Chapter 5: A robbery and at the station

October 25, 2008

That morning, Daphne and her parents were out on a country drive near the outskirts of Wachester with Norbourg, a civil parish located in the shire district of Ridgewood of Crystalshire.

Daphne has always looked forward to the family's weekend cruises in the rural shire, especially with the beautiful moors that accompany the country scenery.

As a matter a fact, George Blake has a cottage right in the village in Wachester with Norbourg and has frequently used it as his go-to place to get away from the stresses of city life in Coolchester.

However, the redhead noticed that her father was looking more gloomy than usual as he got off the motorway, and she can't help but think about the business worries that must be clouding his mind.

Thinking back about Robert Sanders and his will, Daphne could only shake her head.

"It's not bloody fair." Daphne quipped to herself.

"What's not fair, dear?" Elizabeth asked.

"Uncle Bobby's will, Mum." Daphne said as she turned towards her mother. "It leaves everything to the Carswells and nothing for the rest of us."

"Aye." George nodded sympathetically. "It's not fair for us indeed, dear, but sadly, it is what it is and we will have to live with it, even if it's not right."

"Dad, do you honestly believe that Uncle Bobby had made another will?" Daphne asked. "After all, I did overhear him mentioning that he had another one finished right under the Carswells' noses, so to speak."

"He did." George nodded again as he made the turn onto a country road before he sighed and continued, "However, if he really did finish a second will, dear, someone would've witnessed it and that it would've been brought forward to a barrister to be submitted for probate shortly after he passed."

"And the one the Carswells submitted for probate was the only will unearthed following the funeral." Elizabeth added.

"Aye, that too." George said. "Last I checked, the barrister who submitted the claim of another will for us wasn't too optimistic about evidence of another will by Robert, and chances are that even if he did wrote another will, he might have changed his mind and torn it up."

Daphne sighed and didn't say a word, and George glanced at her through the rear view mirror.

Noting the disappointed look on Daphne's face, the Yorkshireman sighed.

"Look, I understand that you're upset about all of this, dear." George said to her. "Unfortunately, our hands are tied at the moment, so if I were you, I wouldn't bring-"

Before George could finish, Elizabeth suddenly shouted, "George, look out!"

George immediately looked towards the front and his eyes widened at the sight of a lorry approaching them. "Bloody h*ll!"

Swiftly, George jerked the steering wheel to the right and narrowly avoided the lorry, which was driving on their lane in the opposite direction they were travelling.

Shortly after passing the lorry, George steered the car back to their lane and Elizabeth and Daphne turned towards the back at the speeding lorry.

"What in heaven's name was that all about?" Elizabeth asked.

"Clearly, that lorry was drivin' on the wrong side of the carriageway and almost slammed into us." George said.

"And that lorry seemed awfully in a rush to get somewhere." Daphne added. "It looked like it's driving fast on a country lane."

George and Elizabeth both nodded in agreement, and it was then that they approached a cottage when they saw a couple of people waving their hands and standing on the side of the road.

The Yorkshireman frowned at the sight of the two people on the side of the road, though his eyes soon widened when he recognised them.

"My word!" George exclaimed as he slowed down. "Seems like someone's having some bit of trouble."

As soon as the Blakes stopped their car, the two people, who the trio soon recognised as Rebecca and Jasmine Drake, two of Robert Sanders' cousins who were also slated to benefit from his new will, rushed over to George's side of the car as he rolled the window down.

"Becca, Jasmine!" George said in greeting. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Oh, Georgie, you wouldn't believe this, but a few minutes ago, a couple of lads on a lorry pulled up at our door, asking if we've got any furniture to sell." Rebecca said.

"We told them that we don't have much furniture to sell, so they were off, but then when we were preparing tea in the kitchen, we noticed that some of the heirlooms were missing!" Jasmine added.

"Heirlooms?" George repeated. "What sort of heirlooms are we talking about here?"

"The silver candle holders." Rebecca explained. "In addition to the rare tea ware and silver utensils that Robert left to us as gifts."

"Oh dear." Elizabeth exhaled. "Have you informed the constabulary?"

"No." Jasmine shook her head. "Our phone's been down this whole morning."

