Exeter St David’s railway station was all hustle and bustle as it was still the holiday season. It was a far cry from the Exeter his father had described after it had been extensively bombed as part of what had been called the Baedeker blitz because of the English travel-guide books the Germans had used to identify likely targets in the UK. Over 40 acres of the city had been levelled by incendiary bombs and thousands had been killed. It was seen as a retaliation for the RAF bombing of Lubeck and Rostock. Now it was wall to wall tourists.
They took a taxi to Marian’s house which she had told them was just off Clifton Hill. Ralph was surprised by the rather grand Victorian house with its sweeping gravelled driveway.
Marion came out to greet them. She hugged Katie and shook Ralph’s hand, recalling what Katie had told her in Kiev about his being a bit reserved.
“I’m so glad that that you two could make it,” she said. “Alex can give you a hand with your luggage, although it looks like you travel pretty light.” she laughed as she glanced at the two small bags Ralph took from the taxi driver.
They went in through a large archway, and as the house had been built on a slope, the views over the valley were stunning.
“What a beautiful garden. Surely you don’t do all of this yourself,” said Katie as they walked towards the house.
“Therapy. After a week teaching a bunch of undergraduates, I need it,” she joked as she linked her arm through Katie’s. “But you’d know all about that. Let’s get inside and I’ll give Alex a shout and let him know you’re here. He’s been on the phone all morning. I swear, he doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘relax’. Alex!”
Ralph flinched. She would have no problem getting the student’s attention, he smiled to himself. Alex came out of what Ralph could see was a large study crammed with leather chairs and with tall bookcases lining the walls.
“Hey, you two. It’s wonderful to see you.” He gave Katie a hug and vigorously shook Ralph’s hand. “We read about all of your daring does aboard the ship. I’m just as glad that we managed to miss that bit of fun. It must have been pretty scary. But hopefully no one on board was hurt?” Ralph wondered if it was more than a polite comment.
“The Skipper got a nasty bang on the head, but apart from that, everyone was okay. We stayed on board as far as Margate, down the Thames Estuary, and then they sailed off to St. Petersburg.” Alex smiled and Ralph was not sure if it was out of politeness or for some other reason entirely.
“What a life that must be,” said Alex. “London, the Baltic and Riga, Tallinn and St. Petersburg. It would cost a fortune to make the same trip on a luxury cruise. I expect you got to know the cadets and crew pretty well while you were with them, what with supervising the crew and Katie giving them English lessons? But enough standing here in the hallway chatting, let’s go into the sun lounge and have some tea. You must be thirsty and exhausted after your journey down.”
Ralph sensed that Alex was one of those people who liked to be in control. As far as he could tell, Marian was happy for it to be that way, although he had seen a sharper side of her when they were in Kiev and when she talked about her job.
They walked through a large glass covered atrium that had obviously been the pride and joy of some long dead Victorian builder. In a conservatory that was warm with the mid-day sun, they sat and chatted about how much they had enjoyed Kiev and their time in Greenwich.
Later Marian showed them to their room. It had a small balcony that provided views over the garden and to the valley beyond. It had its own bathroom and everything was immaculate.
“There must be at least five bedrooms, and most of them are en-suite, as far as I can see,” said Katie as they unpacked. “This place would cost £4 or £5 million if it was in Surbiton or Kingston. Marian’s done well for a college lecturer.”
“Well, she must be about 40, don’t you think?”
“Ralph, you’re starting to annoy me. She’s at least 50.” He could never understand why age was so important to women.
“When I talked to her on the telephone, Marian mentioned something about going to the theatre tonight. What do you think?.” Asked Ralph as he tried to move away from a potentially contentious subject.
“If they’ve already bought the tickets then we’ll have to treat for supper, you know,” Katie said.
“I know. Leave it to me,” said Ralph as they went down the stairs to join their hosts.
