The Loss of the Jane Vosper

by Freeman Wills Crofts

  -18-

  THE STORY OF THE CRIME

  A routine investigation into the lives of Cruttenden, Henty, Hislop and Keene, together with an attempt by Henty to turn King’s evidence, brought out in all its sordid detail the facts which had led up to the scheme for the theft of the petrol sets, culminating in the loss of the Jane Vosper and the murder of John Sutton. A sad tale it was of human unhappiness, thwarted endeavour and misdirected ingenuity.

  Cruttenden was the prime mover. For many years he had lived by his wits. He was a thorough scoundrel. As a younger man he had been guilty of various swindles, and then after a period of card-sharping on the Atlantic liners had graduated to his more recent profession of systematic blackmailer. It was from blackmail that his principal income came, but as a sideline he ran gambling rooms in a flat in Wardour Street. His apparatus, like himself, was crooked, and he could at will drop the pea into any compartment of the roulette wheel that he desired, or miraculously arrange that the winning card should be found in his partner’s hand.

  In these activities he was enthusiastically helped by his partner and jackal, Henty. Henty’s real name was Snow and he lived in the house in Raynes Park. Snow – or Henty, to continue to give him the name known to French – was morally the worse of the two, but he had neither the initiative nor the ability to visualize and carry out any new or difficult scheme. But with someone else to do the thinking for him he would stick at nothing, provided only that there seemed to be a reasonable financial return for his trouble.

  For some time the partners had been making a good enough thing out of their evil activities, but latterly, as in more reputable businesses, profits had been dwindling till some months before the Jane Vosper affair ruin had begun to stare them in the face. As time passed their shifts became more and more desperate, and at last it became evident that they could no longer carry on as they had been doing. Either they must bring off some important coup, or they would go under.

  It was a chance remark of Hislop’s that gave Cruttenden his idea.

  Hislop was an acquaintance of Henty’s and occasionally played at the Wardour Street flat. But he was very sharp, so much so that the conspirators never attempted anything crooked while he was there. Cruttenden had talked to him on different occasions and had sized him up as an utterly ruthless and unscrupulous man who would do anything for money and his own advancement. From an unguarded remark Cruttenden, who had a nose like a terrier’s for such matters, learned that Hislop was fond of taking women for expensive weekends, and that as his salary did not run to this, he was on the lookout for other sources of income.

  It happened that one evening the two men were chatting over spirits and tobacco before leaving for home after play. Hislop, who was lucky at cards, had won a fair sum and was in an expansive humour. Cruttenden had happened to ask how business was, and Hislop, while agreeing that it was looking up, had been strong in condemnation of a recent decision of his firm’s. It appeared that the Soviet Government was in the market for 500 petrol sets of an unusually large design, for which they were willing to pay a good price. They were for use on the groups of buildings which they were putting up on their collective farms, to take the place of the old insanitary villages. Messrs Weaver Bannister, however, had decided not to tender. Whether they feared they would not be paid, Hislop didn’t know, but he personally didn’t believe there was any chance of that, and he grudged losing the extra work. ‘And we’re making the very things, too,’ he went on indignantly, ‘large sets for the haciendas of the Argentine and Brazil. 350 sets are being made, and they’ll be going out to South America in two or three months. Why in Hades, when we’ve got the plant and the jigs and everything set up, we couldn’t go on and make a few more beats me.’

  The conversation had passed on to other subjects, but afterwards Cruttenden had thought over what he had been told. 350 sets about to be sent to South America on the one hand, and on the other the Soviet Government on the market for similar sets.

  It was not at once that Cruttenden’s great idea came, but as he continued pondering the situation it suddenly flashed into his mind. If he could steal the South American sets and sell them to the Soviet people, there would be big money in it. As he thought of that money, the decision was made. He would look seriously into the idea and see whether anything could be made of it.

