by Peche, Alec
“I would advise you to return to America.”
“You think that will be the end of this? These men will just hop a plane and follow us there. We cut short our vacation, and we still have these men trying to harm us. Why can't you get information out of the men you have in custody so far? There are two from Amsterdam and one this afternoon in Brussels. What new information do you have from those three? Will you allow Angela to question them? She's the best on our team at questioning people.”
“I do not think that would be a good idea, nor do our laws permit civilians to question people in custody,” replied Inspector Willems.
“Can we view a tape of your questioning of the men in custody in Amsterdam? We have questions we would have liked asked of them. If they were not asked of the first two men, perhaps you could do so as well as ask the man you have in custody now.” asserted Angela.
“What other information have you collected on this case? What do you know about Laura Peeters and the diamond consortium? Can you tell me what your laws are regarding the review of financial information? Do you have an expert in financial documents that I could sit down with to better understand the financial records of Peeters and the consortium?” queried Jo.
Faced with so many questions from the women, Officer Dubois, his staff from Interpol and Inspector Willems excused themselves and left the room to discuss the case. Given Nick’s experience as a Dutch police officer, he wasn't surprised by the move. Nor was he surprised by the questions of the women, since he had grown to know them over the past several days. He admitted to himself that life would not be nearly as exciting once they returned to the United States. He contemplated how he could spend time with Angela, or perhaps play a role in Jill's company. He would have to give it some thought.
“I'm hoping they will call their FBI colleagues in the U.S. to find out how helpful we can be to them in solving a major crime.” Jill said.
“After we get done here, where do you want to go next?” asked Marie.
“I think that depends on what they decide to do,” responded Nathan. “If they allow you to participate in this case, we may be occupied here for several hours. If they do not allow us to participate, I think we’ll be subject to perhaps thirty minutes of questioning and then will be free to go. We’re within walking distance of the Royal Palace of Art, so we could go there when we're done here.”
Nick observed how Nathan related to the women and thought he needed to copy his behavior as the women obviously held respect and affection for Jill’s boyfriend.
Just then the conference room door opened and the men resumed their seats at the table.
“We have had a discussion with our peers in Amsterdam, Interpol, and your FBI. It seems that they all agree that you can be of more help than harm to this case. Furthermore, your FBI would like this case solved on Belgian soil before you return to the United States as they have recent memory of your last case, Dr. Quint. They think that our criminals are less likely to have helicopters with black ops people fully armed. The FBI is correct in this assumption. We are prepared to consult with all of you,” said Officer Dubois with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
“Awesome,” said the women.
“Let's start with the report of what happened today at the shoe store. Madame Pringle left the scene before Officer Willems and his men had a full report. We would then like a quick recap of all the events that have happened since you began this holiday. Then we will share with you a tape of the man that was arrested in Amsterdam. We will consider any questions you would like asked of the man in custody presently. We would then like to discuss your theories on the diamond consortium. Have I left anything out?” asked Officer Dubois, looking at the assembled group.
“If you have a forensic accountant, I would like to work with him or her while you guys watch the tape,” replied Jo. “My expertise is in money matters and I am struggling with accessing financial data in Europe.”
"We do not have such a person in this office. We do have someone with those skills in our headquarters in Lyon, France. Let me make a call before we start to see if I can arrange that.”
Inspector Dubois left the room, phone in hand, to make the call.
Marie looked at the other Interpol representatives and requested computers be brought into the room.
“I can multitask. When you give us the names, including their aliases, of the men you have in custody, I'll begin my search of their backgrounds.”
“How many computers do you need?”
“I think maybe two or three,” replied Jill. “Angela will be observing the tapes and everyone in this room, so she won't need a computer. Nathan also will not need a computer. Nick, I'll leave you to make your own decision.”
As Officer Dubois reentered the room, one of his officers left to retrieve three computers. They all assumed that Jo would be moved to another part of the building, if Officer Dubois could arrange the conversation with the forensic accountant in France.
“I was able to reach our headquarters in France. Madame Barnard will be available to consult with Madame Pringle in thirty minutes. I have arranged for you to use a phone and a computer to speak with her.”
“Does she speak English?” inquired Jo.
“Yes.”
The second Interpol officer returned with another gentleman carrying three laptop computers. They were set in front of Jill, Marie, and Nick.
“Good, let’s get started. Madame Pringle, would you begin by giving us a description of the event in the shoe store a few hours ago?”
“We were doing a walking tour of the Grand Place. We went inside the City Museum and then settled in for a drink at a pub afterwards. When we were done, we wanted to browse the streets around the square. Angela and Marie entered a chocolate shop. Jill and Nathan were parked on a bench watching the world go by. Nick was in the area, tailing us in disguise, to provide protection after the close calls in Amsterdam. I saw a shoe shop two doors down and entered. My friends here would tell you that I am not one to pay attention to my surroundings normally. I admit that I was distracted by the array of shoes, so I dropped what little guard I had while I shopped.
