‘Hardly, sir. But by the very nature of your position, and the action you would be bound to be seen to take, a number of people would realize what was up. Having kept dead quiet until now, I can be certain that only DC Carr and I are aware of the facts.’
Jameson took time to consider the position. If the operation ended in failure, Hoskin would have to pay the penalty of his failure to observe the rules; but since it might well end in success, it had to be reasonable to let the problem slide for the moment.
* * *
Because of the identity of the victim, general cooperation was assured without any of the usual bureaucratic manoeuvring for position and even in technical breach of certain of the rules governing the surveillance of suspects. The land phone at Kingsley House was tapped and a scanner was set up to intercept any transmission from a mobile phone; experts, capable – with the aid of computer power – of decoding a message sent digitally, were put on stand-by. As soon as possible next morning, detectives visited local shops and pubs and very carefully, very discreetly, learned what they could about the occupants of the house. Because the land was flat and virtually without cover, watchers had to be set too far back to keep close watch on the house, but at least they were able to note all traffic moving, now that lanes were free enough of snow to be passable.
The RAF were called in. They overflew the house in a reconnaissance plane equipped with surveillance cameras, high enough for any uninformed watcher to believe it to be one more civilian airliner, low enough for the photographic resolution to be good. The photographs were developed and examined by expert analysts. In none of them was there anything visible that could confirm or deny that Angelique Lumley was being held in the house.
* * *
By dusk on Thursday, the police were in the position of knowing a little more than when they begun, but not nearly as much as they’d hoped. The house had been rented by Trent several months before from the owner who had had to let it following severe losses at Lloyds. He did not mix with the local inhabitants, although those who had briefly met him reported him to be pleasant and friendly. He seldom entertained and it had been noted that when he did, his guests were all male. He employed no indoor staff and only one part-time gardener. The gardener, treated to several drinks, gave it as his opinion that Mr Trent was nice enough, but not quality. And no, he’d not seen any ladies around the place recently – or in the past, for that much, but as far as he was concerned, a man’s pleasures were his own business.
During the day, no phone call was either made or received.
It was clear that further action was necessary, yet this could not be so direct as to alert the occupants of the house to the fact that they were under suspicion. It was decided to take advantage of the dark. People often became careless then, believing themselves to be hidden. The Metropolitan police were asked for the loan of their helicopter which had recently been equipped with a Canadian designed and built night-time surveillance system. Two passes over the house were to be made so that all four sides could be viewed from a low angle, as opposed to the very high angle from the plane. If these flights were spaced as far apart in time as possible, it was hoped that the occupants of the house, if they noted them, would fail to find them significant. One was made just after eleven, the other at five in the morning.
At first viewing, the video recordings, seen as if shot through a ghostly green light, seemed to show nothing of any consequence. But on the third viewing, an eagle-eyed woman noticed something. The third and top floor was marked by small dormer windows, set back in the roof, and therefore back from the vertical line of the outside walls, which served the warren of rooms once used by servants. On the south-facing side, the windows were blank, but the fourth one looked as if curtains had been drawn across it. Computer enhancing technique was used to sharpen the images and it became clear that the curtains were in fact a crude form of boarding.
* * *
The ACC (Crime), chairman of the small committee, said: ‘It could, of course, merely be a temporary repair and not there to blank out the window so that the person inside can’t see out. Against that possibility, the boarding is on the inside, the experts are convinced the glazing is intact, and there are no signs of any damage which might call for temporary repairs. So now we have to decide on the answers to certain questions. Do we accept that the dormer window is boarded up because Miss Lumley is held captive in the room? If we can’t be certain, do we take the risk of assuming that that is so? Do we then make a rescue attempt right away, or do we play it cautiously and try to gain more information, one way or another, remembering that it is virtually certain that the moment a ransom demand is made, events will move very, very quickly, perhaps too quickly for us to be able to respond with precision?’
They were silent; some sat still, some fidgeted. They had to make the decision, yet knew that if they got it wrong it would haunt them for a long time if she were not there, but was being held somewhere else … There was not at the moment the incriminating evidence necessary to warrant the arrest of Trent or, for that much, any of the others. So unless this could be found in the house – and if she were not being held captive there, and never had been, what was the likelihood of that? – they must remain free. In which case, Angelique would almost certainly be murdered in order to make certain that she could never incriminate them (however carefully her captors had concealed their identities from her, there had to be the possibility that while what she had learned could never imperil them when the police had no knowledge of who they were, it most certainly could once they were singled out).
‘I think we have to go in as soon as possible,’ the ACC finally said.
One by one, they agreed.
28
Wyatt walked into Hoskin’s room at eight-fifteen. ‘They say the girl’s been found?’
‘We hope so, but can’t be certain until the house has been searched.’
‘And you provided the vital information?’
‘Mike turned it up, I passed it on.’
‘So I was right – he was working with them?’
‘Yes.’
‘Until I became suspicious, I’d have bet my life that whatever the pressures, he’d never have gone bent. I know things were tough, but, Christ, after Victoria Arkwright … What happens now?’
