By All Means (Fiske and MacNee Mysteries Book 2)

by Alan Alexander

  'When will you be back? Or can't you tell me that either?'

  He was trying not to sound irritated or unsupportive, but he didn't think he was doing a very good job, so he changed tack.

  'Your sister phoned. Very excited about becoming an auntie. She says she'll come to see us soon.'

  Vanessa was grateful for the change of subject, but too tired to do much about it. 'That's nice. I talked to her when I was at mum and dad's. Sue's not very good at concealing her feelings and she's clearly astounded that I've got myself pregnant'.

  'You didn't do it yourself.'

  'No. Sorry. I'm really glad you were involved. I've got to try to sleep. I'll keep in touch. I love you.'

  'Love you, too.'

  *

  Jack Eisner's direct flight from Philadelphia arrived in Aruba a couple of hours after Vanessa cleared customs and immigration, but before she was able to get in touch with the local police. His contacts in the CIA had given him a name to contact in the Homeland Security office. The implication that the person named was covertly a CIA operative had been clear, but Eisner knew better than to press the issue. The geographical proximity of Aruba to Venezuela on the South American mainland, and to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba in the Caribbean, made it certain that the Company would have a presence there, but the sensitivity of the island's status as an integral part of a NATO ally demanded discretion.

  'Jack Eisner. I was given your name by a mutual friend in the Company and...'

  The interruption was uncompromising. 'Why don't we meet for a drink? Where are you staying?'

  'The Renaissance, but I'm still at the airport. Not checked in yet.'

  'I'll meet you in the Blue Bar at 8 o'clock.'

  *

  'Sir Justin, there is some urgency about this. Have you made any progress?'

  'I'm sorry, Commander Bancroft, but so far I have nothing definitive to tell you. After you came to see me, I went immediately to speak to the Cabinet Secretary. As I anticipated, he felt that this was sensitive enough for him to consult the PM, who is on an unannounced visit to the troops in Afghanistan, accompanied by the Foreign Secretary...'

  Bancroft interrupted angrily. 'But you must have known about that when we spoke...'

  '...So there is an inevitable delay in consulting him. He is expected to arrive at Brize Norton later this evening and go straight to Downing Street. The Cabinet Secretary will speak to him as soon as he gets there.'

  'And', Bancroft thought, 'He'll want to consult the intelligence services, and if he doesn't decide that off his own bat, you'll make bloody sure somebody suggests it.' He was now in no doubt that Carey was slowing things down to give Roskill more time to get to wherever he was going. Time to put the wind up him.

  'You've been very close to Roskill for a very long time, haven't you, Sir Justin?'

  'We've known each other, one way or another, since we were at school. I don't see the relevance...'

  'Oh, I think you do. It would be - how shall I put this? - unfortunate if you were to allow a personal connection, past or present, to lead you to obstruct or delay my investigation.'

  He hung up.

  *

  As soon as she had checked in and had a shower, DCI Fiske made the required courtesy call to the local police commander. She told her that she believed that Patrick Joseph Carroll had arrived in Aruba within the previous twenty-four hours and that he was in transit to another destination, probably one without an extradition treaty with the United Kingdom.

  'I believe that his passport, though not a forgery, conceals his real identity. I hope to persuade him to return to the UK voluntarily. I don't think we'll be able to hold him long enough for an international arrest warrant to be issued and executed. But my first priority is to establish if Carroll is who I think he is.'

  'As a matter of course, we photograph the passports of all passengers who arrive here. Would that enable you to make the identification?'

  'I'm sure it would. Should I go back to the airport?'

  'Not necessary. I can access the records from here. I'll send a car to collect you, if that would help.'

  *

  Vanessa looked into the Blue Bar as she walked toward the lobby to meet the police officer sent to collect her. Her phone alerted her to a text just as she recognised a familiar figure sitting on a bar stool, sipping bourbon. She read the text just as she walked towards him.

  JMR travelling on passport in name of Patrick Joseph Carroll. Bancroft.

  ''Mr Eisner, what a coincidence!'

  Eisner looked up, recognised DCI Fiske and just about managed to avoid spluttering his whiskey all over her.

  'Sure is, Chief Inspector! Are you here on vacation?'

  Vanessa knew that he was being flippant. With a car waiting for her, though, she chose not to respond in kind.

  'I take it we're both here for the same reason, and if I'm right, it would be in the interests of both of us to share information. I have to check in with the local police, but I should be back within the hour. Will you still be here?

  'I guess so. I'm meeting a local contact here...'He looked at his watch. '...in about ten minutes. I'll be here most of the evening. My contact may be too. You might be interested in meeting him.'

  'Who is he?'

  'He's with Homeland Security,' Eisner said, with a complicit smile.

  As she walked towards the exit door, Vanessa was aware that the name James Michael Roskill had not been mentioned.

