‘What sort of passport has she got?’
‘Romanian.’
‘Is it still in date?’
‘Yes, I think it’s probably still got a couple of years to run.’
‘Raymond, I know you’ve now had access to a solicitor and he’s advised you to cooperate with us, which you’re doing, but we need you to stay here for a little longer. We also need you to give a blood sample. Are you happy to do that?’
‘What for?’
‘To check against the blood found in your apartment.’
‘You found blood in our apartment? Where did you find it?’
‘In the bathroom. It could be Adina’s blood, for all we know.’
‘Why should it be Adina’s blood? I haven’t done anything to her.’
‘I’m not saying that you have, but you told us earlier about her nosebleeds.’
‘Yes, OK. Well, I suppose on that basis it could be hers. Whatever you want.’
‘Do you happen to know her blood group?’
‘No, but she was under Doctor Graham Bull, at the Beaumont practice. He might be able to tell you. She saw him a few times about women’s problems.’
Cooper exited the cell and locked the door behind him. Mindful that Jenkins had expressed that he was prone to claustrophobia, he left the small window flap open. He went upstairs to the main CID office where the team were assembled.
‘Right, folks, as you all now know, it appears that Adina Jenkins is the person responsible for the murder of Sister Margaret. But, unfortunately, she left home before we got to Beaumont to arrest her. However, just because we missed our murderer, it doesn’t mean that we can’t find her again. Let’s look at what we’ve got to go on. First, anything on the blood found at the apartment?’
‘No, governor, not yet,’ said Mills.
‘OK, perhaps it’s a bit early. Just bear in mind that we haven’t yet been able to make comparisons with the blood of Adina or Raymond Jenkins anyway. It could just as easily belong to them.’
‘How are we going to get her blood type, boss?’
‘Good point, Ian. Although she is at large, we might be able to get her blood type from medical records. She is under the Beaumont surgery. What have we got on the Buick?’
‘We got the registration number of the Buick from Mr Savage, as you know, and we found that it’s registered with Middlesex County Council. I had to make a series of phone calls to identify the keyholder and get him out of his home on a Sunday to check their files. He wasn’t a happy man. But it seems the car is registered to the Israeli Diplomatic Mission at their Embassy in Kensington.’
‘Christ!’ said Cooper, ‘That’s all we need.’
‘Doesn’t stop us from arresting her if we find her though does it, governor?’
‘No, Ian, it doesn’t. What about your enquiries with the telephone exchange, Jane?’
‘Very interesting, governor. It seems that only one call was made from the Hall on Saturday. That was to the number Highgate 1354. This apparently relates to the Israeli Diplomatic Mission at an address in Highgate, North London.’
‘Right. We do know that she’s of Jewish extraction and it rather looks like the Israelis have got her. Ian, have Brian and Tom Rogers left to go to Croydon Airport yet?’
‘Left about an hour ago, governor. They’ve got a good recent photograph of her and we’ve already spoken to the Metropolitan Police and Immigration.’
‘Right. When they phone in, we need them to go on and have a look at the Highgate address and sort out an OP [Observation Post].’
‘Leave it with me, governor.’
‘Good. That’s that covered then. I managed to speak to the Special Branch duty officer at Scotland Yard earlier. Apparently, they don’t have a good relationship with the Israelis, and because the embassy and the Highgate address are diplomatic premises, we can’t just walk in without an appointment.’
‘Can’t we just make a direct approach with a phone call, governor? She is wanted for murder after all,’ said Mills.
‘No, Ian. As it stands, the Israelis think that we have no knowledge of their involvement. I want to keep it like that. Once we get the OP sorted out, we’ll keep the Highgate address under twenty-four-hour observation for a few days to see if we can get sight of her. The moment she steps out on the street, she’s in play. I need you to organise a rota.’
‘Yes, governor.’
‘We do know that she was given a cheque for three hundred pounds, left to her by Lord Roding. She banks at Martin’s in Shoreditch. The cheque will take a few days to clear and she is going to need the money. That probably represents our best chance of getting her. So, tomorrow morning, I’m going up to London to see the people at the bank. Linda, I want you to come with me.’
‘You were going to say something about the victim, governor,’ said Ian Mills.
‘Yes, thanks, Ian. I must confess that I was in two minds as to when to disclose this information to you. Now, I’m going to tell you something that I’ve been aware of for a few days. It is imperative that you tell nobody outside of this room. Throughout the investigation we have been liaising with Special Branch at Scotland Yard. They have been running an intelligence operation for some time into certain members of the Roman Catholic Church who have made it their business to hide and move members of the IRA and Nazi war criminals. We have it on the highest authority that Sister Margaret’s real name was Irma Caro née Kurz. During the war, she was an SS concentration-camp guard at Mauthausen Camp near Linz in Austria.’
The team were stunned at this revelation. Jane Stewart was the first to ask the obvious question.
‘What the hell was she doing here, governor?’
‘She was hiding, Jane. She is wanted for war crimes, including murder.’
‘But she was Swiss.’
‘No, she was Austrian,’ said Mills.
‘Now we know who and what she was, it does explain something else.’
‘What was that, governor?’
