'Yes, I am much better, but that is the reason I am staying here another week. I want to make sure that I am fit enough to endure a flight that lasts twenty-three hours.'
'What have you been up to?' At this rate, he was going to chatter away to me for a long time, and Tony was paying for the cost of the call.
'Sorry Michael, I can't tell you all that now as I need to talk to your Mum, can you put her on, please?'
'Will you take me to school when you get back so as you can tell me all about it on the tube?'
'Yes Michael I will do that, can you please go and get your Mum now?'
There was a loud shout as he called for his mother.
After a slight delay, she came on the phone.
'Hi darling, are you on the mend?'
'Yes, I am much better and should be well enough to return to the UK next Sunday. That is my plan anyway.'
'Where are you phoning me from?'
'I am back in Melbourne at Tony's house; we have just flown in from Darwin.'
'So are you finished with your detective work now?'
'Yes Stuart is back with his family at the hotel they were staying in and they should all be going home tomorrow. So that's all done and dusted.'
'Well make sure that you get on a flight next weekend and get back to us. You have my permission to be spoilt in the meantime and to take your favourite nephew Peter to and from school though I imagine your ability to play cricket with him is limited by your injury.'
'I'll phone you as soon as I have a flight booked.'
'It must be very late there, so you had better go to bed and recover the sleep you have lost recently. I'll talk to you later in the week.'
She terminated the call.
I was very relieved; the conversation had gone a lot better than expected.
I went back out of Tony's office and joined him in the kitchen.
'You're actually smiling Vince; that conversation with your wife mustn't have been as bad as you were expecting.'
'I think that she was delighted that I was back in Melbourne at your house and not still up in Northern Territory chasing around after criminals.'
'So when did you tell her that you were going home?'
'Next weekend; probably on Sunday. It all depends on when I can get a flight.'
'And, did you also inform her that you were going to meet Clive Newsome at the prison?'
'What do you think? There was no need to tell her and she thinks that I will be relaxing at your house for the rest of the week.'
'You're a big chicken Vince; let's get some sleep, I have an early morning tomorrow and a very full day.'
'Thanks, Tony it's nice to have brotherly love.' I made the noise of a chicken.
We were both chuckling when we went to our beds.
Chapter 26
By the time that I got up the following morning, Tony had left for work and the kids had gone to school. Sally was the only one at home.
'Good morning Vince, did you sleep well?' She welcomed me as I entered the kitchen.
'I feel a lot better after a good night's sleep thank you.'
'I asked Tony to give me an account of what the two of you have been up to for the past week. He said that he didn’t want to steal your thunder, and you would tell me all about it. I obviously knew from his telephone calls that you had been shot and had been ferried back from Indonesia to a hospital in Darwin. By the way, how are your wounds healing?'
'I am a lot better. I don't even have to take the painkillers any longer.'
'When are you planning to fly back to the UK; Daphne must be anxious about you.'
'I will endeavour to book a flight today so it really depends on when I can get a seat on a flight. Tony said it was alright to stay here until I feel ready to fly.'
'Yes, you can stay as long as you like. We are not planning on going anywhere in the immediate future.'
'Help yourself to cereal and take it out onto the veranda. I will make the coffee and join you when it is ready. You can then tell me all the details.'
It took me about an hour to relate to Sally all we had been up to. Just as we were finishing our chat, my mobile rang. It was Kevin Moore, the Inspector's sidekick.
'Hi Vince, how are you this morning?'
'I'm fine thanks and how are you?'
'Good thanks. I just want to let you know that you will be picked up tomorrow morning at 10.00am. The driver will take you to the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall to see Clive Newsome. The Centre is about twenty Kilometres to the west of Melbourne so you won’t have to travel too far.'
'Will the Inspector be seeing him with me?' I asked.
'No, you will be on your own. Once you are finished with Mr Newsome, the driver will bring you back to our offices here in Tullamarine, and you can see the Inspector then.'
'Thanks, Kevin that sounds perfect.'
'We'll see you tomorrow. Have a good day.' He terminated the call.
I spent most of the rest of the day lounging around the house and dozing, although I did take the time to collect Peter from school and take him to the park to play cricket. I regained my position as favourite Uncle even if I wasn't as nimble as I used to be. I also managed to book a seat on a plane leaving Melbourne for London on the following Sunday evening.
Tony didn't get home until past eight o'clock and when he arrived he looked utterly shattered. He had some amusing tales to tell us as to what had taken place in his business while he had been otherwise engaged in Indonesia and Northern Territory.
'So, in summary, how did they manage without the big boss around?' Sally cheekily inquired.
'A lot better than I could have expected,' Tony replied.
'So we can plan our holiday to visit Vince and Daphne in London with the kids?' Sally suggested.
'Yes, it is definitely a possibility. They said the biggest problem they had in the first few days that I was absent, was realising that I wasn't around to take all the decisions. Once they had come to terms with the fact that I wasn't there to ask, they got on with things and the business operated perfectly.'
