A Good Find by Gary L Beer (chrysanthemum read aloud .TXT) 📕

a bit on the heavy side.” replies Curly Pete as he pushes past Steve and with Dave at his side they walk along the path and into the hall. Putting the ram in the corner Curly Pete retrieves his jacket and gives it a shake; “Back to Steve's place, we'll beat him up there.” he says to Dave in a hushed voice.
Dave's eyes open in surprise at Curly Pete's words, looking up the stairs he seems undecided as to what to do.
“Up to you if you stay here, be safer if you came with us now in case the Old Bill turn up. Barry and Phil might as well wait here and see what happens; which is probably why they are still up there.”
“Yeah, you are right no one has seen them.”
Taking the answer to be yes, Curly Pete walks out the door and hurries along the path. Steve leans against the gate pillar looking anxiously up and down the street. Natalie and Sheila are already disappearing around the street corner as Curly Pete reaches Steve; “We'd better get out of here as well.” urges Curly Pete as he walks past Steve and walks in the direction of the town. Steve and Dave hurry after him and they are soon lost to sight amongst the crowds of shoppers.

Barry watches all from the window, seeing Dippa hurry towards the town and the two girls heading back there way. When Steve appears in the doorway a few minutes later a worried look on his pale face makes Barry realise all has not gone well. With a sinking feeling in his stomach he watches Dave and Curly Pete come out carrying the ram covered with Curly Pete's jacket.
“What's happening?” asks Phil seeing Barry's face turn pale.
“They are all out a bit quick; it's beginning to look like the flat was empty which means we've lost our money.”
“I knew that yesterday when you got the call that Steve had asked for some heavy help, could feel it in me bones.”
“Yeah, deep down from the moment we got here I had the feeling that we were wasting our time. I hope that Steve is not going to prove to be difficult, the way I see it this is down to him.” Barry says, anger making his voice sound harsh.
“I'm with you there, we'll go visit him soon, if all stays quiet outside.”

Stef turns into the drive and pulls to a stop in front of the house, putting the handbrake on he switches off the engine and breathes a sigh of relief. Simon gives a small chuckle as he opens the door and gets out of the car as the front door is opened.
“How'd it go?” asks Nicola from the doorway.
“Sweet,” laughs Simon, “Don't think they even saw me leave.” he continues with beaming smile.
Stef slams the door as he gets out and walks towards Nicola; “Yeah, we didn't see a soul, could have had time for a cup of tea.”
“I'm glad you didn't, I'll go and make us all one now.” replies Nicola as she turns back into the house.
“What now Dude?” asks Simon.
Stef looks at the mud covered car; “Best give the car a wash, may keep Heather sweet, then we'll go look for another car for us.”
“I'll give you a hand Dude.”

