Keppelberg Read Online Free Page A

at that particular time. His main aim, and indeed that of my sister, was to keep tabs on me to make certain that I came to no harm. However Wayne decided to take a more integral role in the operation and he first went to the garage nearby to check whether the mechanic was working on my car. He needed to know because the quicker it was repaired the faster I would be able to leave the village. His pretence was to tell the mechanic that his car had broken down three miles away as he searched for the village of Wenford. The mechanic pursed his lips in thought.
    â€˜Three miles away,’ he repeated slowly, ‘on the northern bracket. ‘You’re only just half a mile from Sprockton. It’ll be far quicker and easier if you let the local garage there deal with it.’
    Wayne nodded sombrely. ‘You’re right,’ he said,’ I took the wrong road. If I’d turned left into Sprockton instead of right I’d have found it. I’ll take the car in there.’ He paused to look at the wreck of my car. ‘Wow! Someone’s really had a go at this.’
    â€˜There’s vandals everywhere,’ stated the mechanic dryly, using a large wrench to loosen the nuts which held the damaged radiator. He was clearly disinterested in the detective’s presence and carried on working on the vehicle. Wayne took a flask from his coat pocket and poured himself a cup of tea. He sat down on a seat at the side of the garage watching the mechanic closely.
    â€˜Nice tea this,’ he uttered smoothly. ‘Fancy a cup?’
    The mechanic shook his head. ‘Nope,’ he returned. ‘Jus had one before I collected this car. He stared at his visitor with a dull expression on his face reluctantly allowing him to remain inside the garage as he drank his tea slowly.
    â€˜I knew a mechanic once,’ continued Wayne smartly. ‘He used to go round smashing up cars, stealing their wheels, and then when he was asked to repair them he would charge the full price to replace the wheels which he stored in his garage.’
    He obviously hit a nerve because the mechanic stopped working on the car to stare at him directly. ‘Who are you?’ he demanded angrily.
    â€˜I’m just a tourist whose car broke down four miles down the road,’ lied the detective.
    â€˜I thought you said it was three miles,’ countered the garage owner sharply.
    â€˜Three... four... what’s the difference? But I wasn’t talking about you,’ continued Wayne realising that he was on dangerous ground. It was patently obvious to him that the mechanic had been the one who had vandalised the vehicle and stolen the wheels.
    The mechanic shrugged off the innuendo and carried on with his work on the car ignoring the comments of the annoying visitor. As far as he was concerned, sticks and stones would break his bones but the stranger would leave shortly never to be seen again. Still irate, he wrenched the radiator from its position to remove it tossing it to one side of the garage. He then picked up another one and slotted it into the front of the engine, connecting the nuts, bolts and the tubes within the car so that the water could be passed around safely.
    â€˜It doesn’t take long to repair a car that’s been vandalised accurately, does it?’ Ventured Wayne chancing his arm. The detective was beginning to put his head in a noose but, fortunately for him, the mechanic ignored him completely. After removing the distributor from another car, he swiftly replaced it with the damaged one in my vehicle. As Wayne had remarked, repairing a wrecked car which had been vandalised in a certain way was relatively easy and quick to repair. Twenty minutes later, it was ready to be driven away.
    â€˜Are you still here?’ Asked the garage owner staring at Wayne with the same dull expression on his face.
    â€˜I’m on my way,’ declared the detective, standing upright. ‘Thanks for the