  Almost immediately he realized that he could not possibly work it alone. However, there was Henty, who would no doubt jump at such a chance of easy money. But even Henty would not be enough.

  However, nothing could be done till he had a plan. Cruttenden was extremely ingenious and a good deal of intensive thought did produce a scheme. He went over it and over it in his mind, improving here, simplifying there, making it safer in a third particular. At last he thought the plan would work, and he began seriously to consider helpers.

  He saw that he would require three. One he would want to help himself to carry out the actual manual details. For that there was Henty. So far it was easy. But he wanted two others, one in touch with the Weaver Bannister Company, the other in authority in some firm of carriers.

  As to the first of these others, there could be no doubt as to the man. If Hislop would join all would be well. On the other hand, if Hislop would not join, it meant giving up the scheme. If Hislop were unsuccessfully approached, and if anything then happened to the sets, Hislop would know where to look. No, everything depended on getting Hislop into the affair.

  Cruttenden approached Henty, to find him, as he had expected, enthusiastic. But sounding Hislop was not so easy. Cruttenden did it at last as a joke, as by this method he would be able to back out of the offer should he be dissatisfied with its reception. But he was not dissatisfied. Hislop fell for it with an enthusiasm almost equal to Henty’s. But Hislop made one condition which somewhat surprised his tempter. He would not have anything to do with the plan if the lives of any sailors were to be sacrificed. He drew the line at murder.

  Cruttenden was anxious to avoid murder also, but he had not seen how this was to be done, his scheme being to sink whatever ship was supposed to be taking the sets without leaving a trace. Hislop, however, saw the way. He knew about the Southern Ocean Steam Navigation’s boats, having frequently dispatched goods by them in the past. He could, he felt sure, use his position in the export department of Weaver Bannister’s to ensure that the entire consignment should be sent by one of these steamers. She could then be sunk, not just anywhere in mid-ocean, but close to the Madeira group. The weather at the time of year would almost certainly be good, and the chances of the crew getting ashore safely were so good as almost to represent a certainty.

  With considerable relief Cruttenden agreed to this modification, and the detailed working out of the scheme continued. Cruttenden’s idea was that they should hire the yard, not as builders, but as carriers. Then they would themselves convey the cases from the station to the docks and could make the exchange at their leisure.

  But Hislop turned this down for two reasons. First, he said, he should never be able to give the cartage order to an unknown firm. His chief, Dornford, allowed him a pretty free hand, but not to such an extent as that. Besides, it would look suspicious afterwards. Secondly, the name of the proposed cartage firm would have to be painted on the lorries used, and if enquiry were afterwards made, this would bring the detectives to the shed immediately.

  Cruttenden had realized the difficulty, though he had not seen how it might be overcome. Here again Hislop supplied the suggestion which was afterwards adopted. He, Hislop, was fairly well acquainted with a man named Keene, the manager of Waterer & Reade’s, the big firm of carriers. He had reason to believe that this Keene was hard up, though whether he would be prepared to assist in the scheme or not, Hislop couldn’t say.

  It was obvious that if this man could be brought in, practically all their remaining difficulties would be overcome. If he would use his position to start Cruttenden and Henty as temporary lorrymen and to give them the job of transporting
the cases, only the most unforeseen accident could give the affair away. But would Keene come in?

  Hislop thought that if the whole plan were put before him he would simply go to the police. But he wondered whether if it were suitably bowdlerized, it might not find acceptance. They would tell him that they were only going to steal and resell twenty-five sets, which would bring in about £7500. Of this he would get one quarter, or, say, close on £1900. No one, it would be pointed out, would be hurt by the proposal except the insurance company, which was well able to bear it. Keene would know nothing about what was done. His part would be confined to taking on the two lorrymen and seeing they were put on the job. Extra work would be given his firm which would justify his taking on a couple of temporary men, and Cruttenden and Henty would produce admirable testimonials. In other words, whatever afterwards happened, Keene would be able to justify his actions, so that nothing could possibly be proved against him. Then, though this part of the scheme was not to be passed on to Keene, if there were trouble or if Keene balked when he learnt the complete proposals, he would be easily brought to heel. He would be told he was in it up to the neck, and when he protested he would be asked who did he imagine would believe that tale?

