Her smile was sweet. ‘Thank you. Goodbye.’
Yes, perhaps he could keep on going a little longer. There was a chance that the final piece of jewellery might yet be sold.
*
Catherine was pleased with how the house looked with its Christmas decorations. She knew that, although he had said little, Alex thought it wonderful and was proud of his home. This was all she ever wanted, to give him a proper home and a family.
She arrived downstairs on Christmas morning to find a large bunch of cream roses waiting for her. She had wondered why Alex said he had a last-minute errand to do yesterday. With a grin, he told her he had kept them in the garden shed overnight to keep them cool and fresh.
After thanking him, which took some time, Catherine retrieved the small parcel from its hiding place and handed it to him.
‘Catherine, I thought we said we wouldn’t buy presents for each other this year.’
‘Yes, I know, but I missed your birthday, so it’s a sort of double present. Anyway, you bought me my flowers. Go on, open it!’
He did so, and she could tell that he was pleased. ‘Brilliant! No more fumbling with buckles. Thank you, my darling. I’ll put it on right now.’
After a simple lunch and a short walk, as Alex insisted she had some exercise, they curled up together on the settee in the front room. In quiet contentment they listened to some of Alex’s favourite Rachmaninov pieces playing in the background, and watched the dancing flames in the fire reflected in the glittering tree decorations.
‘Alex, can you guess where I bought your watch?’
‘No, my love. Is it important?’
‘It’s not important, but I would like to tell you.’
He kissed her on the temple. With an indulgent smile he murmured, ‘So tell me.’
‘I went to the little jewellery shop where you bought my ring.’
That appeared to catch his attention. He sat up straight and held her away from him. ‘Why on earth did you go there?’
‘I don’t know. I was just intrigued to see your little man. He’s quite sweet. You were right about his shop being run down. It looked very empty, as if he had nothing to sell. He insisted I had a cup of tea with him.
‘Do you know, I believe that somehow he knew who I was. He asked me to take off my gloves before I had even introduced myself, so he must have guessed about the ring. He said you were right, that it was the perfect ring for me. He seemed pleased. He asked me to remember him to you, and then he said something about telling you not to forget about the other item. What did he mean, Alex?’
‘I don’t know my, love. He must have been mistaken.’
Alex was quite happy to lie to his wife on this occasion. No doubt the jeweller had remembered his description of Catherine. Yes, perhaps he ought to do something about the last item of jewellery. The little man was old, anything could happen, and the chance to buy the earrings would be lost for ever. He made a decision to deal with the matter after the holiday, whether he could afford it or not. He’d thought of waiting until after the baby was born, but there was no reason why he couldn’t make the purchase now. He still had some of Jake’s cash. Perhaps Sarah would keep the item safe for him so that Catherine wouldn’t discover it.
CHAPTER 13
Boxing Day was a wonderful day for Alex, Catherine and their guests. Luigi and Maria had seen the house after it was purchased but they now took delight in seeing the final transformation. As the ladies cleared away, the men indulged themselves in a Christmas after-dinner brandy in the front room.
‘You have found yourself an excellent wife, my boy.’ Luigi smiled with pleasure at Alex. ‘Beautiful, and a good home-maker. When the child arrives you will be a complete family.’
‘I know, Luigi. I just hope everything goes well. I think Catherine is a little worried about things now. In a way, I wish it was all over.’
‘It’s understandable, for the first one. I can remember when Vincenzo was due, I would never let Maria out of my sight. It’s amazing how these women cope, though. There must be some inbuilt mechanism for dealing with it.’
He swirled the remnants of his brandy around in his glass and looked over at the younger man. ‘Have you had any dealings with that uncle of hers since you were married? Does he know about the child, Alex?’
‘We had a royal summons when he found out from one of his friends that we were married. We had intended to tell him, but I suppose neither of us wanted to rush to see him about it. He became a bit heated and I had to send Catherine out of the room while we dealt with it between us.’
Luigi’s eyes narrowed, and he leant forward. ‘How do you mean, Alex? What trouble is he making now?’
The old familiar worry returned to him, the pleasure of the day now spoilt. He realised Alex must have seen the concern on his face, as he now attempted to dismiss the matter.
‘Oh, it’s no problem, Luigi.’
‘Alex, tell me.’
As he listened to the account of the heated exchange between the two men, Luigi saw the emotion flooding through Alex.
‘I felt like throttling him, the bastard. He seemed so calm, just sitting there, looking at me, smiling, with all this… filth, pouring out of him. I told him if I could have proved anything of what he had been suggesting I would have taken him to a Court of Law.’
Luigi watched as Alex stood and paced up and down. It was obvious he was reliving the feelings he’d had at the time.
‘He started to go on once more about the money, but I’d had enough. I told him for the last time that I wanted no part of it, and I would be glad to sign something to that effect. He produced a letter which, he said, took care of this. I read it and it seemed to say what I wanted, so I signed it, and threw it at him, and left the room. I collected Catherine and took her away from that house. She knew that something bad had taken place between us, but she said nothing, and as God’s my witness Luigi, that night she calmed all the anger out of me and replaced it with her love. Luigi, I love that girl with all my heart!’
