[African Diamonds 01.0] The Angolan Clan

by Christopher Lowery

  Juan was still mopping down the terraces and pool area. He’d had to catch several fish which had overflowed from the lake and ended up in the swimming pool. Apart from that, the property looked beautifully clean after the rain. No dust, no dirt. It reminded Jenny of Geneva. As if everything had been taken away, spring cleaned and put back in place again.

  Leticia came in looking forlorn, having left her mother up at the lake with Emilio. He had taken a liking to feeding the fish. They had not told Leticia’s parents the full story of last night’s events. It was over, and the less said about it the better. Emilio seemed to have put it out of his memory. He hadn’t mentioned it yet and she prayed that he never would. She shook hands with Espinoza and kissed José Luis on both cheeks.

  The lawyer looked weary. “Leticia, Jenny, what can I say? I’m so terribly sorry that you’ve been put in harms way through my stupidity. I blame myself completely. It’s an awful situation, and it’s all my fault, I had no idea, no idea at all.”

  “Well, let’s try to make sense of this business. This murderer seems to have devised a very complicated plot, but I’m not sure what the real reason for it was. Why don’t we start at the beginning? Jenny, can you enlighten us?” The policeman switched on a small recording device and settled back into the depths of the armchair. Jenny reflected that it was the first time she’d ever seen him look comfortable.

  “This is for you, Chief Inspector.” She handed Espinoza a printout of the Angolan Clan narrative, explaining where it came from and what it described. Then she and Leticia recounted their journey through Charlie’s maze of clues. They left nothing out. The story poured out of them, a kind of catharsis needed to regain their peace of mind. After the many tragedies that had occurred, first in Angola, then over the last few months, culminating in their terrifying ordeal with d’Almeida, they wanted nothing more than to regain that peace of mind.

  After almost an hour, the two women ended their story with the transfer of the funds from the Angolan Clan account and their near death experience before the policemen’s arrival.

  “So that’s why he needed to get you together with Adam. To get both PINs. Of course! Now I see the reasoning behind the whole plan. He got rid of Raffael and Laurent and then Charlie. Ron was already.. I’m sorry, Jenny, gone, so he needed you two and Nick, either in Geneva or in Marbella. Then either of you could authorise the transaction, together with Nick. It must have been quite a shock when he learned that the one person he’d left alive was now dead. He must have had an accomplice at the Swiss bank. That’s how he got the account details and the security devices. Brilliant!” He looked extremely satisfied with the plan, as if he’d devised it himself.

  “Esther!” Leticia remembered what the Angolan had said, “Merci, Esther.” “You’re right, it must be someone in the bank. She was helping him, like Gloria.”

  “Right, I’ll get the Geneva police to check on the bank employees. And who’s Gloria?”

  When they explained, Espinoza made a quick note, then continued, “He’d made a big mistake, killing Bonneville before he knew that the deal was done. Now he knew he couldn’t lay his hands on the whole amount. His only chance would be to somehow get the two keys from Nick and from you in Geneva and steal the diamonds from the vault.”

  The women looked nervously at each other. They didn’t know what the policeman’s attitude would be to the matter of the lost or stolen key.

  Espinoza seemed not to notice their discomfort, and went on, “And when he found out about Nick and Adam it was too late. You’d been and gone from the safety deposit and he didn’t have the keys. Somehow, he knew the system at Ramseyer, Haldemann, that two keys were needed, so he was desperate to get them from you. He must have searched your rooms but he’d know it was unlikely that you’d have left the keys behind unattended and it was much too risky to try to attack you in Geneva.

  “Now he had to concentrate on getting the money. He had already left a message on your phone. He planned to trap you and get you to transfer the funds when you were back in the house in Marbella. That would also be his opportunity to get both the keys.”

  “I suppose that if I hadn’t phoned him back he would have called again,” said Jenny, reflectively. “Whatever happened he was a good enough psychologist to know that we would walk into his trap.”

  The police officer breathed a deep sigh. “It’s an amazing story, and that’s not the end of it. The only reason that I came racing along to the house was because of da Silva, the paedophile. It was another big mistake for d’Almeida to kill him.