The theatre had been a success. They had enjoyed the performance enormously, and now they looked forward to a late supper at the Mill on the Exe, a restaurant near the city centre that overlooked the river.
“I really enjoyed that,” said Marian as they took the menus that the waiter brought to the table.
“When I saw the title I thought it would be awful. But Simon Callow was magnificent. It could have been awful if Matthew Hurt hadn’t picked exactly the right episodes from Jesus’ life.”
“I loved it,” said Katie. “Of course everyone knew the story of Lazarus and the wedding at Cana and their journey to Jerusalem, but how he managed to say it all through the eyes of the people who knew Jesus was brilliant.”
“You may be surprized to know that we Ukrainians also read the bible,” said Alex with a grin. “But that Simon Callow is something special. The typically English eccentric. It’s what we expect all you English to be like, Ralph. And no doubt you expect to find us all running around in goatskin coats, with long moustaches, herding sheep on a mountainside. Am I right?”
“Well I hate to admit it,” Ralph said. “But I’m afraid that’s the stereotype.” Everyone laughed.
“Then you must find me a bit of an enigma. But on that note, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go outside for a smoke. I know it’s an awful habit and I’ve promised Marian that I’ll try to stop. But so far I’m still hooked.” He stood up to leave the table.
“I’ll keep you company,” said Ralph. “It’ll give the ladies a chance to talk about us.”
“All good, I hope,” quipped Alex as they went outside onto the restaurant’s wide terrace. It was a warm night for early September as they looked out over the river Exe.
Ralph had been thinking over the conversation he had had with Renton about Alex in Linham’s office. He had come to like Alex and wanted to clear the air as it was stopping him from forming what he thought could be a lasting friendship, particularly as Marian seemed very fond of him and Katie got on well with them both.
“Alex. There’s something I have to ask you.”
“My brand of cigarettes?” He quipped.
“No it’s a bit more serious than that.”
“Go ahead, my friend. What is it? Not more about those questions the police were asking about me, I hope.”
“Not exactly,” Ralph hedged. “When the police spoke with me after that incident with the terrorists, they wanted to know if I knew anything about your business dealings. And although I didn’t say anything about it to them at the time, I remembered that you mentioned that you had something you needed to speak with Captain Koval about.”
Alex took a long pull on his cigarette.
“Well, I don’t suppose there’s any harm in telling you now. But my business, as you call it, was not with the Captain, although we have been friends for a few years now. And in that time I have also got to know poor Vadim. It’s as I told you before, we Ukrainians stick together.” He stubbed out his cigarette and turned to Ralph. “Look I feel that you are a good man, Ralph and we could be friends. And I trust you enough to tell you that I am worried about Vadim.”
“His cancer?”
“The cancer, of course, but not just that. Vadim has become more unstable over the past few years. He is obsessed with getting revenge on the Russians for his father’s death at Chernobyl and for failing to compensate his family and the families of the others.”
“It’s understandable that he would feel that way,” Ralph said, “but what could he do?”
“I think you need to know the enti
re story. But I warn you, you may not like what you hear. I will try to be brief.”
There was a shout as Marian appeared in the doorway to the restaurant.
“Hey you two, we’ve almost finished our coffee. We thought you might have fallen in the river,” she laughed. “Are you coming inside?”
“Sorry it was my fault. I had to have my nicotine fix.” As they walked across the flagstone terrace he whispered to Ralph that they would have to finish this later.
They finished their coffees and chatted some more about the play and about work and life in general before they made their way back to Marian’s house. Ralph decided to say nothing to Katie about his chat with Alex until he knew a bit more.
After breakfast Alex and Ralph went for a walk along the river while Marian showed Katie around the garden. It was a pleasant autumn morning as the mist slowly dispersed across the river. The wild birds shrieked as they wheeled and sawed overhead as prelude to their yearly migration to warmer climes.
“So Ralph. You need to know why I am so worried about Vadim and the Mlodziezy.