‘During the post mortem, the pathologist drew our attention to some scar tissue which was under her left arm, between her elbow and armpit. He put it down to an injury sustained during the war. Can’t blame him for that; after all, we believed that we had a dead nun on our hands.’
Linda was agog and just wished Alby would spit it out, ‘What was it?’
‘I have since learned that, during the war, members of the Schutzstaffel, the SS, all had their blood group tattooed on their left arm in the exact same place. Many also had SS insignia accompanying the blood group. At the war’s end, those who could had the details eradicated medically. Some cut them out themselves.’
‘With respect, governor, why didn’t you tell us this information earlier?’ asked Jane.
‘Apart from the fact that we don’t want it to be put into the public domain, it’s fair to say that some of us, myself included, suffered at the hands of the Nazis during the war. So, we know what it means to people.’
‘We wouldn’t have said anything, governor,’ said Jane, registering her disappointment.
‘I don’t suppose you would, Jane, but it’s not just that. We don’t want anybody to soft pedal on this case just because she was an Austrian Nazi. I recognised that it would be quite natural for people to think that “she had it coming to her”, but we must be professional. The case is almost solved, and that’s due to your dedication and painstaking work. I want us to see it through to the end.’
‘So, why was she murdered then, governor?’ asked Jane.
‘Well, it was a clever move on the part of Cardinal O’Mara to have Crecy bring her over so that she could hide in plain sight. But you would certainly have bet against the fact that one of her concentration-camp victims, namely Adina Jenkins, was already living at the Hall.’
‘Bit of a coincidence, wasn’t it? said Jane.
‘According to Raymond Jenkins, he thought the same. But, Adina, who is Jewish, told him that she recognised her from her days in Mauthausen. In the end, she confronted Kurz, who didn’t deny who she was and just laughed in her face. Adina lost control and beat her to death in a fit of rage.’
‘He said all that during interview, did he, governor?’ asked Ian.
‘Yes, he did, and quite without prompting he came up with the name Irma Kurz and Mauthausen Concentration Camp, which corroborated what Special Branch managed to find out from their enquiries.’
‘Sounds pretty conclusive then, boss,’ said Jane.
‘It does, but we need to just bear in mind that there are bloods still to be compared and that Raymond Jenkins would have had a half-hour opportunity to have killed her himself. After all, he did tell us where to find the crucifix. Only the killer or someone they had informed would know about its location.’
‘But he had no obvious motive,’ said Mills, ‘and Adina would have had a strong reason to have killed her.’
‘Quite right, Ian. Anyway, before we do anything else, I’m going to call Mr Stockwell at home to apprise him of the situation and try to get some more troops.’
The team filed away from the meeting, still amazed at what they had heard and saddened by the fact that Cooper hadn’t felt able to trust them until then, but totally understanding his reason for playing his cards close to his chest.
28
DAY TWENTY-EIGHT
Monday 8th August 1949
‘If you and your colleague would like to go through, Inspector. Mr Blenkinsop will see you now.’ The secretary ushered Cooper and Collins into the secure area of the bank and directed them towards an open door that stood at the end of a corridor. Framed within it was Alan Blenkinsop, the branch manager of Martin’s Bank, Shoreditch. As the officers reached the door, they introduced themselves. They shook hands and, after again producing their credentials, Blenkinsop offered them a seat.
‘How may I help you?’
‘We are investigating the murder of a nun in Essex. The suspect we are trying to trace, and arrest is, we believe, one of your customers.’
‘Good Lord. Really? Which one would that be?’
‘A lady by the name of Adina Jenkins.’
‘I can’t say that I can bring her to mind, Inspector. The name doesn’t ring any bells with me.’
‘She is married to a Mr Raymond Jenkins, although we have reason to believe that she holds the account alone. Mrs Jenkins, herself was originally from Romania. She has the maiden name of Giurgiu.’ Cooper spelled the name out for him and he wrote it on his notepad.
‘No, I still can’t place her. Do you have an address for the lady?’
‘Yes, Beaumont Hall, which is a stately home belonging to the late Lord Jeremy Roding in a village called Beaumont-cum-Moze, near Colchester. Her husband Raymond was his lordship’s butler.’
Blenkinsop jotted down the address. He then rose from his seat, opened the office door and shouted along the corridor, ‘Lawson, would you come into my office, please?’
Shortly thereafter, ‘You wanted to see me, sir?’ said a rather timid young man who, after knocking, had put his head around the door.
‘Yes, Lawson. I want you to look up a personal account for me. Will you check to see if the ledger shows any recent activity as well? These are the details.’ Blenkinsop handed his scribbled note to the young man who promptly disappeared along the corridor.
‘We believe that Mrs Jenkins is somewhere in the London area having left her home over the weekend. We also understand that she received a solicitor’s cheque last week for three hundred pounds and that she is likely to try to draw against it over the next few days. Would she have to come to your branch to do that?’
‘Yes, she would, of course, unless she has an arrangement with the bank to draw money elsewhere. Not only that, if it were for a significant sum, she would have to gain special clearance, even if it was at her own branch.’
