'That, unfortunately, is easier said than done Vince. Every farmer and resident up there have their own landing strip. You will have to get very lucky to find him. Also, don't forget that if he is flying to Indonesia, he will be spending a lot of time out of the country. He will only be on the ground at a location in the Northern Territory on very rare occasions. It will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.'
'That makes me feel great Rod. I am now pretty certain as to the rough area where Stuart Smith is, but it is going to be a huge job to find him.'
'You now appreciate how difficult it is to stop the flow of drugs into a country the size of Australia. You, in fact, would be better off trying to find out where they are put on the plane in Indonesia,' Rod suggested.
'That sounds like a much better idea, but I have never been there,' I replied.
'Well, good luck in your search. I must get back to the clinic Vince. I hope that I was able to contribute in some way.'
'You have been very helpful Rod and I now have a lot more information to draw up a plan with. May I contact you again if I need your input?'
'Yes, you have my number and I will be glad to assist in whatever way I can. These buggers have to be stopped from destroying young lives.'
He pointed me in the direction of Balaclava station. Sally had told me that this was the place where I needed to catch my train back to the city. He then headed back to his office.
Despite being preoccupied with what we had just been discussing I did manage to find the station and catch a train headed for Flinders Street in the centre of Melbourne. Sally had given me instructions as to what trains I had to take to get from the city centre to East Brunswick where she lived.
Flinders Street turned out to be a very busy and confusing station, and I had quite a bit of difficulty finding the correct train. I eventually reached Tony's house just before one.
'How did it go Vince?' Sally asked me.
'It was a bit depressing really; Rod Charlesworth told me about the number of young people in their late teens and early twenties who are being destroyed by drugs.'
'I do some counselling for my local church and we have also come across the problem. It does appear to be worse on the other side of Melbourne where most of the University students hang out.'
'Rod mentioned that fact. The pushers are evidently very generous with the supply until the person gets hooked, and they then squeeze them for the money and there are no freebies. They then have them in the palm of their hand.'
'It's a big problem,' she said. 'If you like to go to the veranda I will bring the lunch things out. Tony said that he might call in if he gets a chance.'
I went out the back onto the veranda and picked up the local paper to pass the time until lunch arrived.
I skimmed through the news as there wasn't much that interested me. It was all local news. In one of the inside pages, I did come across a small single column paragraph about a missing pilot. There was a picture of Stuart Smith and a request that if anybody had seen him they should get in touch with an Inspector Johnson. There was a mobile number that they could use.
Tony appeared a few minutes later.
I showed him the piece in the paper.
'I thought that you said that Stuart was almost certainly in the north around Darwin,' Tony asked me.
'That is the best guess as to where he is, but nobody has seen him up there.'
'I wonder why they put his picture in the local newspaper.' Tony looked puzzled.
'I suppose somebody might have seen him when he was being taken to Essendon Flying School on the night they took the plane or in the intervening day,' I suggested.
'I take it that there is no good news, Vince. He still hasn't been found?'
'No, he hasn't been located. I think that the investigation will have to be switched to the north of the country then,' I said.
Tony's mobile rang. He spoke to whoever it was on the other end and then turned to me keeping his hand over the mouthpiece.
'This is the Inspector. He wants to see us immediately or sooner if possible. Is that OK?'
'Fine, I have nothing planned for this afternoon.'
'Inspector, we will be with you by 2.00pm. We are just having lunch and will leave as soon as we are finished.'
'See you soon.' He terminated the call.
Sally brought out the lunch and joined us. The conversation turned to family matters rather than the case.
In the car, on the way to the police station, Tony asked me a very direct question.
'What are you going to tell the Inspector about your continued involvement in his investigation?'
'What do you mean, what am I going to tell him?'
'Well, this is as good a point as any for you to disentangle yourself from the web of the case and back out. Don't forget that you gave a promise to Daphne that you would only stay involved until Mags and the children were rescued. They are now safe in the protection of the police in case you hadn't noticed.' He grinned.
'When I talked to Daphne on the telephone yesterday she asked me if I was still involved. I said that I couldn't walk away from my involvement because Stuart could be in grave danger. I also said that I needed to support you.'
'Don't bring me into it Vince. I don't mind if you get on a plane tomorrow; it won't make any difference to my involvement in the case as I have a business to run.'
'It has nothing to do with whether I want to continue as a PI or not; it is purely about rescuing your friend Stuart Smith. I want to do all that I can to try and locate him.'
'So if the Inspector asks you to stay involved you will agree to help?'
'Basically, yes. I will return to the UK when we have rescued Stuart.'
'You're either a brave man or a very stupid one. I just hope that you don't lose your wife through misplaced motives.'
Luckily we had reached the police station, and there was no further opportunity for my brother to try and calibrate me and further upset my equilibrium.