I’ve been using the ship to engage in what you would call money laundering, and I must admit some low level smuggling; gold and a few other things. But no drugs.”
The way he put it made it sound as though those activities were acceptable. He continued to walk as he chatted on.
“Anton and Vadim are not involved in my business. I have a person on board who acts as my courier. I go on board to keep a close eye on where they are sailing and on the timings. My man on the ship is in a low position job. Sometimes he cooks, sometimes he works on maintenance jobs. It varies. He gets the money aboard and makes sure that it gets to the right people when they arrive at a predetermined tax haven. Believe you me, it’s not that complicated. And if you’re worried about your conscience, or mine for that matter, the money goes straight into a fund that is being used to help victims of the Chernobyl disaster. You might call me a sort of Cossack Robin Hood.” He gave a laugh.
“So you’re engaged in ‘round tripping’,” said Ralph. “You deposit the money in a controlled foreign corporation offshore then they ship it back as a foreign direct investment exempt from tax.”
“It’s not quite that simple, Ralph. You see, we deal in cash that comes from gambling, extortion, mafia activities, or out and out tax evasion. An awful lot of people want their cash made legitimate. It’s an activity that runs to billions of dollars each year. I, of course, am only a small player. I like to think that my idea of using a training ship to move the money around is unique. By the way, some call this process ‘Lazy Susan’, although ‘round tripping’ sounds more appropriate in this particular method.” He picked up a stone and skimmed it across the muddy flats. A seagull floated skilfully on the wind, ignoring the unintended aggression
“So you use the ship to get into tax havens without attracting the customs people.”
“Yes. But the ship often calls at places like Panama, Belize, Nevis and other places in the Caribbean. Then in Europe to Cyprus and Gibraltar. We collect the money from many other ports as well. They love to see the Square Riggers come in. My man on board tells me that they sometimes even get a local Navy escort into port, would you believe. It’s perfect.”
“How do you get it on board?”
“Usually it comes on with the provisions or with parts that are needed for the ship. Then it goes off with the garbage and other rubbish. No one wants to look in those bins, I can assure you.” He chuckled.
Ralph was not surprised to hear Alex describing an activity that big corporations carried out on a regular basis. Except they stayed a bit closer to the law. He knew they had hundreds of well-paid lawyers to help them, whereas Alex appeared to be running a one-man outfit. Two if you counted his on board helper. But it was still against the law and the sources of the money were criminal as well as immoral. At least in most people’s eyes.
“I hope that you’re not going to do something noble and tell the police? It would be impossible to prove anything. I have things pretty well covered, as you can imagine, and the fund is registered in Switzerland, so practically impossible to trace.”
Ralph had decided not to take any action, but he was unsure if Alex was a person he and Katie wanted as a friend.
The two men walked back towards the house in silence, each reflecting on what had been said. Ralph thought about the two seafarers whom had got to know and respect during the voyage from Falmouth and when they had disarmed the terrorists at Greenwich.
“So what do think Vadim might do? You said he has nothing to do with your business deals,” Ralph asked, changing the subject slightly.
“I had planned to contact my man on the ship and ask him what was going on with Vadim. I think I might be able to get through to the ship on my cell phone as they may be in port at Tallinn by now. As I said, Vadim is ill and his mind is not as it should be. My guess is that he will try to make some gesture or get revenge in some way on the Russians when they are in St. Petersburg for the International celebrations and the exhibition. I have over 30 million pounds in sterling and 10 million US dollars plus a few mysterious boxes on board. We picked up some in Falmouth and a lot more in London.”
“So a Robin Hood whose actions are not purely altruistic?”
“Would you expect anything less from an Eastern European, my friend? As you know, we are all gypsies at heart; survival is our first instinct, then family and finally money.” he gave Ralph a friendly pat on the back. “But you’re right. I’ll give my contact a call.” He stood facing the distant hills as he made his call. After much gesticulating and shouting, an ashen-faced Alex turned back towards Ralph. “Bad news, I’m afraid.”
