by L M Bee
“Right,” he said authoritatively, “I’ve just had a long meeting with Bruno de Berger, the Chief of Police.”
Sophia nodded solemnly.
“Now which do you want first, the good news or the bad?” he asked, with a half smile, giving no clue as to what might follow next.
Sophia stuttered nervously, “Um, the good?”
“The good news is the results of the ID check confirm that Harrison’s a known con artist, who’s been fleecing victims in this region for the last thirty years. The fingerprints at Bisset’s pool house, and the stable yard garages, are an exact match to his prints filed on police record.”
“And the bad news?” asked Sophia nervously.
“The bad news is he’s suspected of committing a list of crimes as long as your arm, but has never been convicted, he always manages to escape before the police can arrest him. A master of disguise, adept at evading capture, using a multitude of aliases.”
Sophia gaped at Bernard, horrified, unable to utter a sound.
“The police have cordoned off the Airstream, now under round-the-clock surveillance. But more bad news, I’m afraid, not long after the police got there, Oliver and Mo Harrison returned ...”
Sophia gasped, putting her hand over her mouth.
“... Took one look at the police swarming all over their caravan and did a runner. Officers gave chase, hot on their tail, but didn’t manage to catch them – there’s a warrant out for their arrest.”
“Is that all the bad news?”
“Not quite. Well, it depends on how you view this – we need your help.”
“What do you mean?” squawked Sophia, beginning to panic.
“In the meeting with Bruno, he had a lot to say on the subject of Harrison, as you can imagine. The nub of it is that Harrison has a very long history of evading arrest. For decades he’s been successfully slipping out of their grasp, better than an escapologist. Every single time he manages to vanish into thin air, leaving the police dumbfounded. One moment they’re hot on his tail, the next he evaporates in a puff of smoke, not leaving a single clue, disappears off the face of the earth and goes to ground until the heat dies down. When he eventually emerges again, often months later, he’s a completely different person. Unrecognisable. Totally transformed appearance, different name and another fictitious occupation. Completely reinvents himself. Manages to lose the police every time, making an absolute mockery of the law. Nobody’s ever managed to convict him. Bruno is adamant that this time the Harrisons must be arrested and imprisoned. I’m not saying Bruno’s career depends on it, but you can imagine the pressure he’s putting on himself, he can’t be seen to let these con artists evade capture one more time. For far too long Harrison’s been conning wealthy holidaymakers, fleecing them out of every penny, and damaging the reputation of the Riviera. Businesses have suffered as a result, it’s time to put a stop to them once and for all. Bruno de Berger convened an emergency meeting this morning with INTERPOL and all his senior officers for this region. They’re unanimous and keen to unite in a major sting operation.”
“You said you need my help?” Sophia reminded him, her voice quavering.
“I’m just coming to that, but before I do, how’s Mary? I hear the doctor’s been and gone, how’s she doing?”
“Taking it very hard, as you’d expect, but determined to recover as quickly as possible. Her children are being amazing, so supportive, despite her giving away part of their inheritance! In fact she’s wondering if you can advise her on that. Do you think there’s any chance of her being able to get the money back?”
“Quite possibly. It’s something that Bruno and I discussed at great length this afternoon. We have a suggestion, I’ll come to that in a minute. First of all, if you could let Mary know when you next see her, Bruno would like to interview her in the morning. If she’s not feeling strong enough yet to be up and about, he’s happy to conduct the interview by her bedside if she would prefer. Also, a team of officers will be coming over at the same time to sift through the images and video recordings on your phones. Please let the children know that they’ll have to submit their mobiles to the police, but not for long, hope that’s okay.”
Sophia nodded numbly, shellshocked by the speed of events and privately fretting about how her help might be required.
“Now, back to what happens next,” announced Bernard, peering at Sophia over the rim of his glasses. “The upshot of Bruno de Berger’s emergency meeting was a unanimous agreement to mount a combined operation before Harrison disappears and goes to ground for months on end. We need to lure him into a trap, and that, my dear, is where you come in.”
