Curse of Thieves: Another Major Vince Hamilton Investigation

by Patricki Slaney

'Good morning Vince, Willem here.'

  'Good morning Willem, I was about to phone you. What's the latest news?'

  'The boat is travelling south, straight across the Mediterranean, heading for Sardinia. They haven’t deviated from their southerly course.'

  'It's most unlikely that they will stop in Sardinia. It is quite a small island, and they would be easy to spot. Where else can they go?'

  'Well, if they don't drop into Sardinia, they will keep going until they reach a port on the north coast of Africa,' Willem replied.

  'That seems to be a much more likely proposition. If they are going to Africa, when would they arrive?'

  ‘Roughly twenty-four hours after the boat was stolen. They can maintain an average speed of around twenty five knots, provided, of course, the sea isn't too rough.'

  'That would put their ETA at 2.00am-tomorrow morning.' I did some mental arithmetic.

  'I'll ask one of my guys to stay on the tracker all night to keep monitoring the progress of the boat,' Willem added.

  'There is no need to call me until the boat arrives in Africa, or, alternatively if there is a significant change in its direction,' I suggested.

  'I'll get in touch as soon as I have something to tell you. Have a good day.'

  Next step was to telephone Freddie Shuttleworth, a task I wasn't looking forward to.

  I telephoned his mobile, but there was no answer, so I left a message asking him to telephone me as soon as possible.

  Half an hour later he rang me back.

  'What's up Vince? I presume that something has happened for you to call me.'

  'Another boat was stolen from Cannes last night at around 2.00am.'

  'What is the name of the boat?'

  'It's Whispering Legend.'

  'Ah, that's Geoff Kemp's boat. Where is it now Vince?'

  'The good news is that our strategy relating to the tracking devices worked. They got rid of one, as we expected they would, but the other is still working well. The boat is heading south across the Mediterranean towards either Sardinia or the North African coast.'

  'So they aren't heading for Sete this time.'

  'No, they are obviously avoiding Sete after what happened the last time they took a boat there.'

  'I'll telephone Geoff and let him know. Will you keep me up to date as the situation develops?'

  'No problem. Let's hope that I don't lose it this time.'

  'If you do you will have an exceptionally irate Geoff Kemp to add to your list of disgruntled clients, which is currently headed by Peter Brown.'

  'I'll do my best.'

  I felt very relieved that Freddie had taken it so well and seemed very calm. I certainly wasn't feeling relaxed about what was going on.

  Michael joined me in the kitchen, and we had breakfast together. By the time that I had reached the coffee stage, the rest of the family had collected in the kitchen.

  'Can we do something together today Dad?' Victoria sidled up to me.

  'What would you like to do?'

  'Can we go to the Zoo in Regents Park; we haven't been there for ages?' Michael piped up.

  I looked out the kitchen window to see what the weather was like and then looked at Daphne. She was nodding her head.

  'I think that going to the Zoo is a great idea,’ I said. ‘Will you all be ready to leave here at 10.30am? If you’re very good, I will buy you lunch at the Zoo. With school starting this coming week, this is a going back to school treat.'

  'Thanks Dad. Can we see the animals as well?' Victoria asked.

  'We are going to the Zoo silly; naturally we will see the animals.' Michael replied in his ridicule your sister way.

  'You had better go upstairs and get ready,' she who must be obeyed gave her orders.

  My mobile rang. It was the communication centre.

  'Just to inform you Sir that the Aston Martin left the hotel a short while ago. It has been driven to the Venice ferry port.'

  'Do you know what destinations the ferries go to from there?' I asked.

  'I am currently trying to find out that information. So far it looks as if most of the ferries go to the Greek mainland and Corfu.'

  'I would be very grateful if you could let me know as soon as you have any additional information. I am on my way to the Zoo with my family, but I will have my mobile with me.'

  'Enjoy the Zoo; I would prefer to be doing that than watching the monitor all day.'

  'You are doing an excellent job, and I appreciate your help.'

