The Foreign Secretary clearly wanted to speak, however I took a leaf out of Seamus’s book…
“If you could hold your thoughts please Mr Secretary there is rather a lot to explain…”
He raised both hands, gesturing that he would…
“Thank you sir… McQueen had been tailed from Rotterdam by Dutch, Belgian and German security services finally being apprehended and escorted to RAF Bruggen in Germany where she remains for the moment… Mr Haddon, Mr Ellison and I are travelling to Bruggen later to question her…”
Throughout the briefing I had been placing images into the overhead projector to illustrate the different parts of the operation…
“Our Republic of Ireland operative, Andy Morgan, codenamed Starling, had been tailing McQueen from Belfast… According to the Dutch pathologist, he was murdered on the Rotterdam ferry last night at 2300 approximately…”
I allowed this to hang in the air then continued…
“It was brought to our attention shortly before his death that a lilywhite, an unknown PIRA member had followed both Starling and Backpack, disposing of him when his presence was known… He too is being detained at Bruggen and will be handed over to SO12… I am trying to get permission for Steve and Frank to travel with us for this…”
The Home Secretary immediately reached for a telephone and placed a call to New Scotland Yard…
“The last piece of the puzzle we have uncovered so far is this… Rod Catlin codenamed Jay has been filtering information to known PIRA unit commander Robert Morris. This we believe has been going on for some time and was solely for monetary gain…Catlin is currently in custody in Paddington Green Police Station after helping us with our enquiries earlier today… To add to this, his wife was murdered in Chelmsford at 1530 approximately today, she was aware of the money and its origins…”
“Our opinion is that a major mainland offensive is being planned, the scale of which we have not seen before. So far, no member of the campaign whose functional capacity has finished has remained alive. We also believe that PIRA are using lilywhites extensively throughout the UK so as to go unnoticed…”
It was the Foreign Secretary who immediately started the questions…
“How many of these lilywhites have we photographed so far…?”
“Only two, sir, we have images of the man in Bruggen and of a young male Norman’s cameras detected at Plymouth... The Garda are hopeful of finding a name as the Opel Astra used in the tail hasn’t been reported stolen, only the plates. We have a copy of their list of fifteen; Lapwing is chasing them too….”
The Home Secretary decided it was his turn…
“Steve and Frank are released to accompany you, I shall also be speaking to the Belfast Station Chief in a while. I want to know why he is dilly dallying… He has major assets which he should be exploiting… I may wish to borrow Charles if I feel his input would be more appropriate…”
I looked across to Charlie who had raised eyebrows but was in agreement…
“Yes Home Secretary, we need our manpower where they are most effective… I would also suggest we increase surveillance on known safe houses and check property records in the usual rural areas. If there is a campaign in the offing they need the buildings…”
“I’ll begin at once, thank you Chief, most enlightening…”
The Home Secretary left, I felt sorry for Martin Wright-Stevens, I had the distinct feeling Michael Hutchins was about to tear him a new one… The Foreign Secretary manoeuvred himself next to me as Sarah walked in my direction…
“Chief, I’ll be in Robin’s office for a while. We are to go over all the INTEL together then I’ll brief the PM…”
“Hold on sir, I think Sarah may have something for us…?”
“Chief, Niklas has a positive confirmation on the lilywhite…Dillon Garvie, twenty two years old originally from Strabane…”
Our questioning looks were enough for her to continue…
“Niklas ran the fingerprints found in the car through Europol. Garvie was arrested in ’91 for stealing cars, sir…”
“Excellent… Thanks Sarah…”
The Foreign Sec’ appeared more than a little upbeat by this latest revelation, I turned to him…
The BND, well, Niklas in particular have been very helpful from the start. It was he who advised their Interior Minister to use GSG9 for the pull… We’ll be liaising with them both in Germany… Sarah, contact Seamus and give this to the RUC would you…?”
Douglas Hughes, the Foreign Secretary, pulled me to one side, he then spoke quietly…
“I was speaking to the German Chancellor; they have big plans for Meier. He’s been very proactive with regard to ferreting out their leaks both in the BND and GSG9. His star is very much on the rise… Iain, we are really pleased you and your team have managed to cultivate this relationship…”
“Sir, he came on board very early on. It’s fair to say his input has assisted Compass enormously…”
He nodded, understanding that I felt there was a little more to it than just Meier’s desire to help… He backed away, allowing the room to hear him again…
“It’s another piece for your jigsaw, hey Chief…?”
