Everything to Nothing (20 page)

‘Right, okay, I
can understand him wanting company. He was away for three years; I
hope he didn’t hurt grandmother though.’

‘Who knows?
Only he and she know the answer to that.’

‘What does all
this have to do with pool though?’

‘Well, it turns
out that this lady was the daughter of a famous American pool
champion and she taught grandfather to become even better. In the
time they spent together all they seemed to have done is play pool!
When he was convalescing after his injury, according to the letters
written after he returned to duty, the old fox managed to get
himself put into a hospital where a certain young woman was
stationed very nearby. It seems that once he was back on his feet
they spent every passing moment during his six month convalescent
period playing pool!’

‘Wow! Okay.
That explains why he is so good!’

‘No, he is
better than good. He made a fortune out of it in the sixties and
seventies. You know he and mum were stationed all round the world
and that I was actually born in Hong Kong of course?’ He did not
wait for an answer to the rhetorical question. ‘All through those
decades he used to hustle the Americans who were stationed with or
near him. You know what Americans are like; big, boastful, and
loud, think they’re untouchable and unbeatable at everything they
touch? Well grandfather did touch them and did beat them! He
hustled his way around the world, from army base to army base, bar
to bar in city to city getting him and mum a nice little nest
egg!’

‘Wow! Great
story!’

‘Yeah, it is.
Bill would be able to tell you better than me. He spent a lot of
time with grandfather during those years in the Army. There was a
rumour that old Sharky was not beaten, when he was playing
seriously that is, and not pretending he was rubbish for the
hustle, for something ridiculous like twenty years until he met a
certain woman at an army base on Guam.’

‘Even bigger
wow! He met her again after all those years?!’

‘Yep.
Apparently they played non-stop for about ten hours and let’s just
say she put a big hole in his nest egg.’

‘Oh dear!’

‘Yeah, and ever
since that day as far as I know he has never betted on a game until
that night with you!’

‘Excellent! I
love listening to tales like that about our family! That is
amazing. What a life he must have led!’

‘One thing that
can be said about my dad, he has lived life to the full,
definitely. One thing though, don’t mention this to him. I do
believe that there were indiscretions carried out with the American
woman and I still think to this day that he feels terrible about
it.’

‘Okay, I
definitely won’t.’ And Michelle never did.

*

After an hour
of playing pool Arthur declared like he usually did that Michelle
was now the world champion of pool and that he was giving up for
the night. Usually they would sit back down at a table and have
another drink before leaving but her grandfather stated that he was
tired after spending so long in the garden earlier that day and
asked to leave straight away. Michelle of course agreed but not
without showing concern. In all the time they had been having these
nights together their routine was very rarely broken and only if
circumstances were totally beyond their control, for example, a
fire once broke out in one of the toilets. Never before had they
ever left early because he was tired.

On the walk
home through the streets this time avoiding the dark fields, the
conversation was sparse. Her grandfather had been a Sergeant in the
army for many years and he had always stood ramrod straight.
Michelle could not help noticing as they walked that he now seemed
to be stooping a little. With the early departure from the Rose and
now this stooping it started to concern her a lot.

Then a little
alarm went off in her head and a piece of information forced itself
from her subconscious to the conscious part of her mind. She
remembered that he is nearly eighty and he had been on the go
non-stop today and she thought that she would be stooping a little
bit too if she was him.

These thoughts
eased her concern a little and Michelle was certain that tomorrow
he would be back to usual. The stoop slowly started to straighten
as they reached the end of his street and was totally gone by the
time they reached his garden gate. Michelle looked down at Jack and
even the tireless spaniel’s head was drooping with fatigue. She
took in a big breath of the crisp cool night air and said, ‘One of
the reasons I love coming out here into the country, the air is so,
so fresh.’

‘One of the
reasons I am still so fit and healthy the air out here. Better than
living in the town definitely.’

‘Yeah, it is
grandfather. Do you feel okay now? You seemed tired before?’

Arthur was
getting his keys out of his pocket as he answered, ‘Yes, of course
I do. Don’t worry about me young lady. Still plenty of time for me
to work out how on earth you are managing to beat me at pool so
easily!’

The door was
unlocked by Arthur and he swung it open and they both stepped into
the hall. ‘I think we both know that that isn’t strictly true. That
night with those men. You didn’t have to move when you were taking
your shots. How did you do that?’

Arthur let out
a chuckle as he was removing her outer garments, ‘Told you:
luck!’

‘Rubbish
grandfather and you know it!’

‘I honestly
don’t know Michelle.’

‘I want you to
teach me.’

Arthur led her
down the hall into the kitchen where he switched on the kettle and
started to prepare some hot-chocolate for them both. ‘I’ve got
nothing to teach.’

‘Ohhh
grandfather!’ Michelle stamped her foot. ‘Pllleeeaaassseee!’

‘Who do you
think you are? Sally?’

‘Sorry.’

‘Hmmmm. You are
the daughter of my son and my granddaughter, not the daughter of a
billionaire who has more skeletons in his closet than a Russian oil
baron who lives in a haunted house!’

‘He doesn’t
have skeletons in his closet! He has just worked hard and sometimes
had good luck on his side!’

‘Good luck?!
Nineteen seventy-eight, he was applying for a military contract.
His main rival fell from a ten storey high balcony. Verdict:
suicide, but the rival had never shown any signs of depression or
suicidal tendencies. Nineteen eighty-four. Sally’s father had just
lost a court battle over the copyright and patent of a now common
household product. You know which I mean?’

‘Yes, of
course. That is what made him most of his money.’

