‘What’s happening this morning Harry?’
‘We’re about to leave for St Gregory’s Cathedral near Westminster Bridge. Philips second letter to Nicole has revealed the only surviving vial is hidden there. We’re about to leave Earls Court now. I’ll call you the minute we pick it up.’
Durand hung up and immediately contacted Meyer. He explained that Nicole had been rescued with help from the secret service but couldn't discuss any further details.
‘I’m delighted that Ms. Lehman has been found and her life is no longer in danger. However, Raoul nothing has changed from a police perspective….’
‘Dieter, we need you to provide police protection for the pair of them for the next week or so. There have been significant developments in the case over the last forty-eight hours. Their lives are still in danger however.’
‘The Metropolitan police have very safe jail cells for fugitives like Nicole Lehman.’
‘Dieter, significant developments have occurred that changes all that. There will be a top-level communiqué to police forces in Europe from Interpol within the next twenty-four hours, which will explain everything that has been happening behind the scenes.’
‘Very well Raoul. I’ll contact Swiss police headquarters in Zurich right away and tell them to expect a communiqué about Ms. Lehman.’
‘Fine! Now there’s one final part of the jigsaw that needs to be resolved at St Gregory’s Cathedral this morning. ‘
‘What do you mean?’
‘All will be revealed at the proper time. However, if you can’t provide round the clock police protection, at least have police resources on standby. There are still dangerous people lurking about.’
‘OK Raoul. I’ll see what cooperation I can get from British police after I speak with Swiss HQ.
90
After speaking to Durand, Parker left Earls Court at 9:30am with Nicole and took a taxi to St Gregory’s Cathedral. They entered the main door and quickly went inside. The Cathedral was dark and quiet with only a handful of parishioners scattered around the interior. They walked towards the main altar and came to the Crossing, turned left and walked into the North Transept. There in front of them stood the McNeill Chantry. They entered a narrow steel gate at one end of the miniature chapel. Parker stood beside the small altar and gazed at the head of the kneeling child. He leaned in over the figure and saw a small hollow section behind the halo, an ideal spot for hiding something small such as a very precious vial.
Still leaning over the carved figure, Parker slowly turned to Nicole with a look of total disbelief. ‘THERE’S NOTHING HERE!!!’
91
Lazare met Larchet at the Italian Food Center in Little Italy as agreed the previous day. The two men discussed tactics over coffee before leaving the premises and driving to a warehouse address on 1st Avenue in the docks area of New York City.
They parked their car one block away from the premises. Both men checked their revolvers before walking casually down the street. Soon they arrived at the parcel depot and walked quickly down a side street leading to the rear of the premises looking out over East River.
They tried the handle of the door and it opened. The pair went inside and walked silently up a metal stairway to a small office located on a mezzanine floor. Lazare kicked open the door and found the hitman sitting at his desk. Colgo quickly tried to grab his revolver lying on the table in front of him but he was too late. Lazare fired a shot and hit him in the shoulder. Colgo recoiled in pain.
‘OK asshole! Tell me where Bonnet’s money is,’ yelled Lazare standing over the muscleman
Colgo in great pain looked up at Lazare in total amazement. ‘Bonnet got done Henri!’
‘Yes! We know all about that. Where is the money you stole from Jacques Bonnet?’
‘I neve’ got…’
‘Don’t waste my time. Hand over the money NOW,’ roared Lazare.
‘Yah must be mad. I don’t have it here,’ groaned the hitman.
Lazare fired a second shot hitting him in the other shoulder.
Colgo slumped to his left side when the second bullet struck.
‘I have all afternoon Colgo. You’ll be full of lead if you don’t come clean.’
Colgo, now in great pain, looked terrified and realized any resistance would be futile. There was nobody around the warehouse that could help him. His brother was out of town and all the drivers were out on the road.
‘It’s in a safe deposit box at Marseille Airport. I’m gettin’ it shipped back here,’ gasped the muscleman.
