The Russian Lieutenant

by Peter Marshall

  “Get your pal to bring her in for a drink, then,” said the first man.

  The beer was doing the talking, and the group went on exchanging spy stories. Soon, the two visiting Russians had absorbed enough local gossip and they slipped away and walked back to their B&B to consider their next moves.

  Next morning, after a full English breakfast, their first objective was to pay a visit to Marina’s flat. On the way, they passed a newsagent and found the Daily Star with its front-page story and picture, which surprised them with so much information. But it seemed to confirm the information they had heard in the pub. They were concerned that the man from the pub might recognise them if they went together to the block of flats, so Svetlana put a long dark wig over her short hairstyle, found a pair of spectacles and walked alone to the entrance which they had identified the previous evening. She tried to ignore the small group of reporters waiting by the front entrance and pressed the bell with the name of Miss Peters.

  “I don’t think she’s there,” said one of the reporters. “We are waiting in case she comes back this morning. Who are you with?”

  “Nothing to do with you,” replied Svetlana fiercely. “I am here on a business matter.”

  This got the reporters’ attention, and they tried to get into conversation. “What business?” “Do you know Marina?” “Any idea where she might be?” But Svetlana ignored them, and when she got no response from repeated calls on the bell-push, she walked away and was joined by Igor who had been watching from a distance.

  “What now?” they asked each other. The answer came when they saw a police car pull up at the flats and a uniformed officer went to the door carrying a brown cardboard box. He ignored questions from the press group but also got no reply from the entry system and went back to his parked car. Igor gave him a wave and walked up to the car; the officer wound down the car window. “Are you looking for Marina Peters?” Igor asked.

  “Who wants to know?” said the young policeman.

  “I’m a relative from London,” said Igor. “And I was very concerned that she might be involved in this Russian business on the news. I want to see if she is all right. Any idea where I can find her?”

  “No – sorry,” came the reply. “The only other contact I have is her solicitor here in Portsmouth. He’s with Henderson Partners in mid-town, a Mr. Scott, I think.” He closed the car window and drove off, taking the box with him.

  The two Russians quickly located the address for Henderson Partners on their iPhone, hailed a taxi, and followed the trail. At a modern city-centre office block, they saw that the law firm had offices on the first two floors, and the reception desk was manned. They were there in time to see the same police car driving away, and they went in together and asked for Mr. Scott. The receptionist asked the reason for their inquiry, and they volunteered that it was in connection with his client, Miss Marina Peters.

  “He is not here at the moment” she replied. “But I was about to ring him anyway because I have just had this box delivered for Miss Peters by the police. Can I say who wants him?”

  “We are her relatives from London, and we want to find out if she is all right,” Igor replied.

  The receptionist dialled a number and then spoke. “Jeremy? Yes, it’s Sue at the office. It’s a bit busy here. The police have just delivered a big box for you which they said contains Miss Peters’ computer and mobile phone. I signed for it on your behalf. We’ve had the press here looking for you. And now a couple of her relatives have arrived from London, inquiring about her. What shall I tell them?

  And turning to Igor and Svetlana, she said, “He says are you her parents?”

  “Tell him no, but we are relations and would just like to see her, if possible,” said Igor.

  The receptionist had a further conversation, then rang off and said, “Mr. Scott says he will be back in the office later and could you come here again at about 2 pm? He will talk to you then.”

  They went away to a nearby coffee shop and ordered two Americanos. They were about to discuss their options when Igor’s mobile phone rang; it was their boss at the Embassy with some important new information. Some phone calls had been monitored that indicated that the woman was no longer in Portsmouth. They said they were working on discovering her new location and the two agents should stand by for new instructions.

  13.