‘There’s a suggestion that an SAS team is being called in.’
‘That’s not what I meant. Has Mike been arrested?’
‘No.’
‘But … Surely you’ve already told the DCS?’
‘Of course.’
‘Then … What did he say?’
‘He was annoyed because according to him I’d sidestepped God knows how many rules and regulations, but since things have worked out, he couldn’t get too hot under the collar. It wasn’t all that difficult to cool him down.’
‘You’re saying he knows Mike was working for the bastards, but hasn’t slapped the cuffs on him?’
Hoskin sat back in his chair. ‘Why should he do that?’
‘For God’s sake, Guv, who’s gone round the twist, you or me?’
‘I can only speak for myself … I explained how things have been. That Mike reported to me the moment they tried to put the black on him and I decided it would be worth making it seem he’d given in to them in the hopes that he’d learn something that would finger them.’
‘But … but that’s wrong. Until I told you, you’d no idea Mike had turned crook.’
‘I knew when you spoke that he hadn’t turned crook. But I had to conceal that fact because it was vital that only he and I knew what was going on. Now that things are out in the open, though, I can say that the fact I didn’t take you into my confidence doesn’t mean I didn’t and don’t have the fullest faith in you.’
Wyatt respected rank to a far greater degree than most and so normally accepted what his seniors said or did simply because they were his seniors. But there was a stubborn, puritanical streak in him that occasionally surfaced. ‘I’m not
a fool.’
‘You would not be my sergeant if you were.’
‘When I told you I suspected Mike was working with the kidnapping mob, you wouldn’t accept the possibility to begin with. So what’s happened? Has Mike admitted everything on condition that you help him and you’ve agreed to that because the news of a copper in E division who’s so bent he’s worked with the kidnapping bastards would mean the end of any chance of promotion for you?’
‘Are you calling me a liar?’
‘I’m saying…’ He became silent.
‘You’re accusing me of being so intent on promotion that in pursuit of it I’m willing to pervert the course of justice.’ He paused, then said: ‘Years ago, I knew a PC who accused his inspector of taking small bribes. When he failed to prove his allegation, he was dismissed from the force. It is obviously my duty to report to Detective Chief Superintendent Jameson the allegation you have just made. It is, of course, a far more serious allegation than that of taking small bribes and if you cannot provide the proof to sustain it, you’ll obviously find yourself in very serious trouble … I like to think that I judge every man in the round, not the part. Therefore, provided I hear no more about it, I am willing to remember the quality of your past work and to put this ridiculous allegation down to the stress under which we’ve all been working.’
After a while, Wyatt left.
* * *
The assistant chief constable was officially in charge of operations, but everyone knew that it was the SAS lieutenant, an expert in hostage situations, who was responsible for planning. H-hour was to be dawn when the rescuers could see what they were doing and the men in the house would probably still be either asleep or in a state of drowsiness. The police, in six cars, would approach from two directions; those coming in from the south would have to cross a ten-acre field and then the garden, those from the north could drive up to the front door, so they would be synchronizing their movements to make certain they arrived at the house at exactly the same moment. The SAS team would be dropping in.
At the final briefing, the ACC made a point of reminding all present that no matter how appalling had been the cruelty of the mob, only the minimum of force was to be used.
For once, a plan worked without a single glitch. As the two teams of policemen arrived at the house, the four SAS men abseiled from the helicopter to land on the small ledge at the edge of the roof. With the agility of monkeys, they smashed their way through a dormer window, raced across the small, dust-laden room and out into the corridor.
They carried very high-powered torches and in the beams of these they saw a man in an armchair, clearly just awakened and trying to make sense of what was happening. As they came forward, they blinded him with the light. The lieutenant had a four-year-old daughter. ‘No violence!’ he shouted, as he kicked the man off the chair and on to the floor with sufficient force to fracture a shin bone. The sergeant had a two-year-old daughter. ‘You heard!’ he shouted, as he pulled the man up by his hair, then kneed him violently in the groin. Neither of the other two had children, but that didn’t stop them adding their comments.
There was a key in the lock of the door by the chair. The lieutenant turned it and opened the door. On the bed lay a young, terrified woman.
‘It’s all right,’ the lieutenant said. ‘You’re safe.’
For several seconds she dare not hope that this was for real. When she accepted that it was, largely because of the grins of unalloyed pleasure of the four, she burst into tears of relief.
* * *
Wyatt cursed himself for a coward. He knew what he should do, yet hesitated to do it.
