‘Six inches.’
Female Controller ‘Unit calling say again. All I got was six inches.’ The Air would then erupt with messages from various cars. ‘You lucky girl!’ – ‘Woooooh!’
Chapter 33 – Bouncing Draft.
It was Wednesday and Danny Webb was sitting in the Sales meeting with Simon and the others. He was feeling a great sense of anticipation.
The meeting was called for 11am. They were all present and on time and they had started on the coffee and biscuits. It was 11.10am and Felicity Graham, although in the building, had still not arrived in the conference room. After another ten minutes she entered the room and beckoned to Danny who followed her to her office. She looked grim.
‘I’ve just had a call from our bank. That Bankers Draft you were given for the Ferrari has been rejected.’
Danny was stunned. ‘What’s wrong with it?’
‘The issuing bank think that it was not actually issued by them. It could be a forgery. They are not going to honour it.’ Felicity Graham continued, ‘I want you to get your notes together and try to remember as much as you can. It looks like the Company is going to be hit for £32,000 unless we can get that car back. Anyway, I’m going to call the Police so make yourself available. They will no doubt want to speak to you.’
The Sales meeting had to be cancelled. Minds were on other things.
Danny went back to his desk and thumbed through his diary. He had a telephone number for Gerald Osborne but he dare not dial it. Furthermore, his worry went beyond feeling stupid and responsible, he hoped to god that they did not suspect him of having colluded in some way. What had he been thinking? On any intelligent assessment his actions looked, at best naïve, at worst, decidedly dodgy!
Danny must have appeared deeply concerned because on returning to his desk Simon looked him up and down. ‘What’s up mate?’ Danny told him and Simon listened to his tale of woe.
‘Bloody hell Dan you don’t do things by halves do you? Still, think of the plus side.’
‘What bleeding plus side?’ said Danny.
‘You owe me a fiver.’
‘Piss off!’
Around Mid-day Benny Cohen arrived at Deben Motors with Terry Connor. They were shown into the conference room and they were provided with coffee and biscuits by a young receptionist. After a few minutes they were joined by Felicity Graham who explained the situation and the fact that Danny Webb was central to the offence.
She was able to tell them that their bank had earlier been informed by the purported “issuing bank” that the Draft was the genuine article but that it had not been authorised for issue. Later enquiries were to reveal that the draft had been stolen by a member of the bank’s own staff who, at the time, was working in the computer print room.
Felicity was a woman of around 33 years of age. She had chestnut brown hair cut in a “Bob” style and brown eyes with exceedingly long natural eyelashes. She was strikingly beautiful, of slim willowy build and about 5 feet 7 inches in height. She spoke with an accent that suggested private schooling. She was wearing a black sleeveless dress, pearls, high heels and what Benny wanted to believe were sheer black nylon stockings. Benny found it hard to concentrate. She was out of his league, he was certain of that. But he could dream. Couldn’t he?
Terry took a witness statement from her and he obtained a signed Consent form to allow the Company’s bankers to provide information. Miss Graham also provided the officers with a colour photograph of the vehicle that had previously been taken for promotional purposes.
Danny Webb was shown into the room and Felicity Graham withdrew. Danny was visibly shaken and the officers did their best to put him at his ease. He related the circumstances and the fact that he had delivered the car to the customer “Gerald Osborne” at the White Hart Hotel in Maidenhead.
Terry Connor broke off at this point and he used a telephone to call the details through to the station. He arranged for circulation of the vehicle to all forces and Ports. Also for enquiries to be urgently carried out at the White Hart Hotel by Maidenhead CID with regard to the suspect “Gerald Osborne.”
They continued with Danny and, although they had to assess the possibility of his collusion, in the absence of any evidence of criminal intent, they decided to treat him as a witness rather than a suspect. They might have to revise their opinion should any additional evidence come their way. For now it suited them to drain Danny of all of the information that he had without upsetting him and running the risk of him clamming up.
Danny explained to them that the sales team had been under pressure to increase sales and that the acceptance of a Bankers Draft was not against Company policy. He acknowledged that where he had put the Company at risk was by agreeing to drive the Ferrari to Maidenhead and accepting the draft by hand from the customer without checking its provenance first. Danny’s job was on the line and he knew it.
Anxious to make amends he wracked his brains to provide a detailed description of “Gerald Osborne” and his associate. He also managed to pull up from the back of his mind the name of the small girl who had accompanied them, “Sandy.” On reflection, what was odd was the fact that although the showroom is some miles from the town centre, he could not attribute a vehicle to them. Danny reasoned that they must have parked further along the road to keep their car out of sight. A witness statement was obtained from Danny and he agreed to assist with an identification parade should one be convened in the future. Benny and Terry then returned to the station.
Danny spent the rest of the day, on the forecourt, washing and cleaning cars.
Later that afternoon Maidenhead CID contacted Terry and provided the result of their enquiries. Mr Gerald Osborne was indeed the proprietor of the White Hart Hotel but he was a man of 72 years of age who could not walk without the aid of a stick. Enquiries with other members of staff revealed little other than the fact that an expensive looking Ferrari had been seen in the rear car park of the hotel. Apparently this had not caused much of a stir and was not considered to be of special interest since many of Maidenhead’s residents lived an affluent lifestyle and high value cars were quite commonplace in the area.