  THE FARMHOUSE

  While she was waiting for Jeremy Scott to arrive at the farmhouse on Friday morning, Marina called her father again. Victor Peters was relieved to hear from his daughter and to know that she was comfortably housed by friends for the weekend. He had now seen the news from Portsmouth on TV and in the morning paper and wanted to visit her as soon as possible; he said he was still perplexed by his call from the Russian Embassy in which they had asked to meet him to talk about his daughter’s involvement with the Lieutenant from the Admiral Essen. He was not sure what to do next but said he would return the Embassy’s call and then get in touch with Marina again. She said she had not yet seen the morning paper because she was “out in the countryside” and would probably get it later, but she was horrified when he said her picture was on the front page.

  She told him where she was staying and gave him the phone number, adding, “Don’t tell anyone where I am and don’t ring my mobile – the police still have my phone.”

  When Jeremy arrived, they settled in the sitting room with cups of coffee, and Marina told him about her conversations with her father. They were interrupted when Jeremy Scott took the phone call from the receptionist at his office with the news about the box returned by the police and the visit by two Russians claiming to be Marina’s relatives. Marina said she had no idea who they might be, so Jeremy decided that he would go back to the office in the city at lunchtime and be there to meet up with them in the early afternoon.

  After hearing about this further complication, Jeremy decided to hook up with David Barclay-Smith, who was still at his home in Old Portsmouth. On a three-way call, they began by discussing why the Russian Embassy had contacted Victor Peters. So far as Marina knew, he had never had any reason to be in touch with the Embassy – although, of course, it was only natural that he had a network of friends in London with Russian ancestry, and she knew they met from time to time. But they had been business people, not diplomats, she insisted.

  “Let’s review this,” said David. “The Russian Embassy’s intelligence people are told by the Foreign Office that the naval officer Aldanov has been detained for questioning by MI5. They also learn that the investigation is about his contact with Marina, who works in an important Royal Navy section. They know from the exchange of messages recorded in Moscow that Marina’s family came from Russia back in the 1930s and had changed their name from Petrov to Peters. They also knew that Aldanov’s mission was to find a way to recruit Marina as an informant, possibly through a romantic relationship.”

  Marina looked horrified by this and David went on: “Sorry Marina, but that’s how it looks. The Russians have now sent two of their spooks to Portsmouth to try to find you. So now, what are their options? They will discover that you were released by the police after being interviewed, presumably because MI5 believed that you had become innocently involved with your online friend. No doubt they will need you to testify against Aldanov. So why are the Russian Embassy chasing your father? Do they want to use your father to persuade you to deny that there was any suggestion of passing confidential information?”

  Marina interrupted. “They don’t need to involve my father about that.”

  “Well,” continued David. “Do they think that, in the long run, you and possibly your father could be useful to them? Could they have some information they could use to put pressure on your father and maybe use it to exploit your experience and knowledge about the Navy? Aldanov at least succeeded in discovering your potential value through his subterfuge. I think you should have another word with your father, so I suggest you call him now – and ask Jeremy to call me again a
fterwards.”

  They cleared the phone line, and Marina went to find Mrs. Mann and asked if she could use their phone again. Admiral Mann had gone out to his golf club for the day, anyway, and the house was quiet, she said, so go ahead.

  Victor answered the phone and said, “I’m glad you rang. The man at the Embassy has just called me again and asked if he could drive me to Portsmouth to meet up with you. I said you were not at your flat and I had no idea where you were. I don’t know who he is, and I expect he will call again. What do you think?”

  “I’d rather just see you, Dad, so that we can have a quiet chat about all this. Hold on a moment, I have a very helpful solicitor here with me, and I will see what he thinks.”

  Marina then gave this information to Jeremy, who also thought that if her father wanted to meet up, they should just go ahead, and there was no reason why he should involve the Russian Embassy man. Marina relayed this view to her father, who said he would go ahead and get a train to Portsmouth as soon as possible and let her know when he arrived, hopefully later that afternoon. She gave him the Mann’s phone number again and ended the call.

  On the way back to Portsmouth in his car, Jeremy called his boss at home again and told him about the latest developments.

