Scaderstone Pit (The Darkeningstone Series Book 3) (28 page)

In the meantime, the only other person who knew the secret was Brian. And Trevor was confident that Brian could be persuaded to toe the line.

Trevor sat down next to his new friend.
Poor, picked-on Brian
, he thought. The man was confused and out of his depth. And very shortly, he’d owe Trevor a very big favour indeed. Trevor handed Brian his plate. “There you go, Brian. Good pint?”

Brian nodded. “Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Marley, sir.”

Trevor acknowledged his thanks with a nod then picked up his own glass. “You can call me Trevor if you like. Cheers.”

“Oh, right. Cheers, er, Trevor.” Brian raised his eyebrows then took a deep draught.

Trevor took only a sip. He needed to stay sharp. “So, Brian, have you got much other work coming up?”

Brian shook his head. “No. Nothing.” He cast his eyes down to his plate. “I only got this job by the skin of my teeth—they were a man short.” He took another gulp of beer then frowned down at his glass, as if he’d just tasted something unpleasant.

Trevor smiled. He was playing this chap like a fiddle. “Ah, so you’d be free if an opportunity came your way.”

Brian looked up sharply. He moved his lips soundlessly for a moment then said, “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly is this all about, Mr. Marley? Have I done something wrong?”

Trevor laughed and Brian’s face fell even further.

“Wrong?” Trevor asked. “Oh no, no. You’ve worked very hard. Everything at the site is going really well. In fact, I don’t mind telling you something.” He leaned toward Brian and lowered his voice. “That place is going to be a big success, just like Mr. Matthews wants. It’s good stone, high quality. There’s plenty of it and it’s easy to get at. The new quarry will be good news for this town and it could be good for you.”

Brian sat up straight. “Good for me? Why is it good for me?” He raised his voice. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Trevor put down his pint and folded his arms across his chest. “I know you’ve had a shock, Brian, but there’s no need to take that tone with me.”

Brian looked down at the table. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful.” He looked up at Trevor. “I shouldn’t drink at lunch time—I’m not used to it.”

Trevor let the man stew for a second then let him off the hook. “That’s all right, Brian. As I said, you’ve just been through an upsetting experience. I think you’ve earned that pint, don’t you?”

Brian nodded sadly and took another sip of his drink then he leaned his elbows on the table and slumped forward, resting his chin on his hands. “Nothing ever goes right for me. I can’t even clear a bit of ground without causing a fuss.” He sniffed. “I’m always at the bottom of the heap. I get sick of it sometimes.”

Trevor did his best not to grin. His plan was going succeed; he could almost taste it. “Maybe it’s time we changed all that, Brian.”

Brian didn’t look up. “I don’t see how.”

“It’s all quite simple. You see, Mr. Matthews is going to need a lot of workers for his new quarry. Some of them will be unskilled, perhaps even casual labourers, but others would have permanent positions—jobs for life. So long as Mr. Matthews can find the right sort of person that is.”

Brian nodded. “Like a foreman and some chargehands, you mean. So there might be jobs for Eric or Bernie.”

Trevor almost laughed, but he controlled it just in time and turned it into a cough.
It’s incredible
, he thought.
Can he really be this slow to catch on?
He looked Brian up and down. Perhaps he’d over-estimated the workman’s potential. This plan wouldn’t work unless the man had at least a little ambition.

Trevor leaned forward and looked Brian in the eye. “I’m not talking about men like Bernie and Eric—they’re set in their ways. This is going to be a brand new quarry, with new ways of doing things and lots of new opportunities. They’ll need young men who can be trained up. They’ll need men like
you
, Brian. Do you understand?” He paused and sat back, enjoying the expression on Brian’s face as his words finally sank in. “How do you fancy yourself as a chargehand?” Trevor went on. “Or even better, a foreman?”

Brian stared at him. “Me? A foreman? How?”

Trevor heard the note of hope in Brian’s voice and he knew he’d caught him—hook, line and sinker. “It’s very simple, Brian. I talk to Matthews, and he gives you the job. It’s as good as yours—if you want it that is.”

