Suzi had brewed some coffee, and a lasagne was bubbling away in the oven. Ann dished up a small portion each, and the women picked at their supper whilst Ann spoke:
‘Suzi, I have it all planned. You must understand by now that Castle has to disappear – as does my double – Carol Leslie. If we are to get clean away, we need to delay the authorities. Firstly, they must believe that I am innocent, and that Richard Castle has stolen some of the gold and is responsible for the master deception that we are conducting.’
Suzi frowned.
Ann took a deep breath and explained, in great detail, every piece of her grand design. She told her everything. She hadn’t told Chloe about the imminent demise of Richard Castle, as she didn’t need to know – and in any case she would probably have thrown a ‘severe wobbly’ and certainly not agreed to the escape plan.
But Ann told Suzi everything in a desperate attempt to bolster her courage for the night ahead.
She then explained the plot to kill Castle.
Suzi listened, enraptured. Terrified, yet deeply thrilled at the same time.
Like Ann, the act of violence, especially in the bedroom, gave her a prodigious sexual buzz.
However, this would be something completely different and her juices were flowing.
When Ann had finished, Suzi asked several questions which Ann answered coolly. After an hour, the conspiracy was set and the two women collapsed back in their leather chairs, Suzi with eyes closed, contemplating the events to come, and Ann watching her accomplice for signs of stress or weakness.
There were none.
The final piece was now in place.
Day 59
Tuesday 11th February – 1000
UKRA HQ
Ann sat in her office contemplating the outstanding arrangements to be made. Most involved short phone calls, and she would use a selection of the many one-time, non-contract mobile phones lying in her desk drawer.
Firstly, she called the bank in Switzerland. After passing the correct codes and bank account numbers, she was put through to her personal banker.
‘Gute Morgen, Frau Leslie. What can I do for you?’
The banking official could not be more helpful or obsequious.
‘Good morning, Herr Weber. I am ringing to confirm that my instructions concerning the transfer of funds have been carried out?’
She could hear Herr Weber clicking a few keys on his computer before he replied.
‘Why of course, Frau Leslie. We have transferred monies to all seven banks, as requested.’
Ann was becoming impatient with this minion.
‘Perhaps you could just repeat the locations and amounts if you please,’ she persisted.
‘Yes, of course, let me see. US$10 million to the HSBC in Hong Kong, and similar amounts to the Banco Santander in Madrid, to JP Morgan Chase in New York, to the Banco Central do Brasil in Rio de Janeiro, to the Bank of Tokyo in Japan and just one million US$ each to the Banco de Venezuela in Caracas and the Dresdner Bank in Luxembourg. Yes, I think that's it.’
Ann persevered:
‘Not quite, Herr Weber,’ it was like getting blood out of a stone with these fucking people – but I suppose their security was a bonus if you were on the run, so Ann kept her cool.
‘Have you arranged for bank cards, cheque books, access codes, account numbers and all of the other documentation I requested.’
Herr Weber was calm under pressure.
‘Of course, madam. If you visit the main branch of the Banco de Venezuela in Caracas, you only have to produce your passport and you will gain access to a secure safety deposit box, which will contain all of the documents you require for the Caracas account. The details for the Dresdner Bank in the name and account you specified will be forwarded to the address in Brussels on the twenty-fifth. The remainder of the paperwork will be held for you in the main New York branch of JP Morgan Chase from the end of the month. These things can take time madam, and you gave us little enough notice,’ he excused himself.
‘Good,’ replied Ann, adding, ‘as long as they are Herr Weber. There are other banks in Switzerland you know. Thank you and good day.’
Ann disconnected, opened the phone, removed the sim card and shredded it. She placed the phone in a non-descript plastic shopping bag and placed it by the desk.
Next was ‘Le Claret Jug’.
The restaurant answered and took her booking for ‘two’ at 8pm. No one needed to know that a third person would be in the car. She asked for a secluded table, but was assured that the dining area would be quiet. Top Belgian football team, Anderlecht, were playing Ajax of Amsterdam in a Champions League quarterfinal, and bookings would be down - they didn’t have a television!
