by Graham Adams
He said that he had worked on the design team that built the Supermarine flying boat that held many speed records, under the famous aircraft designer R.J. Mitchell. That became the forerunner of the legendary Spitfire fighter. Louis left the gentleman full of admiration for one of Britain’s unsung heroes, just sitting on an anonymous bench looking out to sea.
The following free day he went to the ancient city of Salisbury and walked around the inspiring cathedral, following one of the guides. ‘The 1215 Magna Carta has four copies, and they are housed in London, The British Library, Lincoln Castle and Salisbury Cathedral. The finest copy is housed here at Salisbury.’ Louis found that information from the guide most interesting. He broke away from the crowd and went into the Refectory Café for some tea. It was famous for its glass roof which had a view of the spectacular four hundred foot spire, the tallest in England. Driving south on the A338 he noticed the pub, the Bat and Ball, where he and his Aunt Ruth had gone for a vegetarian lunch, so many years ago. He joined the A31 to Southampton, parked at the hotel and took a walk around the city shops and malls to unwind.
‘You look different somehow, Louis, more relaxed. What happened?’ Edmund asked.
‘I think that I’ve got my life back, Eddy, I took your advice and went to the coast on Thursday and to Salisbury on Friday. It felt really good to be a tourist, and it made me look at my life with a new perspective. Louis answered him with a broad smile.
He followed Edmund and Zowie across the road to Fay and Harry’s cottage, apprehensive about what they might find. What a difference a couple of days make! Edmund knocked on the front door and almost immediately Fay opened the door and flung her arms around Edmund.
‘Thank you, thank you very much Eddy. Words can’t express how we feel right now.’ She said and led them into the lounge. Zowie barked once, and Edmund let her off the lead and she went straight outside the back door. He could see someone sitting at the back door in the sunshine, and Sally was at his feet. Zowie ran around his other side and sat close to him.
Harry came out of the kitchen to greet the two visitors. ‘I’m so glad that you are both here, Victor is dying to meet you, to thank you himself’. And he pointed to the back door. The sun was shining on the little patio and Fay managed to squeeze four plastic chairs around her seated son and, of course, the two dogs. Louis came out of the door first and noticed the vista of the dark moor, and beyond the gently sloping hills, typical of the open forest landscape.
‘Isn’t this the same landscape on the picture?’ he asked, and turned to look at the wall opposite. ‘Wasn’t it just there on the wall?’ he asked.
Harry just pointed to a brown paper parcel wrapped in string leaning against the small welsh dresser in the kitchen. ‘I’ve just finished wrapping it Louis.’ He waited for everyone to get seated outside and then handed the parcel to Victor. Louis helped Victor to his feet.
‘Eddy, it gives me great pleasure in presenting this to you as my personal appreciation for saving my life.’ Victor handed it to Edmund, who, encouraged by Harry and Fay, pulled the string and ripped off the brown paper.
‘I know we said that we would never part with the painting as it represented our son leaving the house, but he’s back, thanks to you and well, we don’t need it anymore, do we Victor?’ They all applauded him and Victor shook his hand warmly.
‘Well done Eddy. You really did a great job mate.’ Louis smile broadly and nodded to him.
They helped Victor back to his chair and Edmund leaned over to the young man and said that Louis would like to speak to him about something, and then asked if he could speak to Fay and Harry in their living room. Fay made them some tea and the three of them left Victor and Louis with the dogs on the patio.
Gently Louis broke the news to his companion about Leah-May. He said that the police were baffled as to how it happened. He stopped and looked at Louis for his reaction, as he was concerned that having only just recovered somewhat from his own near-death experience, whether the news might do some more damage. Victor was visibly shocked with Louis’s news, and he sat back on his wicker chair breathing heavily, so Louis just sat there and held his hand encouragingly.
