‘You will meet someone else Ian, Dad did, you remember he got remarried when I was in Year 12 and he’s really happy.’
‘I don’t think so. I can’t see me going back to dating at my age. The very idea terrifies me. In fact, if I ever tell you I’m getting married again, hit me, with something heavy – like a chair!’
She laughed again.
‘You’ll heal Ian, you are a strong man, stronger than you realise. You’ll get through this.’
‘What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger eh?’
‘Something like that, only less trite.’
‘You’re right, I was veering towards self-pity again; I tend to do that now and again. Sorry.’
‘No, it’s my fault going on about James coming home like a love-sick schoolgirl.’ I took her hand and looked into her eyes.
‘Lisa, I don’t begrudge you your relationship, I envy you. Make the most of it Kid; I hope you’ll both be happy. If James makes you that happy, there must be something in your relationship, so go for it. But take a word of advice from one who knows, keep working at your relationship, never take it for granted, I did and look at the fix I’m in. When’s he coming home?’
‘Friday of next week.’
‘Okay, that gives us a time limit to get this Miller thing put to bed, so I can clear out and leave you lovebirds to it.’
‘You don’t have to…’
‘Yes I do. You don’t need me hanging around like an antiquated version of Banquo’s ghost, when your man is coming home. I’ve got things in Suffolk that I have to face up to anyway; I can’t put them off for ever; solicitors, divorce papers and all that crap. Now let’s change the subject. How do you propose looking into Aylmer and his links to Sinclair? This is more your territory than mine.’
‘Well I thought we could go to Companies House and check up on the Aylmer Empire, it might reveal something.’
‘Sounds like a plan. Where is Companies House?’
‘Off the Tottenham Court Road, not far from the British Museum.’
‘Okay, let me get washed and dressed and we’ll head out.’
In under an hour we were on our way. The rain had stopped for the moment, but it was still windy and chilly for the time of year, the low grey clouds scudded across the sky like a pall of grey smoke. We took the underground to Tottenham Court Road, where Lisa took the lead and we shouldered our way through the throng of shoppers, nearly being killed crossing the busy road by a small woman who had tried to jump the traffic lights in a huge four-wheel drive tank.
We walked down Great Russell Street, lined as it was with impressive Georgian style buildings, and then turned into Bloomsbury Street with its four storey brick terraced buildings. At Companies House Lisa led the way in.
‘Go on,’ I said ‘this is your area of expertise not mine, you’re the one with a business management degree. I’m well outside my comfort zone. You lead and I’ll follow.’
‘Okay, let’s get on with it.’
Two hours later, Lisa had navigated our way through the labyrinth of red tape and incomprehensible financial and business documentation. As we left, she had in her attaché case copies of everything we could find to do with Sir Gerald Aylmer. We could now go back to the flat and go through scrutinise them in detail. We sat around Lisa’s table with a stack of photocopies.
‘This financial stuff means nothing to me; you’ll have to make sense of it, because it’s beyond me.’
‘These are the current financial returns filed by Aylmer Enterprises that should tell us about his assets. These are the original articles of incorporation from when Aylmer Enterprises was founded in 1970. That lot over there relate to subsidiaries that Aylmer has a stake in. If we search through, we should find out who besides Aylmer has shares in the company and who the other directors of his companies are or were.’
‘Okay, it’s all a bit foreign to me, but I’ll start with this lot.’ I picked up the papers relating to Aylmer’s subsidiaries. Lisa started to go through Aylmer’s declared assets. We scoured through the documentation, a never ending record of legal and accounting gobbledegook. It seemed to make sense to Lisa and I wandered how a girl with her qualifications ended up as a researcher of a television programme maker. I decided not to break her concentration by asking, but filed the question away for later.
I carried on wading through the details of Aylmer’s subsidiaries; his tentacles seemed to have spread far and wide. I started to write out a list of his companies, it ran to three pages, ranging from Alpha Property Development, Carlisle Investments through the Lambton Medical Group and Towton Computer Management to Xenon Engineering. I pointed out to Lisa the considerable stake he held in Seneschal, her employers. Lisa had begun to comb through the records. Two hours passed we still had a mass of information to wade through.
‘This is a mammoth and monotonous task.’ I said. ‘Why don’t we call it a day and start again tomorrow?’
‘You might be right; all the masses of figure are starting to swim in front of my eyes. One thing that’s certain is that Aylmer is a sharp operator. The number of hostile takeovers here is unbelievable.’
‘Lucy said he was an unpleasant character and not one to cross.’
‘We still don’t know why Aylmer is so intent on blocking our research into Miller though….Hey, you don’t think the break-in at your place is related do you? You said it looked as if the place had been ransacked, but there was nothing missing. Who else would have been interested?’
‘That’s rather a leap in logic. The police thought it was kids.’
‘They would, it’s a soft option, but kids would either have done more damage or have stolen stuff, especially easily transportable and disposable things like stereos and televisions. Do you think Aylmer could be behind all of this?’ Lisa asked.
‘I wouldn’t have thought he would want to dirty his hands with violence. The inducements offered to you seem to be more his style. With the exception of the wilder theories, there are no hints of violence.’
