Listing – Bentley 21

[For back story go here: Story so far at 27 July 2020 and more recent Bentley posts.]

[Relevant back story also in embedded links.]

Bentley sat in his flat. Alone, for now, he was reflecting on what had happened over the past few days, trying to work out what it all meant and where it left by him. But to be honest none of it was making that much sense. Covid the cat purred next to him on the sofa, at a respectful distance, to be sure, unwilling to actually commit to being stroke-able. This suited Bentley fine. He wasn't in the stroking mood.

The final journey from Brighton had been undertaken in the dead of night. The new wheels they'd been thrown into did not stop until he was outside his flat again. Lawrence and Natalie accompanied him back into his abode but left fairly soon after, promising to return in the next few days and to definitely be in touch. But they hadn't been. They would keep his house under surveillance, they said, round the clock vigilance, just in case someone tried something. But no one had tried anything, making Bentley all the more sure he'd just been subjected to a highly elaborate wind-up.

Whatever was going on, Bentley didn't feel safe any more. Wanting some kind of quieter life he logged onto the computer and specifically stood down and paid off both Dark Shadow and The Vertibrain. They both acknowledged a stop in what they were doing. He'd not heard from Darren for a long time either but assumed he'd lost interest. But who else was out there?

The money still sat in the box. The shoes still looked at him empty and accusing. Without really knowing what he was doing, Bentley took some lined paper from a drawer, flicked open a biro and started writing notes.

• Jeremy Knowles (King of Holes) Vs Aston?
• Holes for money laundering?
• Aston - fingers in many pies. More of a worker and operator. Many people knew Aston across Brighton, Hove and into Hastings. If anyone was crooked it's Aston.
• Lawrence claims money laundering. Did it happen and why?
• Aston very friendly to me when I started at railway. Wanted to know about timetable and tested me often (good game from what I remember).
• How much money could Knowles launder through crazy golf course? 
• Would need another link to keep it looking legit - maybe hotel or jeweller or similar business with large cash. Casino/slot machines too obvious?
• Who did Knowles know?

Bentley paused and cast his mind back, trying to find someone, a face, anyone who might be the missing link. One more person in the chain could bring the whole picture together and show him what had really been happening.

Covid yawned at him and resettled his head on his paws. Bentley wished he could do the same. Just be wrapped up in something warm and not think about anything. That sense of security he used to get sat on the sofa in the semi-detached, Lawrence asleep upstairs, him and Sheila watching a soap on TV.

And then he remembered the ring. And he wrote down:

• The ring

It had come from a jewellers shop. He, Bentley, has bought it from one of the shops in the craft shop arcades. He'd bought it because it looked nice. Aston had sold it to him. But he wasn't certain he was meant to have done that because something had happened as he left the shop.

• The ring disappears

What if...  What if Lawrence is told to get something – anything – of worth they can use to convert their cash? No paper trail, just a large lump of valuable rock which will transport value from one person to another? He takes the ring, not because he needs the money but because Aston and Knowles need to get shot of someone else's cash.

Bentley knew exactly which drawer to look for the next thing he needed. The drawer of memories where receipts, tickets and other kinds of markers of his marriage, work and life sat. Although this one was also there because he’d used it for the insurance claim.

He lifted out the scrap of browning paper and gently unfolded it. The scrawled receipt gave him the price paid and the name of the shop. Jaguar Jewellers. Proprietor M.C. Jaguar. M.C. Jaguar. Was he the missing link he needed? And were the shoes in front of him his shoes?

With a new sense of purpose, Bentley flicked back on his computer.