“What?” yelped Sophia, thrown into a flat spin and clasping both hands tightly together in an attempt to stop them visibly shaking. The mobile on Bernard’s desk started ringing; he glanced at the incoming call.
“It’s Bruno de Berger, one moment please.” Listening intently to Bruno, he said very little, occasionally emitting murmurs of agreement.
Sophia could just make out Bruno’s voice on the other end, but it was difficult to follow the conversation; by the sound of it they were streaks ahead and discussing a detailed plan of action. Feeling daunted by the rapidly increasing scale of the situation, Sophia steeled herself to step onto an already moving vehicle.
Hastily scribbling notes on his pad, Bernard paused for a moment to press the speaker button so he had both hands free to keep writing.
“Would it help if we allocated an incident room on the premises to coordinate operations?”
“Yes, great help. Where do you suggest for the most convenient location?”
“What about our family’s pool house? Private, away from the main building and other residents, and plenty of space. Obviously Mary Pembroke would have to approve the idea, her children are staying there at the moment, and I have to say being remarkably mature about everything. Witnessing the net closing in on Harrison might be beneficial for them.”
“As long as their mother approves, I see no reason why not. I have to agree with you, the more they understand the better. Glad to hear they’ve been a great support to their mother, they deserve to be commended for that. Now, if you’ll excuse me Bernard, I must go. Thank you for your time, extremely helpful. I’ll be over at ten o’clock in the morning to interview Mary Pembroke, if she’s feeling up to it. A team of officers will be joining me, to set up the incident room and download evidence from the family’s phones. I’ll leave it to you to tell Sophia about our plan for the trap – if either of you have any questions, I’ll be available by phone for the rest of this evening. Good night to you both.”
Sophia scowled at Bernard. “What trap?”
Chapter 29
“You have to con the con artist.”
“Con the con artist? You have got to be joking!” roared Sophia.
“No, deadly serious. It’s an excellent plan, catching him in the act, the best way to trap him and recoup Mary’s money.”
“But I can’t possibly do that!” howled Sophia.
“What? Pretend to be someone else?”
“Yes, I can’t pretend to be someone I’m not!”
“Oh really! May I remind you my dear, that you had no problem impersonating someone else only a few days ago!”
“Who? What, me?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“You told that young stud in Claude Bisset’s pool house that your name was Mary Pembroke. Ergo, you impersonated someone else!”
“Yes, but that was different,” stuttered Sophia. “I only said that my name’s Mary Pembroke, and she’s my friend. Nothing as elaborate as you’ve just described, a massive social event, a fashion gala fundraiser, that I have to host whilst pretending to be a Russian oligarch’s wife in front of fifty other people!”
“I’ve told you already, it’ll be fine. Nothing to worry about. Bruno de Berger’s undercover officers will be watching you the whole time, recording your every move, you’ll be perfectl
y safe. The fifty other people are all out of work actors and actresses, organised by Jake Mann and paid to behave like high society guests at your fashion gala fundraiser.”
“That’s incredibly generous of him, but why's he so willing to help?”
“I told you, he’s a London underworld boss. He has interests down here, and wants this guy out – with your cooperation we can achieve that.”
“But …” howled Sophia, running out of excuses.
“Trust me. It’s a fact of life, people don’t ask questions if you’re a billionaire or an oligarch. They just don’t. Being an oligarch’s wife is the same; nobody will question you, trust me. You’ll be given a basic script, outlining the points you have to get across, with an emergency crib-sheet on your phone if you get a mental blank. Follow the script, you don’t have to stick to it word for word, just roughly.”
“Yes, but what if he doesn’t take the bait?” bleated Sophia. “I’ll die if I let everyone down, especially in front of an audience. All that time, money and effort wasted because I’m not a credible con artist.”
