Charlie's Gang Read Online Free PDF Page A

clients, Darren would lie to Brian if anyone complained, and say they’d made their story up. To Brian’s face he was always polite, and he even spoke to Beattie in a reasonable tone when Brian was nearby, but his true character was horrid with a capital H. Beattie knew this, and Darren knew that Beattie knew. Beattie had to sit next to Darren whenever they were working, squeezed in the front of the van. Although there was loads of room for two men and a dog, Darren made sure he squashed poor Beattie into the smallest space possible, pinching her if she strayed onto what he regarded as his seat.
    It was just about now, as Beattie was beginning to feel like an experienced Removal Dog, that disaster struck and her life turned upside down. She had been sitting in the van as usual while Brian and Darren carried out a sofa and some chairs for a pair of retired schoolteachers who were giving them to their daughter. They were fussing around, and watching everything the men were doing. Beattie sensed that even the mild mannered Brian was beginning to feel tense, as the wife in particular, kept suggesting better ways to carry the chairs or turn the sofa so it would go through the window. Brian and Darren had lifted a chest of drawers and were moving towards the stairs with it, when there was a shriek from the wife. ‘My necklace! My mother’s precious necklace! I’ve left it in the top drawer – stop, please, at once!’
    Brian turned to reassure her as Darren tripped and fell forwards, propelling Brian towards the stairs where he lost his balance and fell. Beattie, hearing the racket, jumped out of the van and ran into the hallway just as Brian landed groaning at her feet. He had broken his leg.
    The schoolteachers turned out to be no use whatsoever, being immediately more concerned with their small removal job than with poor Brian. They did however, ring for an ambulance and before she knew it, Beattie was being handed over to Darren to look after for the several weeks during which Brian would be unable to work, and certainly unable to take Beattie for walks.
    â€˜You’ll look after her Mate, won’t you?’ Brain begged his assistant as the ambulance men carried him off. ‘Make sure she’s fed and walked, and comfortable won’t you? She’s a good little dog.’
    â€œCourse I will,’ Darren said, ‘I’ll look after her.’ He turned and stared hard at Beattie. ‘And I’ll get in touch with Archie to help me finish this job and the others we’ve got booked. Don’t you worry Brian. And your van will be safe with me.’ Then Beattie knew that she was in big trouble.

    Darren had lived in Ogden Wash – the neighbouring village to East Foxmould - for a short time only. He shared a small cottage there with two other young men, called Andy and Mike. The businessman who owned the house cared not in the slightest about the state of his property, so long as he got his rent. This suited Darren, Andy and Mike, since none of them cared about the property either. Housework was an unknown world to them, as was cleanliness. They would come home from their various jobs, kick off their shoes with no fear of the smell from their hot socks, open cans of beer and maybe a shop-bought sandwich, and watch football on their enormous flat screen telly till they crawled off late to bed. They left empty food packets and cigarette ends all over the furniture and floor, and rarely communicated with each other, except by the occasional grunt.
    Into this unfortunate household came poor little Beattie. Ignored by all three men, she was hungry from the first day. Crusts from their shop sandwiches and water from the puddles outside were all that came her way, until Andy, slightly more thoughtful than the other two, came home on day three with a tin of dog food which he opened and gave to her along with a drink. By then she had become quite desperate.
    She missed Brian