by Graham Adams
‘Sounds like you are going to see someone pretty important.’ Edmund said.
‘I think that young Victor is a very brave chap, considering what he has been through.’ Louis said gravely. Edmund nodded his agreement. ‘Have you got a current passport, Eddie?’ He said that he had. ‘Would you like to fly to Strasbourg with me tomorrow? I would like very much to show you something over there.’
‘They flew the next day from Gatwick and Louis told Edmund that they would be probably flying back the next day, but he promised him that it would be worth it. Edmund could at last relax because Zowie was having her holiday too, staying with her friend at Burley.
During the flight Louis recounted the story of his great grandfather Lewi, his amazing escape from the Nazis in the Second World War. How, at over sixty years old having being sheltered at a farm by a young widow he had had a child with her, and not long after, as the Germans were retreating, they murdered her and her older son. He told him that the woman picking them up from Strasbourg airport was the same daughter Leah.
They slid though the gates of the house. Edmund was speechless, as they approached the mansion. They all laughed as Louis recalled that on his first sight of it, he called it the giant birthday cake. As they disembarked from the limousine, Louis asked his aunt whether they had found out anything about the ring, and she nodded with a smile. As the three of them climbed the marble staircase to the huge front doors, one of them opened and Ethan appeared. He held his arms out to hug his nephew, Louis and shook his friend’s hand as Louis introduced him to Ethan. As they walked into the dining room Louis told Ethan that Edmund had been born in the same town on the same year, but until now had never met, yet they had become great friends after a gap of over sixty years.
Edmund had never eaten Jewish food before, but the banquet that was laid out before him looked, and was, delicious. After the meal they went to the library displaying several walls of beautifully bound books separated by mahogany panels. The room was dominated by a beautiful French table highly polished, empty but for an envelope and a small white gold edged box. As they sat around the big oval table Ethan passed Louis the small box and he opened it to reveal the ring. He took it out and handed it to his friend, whose jaw dropped as he scrutinised the mounting.
‘So Ethan, what is the story?’ Louis asked casually.
‘The ring has a history my boy; yes it has an amazing history.’ Ethan answered.
He told them that his close friend John Goldman had flown over from New York especially to look at the ring. John was the most important jewellery expert in the world, and most museums sought his advice when they needed it. The ring was designed by Faberge, for the Russian Royal household, probably for a member of the inner circle, and by the size of it, as an engagement ring from a man to a woman. He was still investigating the inscription inside which read ‘The eye that never closes – sees all my love to you A.’ all in Cyrillic.
He told them that the centre stone which they thought was a blue sapphire was in fact a very large blue diamond cut by a master. Ethan passed Louis the unsealed envelope. Inside was the certificate of authentication as well as a covering letter signed by John himself as the head of the company.
‘Did John give you an idea of its value?’ Edmund asked.
‘His words were that he could not value something that was unique. It could only be, what someone would be willing to pay for it Edmund.’ Ethan answered.
Leah picked up the box and envelope and formally handed it to Louis. ‘This is from my father to you Louis, with my blessing.’ She told him that Ethan had made an appointment with his contact at the Rothschild’s Bank in London, and they would keep it safe for him. Louis shook his head in disbelief, but Leah put her arm on his and said that he had found it, so he must have it. It was Lewi Levi’s last bequest.
The next day on the flight back to Heathrow, Louis sat with his small briefcase in his hand and Edmund just looked and smiled at him. Also, during the flight, Louis showed his friend a tiny envelope that he had pulled from his jacket pocket. Edmund peered at the writing on it. Louis explained that it was a famous Greek saying, ‘know thyself’. He explained who gave it to him, and how he was convinced that it helped his father find his new life, many years ago.
‘Do you know, Louis, there are things in this world, that still defy explanation, don’t you agree?’ Edmund asked.
Soon they were walking through the glass doors of the Rothschild bank asking the receptionist for the securities manager. The welcome was most refreshing. He spoke of Ethan in glowing terms and thanked them for considering that bank for their needs. He wasted no time in leading them into a lift, which Edmund noticed went down four levels from the ground, and they came out to a concrete room, obviously a vault. They went through two sets of steel doors and entered a small room lined with very small doors.
The manager placed his hand inside one of the open compartments and withdrew a drawer about six inches square and two foot long. He then placed the empty box on a small table and they looked inside it. Louis emptied the contents of his brief case onto the table, the small ring box and the white envelope. The banker asked Louis if he wanted the letter to be sealed and he nodded. The manager then walked off to the far corner, pulled out a small square machine and brought it over. Louis sealed the envelope with its self sealing strip and gave it to the official, who slid the envelope in a narrow gap in the machine, and after a buzzing noise he waited a few seconds and gave it back to him. Louis and Edmund looked at the result. An old fashioned red wax seal had been put on the back of the envelope imprinted with the emblem of the bank. At each side of the seal were two sets of faint vertical dotted lines. The manager signed across the left hand side and he passed it to Louis who signed the other side.