Meanwhile in the front room, Edmund asked if the doctor had been to see Victor. Fay told him that she had visited the day before after her surgery. When she walked in expecting to go to his bedroom, she saw Victor sitting at the kitchen table eating his tea. She nearly fainted with the shock of it. After he had eaten, she gave him a full examination and declared their son fit but not yet fully recovered pleading for caution and to take things slowly to start with.
Edmund looked seriously at Harry, who read his mind by telling him that they did not mention his visit to the doctor, or what he did, knowing that would have caused more problems than it would have solved. He thanked them for that wisdom and said that it still could have been a coincidence anyway, but they just smiled at his remark.
Outside, Victor had come around from the shock and pulled his hand away. ‘I think that her death was caused by me Louis.’ He had tears in his eyes.
‘How could that possibly be, my boy?’ Louis asked.
Victor told him all he could remember about the abduction by Mikhail and his two henchmen on the fateful morning as he walked Sally on the moor. He told him all the detail, even describing how Mikhail injected him in the hand, and from that point he remembered nothing. It was his strong belief that it was how they had extracted the information from him.
Victor then told Leah’s father that before leaving Paris; she had told him about Louis’s quest to find his great grandfather’s treasure. She also told him that she had rung her father to tell him about the artefacts in the warehouse and had put two and two together and realised that it was her father who had stolen them. He told Louis that at that time he hated him for doing such a thing putting his daughter in danger.
It was now Louis’s turn to be shocked, and he needed some time to take it all in. He thanked Victor for his honesty and asked whether he could return and talk some more to him. This Victor agreed to, seeing how broken Louis looked. He said he would arrange it with his parents and the young man just nodded and closed his eyes.
‘I think he has had enough for now,’ he said as he walked into the living room. ‘If it’s ok with you Harry, could I come back next week and continue my chat with Victor?’ Harry nodded and he gave Louis his number to ring before he came. Edmund went to the back door and brought Zowie back saying that it looked like Victor was having a nap.
Louis asked Edmund if he could accompany him back to his cottage as he wanted to ask him something.
In an hour they were seated on the bench, by the pond and Louis recounted to Edmund the harrowing conversation that he had just had with Victor, especially the implications around the powerful Russian the boy had accused of being a major part in his daughter’s death. Having now got Edmund’s attention he asked if he would give him the benefit of his advice, what to do next.
Edmund did not answer him, but asked him to meet him and Zowie at the beach in Southbourne the next day and he would think about it and give him his views then. Louis thanked his new friend and made his way back to his hotel. He knew also that quick responses for such important questions were never the right ones.
Before checking into his hotel he extended the car hire, found an outdoor shop and purchased a sensible coat and shoes, as he didn’t want the repeat drowning he had had there, the last time he had ventured along the coast.
They had agreed to meet at ten the next day and Edmund was impressed with Louis’s choice of clothes, as it was still blowing a bit of a gale, but at least it wasn’t raining. The adverse weather had put off the more casual walker, and most of the serious dog walkers were early risers, and had probably already taken their walks and gone home.
Louis was pleased with the way Edmund had taken his problem seriously, as he had three comments for him. The first was that he didn’t think any sort of confrontation with such a high Russian pol
itical figure would do any good at all. In fact, there could only one outcome. Secondly, at the moment there was no tangible evidence to support his claim of their involvement in the murder. Thirdly he advised strongly that he should consult a good trustworthy lawyer if he had one. If not, Edmund had a very good one whom he could recommend.
Louis agreed wholeheartedly with his friend’s suggestions and after the completion of their walk he suggested a slap up meal at the cliff top café for lunch, which rounded off their meeting well. He promised to keep in touch with Edmund and let him know any developments and they went their separate ways. At the hotel in Southampton, Louis called Mark to make an appointment with him, and was able to see him the following Tuesday.
