Meyer was sitting at a desk staring down at his notebook.
‘My gut instinct tells me big business is behind this. To pull off a stunt like Lehman’s crash in the Gotthard tunnel takes a lot of organization, intelligence and resources on the ground, ruthless enough to carry out such an operation. This all points to underworld involvement on an international scale, certainly not the work of a black widow!’
‘I must say I can’t disagree with your deductions Dieter, however……’
The desk phone rang. Meyer looked up as de Bruin grabbed the receiver.
‘Oui ‘replied de Bruin briskly. ‘D’accord,’ then a short while later ‘Oui, Très bien,’ before he replaced the receiver.
‘This case gets more interesting. Apparently, we had a British Government advisor escorting Nicole Lehman around Paris. A stray snapshot of the couple at the Chantilly Race course was taken by a fashion magazine. The images only surfaced yesterday. Somebody at the magazine recognized her in an out-take shot standing in the middle of a crowd with her partner. The film was immediately sent to Interpol.’
‘God dam it Victor, how long ago was the film taken?’
‘Ten days ago, I believe.’
‘Scheisse!’ cried Meyer, banging the table with his fist in total frustration.
‘They have identified the English man as Dr. Harry Parker with an address in London.’
‘We’re sitting here like idiots looking for this pair in Paris. Have Interpol been able to establish their current whereabouts?’
‘Yes, they were able to verify Dr. Parker got a return flight to Nice from London recently.’
‘He must have gone to visit Philips in nearby Villefranche with Durand. The bugger never mentioned this when he spoke to me earlier.’
‘Passport Control at Gatwick was also able to confirm Parker returned to the UK alone last weekend from France.’
‘She must be with him in the UK. Victor, please alert British police to be on the lookout for Nicole Lehman and Dr. Parker. I’m catching the next flight to London.’
61
The Jaguar F type sports coupe cruised smoothly along the M4 bound for London. It was just after 10 a.m. in the morning. Parker sat back comfortably in the passenger seat, his eyes focused on reading his business emails. Nicole was at the wheel listening to a mid-morning music & chat show on the radio. He stretched forward, opened the glove compartment and took out a pair of dark glasses and a blond wig. ‘
Parker’s phone lit up. It was connected by Bluetooth to the speakers in the car.
‘Hello. Dr. Parker?’ It was a woman’s voice with a posh London accent. ‘I’m calling from the security division of The Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Department Head, Wing Commander Simon Hadley would like to speak to you.’
‘Ok, put him through.’
‘Parker? Hadley from the Foreign Office here, old boy.’
‘May I ask if you are alone, my good man?’
Parker was a little apprehensive about mentioning Nicole.
‘I’m in the car travelling to London on business. You can talk freely.’
‘Wonderful, Harry old boy, or should I say SIS Agent Parker.’
‘Indeed,’ replied Parker biting his lip looking uncomfortably across at Nicole who had a slight hurt expression on her face while she concentrated on the road in front of her.
‘I don't need to remind you about all the protocols associated with communicating with my Department; this call is being recorded and you must not disclose its contents to any third party. Understood?’
‘Copy!’
‘I wish to warn you; French and Swiss authorities have identified you and they have been in contact with Scotland Yard about your association with Ms. Lehman. They have demanded this woman be immediately picked up and held for questioning about the murder of her husband. A Swiss police Superintendent arrived in London last night to assist our boys in blue with her arrest.’
‘This is all quite bizarre Hadley. She is totally innocent of her husband’s......’
‘We know she is Harry,’ interrupted Hadley.
Hadley’s admission completely stopped Parker in his tracks. Nicole glanced across at him with a similar perplexed expression.
‘Listen Parker, we cannot interfere with police business. All I can do is make you aware British police, as and from this morning and following requests from Interpol, are going to arrest Nicole Lehman when they catch up with her.’
Parker grimly looked across at her. ‘I see.’
‘Because you are a Government advisor and well respected at cabinet level your association with Ms. Lehman has been kept out of the news media. In fact, we had to go to the Crown court earlier this week to seek an injunction against three tabloid newspapers from covering your story and publishing your name.’
‘Thanks for that Hadley, however it all sounds decidedly OTT.’
‘I can assure you Parker, it's not OTT. There are many dangerous things going on that you are not privy to ‘yet’ and that you have inadvertently become mixed up in.’
‘That sounds rather ominous Hadley!’
‘I suggest you park your car a safe distance outside London and take a train. Police are on the lookout for your Jaguar Coupe. Also, I need to meet with you on a different matter, preferably today in our offices in Vauxhall Cross.’
‘Ok, I’ll take your advice. I'll park the car somewhere off the M4 and take the train. I won't be able to get to you until early afternoon around 1:30pm?’
‘Good! I'll take an early lunch and meet you here at half past the hour.’
Hadley hung up without another word.