“I think a big one sir. Garvie has been very active… We thought he was under the instruction of O’Hanlon but the order to kill Starling came after his death… We are hoping he may be able to shed more light on the movements of Morris whom we believe is working in tandem with Crown and Harraghy…”
Again he nodded knowingly; his imagination was giving him mental images of how Garvie would be encouraged to shed this light…
“And what of the woman, Chief…?”
I thought about this for a minute before replying…
“I don’t really know yet sir… If she fails to show in Düsseldorf her sister will be on the phone the first chance she gets… Providing she plays ball, of course…”
“You would also think this Garvie fellow would be required to check in occasionally perhaps…? Telling them all is well, that sort of thing…?
“Yes you’re right sir, we may well have already tipped our hand but equally his masters are old hands at this and understand that we are capable of nicking them on occasion… Also, on current form he would be another disposable asset too…”
“Quite true Chief, quite true…!” “Robin is ready for you sir...”
“Ah, right. Thank you Chief… Good luck in Germany…” “Thank you, sir…”
I didn’t think for one minute that questioning Garvie would be as simple as Catlin; they were two completely different creatures. I was already prepared for allowing the doctors to administer one or two of their potions to speed up the process…
Angela McQueen was a different proposition all together. I firmly believed this was all about the money for her, to escape. To me the directness of her recent travel arrangements screamed panic, she wanted the ordeal over as quickly as possible, to take the money and run. I walked over to Chris and Charlie who were busily gathering gear for the trip…
“How long is it until the car gets here Charlie…?”
“About twenty minutes or so, it’s taking Brize a little longer than usual as they are rotating staff from the Gulf flights and they’ve had to lay on a medevac flight too…”
“Bruggen have agreed to whisk you to Belfast if that call is made, are you ok with that…?”
“Aye, we all need to be where we can help nab these bastards laddie…”
“Fair enough… Chris…? Hang on a minute… Listen, I’m thinking of offering McQueen a deal if she’s willing to play. What do you two think…?
Inevitably it was Charlie who answered first…
“Well, she has never been one to court PIRA like her sister has… Donna was her Grandfathers favourite. She was the one seduced by all the stories he told and Angela was more of a doll and crayons girl. When her sister was inside before she never visited her once and then she was far closer to home… I think if McQueen Seni
or hadn’t spoken to PIRA about getting Junior involved she’s still be in Belfast and still looking for a way out…”
“Chris, what about you…?
“You have to understand as well that because of who her sister is and her Grandfather was, no bloke in their right mind would want to be with her in a normal relationship they’d be too shit scared… If you look at the men she has been with, they’ve all used her as a foot in the door with PIRA… If someone dangled a wedge of cash and said get these keys and you have the opportunity to clear off, she would definitely do it. She’d leave it all behind in an instant…”
“That settles it then… Let see what she wants to offer for the kind of new life she can still only dream of… OK…?”
Both agreed… Garvie we would take apart, slowly and painfully. Angela McQueen the exact opposite…
The car to Brize arrived at 1740… With the aid of blues and twos we drove onto the airfields apron at 1900…
Norman was to remain at the Birdcage to wait for any information… His office had a sofa bed too…
Chapter Sixteen
McQueen hadn’t or couldn’t make the mental leap. The implications and consequences of her actions were lost on her; all she was focussed on was the money and the escape it would afford her. After a brief interview when she had answered all of the questions openly all McQueen had continued to talk about was a new life in England, a place where no one knew her. Where she could be anyone she wanted and start again…
Angela McQueen had been used and abused at every turn, even by her own sister. We had listened for a little over half an hour now and decided it was time for a break… The time was approaching 2300; we would speak with her again at midnight…
“I’m happy in my mind she knows nothing of the campaign, just that she has to sign the papers, pick up the keys and return. Hand them over and wait for the reward… She’s blissfully unaware of Garvie too…”
“I agree Charlie we already knew what her reward was to be and I firmly believe her sister does too, probably condones it for their greater good… Is Chris still in with Garvie…?”
“Yes so is Steve and a guy from BND. I’ll be surprised if he gives this early, I’m half expecting the specialists to come through here any minute…”
We were shown to a small mess where the RAF stewards had laid on coffee, sandwiches and such, we then found a corner and collapsed in the chairs… I was desperate for sleep; I’d had none in nearly two days now and was very much aware that the body requires it to allow the brain to function…
We re-entered McQueen’s cell at 0010 she was still sitting at the stainless steel desk in the middle of the room, the small thin tin ashtray now brimming with cigarette butts. Chain smoking nearly 20 in an hour, good I thought. She was scared. I sat slowly and with a measured methodical pace placed a tape recorder and two files on the table in front of me… The tape recorder contained the original telephone conversation between Mark Ward and Charlie… The files were filled with photos of her at Plymouth and Roscoff together with the Box IMINT from the café… The photographs contained in the other file were not so jolly; they illustrated graphically the demise of Declan O’Hanlon… I looked at the RAF guard and said…
“Corporal could we have some coffees please…?”
