Chapter 49

Chapter 49: But The News Does Seep Out And The Consequences!

It was one of the new barmaids Janet. She has a 'bad boy' boyfriend. She was hard-working but Janet was young and very naive and gullible. She had a lot to learn about life. She was also very chatty. The guy soon got out of her where the treasure trove was and which stone slab it was under.

He was in a gang. The COVID virus outbreak had allowed them to sneak out and attempt some robberies. They knew how to get through the most sophisticated protection, locks, bolts, etc. They knew how to disable surveillance cameras.

They also knew about Old Slippery. They had a bag full of crosses blessed by their local priest. He didn't know about this planned robbery by the way. Mirrors, er mirrors with that vain Old Slippery? Plus special gemstones. Along with the Holy Bible. Nothing was left to chance.

They had a full set of lilting gear, including, a small winch.

So they were ready. They broke in easily enough, despite all the measures that had been taken. Straight down to the Cellar Bar Restaurant. Soon the slab had been lifted. There it was the treasure, packed now conveniently in all those plastic boxes. The gang was overjoyed. This did not last. Old Slippery appeared and towered over them. Out came all the 'anti-ghost' paraphernalia but to no avail.

The Old Highway Man seemed to find this all pretty amusing. He looked adoringly into a small mirror.

He had certainly been perfecting the movement of large objects. All the gang's bits and pieces were swept away with a sweep of his hand. He then lifted up both arms and all three robbers were then lifted up high in the air and left there suspended for a while. The Old Ghost had well and truly perfected the art of levitation. He could lift anything. Then Old Slippery got to work. The chest, the boxes, the slab, plus a whole quantity of earth from the original hole also shot into the air and stayed there again suspended.

Old Slippery then 'permanently' dealt with the three robbers. Mindful of the Detective Chief Inspectors' advice, he refrained from 'dicing' them into little pieces with his trusty rapier. His eyes then acted like ray guns. This time he switched from very cold to very hot. The Old Ghost was flaying them alive. He roasted their bodies down to the bone They died in excruciating pain. He took his time with this. He really wanted them to fully experience the pain. Their larynx was burnt out first. That was their voice box. He did not want their screams disturbing anyone in the pub. So far, strangely, there had been very little noise.

The Old Ghost then switched to freeze mode. Their bones were quickly frozen and 'aged'. If at some point their bones were to be dug up, the casual observer would think they have stumbled on the remains of some long lost ancient people. A trained archeologist would know this was wrong and DNA analysis if any survived, would prove differently.

The Old Ghost then systematically set about burning everything the gang had brought with them. Destroying the little mirror was a little heartbreaking for Old Slippery though.

He then carefully lowered their complete skeletons, one by one. These were placed one on top of the other. Not one small bone was missed. Both of Old Slippery's arms conducted this lowering operation with consummate skill. The soil was then replaced carefully covering each skeleton. This was followed by the plastic boxes, They were returned to the original treasure chest. It too was skillfully lowered. Then the slab was replaced. This seemed to be 'as light as a feather' for the Old Ghost to move. In fact, the whole room was 'made good'. This was truly inexplicable. Old Slippery had brought the art of concealment to a whole new level.

There was also another problem that had to be dealt with. There was the rancid smell of burnt flesh. This had to be kept in the Cellar Bar Restaurant during the 'operation'. Plus at the end of the 'operation', all these extreme aromas had to be expunged. All were totally removed from the room. They had penetrated fabrics, the leather in seats, wallpaper, and wall hangings. There were aromas present everywhere. Again, Old Slippery worked his magic. All traces of the sickening fleshy smells were removed from everything, well pretty much all.

With that, the Old Ghost promptly vanished. He seemed to be very pleased with his work.

And The Consequences Again:

Even though the Pub was technically closed, on lockdown, because of the virus, Beryl and Sid always got up early to check around. They were too used to their routines it seems.

Sid noticed that the front and cellar bar doors had been forced open and that the CCTV system had been disabled.

He made a direct phone call to Detective Chief Inspector John Higgins. The Chief brought along two of his trusted uniform officers along with a small forensic team he had used before at the Bull. All of this had to be extremely 'hush-hush'.

An old Ford Transit Van was found parked up nearby on a side street. This had not been there before. The car number plates showed it was a stolen vehicle. The Chief brought his team along and they duly broke into the locked vehicle. Documents and fingerprints showed that it had belonged to a well-known gang that had been operating in the 'Chief's manor' for a while. He had long wanted them nailed. They had long been a 'pain in the neck'. There had been a lot of break-ins combined with some violence. This 'crew' were sharp and had been very elusive. A breakthrough, the Detective Chief Inspector thought was just not coming, until now.