  “Your email about Sr. Bishop’s funeral set off alarm bells at the Child Abuse Prevention Programme in Washington. Several suspicious deaths, including this paedophile, and I was convinced you were in danger. I had no idea how much danger.” He stopped, thinking how lucky they had been. A difference of a minute or two. Not more.

  “What about Vogel, Chief Inspector. Do you think he’ll ever get caught?”

  “There’s an Interpol arrest warrant out for him, Leticia. But I’d be surprised. There are lots of those crooks running around the world. It’s very difficult to catch them, unless they make a mistake. We’ll see. Anyway, he’s no threat to you, so don’t worry.”

  Espinoza switched off the recorder and the women went to fetch coffee.

  As they came back into the sitting room Fuente came padding in with them. He jumped up on the couch beside the lawyer, who stroked his head.

  “José Luis, you must have a very strong feminine side. Fuente doesn’t generally like men, you’re very privileged.”

  The old lawyer smiled and continued to spoil the cat. Fuente purred contentedly.

  Chief Inspector Espinoza put three spoons of sugar into his coffee. “Ladies,” he said. “I have a confession to make. Last night I downloaded the data and the calls from the BlackBerry. We found it undamaged in the murderer’s pocket.”

  “Laurent’s BlackBerry!” Jenny took Leticia’s hand. She had suddenly become uneasy.

  “Yes, M. Bonneville’s device. A lot of what you have told me I already pieced together from the data - the Angolan Clan. I got a good idea of why d’Almeida was killing people off. Each one was disguised as an accident so they wouldn’t be connected until it was too late. What I didn’t know was why he left Nick and then Adam alive, but now I understand. He expected to have all three of you at his mercy in Marbella, with the two PIN numbers and the keys between you.

  “You have been open and honest with me and I greatly appreciate it. José Luis here has heard everything and I’m sure that he is as impressed as I am with the way you have handled yourselves. In my opinion, it would have been impossible for you to save Adam. It almost seems to me that he wanted to commit suicide, but your actions saved the two of you and his sacrifice saved Emilio. You are both brave and resourceful women.”

  “It was Jenny, Sr. Espinoza. She’s the brave one, not me.” Leticia said. “I was terrified and I think Adam was as well. Jenny saved us both, but then Adam.. Well, I don’t understand why Adam did that, but he saved my son and I will never forget it.”

  “Then we have Jenny and the Chief Inspector to thank for preventing even more deaths.”

  “You forgot Fuente, José Luis. He helped to delay d’Almeida just long enough for the Chief Inspector to get here.”

  “Then he deserves a double portion of supper.”

  The cat jumped down and strolled into the kitchen, as if he’d heard all he wanted to hear.

  The lawyer watched him go out. “What a beautiful creature. God makes all kinds. It’s hard to understand.”

  Jenny said. “We have a favour to ask of you. Can you trace Ray’s sister, the one in Rio?”

  “Why do you want to do that?”

  “Because she is an innocent victim in this terrible business and we want her to enjoy some benefit from the Angolan Clan. All we know is her family name, Melo d’Almeida.”

  “But I know exactly where she is. Her name is Alicia Beatriz Melo d’Almeida a
nd apparently she lives in a poor suburb of Rio.”

  “But, how..?”

  “Because, every month since Francisco came to work for me he has transferred ten per cent of his salary to her. I have sent it for a year now to a Western Union office in Rio. He told me it was a distant cousin. Obviously because the name would have given him away.”

  This time it was Espinoza’s turn to say, “Incredible. As you said, José Luis, it’s hard to understand. How can such a cold blooded, ruthless killer be so thoughtful with his family?” He shook his head. “I suppose it’s a kind of schizophrenia.”

  He glanced at his watch. He was going to be late for tapas with Soledad if he didn’t leave right way. She’d agreed to meet him at the bar in Malaga at three and he couldn’t be late this time. Getting up from the sofa, he said, “It’s time for us to leave you in peace and to forget this business. Come on, José Luis, I’ll drive you back.”