Nicole with her eyes fixed on the road ahead gave Parker a quick and nervous side glance, which said everything about how she was feeling.
‘Don't worry. We'll travel to the nearest railway station, park the car and take a train into London.’
‘What’s all this about SIS Agent Parker?’
‘It all happened ten years ago. I’ll explain everything about it later. Now to immediate matters in hand. You had better wear these,’ insisted Parker holding up the blond wig and dark glasses.
‘Why is your Foreign office getting involved Harry?’
‘I'm really not quite sure. When we get to London, you go to the solicitor’s office as planned but on your own. It's safer that way. Police are on the lookout for a couple travelling together. I'll head to Vauxhall Cross after I sign some important documents at my office.’
A blond woman with dark glasses pressed the intercom button at the front door of a Solicitor’s office building in Gray’s Inn Street, London. A voice asked her for her credentials and the nature of her business.
‘Nicole Lehman. I'm here to collect a package.’
‘One moment please.’
After a delay another voice came on the intercom.
‘Please press the button and go to the third floor. I will meet you at the elevator.’
When she alighted from the elevator a tall man was waiting for her.
‘Ms. Lehman, my name is Fairchild, Keith Fairchild. Please follow me.’
He led her into a small office and gestured to her to take a seat.
‘Sorry about the delay at the door. We didn't recognize you against images that were sent to us from Paris.’
‘I see,’ replied Nicole and proceeded to remove her wig and dark glasses.
‘That’s better. Now we can see who you are.’
Following brief passport verification and signing procedure she was given a small wax sealed envelope.
‘Ms. Lehman, we are at liberty to advise you there may be further correspondence from the late Dr. Philips depending on developments.’
‘What kind of developments?’
‘I simply don't know. That’s all the information I was given’
‘Thank you, Mr. Fairchild.’
Nicole re-donned the wig and glasses before leaving the building and walked to a small café further down the street. She went inside and sat
in a quiet corner near the front window. She ordered a Latte while looking around and noticing only one other customer sitting some distance away. She opened the envelope and started to read.
My dear Nicole I am writing this letter to ensure if anything untoward were to happen to me, you would act to oversee my rightful shareholding of Lehman & Philips research will pass to my estranged son Walter who lives in the United States. The law firm who issued this letter to you have full particulars of my son’s whereabouts and have been copied with this letter. For you to be able to proceed with gaining access to Karl's CDs, you will need the password. It was careless of Karl not to have left this in a safe accessible place for you. But I guess he wasn't expecting to die at the time and in the manner, that befell him. So, you need to sign the share owner transfer form attached to this document, made out in favor of my son for the beneficial shareholding of 5 per cent of Lehman & Philips SA. Return this form to the office from where you received it and they will issue you with a second wax-sealed envelope containing the password. A third letter may be issued to you at the proper time if you follow all instructions in this letter to the satisfaction of my legal representatives. I remain, yours faithfully, Dr. Martin Philips.
Nicole sat and stared at the letter for some time. To think a whole career, a whole lifetime had come down to this, was particularly poignant. Although she never had much regard for Philips, she felt a certain sadness sitting there looking at what was his legacy, and the concern he had for his son. The five per cent shareholding request was a little cheeky, she thought. However, under the circumstances, she picked up the share transfer form and laid it flat on the table and signed on the appropriate line.
She immediately walked back to the solicitors’ office and met Mr. Fairchild again. She handed over the signed document. Fairchild soon appeared with a second white envelope, again with wax seal attached and handed it to her. She left the building again and walked to the nearest underground station. She didn’t feel comfortable walking around the streets, half expecting the police to pounce on her at any minute. She decided to travel straight back to the railway station outside London and wait for Parker there. They had agreed not to turn on their mobile phones. So, without any contact, Nicole had to wait in the station for Parker to return, hoping he would not be too long at the Foreign office.
Parker took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair as he was escorted into Hadley's office by a young administration officer.
‘Good afternoon Parker. Welcome to LEGOLAND.’ Hadley was referring to the preferred name of the MI6 building by the wider intelligence community.
‘I didn’t expect to be meeting you again so soon, Hadley.’
‘It must be five years since we last met old boy. I'm glad you could make it. Take a seat.’
‘My pleasure!’
‘There are certain matters I need to make you aware of. We know you are trying to complete paperwork for Nicole Lehman relating to her late husband’s research, which I understand came to an abrupt and tragic end recently.’
‘Unfortunately so, Wing Commander. Karl was a great guy and a close colleague.’
‘I never realized until recently you knew each other. What I’m going to tell you now should therefore be of interest. By the way, what is your availability over the next four weeks or so?’
‘It looks like I'm going to be busy keeping my name out of the newspapers, so I won't have much time to spare.’
‘Quite’ replied Hadley mildly amused. ‘We have uncovered a top-secret organization based in Rome that has a very exclusive membership list. It appears many of the members are top professionals in the medical field. Moreover, we believe this organization maybe connected to Karl Lehman’s death.’