Apart from the recovery of the vehicle the only other urgent line of enquiry was with the bank to gain possession of the original “Bankers Draft.” Terry wondered whether this might require some kind of court order but in the event of their approaching the “issuing bank” they were quite compliant. The fact was that customer confidentiality did not really apply in this case. It was their own Draft, from their own account and clearly they had a serious problem with an “insider” operating within their institution.
Terry sent Benny up to London to recover the offending article which he brought back and submitted for fingerprint treatment. He learned that the item had been stolen at their Liverpool office from a batch at the time of printing and the details had been written on at a later stage. The batch had only been printed within the last 7 days.
Benny got back to the flat around 9 pm and he made himself some beans on toast. Fortunately Tom and Neil had not used up all of the bread and they had left him the two ends of the loaf which were just revealing some traces of mould. Still a bit of bean juice would cover that, no problem. He thought of the lovely Felicity and he wondered what she would have for her tea. He corrected himself, Supper, surely. Women like her do not eat tea.
He wondered how much it would take to maintain a woman like her. He would have to be at least an Inspector and have his own flat. He would have to get rid of his old H Registration VW Beetle. She wouldn’t be at all impressed with that. He might have half a chance if he could win her over with his charm. She probably gets fed up with chinless wonders and Hooray Henry’s and would appreciate the attentions of a real man! If he could get his private life in some kind of order and stop “pissing his wages up the wall,” he might stand a chance. Benny resolved to make a change.
The next morning he was up around 7 am and off along the seafront for a run. The sun was
up and it was a still day. Benny managed about three miles during which he was looking out to sea at the inshore fishing boats that were on their way out to lay their long nets.
Every so often he would spot rough sleepers who would be wrapped in their bedding in the seafront shelters with the usual bottle of Barley wine or cider by their side. He felt sorry for them and they seemed to be growing in number by the day. He was consoled by the fact that Major Ken Aldis and the men and women from the Salvation Army Citadel, who ran the Soup kitchen, were doing a fine job. But it shouldn’t have to be that way. What brought these people here? They all had their own story. As he jogged on he regarded his own attitude to life and God.
Benny was not a practising Jew. His ancestors had certainly suffered for their faith through the pogroms and death camps. He was pretty cynical about the whole Religion thing but he believed in common decency. Many, so called “Religious people,” worship at the house of their God, but do little else for humanity. But, The Salvationists, they are something else. They put their faith into action often in the face of the pseudo intellectuals who love to take the piss. No, the Salvationists were stars and Benny was proud to know Ken and his team.
Back to the flat where he grabbed a shower, shave and a cup of coffee. Benny would have to get his breakfast at work as there was bugger all in the fridge except a half empty jar of Piccalilli and some old Ryvita left over by a long forgotten girlfriend. He would save that for another time, when he was pissed, in front of the telly.
Chapter 34 – Least said.
It was 7.35 am and Felicity Graham was at her home which was in the village of Dedham, which sits in Constable Country on the borders of North Essex and Suffolk. She lived in a three bedroomed apartment which was part of an Old Maltings that had been renovated and converted into various high specification dwellings. The complex had its own gymnasium and a health spa and Felicity visited them regularly.
Her father Fred had helped her with deposit for the mortgage on the property. He had always wanted his girls to do well in life and he had worked hard to provide them with a firm foundation. In earlier years he had paid for Felicity and Andrea to attend St Paul’s Public School where she had done well academically, however Andrea was not quite as gifted as her sister and far more likely to have her attention distracted by boyfriends.
Felicity had wanted to go on to University to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics but her mother had died in a motor accident when Felicity was 18 years old and so she felt that she should join the family firm to support her father, who was struggling with his grief. She had gradually learned the business and in recent years she had taken the reins and changed the Company format to that of a Limited Company. Fred stayed on in an advisory capacity but he still thought that he ran the show. He just could not let go. He would certainly not be happy about this latest episode and Felicity decided that she would keep it from him if at all possible otherwise he would be unbearable. Luckily Fred had gone away with friends for a couple of weeks of golf and fishing in Ireland and Felicity hoped that things may have calmed down by the time of his return.
Felicity had showered, had her breakfast of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and she was drinking coffee while applying her make-up. She considered Danny and his actions leading up to the commission of the fraud. She liked Danny and she regarded him as a keen young man who was striving to become a good salesman. He had simply got carried away. He had not actually taken a risk because he hadn’t realised that there was a risk. Naïve? He certainly was.
There was also the question of the lack of guidance from his manager Phil, who really should have asked more searching questions about the method of payment for the vehicle. If anybody had to go, it would probably have to be him.
Felicity Graham did not accept the possibility of Danny having been collusive in any way. She decided that she would talk to Danny when she arrived at work and try to set his mind at rest. Hopefully, the insurance would cover any loss or with any luck the Police might recover the vehicle intact.
Anyway, what were the bank thinking of? They should take care of their blank drafts, shouldn’t they? Maybe there could be some recompense from that quarter.
