Amelia was unaware of the danger and that Margot was observing her, sitting in the same carriage a few rows away. The killer was wearing a headscarf and a pair of sunglasses and pretended to be sleeping. Every now and then she looked out the window, where she could see Amelia’s reflection. She could only see her shoulder and locks of hair, but that was enough.
Amelia and a couple of other people that afternoon dismounted at Leamington Spa where she was supposed to wait for about twenty minutes before the train to Reading. It was at that point that Amelia walked to the public toilets to refresh herself, the tension of the day and the adrenaline still flowed through her veins. She had to be calm and relaxed when she reached her destination. There were too many things to do. She washed her face as best as she could and entered a cubicle just as Margot made her appearance in the toilet. The assassin looked around, assimilating the contours of the environment. It was an isolated toilet, away from the main entrance and if she acted quickly, maybe she could get the job done. She drew her Glock and screwed on the silencer. Then she put a round in the chamber. As far as trying to remain silent, the mechanism of the gun was never free from noise. She moved slowly in front of the cubicles, trying to understand if they were occupied. The first three were empty while the last two she could see the occupiers’ feet. She cursed herself silently for not paying attention to what kind of shoes Amelia was wearing.
The question was whether to kill both: she could shoot through the door, but there was still the risk of missing the target, then she would have to kick the door in and check. Too complicated, she thought, the body of the victims may fall forward, preventing me from opening the door. She didn’t care about killing an innocent person, only about completing her mission.
She decided to take action, she violently kicked the first door and fired upon an overweight lady, who looked stunned for a moment before she crumbled to the ground. Margot’s bullet hit her in the chest. There was a loud bang despite the silencer, but the killer fired a second shot to the back of the head of the unfortunate, just to be sure not to have witnesses.
She was turning around, heading toward the second cubicle when a fist to the face propelled her backwards; she stumbled into the victim’s body and lost her balance. Margot pointed the gun towards the threat, but Amelia was quicker, and with both hands she grabbed the woman’s wrist, pushing up. The barrel of the weapon danced, swinging between the faces of the two opponents, each trying to find an edge. Margot was in a precarious position, with her back to the wall and the toilet seat beneath her; Amelia had her back to the door and did everything possible to avoid being killed. She had thought to flee, but she knew she wouldn’t get the chance.
‘Who sent you?’ she asked the killer while fighting.
Margot did not answer.
‘Who sent you?’ she asked again.
‘Your dear brother-in-law. Not that it matters much, you’ll be dead soon.’
Amelia not used to fighting, felt her muscles harden and hurt from the effort. The only advantage was that the killer was in a somewhat awkward position and it would have been hard for her to overcome Amelia. They fought again and then a shot echoed around the cubicle.
The train station was almost deserted and the muffled echo of the shot didn’t reach the few bystanders on the opposite platform, nor the car park. Only one woman emerged from the toilets a couple of minutes later; she was wearing a large overcoat and a pair of sunglasses, which she didn’t remove when she glanced at the train timetable.
Checking she hadn’t been followed, she hurried on to the next train.
Job done.
CHAPTER 33
Chaz Lubbock and Lenny Carlton were busy setting up a new office in Brighton. The offices did not have a view of the Channel, but that was not important. Since they’d arrived in Brighton, they had worked almost continuously.
‘Shit, if I wanted to work, I wouldn’t have started these scams,’ said Lenny as he was about to put false paperwork and containers on a shelf.
‘At least we don’t get paid a pittance unlike those poor souls who have to do this work eight hours a day for a lifetime, for real,’ retorted Chaz.
‘This is also true. Do you understand why Marcus changed his mind?’
‘No, he had Anders working on that beauty of a lawyer, but then he changed his mind. There is another target apparently, who is also affiliated with the bank. Jesus Christ, how could she possibly refuse to own an entire bank? You’d have to be blonde and stupid to do such a thing,’ said Chaz.
‘How comes your parents didn’t leave you a couple of banks as an inheritance? I’ve got five,’ laughed Lenny.
Lenny and Chaz were the gang’s fixers. Lenny’s responsibility was to organise all aspects of a scam, from finding offices and providing furniture, to finding luxury cars, sometimes also took care of creating websites that would support a story. He had just finished one for Hank. Resurgence Financial Equities was the fictitious enterprise they would use to perpetrate the con against Robert Price. It had taken him almost three days, but now it was online: he had copied the website content from others, there was a switchboard that sent all calls to Domino’s phone, and a picture of Hank as company CEO. The other members of the board were anonymous faces taken at random from LinkedIn, no one in particular, but Price would search that website, so no harm done. He also spent the whole week posting, under different names, in various blogs and finance message boards praising the merits of the Resurgence; each of these fictitious individuals had a story to tell, of unexpected achievements and investments all of which went to fruition. He had also forged false reports by the leading Securities firms in the world, fake articles from Forbes posted on the website and interviews with leading financiers.
The important thing was to have several sources, which would create noise and attention around their fictitious organisation, so that even a simple Google search would show several references.
Lenny had worked for a computer company and had a family and a mortgage that would have crippled anyone else. He had done his part for several years, pulling the cart, generating money for shareholders who he did not even know the name of. He had always been a model employee, judged by everyone as a hard worker and a good person.