  At the door, Espinoza turned and said, “I don’t work for the tax department, nor for the financial fraud office. As far as I can ascertain, this man committed these murders and came to your house with only one thing in mind. To steal the legacy left to you and Adam Peterson.”

  Jenny and Leticia waited apprehensively as he continued.

  “I have no reason to believe that any of you were involved in any kind of improper financial dealings, since all of this is a legacy issue. I assume that you will be addressing the matter of the robbery with the bank in Switzerland, and since the culprit is dead, it is no longer a police affair here in Spain.

  “The same goes for the possible attempt to steal the keys and the diamonds. According to the copy of the Geneva police report which I have already seen, there is no proof of any robbery. There were no keys on d’Almeida, nor on Adam, and from what you say, it’s quite possible that he just lost his key. So unless you make a formal complaint that something has been stolen, there is no reason for the police to intervene.” He didn’t disclose the existence of the surveillance report he had received from Inspector Blaser. It had thrown up nothing of importance and might only serve to alienate them.

  The women looked at each other in relief. They hadn’t imagined that Espinoza would check for a police report in Geneva. But apparently he had, and it was inconclusive.

  “I’ll make further enquiries into the two women, Esther and Gloria. But unless those enquiries produce anything material, I will be closing my dossier on this unfortunate business after I read the manuscript you have given me. It sounds to me as if it’s a story worth reading. Then this recording,” he showed them the little cassette from the machine, “and the manuscript, will go into the archives and I doubt that either of you will be bothered any further.” He smiled for the first time since they had met him.

  “Gracias, Chief Inspector. Gracias José Luis.” Leticia kissed both men on the cheeks and said goodbye. Jenny did the same. The two men walked down the driveway to their car.

  The women went into the garden to find Encarni and Emilio. It was time for a late lunch.

  NINETY-FIVE

  Thursday, 1st May, 2008

  Cointrin Airport, Geneva

  Jenny retrieved her hand luggage from the conveyor belt at the security installation and put her shoes and coat back on. Leticia was already set to go. They went to the nearest departure area, which was not in use and sat on the hard metal seats, talking quietly.

  Jenny was still coming to terms with the tragic consequences of Charlie’s legacy. So many people lost because of those diamonds. It should have been called the Angolan Curse, not Clan. Chief Inspector Espinoza had called her in the afternoon after their meeting to inform her that he had heard from the police in Geneva. His Interpol colleague had advised him there was an alert out for Kurt Vogel in connection with the death of Gloria Smouha. Inevitably, it seemed that Gloria was probably another of d’Almeida’s victims.

  It was the last straw. The reality of what they had experienced suddenly overwhelmed them and she and Leticia spent the rest of the day crying and consoling each other until they couldn’t grieve any more.

  Now it was time to go back to Ipswich. She’d looked at the weather forecast, it was quite warm and dry at home. Home, where’s home? It’s not Marbella, not yet. Maybe some time, but I need to get back to normality for a while. Back to making Cooper’s supper and walking him in the park. I need to talk to Cyril about the garage. Get some exercise at the tennis club with Audrey. Go to the gym and the hairdresser. Lots of things to do. Aloud, she simply said, “I can’t wait to see Cooper again and take him for a walk. He must have missed me.”

  “Maybe I should get a dog for Emilio.” Leticia said thoughtfully. “I think it’s very good for children. In the house we have plenty space for a dog, it’s better than the apartment.”

  “Be careful that Fuente doesn’t get jealous. He’s a mean cat when he gets upset.”

  Leticia gave her little giggle. “I need a dog with a strong feminine side, like José Luis but tough, like you. I’ll get a lady dog and call her Jenny.”

  They had returned to Geneva the previous day and sat with M. Schneider in his conference room. He had obviously spent a long time with the bank’s lawyers since their last visit. He sounded as if he was reading from a script.