“I had two shoes in my hand and I was about to ask the shopkeeper to find them in my size. When I turned around to speak to her, the man seemed to have appeared out of nowhere with a massive switchblade in hand. He could have sliced me with the knife, but he seemed more interested in taking me somewhere. He held the knife up and pointed to the back door and gestured that ‘I should walk toward it,’ which I started to do when Nathan and Jill entered the store. I'll let them describe what happened next as I was so relieved by their arrival that I shut out the situation.”
With that last sentence, Angela had to lean over and give Jo a hug. After a few moments, Nathan carried on with the story.
“Jill and I were sitting on the bench. I was glancing occasionally into the two storefronts where the women were shopping. I noticed a man looking first into the chocolate store and then moving on to the shoe store. I saw him enter the store, pushing the door open with his left hand while pulling something out of his pocket with the right hand. It was then that I saw the trigger release and a blade appeared. Jill and I stood up and went quickly towards the store. Jill gave a quick look inside the chocolate store, but Angela and Marie had their heads turned away from the shop window so we continued into the shoe store. Jill gestured as we went towards the shoe store, not expecting anyone to see her hand movement through the chocolate shop window.
“We entered the store and confronted the man. He did indeed have a knife. He was pushing Jo toward the back door, but when we entered he switched positions so that Jo was in front of him, presumably with his knife aimed at her back. Jo was blocking my view of the knife. I told the man ‘Let Jo go.’ Jill yelled to the shopkeeper, ‘to call the police,’ and she started dialing the phone.
“The man spoke up at that point, holding the knife closer to Jo. He told the shopkeeper, ‘Do not call the police,’ and
she dropped the phone. At the same time Angela and Marie entered the shoe store. Angela, always camera in hand, took a picture of the man holding the knife to Jo's back. It was my impression that the man made the decision to run when he realized we had his picture.
“He departed through the back door of the store. We all gathered around Jo to make sure she was okay. When I could see that she had not been injured, I left through the back door to chase the man down. Fortunately he was not in good physical shape and I reached him two blocks later. Nick was a minute behind me. When I caught up to the man, I yelled for him to stop as I placed a hand on his shoulder. He spun around and flipped out the switchblade. I then made a decision to use my martial arts skills. I levered a bi-directional kick, knocking the blade out of his hand with one foot while the other foot connected with his head. He dropped to the ground, and Nick and I held him in place until Officer Willems and his men arrived to take custody. Can anyone else think of something to add?”
“Madame Weber, we need a copy of the photo you took for legal proceedings. I will take you over to a technician to download the picture.”
“Would you also like a picture of the man that followed us in Amsterdam? I don’t know if he is custody in Amsterdam. If he is not, then Nick can tell you about him.”
“Thank you for being so good with your camera. It is very helpful. If you have any other pictures of suspicious people, we would appreciate you downloading them.”
“You are welcome. One other comment - when we were paying for our chocolate, one salesperson said to the other, ‘Did you see that woman walk by our front window gesturing down the mall corridor?’ I asked her if it was a woman with long blonde hair and she said ‘yes’. Marie and I hurried out thinking Jill might need our help. That was why we entered the store so soon after you did. I pulled my camera out thinking that if there was a problem, I wanted a picture of it.”
“An excellent plan on your part, having a picture of a man holding a knife to someone makes it so much easier to prosecute. Is there anything else, any other detail that we should add to the narrative about today's event?"
After a moment in thought, the assembled group collectively shook their heads “no”.
“Let's start at the beginning then,” directed Office Dubois. “I took the opportunity to read the reports prepared by my colleagues at The Hague, and by the Dutch police. I am most puzzled by why anyone is after you. What is the purpose of harming or kidnapping you? What do you know, or what do you have that is of interest to someone else? And who is that someone else? You all seem convinced that it's the diamond consortium. How do you know it's not a long-lost relative of Laura Peeters? Perhaps the gentleman that followed you on the streets of Amsterdam simply wanted to speak to four beautiful women. I am interested in your thoughts on these questions.”
“Those are all very good questions; in fact we have been puzzling over them for the past six or so days,” agreed Jill. “Let me pick off two of your questions for which we may have answers. We don't believe that there is a mad relative of Laura Peeters after us because we got her to the hospital alive. She was completely under the control of the hospital when she was killed. As to the man in Amsterdam, if he was keen on meeting us, why did he run off once we confronted him? We gave him the perfect opening to introduce himself and instead he walked away, and not out of shyness. His posture and mannerisms did not indicate shyness.”
“So we're back to the question of what do we know, or what do we have that is of interest to someone else,” surmised Marie. “And is that someone else the diamond consortium? We dumped our purses out a day or so ago looking for something of interest to someone. We found nothing beyond our own possessions in our purses.”
Officer Dubois pointed to their purses and asked “Are those the purses you had on you at the time you met Laura Peeters?”
Marie answered, “We each only brought one purse with us on this trip, so yes, these are the two purses involved.”
