By All Means (Fiske and MacNee Mysteries Book 2)

by Alan Alexander

  Vanessa was quiet for a moment, considering carefully how to respond. She discussed almost everything about her work with Neil. He had been really helpful with the financial aspects of the case. But she bridled when anybody, even somebody she loved, told how to do her job. She decided to say nothing except that she'd think about it.

  'Good. Better to be ready.'

  *

  The First Minister read the draft statement prepared by the Permanent Secretary. It was bland to the point of vacuousness, rehearsing the timeline that had led to MacIver's arrest, and reiterating that the FM had had no reason to suspect that he might have been involved in criminality. She had had no prior knowledge of the arrest and it would be inappropriate to comment further. A reference to the presumption of innocence had been added by her private secretary, but she struck it out even before she had decided not to make the statement.

  She asked the Permanent Secretary to come to her office.

  'James, this really won't do. If I make this statement, I'll be crucified in Parliament. It says absolutely nothing. The best that can be said for it is that it might do as a holding statement, but I think we are well past the point at which Parliament will accept that. They are out to get me and the silence from the Justice Secretary suggests that he is positioning himself.'

  'First Minister, you would not expect me to comment on party matters. But I have to advise you that it would be unacceptable in terms of accountability if you were to let another parliamentary session go by without a statement. If my draft is unacceptable, and you accept my advice that a statement must be made, I will draft another statement. Before I do so, I need to discuss the content.'

  'Go on.'

  'We have reached the point, First Minister, where you need to answer in detail the questions that have been raised about the vetting, or otherwise, of Paul MacIver. You will need to address the points raised in Parliament last week, and in the press this week. If I may be frank, you need to answer the questions set out in the Banner. I have the information to answer three of those questions. The issue of who recommended MacIver to you is a matter entirely for you. On those in respect of which I am able to produce a draft, the answer, in all three cases, is no.'

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  James Michael Roskill had decided that charm would be more effective than bluster. He was good at it, and Vanessa Fiske knew immediately that she would have to keep her guard up. It was not that she was particularly susceptible to flattery or exaggerated respect. She wasn't, and she would not have acquired her reputation as an effective interrogator if she was. Rather it was an awareness of the seductive and potentially undermining effect of being close to someone who had wielded so much power; who had, apparently without self-doubt, taken life and death decisions; who had, apparently without losing sleep, sent hundreds of his fellow citizens to war. And it was about being in the presence of the kind of self-confidence seldom experienced except among the very powerful and the very rich. Roskill was both.

  When Fiske and MacNee arrived at the Belgravia headquarters of the James M Roskill Public Affairs Trust, the receptionist, a stunningly beautiful young black woman with a South African accent, picked up the phone and said they were in reception. They sat down and looked at the various reports and publications on display. All were concerned with the charitable and philanthropic activities of the Trust and all contained many photographs of Roskill, sometimes with the recipients of the Trust's grants, but more often with world leaders, monarchs, and presidents. Colin MacNee thought that Roskill was very careful about his legacy and his legend.

  The detectives were surprised when the former Prime Minister came through the door behind reception, thanked the receptionist by name, held out his hand and said, 'Chief Inspector Fiske, welcome to the Trust. Inspector MacNee, good to meet you, too.'

  Vanessa appreciated the punctiliousness with which, gender notwithstanding, he had recognised her seniority. It didn't always happen, and the frequency with which Colin was greeted as "DCI Fiske" was a running joke between them. She also noted that he had not thought it necessary to say who he was.

  'Please come up.'

  They climbed an elegant cantilevered staircase, curved in a style that Vanessa recognised as an eighteenth century signature feature, and were led into Roskill's office. It had been a drawing room and was now furnished in a deliberately modern style. There was no desk. Colin recalled that Roskill had been famous for having no desk in his Downing Street office and for hiring - and firing - people while they sat on a sofa and he stood. There were two modern Chesterfield sofas and three matching armchairs, grouped round three sides a low table. The fourth side ensured that every seat offered a view, through the tall sash windows, of the Belgravia street scene. It would be easy to be comfortable here, but less easy to be relaxed.

  A man of about Roskill's age was already in the room, preparing to pour coffee or tea from the pots arranged on a side table.

  'I think you've already spoken to Edmund, Chief Inspector, but you've not met.'

  Vanessa extended her hand. 'Lord Cordingley. This is my colleague, DI Colin MacNee.'

  Cordingley said nothing.

  'Edmund is rather highly priced help for pouring the coffee, but he'll turn his hand to most things. I've asked him to be here today.' He paused for effect. 'For obvious reasons.'

  Vanessa decided to formalise the atmosphere.

  'Mr Roskill, I am going to question you. Before I do so I must caution you. You are not obliged to answer any of these questions but any answers you give will be noted and may be used in evidence against you. In normal circumstances, in a matter as serious as this, I would interview you in a police station and record the interview. In this case, I hope that you will accept that it is sufficient for DI MacNee to take notes, a copy of which will be provided to you.'

