The Lottery Ticket (7 page)

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Sandra had cleaned through the house with the help of Rachel. Before she went to town she would finish the ironing. Rachel had decided she would go with her mum and help her carry the shopping she would need for the following days picnic.

Once the house was empty Roger climbed out of bed and sauntered into the bathroom. He shaved and bathed himself taking his time. He knew he would not be disturbed for some time. As soon as he had dressed he went down to the kitchen and made himself a plate of food and a drink. Leaving the pots on the draining board he left by the back door.

He was going to the bookies to place his bets for the afternoon races. No one in the family knew he had money and no one asked. He contributed nothing to the household budget but still he helped himself to whatever he wanted. The money he gained from Tuesday’s job would not last him long. He would soon be back in pocket after the warehouse job, he thought to himself.

The first one to arrive home was Julie. She went upstairs to log the latest burglary, on the map. She was baffled by what she saw. Up until now there seemed to be a pattern emerging of the break-ins, not only were they becoming more frequent but they seemed to be occurring one in a village then two in the town.

What was strange about her friend’s robbery was that it followed another break-in further down the same road. This had never happened before. It seemed from the stickers on the map that the two robberies in the town would be at each end. They had never been together as the two latest ones. These findings she would discuss with Mandy tomorrow.

The next to arrive home was Sandra and Rachel with the goodies for the picnic. Julie couldn’t wait to tell her mum what had happened to Mandy’s home. As they sat in the kitchen talking about what had happened, the back door opened. In came Roger from his outing to the bookies. He made himself a mug of tea as Julie carried on explaining what the Campbell’s had come home to.

Roger knew that if Detective Sergeant Davis was on the case he wouldn’t need to worry about being suspected. He made his drink and went into the front room to watch the races on TV. It was likely that this is where he would stay for the rest of the afternoon and evening whilst the others busied themselves getting most of the things they would need for the picnic the next day.

One thing that was still on Julie’s mind was the open diary she had found on her bedside table. She was sure it was put there by Rachel and she needed to remind her that she was out of order going in her drawers and taking things that didn’t belong to her.

        “I did not go in your drawers”, Rachel adamantly denied.

She looked at both her sister and her mother in such a way as to convince them she was telling the truth. Her mother knew her well enough to know she was telling the truth.

        “Maybe you took it out yourself and forgot to put it back”, suggested Sandra.

        “It is possible I suppose, but you know I always put my things away when I’ve finished with them mum”, reminded Julie.

        “Well it wasn’t me”, blurted Rachel.

        “Lets stop this arguing now, no harm has come of it so let’s not hear any more about it”, demanded Sandra.

They continued to prepare for the picnic. When this was completed they decided that as it was a nice evening they would all go into the garden and tidy it. The lawns, back and front needed cutting and while Sandra did this the girls could don the garden gloves and pull up some weeds.

They all knew it would be pointless going into the front room while dad was in there because he would be watching the sports or anything else that took his fancy. This meant that they would not be able to watch their favourite TV programs. As darkness began to fall they returned to the kitchen and prepared to play card games.

Meanwhile in the lounge the slumped figure of a disappointed gambler was tearing up the betting slips he had exchanged for his ill gotten money earlier that day. In all the years he had gambled he had never won much, but his dreamy desire to hit the jackpot made him continue to back the donkey rather than the horse.

The Lottery Draw was the next program on the television which reminded him of the tickets he had picked up in the last break-in. He pulled them out of his pocket and waited for the balls to pop up out of the machine. The first ticket was of no use as this was the previous weeks draw. This he tossed into the fire grate and looked at the second ticket which had this Saturday’s date on it.

As the numbers came out one by one he began to mark them off. He had three in a row as the third ball appeared on the screen. Convinced that with his luck he had only won ‘a tenner’, he waited for the next ball to pop out of the machine. This number was also on the ticket. Now he began to get excited. He realised that with four numbers he would get a bigger payout. He sat upright in his armchair now as the fifth ball rolled down the shoot. This too was on the ticket he was staring at. Now all he needed was one more and he would hit the jackpot. The bonus ball was his chance of being a millionaire. Out came the ball as the commentator called the number thirteen. As he quoted the saying ‘unlucky for some’, Roger looked down at the ticket to reaffirm what he had been waiting for.

He now waited what seemed like hours, but in reality was only seconds, to see the balls put up on the screen in numerical order. Yes he had all six numbers needed to win the Jackpot. The announcer had already estimated the top prize as being 4.2 million pounds.

How do you react when you realise you have gone from being a hard up bugler to a multi-millionaire in just a few minutes. Roger realised that this is exactly what had happened to him. As the presenter had just announced that there was only one winning ticket. He felt like screaming and shouting at the top of his voice he wanted to tell someone. His reasoning took over from his initial shock. “If I shout out, the others will come running in to see what the matter was and I will have to tell them, better I keep it quiet for the time being”, he thought.

This was indeed his lucky day after all. He had no thoughts for the people he had stolen the tickets from only for the things he could buy with the kind of money he was about to receive. He did not want the rest of the family to overhear his conversation with the lottery organisers so he took the phone up to his bedroom and spoke quietly into the receiver.

To receive the money he would be picked up and taken to a hotel and there he would receive the cheque. There would be a champagne reception with the media present. This was not what he wanted. He would be happy just to make his own way to the venue and with no fuss and no publicity. He explained this to the person on the other end of the line to their disappointment. He would have his wish honoured he was assured. After getting the details of the hotel he hung up. Even after speaking to the person on the phone he still couldn’t quite believe his good fortune. He returned to the front room and bought up the teletext page that would hopefully confirm again that he was indeed a millionaire. Sure enough it confirmed his new status.