She thanked them and followed a similar procedure with this handset.
Next was a call to Carol Leslie. She instructed her to be booted and spurred for dinner at ‘Le Claret Jug’ and to be at Ann's apartment for 6pm on Wednesday evening. She was to wear the ‘genuine’ jewellery that Ann had supplied and as much of Ann's clothing as possible. Ann also asked if Carol had been practising her accent, to which she replied in a voice eerily similar to Ann's.
This phone went the same way as the others.
Ann would need to be at home tomorrow before the 3pm shift change between the security guards. Two Ann Fletchers arriving within minutes might raise eyebrows and be remembered at a later date.
As a precaution, Ann rang the senior admin officer and arranged for both guards on duty that day to be posted away on Thursday morning. She complained about some minor, trumped up issue, and the admin officer apologised and promised that he'd deal with it.
The final call was to her daughter, who wasn’t at work today, but was shopping for three carry-on bags and expensive, medium sized suitcases for the travelling. The women were going to travel light, but not too light, as that would arouse suspicion.
She was also going to pack the suitcases with clothing laid out by Ann and Suzi the night before.
‘Chloe, can you meet Suzi and me for lunch at the CSC for 1pm?’
Chloe agreed and Ann was now able to get on with the day’s work.
She let Eleanor know about her few days off commencing Thursday, and attempted to clear her desk of all UKRA business. Sir Ian James could deal with it all from here on in.
She contacted Ross Bryant for an update and he revealed that he was in Guernsey with Brady, ensuring that the gold was secure. He didn’t mention that after the gold delivery each day, the pair were enjoying the high life - eating, drinking and flirting with the locals till the early hours.
Ann was not displeased, as it put all three of the traitorous bastards well out of the way when the Commander flew in on Thursday.
She had told no one of the extra Chinook load which Richard Castle had organised. Ann had informed Castle that she would arrange the press conference in Brussels for Friday, but in fact had done nothing. Castle would carry the can for the entire charade!
She was due out to Paris on Thursday morning and decided to order a taxi in advance from her apartment direct to the train station. Suzi had booked tickets and reserved seats and Ann would rehearse the route to Caracas on her return to the apartment after lunch.
Lunch was designed to achieve two aims.
One, to ensure that her two accomplices were still firmly on board. She would regale them with tales of just what they could do with so much money. Surely, it was a temptation that no one could resist.
Secondly, she wanted UKRA society to see her in public, apparently carrying out her duties and firmly entrenched in her work. It would avert suspicion. They talked loudly about Ann and Chloe going away for a few days to Rome, and Suzi was going on a tour of the transit camps. Bryan Wester overheard much of the conversation, as he was intended to do.
Chloe had already informed her mother that he was a mole for Patric Silver.
So, by the time they all repaired back to Ann's apartment, the plan was well advanced. The rest of Tuesday was spent completing fina
l preparations for the act of flight. Packing, checking documents, drawing cash, rehearsing the route and tying up loose ends. Ann cleared her apartment of any potential evidence which might give a clue as to her location.
Then the three women settled down for a quiet supper together. Chloe was due out the next morning, Wednesday the twelfth, as Ann wanted her well clear before Castle met his maker.
Day 60
Wednesday 12th January
Brussels
Ann saw Chloe off in a cab, explaining to the doorman that they were off to Rome and Ann was following on tomorrow. She then put in a perfunctory morning at the office, and said her silent final farewells at 1pm. Nobody had the slightest idea that she would never return.
Naturally, Suzi was quite nervous, and Ann spent most of the afternoon building up her courage.
In the final analysis, greed and a bit of Dutch courage overcame any reservations that might still have remained, and by the time she left the apartment at 5pm, Suzi was determined and driven.