‘Don’t bull shit me Colgo, ‘snapped Lazare bending down and mercilessly pistol whipping him across the face.
Colgo was completely defenseless with both arms paralyzed and his nose starting to bleed. ‘It’s true Henri. Dah safety deposit key and dah receipt are in dis drawer, here look!’ cried the hitman trying to point at his desk.
Lazare signaled Larchet to search the desk drawer while he kept the gun trained on his prey. Larchet recovered the key from the drawer and the safety deposit receipt.
‘All looks in order boss.’
‘OK,’ replied Lazare, his eyes fixed on the pathetic figure in front of him. ‘Who else were you working for Colgo? Who were these twins?’
‘You wouldn’t have heard of dis organization. Dey are a very secretive outfit. They’re called Python. I’m workin’ directly for their associate, Zoran Bartoch. I hired the twins me-self. Der hitmen from Marseille.’
92
Parker, in deep thought, stood in the chantry with his arms folded starring down at the marble floor.
‘Either this is very simple or very complicated’ mused Parker.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well! It could be some innocent person like one of the cleaning staff, found the box and kept it. Or, Philips could have told Python where the vial was hidden.’
Nicole looked forlorn. ‘If Python have the vial, then we’re finished.’
‘Enough of this negativity. Let’s start with the Sacristan of the cathedral.’
They left the chantry and walked slowly down the main aisle. Parker stopped at a pew where an elderly lady was kneeling, deep in prayer.
‘Excuse me my dear, do you know where we can contact the Sacristan?’
‘Oh yes!’ whispered the old lady. ‘Go out the main door and around to the right. The first red brick house is where you’ll find him, Father Moroney that is.’
When they got to the priest’s house they walked up four or five steps to the hall door and pressed the bell.
A short while later the housekeeper opened the door.
‘Good day. We would like to see Father Moroney,’ said Nicole.
‘Are you ‘wantin’ to get married then?’ asked the housekeeper in a West of Ireland accent looking at the pair of them.
‘Oh no, no,’ replied Parker. ‘We just eh…
‘We lost something very importance in the cathedral,’ interjected Nicole.
‘I see.’ said the housekeeper. You’d better come inside and wait. Father Pat is due back any minute.’
They stepped into the hallway and the housekeeper led them into a dreary living room.
They sat down on an old-fashioned Chesterfield settee while Nicole glanced around the room. The highly patterned green and gold colored carpet was screaming at the brown and cream floral curtains.
‘Would you like some tay? I’ll put the kettle on’, insisted the housekeeper before they had a chance to respond.
Soon they heard the front door open and bang close again. They could hear muffled conversation in the hall before the door opened and in walked the Priest, Father Pat.
‘Ah hello, hello. What can I do for yee two? Father Pat is my name,’ confirmed the Priest with an Irish accent extending his arm to shake hands with the couple.
Father Pat was of medium height with a slight pot belly, grey hair and a happy smiling face.
‘I’m Harry. This is Nicole.’
‘Well, well. What seems to be the trouble
?’
‘Father, we had a very good friend that passed away recently. He was a deeply religious man. Before he died he hid something very valuable on a side altar in the cathedral, thinking it would be safe there, being in God’s house and all that.’
‘I see. And where exactly did your friend place this item?’
‘In the McNeill Chantry, behind the kneeling child’s Halo.’
‘How long ago was this?’
‘Oh. About three weeks ago.’
‘I do recall our cleaning staff carried out a thorough clean-up of the chantry about three or four weeks ago. What exactly did the item look like?’
‘It was a small ornate box, Father.’
‘Ah, very interesting?’ said the Priest staring straight in front of him.
Nicole stared at the priest. ‘Why so?’
‘Another fella dressed in dark clothing was hanging around the cathedral recently ‘ashkin’ about the same box.’
She and Parker shot each other a glance.
‘What did you tell him,’ pressed Parker.
‘Oh, Nothing at all. Yah see, I knew nothing about any box in the cathedral before this gentleman mentioned it to me.’