  This seemed a good enough scheme to Cruttenden, but Hislop was not satisfied with it. He thought they should have a stronger hold on Keene. In the end it was decided that he, Hislop, should try to get him to play at Cruttenden’s flat. He would be dealt with in the time-honoured way. At first he would win, then when he was properly committed he would lose. His loss would be minimized and he would be told it did not matter, that there was plenty of time and that the luck would turn, all as per custom. Then Cruttenden would produce a maturing bill. He would be excessively sorry, but would explain that he was short of cash and therefore wanted his money to meet it. It would be terribly unfortunate, and he wouldn’t for anything it had happened, but there it was: he simply must have the money. He would have to have it, even if it meant going to the Waterer directors about it. Then, when Keene was properly worked up, there would be the suggestion of this safe and easy way of raising, not only what was due, but far more. Hislop was sure Keene would then fall.

  This abominable plan was put into operation and worked better even than Hislop had foreseen. Keene, told only the minor scheme, agreed to do his part readily enough, and all looked promising.

  By this time the actual details had been worked out. Henty started the ball by buying in an assumed name a completed set from Messrs Weaver Bannister. The nameplate was taken off this, and another, which had meanwhile been procured, was put on in its place. This last bore the name: ‘The Corona Engineering Works, Claygate, Surrey, England.’ This set was exhibited in the shed, which Cruttenden in the name of Rice had hired.

  Cruttenden then persuaded the Soviet Embassy people to send a technical representative to the shed to examine the set. The representative was delighted with it, which was not to be wondered at, as it was a first-rate piece of work. Cruttenden made his explanation about the transitional condition of the Claygate firm, and put through the agreement that 350 more sets should be supplied and taken over, provided they were similar in all respects to the sample.

  The next step was to provide the new cases, and here a terrible difficulty arose which for a time threatened to wreck the entire scheme. Cruttenden’s idea had been to buy timber and engage carpenters to make 350 cases identical to those of the Weaver Bannister Company. Drawings for these were to be supplied by Hislop, and they were to be filled with concrete to make the necessary weight. These dummy cases would then be exchanged for the real ones during the journey from the railway to the steamer, the electric runway enabling this to be done in the time available. The sets would then be unpacked, and after the nameplates had been changed, would be repacked in their original cases and sent to Russia.

  This seemed a watertight scheme, and it all worked admirably up to the last item. But there it failed. It was found impossible to use the original Weaver Bannister cases for sending the sets to Russia, for the simple reason that the Weaver Bannister name was stencilled in black on two opposite sides and the paint could not be removed. The difficulty, of course, was recognized before it actually arose, but it was not seen till the partners had gone so far as to be committed to the scheme. The ideal solution would have been to have had loose-fitting concrete blocks made, and to have lifted the sets out of the Weaver Bannister cases and put in the concrete on the way to the docks. Thus the original cases would have gone aboard the Jane Vosper. But for this there was no time. As it was, they found the mere changing of the cases only just possible, and it would have been out of the question also to open them, remove the sets, pack the concrete blocks and close the lids.

  What they eventually did was to have the Weaver Bannister cases altered. The lettering was confined to two boards on opposite faces, and while Cruttenden was changing the nameplates on the sets Henty knocked the four boards in question out of the cases and burnt them in the shed fireplace. From a different timber merchant new boards were bought, and from a more distant labour exchange fresh carpenters were employed, and the damaged cases were repaired. This, of course, was a very small job compared with making new ones. Henty then made all sure by stencilling the Claygate name where the old lettering had been.