Parker sat up straight in his seat.
‘How could this be?’ he demanded. ‘I thought Swiss police were chasing a law firm in New York City about the involvement of a private equity company in Lehman's murder?’
‘We have no evidence of any US involvement in Lehman's death.’
‘But Lehman went with Philips to New York two months before he was murdered. He refused to be silenced or be bought out by some private equity firm who wanted them to stop the research project.’
‘That may be true but there’s no evidence linking this firm with the murder of Lehman or Philips.’
Parker narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t quite believe what Hadley was saying.
‘Now! Do you know a Russian Professor by the name of Dmitri Obolensky?’
‘Yes actually, I do. I was only talking to the Professor a few days ago by telephone. He knew Karl very well.’
‘We have reason to believe Obolensky is a member of this secret organization of medical professionals.’
‘What‘s it called?’
‘The Knights of Octavian’. We refer to them as the KOO.’
‘What are they up to?’
‘We’re not quite sure to be frankly honest and I won’t speculate here what MI6 believe is going on inside this organization. They appear to be totally legitimate and above board.’
‘This chap Obolensky, how does he fit in to all this?’
‘Again, we’re not sure. However, there are interesting developments involving him. Obolensky approached a life-long acquaintance of his in Vienna recently when he attended a conference there. His acquaintance is in fact a diplomat working in the Russian embassy in Austria. With Obolensky's agreement an approach was made by the embassy to one of our diplomats in Vienna, to set-up a meeting with someone he can trust. Obolensky suggested your name as a person whom he would be willing to meet and talk to. Obviously, your association with Karl Lehman, the assistance you're giving Nicole and your cabinet connections, makes him feel very comfortable he can trust you, indeed trust you with his life, we understand.’
‘You didn't say how you found out about this highly secretive KOO.’
‘An eminent British medical professional living in Colombia, South America died in mysterious circumstances about eighteen months ago, circumstances not unlike our friend Lehman. Colombian police never solved the crime. Shortly after his death the doctor's wife, an American citizen, went to the FBI and reported her late husband had confided in her shortly before he died that he was a member of a top-secret organization.’
‘This, no doubt, was the KOO?’
‘Papers found in the man’s home safe did indeed point to the KOO.’
‘How did our Foreign Office get involved in all this?’
‘Shall we say due to international co-operation between Britain and the United States, which extends into many areas including diplomatic co-operation and intelligence gathering.’
‘You mean the Yanks tipped you off.’
Hadley gave a faint twinkle of a smile. ‘We have been working with the Americans on this affair ever since. Britain still has a key role to play in world affairs you know and with our network of contacts throughout the commonwealth countries, we are very well placed to assist the bigger players in intelligence gathering on a broad scale of issues, international terrorists, Al-Qaida, Fascist dictators, drug barons, illegal arms dealers, the list is endless.’
‘So, what do you want me to do?’
‘I would, rather we in MI6 would like you to work for us over the next month or so until we get to the bottom of all this. It’s right up your alley old boy!
‘Me? Not a prayer, Hadley.’
‘Parker, you are the best fit for the job as far as the Agency is concerned. What with your former escapades in Angola when you proved you could handle yourself extremely well when things got physical, the fact you are a medical doctor and your government connections already established, we could not think of anyone more suitable.’
‘I'm afraid Hadley this is totally out of the question. I must write up an extremely important report for a client as soon as possible, run a medical devices firm and keep on top of a myriad of other business commitments. Besides I have to keep the health of the nation in check.’
/> ‘There are many ways of keeping the nation’s health in check, Dr. Parker. The per diem rate is as per our existing agreement plus expenses. On this occasion we also considered some supporting equipment should be provided.’
‘I can see my protestations are going to be totally ignored. It’s like water off a duck's back rebuffing you, Wing Commander!’
‘Precisely! Parker, you know you're not able to pass up such an important case. It might be a whole new career change for you, back into the fray old boy! This is an extremely important assignment and one that can get us working even closer with American intelligence agencies,’ advised Hadley enthusiastically before walking across the large high-ceilinged room to a large mahogany cabinet. He opened a drawer and pulled out a semi-automatic .45 caliber Beretta PX4 pistol and Holster.
‘You may need this. Things may get quite rough in Moscow. It comes with a full licence, if you get my meaning. I will organize a refresher course at our firing range before you depart.’
Hadley held out the gun to Parker.
The former MI6 agent stared at the weapon for several seconds. Flash back images of former missions flooded into his brain before slowly reaching out his hand to take possession of the fire arm.’
‘Now!’ said Hadley. ‘Let’s sit down and go through the details of your assignment in Moscow.’
62
The couple arrived back in Grasmere Cottage at midnight after an eventful day. Parker went to the kitchen and made coffee.
The Karl Lehman Affair Page 18