“Be positive and remember, Harrison won’t be able to resist socialising with an oligarch’s wife and her fifty best friends. Rubbing shoulders with the elite is like a dream come true for a social climber. A grifter is governed by self-enhancement, entitlement, manipulativeness and an over-inflated ego. He won’t believe his luck being invited to step into your privileged circle. Don’t kid yourself, he’ll be focusing on the money and nothing but the money – your husband’s and your stinking rich friends’ money. He’ll be busy thinking of ways to scam as much as he can from all of you. Don’t forget, he’s not shy about stealing every last penny and he’ll do whatever it takes to succeed. From his point of view, it’s a shortcut to success, only a few scams on this privileged crowd and he’ll be able to retire in luxury.”
“But what if he recognises me?”
“Now you’re just being ridiculous. He’s never clapped eyes on you before in his life, nor has Maureen Harrison. You’ll be fine. And anyway, Jake Mann is sending a team of top professionals from London to transform you into Anna Lovushka, wife of Russian oligarch and oil tycoon Vladimir Lovushka – you’ll be unrecognisable.”
“Seriously?” howled Mary, sitting bolt upright in bed, absolutely horrified.
“It’s Bernard’s idea – and Bruno de Berger’s, the Chief of Police.”
“Are they out of their tiny minds? They want me to get dolled up to attend a fashion show, raising money for some Russian, with Oliver Fucking Harrison as my date?”
“You used to speak so highly of him!” teased Sophia, raising one eyebrow.
Mary was livid and spitting out her words.
“That was then, and this is now. If I sound as mad as a hornet shaken in a bottle, it’s because I am. That fucking wanker tried to ruin me. I can’t believe my ears!”
“Mary, listen to me. It’s simple. If he’s caught redhanded he’ll be arrested. And what about your half a million quid? Do you want to get it back from him or not?”
“Of course I do.”
“Well then play the game, like me. For Christ’s sake, I’ve got to play the part of a bloody Russian oligarch’s wife! The closest I’ve been to an oligarch is watching Chelsea play – at least you’ve only got to be yourself!”
“Yes but …”
“Yes but nothing. If I can do it, so can you. Come on, think how you’ll feel when you can tell your children the money’s back in your bank account – and Harrison’s going to spend the rest of his life in prison.”
“When you put it like that …”
There was a knock on the bedroom door, as it opened slowly.
“Mum?”
“Kitty, darling, how’s things?”
“Mum, just wondering if there’s anything you need.”
“Thank you for asking, sweetheart, actually there is. Come and sit down so we can talk, on the edge of the bed. Sophia, budge up.”
Sophia obediently shuffled along the bedspread making space for Kitty.
“On Saturday night, Bernard’s closing the hotel to non-residents to hold a private party. Invitation only. A fashion gala fundraiser to raise money for Anna Lovushka’s charity. She’s the wife of a Russian oligarch and big oil tycoon, Vladimir Lovushka. I’ve been asked to attend and I need your help please. It’s black tie, and since I’m stuck here in bed, I’m hoping you might be able to help me choose an outfit on the internet. Dress, bag and shoes, all delivered here in time for the party. Apparently Bernard’s friend from London has booked a glam squad that’ll be doing my hair and make-up. But I’d like you to be my stylist, you know what’ll suit me best, and I want to look knock-out!”
“Cor!” gasped Kitty, taken totally by surprise.
“Only thing though – my date for the night will be Oliver Harrison.”
“Mum, you have got to be bloody kidding me! Oliver Harrison, that low-life cheating scumbag! After what he did to you? I never want to see that rancid piece of shit anywhere near you ever again.”
Sophia stepped in quickly to appease the situation.
“Whoa, hang on a minute, your Mum hasn’t told you the full story. I think we should get the others up here too, then she can explain to you altogether.”
Kitty stormed off to the balcony and slouched in the chair, feet up on the rail glaring into space. Mary called Arthur’s mobile. “Darling, could you and Titty come up to my room, now please. There’s something I need to tell all of you. Kitty’s here already, and Sophia. Can you two both come now please?”