‘What if he was using the BNRA or Storm 45? Claire said he was rumoured to have been funding them, maybe he’s been calling in favours.’
‘It’s an interesting hypothesis, but you’ve no evidence beyond a hunch. Certainly not something we could go to the police with.’
‘It still doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I think we need to take extra care from now on. What was it that Lucy told you? He’s clearly not a good person to cross and it seems that somehow we’ve been treading on his toes.’
‘Yeah, you might have something, we should probably try to be more stealthy and try to stay beneath their radar until we find out exactly what is going on and why William Miller is so important to him. I don’t think Lucy’s explanation about rocking the boat by dredging up scandals from past fascist parties is enough. There’s something we’re missing.’
‘What are you going to do about Cummings’ offer?’
‘That’s a quick change of tack. I’ll turn it down of course.’
‘But what about the money, you’re not in the position where you can turn down £20,000.’
‘That’s true enough, but I’m damned if I’m going to be bought by a sleazy bastard like Aylmer. I’ll manage without his tainted money.’
‘I had an idea. A friend of James’ is a journalist with one of the Sunday heavyweights. They’re always printing these historical type articles, if we were to write this all up, about Miller I mean, not Aylmer, we might to be able to sell the story as freelancers. I can see the headlines now, “Hitler’s British Accomplice”. It won’t be £20,000, but it could get us a reasonable fee.’
‘Won’t it piss Seneschal off if you sell the story elsewhere?’
‘My contract with them isn’t exclusive and they had their chance and blew it. Besides, it’s not the only job in the world. I sort of fell into it almost by accident, I’d really like to get into business, that’s what I’m qualified to do, it’s a bit competitive at the moment though.’
‘That’s settled then, I’ll phone Cummings tomorrow and tell him thanks but no thanks.’
Chapter 19
‘Hello, I’d like to speak to Mr Cummings please.’
‘I’m sorry Sir, Mr Cummings is not available at the moment; I can take a message, if you would care to leave one.’
‘Thank you, this is Ian West.’
‘Mr West?’ She interrupted. ‘I’ll put you straight through, Mr Cummings left strict instructions to interrupt him, should you call. Please hold for a moment.’
There was a short delay then Cummings answered,
‘Good Morning Mr West, kind of you to contact me so promptly. You have made a decision?’
‘Yes, I regret that I must decline your offer. In my current circumstances, I’m afraid that I cannot commit myself to this enterprise.’
‘Are you quite sure, my client will be most disappointed. He is not a man who gives up easily.’
‘I’m sorry, my mind is made up, but I’m both grateful and flattered that your client for the opportunity.’
‘I would beg you to reconsider; my client may even be prepared to improve the financial inducements. He does not take rejection kindly and will be most displeased.’
‘I’m sorry Mr Cummings, I’ve made my decision. Goodbye.’ I hung up.
‘Well, what did he say?’ Lisa asked.
‘I think I’ve just been very subtly and politely threatened.’ I went on to recount the conversation.
‘I see what you mean. It does sound rather ominous and in keeping with the offer coming from Aylmer. We really need to watch our step from now on. Aylmer could turn nasty, if we tread on his toes.’
‘Yeah, we’ll need to be careful and try to leave less of a trail, if you’re sure you want us to continue. It’s getting a bit heavy; no-one would blame you.’
‘We’ve started and I’m determined to see it through as far as we can, regardless of Aylmer.’
At that point, Lisa’s mobile rang.
‘Hello…..Hi Matt……….The same place?........What time?.....Okay, see you in an hour.’
‘I gather Matt wants to meet us again. Did he get anything?’
‘He didn’t say, just said he needs to see us. He didn’t sound happy’
‘Okay let’s go then.’
Three quarters of an hour later we entered the Italian coffee shop in Camden. Francesca was once more behind the counter and greeted us with a smile.
‘Signor Matt is waiting for you.’ She said gesturing to the booth in the back of the shop.
Matt was already waiting for us. He looked his usual laidback self, but on closer examination of his face I could discern worry lines around his eyes. He looked up at us with concern in his eyes and beckoned us to sit.
‘What have you two got me into?’
‘What do you mean Matt.’ I asked.
‘Well, your nursing home has some heavy duty security and firewalls for a care home. I mean it’s not the Pentagon, but it’s up to industrial standard. Far more that you would expect. Then I as I was trying to…er...gain access, I got this.’ He flung a sheet of paper onto the table. I picked it up and read:
Dear Hacker,
If you continue your activities, you will meet with severe repercussions, both legal and otherwise. We are actively tracing your IP address and would advise you to cease and desist now. To continue may prove costly.
‘What the hell is going on?’ He asked in a low voice. ‘I’ve never received cryptic threats like that before.’
‘We don’t know Matt. This whole investigation is turning nasty, we should have warned you.’ Lisa said. ‘Can they trace you like that?’
‘No way.’ He smiled ‘I used an anonymising service and did it from my car in the street where there was an unsecured wi-fi. There’s no way it can come back to me.’
‘Did you find anything?’