Louis opened the little box and showed it to Edmund for a last look and put it inside the waiting box along with the newly sealed envelope. The bank official stepped forward and handed Louis a small key, took the box and slid it snugly into its little square cave. The solid steel door was shut and the manager placed his key into the left hand keyhole, followed by Louis locking the other side.
Back in the manager’s office, he told them that all the charges had been paid for by Ethan, and then ordered some coffee. Louis was so impressed that he mentioned that he was going to benefit from a probate settlement in the near future and wondered if they would handle the proceeds for him, to which the manager duly agreed and gave him his card. He smiled when he read it ‘Gabriel Cohen, Securities Manager’. Of course, he said to himself.
The two friends walked down St Swithin’s lane, and Louis asked if he would like a late lunch before the train home, and Edmund nodded. They got into a taxi and Louis told the driver to go to Claridges.
24 Mikhail exposed
Court band tie
The day before Victor and Louis were to be going up to London, Louis had got the family’s agreement that Victor could stay at the Novotel in Southampton on the Tuesday night as he felt that the driver would have fewer problems if he had only one pickup. After getting the agreement he confirmed with Stephen the lawyer what the change of plan was. He promised to inform the driver of the car. Stephen also told Louis that he would be attending the interview with the barrister in the Middle Temple so that it would put his two clients at ease.
The black Lexus RX450 Sports SUV slid through the gates of the Temple and it slowly carried them around the perimeter of the ornate square. Louis felt that it seemed like sacrilege to drive over the old cobblestones, and as they looked through the windows they could feel the power of English law emanating from every stone of each edifice. Across the square they could see a dark suited man standing in a doorway, Louis recognised him. The car drew up alongside him and they alighted from the powerful car.
‘I am so pleased to meet you Victor.’ Stephen shook the young man’s hand and then Louis’s. ‘Please follow me.’
They walked single file through the doorway and up some wooden stairs, winding
at the top. Each step creaked enough to wake the dead, and Louis was surprised at the state of the place, considering the level of top legal luminaries who practised in such a place. Stephen held the door open to a tiny room, with just enough space for three chairs and a desk which was heavily laden with piles of papers bound up with red silk tape. The room was empty and when Stephen gestured for them to sit on the small hard dusty chairs they both sat in silence amazed at the state of the whole scene. Victor looked like he was just about to say something to Louis when the door burst open and in walked a tall figure dressed in a long black gown, wig in hand and with the usual court band tie, looking rather stern. He proffered his limp hand to Louis who shook it with a strong grip. ‘My name is Joshua Samuels and I…’
Victor seemed a little upset by the man, but didn’t want to be upstaged ‘I think you need a secretary Mr Samuels, looking at the state of your desk.’ He pointed to the piles of bound paper. ‘Anyway who does your cleaning, look at this bloody chair, it’s disgusting.’ The two lawyers laughed very loudly and Joshua shook Victor’s hand vigorously.
‘I think that you and I are going to get on well. Victor, isn’t it?’ They both smiled at each other and the ice was broken.
The barrister moved a couple of piles of paper bundles and sat on the end of the desk. He told Victor that he represented the interests of some very important people, some of them Victor knew personally. Victor was puzzled at first, but it dawned on him in a flash when the barrister hinted that they were very rich individuals. When Victor whispered, ‘Russians’ to Joshua, he nodded in response. Victor looked at his older friend and shuddered. Joshua told him that three of Victor’s old employers were in his interview room at that moment, but if he didn’t want to go ahead, he would quite understand.
Louis intervened at that point, and asked the barrister what business had they to do with all of this. Victor said that he thought that all of the items that Leah and he had disposed of were originally owned by the oligarchs, but Mikhail had never discussed with him whether the ownership had passed to him before any of the auctions had taken place.
Victor passed the question on to Joshua asking him if he could throw any light on the ownership question. He said that he didn’t know, but Victor made it clear he didn’t believe him. He did say to Victor, that meeting the three men in the other room should go a long way in getting ‘the monkey’ off their backs. Louis and Victor looked at each other and without speaking, stood up indicating their intention of proceeding. They had come that far, and it had to be resolved, face to face.
A much bigger room was waiting for them on the next floor, big enough for ten matching chairs and a large oval table. At the far end three large men in suits stood up as the four of them entered. Joshua spoke first to them introducing Stephen first, then Louis and finally Victor. At the sound of Victors name they all spoke in Russian, smiling and came around to shake Victor’s hand. Victor spoke back to them in Russian and all three of them hugged him Russian style. Joshua asked Victor if he would act as interpreter for the meeting and he agreed. Joshua wanted to let them know that as much as possible they would like to ask simple direct questions, and Victor came back saying that was pleasing for the three of them.
Joshua asked Stephen to pass to them a copy of the police photograph and for the Russians to tell them honestly if they recognised anyone on it. They all instantly recognised Mikhail, and one of oligarchs recognised one of the two men following behind. Victor asked them if they recognised the girl and they all said that they didn’t.