“Who was sitting where in the restaurant, when you provided assistance to Laura?” Inspector Willems inquired.
“Marie was sitting closest to Laura. I was facing Marie which allowed me to look at Laura and see she was in distress. Jo was next to Marie, and Angela was seated on my right.”
“How long had you been seated in the restaurant before you noticed Laura?” asked the inspector.
The four women conferred and agreed that it was in the range of seven to ten minutes.
“Madame Simon, may we take your purse to our lab for examination? You are under no legal obligation to comply with this request,” remarked Officer Dubois.
“Let me keep my passport, my wallet, and my iPhone, and you can take the purse to your lab,” said Marie as she removed the items from her purse and handed it to an officer.
The officer stepped out of the conference room to hand the purse off to a staff member, who would take it to the lab.
“Dr. Quint, we should really have a look at your purse as well. Remember, Laura Peeters was a master at sleight-of-hand movements. From a seated position, could she have reached your purse by bending forward, or by reaching under the table? Was it possible for her to reach her purse?” questioned Willems.
Again the women conferred and agreed with Inspector Willems that it would have been possible for Laura to reach her purse. Jill silently removed the same three items that Marie had from her purse and handed it over to an officer.
“Please call us by our first names. I think we can speak faster without the formality,” requested Angela.
“Thank you. Jill and Marie, were you wearing outer garments, like a raincoat?” asked inspector Willems.
“I had on a leather jacket with no pockets, resting over the back of my chair,” replied Jill.
“I had a short jacket with side pockets. It was also resting over the back of my chair.”
“Where is that jacket now?”
“In our hotel room. It is much warmer in Brussels than it was in Antwerp when we arrived.”
“Did you search those pockets in your jacket, the day you searched your purses?”
“No, we didn't think of that.”
“Marie, if you remember where the jacket is at this moment, and if you don't mind one of my men retrieving it from your hotel room, I could have it brought here for you,” offered Nick.
“I could do that. My hotel room key went with my purse down to the lab. Angela or Jo, would you give your room key to Nick?”
“Nick, my jacket is in the closet of the second bedroom from the entry door in our suite. It is sort of an aqua green-colored coat with a Nike swish on it.”
Nick stepped out of the room to handle the matter.
“I think after we examine your purses and the jacket, we will have our answer as to whether it is something you have, rather than something you know,” observed Willems.
Chapter 11
“Officer Dubois, if you would connect me with your accountant in Nice, I’ll tell her what I am looking for to give her a start on pulling that information for us,” Jo requested.
Dubois called Lyon and, in another room, put Jo on the phone with a Ms. Bernard. After a short conversation, Jo returned to the conference table.
“Will you share any and all information you have obtained from the men in custody? I’d like to noodle on the case while we chat, and I feel like that missing piece of information is somewhat blocking my thought processes about this case,” said Jill.
“Yes, we can do that,” replied Dubois as he retrieved some computer files on his laptop.
“These reports are written in Dutch and French. Can any of you read those languages?”
They shook their heads no.
“Nick is likely literate in those languages, and Nathan, you can read French, but the rest of us may know about fifty words in any language beyond English,” lamented Jill. “So I guess you'll need to translate for us, unfortunately.”
“There is a lot of information on this report that you probably wou
ld not find useful. Why don't I read the names of the men, including any aliases that are in the report, a description of any previous crimes that they are wanted for, and the questions and answers during the interview with the police?”
“Thank you, that would be satisfactory.”
“In Amsterdam, the first man arrested was Kenneth Lee Akselrod. His aliases are versions of his own name – Kenneth Lee, Lee Akselrod, and Lee Dorleska, which is Akselrod spelled backwards. The second man is Jan Storms and he has no aliases. They are both wanted for crimes in connection with precious stones. Neither has a history of violence. They were interviewed separately, but told the same story.
“They were hired in Antwerp two days after Laura Peeters’s death. They were offered fifty-thousand euros each to capture the four of you. Once you were captured, they were to contact the person that hired them and give her your location.”
“A woman hired these thugs?” Angela exclaimed.
“Did the men know we were traveling to Amsterdam and then Brussels?” asked Jo.
“Yes, they knew your itinerary including the hotel name in each city. They said they followed you from the time you left the lecture hall until they were arrested. The information was provided by the woman who hired them.”
“Were the men able to provide a description of this woman?” Marie asked.
“We had a police artist do a sketch based upon their description and there was no match to her in any database, so perhaps she was in disguise. Whether her disguise was through make-up or plastic surgery, we cannot determine. We have links to all passport agencies as well as driver’s licenses for most of the world. They did say she spoke with an accent that could have been Dutch or German or one of the other countries in this region. She was Caucasian, about 5’6”, slender, perhaps 35-45 in age and a brunette. She had a tattoo on one wrist, but neither man could describe it.”
“Did she pay them up front? Has she been in contact with them since the initial meeting? How would they contact her, once we were captured?” asked Jo.