Brian nodded furiously. “Yes please! That would be wonderful. And you’d do that for me? You’d put in a good word?”

“Of course I would,” Trevor said. But then he suddenly frowned and rubbed his chin as though he’d just thought of something. It was time to go in for the kill. “Mind you, there is this one thing though. Yes, now I think of it, I can see that would put a spanner in the works. Oh dear, you have created a problem there, Brian.”

And Brian fell for it. He couldn’t have looked more shocked if Trevor had reached out and slapped him across the face. “What? I…problem? But—”

Trevor held up his hand to cut Brian off. “It’s this business up on the ledge. That could take ages to sort out, and once Mr. Matthews finds out about it, he’ll probably cut his losses and sell the site on. He likes to get things done quickly you see.” Trevor looked for some sign that Brian was following him, but the poor man just looked thoroughly miserable. He was obviously going to need a few more nudges in the right direction. “And old man Matthews has got a terribly fiery temper,” he went on. “When he finds out that it was you who spoiled his plans…” Trevor sighed theatrically. “He knows a lot of important people around here. I’m afraid you might find it hard to get work anywhere. Unless…I suppose we could…but no. It’s no good.” Trevor shook his head and looked down at the table, but he said no more.

Brian was on the edge of his seat, “Unless what, Mr. Marley? Unless what?”

Trevor shook his head. “Oh, it’s nothing really. I was just wondering how things would be different if Mr. Matthews didn’t find out about your little discovery.”

Brian’s face creased. “We can’t do anything about that though, can we? You’ll have to tell him. And the police too.”

But Trevor was ready for this objection. “The police? Oh no. You saw those bones, Brian. They’ve been there for hundreds of years. They’re ancient history. I’ve seen this sort of thing on sites before, Brian. The police just won’t be interested. But once it’s been reported, all hell will break loose. We’ll have college professors swarming all over the place, demanding to set up archaeological digs. We’ll have historical societies protesting about the plans, and newspaper reporters asking lots of awkward questions. I’m telling you, Brian, it won’t take those reporters long to track you down. Have you ever had your picture in the paper before? They’ll probably say something like,
Local Man Ruins Quarry Plans
. And they’ll print your address too, you know.”

Brian visibly paled. He opened and shut his mouth several times before he managed to say anything, but then his words came out in a rush. “But, even if the police don’t do anything, you’ve still got to tell them, haven’t you? You’ve still got to tell Mr. Matthews, haven’t you?”

He’s gabbling,
Trevor thought.
Perhaps I’ve frightened him a little too much
. Trevor gave Brian a sympathetic smile and tried a gentler tone. “I can see why you’d think that, Brian. But I wonder, with all the money he’s spent on the place, wouldn’t we be doing Mr. Matthews a favour by
not
telling him?”

Brian looked doubtful, but before he could say anything, Trevor pressed on. “And then there’s all the jobs the new quarry would’ve created—all gone up in smoke once we make this official. They would’ve been good jobs too—jobs for men like you. All that would go down the drain. And for what? A load of old bones that have been safely under those rocks for hundreds of years. Do you really want to go and stir up all this trouble, Brian?” Trevor sat back and watched Brian closely. Hopefully, he’d led the man far enough. If things went wrong later, it would be useful if Brian thought the whole plan had been his idea.

Brian squirmed in his seat. “It’s not all down to me though, is it? I mean, they can’t blame me for everything can they?”

Trevor tilted his head to one side and waited. Brian clearly wasn’t used to making important decisions and it looked like he wasn’t enjoying it. In fact, he looked as though the weight of the whole world was on his shoulders. Trevor let him squirm for a minute then said, “The question is, Brian, what can we do to stop the whole thing going wrong?”

Brian cast a wary glance around the room then he licked his lips. When he spoke, he kept his voice low. “I don’t know. We’ve got to do the right thing. I don’t see what else we
can
do.”

Trevor made as if to stand up. “All right, Brian. I’d better get on the phone to Mr. Matthews right away.” He hesitated. “What was your surname again, Brian? Obviously I’ll need to give Mr. Matthews
all
the details.”