"Then, it's best if we head over to the village station to report it." George said grimly. "Did you both get a good look of the movers and their lorry?"

"Briefly." Rebecca frowned. "One of them looked heavy set, short with dark hair and was wearing a flat cap."

"And the lorry?" Daphne prompted from behind. "What was its colour?"

"Brown with a thick yellow stripe, that's all I remember." Jasmine said as Rebecca nodded.

At the description of the lorry, Daphne and her parents glanced at each other.

"Jeepers!" Daphne said. "That was the colour of the lorry that almost crashed into us earlier when it sped on the wrong side of the road!"

"Yes indeed." George nodded. "In this case, we should get moving."

Following a hasty goodbye, the Blakes were back on the road and approached the village.

In no time did they reach the village police station, where they promptly introduced themselves to Sergeant Daniel McBride, the station sergeant.

The sergeant and two constables nodded and listened intently as the Blakes provided a brief resume of the robbery at the Drake place, including a brief description of the robbers and the lorry, with George later adding on how the lorry was driving on the wrong side of the road and came close to crashing into them.

"Well, then." McBride nodded after George finished his resume of the robbery before turning towards one of the constables and barked, "PC Lillard, I need you over at the cottage to get a first hand account of the robbery and details on the items stolen by our fake movers."

"Right away, Sarge." Lillard nodded as he got up from his seat and picked up his custodian helmet.

"PC Innes, I will need you to take a stroll through the village and inquire about any sightings of our moving lorry that's been driving dangerously." McBride continued as he turned towards Innes.

"Right." Innes nodded as well as he got up from his seat and grabbed his helmet.

"Oh, while you're at it, Sergeant." Daphne said as Innes and Lillard were about to make their way out of the station. "Could you contact DCI Rogers of Silverman CID?"

"I could do it." McBride replied as he turned towards Daphne. "Why?"

"The suspects may be linked to a theft at West Silverman High in Coolchester, in which one of the suspects matches the description of one of the fake movers." Daphne explained. "In addition to the getaway lorry in both cases have the same description - brown with a thick yellow stripe."

McBride nodded thoughtfully. "Did any of you caught the plate number of the lorry?"

"No." George and Elizabeth both shook their heads.

"Right, then." McBride said as he turned towards Innes and Lillard, who both nodded.

As the two constables made their way out of the station, George turned towards the sergeant.

"You know, sergeant, you lot wouldn't be busy chasin' around those thieves right now if Harland was still in charge." George remarked.

"Oh, aye." McBride nodded in agreement. "A shame what happened, may the Lord rest his soul. Nothin' much we could do about it now with Strickland in charge."

George only murmured in agreement as he glanced at the seal of the Coolchester and Crystalshire Constabulary hanging in the sergeant's office.

In mentioning Harland, George was referring to former Chief Constable Robert Harland, who was the county's chief constable for quite some time and was known for being tough but fair, not to mention being a favourite of the rank and file in the constabulary.

During his tenure as the chief superintendent in charge of the force's Criminal Investigation Department, Harland had found creative ways to overcome problems resulted from the personnel cuts in the 1990s, and his successes in managing the force resulted in his appointment as chief constable by the county executive in 1998.

Being a man of influence in the county, George himself had interacted with the chief constable a number of occasions, and he also found the chief constable to be reasonable and fair.

However, beneath the surface lay a power struggle between Harland and his deputy chief constable - Louis "Lou" Strickland.

George himself had never liked Strickland one bit, finding Harland's successor to be arrogant who seems to be more interested showing up on the news and the fact that he's chief constable than actually fulfilling the responsibilities of the office.

Strickland, who took over as chief constable two years ago following Harland's untimely death in a plane crash, oversaw budget crunches approved by the county executive and trimmed down the number of personnel active, on top of approving controversial measures that has resulted in the constabulary the receiving end of lawsuits and complaints from civil liberties associations.

With crime in the county taking a hike, morale began to plummet as the force never recovered from the cuts approved by Strickland, and his preference to appear on the news did nothing to improve morale, all as the rank and file began to view him increasingly like a politician.

Before the Blakes departed from the station, McBride once again emphasised his promise to do the best they can in tracking down the thieves driving the stolen moving lorry.

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