  I had enjoyed the few hours I had spent in the communication centre watching the screen, but doing it all day every day would drive me mad.

  We left the house at 10.30 sharp and caught the Tube at East Putney. Changing at Gloucester Road station, we transferred to the Circle line, and finally got off at Great Portland Street station. From there it was a short walk to the Zoo.

  We had covered half the distance when my mobile rang.

  'Good morning Vince. I hope that I am not disturbing you?' It was Inspector Baird.

  'I am on the way to the Zoo with my family, but I can speak to you.'

  'I just want to tell you that they have taken another of the doctored cars. It is a 2004 Maserati Quattroporte.'

  'I presume that it is being tracked by your operator at the communications centre. I was talking to him about forty minutes ago, and he didn’t mention it.'

  'It literally has just been taken. He should have no problem monitoring the two cars.'

  'I will get an update then when he calls me about the Aston Martin.'

  'Are you aware that the Aston is in a line of cars waiting to board a ferry that goes to Ingoumenitsa and Patra on the Greek mainland?'

  'No, the last information I received was that the car had gone from the hotel in Venice to the ferry port.'

  'Well, you will be glad to know things have progressed; we now know that it will be going to Patra. The ferry leaves at 14.00 hours and takes just over thirty-four hours to get there. You can relax as nothing can happen in the meantime.'

  'That is just as well as another boat has been stolen in Cannes and is currently heading for the North African coast.'

  'It's just as well that the tracking devices are doing their job; otherwise you would be running around like a headless chicken.'

  'I am feeling a bit like a headless chicken, and my head is about to explode with all the various activity.'

  'Keep calm and relax Vince. Let the guys doing the tracking do the work. I'll talk to you later.'

  'Who was that?' Daphne asked me. 'You look as if you have just been given terrible news.'

  'Inspector Baird has just informed me that another car has been stolen.'

  'It sounds as if a lot is happening in your world at the moment. Does that mean that you won't be able to take Michael to school on Tuesday?'

  'No, I am still hopeful that I won't have to go anywhere until he has been safely delivered to his new school.'

  Michael picked up on what we were talking about.

  'Dad, if you don't take me to school on Tuesday then I am not going. I won't go on my own.'

  'If I have to go somewhere, I won't leave until after I have taken you to your new school,’ I promised. ‘I won't let you down.'

  He seemed to be reassured by my statement.

  Thankfully my mobile didn't ring again for the rest of our time at the Zoo. I was able to have a fabulous day out with my family, with no further disturbances. They appreciated my undivided attention.

  Later that evening I touched base with the communications centre and the operator updated me on the cars. The Aston Martin was now on the move again but was on board the ferry. The most recent theft, the Maserati, had arrived in Ham Green after a short stop at the garage in Battersea. If the Maserati followed the same route as the Aston Martin then I wouldn't expect it to move from Ham Green until at the earliest Wednesday. I decided that it would be a good idea for me to arrive in Venice at the same time as the Maserati, which, if the same schedule was being f
ollowed, should be Thursday. I would then try to travel on the ferry with the car to Patra.

  Monday morning Willem telephoned me.

  'Good morning Vince. I have some excellent news for you. I have the exact location for a static Whispering Legend. It is at a small port called Bizerte in Tunisia. The coastal town is about seventy kilometres from Tunis, and the boat has stopped there.'

  'Presumably they have replaced Sete with Bizerte, so the boat will stay there for a few days while they modify it,' I said.

  'I also think it very unlikely that this is its final destination. I agree with you that it will remain there for about a week while they change its name and repaint it, etc.'

  'I will fly out to Tunis and take a look. This time I will make sure that I don’t get too close and accidently let them know that I am on to them.'

  'I will keep monitoring the vessel just in case it is only a temporary stop to refuel or replenish the stores. If it starts moving again, I will let you know,' Willem added.

  'Thanks; I appreciate your help.'