  “This is sounding a bit sinister,” said David. “Three Russians now want to meet Marina, and they are up to no good, and one of them is talking to her father. I think I will let the police know about this. I’ll get back to you”

  David called the Portsmouth CID and told them that he was now advising Marina Peters; he was eventually put through to Detective Superintendent Maggs.

  “You may know some of this already,” he began, “but there are a few things going on I thought I should share with you. First of all, Miss Peters wanted to get away from the press gathered at her front door, and through a friend, she has gone away for the weekend to a house in the country near Rowlands Castle. As you probably saw on TV, we escorted her out of her flat, and my colleague, Jeremy Scott, then drove her to stay with these friends, who turn out to be Rear Admiral Robert Mann and his wife. That was a surprise, I must say, but the young lady obviously has some well-connected friends. Anyway, Jeremy went back to visit her this morning, and two things have happened. First, Marina rang her father to reassure him and to let her parents know where she was staying. He then told her that the Russian Embassy people have been in touch with him again today, offering to take him to Portsmouth to see his daughter.”

  Superintendent Maggs interrupted. “If the Embassy is in contact with Victor Peters, they will also have traced the call he had from Marina, so they probably know where she is by now. What did she tell him to do?”

  “On Jeremy’s advice, she told him to ignore the call from the Embassy and just get on a train to Portsmouth and let her know when he arrived. But that’s not all,” continued David. “Two foreigners – a man and a woman – arrived at my office this morning and told the receptionist that they were relatives of Marina and wanted to see her. From their accents, we think they may have been Russians. There was no one else at the office who could help, so she rang Jeremy, and he told her he would meet them there at about two this afternoon. And by the way, Marina does not know of any Russian relatives in London who might be here and wanting to see her.”

  “Well, that’s all very interesting… thank you for this,” said Maggs. “So there are now three Russians who want to see Marina, and we still have to follow up our inquiries with her and with the navy people. The plot thickens. I imagine they knew about your firm’s connection in this from your interview outside the flats last night. You know, I think I’ll get a couple of my people to go to your offices this afternoon to take a look at the Russian couple when they arrive and maybe discover who they really are.”

  Maggs next reached his contact at MI5, Tom Spencer, on a secure line and briefed him on these latest developments in Portsmouth. “OK,” he was told. “Sounds like a couple of agents from the London section of GRU are sniffing around. I doubt if you will discover much by meeting them, but it will be good to let them know you are aware of their activities. Can you get someone to snatch a picture of them so that we can check them out? And by the way, the most important thing you can do is to keep the woman under wraps. Bring her in for more questioning if necessary. In any case, we will need to talk to her again on Monday.”

  The two most experienced detectives on duty in Portsmouth CID were then briefed by DS Maggs, and they set off to keep a discreet watch on the offices of Henderson Partners, ready to confront the Russian visitors.

  14.

  VICTOR PETERS ARRIVES

  Soon after Jeremy had driven off on Friday morning to return to his office, Susie Mann arrived at her parents’ house, together with Betty McGuire. They had both arranged a day off at the hospital, and Marina was relieved to see them; she could hardly stop hugging and thanking Betty for all her help. They all had much to chat about over a girlie lunch, and Susie and her mother became increasingly apprehensive as the story of Marina’s Russian contact emerged. They began to worry about what they had unwittingly become involved in.

  When Admiral Mann returned during the afternoon, his wife quickly followed him to their bedroom, where he planned to quietly change his clothes and take a rest. He was immediately faced by a rather tense Jennifer. “Do you know that this Marina is not just a friend of Betty’s, but she is apparently caught up in this Russian spy business at the Dockyard? She’s here to avoid the press, and there are also a couple of Russians in Portsmouth looking for her, too. I can sense that it’s all going to get messy. Do we have to get involved?”