He decided to give Mark a better understanding of what was happening in his search for answers to the tragic death of his daughter, particularly in relation to the discussion he had with Victor, and where the young man fitted in the puzzle. Mark had to apologise to his client that criminal law was not really his strength and it would be advisable to seek advice from one that specialised. He suggested that his brother Stephen fitted the bill and told Louis that he was well equipped to help in that case, as he worked for a big firm in London called Vizards. As it happened, Mark and his brother were about to meet in Highcliffe near Christchurch to celebrate their father’s seventieth birthday on the coming Friday. Mark offered to call his brother and arrange a meeting, if necessary Stephen would be able to use Mark’s office in Southampton for a preliminary chat.
Louis asked Mark if he would help him choose a mobile phone so that Stephen could make contact with him. Mark immediately took him to a phone shop near his office and recommended a ‘pay as you go’ phone, and took a note of the number to pass on to his brother. For his first call on his new phone, he rang Harry in Burley to speak to Victor.
‘Hello, is that Fay?’ He asked, and she answered inquisitively so he put her mind at rest when he identified himself and then asked to speak to Victor. When he came to the phone Louis asked if it was ok to call the following day. Victor suggested ten, as he was seeing the doctor in the afternoon. He passed his new number to him just in case the young man had a problem.
When Louis got to the house, Victor had his coat on, and asked if he would like to go with him for a walk on the moor with his dog Sally. Fortunately Louis had his walking clothes in the back of the Suzuki, so in a few minutes they were making their way through the gorse. Victor explained it might be better if his parents didn’t overhear what he had to tell him, and Louis agreed. Out of earshot, Victor outlined the work he had done initially for a group of Russian oligarchs, which ended abruptly. Then he did the work in England for Mikhail and then in Paris, shortly after the Russian’s promotion to Ambassador. It was at that point that he enlisted Louis’s daughter, Leah, with her talents to get the task over quicker. He even told Louis how much commission they gained out of their efforts.
Louis told his young friend that all the things that he had talked about were very interesting but what he needed was something tangible in order that he could try and make a move on Mikhail. Victor agreed that it would be very difficult to do that, considering how secretive his employer was. Suddenly however, he stopped walking and stood still for a moment. Louis looked around thinking the worst.
‘We must go back to the cottage Louis, right now.’ Victor said, hurrying back from where they came.
‘What’s wrong, Victor?’ his companion asked.
‘I think I may have just what you want.’ They neared the back door. Just wait there Louis and I’ll get it. ‘Mother!’ he shouted.
He rushed upstairs and in a few moments he was down again with a little piece of black plastic with on one end, an even smaller piece of steel sticking out. He placed it in Louis’s palm.
‘What is this Victor?’ he asked.
It’s a memory stick, Louis. Trust me, it’s the answer. Can you take us to the Ringwood Library and I’ll show you?’ Louis nodded. As they were getting into the little jeep, Victor’s mother reminded him of the doctor’s visit at three. Victor told her they would be back within the hour.
Victor asked the librarian to log him onto one of their computers as a guest and within a few minutes, after plugging the ‘stick’ in the side of the box, the screen pulled up a list of files, one of which was called ‘catalogue’. He clicked on the file name and then a list appeared on the screen. It was a very big list. Victor clicked along the headings: Artefact name, Artist, Date, Estimate, Auction House, Date Sold, Net Proceeds, A/C number. There were quite a few pages contained in the document. Louis asked Victor what ‘A/C number meant, and he said with great mirth, that the number was the thing that could blow Mikhail’s secret plans right out of the water.
He asked Louis if he had any change, and he dug in his pocket and Victor took three pound coins from his hand and went to the desk. In ten minutes he returned with a sheaf of A4 paper and pointed to the exit. As they made their way back to Burley, Victor explained that ‘A/C number’ was the individual numbered bank account in Switzerland generated by each artefact’s sale proceeds, and there were over two hundred of them.
‘Are you telling me Victor, that Mikhail has over two hundred numbered accounts in Switzerland all of them with money in them?’ Louis asked.
‘Yes Louis, and with this list, we know exactly how much is in each of them too! Victor shouted.
23 Difficult decisions
Strasbourg Cathedral
Mark’s brother, Stephen, had rung Louis and was very interested in speaking to him. He was happy to meet on the Saturday morning. Mark had suggested they meet in one of the partnership meeting rooms and he would be visible in his office, catching up with work.