Joshua asked Victor to say that the photo was the last one before the girl was murdered and Louis was her father. After he had told them, they stared again at the picture. One of them asked if they thought Mikhail might be involved and Victor told them about his abduction in full detail emphasising how he was close to death afterwards. Joshua said there was no doubt that Mikhail was involved, but they did not respond. Joshua was not surprised at this point but now he played his ace card. He looked at Stephen again and he handed them all the pages that Victor had printed at the Ringwood library. Joshua asked if they recognised anything on the list.
Pandemonium broke out as they shouted every time that an item listed had been identified. Victor called for silence, and asked them a simple question.
‘Did you give Mikhail all these artefacts for him to sell for himself?’
They answered that everything was to be kept in England in a safe place so that they could reclaim them at a later time. Nothing was given to Mikhail. Victor translated everything, word for word to Joshua. Joshua then asked Victor to tell the Russians that Mikhail had got over one billion pounds from the sale of the artefacts in numbered Swiss bank accounts. After Victor had translated Joshua’s statement, the whole room erupted. Victor looked at Joshua and raised his eyebrows.
‘I don’t think that I need to translate that Joshua.’ He said with a wry smile.
Louis asked Victor to ask them what they intended to do now that they knew everything. A hush settled in the room.
Firstly one of the billionaires spoke to Joshua in English, and instructed him to inform the English police of the identities of the men in the photograph. He added that they would get the names of the other two men in the morning for him. Secondly, he said not to worry anymore about Mikhail, he would be taken care of shortly, and there was no escape for him. Thirdly he turned to Louis and apologised for his countrymen and what Mikhail and company had done, causing him such grief, saying that he was a family man too.
Victor told the billionaire that he had met a Swiss banker called Philippe from a bank in Zürich who was Mikhail’s go between for setting up the accounts, but that was all he knew.
The English speaking Russian asked Joshua to send any legal bills to him and said that he would settle them personally. The Russians left the room after Stephen gave them a photocopy of the lists as they left Joshua’s office, leaving the four of them in the meeting room to talk, and tie all the loose ends up. Joshua told Louis that he would deal with the police and he would ensure that his daughter’s body would be released within the week. He thanked Victor for his great assistance in the meeting, and he gave him his business card should he have any need for his services.
The driver dropped Louis off first at the Novotel, and before he left, he told Victor that he would be in touch in few days.
25 A surprise for Louis
Waiting for his dinner
When Louis entered the hotel the man at the reception passed him an envelope, and when he opened it there were just two lines handwritten. ‘Telephone messages Room 601, Please meet me at the beach at 9am Friday, important – E.’
Louis loved mysteries and this certainly looked like one. He was at Southbourne just after 9 and walked to the cliff top near the cliff lift and looked over the wire fence, to see the magnificent stretch of sand arcing towards the Hengistbury escarpment. About a mile along the stretch, he could just make out a man and his dog as two little dots. The smaller one running forward and then back to its master. He knew that that was his friend. He hurried down the zigzag and on to the soft sand, and began to follow their tracks. The sea was very calm that day, and as he looked at the horizon, he could make out two tall-masted ships. As he continued, something else caught his eye, he just had to stop and stare at it.
As the first of the groynes jutted out into the water, there was a shoal of fish jumping out of the water as if they were playing. At the end of the groyne a ten foot high piece of metal stuck out of the wooden structure. Perched on top of this was a large black cormorant, beak down watching the shoal. Suddenly and silently the bird dived in the water and scooped up a fish, it was a large fat mackerel. The cormorant must have felt that he was in heaven, he thought to himself, and was so glad to have witnessed such a spectacle. As he climbed over a couple more groynes, he could see that the two figures on the beach were getting closer, and they were heading his way.
Over the last obstacle, Edmund stopped walking and pointed
out to sea. Louis turned in the direction, south westerly towards Shell Bay on the Studland coast. About halfway distance, Louis perceived that there looked like a flock of sea birds circling above the water that was all. He was just about to turn his head towards Edmund, when suddenly a large family of bottle-nosed dolphins began jumping out of the sea. The whole incident took about ten minutes, and the two men watched, each dolphin seemed to be trying to outdo each other with their jumping skills. Although the animals were about half a mile out at sea the splashes were huge as they re-entered the water. As quickly as they came, they were gone, and the two men gasped in admiration of the spectacle that they had witnessed.
In a few minutes they were on the same stretch of sand and Zowie recognised Louis and chased towards him, then ran a circle around his feet and lay down, nose on the ground, a perfect sheepdog’s rounding up procedure. As the two men walked together towards the zigzag pathway, Louis told Edmund about the shoal of fish and the cormorant, and remarked that it had been quite a morning already.
Edmund pulled out a piece of folded paper, giving it to his friend. Louis unfolded the paper to see that it was a whole page of the Southampton Echo entertainments guide. He stood for a moment and scanned the square adverts to try and guess what Edmund had spotted. Seeing that his friend was struggling, Edmund helped by pointing to the bottom right square with ‘What’s on at The Mayflower’ as the heading.