condensed master

Will Bonner
assistance. He was committing suicide.
Will tried to put things out of his mind until the next evening but it was
impossible. Pulling into the car-park outside the suburban railway station at
Heathmont, he spotted a large van parked away from the other cars. It looked
similar to the vans used by the police for taking teams to crime scenes.
Will knocked on the passenger door and Tony's face appeared at the window.
He looked relieved. Apart from the stress of recent happenings he had probably
entertained the possibility that Will may not turn up.
Will clambered between the driver and passenger seat to gain access to the
rear of the vehicle. It was dimly lit by a small domed lamp attached to the
underside of the roof and six men, including Tony, were seated on either side,
leaving a space down the centre. Remaining in the standing position Will looked
at each man in turn, as they remained silent waiting for him to speak. Apart from
one man they were all young, even younger than Tony. The older man broke the
silence.
"What's all this business about Ed. You're not part of the team, so why should
we believe what you're telling us."
Will took a step forward to get closer to the man. "Ed's death was not hit and
run I can assure you. You're the oldest here, with probably the most experience,
so I hold you partly responsible for what happened. You buggered off to the
comfort of your home and let him go without any assistance, didn't you?" Everyone
recoiled into the back of their seats. "You're right, I'm not part of your team and
I wouldn't want to be, now that I know more about you."
The close confines of the van only emphasized the silence that followed and
no one appeared to want to speak. "Because of your inexperience every one of
you pose a danger to me, and also to yourselves. I don't want to end up like Ed,
do you? I'll make two comments and then I'm off and I don't want to see any of
you again. Go home and don't do anything for a couple of months. No contact,
not even with one another, understand?" He turned to Tony. "Don't visit the
restaurant in Spring Street again, or anywhere that Ed has frequented for that
matter."
"But my girl friend works there."
"It's up to you how much value you put on your continued good health. The
people you are spying on are not part of any national organization, there's no big
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