  The method of blowing up the ship was thought out with the greatest care. Gelignite and electric detonators were chosen as the most suitable explosives. These were also the easiest to obtain, and Henty spent some time searching the country for a quarry suitable for burglary. He decided on that at Llandelly, bringing Cruttenden a description of the place with photographs, taken early on a Sunday morning. Henty did not return to Llandelly, but Hislop assisted Cruttenden with the actual theft. Cruttenden drove the Ford van down, while Hislop travelled to and from Shrewsbury by train, joining Cruttenden in the suburbs.

  The gelignite and detonators – three of the latter to each case to make absolutely sure of the job – were enclosed in concrete in the four special cases, which, of course, Cruttenden and Henty themselves filled. These cases were labelled to Buenos Aires to ensure that they should be put at the bottom of the consignment. In them were also placed some dry batteries, both to supply current to operate the detonators, and also for another purpose.

  The timing of the explosions proved an almost insuperable difficulty, but at last Cruttenden solved the problem in a very simple manner. Four alarm clocks of good quality were purchased and were altered by Henty, who had some mechanical knowledge. He arranged a contact so that the alarm, instead of operating a bell, closed an electric circuit. This allowed current from the batteries to flow and operated two pieces of mechanism. The first was a tiny electric motor, which rewound the clock, switching itself off when the winding was complete, and setting itself to wind again next time the alarm trigger moved. The clocks would thus continue running as long as the batteries remained active.

  But in addition to starting the motor, the alarm trigger operated a second electro magnet. This moved a wheel one tooth forward. On this wheel another contact was arranged so that when it was closed current from the batteries passed through the detonators, igniting the charge. Careful estimates showed that the explosions were required sixteen days after the crates were sealed. This meant that the contact on the wheel was fixed 32 teeth ahead, or, in other words, the alarm trigger would have to operate 32 times before the explosion took place. The clocks were accurately set, so that all four explosions should occur as nearly as possible at the same time. The filling of cement over the apparatus not only increased the effect of the explosion, but rendered inaudible the ticking of the clocks.

  The crime was carried out strictly according to plan. From the conspirators’ point of view everything went exceedingly well. Hislop succeeded in convincing his chief that the best way of sending the sets was by the Jane Vosper. Keene called at the Weaver Bannister works and, with the help of Hislop, obtained the order to transport the stuff from the railway to the docks. Cr
uttenden and Henty were taken on by Keene and were put on the vital job without suspicion being aroused. The dummy cases were stowed on the Jane Vosper, and the vessel sailed – all perfectly in order. Then the sets were unpacked, the Weaver Bannister nameplates were removed, and new ones bearing ‘The Corona Engineering Company, Claygate, Surrey, England’, were mounted in their place. The sets were packed in the altered cases, the lids being left off for the Soviet representative’s inspection. Finally the cases were dispatched to Russia, Cruttenden making arrangements to follow them so that the final test could be made in his presence. The tests were satisfactory and the money was paid in Leningrad as agreed. The notes were discovered when passing through the English customs, though not their amount; Cruttenden said it was £10,000. But nothing was done about it, as it was not illegal to bring money into England, and Cruttenden had his story pat. He had gone to Russia, he said, to buy timber, but the timber firm had tried to do him down and he had scored off them by clearing out of the country with his money intact while they were waiting for him to sign the iniquitous agreement.

  Henty had learnt with something approaching horror of the police visits to Cruttenden’s house at Pinner. He consulted Hislop and Keene, and their first impulse was to warn Cruttenden not to return to the Country. But they thought that if they did so their share of the swag might be endangered. Indeed, from the first they had been up against the difficulty that Cruttenden might play them false and decamp with the entire £100,000. They had to chance it, however, as they could not have denounced Cruttenden without giving themselves away. But they were not going to take the further risk of letting Cruttenden remain abroad. Henty, therefore, met him on his return to warn him not to go to Pinner and to tell him their meeting had been transferred from there to his own house at Raynes Park.