Robbing the Dead (Inspector Jim Carruthers Book 1)

by Tana Collins

  ‘What I can tell you,’ continued McGhee, ‘is that the bomb was small, no more than a pound, but, as you saw, plastic explosives can still pack a helluva punch. And can still kill.’

  ‘What can you tell us about the bomb itself?’ asked Chief Superintendent Bingham.

  ‘I’ve just had it confirmed from Dundee that they used Semtex.’

  ‘Just like the IRA,’ said Harris.

  ‘Aye, Semtex was the IRA’s preferred choice of incendiary. Now I must stress that, despite the fact there are strong similarities in the bomb-making equipment, the intelligence we’ve so far gathered, suggests it’s highly unlikely that Bryn Glas 1402, or anyone else for that matter, has hooked up with the IRA.’

  ‘Could this be the start of a bombing campaign by Islamic State?’ asked Harris.

  ‘Despite this Welsh group claiming responsibility, we still need to keep an open mind, although it’s highly unlikely to be an extremist Muslim faction,’ said McGhee. ‘For obvious reasons I can’t tell you why I’ve come to that conclusion, so you’ll just have to trust my information.’

  ‘How did they set the bomb off?’ asked Harris. ‘Was it by remote control?’

  ‘Dougie, isn’t it? There are only three types of bomb. The first is the time bomb, which is pretty self-explanatory. The second is the command control device, which is detonated by wire or radio signal, or even nowadays by mobile phones. Mobiles have quite often been favoured by terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. The third and final type is the victim-operated or booby trap. Thankfully we can rule out the third, as there was nobody near the bomb when it exploded. The experts’ belief is that this device was on a timer. We don’t at this stage know if the primary aim was to kill the professor, but the fact there was no prior warning suggests that those responsible do not care about casualties.’ He looked across at Fletcher. She held his gaze. ‘What worries me most,’ said McGhee ‘is the fact they used Semtex. It’s not easy to get hold of, or cheap. These people must either have money, or – most likely – links to some very influential people or organisations. Due to the seriousness of this case, we’re going to be liaising with both the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency – you know them better as SCDEA – and the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, or SOCA, which is based in England. Some of their number will be arriving shortly. I’ll expect full co-operation from you all in the days ahead. Be aware that this could be just the first of a series of incidents, although so far there is no evidence that this is the start of a bombing campaign. We think the aim is to frighten and not to kill, but we can’t afford to be complacent.’

  McGhee played with his signet ring on his right hand. ‘We need to speak to the university about tightening up security. I would be much happier if we could persuade the professor to leave Scotland for a while, once he’s been found. It’s outside the university’s term-time, so perhaps he can take his holidays now. Easier than for us to try to find the manpower to put him into protective custody.’

  Carruthers saw Bingham nodding. Wondered what Bingham was doing letting McGhee tell him how to do his job. Surely protective custody would make much more sense.

  McGhee continued speaking. ‘My job down south is to track the movements of home-grown extremists across the UK, from the BNP to those with links to Islamic State and Al Qaeda. As for the Welsh militants, in previous years they have conducted a pretty ruthless arson campaign against English-owned properties in Wales, and were even active over the border in England. However,’ he shrugged, ‘with a lack of sustained interest from the majority of the population in independence, that type of militant nationalism has flagged. Having said that, there are one or two people we’re keeping an eye on… but I’ll go on to that in a minute. Suffice to say, if Welsh militants are responsible then this will be the first time they’ve targeted Scotland. And they certainly haven’t used Semtex before. Their bombs were pretty primitive. If it is them, this will represent a major change in both tactics and location. But the most interesting thing of all is the timing. Why now?’

  ‘Alistair,’ said Bingham, ‘perhaps you can give us a brief outline of the Welsh terror groups. I think that would be very helpful.’

  Carruthers glanced round the room. Everyone was paying rapt attention to McGhee. Personally, he wondered if this history lesson was strictly necessary. Then again how did the saying go? Those who choose to ignore history are doomed to repeat it. Perhaps there would be something useful that came out of it after all, but only if the bomb had been set off by Welsh extremists.