'I have already told you that you are not indispensable.' I laughed. 'Perhaps now you will take it a bit easier.'
'I doubt that,' Sally added. 'My husband likes things to be done his way and, in his eyes, nobody can do a task to his high standards.'
'Believe it or not I have to agree with you,' Tony said. 'I have learnt a lesson from this particular exercise. I must spend more time developing my staff so as they can take ownership of their problems and be able to come up with solutions to those problems.'
'I don't believe what I am hearing.' Sally put on a shocked look. 'You must come and visit us more often Vince. I have been trying to get him to change for years, but he never listened.'
'I'll probably be back in my old ways within a week.' Tony smiled.
We sat outside finishing a couple of bottles of wine and talking until quite late. I was the first to head for bed, and I heard the others following a little bit later.
In the morning, I made the effort to get up early and walk with Peter to his school. I was back, eagerly waiting for the driver to pick me up, at 10.00am. The driver turned out to be none other than Kevin, which was a pleasant surprise.
We were received efficiently at the Remand Centre and processed very speedily. Once we had been signed in and searched, we were shown into an interview room. Kevin accompanied me the whole way explaining to me that the Inspector had asked him to sit in on the meeting to take notes as a recording was not being made.
Clive was shown into the room and sat down opposite me. I noticed that he was still wearing his own personal clothing. I had expected him to be dressed in a prisoner's uniform.
'Good morning Clive, how are they treating you?' I asked him.
'It's not too bad; however, I would prefer to be in prison in England as the only visitor I get here is a Church Minister, and I am not a religious person.'
'Is there a possibility that they might tr
ansfer you to serve your sentence in the UK?' I asked.
'I have put a request in but haven't received an answer yet. I am not holding out much hope.'
'Well, Clive I am here to bring you up to date on what has been happening in the criminal side of your life.'
'Did you capture Luigi?' Clive asked, interrupting me.
'Yes, and also, you will be glad to know that Luigi is dead. His threat to your life should be a thing of the past. All his men were also arrested by the Australian drugs squad and are under lock and key.'
'Is Stuart Smith still alive? I was worried that something might happen to him, and then I would be tried for his murder.'
'He was rescued and, fortunately, wasn't hurt so you will only be accused of kidnapping. Mind you that is a pretty damaging charge in itself.'
'Thank you for coming to see me today. I have been sick with worry over the possibility that I would be accused of assisting in the murder of Stuart.'
I decided to change the direction of the conversation. I needed to try and get information out of Clive while he was in his euphoric state.
'Now that Luigi Bandarella is out of the way the threat to your life has been removed.' I leant towards him with my elbows on the table that was between us. I spoke in as friendly a tone as I could manage. I fixed him in the eyes to get his attention. 'I would like you to give me a few names of people at the London end who were involved with Luigi.'
'I can't do that; if they suspect that I gave away their names they will go after my family, even though I am in prison in Australia.' There was a note of panic in his voice.
'If you give me the names, the only person I will pass the information on to is Inspector Baird of Hampstead CID. There is no way that they can tie the information back to you here in Melbourne.'
'It's far too risky. You have no idea what these people are like.'
Clearly they had done an excellent job in scaring him. He was safe since he was locked away in a prison, but his family would still be vulnerable.
'I want you to think carefully about the people who you are aware of who are linked with the Mafia in London. Is there anybody who was involved and is not likely to threaten your family?' I wasn't getting very far with him and was starting to think that I was wasting my time.
There was a pause in the conversation while I gave him time to think.
He leant forward towards me. We were now quite close together so he could speak very softly so as Kevin couldn't hear.
'I can give you two names; however, you must promise me that they will never be told that I am the source of your information.'
'I can give you that assurance,' I said, nodding my head.
'The first man is a Russian called Igor Sokoloff. He is a multimillionaire and lives in a mansion somewhere in Surrey. He was the person who was selecting the boats to be stolen in the South of France. He operated from his own large luxury yacht that is based in Cannes.'
'That's very interesting,' I interrupted. 'So, he picked out the luxury yacht that was to be stolen and then they could use his boat to spy on the selected yacht. They could also use his boat as a base to launch their thieving operation from.'
'Igor was a member of the local set in Cannes so he could come and go as he pleased without causing any suspicion,' Clive added.
I remembered that there had been a Russian, who had attended the meeting of the boat owners that had taken place in Cannes, but I never knew his name. How stupid I had been not to have checked the credentials of the people who had attended those meetings.
'So who is the second person you want to give me details of?' I decided to move on.
'It's the Chairman of a luxury car dealership in London. His name is Terry Underwood.'
'How was he involved?'
'He was trapped like me; he borrowed a substantial amount of money from Luigi and couldn't pay it back. He was then forced to set up some workshops where the cars that were stolen had their number plates changed and also were resprayed.'
'I saw both those workshops,' I added. 'One was in Battersea and the other was close to Rainham in Kent.'
'That’s correct; I didn't actually see them myself, but I heard about them.' Clive said.