Steve unlocks his front door and steps inside with Dave and Curly Pete close behind him. Neither of them had spoken a word on the way to Steve's house and doubts about Curly Pete's loyalty towards him had filled his mind.
“What are you going to do now?” Curly Pete demands harshly confirming Steve's suspicions.
“Make a drink while we wait for the others.” Steve answers as he makes his way towards the kitchen.
Curly Pete and Dave remain in the hall and Steve can hear them talking quietly to each other. If his suspicions were correct then that means he would be totally on his own. The girls could not protect him against those two huge fellas and he felt that Barney would be on their side too. Grim faced he fills the kettle with water from the cold tap and switches it on to boil as Curly Pete and Dave walk into the kitchen; “You want a coffee or tea?” Steve asks pretending to be friendly. He feels tense and a deep anger is beginning to build inside him. He had been friends with Curly for years and regarded him more as family than a friend. For Curly to turn against him over one deal going wrong showed maybe how Curly had really felt towards him over the years. The sound of a car pulling in the drive stops these thoughts and Steve goes to look out the kitchen window. It is Sheila and Natalie, Sheila is getting out of their car when she sees Steve's worried face at the window. Putting her hand behind her she pulls out a shiny revolver and gives him a questioning look.
Steve holds his thumb up in agreement and smiles; “It's Sheila and Natalie, I'll go and let them in.” he tells Curly and Dave as he walks out of the room, not giving them a chance to answer.
Reaching the front door he opens it wide and as Sheila and Natalie approach he holds his forefinger to his lips indicating they be quiet. As Sheila reaches him she passes a small black automatic pistol to him; “Thought you might need this?”
“You have saved my life, maybe best you turn around and go home.”
“What and let you have all the fun? Me and Nat know what they got planned for you, they want their money.”
“Hi Steve.” greets Natalie in a happy voice.
“Hi Nat.” replies Steve in an equally cheerful voice, suddenly he feels that he is going to get out of this and he feels a strong bond form between Sheila and Natalie.
Sheila enters the house and walks past Steve in the direction of the kitchen, as Natalie walks past she puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder; which feels more like a caress and Steve feels his confidence grow. Tucking the gun in the back of his waist band and covering it with his T-shirt he follows Natalie and Sheila into the kitchen.
Natalie shouts 'Hi.' in a cheery voice as she enters and sits at the table opposite Curly Pete as he and Dave say 'Hi.' back.
Sheila walks across the kitchen and leans against the worktop behind Curly Pete. Steve picks up his coffee and joins Sheila in leaning against the worktop. Curly Pete turns in his chair and looks Steve in the eyes sensing the change of mood and he feels uncomfortable with them behind him.
Steve looks away and picks up the remote control to the television, turning it on he tunes in to the Movie channel; Nick Nolte is playing king of the head hunters in the jungles of Borneo and Steve hopes this will keep everyone distracted while they wait for the others.
A half hour later the sound of Barry's Mercedes pulling into the drive can be heard above the noise of the television. Everyone in the room appears to tense up, they had not spoken a word between them since Steve had turned the television on.
Dave starts to stand up saying; “I'll go let 'em in.”
“Sit back down, the doors on the latch and they can just walk in.” Steve orders.
Dave sits back down and looks Curly Pete in the eyes, they make no movement but Steve gets the impression Curly Pete had said something to Dave. Being behind him he could not see his face. Natalie does not see the exchange of looks as she stares at the television, appearing fascinated.
The sound of car doors slamming is soon followed by the sound of the front door opening. Barry marches in as if he owns the place and stops and looks down at the table and locks eyes with Curly Pete. Phil appears quietly in the doorway, a sawn off shotgun in his hands that points casually in Steve's direction.
Steve is alarmed at the sight for a split second, until he realises that if Phil was to fire that he would also hit Barry and everyone else in the room due to the spread of shot coming out of such a short barrel.
Barry locks his eyes on Steve; “Everything remained quiet after you ran away I think that this is all some kind of story and really you owe me and Phil and a few others a lot of money. You going to give it back, or do we have to take it?” the words softly spoken but filled with so much menace Steve's stomach tenses in fear and he feels like throwing up.
Regaining his composure he locks eyes with Barry; “I've lost all my money as well, you can't blame me, if the police hadn't been chasing the boat it would have gone as normal.”
“We've all talked about that, we trusted you the job and you are responsible.”
“I am not.” Steve angrily replies, the last word ending in a shout.
Curly Pete and Dave stand up from the table as Phil steps closer pointing the double barrels at Steve's head.
Twisting in Phil's direction as Natalie stands she points a large chromium automatic pistol at his head and pulls the trigger. The bullet enters Phil's throat just below the ear and passes right through, embedding itself in the wall as he falls to the floor; the shotgun falling from his lifeless fingers. Turning swiftly she pushes the gun into Barry's ear and pulls the trigger again. Barry goes down as quickly as Phil to the sound of Sheila's gun being shot in the direction of Dave. The bullet smashes him in the face just below his nose but does not knock him down. Taking a step closer Sheila shoots him between the eyes and he falls backwards onto the floor with a mighty thump that shakes the foundations.
Everything had happened so quickly Steve and Curly Pete stand motionless shocked by what has just happened. Natalie and Sheila point their guns at Curly Pete's head and look at Steve for approval.
“You've only got one side left now, why did you turn on me Pete?” asks Steve in a shaky voice.
“You got Mick killed, if it weren't for your mess up none of this would have happened.”
“You can't blame me Pete, if they hadn't stashed the bag in the reeds the Old Bill would have found it, Dippa said they searched the car.” Steve answers in a friendly voice; even though Pete had turned on him Steve still felt a strong bond between them.
Curly Pete stares at Steve seeming unaware of the guns that are pointed at his head. The crazed look in his eyes slowly fades and he looks down at Barry's still body. Angrily he kicks him in the head; “I was so upset about Mick all I could think of was getting that fella who did it. When he weren't there I got the feeling you had let him get away deliberately. Barry's been suspicious of the whole thing and you