‘Father, it’s a matter of life and death that we find this box,’ urged Nicole.
Something seemed to click with the priest. A thin smile appeared on his face. ‘I now remember who ye are. It's coming back to me now. I thought you looked familiar. You’re Dr. Parker?’
‘Correct.’
‘I saw your picture in a Sunday newspaper a while back. Something about heart disease I recall?’
‘Yes. I’m an advisor to the Government on that topic.’
‘I see, very interestin.’
‘This box is part of a Government project, Father Pat.’
What's in this box then, Dr. Parker’?
‘We're not at liberty to say Father.’
Nicole added. ‘Don't worry. I can tell you that it’s something that will be of immense benefit to sick people.’
‘Fantastic,’ said the Priest quite surprised. Well since I have established your credentials, I will try and find out more about the disappearance of the box for yee.’
‘What did this other character look like, the one in dark clothing?’
‘Oh, he sounded foreign. Russian, I think, smartly dressed fella. He said very little. I thought he looked a little peculiar.’
‘Did he wear round glasses?’
‘No.’
‘Ok Father Pat, we’ll start with your cleaning staff. We need to move on this quickly. Have you got a contact number for them?’
Father Pat started fumbling in a drawer looking for the number. ‘Yes. I have a business card somewhere here for them. Let me see now. We use contract cleaners, yah see. Ah yes! Here it is.’ He handed the card to Parker.
The pair then stood up and thanked the priest for his help.
‘Here! Take my card. Contact me immediately you find out anything about the whereabouts of the box.’
‘I will do that surely.’
‘Are yee not stayin for tay?’ asked the housekeeper anxiously, standing at the kitchen door with a tray full of tea cups.
‘We’ll catch you again my dear,’ said Parker politely, half way out the front door.
Moments later while Parker and Nicole walked briskly up the street, heading back towards their car, a dark figure stepped out from behind a hedge and started following them.
93
Colgo, with blood streaming from his mouth, was still being grilled by Lazare.
‘Who the fuck is Zoran Bartoch?’
‘He operates a bundle of global businesses. Dey hired me to carry out all dah killin’s. I then hired two hit men, twins from Marseille.’ Colgo’s eyes were closing over. He was getting weaker.
‘How come they hired you?’ demanded Lazare getting extremely angry. ‘Didn’t they know you were fuckin working for me?’
Lazare grabbed Colgo and shook him violently until he cried out.
‘Henri, they wer’ watchin’ yah, yar every move to see how yah were goin’ to handle your stock positions. They liked yar style. They liked dah way yah wanted to keep Lehman an’ Philips quiet. They were onto Professor Lehman too. They knew everything about ‘im. They saw ‘im as a threat to their global operations. ‘iDrug’ will wreak havoc on dah antibiotics and anti-viral medicine markets. They didn’t quite know how to deal with ‘im. They liked dah way yah hired Bonnet and his boys to take care o’ dah situation. They hired me ta ensure tings got done correctly, lettin’ you and Bonnet take dah blame. That’s dah way they operate, in dah shadows…… behind dah scene. They have been very successful operatin’ like dis for years, ………undercover, manipulatin’ international trade……. and global politics to grow their investments,’ muttered Colgo getting weaker.
‘Who told Zoran Industries about us? Our offer and follow up operations against Lehman and Philips were Top Secret.’
‘Za….. Zoran told me it was Philips,’ stuttered the hitman starting to slur his words.
‘Philips hadn’t a clue who Zoran Industries were,’ snapped Lazare.
‘He didn’t need to know…. Dey….Dey approached him months ago when dah news about Lehman’s discoveries first appeared in dah newspapers.’
Colgo was finding it increasingly difficult to speak.
‘They met ‘im covertly, no names exchanged and offered ‘im a deal to derail Lehman & Philips research program. …..Philips didn’t co-operate den …..But they left a contact number with ‘im if he ever changed his mind.’
‘So, what changed his mind?’ pressed Lazare.