  Roskill looked to Cordingley, who nodded.

  The interview lasted no more than half-an-hour. It ranged from the exchange of emails between damascus@easymail.com and mike@exflt.com, through the nature of any other contact that Roskill might have had with Paul MacIver, his financial interests in Burtonhall and its companies, the bombing of Last Cairngorm and the cyber attack on Mercury Fulfilment, to the beneficial ownership of the BVI nominee account from which substantial payments had been made to MacIver, and which the detectives believed had been used to finance his illegal activities.

  For most of the interview, Roskill was calm and impassive, more often denying all knowledge than offering no comment. It was only when the questioning turned to the attacks on Last and Mercury and the possible effects on the market value of the companies, and to the BVI account, that Roskill paused before answering and turned, wordlessly, to Cordingley for advice. Fiske was unsure to what extent the two men had prepared their answers but it was clear that the only lines of questioning that unsettled them were those concerning Last and Mercury and the offshore account.

  'I have reason to believe, Mr Roskill, that you are one of two beneficial owners of this account.' She handed him a note of the details as communicated to the bank where MacIver's account was held. 'I believe that I also know the identity of the other owner, but it would be inappropriate for me to name him at this stage. Can you confirm that you control this account through nominees?'

  'No comment.'

  'Have you any knowledge of the payments from this account, of over £2000 per month over a six month period, to an account in the name of Paul MacIver?

  'No comment.'

  'What was the purpose of these payments?'

  'No comment.'

  'Did you, through these payments, help to finance the attacks at Last and Mercury?'

  'No comment.'

  'Did you conspire with Paul MacIver to destabilise Hedelco and Ebright Offshore Drilling in order to affect the value of these companies?'

  'No comment.'

  'Thank you, Mr Roskill. I think it is likely that I shall have to speak to you again soon. If I do, you will have to come to Aberdeen. In th
e meantime, DI MacNee will give you a copy of his notes and, once they have been transcribed, we will send you a copy of the record as we place it in the case file. May I ask you, or Lord Cordingley on your behalf, to sign this to confirm receipt of the copy?'

  *

  As they walked towards Sloane Square, Colin MacNee gave Vanessa his impressions of the interview.

  'He didn't half play on his reputation as a technophobe!' It was common knowledge, because he tended to mention it in every interview he gave, that Roskill could not use a computer, knew nothing about the Internet and had never sent an email. It was part of his persona as a world statesman existing above the common herd.

  'But were you convinced? I certainly wasn't. When you were asking him about the email exchanges, his answers seemed to me to show he knew more about the process of emailing than he was ready to admit. I wish we had a tape. My notes are pretty full, though, and he used terminology that would be unfamiliar to the kind of technophobe he claims to be.'

  'Such as?' They were entering Sloane Square station to get a train to Paddington.

  '"Spam", "domain", "IP address", "server", to name just a few.'

  'Oh, come on, Colin. He could have picked up that kind of language anywhere. From his staff, his kids, from books and newspapers. Proves nothing."

  'No, boss, it's more than that. He was easy with the language, familiar, more than just aware of it.'

  'Would you like to put that to a jury?'

  'No, but I would like to put it to Roskill the next time we talk to him. He's mike@exflt.com and he's been emailing MacIver. I'm sure of it. I think we should try to get MacIver to confirm it and then press Roskill.'

  'Seems pretty clear that he's behind the BVI account. I think we may have enough to convince the PF to charge him with conspiracy to cause an explosion and possibly to murder. If she goes for it, and she'll have to consult the Crown Office in Edinburgh, we'll have to get Roskill to Aberdeen and into court. Jason Sime of the G & T was right: this is bigger than Dunblane.'

  *

  'There's no doubt that MacIlwraith's lock-up was used to make a bomb. It would be going too far to describe it as a bomb factory, though that's what the tabloid headlines will say. The SOCOs found residues of the "ingredients" listed in the "recipes" he had downloaded. And there was also equipment that the anti-terrorism squad say is consistent with the manufacture of explosives. And he had more rucksacks than a Boy Scout troop.'

  While Fiske and MacNee were in London, a verbal report had gone to Esslemont. Colin was now reading from the full SOCO report.

  'You'll need to put it to him before we decide whether to ask the PF to change the charges against him,' Vanessa said, 'though it won't matter one way or the other. He's going away for a long time. What's important is that it hugely increases the likelihood of a jury convicting him. We need something like that to be sure of nailing Mathieson for the cyber attack. I think a jury will convict him on the Jamieson murder charge, but I'd like to close the file on Mercury as well.'

  'I'll see if Dongle's back from Glasgow.'

  Fiske and MacNee had got back to NEC HQ in the early evening after interviewing Roskill. Esslemont and the Chief were unavailable until the next morning. Their report on the former Prime Minister and their recommendation that he be brought to Aberdeen for a further interview and probable charges would have to wait. It was also too late too speak to the Procurator Fiscal, so Vanessa decided to speak informally to Fiona Marchmont, the force's legal adviser. She got her at home just as she was getting her children to bed. She called back about fifteen minutes later.