What really were the chances of recovering the vehicle? Were the Police up to the task? They had appeared to be quite “switched on.” At least the younger one had. He was bright and optimistic and she found that rather reassuring under the circumstances. They had their methods, she was sure of that.
Felicity would not have thought herself a “Control freak” but with her father’s impending return from Ireland in the forefront of her mind she would need regular updates from the Police. She had been given Dc Cohen’s extension number but she thought that she would give it a couple of days before contacting him and give the man the chance to do his job.
An hour later Felicity was driving onto the forecourt of Deben Motors in her Red E-Type Jaguar. She saw Danny with his head down busy washing one of the cars. She stopped and wound down her window so that she could speak to him.
‘I want to see you in my office in half an hour Mr Webb and if you can find Mr Jenkins and ask him to do the same.’
Danny’s bottle started to go. This was it. She was now calling him Mr Webb. Which, to him, indicated that it was going to be “Thank you and goodbye.”
But that was not to be the case. Felicity had given the matter a lot of thought. She wanted to keep the loss of the Ferrari from her father and she realised that if there were any sackings of staff her father would want to know why she had found such a step to be necessary. She had also decided that there had been no apparent dishonesty on the part of her sales team. No, Felicity blamed herself. She had created the climate of anxiety by her demanding that they redouble their efforts to reach higher sales. That had been the catalyst for the recklessness on the part of her staff.
Felicity decided to turn the situation on-its-head and show her team that she accepted that she had been a part of the problem. She would give Danny Webb and Phil Jenkins advice and guidance for the future but demonstrate her loyalty by retaining their services. This would hopefully help to promote an atmosphere of trust and boost the morale and efficiency of the team.
She called Danny Webb and Phil Jenkins into her office. She tried from the outset to put them at their ease and over coffee she outlined her concerns. She told them that she would be examining the company’s procedures in relation to the supervision and verification of payments to see where the system should be tightened. Felicity told them that their judgement had been lacking but she recognised that she had put them under unnecessary pressure. Felicity concluded the meeting by urging them not to dwell on the situation and not to discuss it in future. She hoped that they would all learn from the experience.
Thus Danny Webb and Phil Jenkins remained in the employ of Deben Motors Ltd and Felicity Graham had, albeit subtly, tried to ensure that her father did not get to hear about the company’s loss.
Chapter 35 – Ethical Dilemma.
A week had elapsed and Lee-over-Sands “finest” were no further forward in recovering the Ferrari or arresting the fraudsters. Benny had taken one phone call from Felicity Graham and he had asked her to be patient. Terry had fielded another call from Miss Graham and he had assured her that all that could be done was being done until one morning he took a call from the Force Intelligence Bureau at Headquarters who passed the following information:-
From DI Bob Brown- City of London Police Company Fraud Squad.
“Information has been received from a reliable source that Terry Carter (known to CRO) (Criminal Records Office) Born 10 November 1948 of Welney Farm, Tongham Road, Farnham, Surrey has acquired a Red Ferrari motor car in recent weeks on a stolen Midland Bank Draft. He has this vehicle hidden in the Camberley area. He committed this offence with his business associate Cynon Lee “Taff” Davis (known to CRO) Born 22 August 1949 of No Fixed Abode. Davis has convictions for extreme violence.”
Terry Connor telephoned DI Brown
who confirmed the information but he could not add to it. He informed Terry that he would not be pursuing the matter himself since although it was a by- product of an ongoing investigation it would be safer for the source of the information for the matter to be dealt with by a Provincial Force. Terry accepted the information gladly.
Terry then drew this to the attention of Brian Johnson and they discussed a plan of action. A search warrant could be obtained from a Magistrate in Lee-over-Sands to search Carter’s home address and outbuildings. This would be executed the following morning by officers from Lee-over-Sands supplemented by officers from the Headquarters Stolen Vehicle Squad.
The Police in Farnham would be informed of the search as soon as it was in progress. Brian Johnson wanted to keep prior knowledge of the operation to a minimum. It seemed that they were dealing with organised criminals who would be likely to have their own contacts within Police forces in London and the South-East. There was therefore the possibility that Carter was being “minded” as he was possibly an informant of officers of another force.
It was an unfortunate fact of life in the 1970s that active professional criminals would also provide good information to the Police about their rivals to take out the opposition. As a consequence they were regarded as valuable assets. This often had the effect of some informant handlers becoming too close to the informant and even tipping them off if they learned that another Force had their informant under investigation.
In this instance Brian Johnson neither knew nor suspected anything to the detriment of his Surrey colleagues but he was not going to take any chances so he kept the intelligence and the operation that was about to take place, very close to his chest.
In all a team of eight officers set out for Surrey staying overnight at the Hendon Police College to be ready for the operation to start early the following morning. Terry Connor and Benny went on to Farnham where they eventually located the address and having parked out of sight further along the road they crept to the perimeter wall of the target address to carry out a reconnaissance. The lights were on in what they took to be the living room and the curtains were open. They could see a young woman moving around the room.
An Oik's Progress Page 14