‘Phi…Philips got frustrated with Lehman when he declined dah deal yah were offering in New York through dah law firm ……... Philips wanted dah cash. He used dah phone number he had been given months earlier and arranged to meet dem in Zurich. Out of frustration, I guess, he told ‘em about dah law firm’s offer, thinking they could put some pressure on Lehman.’
‘Well, fuck you Colgo. You were working for me at the time. You could have saved me a lot o’ trouble by telling me what WAS REALLY GOING ON,’ roared Lazare. You could have forced Zoran to do all the dirty work against Lehman & Philips, being in the position you were in. I wouldn’t have had to waste Johnson if you had come clean and stayed loyal to me.’
‘Yeah that’s right Colgo,’ snarled Larchet, keeping his gun trained on the muscleman ‘Maybe Jacque would still be alive as well.’
‘But no! Continued Lazare. ‘You double crossed me, getting paid twice for the same work, once by me, once by this secret Zoran Bartoch outfit and then going after Bonnet to get a slice of his action, finally ending up with the whole ten million. You got too fuckin’ greedy for your own good, you son-of-a-bitch.’
94
Parker and Nicole went into central London and stopped for coffee in a small Café in Covent Garden.
‘Not a bad little place you picked, Harry.’
‘Memories of my student days.’
Parker’s phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Father Pat. He listened intently to what the Priest was saying.
‘Ok. Thank you, Father.’
Nicole glanced at him anxiously.
‘The priest spoke to the supervisor in the cleaning company and explained our situation. The woman has agreed to help. He gave me her name and address. Let’s go there right away and talk to her.’
The pair finished their coffee and immediately drove to an address in North London.
They parked the car on a narrow street with small red bricked terraced houses lining each side of the road.
They quickly found the house. Parker knocked on the door and a woman soon appeared.
‘Hi. You are Mary?
‘Yes. That’s right,’ replied the middle-aged woman with a smile.
‘Father Pat told me you might be able to help us.’
‘Hopefully.’
‘I’m looking for a missing box. It looks something like a small wooden Jewel
ry box. It was hidden in the chantry in the cathedral for safe keeping. It’s vitally important that we find it as quickly as possible.’
‘I’m not sure if it’s the same item,’ said Mary, ‘but one of our girls, I was told, found a small box a few weeks ago in the chantry and took it home, I don’t want to get her into any trouble.’
‘Oh no! We understand fully her situation. This girl has done no wrong at all,’ reassured Nicole. ‘We just need to get the box back. We are willing to pay a small reward for its safe return.’
‘I’ll contact this girl myself and ask her about it, Ok?’
‘Time is of the essence here. Can we go and talk to the girl ourselves?’ suggested Parker.
‘Certainly not.’
‘Ok,’ replied Parker getting impatient. ‘We‘ll play it your way for now.’
Mary gave him an anxious look.
‘Here is my number. Please contact the girl immediately and ring me by 6:00pm this evening latest. We’ll pay five hundred pounds for the safe return of the box, ok?’
95
Lazare nodded to Larchet it was time to leave. The businessman put the key and safety deposit receipt in his pocket before backing away towards the door with Larchet following.
‘One more thing you should know Colgo,’ declared Larchet chillingly. ‘One of the twins that got shot on the side of the road…’
‘Yeah?’ said the hitman in a feeble voice, looking suddenly nervous.
‘He finger-painted a name on the road with his own blood before he died.
‘Fuck No!’ pleaded Colgo now both eyes wide open seeing what was coming. ‘I will make it up to you Peter. I promise, please!’
‘Blood is thicker than water asshole! You killed Jacques.’
‘He fuckin’ blew my cover in front of these twins,’ protested Colgo fearing instant death if he attempted to expose Lazare.
‘This is for Bonnet’ declared Larchet, pointing a .45 caliber revolver at his head.
‘No! You don’t understand Peter,’ screamed the dying hitman in a final desperate move. ‘Henri told me to….’
The Karl Lehman Affair Page 29