Zodiac's toy by John Jones (best free ereader .TXT) 📖

the door, to find a balding man of stocky build, with a bag over his shoulder, slightly older than Lee.

"Freddy!" Lee said, rather loudly, and they gave each other a hug. "Fuck man, you're looking well". They exchanged pleasantries, and Lee stepped across to Shane's and knocked on the door, even though it was open. Ray appeared.

"Ray, this is Fred. My mate from when I was inside. He's just left prison. I told him to come and find me when he got out". Ray shook hands with him, but he was one of those people who the second you laid eyes on them, the red light warning flashed in your mind.

This happened with Ray, although he couldn't fathom what it was. Just, okay, I've nothing against you. I don't know or care about you. I'll smile and shake your hand, but that's about it. Something about Fred told Ray to avoid him, but then that same something told Lee he would be a good friend, and that same something would be neutral in somebody else.

"You hungry? I'm just knocking up some brekkie," Lee said, as they went inside the flat, closing the door.

Ray went back to sit on the sofa.

Well Lee's got a new friend, and Caroline's wrapped up with Wayne and the wedding. He looked at the note Lee had given him, and was soon leaving the flat.

It turned out to be another long trip. A bus journey followed by a shorter bus journey, until he found himself in a housing estate, walking along the road looking for the address.

Eventually he found it and walked up the path and tapped lightly on the door. It was soon answered by an elderly lady.

"Hi," he said, "I'm looking for George Derrick". The woman nodded, as though Ray was just another person looking for him. However, she did not cover for him and said exactly where he could be found.

"Gemini function rooms back that way". She pointed up the road. "He left about five minutes ago. He plays darts around this time and there's a competition today. That's where you'll find him". Ray nodded despondently, thanked her and spent twenty minutes finding the place as it was along a pathway and behind high bushes, but it was called ‘Desiree’s function rooms’. He came across a few parked cars and could hear voices.

There was also muted noise coming from inside the building. Three men were chatting at the boot of a Volkswagen Passat, and Ray cautiously approached. They looked at him as he came near.

"Hi, I'm looking for George Derrick". Two men left and walked to the entrance.

"We'll see you in there George," one of them said. George stood there, a set of darts in one hand. He was smaller than Ray but older, and wore smart but casual clothes, the type from ‘trendy’ clothing shops.

"Can I help..?"

"I'm just here to remind you of your debt to.."

"My debt! Yes, I'm aware of that, now thank you for reminding me and fuck off". He walked towards the entrance.

"You're overdue and..."

"Yes okay, I'll pay up now go away". George was three metres from the crimson painted double doors of the function rooms when an arrow slammed beside one of the handles. They both stopped. George looked around and as the place was on the fringes of the countryside, there was a hill just across the other side of the pathway, and anyone stood there could look down on them.

Like a Centaur. It was too far away to make out clearly, but still looked exactly like a man fused with a horse. A man pointing an arrow towards them.

"What the fuck is that?" George said loudly, and the Centaur pulled back the string of the bow, but there was no arrow. They were in its shoulder-back quiver.

George took a dart from the wallet and held one up. The Centaur pulled back the bow. George hurled the dart at Ray's leg. The Centaur released the string.

Ray screamed as the arrow entered his thigh.

"Go on fuck off!" George screamed, taking out another dart. Ray staggered back. George advanced. The Centaur drew back the bow and released it. George threw another dart and it slammed between one of Ray's right ribs. He yelled again and collapsed to the floor, but soon was up again, staggering away.

"Tell Lee he's not getting his money". The Centaur drew back again. George took out another dart. The bow was released, and the man threw the dart and it slammed into Ray's right shoulder below the clavicle. He shouted again and fell to his knees. The Centaur turned and galloped down the hill.

George was standing there confused, looking at Ray, and at his empty darts wallet. Ray managed to stand up, look back at him, and stagger to the car-park entrance.

"Look...I'm sorry..I don't know why I did that," George said, following. Along the pathway, a horse and rider came past. The police-woman, not the same as the one who had given Ray a ride home, looked at him as they passed by and smiled, and continued, turning around a corner.

"That's not like me...I," but Ray just ignored him, and took out all the darts, throwing them to the floor.

A silver Citroen C4 turned onto the pathway and made to go into the car-park, but it stopped about two metres before Ray. The driver wound down the window.

"Get in" he said, "you’re late for your court-case".

"Wha..?" the man got out of the car and went around and opened up the back door. Confused and in pain, Ray simply staggered across and got inside.

The man got back in the driver's side and was soon reversing out onto the estate. Ray wanted to ask him who he was and why he was helping him, but instead just said:

"Hospital...take me to th.."

"Your wounds are superficial. Come on you can take them easy," he smiled and pressed his foot down on the accelerator, speeding above the 30mph limit in the housing estate then out onto a main road where he twisted the steering wheel to the right and the back tyres skidded on the tar-mac. A few other cars beeped their horns, but the man did not stop, instead drove faster.