Then there was the incident. The tumour was diagnosed soon enough, but it was the chemotherapy that had almost killed him. He was not surprised when he got the letter of dismissal.
When the insurance company refused to pay for his treatment, he changed his life. He would never again work for someone else.
The offices where Chaz and Lenny were, were empty and waiting for a buyer, and Lenny had convinced the owner to furnish them. Lenny pretended to be an office furniture seller and those places would serve as a showroom for his newly built company. As far as the company that provided the furniture, he instead presented himself as the owner of the building.
‘Where the fuck did you get all this furniture?’ asked Chaz.
‘Tricks of the trade. Come on, hurry up assembling that desk, you’re training for when you will have your own house and you’ll have to buy Ikea furniture.’
‘Like hell,’ said Chaz. ‘If this scam goes as expected, I shall retire and won’t lift a finger anymore.’
‘Have you decided where to go?’
‘Caribbean. I don’t know which island yet, but the Bahamas is a prime candidate. After a lifetime in England my bones are full of humidity; I’ve already decided how to spend the first two years. To bake in the sun, drinking Bacardi, and getting massage sessions by three beautiful girls.’
‘It seems a bit trivial. Hand me that screwdriver,’ said Lenny who was finishing one of the last desks.
‘Ah yes, the Caribbean is now out of fashion. Go to hell, Lenny! So, what are you going to do with your share of the loot?’
‘I will go to Scotland, the Highlands. I’ve already seen a couple of places that are right for me. There is this farm north of Edinburgh which has been for sale for several months, in the mid
dle of nowhere. An ideal place for me, in complete solitude. Fifty miles away from the nearest bullshitter.’
‘Will you bring Lucy and the child?’ asked Chaz.
‘We haven’t spoken in a lifetime. We finalised the divorce and they say she has found someone else. No, I think I will go there alone, maybe I’ll take a dog.’
Lenny thought about the never-ending fight with his ex-wife. He didn’t want to get a job after the cancer, and she nagged him every single day. He started painting, an old passion of his which he had never fully explored. It was one day by the riverside of the Thames while he painted a landscape, when he met Gavin Neil Tiddington. They spoke about painting techniques at length and became friends. Then he told him how to make a fake and Lenny continued to listen. Only years later, by which time Tiddington had taught him all the tricks he knew, had he started doing his own art scams. Rumours had spread and Marcus Splinter approached him for a ‘small job’. Then a second and a third. If painting was his passion, working with computers was his talent.
‘Look, how much do you have left to do?’
Chaz sat down on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief. ‘I’m done. How did you manage to get fake employees?’
‘Well, for that I had to spend some money, nowadays almost nobody works for free,’ said Lenny, ‘they are all actors or aspiring actors. I finished the auditions just yesterday: we are doing a reality show and the actors will pretend to be in a working environment, of course under the watchful eye of hidden cameras …’
‘Non-existent cameras, you mean,’ corrected Chaz.
‘Exactly. We are impersonating their bosses and will give them paperwork and tasks. A sort of Apprentice.’
‘How did you choose them,’ asked Chaz intrigued, ‘I mean, did you interview them and everything else?’
Lenny blurted out a loud chuckle. ‘Ah yes, their CVs all ended up in the trash and in fact the only criterion for being hired was to show up. Although they don’t know that. I gave them instruction not to talk to the guests.’
Chaz finished assembling the last desk and looked with admiration at the work he and Lenny had achieved. They should to be proud of it, it looked like a real office, where money was made in spades.
The only question now was how to convince Price to fork over the money, but that would be a job for Hank.
CHAPTER 34
‘We have the funds,’ said Anders on the phone.
‘Well done, lad, we need you here in Brighton to outfox Price. Was it difficult?’ asked Splinter.
Anders hesitated. He never had scruples about scamming people, but with Amelia it was different. He had gotten to know her, maybe he had even fallen in love, and for a moment he thought about running away with her and all that money. It would have been enough. He had almost been on the verge of asking, but Amelia seemed so determined to return to Brighton and talk to the police, that in the end, he didn’t dare ask. It would have been difficult to abandon his companions in the middle of that scam, but the temptation was too strong. For once he had had the opportunity to leave behind a life of cheating and go away. Amelia would be worth it.
‘No, everything went smoothly. Aside from the fact that wants Amelia dead at all costs. I left a trail of bodies between Inverness and London to rival Jack the Ripper.’
‘How much money did we rake in then? From what you told me there were hidden accounts,’ said Splinter. He did not notice the tension in the young accomplice’s voice.
‘Yes, when we understood Amelia wouldn’t take the reins of the bank, I was about to break up with her, since you’re now working the brother-in-law angle, but then these slush funds came out of the blue. A fortune, we have nine million dollars. It allows us to go along with the scam without risking a cent of our own.’
Anders had been a vital element of the group at that time. If Domino was perfect to attract men and make them turn when she worked as a distraction, Anders was at the same level, if not higher. He knew how to play the role wonderfully, he was a born actor. Artist, young banker, penniless guy, naïve heir, he was able to play any part.
