A Day at the Races (13 page)

After about fifteen minutes of legging it down the hard shoulder, Moxie could see what he thought was a white van ahead.

“I think that could be them ahead, just pull up to them slowly, when you get alongside, I will get out and check.”

The taxi slowly pulled alongside the van and Moxie jumped out of the cab and with a couple of bounds, launched his huge frame onto the side of the van and he yanked open the door.

“OK you couple of bitches, what the hell do you think you are playing at, get out of the van now?”

The two occupants turned and stared at him in disbelief.

“What’s your problem pal, suggest you get your arse out of here pronto?”

Moxie looked stunned, he was wishing the ground would open up and swallow him, as he realised the driver as well as the passenger were not the two women he was looking for, but men with long hair.

The two men in the cab looked bewildered, the driver got out ready to drag him from the cab.

Moxie jumped down, ready for what was coming as the second guy climbed out.

“What the hell are you on about?”

“Sorry, I thought you were two women who stole my van last night, we have been tracking you for the best part on an hour, ask the taxi driver?”

“So you thought we were women, that’s adding insult to injury, I have battered blokes for less?”

Moxie apologised and explained fully his situation which, reluctantly they seemed to believe, he apologised, thanked them for being so understanding and realised he was lucky not to get a good thumping.

“You need to get glasses mate, going around insulting people you could get hurt.”

He decided to beat a quick retreat and hastily got back in the cab.

“So I take it that wasn’t the two you are looking for?” said the cab driver.

Moxie shook his head.

“I feel I right prick, how could I get it so wrong, I don’t know who was more shocked them or me.”

“Do you realise the next turnoff is Leeds, we will have to go all the way there before we can turn around to head back towards Manchester, that’s after we get through all this traffic?”

“Sorry about that, I was sure it was them, I just don’t get this bloody long hair thing.”

Chapter 16

˜

Eventually the accident up ahead was removed, and they slowly got through the traffic and turned off the motorway at the Leeds exit, then back on again onto the M62 to head back to Manchester. All the time Moxie was scanning both sides of the motorway, searching for the elusive van.

This diversion, had cost them over an hour and a half, he felt that by now they would be long gone.

As they approached the Granada Service Station, Moxie told the cab driver, to pull off the motorway as he thought they could be there. They would have one last look, and if they failed to find them, they would go straight to Skippers dairy.

Slowly they pulled into the service station and Moxie scanned all the rows of parked vehicles without any luck, he was just about to give up, when suddenly he spotted a white Ford Transit van, parked at the far side of the car park in a small inlet.

“Over there it could be them, park in front of them and block their exit.”

“Are you sure it’s them, you don’t want to be approaching any more men with long hair?”

As they approached the vehicle Moxie could see more clearly.

“That’s the van alright, there is a small dent just below the window on the drivers side, its them all right.”

Moxie leapt out of the cab and went over to the van, he tried the doors but they were locked. He then went into service station and checked the various snack bars in the centre one by one. As he passed by a newsagents shop, a large News of the World poster caught his eye that read.

“Daring Racecourse Robbery”

He reached down, took a copy from the pile of papers on the shelf and nervously read the contents of the front page.

“Four armed and masked men, broke into the Tote Betting Office on Wetherby race course yesterday, and held staff at gunpoint.

The staff had been busy counting and packing the day’s takings, ready for collection by the Security Company, when the robbers pounced. They fired a warning shot into the ceiling, and when one of the staff panicked and made a break for the door they shot her in the legs.

She was not seriously injured, but was taken away to Leeds General Infirmary for treatment.

The staff were all badly shaken by the incident, they were in deep shock and could not give an accurate description of the masked robbers, except they all spoke with northern accents, either Yorkshire or Lancashire, with one having a distinct Irish accent, possibly from Dublin.

Police described it as a daring and vicious robbery, and they would hunt them down until captured. It is reported they got away with close on a million pounds, but this couldn’t be confirmed until all the till receipts and documentation had been verified.

It is thought they made their getaway in a high-powered car possibly a dark coloured Jaguar and a light coloured van. They hit a number of vehicles as they sped out of the racecourse, but they were long gone by the time the Police arrived.

Roadblocks had been set up immediately after the robbery and a number of vehicles had been stopped within a twenty-mile radius of the racecourse. Several dark coloured Jaguar cars and the occupants questioned, but none of the robbers had been apprehended, or any of the money recovered at the time of going to press.”

As he read the contents, Moxie felt a huge sigh of relief and the blind panic he had endured for the past hour or so, started to abate. His breathing became more normal and he felt an enormous burden lifted of him.

Since the taxi driver had told him about the incident, he had envisaged all kinds of scenarios, all of which had involved incarceration, and all his associates being banged up and branded as common thieves, the point of the exercise to help young Rachel, being completely dismissed.

It was bizarre, that the very day they had chosen to offload the counterfeit money, common criminals should pull off such a brazen robbery, what was the world coming to, it was just too hard to believe? He wondered what the others thought about it and assumed that they would think somehow he was involved.

He now had a spring in his step and renewed vigour, he was determined to get his van back and he raced around the centre, suddenly… he spotted the girls in the corner of a greasy spoon having an all day breakfast.

Moxie walked over to their table.

“Morning girls, how are the hash browns - choking you I hope?”

They both looked stunned and made to stand up.

“Stay were you are, give me my wallet and keys or I will call the police now.”

Both girls were shaking and in extreme shock, Moxie was the last person they expected to see. Vera reached into her handbag and gave him his wallet back and he checked the contents.

“Two hundred quid for breakfast, what the hell have you had?”

“Well we had to buy a couple of other things as well, but I hope you don’t mind?”

“Give me the keys.”

He took his cash and keys, then went outside and paid the cab driver.

