Whistleblower
Page 79
CHAPTER 78
Jim was sitting upright, cross-legged on his bed in the Windsor hotel staring at the screen of his old lap top. "Where the hell do we take this? Who the hell will listen and who the hell will then do something. Sorry for the language, mother."
He fell back with his head on the pillow and spoke to the ceiling. "Should I have tried to forget about it? Let them carry on milking the system? Stayed where I was to paint just for the satisfaction and enjoyment? Moved somewhere else, a bit closer to civilisation perhaps?" He paused and his thoughts jumped. "I thought I was seeing blue sky for the very last time during that bicycle ride, mother."
He sniffed, tugged on his beard, shook his head and then, with his eyes closed, muttered aloud.
"Police stated that the unidentified elderly man, whose body was found on the moors of the Derbyshire Peak District has been identified as former Independent Member of Parliament, James William Smith. Despite severe criticism over his political naivety and the accusations he made of corruption in the corridors of power, Smith was well known for unrelenting stubbornness and his apparent disregard for personal hygiene and dress sense. Having been hounded from office and deserting his long suffering wife, Margaret, Smith's body was found next to a rusting bicycle not far from where he is thought to have been living like a recluse in a cave. The coroner has been informed."
Jim's quick flight of fantasy was deliberate. It was a ploy to distract himself, just briefly, from what he thought he had just seen on Jan's video recordings. He had needed to look again. And, when he re-ran it, there it was again - an almost unnoticeable flash on the screen in the half second it took for the money transfer to happen.
He sat up again, ready to check it once more.
He'd first seen the screen flicker as Jan dealt with the CAHA Fund and ignored it. But it had happened again minutes later with the Rural India fund - a black flash that would not have bothered anyone without a suspicious mind. What was it? He ran it through again and saw it once more.
"My eyes rarely deceive me, mother. I'm very observant. It's the artist in me. Other parts might be breaking down but the eyes still work. There it is. What did they used to call single pictures on a video - a frame? There it is, as if the computer suddenly went into safe mode. Black screen, white lettering."
He watched it yet again. What's more, if he stopped the video at the right frame he could actually read it. It was bank account details. The bank - the Dubai Asia Investment Bank, an account number, a few other letters, numbers and codes, an amount - 150,000 Euros - and then a name - Acosta Freeway Investment Holdings.
He tried the second transaction, the Rural India fund. Moving the video forward second by second, frame by frame, he again found one, perhaps two, frames showing a black background and white lettering. The bank - Banco de Credito de Milano, Panama, an account number, more letters, numbers and codes, an amount 185,000 Euros and then a name - P.U. Eischmann.
Jim left the screen on just at that frame, picked up his mobile and rang Jan at the hotel in Zurich where it was past midnight.
"Jan, sorry for the late call. When you researched Dirk Eischmann's background, what was his wife's name?"
"Paula. Why?"
"And her second name?"
"Ursula. Why?"
"Your video shows where the money went."
In Zurich, Jan was now wide awake. "How, the hell......?"
Jim explained. Then: "Guido's newest version of Puff and Slush has an error, Jan. But it is only visible on the screen on the treasury computer, not on your computer. You might like to warn Guido when you catch up with him."