Luigi looked at Alex’s anguished face and didn’t doubt for a moment what he had just heard.
‘Have you told anyone else about this, Alex? Have you told your lawyer about this paper?’
Alex came and sat down again. ‘No – and no, Luigi. I thought about telling Simon, but you know what he would say: that I shouldn’t have signed anything under such provocation. He’s no doubt right, but I swear it did say just what I wanted.’
‘Mmm… I just wonder why that man had something already prepared. It’s almost as if he expected the outcome.’
‘It was obvious that I might feel that way. Well, it was to me, anyway. In any case, Luigi, Catherine and I have made our Wills. I’ve covered the matter by making sure that any of her monies bypass me and go to our children, and I feel happier now the money question has been dealt with.
‘When Simon found out about the legacy he told Catherine he would approach the trustees for more information, but he doesn’t seem to have got very far. He says he’ll give them a little more time and then lean on them a bit. However, it doesn’t seem to be bothering Catherine at all.’
Luigi thought for a moment longer. ‘You know, boy, I’m no Einstein, but I begin to wonder if these people have been using Catherine’s monies for their own purposes, which is why they are a bit reluctant to give too much information away.’
‘I’m sure you’re not wrong, I’ve been thinking much the same. I have a feeling that Simon is beginning to suspect something too,’ Alex admitted.
The door opened and the two women entered with the coffee. Luigi watched as Alex stood and walked over to his wife, relieving her of the coffee pot and then seeing her seated in a nest of cushions on the settee. When he sat down beside her he bent and placed his mouth on hers. He then took hold of her hand and they sat there together, almost in a shared world of thei
r own. After what he had just heard, Luigi felt his sense of worry deepen.
*
The Christmas break over, Alex had to prepare for his next meeting with Francis and Sir John. He and Dougie settled down with cups of coffee and they talked through their conclusions so far.
‘Following on from what we’ve started to look at, if we thought about the financial side and were to suppose for a minute that funds were being misappropriated for subversive acts, what sort of things should we look for? Do we go for small? For example, as we’ve discussed before, monies being used to pay off, or employ a person or persons to carry out disruptive acts in some way, to put glitches into the country’s economic base. Long-term instability could be the name of the game. With Franklin’s knowledge of the court system and insiders there too, he could be informed about vulnerable people who might be persuaded to assist him. We know we’ve found out quite a lot of interesting information on these points already.’
Dougie nodded in agreement.
Alex went on, ‘Now, then, if you want to upscale the whole thing, you could play with the big boys. Bribery for information in government circles, for instance. I know Francis thinks the same. Take defence procurement, for example: find out where your contract is going to be placed, and then put someone in a factory being used to manufacture just a small part, and using the disruption idea, if you multiply it enough, you could then start having delays in defence contracts. MPs start to get worked up about the delays and rising costs, and you end up with unrest in Parliament… and if you wanted to get unreal, you could even think of it bringing down a government, or at the very least influencing personnel changes within the various parties.’
Dougie was warming to the theme now. ‘If we’re talking about using the big boys, by that, meaning organised crime, you might also consider that you could play with those lads over the water.’
Alex nodded. ‘That’s why I’m wondering about the Scottish link. We ought to try to obtain information from the various forces in that area as to any comings and goings they might have been interested in. Can you give that some of your time, Dougie? Spin them the old national security line if they get a bit stuffy. Francis said that he would give us some clout if we needed it.’
‘OK, Boss. I’ll look up the forces covering that area and start doing a bit of leaning. Do you think this is why Franklin was so keen to keep Catherine under his control, so that they could keep on using her money? If so, what does he do when she’s entitled to it?’
‘Yes, I know, Dougie. My thought is that Catherine’s money was a small portion of what he might control. If one avenue dries up, he could go on to use monies from elsewhere. Don’t forget the possible sources the other two might be able to lock onto, with one a lawyer and the other a banker: pretty endless!’
‘Would it pay to get bank accounts looked at?’
‘I don’t for a minute think they’ve got the stuff sitting in a current account with a bank under their own names, Dougie. Again, with Villiers and Hamilton on board it could be buried in all manner of dummy companies. It will take more manpower than we have between us to do that sort of research. It might be worth a check with Companies House, though, to see what they might be involved in.’
‘Sure thing, Boss. I’ll start on this Scottish thing, I think.’
‘When I bring Francis up to speed, I’ll see if he has any thoughts.’
*
Alex arrived at the Whitehall office to find that Sir John was once again present. He didn’t look a well man, and Alex wondered if he would even reach his retirement date. He and Francis listened while Alex put forward the ideas he’d discussed with Dougie earlier in the day. Francis soon caught on, but Sir John was a little more sceptical.
‘All this disruption business sounds like a lot of bother for very little result. If you’ve got money for sale, get it out there for use by the professionals. Get big results. That’s what I’d do.’
‘Fair enough,’ agreed Alex, ‘but what if you have ideological principles? What if you want to change political thinking in a big way, or just do enough to make some people nervous, make them change tactics, or even sides? Keep Parliament in a state of agitation, and you might be able to slip ideas or amendments through, because no one wants to object enough and be the person who upsets the status quo.’
