The Lottery Ticket (10 page)

In the dining room he sat at a table for two and ate heartily into a full English breakfast. As he ate he looked at some of the other people who were already eating. Half way through his meal he was approached by a suited man.

         “Would you mind if I joined you”? The stranger asked as he bent over Roger.

         “If you wish”, Roger replied nervously. He was never comfortable around dressed up people. They always reminded him of ‘The Bill’.

The man spoke with a Geordie accent. The conversation was patchy and in the main was centred around what each of them did for a living. Roger told the man he worked as door to door agent for a cleaning product company and was in the area for a presentation for the best salesman of the year awards.

The suited man had revealed that he was working with the Birmingham police force on an ongoing investigation into a drugs ring. He was with the metropolitan police. As soon as Roger heard the word police he became even more nervous and so quickly finished his meal. In the conversation it was revealed that the policeman had stayed over the weekend and would be here for some time. Roger decided that to avoid this man he would have to ask for room service for the remainder of his stay.

Excusing himself to the man he made his way back to his room. He lay on the bed and wondered what else would ruin his day. He was in room number thirteen and he had had breakfast with a copper. This did not bode well for this afternoon, he thought.

Eventually he dropped off to sleep. When he awoke he looked at the clock radio which told him it was eleven thirty. He would need to get a shift on if he was to get to the other hotel by one o’clock.

He shaved again and showered. Splashing some aftershave on his face he looked in the mirror and combed his thinning hair. Returning to the other room he pulled off the price labels of the clothes and began to dress. The job completed he inspected himself in the full length mirror attached to the wardrobe door. He was as pleased with his appearance now as he was when he tried them on in the shop.

He decided that sitting in the van in his new getup would not be a great idea as the van was never kept particularly clean and he did want to look his best for the presentation. Also on his mind was the impression the van would make at the other venue. He stood at the counter waiting for the receptionist to finish her phone call with the intention of ordering a taxi.

As he stood there the policeman came to hand in his key. Roger began to ask the girl to order him a taxi. After making a call to a local firm she announced that there would be one for him in about fifteen minutes. Having told her where he was going and looking anxiously at his watch he began to wonder if he would make it on time. It was not in Roger’s nature to be late for anything. This is what made his break-in’s so successful, he had convinced himself.

Suddenly the police officer butted into Roger’s thoughts.

“If the hotel is only just down the road maybe I could offer you a lift”? He suggested.

It took a few seconds for Roger to think about the offer and with another glance at his watch he nervously accepted the offer. The last time he had been given a lift by a policeman was on the journey to court before being sent down.

Thank goodness this would be a short trip, Roger thought as he sat in the passenger seat. On reaching the hotel it was obvious that something was happening. The staff seemed to be rushing in and out of the main door with allsorts of things and taking them to a large marquee on the side lawn. This helped to confirm the lie Roger had told the copper.

“Thanks for the lift”, Roger said as he was about to close the car door.

“That’s OK; perhaps we could get together for a drink tonight”, suggested the policeman.

With that threat ringing in his ears Roger finished closing the door and watched as the car turned out of the hotel drive and disappeared. He walked up the steps to the desk and explained his reason for being there.

The man on reception called a lady over who was standing around hugging a clip board and watching the endless stream of waiters and waitresses ‘toing and froing’ through the lobby. She darted through a gap in the procession and made her way to the desk.

“This is Mr White. You asked to be informed of his arrival”, the man informed her.

“Oh, yes, thank you Simon”, she replied as she looked Roger up and down.

She held out her hand and Roger responded to her outstretched hand with a shake.

“My name is Elizabeth, but you can call me Lizzy”, she informed him.

Roger looked her up and down as she flitted around watching everything that was going on around her. His initial reaction was that she should be called Tizzy. As she skipped from one leg to the other he was certain she had pins in the high heels she was wearing or that they were pinching her feet.

“I’m Roger”, he managed to say as she slipped her harm through his and whisked him out of the front door to the marquee.

Inside the tent were two long tables on either side. These were being set for what appeared to Roger to be a banquet. At the other end of the marquee a group of smartly dressed people, stood deep in conversation. This was where Lizzy was almost dragging Roger to.

On reaching the group and with Lizzy explaining who Roger was a man stepped forward to greet him. He introduced himself as a representative from the Lottery and then one by one introduced the rest of the group.

“Can I get you a drink or something”? The lottery man asked Roger as he walked him to a table of drinks.

A neat whisky was passed to Roger as the small talk went backward and forward between them on their return to the group. The manager, who was one of the group, apologised for the delay in proceedings and explained that they were waiting for the celebrity to arrive who would present the cheque.  

Roger was beginning to feel a little out of his depth and for him the conversation within the group was becoming irritating. All he could think was, “let’s get on with it and let me out of here”.

As these thoughts ran through Roger’s mind Lizzy came back with a man he vaguely recognised as a sports presenter on television. So this was the celebrity everyone had been waiting for. As he made his way to the others his entourage followed behind. With the, by now, customary hand shake everyone was introduced to him.

All were informed by Lizzy, the chief organizer, that photo’s would be taken at the front of the hotel as this was considered the perfect backdrop. Although Roger was a reluctant participant in the publicity he knew that he could not escape it as the ticket showed no tick in the non-publicity box on the ticket. The cheque he was to receive for 4.2 million pounds was half in his grasp as he held one end of it whilst the celebrity held the other.

After the pictures had been taken, Roger slipped the cheque into his wallet. The group then moved back into the marquee. With a few more drinks and a lot more small talk they all sat at the tables to eat. Never before had Roger seen or tasted food like it. The portions were small and the taste took some getting used to.