With his mind still in some turmoil he began to think of the things he would do with his new found wealth. Sitting in the chair constantly checking and double checking the ticket and the numbers which remained on the television screen he began to formulate in his clearing mind his plan of action for his future.

The first thing that he would do in the morning was to ring Bert and tell him he wasn’t feeling well and that he would have to lead the gang on the warehouse job. He was clear that he no longer needed to carry on his night work. He was also sure he would no longer need his so called friends.

He heard the girls going up to bed and knew that shortly Sandra would follow them. What was he going to do about them he started to think? He felt nothing for any of them and if he was not there they would not miss him he felt sure.

He was to go to the hotel to collect his cheque on Tuesday. Ironic, he thought, that he obtained the tickets on a Tuesday and that he would be paid for them on a Tuesday. He began to think of what he would do with the cheque once he had it in his hands. He would choose a bank that he knew was not used by any of the family.

As he sat mulling over the steps he needed to take to keep this win to himself he heard Sandra mount the stairs. He would stay down stairs tonight. This was not unusual and it would raise no suspicion from the other members of the household. He knew of the arrangement for the picnic and so he could wait until they had gone before leaving the front room.

The girls rose early on Sunday morning as the excitement grew for the outing they were going on. Sandra had only to cook breakfast and finish the packing and they would be on their way. Before they left Sandra realised that if they wanted to carry everything they would need transport. As the ‘Rec’ was close by the girls could take their bikes, but to pick up Nan and take her and the food and games, she would need to borrow the van.

Sandra hated to ask Roger for anything as it made her feel she was in his debt. She swallowed her pride and walked into the front room to ask her favour. Slouched in the armchair was the still body of her husband. In the few seconds she observed him she couldn’t help thinking what she saw in him that made her want to marry him all those years ago.

She noticed the television was still on and showing the teletext page with the lottery numbers displayed. “Why was he watching this for”? She pondered. As far as she knew he never bought lottery tickets. She shook the sleeping heap. Slowly he stretched and opened his eyes to see his wife standing in front of him.

        “What do you want”? He asked as he pulled himself up in the chair.

        “Could I use the van today, as I can’t manage everything for the picnic and pick up mum? She pleaded.

        “I don’t see why not”, he replied. “You will need some petrol though”, he informed her.

This was his way of getting the van filled up without dipping into his own pocket.

After she closed the door he realised he had left the television on all night and wondered whether she had noticed the subject on it. If she had noticed it, had she wondered why he had been watching the lottery page?  

His concern was soon forgotten as he heard the back door close and he was alone once more. He wasn’t in any hurry to ring Bert as he knew he would not be up until at least mid-day. He went into the kitchen and made his breakfast. Sitting at the end of the table in the dining room looking out in to the garden he began to visualise the kind of place he would buy once he had his winnings.

He was planning his own getaway from this place and all who belonged in it. When he made his break he was going to go alone.  He would go somewhere where he could not be found by Sandra or the girls. This was only a part of his newly formulating plans.

He finished his meal but made no effort to clear the pots from the table or go back into the kitchen to wash the pans up he had left on the cooker. After he had been upstairs to carry out his ablutions he returned to the front room to ring Bert. As he waited for Bert to pick up the phone he was looking at the ticket that meant his life was about to change.

         “Hello Bert, I just thought I’d better ring you to let you know I’m not too well. Could you look after the job tonight”? He lied.

         “What’s the matter with you Roger”? Bert inquired.

         “I was changing a tyre on the van yesterday and I’ve wrenched my back. I am lying on the couch right now”, he continued the lie.

         “I suppose I’ll have to then, I have the van and I can pick up Mick. What shall I do with the loot?

        “The plan is to take it straight to the unit and off load it there. I was to meet the
‘fence’
on Tuesday but I have to go to the hospital that day so can you meet him at the unit”? He lied again.

      “Yes, I guess he knows the deal. I will ring you on Tuesday evening after it is all done”, informed Bert.

This was the opportunity for Bert to prove himself and take over the reins from Roger. He knew this was a chance for him to become the leader of the gang and make the changes he had always wanted to make. Little did Bert know that Roger wasn’t in the least bit concerned about his ambition. He was done with the gang.

Chapter 7
 

The Warehouse Job
 

Sunday’s picnic was a success marred only by some disturbing news revealed by Mandy. It would seem that whoever broke into their house last week and took the lottery tickets had won the jackpot. Because Mandy’s dad used the same combination of numbers every week he knew that his ticket was the winning one for this Saturday.

Because they did not have the ticket he could not claim the prize. Someone out there was in possession of their ticket to a fortune. Mandy told Julie that her mum and dad were devastated by the knowledge and wished they had never checked the numbers.

Mandy was a little more philosophical about the situation as she pointed out that, what you haven’t had you never miss. She was more interested in the picnic outing with her friend and the information she was going to here from Julie about their investigation.

Julie had bought with her the map of the local break-ins and updated Mandy on the latest ones including hers. What Julie pointed out to Mandy was that until the break-in at her house the pattern that seemed to be immerging was that the burglaries were split into three areas. Firstly the hits would be in the west of the town followed by robberies in a nearby village and thirdly that the east of the town would be the target.

This was all making for the pattern to be of planned break-ins. What changed the pattern was the burglary at Mandy’s house. This was totally opposite to the theory Julie had identified from the map.

“Do you think the perpetrators were aware that we would be away”? Mandy asked.

“It’s a possibility. Who knew you would be on holiday”? Julie inquired.

“Loads of people knew we were going on holiday, replied Mandy.

“It won’t help if we eliminate those we know couldn’t have done it, will it”, surmised Julie.