‘Sure, the Home is owned by the Lambton Medical Group. I never managed to get near the accounts because of the security.’
‘Well thanks for your help, we appreciate it. Drop it now Matt, you don’t want to get involved with this.’ Lisa said.
‘It would appear that I’m already involved, besides, I don’t like being threatened, and then there’s the challenge of it.’ He smiled
‘No Matt.’ I told him. ‘You’ve got too much to lose. You need to drop this now. I’m sorry we got you involved.’
‘I’m not at school now and I can make my own decisions. There’s no way this can be traced to me, so I’m totally safe. Besides, there’s a small matter of professional pride. I don’t like being beaten, that’s why I’ve been so successful. Anyway, I think I’ve found a way in, there’s a backdoor to the system.’
‘What do you mean backdoor?’
‘A way into the system built by the people who designed it; so that they could access and update it if necessary.’
‘And you’ve found this backdoor?’
‘I think so. I’m going to have a crack at it tonight.’
‘Be careful Matt, this whole affair is becoming a bit sinister, there have been no casualties so far; I don’t want you to be the first. Take every precaution.’
‘Will do. Now get out of here, I can’t afford to be seen with disreputable people like you two.’
Lisa and I left the coffee shop. We said nothing until we were walking alone through Victoria Park. I could see that she was shaken.
‘What’s going on Ian? What was a piece of historical research is turning into a Matthew Vaughan movie.’
‘I’m not really sure myself, but maybe we ought to pack it in before it goes any further.’
‘I didn’t say that. I’m just a bit freaked out by the threats. And why should a nursing home have such computer security?’
‘Because there’s something they don’t want to be made public?’
‘What would that be?’
‘Maybe Matt will tell us.’
We entered the flat and Lisa offered to make tea. Whist she was in the kitchen, I settled to read the Evening Standard I had picked up on the way back. I scanned the front page.
‘Hey’ I called, listen to this.’ I began to read. ‘In a speech today Richard Sinclair, leader of the BNRA set out his terms for his party to join a coalition government after the next election. Speaking in Fulham he said; “If the true British electorate decide not to give a mandate to any one party and have enough faith in our party to hand us the position of being a holding the balance of power, then I should accept the will of the British people. The BNRA is prepared to work with other parties in government, provided that our core values are heeded. In order for that to happen, the BNRA leadership would want to have a great input into the domestic policies of this great nation, to ensure that the interests of the British public are upheld and we can create a society that puts Britons first. We would have to ensure that the immigration and law and order policies are acceptable to our voters. In these circumstances we would be prepared to join a coalition.” This was the first time that the BNRA had suggested that it was prepared to enter a coalition, but any union with Labour remains an unlikely marriage. Spokesmen for both the Conservative and Labour parties reiterated their confidence that they would be able to win enough seats to form a majority government. However, polls released today suggest differently, with the Conservatives on 34%, Labour on 30%, The Liberal Democrats 15% and the BNRA on 22%.’
‘Jeez, the arrogance! How can people tolerate him?’
‘It’s more than arrogance, he’s effectively demanding for the Home Office as his price for joining a coalition.’
‘Sinclair, Home Secretary? The world’s gone mad.’
‘The world might have, but Sinclair hasn’t. He would control immigration policy, the police and even appoint the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. He would control policing nationwide and that would give his members control of the streets. It’s straight from Hitler’s playbook. When he became Chancellor in 1933, there were only two other Nazis in the
government, Frick the Interior Minister and Goering, Interior Minister for Prussia. That effectively gave the Nazis control of the streets. Sinclair is trying to do the same. And it looks as if he’s going to get away with it, if the election goes as predicted.’
‘That’s a deeply scary thought. I wouldn’t want to live in a society where the policing and security was under the control of someone like Sinclair.’
‘Me neither, but that’s what we’re going to get unless the electorate wakes up to the danger of the man and his detestable ideas.’
‘What about our problem? How do we make sure that Aylmer doesn’t stop out investigation?’
‘I’d say we need to be less obvious about our lines of enquiry and see if we can throw him off our track by going in a direction he would not expect.’
‘Which is?’
‘I haven’t got that far yet.’
‘Marvellous.’
‘How about we spend another hour on the Companies House documentation and then go out for a drink?’
‘Deal!’
Before we could start we were disturbed by the ringing of Lisa’s mobile. She flipped it open and answered it.
‘Hello?.....Oh hi Hannah….yeeesss…how did he know?...that sounds great, of course I’d be interested, but what about Madrid?.....Why didn’t he phone himself?....Okay, tell him I want to think it over and I’ll get back to him tomorrow. Bye Hannah.’
She closed the phone. I looked at her and raised my eyebrows.
‘That was Hannah.’
‘Yeah I got that far on my own.’
She stuck her tongue out at me.
‘It as you predicted, you’ve not sold out, so they’re trying me. Hannah called to offer me a six week assignment in Dresden, researching a programme on the bombing in 1945. Apparently Dresden is only 60 miles or so from Prague, so I’d be able to see James regularly. How convenient, the same day as you turned down their assignment, along comes a plum job for me, right in the neighbourhood of where my boyfriend is working.’
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