Stephen was in the opposite spectrum to his brother when it came to being relaxed. When Louis had finished outlining the situation with his daughter’s murder, and the difficulty that the police had to close the case, Stephen became interested. But when he showed him the computer listings and explained the heading ‘A/C number’ his eyes were wide open. He did add a very important issue, one that Louis had overlooked completely. He pulled out the grainy photograph that the police in London had circulated showing three men with a girl walking out of the Soho public house.
‘Do you think that your Victor would be able to recognise these men Louis?’ Stephen asked him.
Louis looked with a shudder at the picture, not at the men, but at what looked like his daughter. It was the last photograph of her before she was murdered. It was so shocking for him.
‘I don’t mind telling you, Louis, this is a very tricky case, and if we are to be successful, we have to offer this as evidence to the police as soon as possible.’ He said.
Louis shuddered again, thinking that the perpetrators would then be on to him. He told Stephen his fears for himself and Victor, the latter had already been nearly killed by this evil man. Stephen tried to calm Louis’s fears, saying that he doubted that justice would be served in the UK, quoting Diplomatic Immunity, but to leave it to him to think of the best way to deal with it, and that he would do nothing until he had spoken to Louis first. Stephen promised that he would call Louis the moment he had something to tell him. He also said that if there was a way to get Victor to look at the surveillance picture it would be very good to find out if he recognised anyone on it.
When Louis rang Victor, he was about to take Sally out for a walk, but hadn’t had his lunch yet. Louis asked whether he could take him to lunch at the tea rooms on Pound Lane. He would be there in an hour, and to bring Sally with him. That swung it for Louis, and he congratulated himself on his quick-thinking. The owner of the tea rooms of course knew Victor and Sally so she set out a meal for three. She even knew what Sally liked to eat. Louis tried in vain to force down the last piece of apple crumble and hated not giving back an empty dish. After the café owner had cleared away, Louis placed the photograph in front of Victor and asked him if he recognised anyone on it.
Without any hesitation, he name
d the first two people as Leah and Mikhail, and said that the other two men were the same thugs that had kidnapped him on the moor.
‘How would you feel if I was to ask you to identify the picture again, but this time to the people who are investigating Leah’s murder, Victor?’ Louis asked already realising the gravity of his question.
‘To do that, I would need to be sure of my protection. I don’t want to put me, my family and you in the real danger that we would attract. Don’t you agree Louis?’ Victor answered in a whisper, and Louis nodded in agreement.
Stephen rang again quite early on Monday morning to say that he had a barrister friend who practices at The Inner temple in London, who very much would like to meet Louis, and if possible Victor too. Not only that, he wanted to help him in other ways, knowing how delicate a matter it was. Stephen was overjoyed when Louis told him that Victor recognised all the people in the photograph without any hesitation. That made his caller very excited. Before he rang off however, he told the lawyer that Victor was concerned about security and for that matter so was he. Louis made it clear that without assurances there was no way they would meet his barrister friend. Stephen promised that when he called Louis back, he would have everything in place that would satisfy the both of them.
About three hours later the lawyer came back, to say that the barrister was willing to send a driver to pick them both up, at Louis’s hotel and Victor’s home to take them to the Inner Temple, then after their meeting the driver would take them home safely again. Louis agreed to call Stephen back the next day when he had spoken to Victor.
He knew that to ask Victor to go to London and meet a stranger would be a big request, and there was the consideration of his parents. The only person the he knew that could help was of course Edmund. It was a good move, Edmund agreed to accompany Louis on his mission to Burley. Louis just managed to get a signal for his mobile, in the New Forest village, and although Stephen was in a meeting, he had left word to interrupt him if it was Louis, and get him to the phone without delay. He told Louis that he had placed a temporary time on the visit to the barrister and he was now able to confirm it with him. He told Louis that they would be picked up between seven and eight in the morning on the following Wednesday week.