the gratitude from Tom and his family

The next time he was injured was when he was a Sergent and a hostage situation went wrong he had a call to go downtown where a man was holding a girl hostage in an abandoned building, No one at the time knew why the man had grabbed the girl off the street.

Tom was driving past on his way to work and of course had to see what was going on, Tom drove up to the building and climbed out of his car the building had been cordoned off from the rest of the street Tom asked one of the police officer what was happening he showed him his warrant card.

’Well sir, we have a man up there in the building on the seventh floor, he is holding a girl he snatched off the street, no demands have been made so we don’t really know what he wants and he will not talk to anyone.’

’Okay, Tom replied you call for in to your captain I am going in to try and talk to him, maybe he will swap me for the girl.’

.’Do you think that is wise sarg, after all, we don.’t know what he will do or who the hell he is.’ the policeman answered.

.’You just call for backup son I will go and talk to him we have to do something we cannot sit here all day.’ Tom replied.

’If you say so sarg but be careful.’ the policeman replied

Tom started to climb the stairs as the building was derelict, and of course the lifts did not work, mind you they probably never worked when the building was occupied there was garbage and all sorts of rubbish scattered up the stairs, he came across hypo needles and condoms scattered all over.

.’Looks like the drug and sex trade is booming around here.’ he said to himself.

Just then a ferrule cat jumps out and scared him to death, .’shit.’ he shouted, .’What the hell was that.’

Tom carried on up each floor till he got to the seventh, by this time he was really knackered.

’I must take more exercise, this climb is painful.’ He stopped at the door and could hear the man shouting at the crowd below.

.’Why don.’t you all piss off, hey go on or I shoot the girl.’

Tom shouted to the man, that he was coming in, and pushed open the door not knowing if the man would shoot first then ask questions later. .’Well, well come in copper.’ the man looked at Tom

’Only a silly bastard copper would risk his life for someone he doesn’t know, come in silly copper your better than nowt.’ the man shouted to Tom. Tom looked at the girl tied up with a gag over her mouth; he could see the fear in her eyes.

’Are you all right.’ he asked her, she just nodded.

’She is all right, now all you have to worry about is you copper,now sit down over there where I can keep my eye on you.

Don.’t want you doing anything brave now do we and someone getting hurt.’ the man waved the gun at Tom.

’Why don.’t you let her go and keep me in her place.’ Tom said.

’Oh yeah, that would be a great idea, why did not think of that but now I have two hostages instead of one, so sit down