Wild Fiction

Gunther made a small nodding movement and rotated the mug in his hands a few times. ‘I was having money problems. He offered to help me if I would do this on a regular basis,’ Gunther paused and took another sip from his tea. ‘He’s in Ford Open serving time for fraud. He’d managed to find a way out of the prison that night. The bloke I did up to look like him was going into the clink to replace him for a few days so he wouldn’t be missed while he went about his business. After that, I did it on a regular basis. The other bloke, I haven’t a clue what his name is, used to come to me and I’d do him up like Betelgeuse. They’d go off and do the exchange in prison somehow, during visiting hours I think, and then Betelgeuse would slip out and come to me and I’d do him up with his beard, hair, and plastic skin.
‘That’s how I ended up meeting Corp and those other characters of ill repute. I became scared and told them I didn’t want anymore to do with it. They threatened me and now I have no option. If I go to the police, they said they’d kill me. Anyway, I’m guilty as an accomplice already so going to the police isn’t going to help.’
He sobbed again. Genevieve rubbed a comforting hand along his back between his shoulder blades.
‘Do you know what he calls himself after you’ve made him up?’ Genevieve asked.
‘Yes, Retir.’
‘W. Doog,’ Rebecca added
Gunther looked up at her his eyes wide.
‘We know him,’ she said. ‘We had a little run in with him recently but we didn’t know that he was the Betelgeuse Fullroy.’ Rebecca fanned the fingers out on her free hand and then clenched them into a tight fist. Her knuckles turned white and she rolled them against the side of her mug. ‘I think we can help you Gunther.’
‘What are you going to do? Please don’t tell anybody about this. This man is capable of murder and I don’t want to end up at the bottom of the Thames wearing a heavy chain around my neck.’
‘Trust me Gunther, you’ll be fine,’ Rebecca said putting down her mug and opening her handbag. She fished around in it for a short while before turning it upside down on the table and spreading the contents out in front of her.
‘Voilà,’ she said picking up the bottle of blue pills. She flipped the lid off with her thumb and shook the bottle at an angle until a solitary pill fell out into the palm of her hand. ‘Has the last one started to work yet?’ she asked looking at Gunther.
‘I think so, I’m not feeling so nervous anymore.’