  “Don’t worry, m’dear,” replied Robert Mann, calmly. “I’ve already had a briefing from her lawyer in Portsmouth, who is a good egg. I also plan to chat to the Commodore she works for. If any reporters or Russians think they can find her here, I will deal with them. So relax and let the poor girl recover from a very trying couple of days. Let’s find a cup of tea.”

  The Admiral took his tea into the sitting room and joined the ladies. He wanted to know more about Marina and quietly questioned her about her background and her job at the Dockyard. She then began to tell him about her online relationship with the Russian Lieutenant until she was interrupted by Mrs. Mann bringing the cordless phone. “Your father is on the line.”

  Marina discovered that he had just arrived at Portsmouth railway station.

  “Are you alone?” she asked. He said he was, and she asked him to hold on while she chatted with her friends. Admiral Mann quickly took the initiative.

  “Tell him I will drive into Portsmouth to meet him, and you had better come with me to be sure we find the right man. Tell him to go into the station café and wait there – we’ll be there in about half an hour.”

  A few minutes later, Marina and Betty were both in the Admiral’s large Mercedes car and heading to Portsmouth, discussing where might be the best place to have a discreet meeting. They suspected that the press might still be keeping a watch on Marina’s flat and possibly Betty’s too. Using Betty’s mobile phone, they hooked up with Jeremy Scott, now back in his office, who then connected them all with David Barclay-Smith. They eliminated various options for a meeting, including the law firm’s offices, which Jeremy said had just been visited again by the two Russian agents. After considering a couple of local hotels, David said, “Look, just bring them down to my house. I think Robert knows where I live in Old Portsmouth.”

  At the railway station, Marina and Betty went in to find the café and Victor Peters while Robert Mann waited in the car. It was very busy, but they soon found him, looking around anxiously with just a cup of coffee and a newspaper at a discreet corner table. Marina gave her father a warm hug and said they needed to go straight away. In the car, she introduced him to Betty and to Admiral Mann and explained that they were going to a lawyer’s house, where they could have a long quiet chat. It was just five minutes to Old Portsmouth and to the Barclay-Smith’s elegant 18th-century home overloo
king the Solent and the Isle of Wight. David was at the window and saw them drive up and park. He came to the front door and welcomed them – “Very good to see you again, David,” said the Admiral as they went up a flight of stairs to the sitting room with a sea view. It was the view Marina had enjoyed just two days earlier as she’d waited for the Russian ships to arrive; it seemed like a week ago.

  David quickly explained that Marina needed to have a quiet chat with her father, and he then took Robert and Betty into his adjoining study so that Marina and her father could be alone for a while.

  Robert offered them a scotch, but David said “Thanks, but maybe later” and took the opportunity to call Jeremy to discover what had happened at the office that afternoon.

  “Well, I didn’t get the opportunity to talk to them,” explained Jeremy. “They were intercepted at the door by two men who turned out to be CID officers, and after a short chat, the couple disappeared, and the police officers came into the office and said not to worry because we wouldn’t be hearing from them again. And that was it.”

  “OK,” said David. “At the moment I have Marina and her father here at my home, and they are catching up with each other as we speak. Admiral Mann brought them down here, and I am not sure what happens next. You go off and enjoy the weekend, and we will regroup at the office on Monday morning.”

  “By the way, David, I still have the box here for Marina – it’s her laptop computer and mobile phone returned this morning by the police.”

  “I don’t think we should hold on to it,” said David. “Can you drop it in to me on your way home and give it back to her?”

  David then called Portsmouth CID again and was immediately put through to Detective Superintendent Maggs who told him that the matter had become more complicated since they last spoke. His officers had confronted the two Russians as planned. They had given their names and addresses as “care of the Russian Embassy” in London but had refused to say why they were in Portsmouth or why they had been calling at the solicitor’s office. They had managed to snatch photos of the couple approaching the office, and they had now been positively identified by Scotland Yard as known GRU agents based in London.