Scorpion

By Ed Collins

Oliver Liddle persuades his friends to help him find the gang guilty of stealing from an 88 year old woman, but all they have to go on is that the gang go round in a red car, prey on older people, and one of the members has a snake tattooed on the back of his right hand.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781291822670

Book preview

Scorpion

STORY NO.1

THE SCORPION. (19,345 words)

Oliver Liddle’s mum put her head round the sitting room door, I've called you twice already you know she said angrily to her husband, You'll be complaining next that your dinner's gone cold! Oliver’s dad grinned as he folded the newspaper up and placed it on his chair before following her into the dining room, I was just reading about old Mrs. Gaskell, he said You know her don't you? She’s the old lady who lives in one of those bungalows on the main road, over the bridge.

His wife didn't pay much attention to him as she put his dinner on the table in front of him, she knew one or two of the old ladies by sight of course, but she hadn’t spoken to any of them. She had heard of Mrs. Gaskell though, but, as far as she could remember she had never spoken to her either, all she knew about her was that she was the oldest tenant who lived in the bungalows. What about her? she asked as her husband also pulled his chair into the table, is she ill or something?

She's only been mugged that's all her husband said. Mum looked at him to see if he wasn't pulling her leg. Mugged? Mrs. Gaskell? Are you sure?  She must be ninety if she's a day, are you sure you’ve got the name right?"

She didn't wait for him to reply as she went into the sitting room, returning with the newspaper in her hand, What page is it on?

Oliver’s dad winked across the table at him, Page seven I think, he said, Or eight, I’m not sure, it could have been...

Good Lord, his wife said as she saw the report on page seven:

‘Eighty eight year old woman mugged.’

She placed her elbow on the table letting her fingers run down the side of her face, placing her little finger in her mouth, a habit she had whenever she was worried about anything, It says here she's eighty eight years of age, and will be eighty nine in a few weeks time. Can you believe it? she continued a woman of that age being mugged? I don’t know what the world is coming to I really don’t. She folded the paper up again and placed it on the sideboard behind her, I mean who would want to harm an old lady of that age? But thank God they didn’t hurt her, she added earnestly as she sat opposite Oliver’s dad, That would have been terrible wouldn't it?

Aye, Mr. Liddle agreed, as he balanced his peas expertly on his knife, but she must have been frightened out of her wits all the same, and they did make off with her husband's gold watch which she had kept since he died twenty five years ago.

I can’t imagine a woman of almost ninety years of age getting mugged, can you?, his wife added as she lifted the paper off the sideboard and began to read it again, Now I come to think of it though I did hear somebody in the corner shop only last week saying that nearly all those old people in the bungalows have been robbed over the past twelve months or so. She sighed, And the worse thing is the people responsible for the robberies have never been caught, it makes you wonder what on earth the police do with themselves all day long, doesn’t it?

Her husband shook his head in agreement, All the police seem to know is that it’s the same gang which is responsible for all of them, but apart from that they don’t seem to have much to go on, apart from knowing that the car they always use is a red escort. They even managed to get the registration number of the car, but of course, it was a false number wasn’t it?

It makes you wonder what they do all day long all the same. his wife repeated, I mean you’d think they had some idea who was responsible for it by now if the gang have been robbing people all this time.

They do have one small clue, her husband said, for what good it is, they know that one of the gang has a snake tattooed on the back of his right hand. He laughed, A fat lot of good that is I must say.

Oliver looked at his dad over the top of his glasses, interested all of a sudden, Have the police really got no idea who might be behind these muggings dad?

His dad shook his head, They've probably got a few ideas I suppose, but the trouble is crooks these days are not like your common or garden type thieves, they seem to have everything planned down to the last detail, and when they strike, bingo, that's it; then they disappear into thin air until the next time. Mind you, he added, leaning back comfortably in his chair, I don't think the police are as interested in that kind of crime as they should be, it's motorists like us they seem to go after. Did I ever tell you about Bert Williams...?

Oliver dropped his knife and fork onto his plate, jumping quickly up from the table, Bloomin’ heck, he spluttered, draining his tea in one gulp, I'd clean forgot, I told George I'd see him at quarter to one!

If he heard about Bert Williams and his faulty rear lamp just once more he'd go balmy. His mum raised her eyebrows wearily as he went out into the kitchen, lifting his anorak down from behind the door, "How many times do