“Thanks a lot mate, here take an extra fifty for your trouble you did a great job in tracking these bitches - cheers.”

The taxi driver was most appreciative of the generous tip and thanked Moxie. He then drove out of the service station.

Moxie climbed into the back of the van, then checked under the seat. The money was still there, they hadn’t spotted it thank god.

As he got into the front of the van, Vera came up to the driver’s window.

“You are not going to leave us here are you?”

“You must be bloody joking, pulling a stroke like that, I am in two minds whether I should call the police, what did you intend to do with van, torch it?”

“No we would have left it in Bury, the police would have contacted you, so no harm done.”

“And what about the money, all six hundred quid, did you intend to return that too?”

“No we figured you had your money’s worth last night.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, six hundred quid, I have never paid for it in my life, and if you think the two of you were worth six hundred quid, you need committing.

I am going to go straight home and boil my dick in caustic soda, god knows what I might have got from you two hewers last night.”

“You cant just leave us here its freezing.”

“You are really pushing your luck, you should have thought about that before you left home barely dressed. Just hitch your skirts up another couple of inches; I am sure you will attract some attention. Besides it will give the crabs a chance to escape, now fuck off out of my way, before I run you over.”

* * *

As soon as Mike became aware of the incident at Wetherby, he was really concerned. He called the others to see if they knew anything else, and hoped that it didn’t involve Moxie in some way or other. No one else had heard about the incident, and the police seemed to be very tight lipped about it, the only paper to report it initially, was the News of the World.

Mike made repeated attempts at ringing Moxie’s mobile phone but each time he got an unobtainable signal and assumed he was in a poor reception area.

He contacted Stuart and Peter to see if they knew anything, but the last they saw of him was as they left the course just after the last race the previous evening, after everything had gone according to plan.

As the day progressed, TV and Radio stations got hold of the information and more and more was released as to what had happened. It was concluded that the robbers had picked Boxing Day, because of the anticipated large crowds and potentially substantial haul.

Mike and the rest of the crew, assembled at Skippers at midday to do the sorting of the money and dispose of all the evidence.

“Did Moxie turn up yet Fisher?”

“No he didn’t, I suppose it was well after ten when we decided to call it a day, and if he had arrived later, I am sure he would have just come across to the bungalow and given us a shout, but he didn’t. I tried his mobile on at least four occasions but each time I got a strange signal. I have no idea what’s happened to him. Linton phoned to say they were going to stay overnight because of the distance, but they should be here about lunchtime.”

Mike look a bit worried.

“I hope to Christ he hasn’t blown it, seeing that for everyone else it seems to have gone smoothly, but if anyone can screw things up, it will be him.

The robbery at Wetherby racecourse seems to be have been a massive coincidence, and it would appear they have stolen the bones of a million quid, probably most of it in dud money. What are the odds of two different stings taking place in the one day, its crazy and too much to comprehend?

I must say when the news first broke, I was terrified thinking that Moxie had been caught and the whole operation would come unstuck, for a few hours I was expecting a knock on the door. Brenda knew there was something wrong, she kept asking me to tell her what it was, then a bit more came out on the news, so I felt a bit easier, but it was a tense few hours I can tell you.

I have tried ringing Moxie constantly but got no answer so I don’t know what’s wrong with his phone.”

Fisher and his two sons, brought all the bags of money out of the vault, and placed them on the large tables in the canteen for counting.

“I suppose we had better start sorting and first things first, start with all the good stuff and stack all the twenties, tens and fives in separate piles. Put the fifties in this pile and I will check off the serial no’s against my list of fake no’s and any duds place in this holdall and then Maurice can you place them in the incinerator, but not until we have gone through them carefully. It’s going to take a long time, plus if Moxie ever gets back, we will have all his count as well so we had better make a start.”

Shortly after they had started counting the money, Linton and his crew arrived back and brought in the coats and holdall containing the money.

“Good day gentlemen, sorry we are late, but we decided to stay over last night, it was such a long drive. We probably wouldn’t have been back until well after midnight if we had decided to come home yesterday, but to be honest, we were totally exhausted, I didn’t realise it was so far.”

“Not to worry Linton, I did feel a bit sorry for you pulling the short straw, but at least you had the courtesy to let Fisher know, not like Moxie who didn’t come back yesterday nor, do we have any idea where he is or when he will be back, but that’s typical of him,” said Mike.

* * *

Moxie pulled out of the Granada service station back on to the M62, then headed towards Manchester, he glanced at his watch, in his preoccupation to find the van he had lost track of time.

Jesus, they would be doing their nut if they knew what had happened, he would be in deep shit for jeopardising the whole project.

Supposing the girls had been pulled over by the Police and they had found over half a million quid in the back of the van, the shit would have really hit the fan. Best not to tell them what really happened, because they would blow a gasket, best to tell them he had a problem with the van and had it fixed, but it meant staying over night and it was only ready at lunchtime. With it being Xmas and everywhere closed, he struggled to find a garage open.

The reports of the light coloured van being involved in the robbery at Wetherby, was also at the forefront of his mind, and he was half tempted to find a quite location and rest up until dark. But figured he was outside the twenty-mile search zone so he decided to press on, yes he liked that they should fall for that excuse.

He raced down the M62 and eventually got to Skippers about 4.30 p.m. and drove into reception. He took the holdall and overcoats out of the van and went inside.

“Where the hell have you been you had us all worried, why didn’t you ring Fisher here last night and let him know where you were?” said Mike

“I am sorry it’s a long story, I broke down just as I was nearing the M62, I wasn’t sure what it was and there were no garages opened so I stayed at the Cuthbert Arms last night. The owner has a brother who is a mechanic, he got him to take a look at it this morning, so here I am.”