However, the actual crime scene produced few if any results. There were no leads as such. No fingerprints or sources of DNA were found. Nothing at all seemed disturbed in the downstairs Cellar Bar Restaurant. The stone slab above the treasure cask seemed not to be moved. The forensic team did find a few puzzling residues, however. They appeared to indicate that really extreme heating and freezing had taken place there. But there was nothing conclusive, nothing in the way of firm evidence. They did as well pick up on a strange 'roast pig' smell, in a few areas. The forensic team was well used to getting down on all fours and using their sense of smell. All five senses were needed in their work.

The Chief Forensic Officer commented that pigs were omnivores like humans. They both had very varied diets. He had developed a certain 'gallows' humour in his work. He had to, given the work he had to do, day in and day out. He remarked that cannibals had called humans 'long pig' in the distant past. Hence the feint smell of roast pig. He did welcome the odd ' Slippery Jake' gig. At least each one was very intriguing. The bulk of his autopsies revolved around domestic and gang-related knife crimes. He told the Chief Inspector that he would comment on this in his report. However, this would be yet again be buried deep down in the report. His main findings would be there weren't any. Even the most tenacious reporter would have problems finding this. The 'smell' would not constitute any admissible evidence in any Law Court.

So the Detective Chief Inspector called it a day and everybody withdrew. The Chief knew that Old Slippery had been up to some things, but what? He suspected along with the Chief Forensic Officer that the robbers had been 'roasted alive.' Sid and Beryl guessed this too. Beryl missed nothing. She noticed the odd smell at first, but that soon died away. Old Slippery had done a brilliant clearing up all of the evidence on the whole. Another skill he had developed?

With the 'lockdown' everything in the press was about the virus. There would be no leaking to nosey reporters this time.

As for Old Slippery, he had simply vanished for a while. The lovely new young barmaids cleaning his seats seemed to be doing nothing as well to get him to reappear.

Detective Chief Inspector Higgins guessed something major had taken place in the Cellar Bar Restaurant, maybe a 'roasting'. The Old Ghost going AWOL fitted his previous pattern as well. He was back on his 'naughty seat'. The Chief and Sid the landlord would have to wait for his next reappearance to find out what had happened, during a 'telepathic' conversation. The Detective Chief Inspector's suspicions mounted as all five robbers had simply disappeared.

The 'lockdown' made this all the more difficult, but the Chief's contacts and snouts had no idea what had happened to these men. They had not gone back to their homes. Their assorted wives, girlfriends, and mistresses were at a loss as well. In fact, everyone was totally clueless. Some of the contacts hinted the gang had a big job planned but knew nothing about the details.

After a week or so Old Slippery did reappear. Sid immediately contacted the Detective Chief Inspector. He quickly rushed round.

Sid and the Chief went down to the Cellar Bar Restaurant. Nobody else was allowed down there. The Old Ghost then outlined telepathically, what had happened. Neither were surprised. The Detective Chief Inspector was in no hurry to open up the slab and take the boxes out. The 'treasure' would also be discovered. How did those skeletons end up down there? On and on and on. Leave well alone for a while. Let 'sleeping dogs lie'.

The Detective Chief Inspector sheds no tears over the demise of this 'crew' either. For the record, investigations were being perused. Also the possibility that a rival gang had taken out a 'contract' against them. This case and file would be left open and pending indefinitely. The Chief would keep a 'beady eye' on any newcomers moving in on the old gang's patch. All in all, they were not missed by anyone much. Again, Old Slippery was pretty pleased with himself. His 'evil side' had been fully let loose for a change. This again was for the sake of The Bull Public House. The loss of the little mirror was the only thing that had upset him.

One last matter was Janet the new barmaid. Sid brought her downstairs. The Old Ghost starred at her. A very cold shiver ran through her. Sid told her that she could keep her job, but any more mix-ups and she was out. No more 'bad boy' boyfriends. She was worth a lot more than that.

She was on a 'gap year' getting money together to help her through a degree in Accountancy. Suitably chastened she took this all on board. In time she hooked up with another accountancy student. Although Beryl had her suspicions about all of this, she was not told. Otherwise, the girl would have been 'oooot' straight away. Like most men, Sid was also a bit of a softie.