  “I set the Internet system up with Mr. Bishop, almost ten years ago,” he told them. “I never imagined it would be abused like this. Of course, I couldn’t have foreseen that the perpetrator would murder several people in order to access your funds.” He looked incredulous. “Nor that he would try to murder all three of you, and kill poor Mr. Peterson in the process. It really defies the imagination.”

  The women said nothing and Schneider moved uneasily in his chair. “Our lawyers have examined the matter and I’m afraid that the news is rather bad. Internet banking is a fairly new innovation and there is always some risk attached. The terms and conditions of our Internet Banking Agreement are very specific. Because the two correct PIN codes and security numbers were entered, despite the very dreadful circumstances, our bank cannot accept any liability. We have endeavoured to trace the funds, but without success. The money is irretrievably lost. I am deeply sorry for this, but I’m afraid there is absolutely nothing we can do.”

  Jenny replied, “We have already discussed the whole matter with our own lawyer, Mr. Schneider, and we have an entirely different point of view. We’re not going to accept your position, since there are a lot of extenuating circumstances. Not the least of them is that your own assistant, Esther Rousseau, was obviously involved in these crimes.”

  “Well, Madame Bishop, in that respect, our lawyers considered position is that there is actually no evidence that Mademoiselle Rousseau was connected in any way with the murderer. She is presently missing and until she is found, this is all circumstantial. Even then, the legal situation is not at all clear, so I’m afraid that the bank cannot accept any responsibility.” The banker took out his handkerchief and blew his nose with evident relief. He had delivered the message that his masters had trained him for.

  Jenny laughed scornfully. “Mr. Schneider, in view of your attitude, there is no point in continuing this meeting. We will appoint a Geneva lawyer to represent us and we’ll let the lawyers fight it out. We don’t particularly want to get into a law suit with a Swiss bank, but we also don’t want to be treated like idiots. One day the matter will be settled and the insurance company will, no doubt, pay the bill.”

  For once, Schneider looked embarrassed and dropped his pompous tone. “I understand, Madame Bishop. It’s most unfortunate, but it’s out of my hands. The truth is, I’m sorry to say, that in today’s world we can all find ourselves victims of crime, in one way or another. Modern technology certainly has its place, but perhaps not in anonymous transfers of millions of dollars.”

  The women said nothing further. They had made their attempt and it had failed, for the moment. Jenny was profoundly depressed at the result. She felt cheated, not just for herself, but for everyone concerned. She and Leti
cia had lost, Ray had lost. Most likely Esther had lost. Adam, Gloria and everyone involved with the Angolan Clan who had disappeared, had lost, not just money, but their lives. The only participant in this dreadful adventure that had not lost was the Swiss banking system.

  Jenny had already decided that she didn’t like the way that Klein, Fellay ran its business. If she had known what was going through the banker’s mind she would have liked it even less.

  Schneider didn’t mention the substantial funds in the accounts still held in the names of Laurent Benoît de Bonneville, Raffael Rodrigo Pires da Silva and Adam Henrik Peterson. Unless he was advised that any of them had bequeathed the funds to anyone, they would remain at the bank along with thousands of other unclaimed balances until the powers-that-be decided to release them for some purpose. It was not part of his duties to bring attention to such matters. It was not in his script.

  He accompanied them down to the reception to call a taxi, then left them, the familiar sound of his nose being blown drifting back along the corridor.

  Their meeting with Mme. Aeschiman, at the Banque de Commerce, was quite different. She was aghast at the story. “I’m so sorry for Mr. Bishop and for you, of course. It’s a tragedy. Such a clever, nice man, and his partners too, and now Mr. Peterson. I can’t believe it.”

  When they told her about Kurt Vogel, she was sympathetic. “I’m going to make a complete investigation of these transfers. If this is an embezzlement, I’ll pass it on to our fraud department. Our lawyers will decide what can be done, if anything. I believe that if a signature was forged then our insurance is engaged. I certainly hope so. I’ll contact you as soon as I have any news.”

  Hanny had called Jenny on the Monday, after the detectives’ visit, to sympathise with her and Leticia for their ordeal. Leticia spoke to him, describing how Adam’s bravery had saved her son. She would never forget it.