  'It sounds to me as if the only thing that will give the PF pause will be the political sensitivity. The evidence is certainly enough, even if it's circumstantial, to go to court and let a jury decide. But we kid ourselves if we believe that the decision will be simple or very quick. The Crown Office will have to be involved. The security services will need to know. Intergovernmental courtesy will be invoked to tell the Home Secretary and Number 10. You might get clearance to arrest Roskill by the end of tomorrow, but it might be the day after.'

  'Can I ask you, off the record, about something else? The other beneficial owner of the BVI account is almost certainly Sir Justin Carey...'

  Fiona interrupted and said, incredulously, 'Carey of the FO? Are you sure?'

  'As sure as I can be given the secrecy that surrounds everything in BVI, but I don't have anything else on him. No other connection with these cases, except my suspicion that Roskill got him to intervene when we were trying to get the Hedelco emails. I could regard him as a person of interest, but it would be a stretch. Will my case against Roskill be weakened if he is referred to as "A N Other"?'

  'I don't think so, but I'll consider it further. It might be better if you didn't refer to him at all. I'm sure you can think of ways of dealing with Carey informally, but very effectively!'

  'Fine. And thanks, I may have to talk to you officially tomorrow.'

  'Before you go, how are you? We haven't spoken for a while.'

  'I'm OK. Knackered, but OK. My blood pressure's up a little, but the morning sickness is better. I just need to get this case off my desk before I can ease up a bit. If Roskill needs to be arrested, I'm bloody well not going to London again. The Met can do it, or if it needs someone from here, Esslemont will have to conquer his dislike of leaving Aberdeen.'

  'Good luck with that! I may see you tomorrow.'

  *

  Vanessa looked at her watch. It was half past eight and she hadn't been able to speak to Neil since getting back from London. As she reached for the phone, Colin MacNee stuck his head round her door.

  'Dongle's here. Will I bring him in?'

  Vanessa sighed and nodded.

  'There are times when I think that Strathclyde runs on its reputation. Turned out that their examination of Mathieson's hardware had been less than thorough. I thought about having a go at them for laziness or laxness or just plain stupidity but...'

  'Dongle, just get on with it. We can deal with Strathclyde's witlessness some other time.'

  'Sorry, boss, but it didn't half piss me off. Turned out that their examination of the hardware had not included discovering if he had used any of his hard disks - there were seven in total - to access the Internet. They said they were focused on cyber crime and Andy's request for financial records, but they should have...sorry. I spent a long time doing what they hadn't and, as I expected, there was evidence that he had had one of his hard disks configured for browsing. He had tried to delete the browser, but I found it and there was partial history. I got the rest by playing on the hi-tech squad's guilty conscience and getting them to request a full search history.

  'Mercury Fulfilment has a number of websites, mainly in the US and here, but also in Australia, Canada, and Japan. Our man had visited all of them, and it looks as if he was trying to get deeper into them than would be necessary to check whether the sweater you had ordered was on its way. I think he was trying to analyse the security protocols, which is what hackers do when they want to disable a site or flood it with spam. Impossible to tell how successful he was, though. And the Strathclyde guys still can't say definitively that his gear was used to attack Mercury.'

  'I thought that might be the case. But thanks, Dongle. The case against Mathieson is still circumstantial, but it's now a bit stronger.'

  Dongle smiled appreciatively. 'There's a wee bit more. I founds some emails between Mathieson and MacIlwraith, with MacIver copied in. Nothing very interesting in them, as far as I can see, but it does firm up the connections. I'll add them to my report.'

  'You do that! Good work! Now, I'm going home to see if Neil still knows who I am.'

  *

  That afternoon, while Fiske and MacNee were interviewing Roskill, the Scottish political establishment and media were digesting the implications of the resignation of the First Minster. After her conversation with the Permanent Secretary she had quickly accepted that she had to go. She had considered the pos
sibility of simply issuing a press statement and leaving Edinburgh for what the press always calls ‘an undisclosed destination’, but she knew she would have to make a statement to Parliament. The Permanent Secretary had advised her that she should announce who would be Acting FM until the election of her successor and she was fully aware of the politics of that decision. She wanted to avoid giving an unfair advantage to any of the obvious candidates - the Justice Secretary, who was no longer bothering to conceal his ambitions to succeed her; her deputy, who also held the finance portfolio that he had inherited from her; the parliamentary business manager who, like all chief whips, knew where the bodies were buried - so she chose the oldest member of her cabinet, the Education Secretary, who, she knew, had no ambitions to fill the top job and who had, in any case, decided to retire at the next election.

  Before concluding her statement she thanked her party for the opportunity to serve her country in its highest office. She said she would play a full part in the referendum campaign, and she announced that she would leave parliament immediately.