  I rang the travel agent and asked them to book a flight out to Tunis for after 12 noon on Tuesday. I still would have time to take Michael to his new school as I had promised. I also asked them to book me a flight from Tunis to Venice as early as possible on Thursday morning. Preferably, I didn't want to waste time flying back to London and then have to go all the way back to Venice.

  I would try and travel on the ferry with the Maserati when it joined the ship for its journey from Venice to Patra. I also would need to obtain a master key that would give me access to the car’s boot so as I could check for paintings and other stolen items that might be travelling with the car.

  If the Maserati was following the same route then, it would most likely stop at the art dealer in Paris on the way to Nice. I telephoned Clive Newsome and asked him if he could organize me a key for the Maserati. Much to my relief he said that he would send a set of keys to me by courier. My plans were starting to take shape.

  The travel agent phoned back to tell me that they had booked for me to fly out to Tunis on Tuesday at 16.50 hours. They had also booked a flight to Venice from Tunis on the Thursday morning at 10.30 am. That would give me a full day and two nights in Tunis, which was plenty of time to confirm that Whispering Legend was in Bizerte.

  The travel agent strongly advised me that it was not a good idea to hire a car in Tunisia and that I should make Tunis, my base. There was an excellent bus and train service to Bizerte, and I would have no problems traveling there on the Wednesday or, if I didn't like that idea, I could always get a Taxi as it wasn't all that far. Didn't sound like a great arrangement, but I decided to heed their advice.

  I used the time I had available on the Monday to obtain two spare batteries for the tracking device fitted to the car. I also managed to get hold of a spare tracking device of the type that was being used on the boats. If I happened to encounter one of the stolen boats, it would be nice to be able to put an extra tracking device on board. I didn't want to miss any opportunity of enhancing the chances of the search being successful.

  Tuesday dawned overcast with a steady drizzle. Michael's mood matched the weather as he donned his new uniform and got ready for his first day at Chiswick School. I was as nervous as he was for some reason. I wasn't used to carrying out fatherly duties.

  His primary school had been just a short walk away but getting to his new school meant that we had to take the tube to Earls Court and change onto the District line heading west to Turnham Green, a journey of around thirty minutes. To be on the safe side, I insisted that we left at 8.00am. This decision caused further arguments with my wound up son. Once on the train he settled down and by the time that we reached the school at 8.40am he was calm and ready to tackle the world.

  All the new pupils were ushered, as a group, into a small hall, and he was immensely relieved to find one of his friends from his last school, who was also starting that day. He whispered to me that he was OK now if I wanted to leave. I gave him a delicate pat on the head and left him to it.

  My duty as a father done, I now could turn my attention to the job in hand. Chasing down a missing boat, and then, following a car on a ferry to Greece. What the remainder of the week would bring was anybody's guess.

  Chapter 20

  Just after lunch, I took the tube to Victoria station to catch a connecting train to Gatwick. As I was flying I couldn’t bring my Glock with me, but I did pack a new electronic listening device that I had bought to replace the one I had left behind on Splendiferous in Sete.

  Arriving at Gatwick at 2.30pm, I checked in for my flight, which the lady on the check-in, assured me was on time. Just over two hours later we took off for a three-hour flight to Tunis.

  I had a window seat so got a magnificent view of the sun setting over the Tunisian desert as we came in to land. On the approach to the airport, we flew over a coastal strip that contained vegetation and was densely populated, but further inland there was an arid desert area bereft of any signs of life. As we left the protection of the plane, the heat hit me even though it was nearly 8.00pm at night, and the sun had gone down.

  I caught the airport shuttle bus which dropped me off outside the Tunis Grand Hotel where my reservation was. Unfortunately, it was a dark night, and I wasn't able to see much of the city as the bus wove its way to the hotel, but I could see that it was a decidedly different place to anywhere I had been before. I would be able to see more of the countryside tomorrow when I was due to travel to Bizerte to search for the missing boat.