Carol Leslie arrived on schedule and spent the next hour or so preparing herself for the evening out with Richard Castle. Ann explained in detail:
‘Carol, dear, I have received veiled threats against my life, and I'm afraid that in order for me to carry out my political duties, you will have to deflect attention away from me. Of course, I don’t really take the intimidation seriously, but nonetheless I'm advised to be cautious. And please, don’t be alarmed – MI6 will be watching out for you at all times – you may not see them, but they’ll be there. Consequently, this evening, my Cabinet colleague, Richard Castle is taking you to a well-publicised dinner just outside Brussels. He will drive as Patric has the night off. Now; Richard knows me very well, if you take my drift, and if you can fool him, then you can fool anybody. This is a sort of a final test of your masquerade.
I want you to be me – completely. My clothes, my jewellery, my perfume – my style. My friend and colleague, Susan Macintyre will be joining you to assess his reaction. He may well see through our deception when close up, but that won't matter. Do you think you can pull it off?’
‘I think so ma'am. If you can help with the hair and make-up I’ll give it a good shot,’ replied Carol nervously.
‘Excellent,’ smiled Ann, ‘would you like a glass of Champagne?’
The two women carefully prepared Carol for her final test, and by 7.30pm only a close intimate of Ann Fletcher would have been able to tell them apart.
Exactly on time, the security guard buzzed up and informed Ann that Richard was waiting in the car.
‘Is it still raining?’ she asked.
‘Yes ma'am, I’ll hold the gates open ready for you.’
Ann had one more instruction to deliver:
‘Could you tell Mr Castle to pick up his other passenger from outside the ‘City 2’ shopping mall in the Rue Neuve. She’ll be outside the main entrance with a bright red umbrella.’
‘No problem, ma'am.’
Ann turned to Carol, pecked her on the cheek, wished her good luck, and sent her unwittingly to her dinner date.
***
Meanwhile, Suzi had not been idle.
When she left the flat, she had taken her luggage and booked into a small hotel in the old town. She had then taken a taxi to a car hire firm and rented a small, unobtrusive car for twenty-four hours using the Helga Carville identity. She had driven out of the city, and parked up outside the small row of shops opposite the track leading up to ‘Le Claret Jug’.
She then called a local taxi, which carried her back into town, where she waited in the ‘City 2’ shopping mall until Richard Castle pulled up outside at around 7:40pm.
Castle had not realised that his passenger was not Ann Fletcher.
Carol Leslie had ducked quickly out of the apartment, partially hidden by an umbrella and had dived into the back seat of the car. Richard barely gave her a glance and as soon as she sat down, her phone rang. This was planned. If she was talking on her mobile, she couldn’t be interrogated by Castle.
She gave one word answers to her ‘pretend’ caller (Ann) and only disconnected when Suzi joined her on the back seat.
They smiled a conspiratorial smile and chatted quietly as Castle drove out towards the restaurant.
Carol warned him about the hidden entrance and consequently, Richard didn’t make the same mistake as Patric had several days earlier. It was raining ‘cats and dogs’ by now, and Richard was obliged to drive very slowly with full beam headlights. They skidded on the muddy surface a couple of times and Richard was conducting a running commentary of curses and complaints about ‘bloody Belgian roads.’
Suzi clenched her teeth, took a deep breath, glanced out of the rear window to confirm that no other vehicles were behind them, and eased her right hand into her handbag.
She leaned over towards the ill-fated and totally oblivious Carol Leslie and fired two silenced shots, at very close range, directly into her heart.
Carol slumped very slightly backwards, and Suzi ensured that she didn’t collapse completely by propping her up.
By this time, Richard was busily negotiating the awkward hairpin bend and as he was half way round, Suzi shouted to gain his attention.
‘Richard, stop! For God’s sake, stop straightaway! Something is wrong with Ann!’
Castle braked fiercely, skidding slowly to a halt, and applied the handbrake as he was on a steepish incline.
As he turned his head to discover the source of the problem, Suzi fired two rapid shots into his forehead with the silenced pistol.
Blood and brain matter spattered all over the windscreen as he collapsed backwards.
Suzi was breathing hard and actually wet herself.