Anders joined the gang by accident. Or rather, he entered by force. The group was well established but one day this young man, with eyes as blue as the Aegean Sea and ash blond hair, approached them. Splinter and the gang had been, as usual, at the pub discussing the next scam when that kid showed up in front of them asking, no, pleading to be allowed to work with the famous and infamous Marcus Splinter.
Marcus began by pretending not to know what he was talking about, but Anders came back the next day and the day after. He had become a shadow for the group. A habit.
It took little to turn him into one of the stable members of the gang.
‘Nine million? I’m tempted to abandon this con altogether.’ Laughed Splinter.
‘Actually, I thought about that too. I retire and start a new career as a writer and drinking margaritas on the beach; I already have a title ready, Farewell to scams.’ Laughed Anders.
‘Ah, Hemingway’s style? It wouldn’t be a bad idea,’ said the older companion. ‘Seriously, we need you here, we have a part for you to play.’
‘I’m almost there, I’m almost in town right now, I will be at the hotel in about ten minutes.’
Splinter paused and then said, ‘No, I’m sending you directly to the office space Lenny and Chaz have put together. I will explain your role later, Domino has also prepared a change of clothes for you.’
Hank was now down in the hotel lobby along with Splinter and Domino when a voice from behind caught them by surprise.
‘Marcus Splinter, what a surprise to see you in Brighton.’
The gang turned in unison and faced a stocky man, with sparse grey hair and a direct and penetrating gaze. He was standing in front of the band of crooks as if he were ready for a fight. Next to him stood a police officer, a thin man with thick glasses who would pass easily for an accountant if it wasn’t for the uniform he wore.
‘Do we know each other?’ asked Splinter looking the man directly in the eyes and without showing any surprise although in his mind the worst scenarios were starting to make inroads. The presence of a police officer had definitely taken him off guard.
‘You don’t know me, but I know you and your associates. Inspector Corrigan, Interpol,’ said the man waving a badge under Splinter’s nose. Then, pointing to the person who accompanied him. ‘And that’s Chief Superintendent Ross of Brighton Police.’
Splinter remained calm, looked at his watch and said, ‘How can I help you, gentlemen?’
‘If I’m not mistaken, that is your crony Hank Edwards, right?’ Without waiting for an answer he went on, ‘We know you’re entangled in a scam of some sort, I have a dossier this thick on you guys in my office. But don’t count on getting away with it this time, we are checking you out, and at the first mistake you will be arrested.’
‘We really are here on vacation,’ said Splinter.
‘Ah! Nice one. Nothing to do with Amelia Mortcombe and her bank?’
Hank stiffened for a moment, but that was enough for Corrigan to note it. ‘Ah, so she is your target this time. You can go home today because I’m gonna tell her about you myself.’
‘Do what you have to do, inspector?’ said Splinter, ‘we have nothing to hide. As I said, we’re here on vacation.’ And with that said he headed for their car, followed by the rest of the gang.
‘Who the fuck is this Corrigan?’ asked Hank glancing behind, as if someone was still spying on him.
‘I’ve never heard of him,’ said Domino, ‘although he isn’t one of the usual Interpol guys who come knocking at our door from time to time.’
‘And then, how did he know about Amelia Mortcombe?’ asked Hank.
After a long pause, Splinter said, ‘Calm down, guys. They have nothing on us, and we have not done anything illegal. Not yet. And we have invested too much into this to back down now. It is true that we were working on Amelia Mortcombe, but that’s old news. We have to be ca
reful, because they will keep us under surveillance, but they haven’t mentioned Robert Price, our real goal. We’ll just have to keep our wits about us, be careful, and keep in mind that they’re watching us. A nuisance, but not yet a disaster.’
Splinter started the car and headed toward the centre. Occasionally he looked in the rear-view mirror trying to discover if they were indeed being followed. He changed direction a few times and when he was satisfied with not being followed, he relaxed.
****
‘Why did you let them know we were on to them like that?’ asked Ross. ‘They’ll obviously be on the lookout for us.’
Corrigan lit a cigarette and blew a puff of bluish smoke and then smiled. ‘Of course, they’re going to be on the lookout, but they’ll also be under pressure. And when there is trouble, that’s when you make mistakes, and we’ll be there waiting for them at the gate.’
CHAPTER 35
Lenny and Chaz had done a fabulous job with the offices. The furniture and marbles at the entrance oozed wealth; whoever came in would stop to look around before heading to the central desk where two receptionists were pretending to work. The instructions were clear, it was a reality show, anyone who was not on the visitor’s list would be dismissed with courtesy and grace. Although it was an anonymous building from the outside, once inside the spacious reception area you could see the Resurgence logo everywhere together with different posters, with the typical faces of happy customers who had chosen that company for their investments.
Splinter was surprised, it looked just like a real company and Lenny had surpassed himself. ‘But where did you get all these guys?’ he asked.
‘Smile, you’re going to be on a new reality show called The Office. I know, the name is a bit dull, but all these people you see are extras and were looking for a job. I got them mixed up, and they are pretending to work, the important thing is not to look at the cameras and interact as if they were in a real office,’ said Lenny filled with pride.
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