‘He should be a
pauper after that court battle. He lost fair and square. Three days
after the judgment his rival went missing from his own yacht in
perfectly calm seas off the Monaco coast. Verdict: an unfortunate
accident resulting in drowning. Utter drivel. Everyone with half a
brain knows that, although Mr. Gallagher may not have pushed him
off that yacht with his own hand, it was a hand connected to an arm
belonging to Mr. Gallagher. Proof of this theory: none.’

‘Therefore he
is innocent until…’

‘Rubbish. He is
as guilty as a man holding a smoking gun!’

‘Grandfather
that is why we have courts, to present evidence to find out if a
person is innocent or guilty. You can’t say he is guilty just
because you think he is! You need proof.’

‘My proof is
the coincidence that two of his main rivals both died under
extremely mysterious circumstances.’

‘Only two
though. I’m sure to get to a position such as his he would have to
push a lot more than two people!’

‘Nineteen
eighty eight. Aircraft contract with Boeing to make numerous
electrical components and the software to run a plane, a contract
that would make his company the largest electrical and computer
software company in the U.K. and up there with the world’s
biggest.’

‘And?’

‘The government
stopped him claiming that this contract would give him a monopoly
on the industry. The two main people who blocked the signing of
this contract were found dead two days after this announcement, one
from drowning in his own swimming pool and another was knocked down
by a black cab in London.’

‘And Mr.
Gallagher was the perpetrator?’

‘I have no
proof and I don’t think anybody does unless he bought them off or
killed them, but don’t you think it is all a little bit too
coincidental?’

The kettle had
long since boiled but it went unnoticed by both of them.

‘I can see what
you mean grandfather, yet you can’t accuse people without proof.
That can’t be done in this country.’

‘I know we are
talking about your best friend’s father so try to be neutral about
this and ask one simple question. Does everything I have said to
you sound a little suspicious?’

‘Okay, as a
neutral, yes, it does. However, I know Mr. Gallagher better than
anybody apart from Sally and he is not capable of ordering these
things!’

‘I have to
disagree with you. You know his fatherly side. You only know how
nice he is to you and Sally. Have you ever been to the office with
him?’

‘No.’

‘Have you ever
sat in with him during one of his business meetings?’

‘No.’

‘I have.’

Michelle could
not keep the surprise out of her voice. ‘You have? When?’

‘Just before I
retired from the Army, before you and Sally were born so before I
had met him informally. They wanted an experienced soldier’s
opinion about an electronic component Gallagher and the Army were
working on. At that time I was only pushing pens and paper waiting
for my pension and some random officer walked into my office and
invited me into the meeting. I think he was told to go and find
anyone who was experienced in the field and I was the first person
he saw.’

‘Okay. Then
what happened?’

‘I was taken to
a meeting room and sat down and listened to all they said. I’ve
seen him socially since then, since you got to know Sally we have
been together to many of the functions he has thrown for you both,
parties etcetera, right?’

‘Yeah, we
have.’

‘Right. Well
the difference between him on that day and him on his own grounds
hosting a big party was astonishing. He was evil Michelle, pure
evil. The electrical component has since been banned by the Geneva
Convention as being too, well, evil to be used on any battlefield.
But all he saw, Gallagher, were the pound signs flashing before his
eyes. He has no idea it was me, and probably does not even remember
the insignificant old soldier who so strongly opposed him during
that meeting. He had answers for every objection I had. All the
military could see was certain success on the battlefield and all
he could see was the large contract that was just about to land on
his desk followed by an even larger cheque!’ Her grandfather took a
breather and then continued in a quieter voice. ‘Don’t say that you
know him, you don’t. Only when you have looked him in the eye
across a table where you are discussing the future of his company
and the future of his bank balance and you have seen the evil,
determination and pure greed in his eyes can you truly say that you
know him.’

There was
silence for a moment while they contemplated everything that had
been said. Eventually Michelle asked the only question that could
be asked, ‘What was the component?’ For a moment she thought that
he was not going to tell her but he did.

‘It fitted onto
the top of a man’s rifle, gun, whatever. It was a small box with
some kind of powerful laser in it. I, of course, do not know the
exact technical specifications, but I am led to believe that the
soldier pressed a button on the gun and the box emitted some kind
of powerful laser. How it works is not important. What is important
is the result of pressing the button. It blinded, blinded Michelle,
the enemy soldiers.’

‘Oh my God!
That’s horrible!’

‘Exactly. The
laser had a wide field of fire too so it is not as if the soldier
had to point it straight into the enemy’s eyes, just in the general
direction would suffice. Now imagine a whole battalion…’

‘How many men
is that?’

‘It would vary
from around 500 to 1000 men. So imagine a whole battalion armed
with one of those boxes. If all they have to do is point them in
the general direction of the enemy troops they would have been able
to blind and therefore kill probably a brigade of enemy troops
without even trying.’

‘And a brigade
is how many men?’

‘Around one
thousand five hundred to three thousand depending on their roles
etcetera.’

‘Bloody hell!
Three times the number?’

‘Yes, easily.
Of course, these men would not stare at each other across a
battlefield and therefore it is not as if a whole brigade could be
wiped out in one engagement, but imagine the power during any
engagements that this component would give!’

‘I can imagine
the effect on the morale of the enemy soldiers too.’

‘Exactly. And
this is the weapon that your kind and caring father-figure
desperately wanted to sell to our military!’

‘That is truly
horrible.’

‘I know. Now
what do you think of Mr. Gallagher? Still think he is incapable of
ordering murders of anyone standing in his way?’

‘It is
different, I mean creating a weapon to kill our country’s enemies
and personally ordering the murder of another man are greatly
different things, but from what you have said about his actions
during that meeting, well, you never know do you?’

‘Indeed. You
never know what a man is capable of when his success is being
threatened. If you had seen him in action Michelle then you would
think he is capable of ordering another man’s murder. Trust me, you
would.’