“Why? What is it?”
“They are in St. Petersburg already. Everyone has gone ashore including my man. The stupid bastard is in some damned hotel.”
“They wouldn’t leave the ship unattended,” Ralph said.
“Oh no. It’s being well looked after. It’s surrounded by armed police and the army. Vadim has locked Anton in his cabin and told the police that he intends to blow himself and the ship up unless they agree to deposit 20 million dollars in some damned bank account he has set up in Luxembourg.”
“But that’s impossible. The police would just storm the ship. Vadim couldn’t possibly hold them off.”
“My man says that Vadim has got Semtex or some other explosives and as they are docked at the Lieutenant Schmidt embankment, if it went up then it would take out the Blagoveshchensky Bridge and make a big hole in that part of the St. Petersburg waterfront. God knows that’s the last thing Putin and his followers want right now. They have enough bad press to deal with as it is.” He paused. “I’ve got to get that money. I’m prepared to go over and try to talk to Vadim. Although I’m not sure if it’s too late.”
“We could get there in half a day or just over,” said Ralph.
“We?” So you want a share of my millions?” Alex laughed. “I can assure you, Ralph that if that money is not deposited where it was destined for, then some very nasty men will see me drawn and quartered or worse. No if I don’t get that money I am as good as dead. So I have nothing to lose. But you?”
“I don’t want to see Vadim end his life like this, and Anton is a sincere man and deserves better. And, if you like, I’ve become attached to the ship. I’d hate to see it blown to smithereens in some damned Russian port.”
“The romantic English. No wonder you always finish up poor. But Vadim might listen to you, Ralph. By the sounds of it, you two got on well on that voyage. So we fly out today,” Alex shouted as he quickened his pace towards the house.
“I’ve no visa and no passport.”
Alex just laughed.
“We get a charter flight from Exeter airport. Paramount Business Jets. It’s a 5 or 6 hour flight to Pulkovo airport in St. P’s. I can have a car waiting and they will get us to the dockside in less than half an hour. Allowing for the two hour difference in time, we should get there b
y midnight.”
“What about the visa and passport?”
“My dear friend. If we land in a private plane on Russian soil, no one will question us. I have connections and the pilot can radio ahead and clear the way. Russians will do anything for money. In fact there are people in every country who can be bribed. Believe me, I see it every day. And don’t worry about the authorities at Exeter. We can tell them that we’re just on an internal flight. The pilot will file a flight plan for Gatwick and then when we are in the air change it to St.P’s.”
Ralph never asked about the cost of the jet. Obviously Alex had plenty of money. He wondered if Marian hoped that she and Alex would get married or if Alex was just using her as a cover.
There was some quick explaining to do. Alex said that Vadim was seriously ill and had been asking to see Ralph. Katie looked at Ralph but decided to ask questions later. As he got into the taxi to the airport she reminded him that he had a lot to lose if he did anything too foolhardy, but to just come back safe. She gave him an unusually big hug. Marian stood slightly bemused as Alex waved goodbye. The gravel crunched as the taxi headed out of the drive and for the airport.
___________________
Chapter 11
The Gulfstream GV turned low over Pulkovo airport and began its sharp descent. Out of the window they could see the lights of the city below and the moon glinting on the broad ribbon of the river Neva. During the flight the pilot had joked with them about flying within the air lanes and communicating with the ground controllers as they flew across Europe. As a retired RAF fighter pilot, he had been decorated for his ability to fly low and avoid enemy radar during the first Iraqi war. Ralph just hoped that he would resist the temptation to execute a roll as they came in over the airport control tower. They had been given sandwiches and coffee by the steward as Ralph had an aversion to the reheated meals that they served on commercial flights. It had been an uneventful journey and Ralph had decided that if he ever hit the jack pot this was how he and Katie would travel from then on.
Murder at Canary Wharf (The Ralph Chalmers Mysteries Book 8) Page 14