  ‘There have been a surprising number of Welsh terrorist groups,’ continued McGhee. ‘Cymru 1400 and the Keepers of Wales are two groups that you may have heard of. Four of the leaders of the Keepers of Wales are currently in prison so we’re not too worried about them. There are, however, certain outfits we’re keeping a closer eye on. In particular, the REAL Sons of Glendower, and this fairly recent group, Bryn Glas 1402, who’ve claimed responsibility.’

  ‘Do we know who they are, sir?’ asked Fletcher.

  ‘Both groups are Welsh Militants,’ said McGhee. ‘The REAL Sons of Glendower, who, incidentally, split from the Sons of Glendower, are better known than Bryn Glas 1402 who appear to be a smaller unit.’

  ‘Sons of Glendower?’ repeated Carruthers frowning. ‘Name’s familiar. Isn’t that the main group who’d previously stepped up an arson campaign against English-owned property in Wales?’

  ‘The one and the same,’ said McGhee. ‘The group have previously favoured violence to fight what many Welsh still oppose – the increased immigration of the English into Wales. In certain areas there is still a strong undercurrent of nationalism. The English influx is still blamed by some for diluting the Welsh language and culture and inflating house prices beyond reach of the local people.’

  ‘But that’s like anywhere,’ said Fletcher. ‘Look at Cornwall. Surely this is out of date. No longer relevant.’

  McGhee glowered at Fletcher. He spoke slowly and carefully. ‘There have been a few recent incidences of threatening letters to English people and vandalism to properties. Also a couple of nasty assaults, which we believe were racially motivated. We know at least two of the people behind it: Mal Thomas and John Edwards. Incidentally, we discovered recently that they’re both members of Bryn Glas. However, we just didn’t have enough evidence at that point to bring them in.’

  ‘So who are Bryn Glas 1402?’ Carruthers asked. ‘And why would they be operating in Scotland?’

  ‘Bryn Glas 1402 have been disowned by the REAL Sons of Glendower, and they look to be resurrecting the philosophy and tactics of the Welsh Republican Movement. You’ve heard of the Welsh Republican Movement, of course?’

  ‘Was that the Welsh version of the IRA, sir?’ asked Fletcher.

  ‘Spot on. Back in the 1950s, M15 feared that a group of extreme Welsh republicans was setting up its own version of the IRA to win home rule. M15 believed the would-be Welsh terrorists were in close contact with their Scottish counterparts.’

  ‘Given that was back in the 50s,’ said Fletcher, ‘most of the major players will be very elderly or dead by now. What’s happened since? I don’t remember reading an awful lot on the Welsh republican movement.’

  ‘That’s just it. Interest in them appears to have declined in the absence of any terrorist atrocity.’

  ‘So the Welsh republican movement petered out in the 60s, and this new group, Bryn Glas 1402, has started to become active. What do we really know about them? And why on earth would they be operating up in Scotland? Surely there’s individuals to target down in England or Wales?’ asked Fletcher.

  ‘Bryn Glas 1402 have connections to the Sons of Glendower, at least in name,’ said McGhee. ‘Bryn Glas was a famous battle fought on 22 June 1402 near the town of Knighton and Presteigne in Powys. A great victory against the English for the Welsh rebels under the command of one Owain Glyndwr ,’ said McGhee.

  ‘Gyndwr? Sons of Glendower?’ said Fletcher.

  ‘Exactly,�
�� said McGhee. ‘The Sons of Glendower took their name from the leader of the battle of Bryn Glas.’ He strode over to the incident board and pinned on two photos.

  ‘Mal Thomas and John Edwards. Both have recently become members of Bryn Glas 1402. Both on the radar of South Wales Police over a couple of racially motivated assaults. Both from an area of Cardiff where there’s high unemployment.

  ‘Why did they join?’ asked Fletcher.

  ‘This man,’ said McGhee, producing a third photograph and pinning it to the incident board. ‘Ewan Williams. He fronts a series of successful businesses – nightclubs, massage parlours, lap-dancing clubs. All the businesses operate just within the boundaries of the law. Edwards is an old business associate of Williams.’

  Fletcher studied the photograph. It showed a man in his mid- to late-sixties with a greying crew cut and strong, uncompromising features.

  ‘Has Williams got a criminal record?’ asked Fletcher.

  ‘He’s been charged twice with possession, but never convicted. That was in his younger days. He doesn’t have a criminal record, but the suspicion is that that has more to do with having the most expensive lawyer money can buy. There’s no shortage of that.’ McGhee paused for effect.