  On checking in I asked the receptionist what was the best way of getting to Bizerte as I needed to go there tomorrow. The man, who spoke excellent English, gave me a brochure for the train company and explained that there was also a bus service.

  I went to my room and had a look at the timetable. There was a train that left at five to six in the morning and the next one after that was at midday. It was now 11.15pm, so, even if it meant that I would only get five hours sleep, I would have to catch the early train. The receptionist had informed me that the train station was only ten minutes' walk from the hotel.

  The following morning I was sitting in my seat on the train as it pulled out of the station on time at 5.55am. The sun was just starting to illuminate the city as we crept through the suburbs. In my small backpack was the listening device which I hoped would save me getting too close to Whispering Legend provided, of course, it was there?

  The train pulled into Bizerte at 7.35am after a surprising comfortable trip. My first job was to find a café for breakfast, and I settled for the bistro attached to the station. What to eat? I had no idea what a Tunisian ate for breakfast. I had a look around at what others had in front of them. They all seemed to be having what looked like porridge plus some bread and the obligatory strong espresso coffee. When I asked what the others were eating, I was told that it was Farka. I ordered some and a cup of coffee; the bread came as a free extra.

  The Farka was made of couscous and grain with spices thrown in to make it a particularly tasty dish. The spiciness certainly woke me up. There was a map of the town for sale in the Bistro, so I bought it and studied the layout while I ate my breakfast.

  Close to the train station was the Bizerte canal which was about one hundred and fifty meters wide and divided the town into two. To my left it opened out into the Mediterranean. Either side of the entrance to the canal there were two marinas, but Willem had told me that he thought that the vessel was in the eastern of the two marinas. From where I now was, I would have to cross a bridge that spanned the canal. It was rather mundanely called the Pont de Bizerte, the bridge of Bizerte. Just as I started to make my way across the bridge, an alarm bell sounded. Barriers descended preventing me from crossing the bridge. The centre section began to rise until it was in a vertical position. A large freighter approached from the port on the right, heading for the Mediterranean.

  From my vantage point on the bridge, I had a panoramic view of the harbour. There w
ere a number of large freighters moored along the banks of the canal in various stages of loading and unloading, so it was obviously a busy port. Further, down the canal towards the sea, there was a tanker offloading gas or oil. Behind me to my left a minaret dominated the skyline, and there was also the outline of a mosque. The whole scene was as I would have imagined in an Arab country with masses of castellated white painted buildings making up the town.

  The freighter safely through and heading for the open sea, the bridge descended, and I was able to proceed to the other side. I turned left and headed towards the mouth of the canal and the sea. From there I walked along the road beside the coast until I got to the eastern of the two marinas.

  There were a lot of quite modern factories and warehouses in the area I walked through, and there was only one narrow road leading towards the marina. The road was bordered by high walls, making me very conspicuous as I walked towards the entrance. If any of the people, associated with the taking of Whispering Legend, happened to pass by at that moment, then they would easily spot me as I was wearing European clothes. I pulled my hat down over my ears and hurried on.

  The marina had an entrance gate, and this appeared to be the only way in or out. I explored the road which bordered the fence of the marina on both sides, just to check that there was no other visible entrance. There wasn't, so if I wanted to find the motor yacht I would have to go through the entrance gate.

  I was in luck; there was no guard on duty at the gate, so I was able to enter without being interrogated. The marina was in the shape of a horseshoe with a manmade concrete promontory in the centre sticking out quite far into the harbour. The moorings for boats were either side of the promontory and were made up of finger-shaped pontoons. There was no sign of a large motor yacht the size of Whispering Legend, not that I had expected to find the boat still in the water. To carry out the work they would have to take it out onto dry land.

  I walked down to an area where there was a collection of old and damaged boats. I could conceal myself amongst these while I looked back at the boats that were out of the water and scattered around the boatyard. In the far corner of the yard, about one hundred meters away from where I was standing, there was a large tent-like structure, and under it a large hull could be seen. Could this be what I was looking for?