‘Would you be made aware of any such arrangement, Mr Blenkinsop?’
‘Most certainly. It must be compliant, and I or my deputy would have to authorise it. Also, we would probably have to order the money in.’
‘You see, we think that Mrs Jenkins is likely to try to flee the country. Would you be able to inform us if she were to arrange to draw funds from the bank?’
‘There is, of course, such a thing as customer confidentiality, but I am permitted to use my discretion, and, in view of the serious nature of the investigation, I’m sure we could keep you informed. As I said, any significant sum would require special clearance.’
‘What would you call a significant sum?’
‘Anything above one hundred pounds.’
A knock came on the door and the young clerk re-entered the room. ‘I found the account, sir.’
‘Well done, Lawson. Which name is it in?’
Lawson made an abortive attempt to pronounce the name Giurgiu. Collins wanted to laugh and purposely avoided Coopers gaze to prevent herself from doing so. She was embarrassed for the lad, but he appeared to remain unabashed.
He continued, ‘It’s listed at the address given, sir. The ledger shows that a cheque for three hundred pounds was paid in last Friday. It has been sent for clearance.’
‘Did you find the deposit voucher?’
‘Yes, sir. It was paid in by another individual with a surname beginning with H. I couldn’t read the signature, but I have compared it with the customer’s signature and it’s definitely not hers.’
‘What other activity is there on the account?’
‘The customer doesn’t have a cheque book. It’s a savings account, sir. Apart from the uncleared cheque, she has a balance of fourteen pounds, three and sixpence.’
‘Thank you, Lawson. You may leave us now.’
The young assistant left the room. ‘So, that confirms what you told me earlier, Inspector. I will expect the cheque to have cleared on Wednesday, at the earliest.’
‘Is my understanding, correct? If Mrs Jenkins wants to draw against the cheque a sum of more than a hundred pounds, she must do so by arrangement?’
‘Yes, and in that event, I would be able to inform you so that you can meet the lady.’
‘Excellent. Obviously, if you could buy as much time as you can for us, we’d really appreciate it. That way we can get our people in place.’
‘I’ll do what I can without arousing suspicion, Inspector.’
Linda supplied Blenkinsop with the relevant contact telephone numbers and after thanking him, she and Cooper left the bank.
‘Looks promising,’ said Linda as they got back to the car.
‘Yes,’ said Cooper, ‘I only hope that they give us enough notice. I should hate for us to miss her again. If that happens, I’ll be writing reports about it from now until Christmas.’
‘Couldn’t we get whoever’s in the OP to cover it, if we get short notice?’
‘Yes, that’s a possibility. Right, young miss, let’s go and see what the Highgate address looks like. You’ve got the A to Z. Show me if you can navigate on land as well as at sea.’
‘I’ll do my best, governor darling. Cheek.’
*
The Wolseley was moving slowly along Hampstead Lane with Linda in the front passenger seat peering through the window at the various large properties on her nearside.
‘I think this is it here. Yes, Roman Hill House.’
The house was contained within a compound surrounded by high walls of at least ten feet in height, which were topped with razor wire and fronted by large double gates. To the right of the gates was what appeared to be a porter’s lodge.
‘Good. We’ll find the nearest telephone box and call Brian in the OP. Then we’ll have a walk around and get the lay of the land.’
Cooper drove on to the next
telephone kiosk, leaving Linda in the car while he made a call to the number that had been provided by Brian Pratt.
‘Hello.’
‘Brian. It’s Alby Cooper.’
‘Hello, governor. Where are you?’
‘In a phone box, up the road from the Highgate address. Where’s the OP?’
‘We managed to get into the offices above the undertakers.’
‘Is that covert enough, do you think?’
‘Quiet as the grave, governor.’
‘What have you told the undertaker about your reason for being here?’
‘There’s only the undertaker and his daughter here. I told them that we’re trying to arrest somebody who’s been doing a series of burglaries in the area. He’s quite happy to have us on the premises. Makes him feel secure, I think.’
‘What sort of view have you got?’
‘We’re on the second floor. We can see right over the wall into the compound and the front steps to the house.’
‘Any security around?’
‘Yes. There’s the guardhouse by the front gates, which is always occupied, and we’ve seen a picket patrol moving around inside the grounds. All in all, it’s on about two acres of land.’
‘Have you seen the Buick?’
‘Yes. We’ve seen it a couple of times, but only with the driver in it.’
‘And any sign of Adina Jenkins?’
‘No sign of her, governor.’
‘It’s a bit short notice, I know, Brian, but are you OK to stay put there until we can get you relieved at 7.00am tomorrow?’
‘One moment, governor.’
Cooper could hear Brian checking with his colleague in the background; he then came back on the phone.
‘Yes, we’re both fine with that. We are warm enough, with plenty of food and drink. I anticipated that we might have to stay longer, so I’ve already primed the owner, Mr Payton, and he’s agreed to it. They’re keeping us well supplied with cups of tea.’
‘OK. Linda and I are just going to walk around the area for a while to get our bearings and see if there are any other entrances. Then we’ll go to the local nick to make some phone calls. I’ll call you later.’
Devotion to Murder Page 29