  ‘A major player then?’ asked Bingham glumly.

  ‘Aye. A really nasty piece of work. Although never proven, he was even implicated in the suspicious death of a couple of his drug-dealing rivals.’

  ‘So, he’s a hard-line criminal, but how did he get involved in terrorism?’ asked Fletcher.

  ‘Quirk of fate. Whilst his criminal dealings appear to be purely business, his interest in terrorism is definitely personal. For many years, counterterrorism knew he was on the periphery of other militant nationalist groups. In the past he’s turned up to secret meetings of the Sons of Glendower and the Keepers of Wales. Then we started hearing chatter about this new group, Bryn Glas 1402. But we didn’t know who was fronting it. That’s the thing with terrorists, though. Individuals and groups remain covert, Bryn Glas 1402 only came to our attention just a few months ago, and whilst we knew, or at least had some inkling of the minor players, we had no idea who the leader was. He kept his identity well hidden. We have been, however, keeping a very close eye on Ewan Williams. There was just something that didn’t add up.’

  ‘What?’ asked Fletcher, intrigued.

  ‘Unlike other successful criminals, Williams isn’t showy. He doesn’t drive a big car or hide behind electric gates in a mansion in the country. He still lives in Ely, a poor working class suburb of Cardiff in a very modest semi-detached bungalow. Yet, by our calculations, he must have made a lot of money from his businesses. So what did he do with the cash? Ewan Williams is no fool. He isn’t a gambler, and although he probably deals in drugs, we have no evidence to suggest that he uses them himself. He doesn’t seem to have any expensive tastes, at least that we could see, and yet, his annual turnover for the combined businesses could have given him a very opulent lifestyle. We kept asking the same question – what did he do with the money?’

  ‘Not only does he front Bryn Glas 1402, it’s likely he funds the organisation from his own pocket,’ Fletcher said.

  ‘It’s certainly looking that way. And anyone investing that amount of money makes it a very personal cause.’

  ‘Which is?’ asked Fletcher.

  ‘It didn’t take much digging to find out. It appears his interest in nationalism isn’t confined to Wales.’

  Another over-dramatic pause.

  Get on with it, thought Carruthers, impatient for the information.

  ‘In 1971 Williams’ sister moved over to Belfast. She took up with a man by the name of Liam McDaid. As far as we know, up until that time, none of them had any links with the IRA. However, both Williams’ sister and her boyfriend attended the Bloody Sunday March in 1972. She got shot. Her husband, like many other people that day, subsequently became a member of the IRA. Ewan Williams suddenly seems to become interested in Irish politics around that time and we believe he became an IRA sympathiser due to his sister’s shooting. Williams more than likely donated to IRA funds over the decades.’

  ‘Did she die? His sister?’ asked Fletcher.

  ‘Ended up in a wheelchair.’

  ‘Why has Holdaway been targeted?’ said Fletcher. ‘I mean, surely there’s plenty of people to target closer to home?’

  ‘No idea,’ said McGhee. ‘It’s your job to find that out. One thing we know for a fact though. Ewan Williams is currently in Scotland. We believe the other two men are too.’ There was a low murmur around the room.

  ‘How do you know?’ asked Carruthers.

  ‘You don’t need to know the details. Let’s just say we found evidence from searching his property in Cardiff that he’s north of the border.’

  Carruthers wondered exactly what activities McGhee had been engaged in to make him so unwilling to provide them with any details.

  ‘You think he’s up here to get Holdaway?’ said Bingham.

  ‘Put it like this,’ said McGhee, ‘I’ll lay a bet he’s not up here on holiday.’

  ‘If the explosion has indeed been caused by this outfit, Bryn Glas 1402, how did they get their hands on the explosives they used?’ asked Fletcher.

  ‘Williams may well have used his old contacts in the IRA,’ said Carruthers.

  There was a silence whilst everyone in the room digested this.

  ‘Despite what happened to Williams’ sister, we’ve found no connection between Bryn Glas 1402 and nationalist Irish groups,’ said McGhee. ‘Even though Williams has a personal connection to the Irish through his sister, it’s highly unlikely Bryn Glas 1402 have hooked up with Irish dissident groups like the Real IRA. Although…’ he paused, ‘it’s thought the Real IRA has access to explosives and detonators which once belonged to the Provisionals. It’s possible Williams got his hands on some leftover explosives. However, as Williams is currently operating in Scotland, it’s worth considering whether they’ve managed to get the explosives from their Scottish counterparts. There’s currently some pretty angry and disappointed nationalists.’