  *

  It didn't take long to verify that the Patrick Joseph Carroll was James Michael Roskill. New arrivals from the UK were not required to say where they would be staying, so finding Roskill wouldn't be easy. Vanessa reasoned that he was probably carrying a passport in his own name as well as the one on which he had entered Aruba. He would have checked into a hotel near the airport, and it was likely that he was planning to move on as quickly as possible.

  'Are there any more international flights leaving this evening?'

  'Only one to Atlanta and one to Schipol. There are more in the morning, mainly regional flights to South and Central America and the Caribbean.'

  We can check with the airlines, but without a valid warrant we won't be able to detain him.'

  'Yes, but if I can discover when he intends to travel, I may be able to intercept him and talk to him. And if I know he's definitely planning to move on tomorrow, I can try to find out where he's staying tonight. You've been very helpful, Commander, but I've stretched your goodwill far enough. Just one more thing. I had to show my passport when I checked into my hotel. Is that general practice here?'

  'Legally, no. But almost all the hotels do it as a check against the credit card shown at registration.'

  'Thank you.' That made it probable that he would have checked in as Roskill. He might be carrying plastic in Carroll's name, but the urgency with which he had fled would have made it unlikely.

  *

  Jack Eisner and his colleague from Homeland Security were still at the bar when Vanessa got back from police HQ.

  Eisner offered her a drink and she opted for a freshly squeezed orange juice and a fizzy water.

  'This is Detective Chief Inspector Fiske, from North East Constabulary in Scotland. David Schulz, Homeland Security's man in Aruba.' They shook hands and said that first names would be fine.

  Vanessa took the initiative. 'So, Jack, I think I know, in general, what you’re doing in this - I've been reading the crap magazines in my room - but I'd love to know what brought you here and what, in particular, you hope to achieve.'

  'Nothing if not direct, Vanessa. I can't tell you how, but it came to our attention that a member of our board had landed in Aruba and my boss, Cy Packard, and his chairman, Richard Seaton, thought it would be in the company's interests to find out what he's doing here and what his forward travel plans might be.'

  'When you say 'the company', do you mean the one Packard works for now or the one he used to work for?' Vanessa delivered the question with a
knowing look, which Eisner and Schulz noted.

  'Burtonhall. Of course.' But the pause was eloquent and Vanessa took it as confirmation that Schulz was CIA.

  She sipped her orange juice and said, 'And?'

  'And we don't know where he is except that he arrived, travelling on a passport in the name of Carroll and hasn't left. David's colleagues are trying to find out if he's made any plans to move on.'

  'I may be able to help you there, but before I do, I need know that we can trust each other and that we have the same, or at least similar, objectives.'

  'Go on.'

  'I have a lead position and a fallback. I'd like to persuade him to come back to the UK. Failing that - in fact, in addition to that - I'd like to know what he intends to do with the rest of his life and whether he's working with who I think he working with. In short, I need to find him, and talk to him before he gets on another plane. I have loose ends to tie up.'

  Schulz said nothing, and Vanessa sensed he was becoming uncomfortable.

  Eisner ordered another bourbon. Schulz shook his head.

  'I can live with that. What have you got?'

  'I thought at first that we might divide up the hotels between us and try to find him tonight, but some gentle persuasion at police HQ - I played the "both members of the EU and NATO card" - revealed that he's booked on two flights out of here tomorrow. He's on a plane to Miami at 0945 in his real name and on another, as Carroll, to Curacao and Panama City at 0825. The Miami flight has an onward connection to San Jose, Costa Rica. The Panama City connection is to Havana.'

  Schulz spoke for the first time. 'He must know that a stopover in Miami is risky. We could have him picked up there if the Brits issue an international arrest warrant. Also, he'll want out of here as soon as possible, even if an intermediate stop at Curacao keeps him in Dutch jurisdiction. Either way, you'll need a warrant to nail him.'

  'I don't need to "nail" him,' Eisner said. 'I just need to get a line on what he's up to.'

  'He's trying to get to somewhere without an extradition treaty with the UK. I need to get that warrant issued. It's already after midnight in Aberdeen, so even if I felt able to phone somebody, nothing is going to get done until the morning. If he's out of here at 0825, he'll be airside by 0730. If we're going to talk to him, it'll have to be as he arrives at the airport. I'll text and arrange for someone to call me.'

  *

  It was already 2200 hrs local time and Vanessa had been awake, more or less, for well over twenty-four hours. Her text to Colin MacNee was terse and to the point:

  Conf call: you, Chief, DCS, FM, PF, HC: any time after 0700 GMT. Pls confirm asap.

