Chapter 64

David had discussed the importance of their consignment with Betts. They stood side by side as links in the long Morales chain. It was an interlocking relationship and relied on both the men trusting each other, for this marriage of convenience allowed the respective partners to make money. They certainly benefited from the efficiencies, and conversely suffered from the inefficiencies, of each other.

Betts had been pumped full of adrenalin at setting off to meet Natalia, and David was excited for him. Unable to concentrate whilst gambling within the Student Union, the pocket money that he had lost would soon be replaced by a proper wage; a wage that he had earned through his hard work, he reminded himself.

It had taken years for him to become the main dealer of cocaine in Portsmouth. His clients respected him. They relied on the quality and regularity of his supply and knew they needed to pay up in full, otherwise they would be at risk of not seeing him again.

Turning away from Betts’ van which was quickly exiting the rear car park of the Student Union, David was in the mood for a few drinks. He strode towards the bar and sat himself on one of the free upright stools.

“Two lagers, please,” he shouted at Corinne serving behind the bar.

There was only the one of him, but he wanted to make a quick start. He had other matters to attend to. It had been pushed to the back of his mind what was happening with his date for the evening. His concentration had been on the cocaine supply for the evening in the Student Union to ensure his few hundred pounds during the course of the ball. He had completely lost track of Emma.

In focusing on the quick encounter and send off for Betts, his other half had wandered off. David was sure that he had last been with her by the casino tables, but they were closed now. All who had been on the bucking bronco, or on the blow up bungee corridors or at the casino, were now in the main bar area and the various sitting areas that led off.

David appeared pained. This had been a chance to progress his personal life with the most beautiful girl at the university and yet his mind had been elsewhere. He never knew when to stop. He could not help himself. Had Emma been his chance to escape? Could he convince his own soul that he really had been able to remove himself from the mess that he was in?

He could not see her anywhere. He shouted at Corinne for another couple of lagers and slouched back against the edge of the bar, the stool which he had perched on earlier had now been taken and his mood was worsening. The couple next to him were all over each other and this just made matters worse. He gazed in the other direction and took in the small happy crowds of team players, their housemates and some of the friends becoming very close friends.

He downed the first pint of the new round, picked up the second and walked around the whole of the bar area and the seating areas off it in a similar fashion to a lost sheep. He had to leave. He had created his own personal mess and he would be the one to pull himself out of his current situation. He would show Emma that he was not a lost cause; his future wealth would guarantee admiration from others and that they would look up to him. He would not be a worthless individual. Money would ensure others loved him.

David left the union by the front main entrance and walked out past the bouncer on the gate. Next to him were students who had not pre-bought a ticket, queuing outside to join in the party. The ball was now just beginning to liven up, with the music blaring out its regular beats into the neighbouring streets.

David walked along the familiar roads across town. They eventually led him to the back of St. Mary’s Church in the northern part of the island. The church was never properly lit up, and suffered from vandalism. There was a new cracked window just to the side of the entrance and a temporary piece of plywood had been propped up on the inside of the building.

The height of the historic architecture cast long shadows in the moonlit evening and the air was still. Nobody was about and David was an unnoticed, solitary figure. He hugged the dark buttresses of the tower and found the pathway that signalled the direction his footsteps needed to take.

Ensuring that no-one was behind him, David opened the manhole cover set low in the pathway and descended the shiny new loft-ladder that he had installed especially.

He shone his torch in the gloom and found the wooden door padlock. Turning his standard key released the bolt, and David walked through to the room beyond.

Huddled in their respective beds under the large grey blankets was a middle aged woman in the larger adult sized bed and a young teenage girl in the smaller bed adjacent. The torchlight picked out the links of the chains that led to the right ankles of each of the prisoners. The skin had chafed slightly on both the mother and daughter where the chain had resisted their movement around the room. David reflected that the pair had behaved themselves throughout their ordeal. Even he was aware that the two of them had been insurance for the Woodcutter’s actions, whoever the Woodcutter was.