But was it really that straightforward? Where was the proof? The significance of the facts which had led him to the conclusion that Mike was a traitor had been neutralized by the DI’s claim of cooperation from the beginning. Without proof, it would be his word against theirs. Superior rank carried superior clout. Yet justice would be in poor shape if it were never pursued when there could be doubt; idealism would be castrated if no man was prepared to face heavy odds to do what he considered to be right …
What were the odds? Had the story of the PC who’d been kicked out of the force for making allegations against his superior that could not be proved been mere fiction? Wasn’t it very much more reasonable to believe that a disciplinary hearing would have administered a severe reprimand? Yet he couldn’t be certain. And it might be that for a detective sergeant to make so serious an unproven allegation against his detective inspector undermined discipline to such an extent that it would be held that dismissal from the force was the only suitable punishment. And if he were sacked? Immediate loss of income and possible future loss of pension. The mortgage on the house had several years to go and without a police pension he would be unable to meet the monthly repayments. Social security might meet them for a while, but not forever; and if the present political atmosphere was any guide, perhaps soon not at all. If the house were repossessed, Freda would be devastated. Only the death of one of her children could cause her greater emotional pain …
There were men brave enough – selfish enough? – to put their own and their loved ones’ future in jeopardy in pursuit of truth and justice, but he was discovering that he was not one of them.
* * *
Jameson had a blunt, often loud manner, which tended to hide the fact that he was sharply intelligent. In shirt and braces – the heating was always unnecessarily high at county HQ – he rested his elbows on the desk. Eyes slightly hooded by fleshy eyebrows, he studied Hoskin, who had not been asked to sit. ‘I’ve called you here because Trent has suggested he’s open to a deal for pleading guilty; claimed that he could offer us some information that we’d find interesting if we agreed.’
‘An admission in the Arkwright case?’ Hoskin asked.
He ignored the question. ‘We told him, no deal. In the end, he gave us the information anyway. He claims he photographed Carr screwing a high-class tart and used the photos to blackmail him into feeding information.’
‘Which is what I reported to you.’
‘His dates don’t agree with yours.’
‘Then his are wrong.’
‘He says he started blacking Carr long before you claim Carr reported what was happening.’
‘Anything to cause trouble.’
‘Where’s the woman?’
‘She’s disappeared.’
‘Have you tried to find her?’
‘Yes, without success. The only lead we’ve unearthed says she’s gone abroad; there’s no indication where.’
‘Trent will talk in court how he was blackmailing Carr long before you knew anything.’
‘If prosecuting counsel is out of knee-length shorts, he’ll make Trent look the liar he is.’
‘There’s something else.’
‘Which is?’
‘Trent swears he paid three thousand in cash to Carr for information received. If Carr was working to your orders, he should have passed that on to you. You’ve given me no record that he did.’
‘Because the three thousand is another figment of Trent’s revengeful imagination.’
‘Perhaps Carr received it, but didn’t pass it on to you?’
‘If he’d ever received a penny, he’d have passed it on.’
‘You can’t be certain.’
‘I know my man. The only evidence of any extra spending on Carr’s part is that in the last weeks of his wife’s pregnancy, he moved her to a nursing home. The total bill there came to roughly two thousand five hundred. He told me he borrowed the money from his mother and when I had a word with her, she confirmed this.’
‘I see.’
There was a silence. ‘Is that all?’ Hoskin asked.
‘Yes.’
‘There’s not to be any apology?’
‘For what?’
‘For obviously having doubts about my DC’s and my honesty just because of what a murdering bastard claims.’
‘All such allegations have to
be examined.’
‘But not with such relish.’
‘That’s enough.’
Hoskin left. As the door closed, Jameson opened the top right drawer of the desk and brought out a packet of cheroots. Goddamnit, why couldn’t he accept what he’d been told? Why did he have to question, when to do so must cause dangerous trouble? He’d not be further promoted before he retired, so he’d nothing to gain. Nothing, that was, except the knowledge that he’d retired knowing he had always pursued the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
* * *
Timothy had been fed and was asleep in the nursery. Carr and Gloria faced each other in the sitting room. ‘Would you…?’ She plucked at the belt of her dress. ‘Would you have told me if you hadn’t been forced to because it’ll come out in court?’
He said miserably: ‘I wish I could honestly say yes, but…’
‘But probably you wouldn’t have done?’
‘I knew how much it would hurt you.’
‘But you didn’t seem to know that when you were with her.’
‘I wish I could explain. I can’t. All I can say is, if she hadn’t made all the running … But that’s no excuse.’
They became silent.
‘Mike. If they hadn’t used that woman to blackmail you into helping them, would you ever have been able to work out where they were holding Angelique Lumley?’
‘No.’
‘And she would have suffered as horribly as Victoria Arkwright?’
‘And probably have been murdered.’
‘So she was saved because you … you went with that woman?’
‘I suppose you could look at it like that.’
‘Then that’s how I will look at it. Makes my hurt so very less important.’
When he’d married her, he thought with deep humility, he’d been the luckiest of men.
* * *
The chief constable’s suite, furnished in London clubland style, was on the seventh floor and consisted of an outer office, a much larger inner office, a seldom used bedroom, and a bathroom.
The CC’s secretary, known as Frosty for reasons that were obvious if one accepted that thin lips were indicative of character, ushered Jameson into the inner office. The chief constable, who’d been standing out on the small balcony guarded by wrought-iron railings, stepped back into the room. ‘’Morning.’ He was a handsome man in his mid fifties, adept at saying and doing the right thing at the right time.
The Price of Failure Page 16