However, this was no time for histrionics or panic. She tried to remember the instructions Ann had given her, and went onto ‘automatic pilot.’
After dropping the untraceable gun on the back seat, she put on a plastic rain cap from her handbag and climbed out of the car, where she donned a plastic pac-a mac. She checked round the bend for other cars before returning to the Mercedes and opening the front passenger door. She leaned in and released the handbrake. The engine was still running and in neutral.
The car began to slide slowly backwards, so she stooped out of the door and slammed it shut as it gathered momentum.
It quickly picked up speed and headed inexorably towards the edge of the road. Because of the hairpin, it didn’t have far to travel, and the unfortunate Richard Castle and Carol Leslie plunged over the precipice and commenced an unstoppable slide down into the lightly wooded abyss.
Suzi peered over the edge and when she was satisfied that the car was out of sight from a casual observer on the road, she hurried off down the track, deploying her small telescopic umbrella.
It was about a kilometre back to the main road, and Suzi slipped and slid almost the entire distance. The heels on her shoes broke, and only then did she remember what Ann had advised.
‘Take a spare pair of sensible flat shoes to change into for the walk back.’ In her alarm, Suzi had forgotten to change them.
Suzi kicked off the high heels, picked them up and trudged bare feet through the mud. After ten minutes, she reached the main road. She took cover from the passing traffic behind a bush, and extracted the sensible shoes from her capacious handbag and slipped them on, after pulling off her hold-up stockings. She tossed the broken shoes deep into the woods and stuffed the stockings into her raincoat pocket.
The road was busy, but the rain was making driving difficult and the traffic was taking little notice of pedestrians.
Suzi took her opportunity to cross and made her way swiftly back to the pre-positioned hire car. There were several other vehicles in the car park – but luckily no people.
Suzi unlocked the car and climbed in after taking off the pac-a mac and stuffing it into a nearby waste paper bin. The engine started first time and Suzi drove away.
Her hands were trembling uncontrollably and she felt slight
ly sick…but she gritted her teeth, shook her head violently, and continued towards her hotel where she had checked in during the afternoon. It was a small backstreet ‘boutique’ hotel, innocuous and private. Her luggage for the journey to Caracas was already there, as were her travel documents and passport.
The journey took less than forty minutes, and she parked in an overnight multi-storey in the city centre. She disposed of the rain cap and stockings in a waste bin before tightening up her raincoat and walking the ten minutes to the hotel location.
She grasped the keys from the concierge and went up in the small lift to her room.
She immediately stripped naked and showered, washing away any blood spatter, residue from the discarded gun and mud from the scene. She lathered and soaped herself thoroughly, and couldn’t resist the temptation to masturbate, as she vividly recalled the two murders.
After drying off and redressing, she bagged up the discarded clothes and placed them all in a black bin bag. There wasn’t much – blouse, skirt, underwear, light rain mac and the sensible shoes, so the next morning she dumped them in a council rubbish bin outside the hotel, before returning the hire car and then heading off to the train station and a connection to Maastrict in Holland.
Nobody noticed anything unusual.
Next that evening was a stiff drink, which she took whilst dining at a restaurant in the same street as the hotel.
Surprisingly, she ‘felt’ very little.
No real remorse or regret. No pity or guilt. The trembling had long faded away.
She was mildly elated, but most of all she was electrically charged with sexual desire.
But that would have to wait.
Next stop – Caracas.
Day 61
Thursday 13th February
Brussels/Guernsey
Ross Bryant, Patric Silver and Andy Brady had been reunited in St Peter Port, and were considerably surprised that nothing had gone wrong with the plan so far.
The divers in London were doing a sterling job, and the gold bars arrived on schedule every evening and were placed in store.
The only slightly weird order they had received was to prepare eight boxes of gold for transport by Chinook back to Belgium. Richard Castle had contacted Ross and instructed him to personally supervise the loading. Apparently, this gold was to be put on public display in Brussels to assure the world that the UK was capable of accessing the treasure in the Bank of England vaults.
Snow! The Series [Books 1-4] Page 104