Inevitably the question arose as to what he intended to do with the money. He gave the kind of answers that he expected they wanted to hear. Soon after the meal had finished the party began to break up. One by one they emptied the tent. Roger now felt it would be alright for him to leave.

He walked back into the hotel to order a taxi. Elizabeth was leaning against the desk talking to the man behind it. Her part in the proceedings was now over. The rest of the clearing up was down to someone else.

Roger asked for a cab to his hotel and was again told it would be there in about twenty minutes. Elizabeth on hearing this offered to buy Roger a drink while he waited. With little money in his pocket and a great big fat cheque he couldn’t spend he accepted her generosity and they walked into the bar.

There was something about this woman that he liked. Perhaps it was the way she made him feel relaxed or her ability to make him feel important, he wasn’t sure. As they exchanged conversation he asked if he could stay in touch with her. She was more than happy to correspond with him. She gave her mobile number to him and expected his in return. Roger could not give his for the simple reason he hadn’t felt the need to have one. He explained this to Lizzy and told her he would give it to her the first time he would ring her.

Twenty minutes later he was sitting in a taxi on the way back to his hotel. He could not at the moment afford to sit at the bar so he went up to his room and sat on the bed watching TV. By nine o’clock he was ready for bed. He showered, and then returned to the bed and pulled back the covers while still watching the box on the wall.

The local news after the ‘News at Ten’ caught his attention as an item came on regarding the arrest of three men for a break-in at a warehouse in Pederston. Roger sat upright on the bed as the reporter interviewed the arresting officer.

“What can you tell us about the attempted robbery”? The reporter asked.

The camera spun to the policeman. It was none other than Detective Sergeant Keith Davis.

“We had a tip-off that a hit was going to be made on this warehouse and that it contained a quantity of wines and spirits”, Davis replied.

“Has this robbery anything to do with the number of house break-ins over the past couple of years”? The reporter asked, as if he had thought up the question himself.  Of cause he had been primed by Davis to include these incidents as a way of letting Roger know if he was watching that he was after him.

“There may be a link but at this stage we are keeping an open mind”, replied the officer.

Initially the item bothered Roger as he now knew that Davis was on his case. What Davis wasn’t aware of was the lottery win and what that was about to do for Roger.

From tomorrow onward until he left the country he would be someone else. With this in mind he turned off the television and slept soundly.

Before he left the hotel he gave Lizzy a ring to tell her he would be in touch soon.

He packed his overnight bag and went down for breakfast. On entering the dining room he spotted the policeman sitting with a woman who looked as if she was bored out of her mind. This pleased him as he sat at the same table as the day before and would not be troubled by the enemy this morning.

He settled the bill and put his suit and holdall in the van and made his way back to the A14. As he made his way back to Pederston he relived his big day. Although the highlight of his day was getting the cheque, he couldn’t help thinking about his liaison with Lizzy. Although his marriage was over with Sandra he had never strayed or had the inclination to until now.

As he travelled along the road he could see the countdown signs for Pederston. First twenty miles, then ten and finally just before he left the duel carriageway the sign told him he had a couple of miles before he would be home. Home now was his newly acquired flat in the city.

His first task on reaching the new flat would be to go and open an account with a high street bank.

He took the lift up to his flat and dumped his meagre possessions on the sofa. He felt for his wallet and assured it was in his back pocket, made his way down to the street below. He walked into the hub of the city conscious that he could be spotted by not only visitors from his old town but also by the police.

To make things easy for himself he entered the first bank he came to. At the counter he handed the cashier the cheque and announced that he would like to open an account. The surprise on the cashiers face said it all. Never in her years in the bank had she seen that amount of money let alone on one individual piece of paper.

She took some details from Roger who gave his real name and his new address. She was a little concerned as to the validity of the cheque and so asked Roger to wait. She went into the back room and through to where the manager sat at his desk in his office. Her nervousness was soon quelled when the manager rang the lottery HQ who had made out the cheque to confirm that it was genuine. He told her to complete the opening of the account and let him know when that was done.

As new customers signed up with the bank it was seldom necessary for them to be introduced to the manager. However it was not every day that the amount of 4.2million was deposited in his branch. This deserved his undivided attention and he wanted to meet the fortunate holder.

Once the account had been finally opened the manager spoke through the glass partition and invited Roger to his office. Even though Roger wanted little fuss made, he did want some thing from the account before the cheque would clear. To this end it was in his interest to go along to the manager’s office.

Once seated opposite the manager he began to ask if it was possible to have a loan until the clearance had come through. The manager assured him there would be no problem and asked how much Roger required. Roger had in mind to ditch the van and buy himself a decent car. He wanted a new wardrobe and a definite must was a mobile phone. He had never had one and had no idea of their cost but he knew he needed one if he was to keep in touch with Lizzy.

The manager gave him a blank cheque book and assured him that whatever he wanted to spend it would be taken care of. As Roger was almost skint he wondered if he could have a cash withdrawal. Without further ado the manager took him to the same cashier and sorted out his needs. With everything done and a shake of the managers hand Roger walked out of the bank and back to the flat.

His next move was to travel out of town to a garage, not only to buy himself a middle of the range car that would not draw attention to him, but would enable him to get rid of the van that could possibly be recognised back in the city and thus lead unwanted visitors to his door. 

The garage owner was pleased to offer Roger the car of his choice and because it was far enough away from home he was happy to write the cheque in his own name there and then. Unfortunately the garage owner could offer nothing for the van as it was worth nothing but scrap value. He did offer a tank of petrol as an inducement which Roger accepted.