"Slow down," Ray said, but the man said nothing, focused as he was on the road, his foot pressing down the accelerator. The car hurled through the streets, speeding through red lights, but always avoiding anything. There were near misses. People stepped out into the road, stepped back, cars honked and braked, but the vehicle buckled and twisted its way along streets and was soon at its maximum speed of 112mph. Ray tried to grab onto something as he bumped and jostled, almost forgetting his pain.

"Slow...dow..!" but soon the car was screeching to a halt near the high-rise. The man looked back at Ray.

"Out. The scales of justice are balanced in your favour". Ray reached for the handle, and was soon falling out onto the pavement. The car sped away, around a corner. Aches and pains came back and he crawled for a few feet, before getting up and slowly making his way up the stairs.

In the corridor he found Lee and Fred casually chatting. Lee frowned when he saw Ray and came over.

"You alright, what happened?". Ray leaned against a wall for a few moments, breathing heavily.

"George...said he wasn't going to pay you...and then threw darts at me".

"Darts? Wasn't going to pay up". He looked at Fred. "Fancy a job?" then back at Ray. "Don't worry we'll sort it. Oh, and I think these are yours". He handed him the zodiac cards. Ray just took them and went across to Shane's flat, entered, and threw them in the air, then fell onto the sofa.

After three hours, he was feeling better. There was no pain. He'd showered, changed, had a substantial meal, and was scrolling through the phone internet for further reinforcement of his beliefs.

...not real...fallacy...nonsense... He nodded in agreement. The coincidence argument though, was standing on thin ice.

 

Chapter 41

 

Caroline and Wayne were deep in concentration, sat at the kitchen table either end. Wayne working on making thank-you cards for the guests and Caroline with her well-used notebook and media-pad tablet, trying to organise seating arrangements at the reception.

"We're going to need a guestbook for people to sign when they go in," Caroline said. Wayne leaned back and stretched.

"This wedding is costing a fortune," he said.

"Yes but it'll be worth it," Caroline replied. Wayne smiled and went back to work, when there was a knock on the door.

Caroline answered and found it to be Ray.

"You're still not getting a key," she said, as he walked inside.

"Just thought I'd come and visit, see how things are going. Two weeks now," he said as he walked into the living room.

"Yes it is," Caroline said, "and you are invited and you'd better have a suit. You're mates are still not invited so you'll be sitting with Mum, Dad and Shelley".

A few minutes later he was sat with them at the table while they worked.

"What happened to your friend?" Ray asked.

"He's..well..got charged and is being kept in custody. He'll be up in court".

"Will he be at the wedding?" Wayne simply shrugged and looked to Caroline as if she knew.

"I don't know".

"Thanks for the photographer," Caroline said, "even though he is an amateur student".

"Well, he'll be cheap".

"I told him no. We want a professional, so I've tasked Vanessa with the job". Ray just nodded despondently.

"Anything I can do?" he asked looking at the cards Wayne was making.

"Not really," Caroline said, "except go and find yourself a suit and shoes. Go and rent one from the place in town".

He folded his arms and sighed, unable to get out of it, but not really wanting to.

"Alright, see you later". He left, and Wayne and Caroline continued working.

 

As he made his way into the town, he received a text message from his work to go in in an hour, so he thought he may as well make his way there now, and spent six hours on his feet, covering for someone, as well as his own duties, so that by the time it came to him 'borrowing' drinks, he felt quite tired, and decided not to go home straight away but find somewhere to drink from a new bottle he had taken, a new brand ‘Bronze Anchor’. He wound his way to the park where the funfair had been, near the pond. There were no fishermen, only someone out on the field throwing a ball for a Border Collie to chase.

He slumped on a wood-wormed bench and twisted open the bottle, finding that he didn't really like the new drink, but enough to finish it.

It began to rain, lightly for around ten seconds before it became a downpour, but Ray stayed, shoulders slumped, sipping from the bottle. The dog and owner left the field in the distance.

Lee had his new friend and his business, and Caroline had her man and was consumed by the wedding. No-one cares for poor old Ray, he thought. I'll leave no mark on this earth when I'm gone. I'll just be a fading memory until no-one thinks of me at all. There's hardly any pictures of me. I'm just passing through this life. Here I am. I’ll wave, and then I'm gone.

He closed his eyes and slumped to the side, his forehead touching the wooden bench. The rain pounded him, but he didn't care. The bottle fell to the floor and spilled liquid.

Rain hammered and soaked him, and he didn't hear footsteps approach. When he did, he simply opened his eyes. There was somebody standing in front of him. He made out that it was a woman, pensioner, simply standing there looking at him as if somebody lying on a bench was a curious thing.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"No," Ray muttered and slowly sat up straight.

"My name's Virginia," she said, "fancy a walk?" She moved to his left. He wanted to say: ‘No, not really,’ but the rain continued to