When we announced our arrival, we were shown into a meeting room. To my surprise, there were two other people in the room in addition to the Inspector and his assistant. To the Inspector's left, around the circular table, was Brian Griffiths, the father of John, who was the young guy in a coma. To his right was Rod Charlesworth. I acknowledged the two men as they were introduced to me. I obviously knew Rod as we had met that morning When the Inspector was finished I introduced my brother.
'Gentlemen,' the Inspector started the meeting. 'I have called you all together because you have all intimated that you want to help in locating and rescuing Stuart Smith.'
All those around the table nodded their heads and gave a muttering of agreement.
'Rod, I know that you are more interested in stopping the supply of drugs that are destroying so many of the young people that you look after. Brian, you have the same motive as Rod. Tony and Vince, while also wanting to see the drugs racket destroyed, are more interested in rescuing your friend.'
Again there was a muttering of agreement around the table.
'I have a major problem that I hope you can solve,' The Inspector continued. 'If Stuart Smith is in the Northern Territory, it is out of my jurisdiction and I will have to pass the case to the local police based in Darwin.'
'That shouldn't be a problem, should it? I commented.
'In theory no; in practice, yes,' he replied.
'Is there not a lot of co-operation between the various forces?' Tony asked the question this time.
'There is; however, the Darwin police will have their own list of priorities and our case may be placed bottom of that list when I hand it over. I am sure that you can understand how it works.'
'I am afraid that I have to agree with the Inspector,' Rod chipped in. 'From my twenty years’ experience in the force, I fear that when the case is handed over to them it will get placed on the back burner.
'So what are you suggesting is the best way to proceed from here?' I asked. It sounded as if the ca
se was going to end up buried in a big black hole and Stuart might never get rescued.
'I am suggesting that the four of you form a team and head off for Darwin to see if you can locate the airfield where this gang is operating from. I will then tell the local police what you are up to and that you may call on them for assistance. I suggest that you, Vince, take charge of the team as you were a Major in the SAS.'
I looked around at the people seated around the table. Each one of them looked as if they had just heard the news that their favourite grandmother had died.
There was a pause as we all digested the suggestion.
Rod was the first to speak.
'So you are suggesting that the four of us will fly to Darwin and conduct our search from there.'
'Five of you - sorry, I forgot to mention that I will have a spy in your camp,' the Inspector smiled. 'My assistant, Inspector Kevin Moore, will be going with you.’ He indicated Kevin with his hand in a sweeping gesture. ‘He will handle your liaison with the local police and will contact me immediately if you require any further assistance.'
'I prefer not to be the leader of the group,' I interjected. 'I don't know the country or the people, and I don't think that there is a need for a nominated leader. If we need a decision, we can always get back to you.'
'That's fine by me. If that is the way you want to operate, go ahead,' the Inspector nodded his head in agreement.'
'I can only give you a few days of my time as I have my business to keep on the road,' Tony said. 'I don't know how the rest of you are fixed?'
'Before I offered my services I made sure that I can contribute the amount of time required,' Brian Griffiths said. 'I want to get these bastards who put my son into hospital.'
'I should be able to give you a week,' Rod Charlesworth offered. 'Longer than that and I may have to come back for a few days. I can then probably give a few more days to the cause after a spell in Melbourne.'
'I am still on holiday,' I chipped in. 'I can stay on it until we find them and solve the puzzle.' Everybody chuckled.
'Kevin can also stay on the case as long as he is required,' the Inspector added.
'Are you all ready to leave first thing tomorrow morning?'
There was a unanimous 'Yes' from all those present.
'That's great because time is of the essence. I will go and make the bookings and come back to you as soon as it is sorted.'
The Inspector went off to sort out the tickets.
There was an embarrassing silence after he left the room. We were all coming to terms with the fact that we had been asked to form a team to crack the case, but, other than Tony and me, we were all strangers.
Gradually a discussion started as to what was the most appropriate next step, and how we should work together once we got to Darwin.
The Inspector came back and interrupted us. He informed the group that a booking had been made for us on a Qantas Airways flight leaving at 8.00am the following morning. He suggested that we meet at the security check-in gate an hour before the departure time.
'I have to leave you now, but if you want to stay on and decide on a plan of action feel free to use this room,' the Inspector added.
There was a consensus among the new team that if they were going to be away from their businesses for the next few days, they had better spend the remainder of the day in their offices preparing for their absence. As a free agent, I told them that I would spend the rest of the day drawing up a rough plan.
Tony dropped me off at his home before he went back to his business.
I was excited to be on the brink of another case.
Chapter 16
I spent the rest of the afternoon drawing up the bare bones of a plan. The Inspector hadn't given us any specific instructions as to how we should operate once we got to Darwin. He had suggested that we could use the flight time to develop a strategy as to how we were going to find Stuart. He had smiled when he added; 'if your plan doesn't work, then you won't be able to come back to Melbourne or blame me.'