Brian flapped his hands at Trevor, gesturing for him to stay sitting down. “No, that’s not what I meant,” he hissed.

Trevor relaxed back onto his seat and Brian leaned across the table and put his hand on Trevor’s arm. “What if,” Brian murmured, “what if we just didn’t tell
anybody
about the bones?”

Bingo!
Trevor thought, but he managed a thoughtful frown. “Hmm, I can see what you’re saying, Brian. You think we should just keep quiet about the whole thing, eh?”

Brian nodded. The colour had returned to his cheeks, but his face was lined with worry.

“It’s not a
bad
idea,” Trevor said. “The problem is, we’d have to stop your workmates from going up there to take samples, they’d find the bones and we’d be back to square one.”

Brian sighed and scraped his hand down his face. “I hadn’t thought of that. I suppose it’s all hopeless then.”

But Trevor had already prepared exactly what to say at this point. “You know what, Brian? In my official capacity as the surveyor in charge, it’s my opinion that the very end of the site is dangerously unstable.”

“Is it really?” Brian asked.

“I did observe some water erosion, and there’s a cleft in the rocks, so, now that I come to think of it, it’s not safe to work there at all. Any drilling or quarrying activity on that part of the site could have disastrous consequences. The whole rock face could come crashing down, and then there’s the chance of a landslip, and subsidence. And there’s a main road running right across the higher ground—there’s a distinct possibility that it could be affected.”

Brian shifted in his seat. “Is all that true? Only, we need to get our story straight.”

“Believe me, Brian, when I’ve finished with my report, no one will doubt a word of it. And there’s an added bonus.” Trevor paused and glanced around the room to make sure he wouldn’t be overheard. “Let’s say, when you started clearing that end of the site, you saw some rocks fall. You were worried, so you came running to me. We went to investigate, and I realised that the whole thing could come crashing down at any moment. You’d just had a lucky escape, so naturally, I took you off the site straight away. And I bought you a drink to steady your nerves.”

Brian blew out his cheeks in relief. “Yes, I suppose that does sound all right. But you’ll explain it to the foreman won’t you? He won’t listen to me.”

“Leave him to me, Brian. I’ll tell him how dangerous that end of the site is and he won’t want to go anywhere near it. And as soon as all the other areas have been sampled and measured, I’ll tell him you can all pack up early for Christmas and go home. The men will be very happy with that, especially when I tell them they’ll still get a full day’s pay.”

Brian positively beamed, and for a moment, Trevor felt guilty at taking advantage of such a simple soul. But then Brian’s smile dropped. “But, what about when they open the quarry?” he asked. “They’ll find everything eventually.”

“Ah, but will they?” Trevor said. “My report is going to say that they should only work the stone from the two sides of the pit. There’s really no need to use the far end at all. And anyway, when the new quarry opens, the workers will go where they’re told to.” Trevor picked up his pint and gave Brian a meaningful look. “They’ll go where the
new foreman
tells them to, won’t they, Brian?” Trevor could actually see the realisation dawning on Brian’s face.

Brian nodded slowly. He took a sip of beer then looked Trevor in the eye. “They’ll do as they’re told all right. You can rely on me.”

Trevor raised his glass with a warm smile. “Cheers, Brian.”

“Cheers, Trevor.”

They clinked glasses and drank, but Trevor put his glass down first. “There’s just one thing Brian—you must not tell
anyone
about any of this, not under any circumstances.”

Brian smiled, looking very pleased with himself. But suddenly, Trevor sat up straight and squared his shoulders. And when he looked Brian in the eye, his expression was cold and formal. “And by the way, Brian, it’d better be
Mr. Marley
from now on. We don’t want to give the game away do we? We can’t be too careful.”

Brian’s smile froze. “Oh, right, Trev— I mean, Mr. Marley.”

“That’s the ticket, Brian. Stick to your story and everything will be fine. But remember, this was
your
idea Brian. If word gets out that you covered this up, you’ll be in terrible trouble and I won’t be able to help you.” He paused. “No one must know what you found up there, Brian. No one. Not ever. So we’ll never speak about this again.”

Chapter 34