by Geoff Wolak
* * *
Elle Rosen lowered his phone, having spent ten minutes talking with his boss at ‘the institute’, north of Tel Aviv. He sat now in an anonymous Mortgage Brokers office in Highgate, London.
‘Problem?’ his assistant enquired after noticing Elle’s look.
‘We’re to stay close to Beesely and K2 where possible. There is an … opportunity here.’
‘Will we get any insider information on Swiss banks?’
‘With Beesely where he is, I should think so. Besides, Beesely is not who he appears to be.’
‘No?’
Elle shook his head, a slight movement. ‘He’s a longstanding, and very highly regarded American asset.’ He frowned slightly. ‘And, considering just who he is, the meeting we had today was … very odd.’
‘The Swiss man was there,’ his assistant pointed out.
Elle wagged a finger. ‘Which could mean that K2 don’t know about Beesely. Amazing. It would seem that Beesely has manoeuvred himself into a Swiss bank, a remarkable feat.’
The assistant lifted the Swiss bank account details they had been given. ‘What about this?’
Elle shrugged. ‘Transfer it all, see what happens.’
Past employment present
1
Beesely lowered his newspaper as Jane served him tea and warm scones. Otto smiled up at her, briefly distracted from a mountain of paperwork created by the activities of the last two days.
Beesely tapped the newspaper. ‘Says here that a council in ... where is it ... Hertfordshire, has banned the local schools from a nest building project, presumably to help save local birds, because they may damage the trees.’
Otto considered it. ‘If a tree is big enough to hold a small wooden nesting box, it is in no danger. I did this when I was a boy.’
‘So did I. In fact, there are still a half dozen around here someplace.’ He eased upright. ‘Right, let us go and annoy some local councils, shall we?’
Otto formed a knowing smile. ‘What did you have in mind?’ he asked as he took out his phone.
‘Let us find someone who makes wooden bird boxes. Better still, self-assembly –’
‘For the children to assemble,’ Otto finished off.
‘Yes, my boy. Let us see if we can get some delivered to every school in Great Britain, anonymously, of course. And an extra large number for Hertfordshire!’