I reckoned that the discussion amongst my colleagues might be more constructive if I had some suggestions ready to stimulate the minds of the rest of the team. I pinched some blank sheets of A4 paper from Sally's printer and started the process.
I wrote down the names of all the members of the team. Beside each name, I wrote down the strengths that they were bringing to the team. I started with myself.
Vince: Military and Private Investigative experience. Can use a gun; in fact quite a good shot. Has met Luigi Bandarella so can recognize him. Analytical mind. Reacts well under fire and in emergencies.
Kevin: As a serving police officer carries a Warrant card. Has an inside track into the police system; this may be useful if we require information from the local authorities such as the Military or Traffic Control. Negatives: Not very experienced and unfamiliar with the area around Darwin. Also an unknown quantity in a hostile situation.
Tony (My brother): A very logical thinker and a person who thinks very broadly when considering a problem. Covers all the angles. Negatives: Totally inexperienced in this type of work. Only available for a few days. Not much else that he can contribute. Hasn't fired a gun in over twenty years since the OTC in school.
Rod: An ex-policeman and very motivated to catch the culprits. Strong and capable. His experience will be invaluable in drawing up an action plan. The sort of person that you want on your side in a fight. Trained in the use of guns. Negatives: Left the Force a few years ago so a bit rusty.
Brian: An entirely unknown quantity as he has only got involved because he has personal guilt over his son's predicament. Brings no special skills to the party other than a good knowledge of cars. Don't know if he can use a gun.
If we were to find Stuart and his plane, then we would have to search over a vast area. It, therefore, might be a good idea if we initially split up into two teams. Based on each person's experience I should go with Tony and Rod with Brian. Kevin would then be left unattached so as he could work with the local police and obtain the information we would require.
The only other factor that I could bring into the mix was that the Beechcraft King Air 250 was quite a large plane and would require a reasonably sized runway to operate from. Also, if it were being flown to Indonesia, it would need a large quantity of fuel to get there and back. I assumed that this would increase the weight of the aircraft and the length of runway required. Initially, I thought that there would have to be a fuel bowser based on the airfield; however, on reflection I thought that they could commandeer one and tow it to whatever field they were using.
The other thought that I had was that air traffic control or the defence forces must monitor all flights that travel between Australia and the countries to its North. From a security point of view, it seemed sensible that they would monitor all aircraft. Surely the policeman on our team should be able to obtain the detailed flight paths of all the private aircraft that have used the air space in the past month from one of those sources. If we could get this essential information, it would accelerate our search considerably. I was starting to feel more hopeful, and the proposed search was reducing in magnitude and becoming manageable.
Tony was home by seven and joined me for a beer on the veranda.
'What have you been up to this afternoon?' he inquired.
'I actually spent the time preparing a possible plan for when we get to Darwin at lunchtime tomorrow.'
'Sally is about to serve up dinner, so you can tell me what you have come up with when we are finished.'
On cue the dinner arrived.
'You had better phone your wife this evening, Vince,' Sally suggested. 'The chances are that you are not going to be near a phone for the next few days, and she should know where you are and what you propose doing.'
'I can only phone her after ten o’clock because of the time difference. It will be midday in Putney and she generally takes a break around then so won't have customers bothering her.'
W
e spent the rest of the meal talking about the problems caused by the vast time difference between the UK and Melbourne. The kids were interested to know why there was a time difference and why we were ahead of England and not behind. Both Tony and I were stumped by their questions; however, Sally came to our rescue.
‘It’s to do with the rotation of the earth around the sun and also the slow spinning of the earth.’ She gave them an impressive demonstration using an orange and the light that hung over the dinner table.
When dinner was over Sally busied herself tidying up while Tony and I discussed my plan. The kids left us in peace and went off to their rooms to play with their computers.
I showed him what I had written about the others but not what I had said about him. He agreed with my idea of splitting the group into two pairs and of placing him with me, and putting Rod with Brian. He also approved of the analysis I had done on the airfield, and the suggestion of confirming the length of runway required.
'Perhaps Kevin can help in reducing the number of runways we have to cover. I like your logical conclusion that there is a minimum length of runway that is essential for the plane to operate from.'
'We can't possibly cover every landing strip in Northern Territory, so we have to try some method of reducing the quantity we have to look at,' I added.
'I wonder will we be able to get the information from Air Traffic control or the military about the flight paths. I would imagine it would be extremely unlikely,' Tony commented.
'If we don't ask we certainly won't get,' I added.
'I am going to pack a bag and go to bed,' Tony said. 'We have an early start in the morning.'
'I will do the same myself after I have phoned Daphne. Can I use the landline?'
'Yes, go ahead; use the extension in the office.'
As I anticipated, Daphne was in the office having her lunch when I phoned. I was more nervous phoning her than I was about going on the trip to Darwin in the morning.
Danger Down Under: Another Vince Hamilton Investigation Page 12