'Thanks for those two names Clive; I will give them to Inspector Baird as soon as I get back to London. As a matter of interest did you ever meet an art dealer or overhear a name of one being mentioned?'
'Now that you mention it, I did hear them mention a Rodney Stephenson. I don't exactly know what his involvement was, but, I suspect, he was connected with some art thefts.'
'Listen, Clive, you have been most useful, and I appreciate the information. I won't be following up the names personally as I am going to take a backseat from now on, but I am sure that the Inspector will act on the information.'
'Please make sure that my name is left out of it,' Clive pleaded.
'I will; is there anything that I can do for you either here or back in the UK?'
'If I give you my home telephone number will you please phone my wife, Carol, when you return to London?'
'Not only will I phone her, but I will also offer to go and see her.'
'Many thanks, Major; I greatly appreciate your help. She knows nothing about my involvement with Luigi Bandarella and his organization.' We shook hands.
Kevin went to the door and got the attention of the prison officer who came in and took Clive back to his cell.
We went through the exit procedure and travelled back to the Tullamarine police station where we needed to report back to the Inspector. I was surprised to find that the Inspector had organized sandwiches so as we could have the luxury of lunch.
'How did your meeting with Clive Newsome go, Vince?' the Inspector asked me.
'After initially being relatively obdurate he gradually opened up and gave me some names that should be of use to Inspector Baird of Hampstead CID.'
'Had you met any of the people he mentioned?'
'No, but I came across the activities that they were involved with such as the art thefts.'
The Inspector turned to address Kevin.
'You have a list of the names?' he asked him.
'Yes Sir, Vince was able to give me the names and the part they played at the London end of the operation. None of them has had any connection with Australia so won’t be of much use to us.'
‘Well thanks for that Vince,’ the Inspector said. ‘I don’t imagine that I will need to talk to you again before you leave, but please give Kevin your contact details in case we have to contact you in the UK.’
'I am booked to fly out next Sunday night, so I have a few more days to spend here. I want to go and talk to Rod before I leave and find out how Brian's son is getting along.'
'I had forgotten that Brian's son was in a coma. Let's hope that there is good news and he has come out of it.'
'For a man who is just used to selling cars he performed remarkably well in the Northern Territory,' I said. 'I think that he appreciated being involved as he felt that he was doing something to help his son and protect others from heading the same way.'
'Have you had enough to eat Vince?' the Inspector inquired.
'Yes thank you. The sandwiches were very welcome, I didn't expect lunch.'
'I'll get Kevin to drop you off at Tony's house as I have a lot I need to deal with.'
'It's been nice working with you Inspector and I appreciated being able to take a lesser role in the operation.'
'I am sorry that I had to keep you involved after you were wounded; however, you were the only person who had met Luigi and had an intimate knowledge of how he worked.'
'I survived, that's the main thing, and we got Stuart back all in one piece.'
'I don't imagine that I will see you before you fly back to London so have a good flight, and I hope your injury doesn't bother you.'
We both stood up and shook hands. Kevin then drove me back to Tony's.
Sally had left a note for me which was sellotaped to the door.
/> Gone out to see a friend. Key under the pot plant under the living room window. See you later.
I let myself in and went for a short siesta. I would have to go and pick up Peter from his school in an hour's time to keep my title of favourite Uncle.
Chapter 27
The following morning I received a call from Rod. He had time to meet with me on the coming Friday and would treat me to lunch at the restaurant in the Bicycle Shop that was situated just across the road from his office.
On Friday morning, I took the tram to St Kilda and was at the rehab centre at 12.40pm. There were more people in evidence around the centre than on my previous visit and, in fact, there was a shouting match going on in one of the offices on the ground floor behind a closed door. I recognised Rod's voice as being one of the participants in the argument. After around five minutes of what I assumed to be a high energy dressing down, a very red-faced and dishevelled young man emerged and went in the other direction to where I was standing.
Rod emerged looking remarkably calm for having been involved in such an altercation.
'Sorry about that Vince. One of my inmates fell off the wagon yesterday and spent all of last night on the streets. I had to send two of my staff out this morning to find him. They brought him back about half-an-hour ago so he had to be calibrated.'
'He sounded quite violent.'
'That is the effect of the drugs, and he hasn't had enough recovery time to come down to earth yet. He'll be OK in a few hours' time once the effect of the drugs wears off.’
'Is there not a risk that he will go back on the streets now rather than cool off in here?' I was genuinely interested in what happened to these teenagers.
'No, I am happy that he will calm down and stay in his room. He has been doing well recently, and this is just a slight blip. He also won't want to face me again.' Rod smiled.
'I don't think I would have the patience to handle them,' I added.
'Let's go for lunch and leave this behind for a while.'
We left the building and took on the challenge of crossing the wide road with the tram tracks and six lanes of traffic. Thankfully, we managed to reach the safety of the other side and went into the Cycle Shop restaurant. It was a lot busier than the previous time I had been there. Rod informed me that a lot of the local business community used it for lunch as the food was to a high standard and cheap.
Danger Down Under: Another Vince Hamilton Investigation Page 21