Sir John still didn’t look too sure of this train of thought. He’d been brought up in the old school tradition where a man’s word was his bond and you stuck with your principles. Any exposure during his career to the harsh reality of crime appeared not to have altered his vision.
Francis looked at Alex. ‘What about this Scottish thing? Do you think they are organising some sort of trafficking?’
‘It’s a good bet. What, and how much, I don’t know. My Sergeant is contacting the local forces to see if he can pick up any pointers.’
‘If you come up with anything concrete, let me know, and I can have some of my side do some investigating over the water.’
‘I’d rather keep this a police thing, Francis, if it’s all the same to you.’
Sir John sounded quite huffy, and not for the first time Alex thought that his ultimate boss was turning this investigation into a crusade for personal glory. He was looking to end his career on a high note, with a massive and successful policing operation. Not the soundest of reasons for embarking on an enterprise like this. Alex was well aware that it would do himself no harm career-wise either, but he’d gone into this seeing the bigger picture from his country’s point of view. The fact that Catherine’s uncle was involved, and he disliked the man, he tried to keep well apart from his overall objective.
‘Keep in close touch with me on this, Alex.’ Francis stared hard at the younger man, conveying to him that he was just as unsettled about Sir John’s attitude. ‘I’ll leave it to you, Sir John, to use your resources to keep eyes and ears open for anything happening elsewhere.’
‘Of course.’ Sir John sounded affronted that he had even been questioned on the point.
Alex felt irritated. He’d seen and heard enough. For some reason he had an overwhelming desire to be at home with Catherine, seeing that young smiling face, hearing about her news, and most of all, capturing those soft lips under his. He made to leave before any of his thoughts became visible.
‘I need to get back to see my Sergeant before he goes off duty, if that’s OK by you, Sir John?
‘Yes, yes. Run along, my boy. Keep up the good work.’
He sounded like an affable headmaster, Alex thought, glancing at Francis before he turned and left the room. Francis’s return look told the same story.
*
Dougie had been quite lucky with the Scottish approach so far, he told Alex. ‘Once you can understand what on earth they’re talking about!’
Already, information re one or two incidents was being sent down to them, together with Coastguard records, and three forces had now promised to keep them posted on any developments.
‘You did impress on them about the confidentiality aspect, didn’t you, Dougie? I don’t want too many people either up there or down here wondering why we’re interested.’
‘I did indeed. Up there it will look as though someone in London is just being a nuisance again, and anything coming here will be marked personal and confidential to you.’
‘OK. If I’m not here, open it up, Dougie, will you.’
Dougie sent him a sly look. ‘What if it’s from a ladyfriend.’
Alex chuckled. ‘If you fancy her, you have my full permission to take her over. There’s just one lady I’m interested in.’
Dougie reached for his coat. ‘Well, don’t stay here too long tonight. I’d get home to her, if I was you.’
‘Don’t worry, Dougie, I’m intending to do just that.’
As Dougie left, Alex knew that he wouldn’t be leaving just yet. Acting on a worrying thought
which had come to him some weeks ago, he had begun to make use of the time he was alone in the office to copy the gist of any new evidence gained on any particular day; therefore, in effect, making an almost complete copy of all their records. From the beginning he had insisted that any typed reports by either of them should be made in duplicate. Unknown to Dougie he had retained these copies and was keeping everything in a folder marked ‘Expenses’ at the back of the bottom drawer of one of their filing cabinets.
All the filing cabinets were kept locked, and only he and Dougie had keys, but the locks weren’t the most robust of their kind. Every night before he left he placed small strips of clear tape on the drawers in such a way that they would be removed if the drawers were opened. He judged, from experience of watching them at work, that the cleaners wouldn’t be a problem. Dougie knew of this precaution, and if a problem was ever found they would have to discuss how to deal with the matter between them.
After completing his task for the night, he set out for home.
CHAPTER 14
It was time to sell the Richmond house and perhaps discuss with Bonetti moving into the Club full time, thought Lionel Franklin. Now that the Painters had retired, he made do with a cleaner once a week and either made a light meal himself or dined at the Club. The large house was now pointless, and expensive. If Catherine had still been here it might have been different. If that was the case, he thought the Painters might well have stayed on longer too. Why was it that people never seemed to follow the path he expected, or demanded of them? No matter, to hell with them all! He must still continue with his plans, although there would have to be changes.
He would start with Scotland first. It would be nice to go out with a little victory in winding things up. Time to teach Aubrey’s Irish friends a lesson. He picked up the phone and ordered a taxi. A few discreet phone calls were required and, as always, he made those calls from the pay phone at The Grosvenor.
There just remained… Hartman. This was the special one, the one that would give him most pleasure. It would have to be crafted with care, but he had now settled on what he considered to be a perfect outcome. However, he would have to be patient yet. As suspected, information had reached him that Catherine was pregnant by that upstart, but in the long term that could work in his favour. He thought for a moment about what he had in mind. It would be a pity… but then he smiled to himself. No, don’t think of it like that. It would be more like exercising justice. He would have Hartman then, and it would be worth it. Yes, he was going to enjoy himself.
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