  She added the hotel number and room, put her phone on charge on the side table and climbed into bed in the hope of getting a few hours sleep before the call. The text alert woke her at 0400 hrs, which meant she had had just over five hours sleep. She still felt wretched, but it was the kind of wretched that could be overcome, at least for a few hours, by a hot shower and, if she could face it and keep it down, a decent breakfast, which she'd have to order from room service. Colin's text was even more terse than hers had been:

  0830 GMT / 0430 AST.

  *

  'It's a long shot, but I may be able to arrest him at the airport this morning. The local police will provide assistance, but only if we have issued an international arrest warrant. He's booked on two flights, one with connections to Havana and one with a connection through Miami to San Jose, Costa Rica. I think he's unlikely to risk a stopover in the US because he'll guess - don't ask me how I know this - that the American authorities, from Homeland Security to the CIA, are on his case. The other booking has a stop in Curacao, which keeps him in European jurisdiction, so if I can't nail him here, we might be able to have him arrested there. I've booked myself on the same flight, as a precaution.'

  'I've already got approval from the Crown Office to issue the warrant, so we can get it to you by email or fax within the hour. Presumably we should send it to police HQ in Aruba?' This was Fiona Marchmont.

  'We'll have to look at some of the "administrative"' - the Chief's emphasis on the word was telling - 'aspects of your absence when you get back, Vanessa. For now, the DCS and I are prepared to sanction your proposed course of action. However, you should know that the pressure from the press has hardly diminished. They've done everything short of actually saying that he's a fugitive from justice. I don't think we can hold the line much longer.'

  'Harry Conival here, Chief Inspector. Everyone here knows that I think we should have gone public on this before now. We'll have to put out a press statement as soon as the warrant is issued. But we'll need to follow up with a press conference and I assume you'll want to take it, in person.'

  'I'm sorry you've been messed about, Harry. Couldn't be helped. If I can't get back in the next forty-eight hours, I'll find a way to do it by videolink. Colin, could you get admin to find out what the options are, given that my travel plans are fluid?'

  'I guess that means Aruba, Curacao or Heathrow. Or are you planning any side trips?'

  Vanessa allowed herself a laugh. 'Hardly. I don't care if I never see the inside of a plane again. Easiest thing will be to do it from here, sooner rather than later. But that will depend on what happens in the next few hours.'

  *

  DCI Fiske got into a taxi at just before 0600 hrs and went to police HQ. She collected the arrest warrant authorising the arrest of 'James Michael Roskill, aka Patrick Joseph Carroll' on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to cause explosions, and conspiracy to breach the telecommunications acts. She was driven in an unmarked police van to the airport, accompanied by the local commander of police and three other officers. By 0615, the van was parked where it could observe, from a distance of about 20 metres, the security-restricted drop off area.

  By 0715,Vanessa was becoming both impatient and apprehensive. Perhaps Roskill had, after all, decided to risk the Miami stopover. She had agreed with Eisner, that he should cover that departure and that she would join him if Roskill failed to show for the Curacao flight. The police commander, sitting in front beside the driver, took a call on her mobile and had a brief conversation in Dutch. She ended the call and turned to Vanessa.

  'Air traffic control have just alerted us to a flight plan lodged for a private jet plane that arrived last night from the British Virgin Islands. The pilot has requested an early take-off slot, with a routing to San Jose, Costa Rica.'

  'Is there a separate departure point for private flights?'

  'Yes. They use a dedicated terminal with its own apron and taxi way. They pay for exit and entry services also. It's expensive, but it means they don't have to use security and passport control in the main building.'

  'Let's go!' But Vanessa felt that James Michael Roskill was slipping from her grasp.

  *

  As the police van turned towards the private terminal, DCI Fiske called Jack Eisner on his mobile. Very quickly, the van had a BMW on its tail and she thought she recognised Eisner in the front passenger seat and David Schulz driving.

  As soon as the two vehicles got to the entrance to the terminal, Vanessa and Eisner, closely followed by the police commander and her officers, rushed into the building. Through the full-length windows behind reception they saw a Learjet 70 turning on to the runway. The commander called air traffic control, but the jet had been cleared for take-off. As she put down the handset, Fiske and Eisner watched the plane accelerate along the runway and take off over the Caribbean.

  'Any point in checking the passenger manifest?' Eisner asked.

  Vanessa shook her head. 'Not really. But I suppose I should confirm what we already know.'

  *

  Harry Conival's press release, approved by Esslemont, the PF and Special Branch, went out at 1200 hrs GMT / 0800 hrs AST.

  ABERDEEN PROCURATOR FISCAL APPROVES CHARGES AGAINST JAMES MICHAEL ROSKILL

  The Procurator Fiscal in Aberdeen, having reviewed evidence presented to him by North E
ast Constabulary, has approved the following charges against James Michael Roskill, 63, of Notting Hill, London:

  Conspiracy to murder Peter Keller and Harvey Jamieson, jointly and severally with Paul MacIver, Simon Mathieson and Andrew MacIlwraith;

  Conspiracy to cause an explosion, to the endangerment of life, jointly with Paul MacIver;

  Conspiracy to breach the telecommunication acts, jointly with Paul MacIver.

  Mr Roskill was interviewed under caution recently, in London, by officers from North East Constabulary, after which a decision was taken to arrest him on the above charges. Mr Roskill could not be found and an international warrant for his arrest has now been issued. Assistance is being sought from police services in all countries.