  ‘Christ. If the Welsh nationalists have linked up with the Scots, that’s all we need,’ remarked Bingham.

  ‘Better than them linking up with the Irish, is it no’?’ said Harris.

  There were murmurs of agreement.

  ‘It’s a line of enquiry we’ll be following,’ said McGhee.

  ‘But the Scottish bombing Scotland? With all due respect, I just don’t see that happening,’ said Carruthers.’

  McGhee just raised his eyebrows at Carruthers. ‘It’s true to say the Glasgow Airport attack was the first terrorist attack to take place in Scotland since the Lockerbie bombing in ’88, and the first attack ever to target Scotland,’ said McGhee. ‘However, what you’ve got to remember is that University of East of Scotland is seen by some to be a very English university. Perhaps they see it as a legitimate target. Let’s face it, every year there’s a huge influx of snotty English students to UES, disappointed that they didn’t get into Oxford or Cambridge.’

  ‘I think that’s a bit unfair,’ said Fletcher, colouring.

  ‘Graduate of UES, are you?’ asked McGhee, arching one eyebrow.

  Fletcher turned puce. ‘That’s irrelevant. No, I don’t see this at all. I don’t see the Scots getting involved in any bombing campaign. They won’t have the stomach for it, not in our current political climate.’ She shook her head.

  ‘How far will home grown terrorists go?’ asked Harris.

  ‘What you’ve got to keep in mind is that terrorists are, by their nature, fanatics,’ said McGhee. ‘And they’ll go as far as they need to go. In January 2008, two of the main players in the SNLA, were convicted in Manchester of sending miniature bottles of vodka contaminated by caustic soda, and threatening to kill English people. They were going to do this by poisoning the country’s water supply. They were both sentenced to six years for these offences. In June 2009, the son of the founder of t
he SNLA, was jailed for six years for sending packages containing shotgun cartridges and threatening notes to Glasgow City Council amongst others.’

  ‘Anything more recent?’ asked Carruthers.

  ‘There’s a public perception that hardcore Welsh nationalism has all but died out. However, there has been a recent increase in physical threats made towards non-Welsh residents on certain nationalist blogs by a minority of people which we are taking seriously.’

  ‘Whoever this group is, do they intend to kill?’ said Harris.

  ‘Million-dollar question, isn’t it?’ said McGhee. ‘They’ve never killed before, and whilst it’s true their tactics have changed, if – and I stress if – it is the Welsh, I still think the primary objective is one of publicity, and fear, of course. I think they want to show us what they’re capable of.’

  ‘But I still don’t get what the motive is,’ said Fletcher. ‘This doesn’t make any sense. It can’t possibly be because Holdaway is thinking of buying a holiday home. Trying to bomb him, in Scotland of all places, seems a bit extreme.’

  ‘Certainly the SNLA operated a policy of fear,’ said McGhee. ‘A Welsh nationalist group operating in Scotland may seem perverse, but it sends a very clear message, doesn’t it. That they’re prepared to travel the length of the country, and they have the capability and clout to link up with other home-grown terrorist organisations, be they Scots or Irish.’

  Fletcher waved her notebook in the air. ‘I’m not sure targeting an Englishman up in Scotland would have the same impact as targeting someone down south. A lot of English people have no interest in what happens up in Scotland. A good number have been genuinely baffled as to why Scotland would even want to separate. And a sizeable minority in the South East, from talking to my stepfather’s friends, would have been happy to see the Scots go.’

  ‘Do we know whether Holdaway has actually gone ahead and already bought a holiday home in Wales?’ Carruthers looked over at Fletcher who shook her head.

  ‘I don’t think he’s actually gone ahead and bought a home yet,’ she said. ‘Of course, as we already know, he’s gone and published a book on what he sees as the failings of Welsh nationalism. In it he ironically argues Welsh Nationalism fails to make an impact purely because there has not been a powerful enough sign these people mean business. In other words, what he argues is that the lack of a serious terrorist outrage has reduced their potency.’