His response was to briefly open the door and whisper to another guard, I continued…
“Angela, have you eaten…?
Her response was a slight nod which just registered through the thick fog of blue smoke…
“Right Ang’ this won’t take too long then you can get some sleep…”
She let out a long sigh before replying…
“I told you people an hour ago… I don’t have a friggin’ clue about anything…”
I didn’t wait, I was tired too…
“The envelope O’Hanlon passed to you in the café did it contain the money for the trip…? And the red Renault, did he supply that too…?”
“Christ… I’ll repeat it for the deaf bastards in the room… I don’t know who the fuck this Declan O’Hanlon is… I’m over here to visit my sister who you all know is on remand in Düsseldorf and my father wants to rent a house closer so he can visit her. Belgium is far cheaper than Germany…”
“Yeah, so you said but we didn’t say his name was Declan… Why did you visit Verena Bezold in January and stay there for two nights…? Was it to pass information from your sister or from Robert Morris…?”
That threw her. Her eyes were physically searching her brain for a suitable answer. None came…
“Come on Angela, we can do this all year and you won’t get the same visiting rights as your sister. The German government is far more understanding about tedious things like that. Besides, Donna has always been the favourite; your family will probably drive right past here in their rush to see her…”
“You’re a smart bastard, so yer are and fancy yerself as a bit of a comedian too...”
“We’re wasting time… Angela, we know you travelled to Germany in January. You drove a white Nissan Bluebird from Belfast to Cork; we have you parking the beige Granada at Plymouth… The Fiat Croma you drove from Roscoff, all of it… Look at these…”
I opened one of the folders explaining the photo’s as I revealed them, finishing with an image of her leaving the property business in Genk…
“So you see we have everything and a little more… You are caught up in an operation bigger than anything before, with your name all over the paperwork for a safe house…”
“I’m not going to kill anybody, am I…? How am I supposed to know what they want the house for…?
“Christ Angela…! Did they teach stupid as a subject at St Gemma’s or did you hone that skill later…? It’s the reason your sister told Morris to use you…! Now again, what did you give to Verena Bezold…?”
McQueen looked around and at the three of us in the interrogation room. I noticed the cigarette packet was empty so I slowly slid another pack across the table; she ripped at the cellophane and desperately clawed one out, inhaled hungrily then released a large noisy cloud of smoke… Charlie emptied the ashtray and replaced it on the table…
“A white envelope, I gave her a large white envelope. I have no idea what was in it…”
“That’s the point lassie…” Charlie said… “They knew you would be nicked so you were told nothing, disposable like the rest of them. Don’t you see you’re in a win-win position with us…? You help us out here and we can look after you like no one else can…”
You could tell by her body language that she was still fixated with the money. Nothing we had said had swayed her from it…
“There’s no ten grand you know Ang’…”
She looked at me quizzically…
“Yes love, we know about the money…”
I positioned the tape recorder in the centre of the table and depressed the play button. Mark Ward’s excited voice could be heard distinctively informing Charlie of the fate that awaited Angela McQueen on her return to Belfast; she slumped in the chair defeated…
“I’ll swing for that bastard, so I will…”
I opened the other folder. It was gruesome but it was necessary…
“You won’t have to… This is what’s left of O’Hanlon… PIRA have wiped out all loose ends so far and you Ang’ are a loose end…”
“What do you want…? You said you could help me like no one else can…”
I poured coffee from the stainless steel jug as Charlie moved his chair closer…
“Why didn’t you visit your sister the last time she was away, why now…?”
“Donna said she was missing her family and wanted to see me and she could arrange the money for me to visit. It was during the third one that she asked me to visit O’Hanlon and said that this would also stop the agro’ I was getting…”
“The agro’ was because of the way you were earning the money for your boy at Christmas and his birthday…? Yes we know about that too…”
&nb
sp; It was interesting to see that her demeanour had changed in so far as she communicated quite lucidly when she wanted to…
“Yes…Well… What’s wrong with wanting nice things for your kids…?
“Nothing, nothing at all… It’s probably the reason you were set up with O’Hanlon in the first place. The hardliners are not going to forgive anyone performing the oldest profession in the world, no matter who their sister is. They tend to have a very direct way of dealing with their customers too…Especially fully paid up members of PIRA. It was a perfect set up for them… I find it difficult to comprehend how your sister could treat you in this way; clearly she is aware of the final outcome…”
Bearings: The Compass Trilogy Part One Page 14