Mary plumped up her pillows and sat facing the three children and Sophia, all staring at her in anticipation.
Mary took a deep breath, studying her hands whilst composing her thoughts. When she eventually started to speak, her voice was faint and quavering.
“I believed Oliver Harrison when he said he had a temporary cashflow problem. I wanted to help him, so I transferred some money.”
“How much?” demanded Kitty witheringly.
“Five hundred thousand,” replied her mother, shamefaced.
“Half a million quid!” roared Arthur and Kitty in unison.
“Yes, but listen,” begged their mother, “we might be able to get the money back. The Chief of Police and Bernard are old friends, and they’ve come up with a cunning plan.”
Mary explained the sting and the children looked spellbound.
“I don’t get it,” frowned Kitty, struggling to keep up.
Mary looked benignly at her beautiful daughter. “I’m going to pretend I know nothing about Oliver Harrison being a con artist, and invite him as my partner to the party on Saturday night. The man’s a social climber obsessed with money. Bernard and Bruno think he’ll be unable to resist such a tempting invitation; it’s like a dream come true for him, a golden ticket to access the world of the super rich. They think he’s bound to accept, simply to step over me, to get closer to the powerful Russians.”
“I see,” said Arthur, “thereby coaxing him out into public, before he disappears off the face of the earth – probably never to be seen again as Oliver Harrison.”
“Precisely,” replied Mary, so proud of her son. “He won’t give a shit about spending the evening with me. He’ll be thinking solely about himself, and how to social climb into Anna Lovushka’s supremely wealthy set of glamorous friends.”
“The man’s morally bankrupt,” sneered Kitty, curling her lip.
“Yes, I totally agree with you,” nodded her mother. “So now, do you all see why we should participate in the sting?”
“Yes, to catch the fucker,” said Kitty.
“Not exactly the words I would use,” chided her mother, “but I have to say, quite succinctly put. That’s the sole aim of the party on Saturday night, as Kitty so eloquently put it, ‘to catch the fucker'!”
“Yeah!” cheered Titty.
“Sounds good to me,” nodded Arthur.
“It would be a tremendous feather in Bruno de Berger’s c
ap if we can pull this off,” added Sophia.
“Let’s fucking get him,” roared Kitty, eager to retaliate.
Mary glanced at Sophia, grinning from ear to ear that the children had got the message and were all firmly in favour of the plan.
“Well, since it looks like we’re all in this together now …” said Mary.
Kitty interrupted. “All for one,” she said, holding the palm of her hand up high.
“And one for all,” shouted Arthur, Titty and Sophia, slapping each other’s hands in unison high above the bedspread.
Mary beamed, thrilled to have their support.
“Thank you, it means the world to me that you’re all willing to get behind this. I won’t lie to you, I’m as nervous as anything about it, but so’s Sophia too – and she’s got an even bigger role to play. When she first told me, like you, I was horrified. But now that I understand how the sting will work, I’m wholeheartedly behind it and thrilled to bits that you are too. Bruno and Bernard’s cunning plan sets up Harrison to be caught redhanded, guilty as sin, making his arrest inescapable. It all hinges on Sophia, who has a tricky role to play conning the con artist.”
“Heavy shit!” remarked Kitty, eyeing Sophia and looking suitably impressed.
Mary continued, eager to conclude. “If Sophia’s convincing, we should get my money back without Harrison suspecting a thing. The moment my money’s back in the bank, I swear I never want to see that low-life cheating scumbag ever again. Like you, I loathe the idea of having to see him, the mere thought makes me feel nauseous. But remember, he and Maureen have no idea how much we know about them!”
Chapter 30
As promised, after breakfast, Sophia went up to Mary’s room to check on her.
“How are you feeling this morning?”
“Lot better than expected. Those pills really knocked me out, slept like a log. Titty’s been up to see me already this morning with Mr Bojangles. They all love their swanky pad!” smiled Mary, relieved her children were okay.